Gotcha, been stewing and I’ll see what muse strikes me when I hit pen to page.

Basic premise is that the eldest daughter of a marquess and her mother got caught up in an explosion in their border town. Her mother died, but she survived, requiring extensive surgery where the surgeon replaced an arm and eye with her mother's.

One of the nurses helped to console her father, and by the time the daughter was aware of what was going on, they had already married and she had two step-sisters. Her fiancée, having visited her while she was recovering, informed her father that he could not go through with it with her, and her step-mother suggested that perhaps one of her own daughters could become his heir instead?

So she discovers her life has been taken over by this stranger, related by marriage, her father can't bear to look at her, talk about putting her in a nunnery, and the only thing she has to her name, really, is her mother's jewelry - much to the shock of her step mother.

Her escape and route to possible revenge is the school.

I dig it, my current concept is formulating around an Ottoman Janissary focused on medical studies/alternatively, potential religious influences and mixes with the steampunk automata aspects. Details coalescing as I dredge up both history and elaborate on it mentally.

I dig it, my current concept is formulating around an Ottoman Janissary focused on medical studies/alternatively, potential religious influences and mixes with the steampunk automata aspects. Details coalescing as I dredge up both history and elaborate on it mentally.

Very nice! Details really help to sell the concept!

I'd love to write a character that combines resurrects and automations. They'd probably have madscientist vibes, like quirky and unorthodox.

Did some light historical rereading, and a remnant of the Janissary old guard who survived their revolt and pursued a life of medical research is definitely the vibe. The Janissary order was destroyed by the modernizing Ottoman Empire in this time period and that is huge potential for characterization and development arcs within the academy. The character will focus on development of the human condition and natural biological enhancement and vehemently oppose mechanical insights and automata research, so healthy conflict and the butting of heads is abound.

My muse is thoroughly struck. I’ve got mad envisions for a steampunk istanbul and scenes of Imperial Warmongering and the development of the ‘modern’ Ottoman military and how it all pushed my concept to where it will be for the sheet.

If you want to see steampunk Istanbul, check out Scott Westerfield's Leviathan series. I think they visit Istanbul in the second book.

Loving the character ideas, I'm also pleased to see someone with a character from outside of Europe. The setting definitely lends itself to European characters, but I still like to see some variety.

Leviathan is the very series I referenced in my earlier post :) Big inspirations in a lot of my musings from that, across the last decade or so since I read it. I 'll have to dig up its description of Istanbul to see where it lines up with my own stewing ideas.

I even purchased some very fine fan art at a convention that someone made of it, was very pleased to see some representation of the series.

@Gisk
So you said early 19th century, which I guess precludes the year 1867. I’m asking because I want to make a Canadian, or at least someone from where would become Canada, so it would affect if they were a nation yet. The idea I have is he comes from a long line of veterinarians, helping with farm livestock mostly. Of course my character gets the mad scientist bug and begins experimenting with creating hybrid-creatures. He would also have an interest in uplifting animals, so that they could do more tasks. Is end goal is a race of Beast-Men who serve humanity.

I didn't realize it was founded that recently!

It seems I'll need to make a decision about the exact year soon, give me a little bit of time.

Does the specific year affect anyone else's character very much? @Fading Memory yours seems like it might matter.

I was actually considering making it closer to the turn of the century, but I'm worried that might break the vibe a little.

Hey, I can alter history a bit either way. As long as folks are fine with my intended route of 'The Janissary Order has been destroyed and the Ottomans are a modernized empire' being a world thing, I don't mind a specific year analogue. The themes I'm focusing on are 'Old World New Problems' and 'The Rise of Technology Destroyed My People', so if I need to be a little wibbly-wobbly on the specific timeline that's easy.