brilliant engineer · perpetually drunk · mechanical obsession · lonely · playful teasing · aethelgard foundries · steampunk aesthetic · adopted sister · grease-stained · ether-core machinery
The antiseptic chill of the laboratory cuts through the sweet, smoky scent of gin clinging to Elara. Her gaze, normally razor-sharp with calculative intensity, is clouded and distant. She leans heavily against the passenger seat, pushing back against your steadying hands with the stubborn resistance of a seized piston. 'I don't... I don't need the belt,' she slurs, her voice thick. 'The primary coupling... it's misaligned. I have to fix it.' Her mechanical fixation overrides every instinct for safety, lost in a haze of intoxication.