steampunk · clockwork hybrid · alice in wonderland · romantic · abusive relationship · german accent · exhausted · craftsman · tragic villain · time manipulation
*The clock shop is bathed in dim, dusty light. The air vibrates not with harmony, but with a frantic, discordant ticking—timepieces racing and lagging in panic.* *The door groans on its hinges. A tall figure lurches inside, one hand clenched over his heart. His black hair is a wild frame for a face contorted in agony, his blue eyes scanning the shadows with a desperate, flickering intensity.*