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)

Patience, The Towers "Gentle Giant"

The newly forged automata of Brenning need a teacher, someone to teach them how to become part of society. Everything from etiquette to stocks are placed in multiple courses over the first decade of the new-forged lives. Every class, every individual lesson is taught by one single person. This is a daunting task to most, dealing with the responsibility of making sure every automaton turns out perfect.

This is where Patience comes in. An automaton who houses multiple streams of thought, able to organize and keep track of everything the new-forged would ever need. Patience is an old and wise being, their knowledge being collected over centuries of life. They can answer any question and solve any puzzle with ease, no matter the subject or complexity. Because of this, Patience in in charge of everything pertaining to schooling and the preservation of information/culture.

But, every dime must have a second face. A side that can be called upon and seen if needed, as long as the flip is justified.

Patience stands at 13 feet tall when their body is relaxed, and is indeed a force to be reckoned with. Their mind is sharp and dangerous when called upon by District, carrying out whatever task is needed. Executioner, The Reaper's Scythe, Death's Vulture. Names whispered amongst those who handle any mess left over from Patience's duties.

What exactly does Patience do? No one is certain, but the automaton can be seen standing vigilantly next to District when not happily teaching the new-forged how to fit in. Their dime is usually on its head, showing a cheery and almost maternal side. But if the coin were to flip over to tails, no one wants to be in their way.

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)

An alcoholic and a strict doctor, a relationship that contains more arguments than agreements. Despite their mutual annoyance for each other, Jeter is always willing to spend money to bail Henderson out of jail. A blessing and a curse, as what comes afterwards is a long and stern talking to from the automaton. These talks can last mere minutes, or hours, depending on how Henderson behaves.

~ "Spare me the lecture." Henderson grunted, bringing a hand up to his temple. Maybe it was the extreme hangover, or the multiple wounds on the back of his head. Either way, he couldn't think straight.

Jeter sighed at the other's tone, steam escaping from the vents in his cheeks. He kept his hands folded, tapping the right index finger against the left knuckle. A small tick, but Henderson immediately picked up on it and continued.

"If you're waiting for an explanation, I ain't got one. Last night s'all one fogged up blur." The man stated in annoyance, receiving no response from the automaton sitting across the table. "All I know is, that bastard swung first. I was defendin' myself, but... I admit, I may have gone overboard."

"No surprise there." The doctor replied after a moment of thought. "I suppose I should put you under a more strict ruleset, I prefer my students to be in one piece while under my care." ~

I'm going to introduce the main automata in my story, then move onto the humans. I will also be adding voice claims and/or headcanon actors.

So, the third major automaton in my story is named Odin. Now, Odin is a special automaton, as he has no will or consciousness of his own. He was built to be completely obedient, and to not ask questions. He will obey any order given to him without question, as long as his programming recognizes the person as an authority figure. Programmed to be a hitman, this automaton has quite the set of unique abilities.

To start off, Odin is able to sound like anyone he has heard before. Located within his chassis is a series of miniature wax cylinders, which record and play back any and all sounds. Using these, he can mix and match syllables and words in order to form his own sentences. On rare occurrences, he may use different voices to speak, depending on what sounds he has in his library at the time.

His second ability is to remove and replace any plating on his face and hands, meaning he can literally steal the faces of those he has taken out. Dozens of tiny mechanisms detach and attach to the face plated, granting quick and easy changes. Odin's programming also picks up mannerisms of the person he is posing as, allowing him to blend seamlessly into his role.

He was extremely efficient, being the best agent to send. That was, until he was ordered to take out the leader of the Circle, which ended up being harder than originally planned. Odin was quickly beaten by Pierre and tossed out, believed to be completely destroyed. That is, until a lonely scientist named Zala happened upon his corpse.

Repurposed and revived, Odin became Zala's "brother" of sorts. The automaton now helps the man in his studies, following every order he is given without question. Instead of being told to kill however, he was now being told to learn and adapt.

Zala dressed Odin up and gave him a home, treating the automaton like a beloved brother. A fancy corset vest was added in order to keep the automatons inner mechanisms in place, as his age and damage was too much to keep him upright for very long. Odin went from ruthless killer to gentlemanly brother in the blink of an eye, and if he could experience emotions, he would be thankful. No longer were his hands being used to shoot and tear, but instead being used to study and build.

Main voice claim: David Micheal Bennet (due to Zala, who's headcanon actor is him), but can also sound like anyone you can think of

Every story must have a catalyst, something that launches the main plot into action. In Crimson Stained Copper, the catalyst takes the form of a strange man. Who is he? Where did he come from? What is up with his body? Nobody knows, but there are people searching for answers. Since everything about him is a mystery for now, I will be referring to him as "Catalyst".

He should be dead. At least, that's what Zala said after giving the man a quick look over. Pale skin that was cold to the touch, eyes that didn't react to light, and skin that was either too loose or too tight. The man barely even had a heart beat. For all Zala knew, he was studying a walking corpse.

Catalyst can't remember anything before waking up in a dark alleyway. His thoughts are cloudy, fogged memories that he can't understand. He hears voices, sees blurry faces but nothing fits together. This has lead to his senses to constantly be on high alert, and he has become extremely paranoid. He never sits still, eyes darting around as if searching for something to ground him.

Only politeness comes from Catalyst, no matter who he is speaking to. There is also a layer of fear in his tone, since he has no clue who to trust and who to avoid. His words come quickly, trying to minimize the amount of time he has to spend with people by speeding up the conversation. He stammers, and repeats himself, but that is the least of his worries.

Headcanon voice/actor: TBD