So I wanna do this story but I have some questions to ask first. My idea is that the protagonist is a male homunculus, Caleb, in a steampunk version of the 19th century and involves gender flipped versions of literary and historical figures. I plan to have about six routes, for one each main love interest; Arsene Lupin Captain Nemo Dr. Victoria Frankenstein Abigail van Helsing Evelyn (the first homunculus Frankenstein created) Sherlock "Sherry" Holmes But I have some questions first. 1, Does anyone have a good title for my story? 2, Should my protagonist be a homunculus from the setting or should I go the isekai route and make him a human from our world who died and reincarnated as a homunculus in the setting? On one hand it, an Isekai would give me an excuse for exposition as he'd be the Watson and he'd have a bigger reaction to finding himself in a steampunk setting where various fictional characters are real and gender flipped but on the other, I don't want to talk about his former life too much. 3, What are the rules about the age of an artificial being? He's physically 18 years old and if I go the isekai route, he should be mentally at least 18 years old too. This question is important as he's supposed to be created by Frankenstein and Dr. Septima Pretorius (a gender flip of the the mad scientist from Bride of Frankenstein). If he has to have existed for 18 years, I'd have to make Frankenstein much older than I want to, though I could just make Victoria the daughter of Victor Frankenstein. 4, What is a good part of the 19th century to set it in if I'm using these characters? 5, I've thought of gender flipped names for most of my characters but I'm still struggling with a few of them. Arsene Lupin; should I leave the name as Arsene even if she's a girl? I think it works as a girl's name. Captain Nemo/Prince Dakkar; I know Nemo is an alias but does Dakkar work as a girl's name? Is it a first name or a surname? Dracula; Dracula seems to be a title so should I leave it as it is and call her Countess Dracula? Mycroft Holmes; I can't think of any girl version of the name Mycroft though it seems to be made up anyway. Adam; it makes sense for Adam and Eve to have the other's name if they've both been gender flipped, right? 6, I wanna keep my character descriptions distinct enough from one another while making most of them attractive. Does anyone know the descriptions of the following characters in either their source material or popular media; Bride of Frankenstein; my protagonist is basically a male version of her. I think the Bride's hairstyle would look stupid on a boy but I was thinking of giving him white streaks in his hair and giving him a fairly feminine appearance showcasing vulnerably and making him look more delicate than he actually is. Possibly green skin. I might give him a haircut later as I plan to give Evelyn long black hair and don't want them looking too similar. Arsene Lupin Captain Nemo; I'm more likely to go with the Indian interpretation than the 1950s Disney one. Victor Frankenstein Abraham van Helsing Frankenstein's monster; Evelyn is basically a female version of him. He's usually depicted with green skin, though I've heard it was either pale or yellow in the novel. Sherlock Holmes James Moriarty; I think I'll go with one of the younger incarnations closer to Sherlock's age. Dracula; The character is usually depicted with black hair but I've heard it was white in the novel. Queen Victoria; yep she's getting a gender flip too, it's not just the male characters. Mycroft Holmes; unlike the other characters here I think I'll avoid Attractive Bent-Gender in her case for comedy sake, though it might be less effective if Caleb isn't isekai'd. Eve; since Adam will be a male version of her. I might think him a similar appearance to Caleb since Caleb and Evelyn are modelled on Adam and Eve. King Arthur; he's still a male because changing his gender is too similar to Fate/Stay Night. Gretel; she's still a female because she and Hansel were completely interchangeable anyway so rule 63 versions of them would be pointless. Plus they'd have likely have been given the other's name anyway. Don't worry, she will be centuries years old and have a body that is at least 18 years old. Septimus Pretorius; I plan for her to have two forms. An old woman and a younger looking homunculus body. John Watson 7, I also plan for an original character not based on any historical or literary figure who would serve as captain of King Alexander Victor's Royal Guard. I'm trying to decided on a name between Agrona (meaning "goddess of strife and slaughter") or Dabria (meaning “an angel of death”). She's a female I'm basing on Esdeath from Akame Ga Kill.
Caleb is made out of human fresh that has been enhanced via alchemy. The same is true of Evelyn and all the other homunculus'. If he has to have existed for 18 years, I might be better offer not going the isekai route. It also means I'll need to change Victoria Frankenstein into Victor Frankenstein's daughter instead of a female version of him. If Pretorius has to have been in her homunculus body for 18 years, I could have the old Dr. Pretorius could turn out to be a homunculus decoy with the real Pretorius having already transferred to her younger looking ageless homunculus body twenty years ago.
Isekai title name: I reincarnated as the bride of Frankenstein in a steampunk world with famous 19th century characters but everyone is gender-swapped. Jokes aside, I love the concept. Just don't get over ambitious and try to finish one storyline first.
He's basically a reanimated corpse, so I guess that's okay if I go the isekai route. I might call it I Reincarnated as a Homunculus in a Steampunk World with Famous 19th Century Characters But Everyone is Gender-Swapped. Bride of Frankenstein might be confusing if the character is male. It also carries the implication that Evelyn is the "main route". I plan to start with a common route that introduces the characters before splitting off into individual branches.
You could have the monster maturing unconscious in a vat of some bubbling broth for 18 years, then when Victoria comes of age, her father dies and passes ownership of his life's work onto her. She at this point applies the spark to animate it, so it has had 18+ years as individual parts before becoming the monster, it then has a further 18 years as its own entity before being awoken by Victoria.
I think you might have to take some liberties with the timeline. However, can I suggest encountering: Olivia Twist; The countess of monte cristo; long joan silver; and the entirely female crew of the Pequod on the hunt for Moby Pussy. (Are Raffles and Arsene Lupin interchangeable?)
I'm surprised Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde did not make the list of characters. There has been a couple of movies where a male Dr Jekyll transforms into an evil female Miss Hyde. I can't recall any with a female Dr Jekyll becoming a handsome but evil Mr Hyde. The portrait of Dorian (Doreen?) Grey by Oscar Wilde could be another possible character. Jill or Jacqueline the Ripper as an antagonist stalking the nightime streets?
Jekyll and Hyde and Dorian Grey are good ones. I'm considered a female Jack the Ripper. Since nobody knows who the killer and Jack could have been a woman in real life anyway, I'll probably since call her Jack. I've got the story here I reincarnated as a Homunculus in a steampunk world with famous 19th century characters I've also got a story feedback thread https://forum.chyoa.com/threads/i-r...ury-characters-but-everyone.4767/#post-110122
