rapid unscheduled disassembly

BYERLY VORRUTYER of Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga

Tried to go for a rapidly-aging prettyboy with the gothic heavy lidded eyes (idk how to describe the eyes I’m talking about) and a face that reads as male while having something slightly feminine about it. A face that smiles often but is composed, cool. Slightly wavy black hair that is either shortish, chin length, or slightly shorter than shoulder length (I haven’t decided yet 😅)

Designing faces is not my strong suit so I am working backwards from a few references I like. Will probably simplify artstyle, slightly lengthen hair and mix with a dash of Professor Venom from OK KO (for that little bit of haggard twink energy) to creat the final design.

References:

Wardrobe:

Materials: silk, velvet, ruffles lace, detailed embroidery, military piping, sheer cloth, fur — echoes of beautiful luxurious handmade traditional artisan clothing- but all a little to gaudy and cheaply produced - the barrayaran aristocrat version of fast fashion. Androgynous and galactic styles occasionally thrown in to add to mystique

-SHIRTS: silk shirts // shirts with poofy or frilly sleeves // patterned shirts // sheer shirts // velvet shirts // shirts that are tucked in the pants but so unbuttoned the entire chest exposed

- SUITS: velvet suits that absolutely reek of cologne // sleezy yet sharp barreyaran style black suits you might smoke a cigar or play pool in // pastel suit for daytime garden parties

WARDROBE ACCENTS

- bigass fur coat - maybe even almost a midieval king robe

- several offensively knock off fast fashionmilitary style jackets

- luxuriously patterned bathrobe

- see through shawl / wrap / night robe thing

- some gaudy galactic style outfits

- a few sexy or frilly dresses to piss off the family

- a few a casual / slightly more subdued blend of komarran, barrayaran and practical galactic clothing he only really wears at home (stuff he wears when he’s not preforming for an audience). maybe some sentimental pieces. What’s hidden beneath the camouflage.

- some bling: rings and earrings. A few broaches and cuff links probably not that many necklaces

EDIT: here are some reference collages I put together! Note that these references aren’t the exact items that he would have in his closet but rather there are aspects to each piece that I would want to incorporate into his design. Maybe it’s the cut of a sleeve, the silhouette of a coat, the way a robe drapes, the embroidery pattern on some fabric, or the general partied-too-hard vibes of a particular photo of a model.

Bastardized military jackets:

Neglige options / heavier nightfrobe options:

Bigass fur coat:

Shirts (please ignore the long blue scarf in the central image like wtf is that- the rest of the suit is nice tho):

Party vibes:

A lot of these aspects would then be mixed with my own head cannon for the rules/cuts of barreyaran mens clothing (I went to a library and spent a stupid insane amount of time looking through books with midieval, 1800s and 1900s men’s fashions and France, Russia, and Greece- + additional books of traditional folk clothings and textile patterns + several other books of historic military uniforms…. The process and choices were so long that I had to give up and just stop thinking about any sort of vorkosigan related character design for a couple months cuz my head hurt. - I will probably make another post at some point with more annotated collages and possibly some of my own drawings synthesizing the concepts, but uh not right now because I need a nap just thinking about trying to organize it all.)

If you’d like to see a little more of vorkosigan universe costume imaginings here’s my Pinterest board on it (kinda) https://pin.it/2rOoHsq it’s a extremely disorganized and from early hyperfixation days so none of my fashion history research stuff is there (cuz that was all physical book stuff) but uh, you can look at it if you want.

P.S.

If you have any feedback or critiques on the design so far, or ideas for how you think By should look, let me know! I love hearing other people’s interpretations 😊.

Photos of faces you think look like By, pictures of outfits that feel Byerly-ish, or direct quotes from the books about his demeanor or appearance are also welcome!

inside front flap copy:

we booksellers of harvard book store think that the original cover for Young Miles (an otherwise fine production) is unspeakably ugly and may deter you from purchasing this hugo award-winning book which would otherwise provide you with hours of entertainment.

with that in mind, we are providing this alternate, less embarrassing cover for your reading pleasure. feel free to discard it and use the original cover if you enjoy flaunting its luridness. or, make it into a spaceship airplane, or what you wish. this has been a free service from

HARVARD BOOK STORE

since 1932

I mean they’re not wrong really

I have a lowkey obsession with the way prosthetics and artificial limbs and similar things are treated in narratives, and to me this act is THE essence of both his personality and the way he perceives his culture.

He could have chosen any other job and likely excelled at it but military achievement is so important in his culture, in his family, for him personally, that he will cut himself open and excavate the fragile bones from his body limb by limb to replace them with sturdier, artificial ones so that he can be a better soldier.

Me, watching: is this estate entailed or under a strict settlement? If it’s the product of a strict settlement, how was that disclosed to the viscount given he was of minority age (and thus barred from contracting) at his father’s death? Did he later perpetuate the strict settlement in his lineal favor despite having zero obligation to do so given that he now stands as legal fee tail owner? Maybe he just saw it as a way to perpetuate the power of the family and bar against less successful descendants wasting the estate resource, all at the direct, deliberate expense of barring his siblings and their families from a landed inheritance? If that’s the case, why are the younger Bridgerton sons such desirable matches among the gentry?? But maybe that’s not an issue, since all of his younger brothers seemingly have independent allowance, and if that’s generated from the family estate, this must be a strict settlement with a life estate income provision for siblings - def NOT an entailment. Is that why these younger brothers are considered good matches despite being unlanded untitled gentlemen in need of professions? Or maybe their mother’s marriage settlement provided for their independent allowance should their father die?? Are they to obtain their own property without title???

Bridgerton hot people: *have now actively started getting down in said gazebos and library locations*

Me, flipping through a facsimile of a 1788 English law textbook: on that note, why are the featheringtons kicked out of what appears to be an owned home by a male cousin upon their father’s death? Was their estate a strict settlement that benefited a cousin instead of a descendant?? Why would their grandfather force their father to settle away from his own descendancy line, with no allowance or dowry provided for the girls? But if it’s entailed and thus out of their hands (also explaining the lack of allowance), why didn’t their father employ common recovery to undo the entailment???

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1 - This fucking scene

Good question, also no that won’t help.

shitty MS Paint 3 minutes doodle, nto entirely accurate: When you have your pinky hooked on the “bottom” edge of the phone for the extra security so it doesn’t slide out of your hand that easily, you’re wreaking damage on your hand, since the pinky is extremely askew from it’s resting position. You might have noticed that when you hold your phone like that for long time it begins to hurt, like when you are gripping a pen too tightly for example.