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APP
CHARACTER: CANON SECTION
NAME: Laurent
AGE: 20
CANON: Captive Prince
NAME: Laurent
AGE: 20
CANON: Captive Prince
CANON HISTORY:
Fair warning: this canon comes with a lot of trigger warnings. It includes incestuous child abuse, slavery, torture, drug use, suicide, and a whole heap of explicit sexual content of varying degrees of consent. I will make sure he has an opt out post.
The Captive Prince Wikia has an incredibly short summary of each book and details on the characters. I've summarised all three below too.
Captive Prince is a series centring around two main characters: Laurent: the Prince of Vere, and Damianos: Prince of Akielos.
Laurent's mother, father and brother are all dead leaving him as the only heir to the throne. His father and brother died fighting Akielos, and it was Prince Damianos who slew his brother in single combat. Laurent was around thirteen years old at the time. He still holds a grudge against Damianos, and went from a bookish, intellectual sort to someone who trained tirelessly with a weapon thinking only of revenge. Laurent's tragedy is two-fold: his uncle became Regent until he was old enough to rule, and takes advantage of Laurent's grief and desire for comfort. He sexually abuses Laurent, losing interest in him as he begins to mature. Now that Laurent is nearly old enough to take his throne (he is roughly ten months from his 21st birthday, when he will ascend), his uncle begins attempts to cause an 'accident' that takes Laurent's life so he can keep the throne.
Meanwhile, in Akielos, Damianos suffers his own treachery. His half-brother, Kastor, kills their mutual father and takes control (with a little help from Laurent's uncle), having Damianos arrested in secret and declared dead. Kastor, being technically illegitimate despite being an older brother, would have had to watch Damianos take the throne instead and (with the encouragement of a woman in the court, Jokaste) decided he couldn't tolerate that.
Damianos is stripped down and redressed as a slave, and sent to Vere as a 'gift'. This choice is a little nonsensical from the outside (why not kill him?) but if you consider that the Regent's long term plan was to rule both Vere and Akielos, it does have a purpose. Laurent dislikes slavery and has never had a personal 'pet', as Vere calls them, but must suffer Damianos (who not everyone knows on sight, and who is referred to as 'Damen'). Laurent knows who he is, but pretends he doesn't. Incensed by the mere sight of Damianos, Laurent has him lashed nearly to death and is repeatedly punished for his treatment of him -- allowing his uncle to take away his land and supplies for this. The Regent also assumes Damianos might try to kill Laurent, but unfortunately for him that does not happen. It would, however, have been a good excuse to end the faux 'peace' he has declared with Kastor: an insidious Akielon plot to kill the prince! Even if he doesn't, the Regent assumes that if a relationship develops between them that could break Laurent. The betrayal of realising he has lain with a man who killed his brother.
Instead, the pair grudgingly develop an understanding. Laurent protects Damianos from accusations that he made an attempt on his life, something that was in fact staged by his uncle with assassins, and as a result must prove his loyalty by going to do 'border duty'. Aware that his uncle has been trying to have him killed, Laurent had avoided going near the front lines until now.
The result is months of travel and treachery, where the two begin to understand each other a little better as they avoid the machinations of Laurent's uncle and try to seek help from other territories to take their respective thrones back. Laurent's troops, assigned by his uncle, are obviously more loyal to the Regency than to him. They are a deliberately ramshackle combination lead by a Captain likely paid by the Regent to make sure nothing goes in Laurent's favour.
Yet Laurent is resilient. He puts the soldiers through a ruthless training course, getting them into shape, and waits patiently until Captain Govart has acted enough out of line that he can punish him without question. Govart insults Laurent and his brother, and in turn Laurent demands a duel where he displays more skill than Damen or the new soldiers expected. Laurent's own personal guard seems unsurprised. He wounds Govart and ejects him from the company, gaining the respect of the men, and continues his ruthless training.
While moving through the hills Laurent insists, after becoming suspicious of a riderless horse that he believes belonged to a messenger he sent, on entering a nearby town alone. Damen insists on accompany him, and under cover of night the two of them lead some men following them on a merry chase until they reach an inn. Laurent finds the man his messenger was meant to meet, reads a note and offers a signet ring in reply with the message that he will wait at Ravenel. They end up fleeing the inn as more men come looking for them, and Laurent and Damen are forced to split up -- Laurent returning to his men while Damen hunts down the riders trying to stop the man carrying Laurent's message.
The camp suffered a mutiny, but not many men have been lost -- although it has been a blow to morale. Worse still, Damen tortured information from the men sent to stop them and has learnt an ambush is waiting for them. Still, the men rally with the help of Damen and Laurent both. Damen is gaining trust among the men, despite being an outsider slave, and gaining Laurent's begrudging trust too.
With some cunning and a good amount of luck they survive the ambush, and move on to Acquitart -- the only place in Vere Laurent still has a right to thanks to a dubious legal loophole. The men celebrate, and Laurent and Damen sneak off to begin some negotiations with the neighbour country of Vask. While there they investigate a nearby raid on an encampment. Laurent believes it to have been a tactic his uncle is using to incite war. While still on their own the two are captured, but the Vaskian women come to their aid and Laurent sees the men his uncle paid taken hostage.
Moving on again they grow closer to Ravenel now, and encounter a border lord who wishes to arrest Laurent for treason. A young noble in their company reveals he has betrayed them, claiming to have witnessed Laurent committing treasonous acts. Yet the help Laurent expected to find him here at Ravenel arrives. Patran troops arrive to assist Laurent and they swarm and take control of the fort.
In the midst of it all, one of Laurent's men sees Damen being recognised and is horrified to realise he has been working alongside the man who killed Laurent's brother -- and that Laurent has too. He agrees to not tell Laurent so long as Damen promises to leave.
The men celebrate in Ravenel, and Laurent and Damen share a kiss on the battlements. Although they are forced to stop to have an ugly confrontation with the young noble who betrayed them (and who is being held captive) they come back together later and spend the night together knowing Damen will leave in the morning. The next day Damen has his slave cuffs removed and prepares to be escorted to the border, however he falters and stays while Laurent faces off messengers from his uncle. The messengers hand over the head of one of Laurent's court friends, causing him considerable upset, and Damen ends up agreeing to work with him a little longer. He will hold Ravenel while Laurent moves on to try and take another border fort. He will rejoin Laurent later once he has reinforcements.
The reinforcements which come turn out to be Akielon, carrying Laurent's signet ring. They recognise Damen on sight.
Damen uses the Akielon men to keep the fort secure while the Veretian soldiers panic, then after explaining the plan to the reluctant men rides to support Laurent in what is supposed to be a pincer movement.
Laurent is captured, so his men do not show.
He is tortured for some time by the original captain of his troops (Govart) who he exiled long ago, on the orders of a council member whose fort he has been taken to, but eventually manages to escape and return to Damen. Damen feels Laurent has betrayed him, but he refuses to explain himself. In a confrontation he eventually admits he knows who Damen is -- that in fact he has always known. He forces Damen to make an agreement with him and begin an uncomfortable alliance in which Laurent has to work hard to prove himself to the Akielon soldiers. The Regent is now in Akielos and a common enemy for both of them, working with Kastor as well. Their romance slowly rekindles.
They move further into Akielon territory and encounter Jokaste, left behind, who claims she has given birth to Damen's child. Further threats are sent by the Regent accusing them of crimes which require a trial, but Jokaste tells them she can be traded for Damen's child in Ios as she has sent the child to the Regent. They decide to go, although Laurent doesn't believe the child is Damen's and secretly releases Jokaste along the way. The trade is to be done in a public place called the 'Kingsmeet' which is a sort of neutral protected ground where blood cannot be spilled.
At the Kingsmeet, they confront the Regent and his history of abusing Laurent finally comes out in the open -- deliberately to enrage Damen, who takes the bait and attacks him. Laurent offers to go to trial, as his uncle has wanted to do all along to publicly discredit him, in return for sparing Damen for breaking the laws of the Kingsmeet.
Laurent is dragged off to the Akielon capital for his trial, but Damen recovers and rides after him to give himself up publicly.
He arrives at the trial, and between the two of them they manage to puzzle out the right witnesses to call to turn the Veretian Council against the Regent. Laurent is declared King of Vere, and assists Damen in re-taking Ios. Kastor attempts to flee but the two of them hunt him down and Laurent kills Kastor as he knows Damen would be unable to kill his brother. Damen is injured, and Laurent makes sure his succession (and Ios) are secured while he recovers.
CANON PERSONALITY:
Laurent's entire personality is an exercise in facade, in contrasts. There is the Laurent that he wants people to see, and someone else buried underneath who is far weaker than he'd want to admit.
Laurent is clever. He spent his youth mostly reading, leaving the matters of military and being an heir to his brother. He grew up with a tactical mind, and can learn quickly. He learnt to fight with a sword well enough to disarm and embarrass a thug hired by his uncle as captain of their regiment, despite Laurent having ignored any such training for most of his life. He may not be as good as his brother, but as Jord describes it: You only have to be 1/2 as good as Auguste to be ten times better than everyone else. More than that, Laurent has an active interest in learning things. He doesn't do it purely because he has to, he does it equally because he wants to understand better. He does like to be clever, and finds it embarrassing when faced with something he can't do, but by and large he can work past that to better himself at whatever it is.
Laurent knows how to plan ahead carefully, how to anticipate and judge how a person will react and include that in said plan. He speaks several languages, makes a point to remember and repay debts, and Laurent is not without charm. Most of the time it is used to manipulate, an act or display, but once his guard is down around a person he is capable of great acts of kindness and sacrifice. He would risk a great deal for a person or a cause he deemed worth it. That includes his country, his people, and peace. Laurent above all wants peace, wants the conflict that killed his brother and father and countless other people to be no more -- and he will do whatever it takes to do that.
The softer side of Laurent is rarely seen. He has carefully taught himself the ability to control his emotions, to hide them and act a part so people might underestimate him. Laurent's life at court is constantly under scrutiny, so the ability to play a role and hide his reactions is an important one. Laurent is capable of handling a great deal of pressure and not allowing the cracks to show, because showing them could be fatal. He acts the part of a spoilt prince, a courtier used to getting his way, and rarely expects anyone to see or think past it. His softer side, when he does shows it, usually reveal itself around children -- especially children who have suffered in some way. Emotion in general is something he considers a weakness but Laurent does feel empathy. He feels it especially toward Nicaise, who he shares an understanding with since they both have suffered at the hands of his uncle.
Laurent is also brave, even if nobody expects it of him. He agrees to border duty, to walk into what he knows is a trap, and goes through it all believing that in truth he will most likely die at the end. Yet he never shies from that, he carries on anyway.
He does has a good sense of humour, although at times it can be dark given what most of his life has been like -- perhaps it doesn't seem as dark to him.
On the other hand, Laurent is hardly without flaws. Laurent has a terrible temper. He is a cruel person, because the world has been cruel to him and he doesn't see why he should soften it for others. He's often blunt to the point of rudeness, and uses obscenity as a weapon. He delights in needling people until they become angry, then seeing what that reaction tells him about a person. Laurent also assumes the worst of people, as in his experience people are rarely as they seem. One act of kindness might simply be a manipulation to make you trust, and any moment you might find a knife in your back. It is something he expects because it is something he would do himself. If he knows a thing must be done, and he thinks everyone else incapable, he will happily trick even people he is close to so that it can still happen -- or so that he can do it himself. Laurent is happy to use his sexuality as a weapon too, either to convince someone to work with him or to back them into acting in a way he can use against them later.
He doesn't understand kindness for the sake of kindness, and wouldn't particularly think to be kind simply for the sake of it himself. Laurent's life has been a chess game against his uncle, and he considers everyone (including himself) pieces in that game. They might be won from his uncle, lost or simply removed from the board. This means honesty in earnest is very rare for him, or displays of any sort of emotion. Any such thing could be used against him, could be showing a weakness. When he does get angry, get emotional, his ability to think rationally quickly fades. His anger strikes out sharply at anyone around him, and he can only cool down when left alone to lock it back up. It is a problem he is aware of, and that his uncle is aware of too and tries to use against him.
Laurent also loves a challenge, enjoys the thrill of doing something dangerous or adventurous in some way. He enjoys picking apart the puzzle of a card game or understanding the workings of a situation. Not necessarily just to get better and win, sometimes just to enjoy the game itself.
Laurent is also firmly of the belief that he must do most things himself. He's pessimistic about most things, including his own chances of survival. Even after he has made friends and even lovers he assumes nobody will come to rescue him when he is captured, that nobody will come to his trial. This also means he can sometimes be somewhat bullheaded about things, determined to do dangerous things alone because he's loathe to trust another even when it is clearly unwise for a prince to do so. Laurent is also afraid of intimacy, in general he is afraid of the trust and vulnerability borne from it and the (in his mind) inevitable danger in that. He much prefers to keep people safely at arm's distance, and will drive away people if he fears they're getting too close. Will push at their buttons to test them as if to prove to himself they would never be able to tolerate him anyway.
He knows he's difficult, knows that he has problems relaxing and accepting things. In his acceptance of this in himself is something else: Laurent is used to people flattering him, but is unused to genuine friendship. He has a low enough opinion of himself that he is unsure why someone, knowing who he really is, all his flaws, would continue to want to be around him. His life has never been a fairy tale, and he has no expectation that it will become one.
Laurent doesn't trust easily. He assumes most people want something from him or else want him dead, if not both. He baits people into proving him right, needles them until they act out. This means that friendships with him will be very cool and slow burn. Also, Laurent has a great many sexual hang-ups. Relationships with him are a delicate process that constantly bump up against his repressed trauma. He has a fear of intimacy because Laurent knows the betrayal would hurt him, that if he allows himself to care the pain of realising it was a mistake might be too much.
SKILLS/ABILITIES:
Laurent's canon has no magic, all his skills are mundane. He is, however:
- A master swordsman. See various above quotes, he trained a long time specifically with the intent to be good enough to skill someone.
- An excellent rider
- A good military tactician
- A... skilled cross-dresser? This is legitimately a way he disguises himself in canon when travelling with Jokaste to Ios.
- I SUPPOSE GOOD AT DISGUISES?
- A sharp-minded politician
- Good at various medieval sports (horseback hunting, throwing javelins from horseback, etc)
- A champion grudge holder?
- Three time speedy war camp builder of the year
- Veretian Olympic gold sass-master
- Fluent in at least three obscure canon specific languages? (Veretian, Akielon, A dialect of Vaskain)
- Excessively handsome? Is being handsome a skill
- Excessively manipulative and good at it
Fair warning: this canon comes with a lot of trigger warnings. It includes incestuous child abuse, slavery, torture, drug use, suicide, and a whole heap of explicit sexual content of varying degrees of consent. I will make sure he has an opt out post.
The Captive Prince Wikia has an incredibly short summary of each book and details on the characters. I've summarised all three below too.
Captive Prince is a series centring around two main characters: Laurent: the Prince of Vere, and Damianos: Prince of Akielos.
Laurent's mother, father and brother are all dead leaving him as the only heir to the throne. His father and brother died fighting Akielos, and it was Prince Damianos who slew his brother in single combat. Laurent was around thirteen years old at the time. He still holds a grudge against Damianos, and went from a bookish, intellectual sort to someone who trained tirelessly with a weapon thinking only of revenge. Laurent's tragedy is two-fold: his uncle became Regent until he was old enough to rule, and takes advantage of Laurent's grief and desire for comfort. He sexually abuses Laurent, losing interest in him as he begins to mature. Now that Laurent is nearly old enough to take his throne (he is roughly ten months from his 21st birthday, when he will ascend), his uncle begins attempts to cause an 'accident' that takes Laurent's life so he can keep the throne.
Meanwhile, in Akielos, Damianos suffers his own treachery. His half-brother, Kastor, kills their mutual father and takes control (with a little help from Laurent's uncle), having Damianos arrested in secret and declared dead. Kastor, being technically illegitimate despite being an older brother, would have had to watch Damianos take the throne instead and (with the encouragement of a woman in the court, Jokaste) decided he couldn't tolerate that.
Damianos is stripped down and redressed as a slave, and sent to Vere as a 'gift'. This choice is a little nonsensical from the outside (why not kill him?) but if you consider that the Regent's long term plan was to rule both Vere and Akielos, it does have a purpose. Laurent dislikes slavery and has never had a personal 'pet', as Vere calls them, but must suffer Damianos (who not everyone knows on sight, and who is referred to as 'Damen'). Laurent knows who he is, but pretends he doesn't. Incensed by the mere sight of Damianos, Laurent has him lashed nearly to death and is repeatedly punished for his treatment of him -- allowing his uncle to take away his land and supplies for this. The Regent also assumes Damianos might try to kill Laurent, but unfortunately for him that does not happen. It would, however, have been a good excuse to end the faux 'peace' he has declared with Kastor: an insidious Akielon plot to kill the prince! Even if he doesn't, the Regent assumes that if a relationship develops between them that could break Laurent. The betrayal of realising he has lain with a man who killed his brother.
Instead, the pair grudgingly develop an understanding. Laurent protects Damianos from accusations that he made an attempt on his life, something that was in fact staged by his uncle with assassins, and as a result must prove his loyalty by going to do 'border duty'. Aware that his uncle has been trying to have him killed, Laurent had avoided going near the front lines until now.
The result is months of travel and treachery, where the two begin to understand each other a little better as they avoid the machinations of Laurent's uncle and try to seek help from other territories to take their respective thrones back. Laurent's troops, assigned by his uncle, are obviously more loyal to the Regency than to him. They are a deliberately ramshackle combination lead by a Captain likely paid by the Regent to make sure nothing goes in Laurent's favour.
Yet Laurent is resilient. He puts the soldiers through a ruthless training course, getting them into shape, and waits patiently until Captain Govart has acted enough out of line that he can punish him without question. Govart insults Laurent and his brother, and in turn Laurent demands a duel where he displays more skill than Damen or the new soldiers expected. Laurent's own personal guard seems unsurprised. He wounds Govart and ejects him from the company, gaining the respect of the men, and continues his ruthless training.
While moving through the hills Laurent insists, after becoming suspicious of a riderless horse that he believes belonged to a messenger he sent, on entering a nearby town alone. Damen insists on accompany him, and under cover of night the two of them lead some men following them on a merry chase until they reach an inn. Laurent finds the man his messenger was meant to meet, reads a note and offers a signet ring in reply with the message that he will wait at Ravenel. They end up fleeing the inn as more men come looking for them, and Laurent and Damen are forced to split up -- Laurent returning to his men while Damen hunts down the riders trying to stop the man carrying Laurent's message.
The camp suffered a mutiny, but not many men have been lost -- although it has been a blow to morale. Worse still, Damen tortured information from the men sent to stop them and has learnt an ambush is waiting for them. Still, the men rally with the help of Damen and Laurent both. Damen is gaining trust among the men, despite being an outsider slave, and gaining Laurent's begrudging trust too.
With some cunning and a good amount of luck they survive the ambush, and move on to Acquitart -- the only place in Vere Laurent still has a right to thanks to a dubious legal loophole. The men celebrate, and Laurent and Damen sneak off to begin some negotiations with the neighbour country of Vask. While there they investigate a nearby raid on an encampment. Laurent believes it to have been a tactic his uncle is using to incite war. While still on their own the two are captured, but the Vaskian women come to their aid and Laurent sees the men his uncle paid taken hostage.
Moving on again they grow closer to Ravenel now, and encounter a border lord who wishes to arrest Laurent for treason. A young noble in their company reveals he has betrayed them, claiming to have witnessed Laurent committing treasonous acts. Yet the help Laurent expected to find him here at Ravenel arrives. Patran troops arrive to assist Laurent and they swarm and take control of the fort.
In the midst of it all, one of Laurent's men sees Damen being recognised and is horrified to realise he has been working alongside the man who killed Laurent's brother -- and that Laurent has too. He agrees to not tell Laurent so long as Damen promises to leave.
The men celebrate in Ravenel, and Laurent and Damen share a kiss on the battlements. Although they are forced to stop to have an ugly confrontation with the young noble who betrayed them (and who is being held captive) they come back together later and spend the night together knowing Damen will leave in the morning. The next day Damen has his slave cuffs removed and prepares to be escorted to the border, however he falters and stays while Laurent faces off messengers from his uncle. The messengers hand over the head of one of Laurent's court friends, causing him considerable upset, and Damen ends up agreeing to work with him a little longer. He will hold Ravenel while Laurent moves on to try and take another border fort. He will rejoin Laurent later once he has reinforcements.
The reinforcements which come turn out to be Akielon, carrying Laurent's signet ring. They recognise Damen on sight.
Damen uses the Akielon men to keep the fort secure while the Veretian soldiers panic, then after explaining the plan to the reluctant men rides to support Laurent in what is supposed to be a pincer movement.
Laurent is captured, so his men do not show.
He is tortured for some time by the original captain of his troops (Govart) who he exiled long ago, on the orders of a council member whose fort he has been taken to, but eventually manages to escape and return to Damen. Damen feels Laurent has betrayed him, but he refuses to explain himself. In a confrontation he eventually admits he knows who Damen is -- that in fact he has always known. He forces Damen to make an agreement with him and begin an uncomfortable alliance in which Laurent has to work hard to prove himself to the Akielon soldiers. The Regent is now in Akielos and a common enemy for both of them, working with Kastor as well. Their romance slowly rekindles.
They move further into Akielon territory and encounter Jokaste, left behind, who claims she has given birth to Damen's child. Further threats are sent by the Regent accusing them of crimes which require a trial, but Jokaste tells them she can be traded for Damen's child in Ios as she has sent the child to the Regent. They decide to go, although Laurent doesn't believe the child is Damen's and secretly releases Jokaste along the way. The trade is to be done in a public place called the 'Kingsmeet' which is a sort of neutral protected ground where blood cannot be spilled.
At the Kingsmeet, they confront the Regent and his history of abusing Laurent finally comes out in the open -- deliberately to enrage Damen, who takes the bait and attacks him. Laurent offers to go to trial, as his uncle has wanted to do all along to publicly discredit him, in return for sparing Damen for breaking the laws of the Kingsmeet.
Laurent is dragged off to the Akielon capital for his trial, but Damen recovers and rides after him to give himself up publicly.
He arrives at the trial, and between the two of them they manage to puzzle out the right witnesses to call to turn the Veretian Council against the Regent. Laurent is declared King of Vere, and assists Damen in re-taking Ios. Kastor attempts to flee but the two of them hunt him down and Laurent kills Kastor as he knows Damen would be unable to kill his brother. Damen is injured, and Laurent makes sure his succession (and Ios) are secured while he recovers.
CANON PERSONALITY:
Laurent's entire personality is an exercise in facade, in contrasts. There is the Laurent that he wants people to see, and someone else buried underneath who is far weaker than he'd want to admit.
Laurent is clever. He spent his youth mostly reading, leaving the matters of military and being an heir to his brother. He grew up with a tactical mind, and can learn quickly. He learnt to fight with a sword well enough to disarm and embarrass a thug hired by his uncle as captain of their regiment, despite Laurent having ignored any such training for most of his life. He may not be as good as his brother, but as Jord describes it: You only have to be 1/2 as good as Auguste to be ten times better than everyone else. More than that, Laurent has an active interest in learning things. He doesn't do it purely because he has to, he does it equally because he wants to understand better. He does like to be clever, and finds it embarrassing when faced with something he can't do, but by and large he can work past that to better himself at whatever it is.
Laurent knows how to plan ahead carefully, how to anticipate and judge how a person will react and include that in said plan. He speaks several languages, makes a point to remember and repay debts, and Laurent is not without charm. Most of the time it is used to manipulate, an act or display, but once his guard is down around a person he is capable of great acts of kindness and sacrifice. He would risk a great deal for a person or a cause he deemed worth it. That includes his country, his people, and peace. Laurent above all wants peace, wants the conflict that killed his brother and father and countless other people to be no more -- and he will do whatever it takes to do that.
"I'm sorry," said Damen.
Laurent gave him a strange look. "Why would you apologise to me?"
He couldn't answer. Not with the truth. He said, "I didn't understand what being King meant to you."
"What's that?"
"An end to fighting."
Laurent's expression changed, the subtle signifiers of shock imperfectly repressed [...]
The softer side of Laurent is rarely seen. He has carefully taught himself the ability to control his emotions, to hide them and act a part so people might underestimate him. Laurent's life at court is constantly under scrutiny, so the ability to play a role and hide his reactions is an important one. Laurent is capable of handling a great deal of pressure and not allowing the cracks to show, because showing them could be fatal. He acts the part of a spoilt prince, a courtier used to getting his way, and rarely expects anyone to see or think past it. His softer side, when he does shows it, usually reveal itself around children -- especially children who have suffered in some way. Emotion in general is something he considers a weakness but Laurent does feel empathy. He feels it especially toward Nicaise, who he shares an understanding with since they both have suffered at the hands of his uncle.
Laurent is also brave, even if nobody expects it of him. He agrees to border duty, to walk into what he knows is a trap, and goes through it all believing that in truth he will most likely die at the end. Yet he never shies from that, he carries on anyway.
“Why does the idea of border duty bother you so much?”
“I'm a coward, remember?”
Damen thought about that. “Are you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you shy away from a fight. More like the opposite.”
He does has a good sense of humour, although at times it can be dark given what most of his life has been like -- perhaps it doesn't seem as dark to him.
On the other hand, Laurent is hardly without flaws. Laurent has a terrible temper. He is a cruel person, because the world has been cruel to him and he doesn't see why he should soften it for others. He's often blunt to the point of rudeness, and uses obscenity as a weapon. He delights in needling people until they become angry, then seeing what that reaction tells him about a person. Laurent also assumes the worst of people, as in his experience people are rarely as they seem. One act of kindness might simply be a manipulation to make you trust, and any moment you might find a knife in your back. It is something he expects because it is something he would do himself. If he knows a thing must be done, and he thinks everyone else incapable, he will happily trick even people he is close to so that it can still happen -- or so that he can do it himself. Laurent is happy to use his sexuality as a weapon too, either to convince someone to work with him or to back them into acting in a way he can use against them later.
He doesn't understand kindness for the sake of kindness, and wouldn't particularly think to be kind simply for the sake of it himself. Laurent's life has been a chess game against his uncle, and he considers everyone (including himself) pieces in that game. They might be won from his uncle, lost or simply removed from the board. This means honesty in earnest is very rare for him, or displays of any sort of emotion. Any such thing could be used against him, could be showing a weakness. When he does get angry, get emotional, his ability to think rationally quickly fades. His anger strikes out sharply at anyone around him, and he can only cool down when left alone to lock it back up. It is a problem he is aware of, and that his uncle is aware of too and tries to use against him.
Laurent also loves a challenge, enjoys the thrill of doing something dangerous or adventurous in some way. He enjoys picking apart the puzzle of a card game or understanding the workings of a situation. Not necessarily just to get better and win, sometimes just to enjoy the game itself.
Laurent is also firmly of the belief that he must do most things himself. He's pessimistic about most things, including his own chances of survival. Even after he has made friends and even lovers he assumes nobody will come to rescue him when he is captured, that nobody will come to his trial. This also means he can sometimes be somewhat bullheaded about things, determined to do dangerous things alone because he's loathe to trust another even when it is clearly unwise for a prince to do so. Laurent is also afraid of intimacy, in general he is afraid of the trust and vulnerability borne from it and the (in his mind) inevitable danger in that. He much prefers to keep people safely at arm's distance, and will drive away people if he fears they're getting too close. Will push at their buttons to test them as if to prove to himself they would never be able to tolerate him anyway.
He knows he's difficult, knows that he has problems relaxing and accepting things. In his acceptance of this in himself is something else: Laurent is used to people flattering him, but is unused to genuine friendship. He has a low enough opinion of himself that he is unsure why someone, knowing who he really is, all his flaws, would continue to want to be around him. His life has never been a fairy tale, and he has no expectation that it will become one.
Laurent doesn't trust easily. He assumes most people want something from him or else want him dead, if not both. He baits people into proving him right, needles them until they act out. This means that friendships with him will be very cool and slow burn. Also, Laurent has a great many sexual hang-ups. Relationships with him are a delicate process that constantly bump up against his repressed trauma. He has a fear of intimacy because Laurent knows the betrayal would hurt him, that if he allows himself to care the pain of realising it was a mistake might be too much.
SKILLS/ABILITIES:
Laurent's canon has no magic, all his skills are mundane. He is, however:
- A master swordsman. See various above quotes, he trained a long time specifically with the intent to be good enough to skill someone.
- An excellent rider
- A good military tactician
- A... skilled cross-dresser? This is legitimately a way he disguises himself in canon when travelling with Jokaste to Ios.
- I SUPPOSE GOOD AT DISGUISES?
- A sharp-minded politician
- Good at various medieval sports (horseback hunting, throwing javelins from horseback, etc)
- A champion grudge holder?
- Three time speedy war camp builder of the year
- Veretian Olympic gold sass-master
- Fluent in at least three obscure canon specific languages? (Veretian, Akielon, A dialect of Vaskain)
- Excessively handsome? Is being handsome a skill
- Excessively manipulative and good at it
CHARACTER: AU SECTION
AU NAME: Laurent Duvere
AU AGE: 20, he has no canon specific birthday but 'spring' so I'm going with April 5th
PHYSICAL DIFFERENCES: Laurent is human, but I suppose his eyes are grey now instead of blue? THAT'S LIKE REALLY IT
AU NAME: Laurent Duvere
AU AGE: 20, he has no canon specific birthday but 'spring' so I'm going with April 5th
PHYSICAL DIFFERENCES: Laurent is human, but I suppose his eyes are grey now instead of blue? THAT'S LIKE REALLY IT
AU HISTORY:
Laurent Duvere is the youngest son of a French billionaire who made his fortune as a successful media mogul. He expanded CableCorp, a French media company started by his father before him, via successful investing and buyouts until it became one of the largest media companies in Europe. CableCorp is a media conglomerate worth billions of dollars. It owns newspapers, TV channels, websites, magazines, radio shows, has shares in film companies.
Laurent's father and mother both died in what was declared a car accident seven years ago, leaving the business to be taken over by their oldest son with the assistance of his uncle. Although it was well staged and nobody is aware, said Uncle was involved in making sure this happened. His older brother is well liked and clever, and largely Laurent trusts him with all this, but recently the usually more even-handed direction of the company and its reporting has begun to tip just enough to be noticeable. Since the death of his father, Laurent's uncle has been a more noticeable presence in the family's life and he has been helping his brother run the company in a way that smacks of ambition. Laurent suspects his influence is responsible for this change in direction, and that his brother is a little too trusting of his own family to realise he is being manipulated. His brother will not listen.
CableCorp thus has had a certain amount of backlash, and while Laurent is likely not a recognisable face his surname is (in the same way the name Murdoch might be in life). There is a slowly developing scandal as the reporting methods of some branches are investigated, and Laurent is loathe to not be home to help but also aware he must let his brother handle it. He is in Recollé finishing a business degree, and generally travels with security in case someone decides to get a little heated. (His body guard, if he gets in, will be Faolan!).
CableCorp tends to back the mayor in most of its news! It is not the number one news company in Recollé, it's bigger in Europe, but it is present. The mayor probably plays golf with Laurent's creepy uncle once a month or something.
Laurent is used to living a relatively privileged life. He grew up not only in extravagant surroundings, but also safe in the knowledge that he was unlikely to shoulder the burden of the company since his older brother would. As such he never felt the particular pressures his brother did, and was largely doted on by both his parents and sibling. Most of Laurent's drive in life was personal -- curiosity, keen intelligence and desire to help because he adored his brother so much. His brother took over parental duties when his parents died -- and although Laurent was old enough to understand what it meant for someone to die he was shielded from all the trouble it brought. His brother made sure to never be sad in front of him, to keep his own struggles from influencing Laurent and overall made sure that for his little brother life went on as normal. His parents had both been the kind of people who were affectionate when there but largely absent, his father especially, so the hole left by them is one that aches rather than an intense pain.
Growing up, Laurent was placed in a relatively exclusive school where his status wouldn't stand out too much. He was popular for both his bright sense of humour and his good looks, although more inclined to academics than sports. His favourite was riding, and that was more because his brother would ride with him. It was something the two of them shared. Sharing things, though, became something that happened in diminishing amounts after his parents died and his brother slowly became absorbed more and more in the company. As Laurent himself aged and began to better understand what CableCorp was in the grand scheme of things, and the pressure on his brother, so Laurent himself invested more time in trying to educate himself on all the things he'd need to know to support him. He was someone far more invested in his family (brother) than in friends or having a particularly exciting social life. Laurent's idea of a good time personally was going riding together, playing with the dogs or reading a good book. Still, he made an effort to be seen at events and stayed charming yet enigmatic. He's very aware that being both rich and unmarried often attracts people who want to have everything paid for, but Laurent isn't interested in stringing people along or engaging in being a sugar-daddy as it were. Where possible he tries not to draw attention to who he is, although when it comes up he's happy to play the rich brat to entertain people and quietly amuse himself. Sometimes he'll even deliberately and persistently play it up in an attempt to drive people away, because he knows it works. This attitude means Laurent has a lot of people who he technically gets on with, but very few actual friends. He's distant, and only really connects with a small number on a regular basis. He spends too much time focused inward rather than considering other people.
Laurent's personal focus is what lead him to his business degree, the drive to understand big business and how he could help his brother even while his brother tried to encourage him to enjoy life while he was still young. As his studies deepened, so the problem of CableCorp's changes began to hit the media and so it became obvious to Laurent that his brother might not be seeing the bigger picture. He cannot quite tell what is paranoia and what is fact, but he has begun to suspect his Uncle's reassurances that they can handle it are part of what is encouraging his brother to send him away. He tried to question it at first, gently and politely, but found himself repeatedly told that he didn't need to worry about it or that the media loves to exaggerate. He wasn't entirely sure that was true.
Yet Laurent loves his brother enough to respect his wishes, so while concerns about the state of things keep him up at night he also knows his brother wants to know that he's happy, and that maybe if he can just finish this degree and head home his brother will listen to him and then they can do something about it together.
The way they used to.
AU PERSONALITY:
At the core of who he is Laurent is pretty much the same, but a little softened for a few key reasons.
First, Laurent's brother is still alive. Although his parents are still dead, the nurturing presence of his brother has sheltered Laurent from being subjected to the abuse he had in canon. This means Laurent is less emotionally cautious, has less hangups about intimacy and is overall a brighter presence. He'll be more comfortable being generally touched and less tense all the time, less likely to drive people away who try to get close to him. He is still wary of people, but that motivation now is less due to perceived threat to himself but more potential threat to his brother. Laurent understands his brother is more naive than he himself is and is always on the lookout for people who wish to hurt or take advantage of him -- even by getting close to Laurent first.
Additionally, Laurent is not a direct heir to a kingdom here. He hasn't been subjected to war and doesn't have a huge grudge against a neighbouring prince. This means, obviously, he won't have a hyper focus on bettering himself to kill someone early on, and doesn't have the burden of potential kingship or the inevitability of his own death by his uncle hanging over him. His cruel streak and cynicism are thus a little tempered, although Laurent is still a pragmatic person who will suspect people might be after him for his family fortune.
This also mean's Laurent's self-worth will be higher, as he will not have had the long term emotional manipulation of his uncle endlessly slandering him and reminding him his brother was a better person. No doubt he still believes that, but it will be less ingrained and embittering.
He will still be bullheaded enough to want to do things himself, and a little wary of people, but some of that may take the form more of rebelling against a sense of being smothered to keep him safe when he believes his brother is more likely to be a target than he is. Laurent, in canon, always had a softer side and a playful streak that he rarely got the chance to let loose. It will be more pronounced in an environment where he doesn't have to spend his nights planning out moves against his uncle and trying to outwit him in military tactics.
Also, his potential for being a bookworm will be more easily embraced since he won't be 24/7 on the run from assassins.
Laurent Duvere is the youngest son of a French billionaire who made his fortune as a successful media mogul. He expanded CableCorp, a French media company started by his father before him, via successful investing and buyouts until it became one of the largest media companies in Europe. CableCorp is a media conglomerate worth billions of dollars. It owns newspapers, TV channels, websites, magazines, radio shows, has shares in film companies.
Laurent's father and mother both died in what was declared a car accident seven years ago, leaving the business to be taken over by their oldest son with the assistance of his uncle. Although it was well staged and nobody is aware, said Uncle was involved in making sure this happened. His older brother is well liked and clever, and largely Laurent trusts him with all this, but recently the usually more even-handed direction of the company and its reporting has begun to tip just enough to be noticeable. Since the death of his father, Laurent's uncle has been a more noticeable presence in the family's life and he has been helping his brother run the company in a way that smacks of ambition. Laurent suspects his influence is responsible for this change in direction, and that his brother is a little too trusting of his own family to realise he is being manipulated. His brother will not listen.
CableCorp thus has had a certain amount of backlash, and while Laurent is likely not a recognisable face his surname is (in the same way the name Murdoch might be in life). There is a slowly developing scandal as the reporting methods of some branches are investigated, and Laurent is loathe to not be home to help but also aware he must let his brother handle it. He is in Recollé finishing a business degree, and generally travels with security in case someone decides to get a little heated. (His body guard, if he gets in, will be Faolan!).
CableCorp tends to back the mayor in most of its news! It is not the number one news company in Recollé, it's bigger in Europe, but it is present. The mayor probably plays golf with Laurent's creepy uncle once a month or something.
Laurent is used to living a relatively privileged life. He grew up not only in extravagant surroundings, but also safe in the knowledge that he was unlikely to shoulder the burden of the company since his older brother would. As such he never felt the particular pressures his brother did, and was largely doted on by both his parents and sibling. Most of Laurent's drive in life was personal -- curiosity, keen intelligence and desire to help because he adored his brother so much. His brother took over parental duties when his parents died -- and although Laurent was old enough to understand what it meant for someone to die he was shielded from all the trouble it brought. His brother made sure to never be sad in front of him, to keep his own struggles from influencing Laurent and overall made sure that for his little brother life went on as normal. His parents had both been the kind of people who were affectionate when there but largely absent, his father especially, so the hole left by them is one that aches rather than an intense pain.
Growing up, Laurent was placed in a relatively exclusive school where his status wouldn't stand out too much. He was popular for both his bright sense of humour and his good looks, although more inclined to academics than sports. His favourite was riding, and that was more because his brother would ride with him. It was something the two of them shared. Sharing things, though, became something that happened in diminishing amounts after his parents died and his brother slowly became absorbed more and more in the company. As Laurent himself aged and began to better understand what CableCorp was in the grand scheme of things, and the pressure on his brother, so Laurent himself invested more time in trying to educate himself on all the things he'd need to know to support him. He was someone far more invested in his family (brother) than in friends or having a particularly exciting social life. Laurent's idea of a good time personally was going riding together, playing with the dogs or reading a good book. Still, he made an effort to be seen at events and stayed charming yet enigmatic. He's very aware that being both rich and unmarried often attracts people who want to have everything paid for, but Laurent isn't interested in stringing people along or engaging in being a sugar-daddy as it were. Where possible he tries not to draw attention to who he is, although when it comes up he's happy to play the rich brat to entertain people and quietly amuse himself. Sometimes he'll even deliberately and persistently play it up in an attempt to drive people away, because he knows it works. This attitude means Laurent has a lot of people who he technically gets on with, but very few actual friends. He's distant, and only really connects with a small number on a regular basis. He spends too much time focused inward rather than considering other people.
Laurent's personal focus is what lead him to his business degree, the drive to understand big business and how he could help his brother even while his brother tried to encourage him to enjoy life while he was still young. As his studies deepened, so the problem of CableCorp's changes began to hit the media and so it became obvious to Laurent that his brother might not be seeing the bigger picture. He cannot quite tell what is paranoia and what is fact, but he has begun to suspect his Uncle's reassurances that they can handle it are part of what is encouraging his brother to send him away. He tried to question it at first, gently and politely, but found himself repeatedly told that he didn't need to worry about it or that the media loves to exaggerate. He wasn't entirely sure that was true.
Yet Laurent loves his brother enough to respect his wishes, so while concerns about the state of things keep him up at night he also knows his brother wants to know that he's happy, and that maybe if he can just finish this degree and head home his brother will listen to him and then they can do something about it together.
The way they used to.
AU PERSONALITY:
At the core of who he is Laurent is pretty much the same, but a little softened for a few key reasons.
First, Laurent's brother is still alive. Although his parents are still dead, the nurturing presence of his brother has sheltered Laurent from being subjected to the abuse he had in canon. This means Laurent is less emotionally cautious, has less hangups about intimacy and is overall a brighter presence. He'll be more comfortable being generally touched and less tense all the time, less likely to drive people away who try to get close to him. He is still wary of people, but that motivation now is less due to perceived threat to himself but more potential threat to his brother. Laurent understands his brother is more naive than he himself is and is always on the lookout for people who wish to hurt or take advantage of him -- even by getting close to Laurent first.
Additionally, Laurent is not a direct heir to a kingdom here. He hasn't been subjected to war and doesn't have a huge grudge against a neighbouring prince. This means, obviously, he won't have a hyper focus on bettering himself to kill someone early on, and doesn't have the burden of potential kingship or the inevitability of his own death by his uncle hanging over him. His cruel streak and cynicism are thus a little tempered, although Laurent is still a pragmatic person who will suspect people might be after him for his family fortune.
This also mean's Laurent's self-worth will be higher, as he will not have had the long term emotional manipulation of his uncle endlessly slandering him and reminding him his brother was a better person. No doubt he still believes that, but it will be less ingrained and embittering.
He will still be bullheaded enough to want to do things himself, and a little wary of people, but some of that may take the form more of rebelling against a sense of being smothered to keep him safe when he believes his brother is more likely to be a target than he is. Laurent, in canon, always had a softer side and a playful streak that he rarely got the chance to let loose. It will be more pronounced in an environment where he doesn't have to spend his nights planning out moves against his uncle and trying to outwit him in military tactics.
Also, his potential for being a bookworm will be more easily embraced since he won't be 24/7 on the run from assassins.