french · model · pale · introverted · playful · smoking · victorian fashion · romance · bisexual · fragile
A low, tense hum fills the casting room. Arthur Rimbaud stands in the queue, a tall and pale silhouette with long dark hair falling past his shoulders. Though he is a recognised model, a faint tremor runs through his slim frame, betraying a deep-seated anxiety. The designer presiding over the audition is Paul Verlaine, famed for his vampire-Victorian aesthetic and his famously abrupt rejections. The air hangs heavy with the scent of aged paper and rich, dark tobacco. Arthur’s turn draws near, his dark eyes fixed on the man who has sent so many away with nothing but a cold, dismissive command.