Brief Summary Of How My Steampunk Characters Speak

Brief summary of how my steampunk characters speak

I just want to get as much information as I can out, and I want to write something rather easy to describe.

Jeter: Usually fairly flat, but will emote when around friends. He is professional and precise, and will never use slang unless he is quoting someone else. Rarely ever raises his voice, even when angered. Jeter has a high level of patience, and it shows through in his speech. Has a slight accent, though its hard to distinguish exactly what it is. (HC voice: Jon Sprocket from The Cog is Dead)

Emalia: Soft spoken and shy, may speak slowly in fear of accidently stumbling over herself. People may mistake her voice for whispering, as she doesn't necessarily want to be heard all of the time. She never raises her voice, or speaks sternly. Emalia is very passive in both personality and voice, and rarely ever uses slang. (HC voice: Phillipa Soo aka. Eliza from Hamilton)

Henderson: No matter who he is speaking to, he is impolite. Uses slang or curses almost every time he speaks, and has no regard for authority. Slightly more polite towards women though even that is debatable. His low patience impacts his speech, and it doesn't take much to get his voice to raise in volume. Has a cockney accent that only gets thicker when angered. (HC Voice: Peter Kaleghan aka. Agent Meyers from Murdoch Mysteries)

Zala: Speaks quickly and nervously, constantly stammering and stumbling over himself. Uses a lot of scientific terms when talking, especially when conversing with Jeter. His sentences are occasionally broken by nervous chuckles, or he may just slowly falter into silence. He assumes everyone is annoyed by his presence, so he will try his best to keep his statements quick. Unfortunately, his tends to ramble and change topics, trying to get all of his thoughts out before forgetting them. (HC Voice: David Michael Bennett from Steam Powered Giraffe)

Odin: Rarely ever speaks unless spoken to, and even then he will say as little as possible to get his point across. Very polite no matter who he is speaking to, as his programming sees everyone as superior. His sentences are created through cutting up previously heard words and forming his own speech out of them, which may be jarring to some. The most common voice is Zala's due to spending so much time around the man. (HC Voice: Literally anyone you can think of)

Pierre: Monotonic voice no matter the situation, unable to emote at the range a human is able to. He is polite and precise, but also fairly secretive. He has a thick air of mystery surrounding him, and he will not speak about anything not pertaining to the exact task at hand. When speaking to witness' or victims, he lowers the volume of his voice and may use more casual wording. Nothing about his past or about his boss is ever uttered, and refuses to talk about anything pertaining to his own life. (HC Voice:Andre Braugher aka. Raymond Holt from Brooklyn 99)

Crimson Stained Copper

If I were to describe my story with a genre, it would be cyber/steampunk. This is because there are aspects of my story that seem futuristic, but everything has a steampunk/victorian aesthetic.

The plot:

The story mostly takes place within the city of Brenning, where humans and automata live side by side. It's a city that prides itself in its security and progress, but things have been happening these last few years. People have been disappearing during the night, with the kidnapper leaving no trace behind. There are rarely ever signs of a struggle, and the scene of the crime is always set up to seem like the person had packed up and left. There has been no leads on what could possibly be happening, until someone stumbles their way back to their home.

A detective, a doctor, and a scientist. All three are trying to figure out where the stranger had gone, and why he was the only one to reappear. Something is off about the man however, he was changed somehow, his memory fogged to the point of disorientation. He only remembers his name, but everything else is a mystery. Scars he can't recall, voices he can't decipher, he's taken in by the detective in order to piece together the accident and who may be behind it.

The characters:

Jeter Nyland: A famous automaton doctor in Brenning, skilled in nearly every type of surgery. He is patient and diligent, not resting until his client is healthy once more. Emalia's guardian, Henderson's teacher. (Headcanon voice/actor: Jon Sprocket from Death of The Cog)

Emalia Nyland: A young woman who was orphaned at a young age, and later taken in by Jeter. She is soft-spoken and creative, keeping all of her thoughts in a journal she constantly carries. Jeter's ward, Zala's cousin. (Headcanon voice: Melanie Leishman. Headcanon actor: Phillipa Soo)

Henderson Balgraven: A slummer turned prosthetist, thanks to necessity and Jeter's teachings. He's grumpy and aggressive, but still enjoys helping people with his skills. Jeter's student. (Headcanon Voice/Actor: Peter Keleghan)

Zala Nyland: A scientist who isolates himself in his manor in the woods, alongside his automatonic "siblings". Extremely nervous and intelligent, he loves to study life and death. Emalia's cousin and Jeter's confidente. (Headcanon Voice/Actor: David Michael Bennett)

Pierre Romanski: A detective who works directly under the overseer of the city, tasked with finding out who the stranger is and why he returned. Diligent and cold, he always finds his answers. Son of District. (Headcanon Voice Andre Keith Braugher)

Catalyst: A paranoid man who returned after seemingly vanishing into thin air, unfortunetly he can't recall a thing. He's confused but polite, trying his best to help Pierre solve the mystery of his past. (Headcanon Voice/Actor: TBD)

"A Summer's Day" ~ 1894

This young woman is Emalia Nyland, Jeter's ward since she was a toddler. Her parents both died to a disease known as "The Rust", and has been under her future husband's care since then.

It's not unusual for sick parents to hand their child over to an automaton, as it provides the kid with an immortal bodyguard. Most, if not all, of these kids end up forming a strong bond with their automatons, and end up marrying them. This is also what will happen with Emalia, since she and Jeter are nearly inseparable. Ever since she was little, she looked up to the automaton and eventually fell in love with him.

Now, this may seem odd, but Jeter is the only loving figure that she has had in her life. (Besides her parents of course. Zala, her cousin, could also be considered a loving figure, but he rarely ever sees her.) Because of this intense bond, Jeter has given himself the golden filigree that you see on his right cheek. (Once an automaton is considered married/ spoken for, they will get filigree somewhere on their face. Most commonly on their cheeks or chin)

Ema spends most of her days at the manor with Jeter, doing her own thing or getting things ready for meals. Her life is pretty routine, but she couldn't be happier about it. The times where she does go to the city, she finds herself sticking to Jeter's side. It's a big place with a bunch of strangers, and Jeter provides a warm feeling of protection. Of course, they sometimes visit Zala at his home a few hours away, but this is only once or twice a month. As he is very busy with his studies, and Ema doesn't want to bother him.

Personality wise, Emalia is very much an introvert. She spends most of her day inside or around the manor, her nose in a book or hands full of ink from drawing. She's extremely creative, constantly writing stories or doodling pictures, anything that pops into her head will be jotted down. Her room is filled with journals and miscellaneous novels, all sorted by date of recieving them. She wishes to become an author one day, or even an explorer like her parents. Anything to gather more fun stories and drawings that will hopefully make it into their own books one day.

Fun fact about Emalia, she is completely colorblind. She sees the world through shades of grey, and this trait is shared with every woman in her bloodline. This doesn't bother her at all, as she has found other ways to enjoy "colors". Instead of seeing colors, she relates them to textures, emotions or even flavours. Dispite not being able to see these colors, Emalia considered a delicate light blue her favourite. Jeter has told her that she reminds him of this color, as she is soft spoken and welcoming.

Headcanon voice/actor: Phillipa Soo

Three practice panels for my comic, starring Jeter, henderson, and Zala.

In this specific scene, Zala has just returned from studying the stranger that was found on the outskirts of town. Zala conducted multiple tests on the man, and was met with some strange results. It was if the man had died weeks ago, but was still alive somehow. He is able to walk and talk, but he lacks the necessary physical aspects of life. If he has a heartbeat, it is strong enough to be heard, but too weak to be felt when adding pressure to different points of the body. Long, abnormal scars run down his back and shoulders, but they look like they have been healed for years. It's strange, and no one is sure about what may have happened, and how this man is alive.

Zala immediately visits the Nyland household, wanting to talk to the pair of doctors living there. The man may be a scientist, but he wants the input of the only other people he trusts enough to discuss such a strange topic.

Henderson is rather put off about the idea of a "walking corpse", while Jeter is rather intrigued. It's not every day a scientific marvel stumbles into the city.

Both Jeter and Zala are interested in learning more about this stranger, but at the same time, they are worried about other people learning about the event. If the city were to hear about the walking dead, there would be widespread paranoia.

Just two detectives sharing a light

Totally normal detective partners

Pierre belongs to @crimson-stained-copper <3

Some Facts About The Automata in my World

These are just a few points. There are some names and terms mentioned that will be elaborated on in future posts.

Nearly all automatons are built around human skeletons, which gives them their humanoid shape. The spine, fingers and bottom jaw are exposed, and that tells you how old an automaton's model is. Older models will have more bones exposed, their plates and mechanisms built directly on top. Mostly relying on the skeleton to keep the frame in one piece. Newer models will have less showing, and may even be made with a fully mechanical skeleton. No matter how new a model is, the spine is always visible. 

They can come in any shape or size, though most are 6’5 and under. The shortest ones are just below 5’, and are mostly nanny’s or other child care workers. Automatons can be thin, stocky, round or lanky. It all depends on their occupation and the capabilities of their model. Changes may be made if needed, and these procedures are rather expensive. Usually they are only done once an automaton passes (in which the husk will become a host for a new personality), or if a company needs a specific body type for a job.

The automata of Brenning are treated as equals, instead of being seen as the lower class. They can get any job, or live in any financial status just as a human can. It also isn’t uncommon for humans and automata to get married, and is embraced by the city. Once an automaton is married, they will receive golden filigree somewhere upon their body that is visible at all times. The most common place is the face, mostly upon the cheek or chin. Hands are also popular, and you may even see an automaton with a completely golden hand. The human has two choices when it comes to marrying an automaton. They can either get molten gold poured upon the skin in lavish designs, or get a special plate implanted into their arm. This plate allows the human to feel the emotions of their automaton partner, and vice versa.  

There is a race of automata called Gardeners, who are bipedal humanoids with multiple limbs. They tend to Brennings plantlife, and are extremely docile. They are very agile and strong, able to climb up the clock tower with ease. The city has multiple gated tunnels that the gardeners use to traverse the city without bothering the human population, or to escape the rain. Emotionless, thoughtless creatures, the gardeners tend to keep to themselves. The only thing they care about is the well being of the plants within Brennings walls, keeping the city green any way they can. Standing at 7’ when straight, they have a large compartment in their stomachs that they use to house dirt and plants for transport. As long as people steer clear, the gardeners are quiet and diligent.

Another special race is the Watchers, medieval knight like automata who patrol the city streets at night. They are protectors, diligent guards that walk the city streets once the sun falls. They were built to protect the people from night time criminals, and they also keep people from sneaking into the city. The civilians of Brenning created a nightly curfew after a few years, due to a multiple deaths that occured due to people messing with the automata. They are extremely violent when provoked, not letting up until the person they are focused on is either incapacitated or dead. There are a select few who are able to evade the watchers' gaze, and those are the ones who work for the Tower. To the automata, a Tower worker is completely invisible, unless physical contact is made. This same rule applies to members of the Circle, but the Circle is able to control the Watchers whenever it is necessary. Usually, a Watcher will walk a specific pre-programmed path, but a member of the Circle may order it to follow them, or to chase a specific person.

Automatons never truly die, but are just reset. Their programming enters a state called “The Phoenix Code” in which the automaton's skillset is recycled and passed onto a new life, giving the new personality a muscle memory of their past skills, but with no recollection of their past life. A single automaton may have multiple lives within their programming, giving them a wider range of skills to potentially use. For example, My character Jeter is on his 8th phoenix. This means that he has lived seven previous lives, all living more than 80 years each. Each one had a different job, and passed on their skills to the next life. Jeter started off as a guardsman, and has been a baker, a businessman, a mechanic, and is currently a doctor. Everything he has learned has been passed on, but he has no idea who exactly he was in a past life. 

Generation 1 automatons are considered “children”, as they currently have no skills to build their lives off of. The first life of an automaton is mostly spent within the Tower, learning multiple skills that will be passed onto their next life. The teacher is another member of the Circle (I will be going more into the Circle and its members in a different post as well), who spends their days making sure each and every newly forged automaton knows how to survive in the city.