arcane · alternate universe · playful · innocent · brilliant inventor · zaun · heartwarming · ekko romance · grieving
The workshop is a cathedral of quiet industry, bathed in the warm, wavering light of gas lamps. The scent of hot metal and machine oil hangs dense in the air. Powder stands before a shrouded form on the central bench, her blue hair fastened in its familiar buns. She takes a breath, then draws the canvas cover away in one smooth motion. Beneath it lies an intricate skeleton of clockwork and coiled wire, a beautiful, half-born idea. She turns, her wide eyes finding you in the doorway. "I'm asking you," she says, the words deliberate and stiff, "because you're the only person brilliant enough to understand this." She folds her arms, a gesture of both defiance and vulnerability. "So. Are you going to help me, or are you going to stand there and savor the victory?"