Lacuna Rambles/Thoughts/Gif Reacts #4: Revealing Character Inspo! ⚜

Hi Returning Visitors!

I hope you're doing well. 💐

This post ties into a TFS Patreon poll we had earlier this month where you all voted on which character to learn more about in an ~aesthetic~ sense. Mr. Verner won! 🖤 We'll be getting into my character reference document for him that's full of reference images, descriptions, and teasers. As always, it's up to you if you wish to use these to better visualize the characters alongside the text, prefer to wait for official portrait releases, or cling to what's in your own imagination.

This is how I view Mr. Verner, so let's go!

(I'll be quoting from Book Two throughout this post; however, Mr. Verner also appears in a few writings on Patreon too. Writings like: 'A Lone(ly) Rival' (Reese Version) | 'A Lone(ly) Rival' (Ruby Version), 'Handprint on My Heart' (Silas Version) | 'Handprint on My Heart' (Sofia Version), the extended, spicy Evergreen and Hickory release of 'A Frightful Encounter' (Reese Version) | 'A Frightful Encounter' (Ruby Version), and possibly other mentions!)

Mr. Verner's looks can be classified as 'Old Hollywood', handsome and distinguished enough to be immortalized on the silver screen.

Primary Faceclaim: Robert Redford (in specific pics I selected! He coincides with how I naturally envision the character.)

Why? Because he has that old money look, a certain distinguished bearing that will make heads turn. It's also no understatement to say this man aged like fine wine throughout all of his years. This is something both of the Verners' faceclaims possess. (Ms. Verner's Elizabeth Mitchell reference is fine af both then and now. 😳) To me, it adds to that timeless quality along with one of an implied life of luxury. From roles where he was in his twenties to thirties to even forties and beyond, Robert Redford has a certain classic handsomeness that was noted by many. For his face, you'll notice in the pictures that he has a strong jawline like that of both Ruby and Reese in their portraits and character inspo pages. It projects a more noble bearing, strong and distinct. He has high cheekbones! It's easy to imagine some of these references being in family photos.

References for strength of features, face shape, and general vibe: Here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

His honey blond hair has a luster to it that reminds you of R's

Hair color: He's a natural blond; however, his hue is warmer than Ms. Verner's. It's a honeyed blond.

Like with R. Verner, their father tended to style it with product to make it sleek and lustrous. In particular for Reese, the 'Ivy League' crew cut is a nod to his father's style that is dated and projects that wealthy/preppy vibe. You'll see variants of it in the references along with a similar hue.

References for hair: here, here, and here. 

You have to blink when you think you see moisture gathering in his eyes, adding a quality like liquid mercury to their gray depths.

Eye color: Gray, a steel gray that goes hand in hand with how exactingly cutting a Verner can be along with melting for a select few. It's an unusual eye color. (Even Dr. Brentwood makes a comment about this in Book One.) We've only recently been introduced to the portrait hall, so I'll let you all wonder about the true nature of these portraits and what they represent to the family. However, Mr. Verner regarded R and Lois differently than everyone else. As he grew older and learned life lessons from certain individuals, he was known to try and regard others kindly at first before resorting to what he was taught. We will be getting into this later on. Undoing the Verner tempering is difficult/dangerous.

(Oh, my mercury (mercurial? 👀) reference might be important later on, similar to Mal's neon.)

References for eye color: Pictures of liquid mercury: here and here. 🧪

Skin: He is also fair-skinned, although not as fair as let's say Lois or R possibly thanks to time spent horseback riding or on the grounds of the mansion. He has a mild yellow/gold undertone to his skin. This is something you'll see in the colored references of Robert that are throughout this post.

References for skin: here and in the other pictures!

Stature and build:  Mr. Verner has that ingrained cotillion training and an expectation for perfect posture, especially in the presence of others. There's no lounging around, flouncing about, or leaning his head back. Think of it like this: at any given moment a photo could be taken of him that would be catalog or press ready thanks to how he carries himself—controlled, dignified, and above it all.

(At the same time, he used to play 'airplane' with R by playfully hefting up his child and dashing around the private Verner gardens. He has the range, just most people would never suspect it from him. 😭)

He's tall at 5' 11''. His build is strong with relatively well-defined muscles from the recreation he engaged in along with his own exercise that was accounted for in his schedule like meetings, dinners, time with R, galas, etc. (I'm tempted to make a Great Gatsby reference about said schedule.) While R is more so sculpted with cut definition, their father was bulkier with a build that might seem to naturally come from outdoor sports.

Reference: here.

Style: A vintage Ralph Lauren catalogue can evoke Mr. Verner's style. (No, really, you can search that and the image results tend to work!) It does have a wealthy and preppy (affectionate) vibe from the suit jackets to the button-down shirts to the emblems worn with pride to how each piece is expensive. He also wore elegant, custom-made suits! In 'A Lone(ly) Rival', we see that Mr. Verner let his Star help with selecting his tie. Overall, it's a posh vibe to match with expectations, but behind closed doors, he would appear more rugged as if he should be at a cabin in understated flannels and cuddly sweaters. He had a bit of an outdoors-man quality to him! He always wore his wedding band with a sense of pride; it was his most common accessory. 💍 (R didn't learn their sunglasses trick from Mr. Verner.)

References for style featuring Robert (mostly from the Great Gatsby): here and here.

References for style from vintage Ralph Lauren stuff: here, here, and here.

My urge to type more about him and his mannerisms will get us into spoiler territory!

I hope you enjoyed this character inspiration post along with my sprinkled insight throughout it. 🥰