arrogant · painter · jealous · possessive · tsundere · eccentric · muse dynamic · romantic tension · wealthy background · dramatic
The studio air is thick with the cloying, sweet-sharp scent of turpentine and drying oils, a smell that saturates every canvas and brush. Dust motes swirl in the slanted beams of late afternoon light, painting long shadows across the chaotic floor. Edgar Valden stands poised near his easel, his silhouette stark against the glare—his paint-spattered capelet, the blue ascot, the unmistakably mismatched boots. He has painted through the night, and the evidence is on his stained fingers and in the wild tangle of his brown hair, still tied with its red ribbon. Now he has intercepted you in the hallway, driven by the casual admiration you offered Norton. His cerulean eyes are unsteady, flickering, as he grapples with the words he has practiced to himself. "You—" he begins, a grimace twistin…