Now it's about names in Begnion and Harmonia.

[myaru]

Harmonia (Suikoden) and Begnion (Fire Emblem) strike me as kind of parallel. Not just because they're both huge empires, but because they're theocratic, and because the impression I have of the Begnion nobility (corrupt, mired in tradition, locked into personal power struggles okay, so that describes most fantasy world governments and cultures) reflects the one I have of Harmonian nobility. We have more material on the rivalries in Harmonia, though, and the general cultural conflicts. Not so much with Begnion.

This occurred to me because I was trying to think up names for noble families and a small cast of OCs for the Chronicle, and ended up resorting to the same kind of technique I did with SPPM when I needed Harmonian names. In a very general sense, Harmonian names seemed to fit on a spectrum of East European and Russian types; not knowing anything about that, I just chose sounds that reminded me of those regions.

That's how I choose names most of the time, I realized. It almost always has something to do with how it sounds when I say it out loud.

If Begnion is comparable to the Roman Empire - which really seems to be the case in my opinion - then I have my pick of regions. Persian, Greek, Arabian, Germanic isn't out of the question... I'm pegging it as more early/mid Byzantine than ancient Roman based on the style of government, and as soon as I can remember what it was called, I will absolutely look it up and confirm it - or, you know, not. (I must have written it down somewhere. >_>) The names didn't make any sense to me until I started thinking of it like this, because they're so different. Sigrun and Astrid have certain sounds, and then you have Sephiran (reminds me of 'Seraphin,' which is French, but also of 'seraphim,' which... I believe is Hebrew, not Arabic? I lose track of loan words), Persis, which reminds me of... something, I don't know what, and also brings Farsi to mind, or Persia, which influenced how I describe it in fic. Begnion's just too diverse.

So I chose a name earlier - Medina - and it sparked this pointless thought process. But the name fits with my mental concept of Begnion, and I wanted to figure out why, because I need at least three more names to throw around. Five or six would be ideal. They're not really important characters, but they have to contribute something to the setting, because that's basically what they are - props.

I have no trouble wasting half an hour on planning for this fic - see above - yet writing it is like pushing a car uphill. But then, writing anything kind of feels like that right now. I couldn't make myself work on the December 14 entry either, and it's completely unrelated.

This entry wasn't supposed to be so long.

Feel free to poke holes in my logic. I'm not that attached to it. But I like the idea that Begnion has a mix of Mediterranean and Mideastern cultures.

Comments

[seta-suzume.livejournal.com]

I've given a lot of Italian-ish names (particularly last names) to Harmonians, but it's sort of a personal taste thing. (And I've done a lot of reading about the popes, so the feuding factions of Harmonia often reminded me of the various families and factions of Italy...hence my "friends" the Orsini named for the Orsini (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orsini) of Italy.)

I think how the names sound when said out loud is important too.

[myaru.livejournal.com]

It's funny how different our conceptions of Harmonia are in this way. You're very consistent though, so sometimes it jars me to see an Italian name associated with Harmonia, but you always make it fit by the end of the fic or discussion.

That really works though, because then when we get together for something like SPPM, Harmonia has diversity. XD

I didn't think of Italy/the Church, though. But the country's high officials certainly suggest the church hierarchy. I really wish it were clearer what role the temple plays in Harmonian culture. Is it just a government with religious titles etc., or do they actually have some kind of ritual significance?

[seta-suzume.livejournal.com]

I really like your Eastern European names, to tell the truth. They strike me as more what I'd expect from Harmonia in the actual games, but I'm bad at coming up with names of that type. Of course, I pay homage to you by making off with your family names (*cough*Alfred*cough*), usually for minor characters or references...

Of course, I've given out some names that don't match my general naming scheme as well in the past, but that was before I'd settled on any method of making the names match. (I was able to save myself a little bit because I'd been too lazy/burned out to give characters like Ket and Hazel last names right away. So "Cabrini" and "La'Celif" helped fit their names in.)

Yeah, diversity for the win! XD

I didn't think about the Church really because of any idea of an overwhelming similarity between it and Harmonian government, but just because I'm interested in Church history in general... I just started seeing families who wanted to get one of their own to become pope and other assorted acts of nepotism and thought: "I bet some of the Harmonian families fight to get council positions just like that."

Konami, more Harmonia please! Inquiring minds want to know! The only thing about wanting to know at this point is that with everything I've written/drawn about Harmonia over the years I know it could all be crushed with one blow. ^^;

...Ah, talking about Harmonia while trying to finish a research paper... Fun times!