crosslaced (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
crosslaced) wrote2017-07-27 03:49 pm
crosslaced) wrote2017-07-27 03:49 pm
LifeAftr App
Player Information
Name: Star
Age: 20
Contact: starlitsunset @ plurk
Current characters: nil
Character Information
Name: Laurent
Series: Captive Prince
Appearance: (x)
Age: 20 at canonpoint, now 21
Canon Point: Book 3: mid-Kingsmeet
Transferring From:![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
soulgemmed
Game overview: essentially you become a magical girl!! Soulgemmed is a Madoka-inspired game where characters are granted a wish by Kyuubey, and in turn sign themselves up for fighting against creatures of despair that plague the land.
Canon History: [content warning: mentions of slavery, prostitution, sexual abuse, and paedophilla from here on out. I've kept as much out of the app as possible.]
Captive Prince is set in medieval-ish times; with monarchies, warring kingdoms, and horses instead of cars. There are two main kingdoms: Akleios and Vere. Laurent is the second prince of the latter, made Crown Prince at thirteen after his brother Auguste dies in war between the kingdoms.
Cut to Damianos ("Damen"), Crown Prince of Akleios, and the man who killed Auguste. Seven years later Damen's half-brother Kastor overthrows him in secret, publicly claiming he died while actually secretly shipping him to Vere as an unnamed pleasure slave marked for Vere's Crown Prince. Re-enter Laurent, now twenty, who appears to be content idling in the royal court and bullying Damen viciously. Laurent's uncle, the Regent, touts him as unfit for the throne and has been politically manoeuvring Laurent into a corner for years. At one point the Regent sends assassins to Laurent's room, planning to secure his throne, pin it on Damen and as a bonus incite war with the unstable Akleios; because Damen ends up defending Laurent instead of turning on him, Laurent in turn protects him from blame when the attack is found out. Because of this Laurent is forced to accept border duty in order to secure Damen's pardon- Damen subsequently realises that the Regent behind the assassination attempt and therefore leaving the royal court leaves Laurent extremely vulnerable to more attacks. Aware that the Regent wants to attack the politically destabilised Akleios and Laurent is the only one in the way of that, Damen agrees to travel with Laurent to the border and assist him.
Cue travel montage. Laurent and Damen work together to train their entourage into a unit that won't crash and burn under attack, gaining each other's trust in the process. At the Vere-Akleios border, they find that the Regent continues to incite war by sending third-party raiders into Akleios villages- who assume it's Vere and have been hostile in retaliation. Laurent argues against war and tries to get to the bottom of things, but this worsens his reputation. By the time he captures the raiders, the Regent has accused him of treason. They escape being decimated by a larger troop thanks to Laurent having already planned contingencies for being cornered, and take a fortress to make camp in. More bad news, Laurent flying off the handle and reducing some people to tears, and some emotionally intimate moments later, Laurent and Damen separate to start their campaign against the Regent. Damen, guarding their fort, is promised reinforcements; the reinforcements are revealed to be his own soldiers from the border provinces. Nikandros, leader of the province just across the border, recognizes him and blows his cover immediately.
Damen next meets Laurent as his real identity of Prince of Akleios, Guy Who Killed Your Brother, only to find that Laurent 1) has known this from the start 2) has already prepared the can of worms for their reunion. A lot of the final arc is Laurent finally having to face up to Damen's dual role of his one trustworthy ally and supposed enemy, resulting in a lot of uncomfortable passive-aggression underneath a facade of alliance. Eventually they make up; at this point Damen finds out that he may have a child, and that child is potentially vulnerable to the Regent who's entered Akleios by sea. Reclaiming their thrones via head-on invasion becomes risky, and Laurent and Damen decide to travel inland in a smaller group to negotiate the baby's safety first. They head for the Kingsmeet, a sacred location where violence is prohibited and royalty can safely conduct such negotiations.
Except Damen's ex, the child's mother, lied. There's no baby where she said they'd be, only the Regent. He baits Damen into attacking him, which results in the Kingsmeet guards subduing and proceeding to execute Damen for breaking sacred laws. Laurent gives himself up on exchange for Damen's life, agreeing to go with the Regent to be trialed for his treason charge.
Laurent's canonpoint is just before he gives himself up; instead of doing that in canon, Kyuubey approaches him and successfully negotiates a magi contract. In return for his enlistment as magi (and entering Soulgemmed), Laurent secures Damen's kingship- which entails getting rid of the Regent, Damen's brother, and any other opposition around. Go big or go home.
Canon Personality:
Name: Star
Age: 20
Contact: starlitsunset @ plurk
Current characters: nil
Character Information
Name: Laurent
Series: Captive Prince
Appearance: (x)
Age: 20 at canonpoint, now 21
Canon Point: Book 3: mid-Kingsmeet
Transferring From:
soulgemmed Game overview: essentially you become a magical girl!! Soulgemmed is a Madoka-inspired game where characters are granted a wish by Kyuubey, and in turn sign themselves up for fighting against creatures of despair that plague the land.
Canon History: [content warning: mentions of slavery, prostitution, sexual abuse, and paedophilla from here on out. I've kept as much out of the app as possible.]
Captive Prince is set in medieval-ish times; with monarchies, warring kingdoms, and horses instead of cars. There are two main kingdoms: Akleios and Vere. Laurent is the second prince of the latter, made Crown Prince at thirteen after his brother Auguste dies in war between the kingdoms.
Cut to Damianos ("Damen"), Crown Prince of Akleios, and the man who killed Auguste. Seven years later Damen's half-brother Kastor overthrows him in secret, publicly claiming he died while actually secretly shipping him to Vere as an unnamed pleasure slave marked for Vere's Crown Prince. Re-enter Laurent, now twenty, who appears to be content idling in the royal court and bullying Damen viciously. Laurent's uncle, the Regent, touts him as unfit for the throne and has been politically manoeuvring Laurent into a corner for years. At one point the Regent sends assassins to Laurent's room, planning to secure his throne, pin it on Damen and as a bonus incite war with the unstable Akleios; because Damen ends up defending Laurent instead of turning on him, Laurent in turn protects him from blame when the attack is found out. Because of this Laurent is forced to accept border duty in order to secure Damen's pardon- Damen subsequently realises that the Regent behind the assassination attempt and therefore leaving the royal court leaves Laurent extremely vulnerable to more attacks. Aware that the Regent wants to attack the politically destabilised Akleios and Laurent is the only one in the way of that, Damen agrees to travel with Laurent to the border and assist him.
Cue travel montage. Laurent and Damen work together to train their entourage into a unit that won't crash and burn under attack, gaining each other's trust in the process. At the Vere-Akleios border, they find that the Regent continues to incite war by sending third-party raiders into Akleios villages- who assume it's Vere and have been hostile in retaliation. Laurent argues against war and tries to get to the bottom of things, but this worsens his reputation. By the time he captures the raiders, the Regent has accused him of treason. They escape being decimated by a larger troop thanks to Laurent having already planned contingencies for being cornered, and take a fortress to make camp in. More bad news, Laurent flying off the handle and reducing some people to tears, and some emotionally intimate moments later, Laurent and Damen separate to start their campaign against the Regent. Damen, guarding their fort, is promised reinforcements; the reinforcements are revealed to be his own soldiers from the border provinces. Nikandros, leader of the province just across the border, recognizes him and blows his cover immediately.
Damen next meets Laurent as his real identity of Prince of Akleios, Guy Who Killed Your Brother, only to find that Laurent 1) has known this from the start 2) has already prepared the can of worms for their reunion. A lot of the final arc is Laurent finally having to face up to Damen's dual role of his one trustworthy ally and supposed enemy, resulting in a lot of uncomfortable passive-aggression underneath a facade of alliance. Eventually they make up; at this point Damen finds out that he may have a child, and that child is potentially vulnerable to the Regent who's entered Akleios by sea. Reclaiming their thrones via head-on invasion becomes risky, and Laurent and Damen decide to travel inland in a smaller group to negotiate the baby's safety first. They head for the Kingsmeet, a sacred location where violence is prohibited and royalty can safely conduct such negotiations.
Except Damen's ex, the child's mother, lied. There's no baby where she said they'd be, only the Regent. He baits Damen into attacking him, which results in the Kingsmeet guards subduing and proceeding to execute Damen for breaking sacred laws. Laurent gives himself up on exchange for Damen's life, agreeing to go with the Regent to be trialed for his treason charge.
Laurent's canonpoint is just before he gives himself up; instead of doing that in canon, Kyuubey approaches him and successfully negotiates a magi contract. In return for his enlistment as magi (and entering Soulgemmed), Laurent secures Damen's kingship- which entails getting rid of the Regent, Damen's brother, and any other opposition around. Go big or go home.
Canon Personality:
“Nephew. you were not invited to these discussions.” “And yet, here I am. It's very irritating, isn't it?” Said Laurent.
The first impression you might get of Laurent is that he is an asshole. A frigid asshole specifically, who’s stingy with his compliments and viciously generous with all sorts of nasty things. In the first book of his trilogy he is shown being stubbornly at odds with his uncle the Regent, having the protagonist whipped within an inch of his life, and generally “inspir[ing] homicidal urges just by breathing.” Among his own men he is respected but far from loved. He also has the reputation for having a filthy mouth; it's one reason people suspect he's not a virgin, though he's never publicly accepted a lover. It's not to say he's incapable of socialization- he has been shown to be adept at it if he so chooses, being elegantly witty with people he wants to establish an alliance with. But it doesn't seem to be what he's really like, if you compare that behavior to when he has no incentive to play nice.
The next impression you might get of Laurent is that he’s extremely intelligent. He’s so intelligent, when plot reveals itself Laurent reveals he’s already planned in advance for it. [BOOK 2 SPOILERS:] Laurent arranges, one book before the event itself, for an army to give him the military support he needs when he finds himself cornered against a bigger troop at the border. A traitor reveals themselves right then? He saw that one coming, too.
The first impression you might get of Laurent is that he is an asshole. A frigid asshole specifically, who’s stingy with his compliments and viciously generous with all sorts of nasty things. In the first book of his trilogy he is shown being stubbornly at odds with his uncle the Regent, having the protagonist whipped within an inch of his life, and generally “inspir[ing] homicidal urges just by breathing.” Among his own men he is respected but far from loved. He also has the reputation for having a filthy mouth; it's one reason people suspect he's not a virgin, though he's never publicly accepted a lover. It's not to say he's incapable of socialization- he has been shown to be adept at it if he so chooses, being elegantly witty with people he wants to establish an alliance with. But it doesn't seem to be what he's really like, if you compare that behavior to when he has no incentive to play nice.
The next impression you might get of Laurent is that he’s extremely intelligent. He’s so intelligent, when plot reveals itself Laurent reveals he’s already planned in advance for it. [BOOK 2 SPOILERS:] Laurent arranges, one book before the event itself, for an army to give him the military support he needs when he finds himself cornered against a bigger troop at the border. A traitor reveals themselves right then? He saw that one coming, too.
“ Laurent fought like he talked. The danger lay in the way he used his mind: there was not one thing he did that was not planned in advance. Yet he was not predictable, because in this, as with everything he did, there were layers of intent, moments when expected patterns would suddenly dissolve into something else. “
Laurent is a very stressed prince. He keeps himself on high alert constantly, often neglecting sleep and straight-up pretending all kinds of pain don't exist. His frigid front is propped up by a stubborn refusal to show weakness; he’ll only let trusted parties in on his mortality, and he kind of literally trusts no one until Damen came along. Emotion counts as a weakness. That’s also why he’s so unemotive.
This is out of a fundamental belief that no one can be trusted indefinitely- even those that are loyal for the moment can be bribed or threatened. It's later revealed that Laurent has been fighting for survival against his powerhungry uncle for years- an uncle he once trusted as a child, who really only saw him as an obstacle to the throne to be eventually gotten rid of- and from this stems many of his issues. He has huge problems with trust and regularly keeping his allies at an arm’s length. When stressed, he tends to shove them even further just to get them away from him. In the second book [SPOILERS] he finds out about Nicaise’s death and is visibly unhinged by it; under this duress he (verbally) lashes out against Damen so viciously Damen retaliates with actual violence.
This behavior is likely a knee-jerk reaction; his composure, when lost, tends to lead to reckless and blinkered decisions. Not to mention an absolutely horrid personality- Laurent gets exponentially more vitriolic towards any and everyone when emotionally compromised. He’s reduced people to tears while like this. It’s unfortunately not easy to realize he’s upset, because he will calm down eventually if left alone.
Underneath his prickly aloofness, he’s not a bad man. He’s surprisingly a decent one; he doesn’t shirk work and has a sense of fairness. Laurent tries to makes amends when he gets people hurt, and conversely will repay acts of kindness even if he hates the actor. The first time Damen saves Laurent’s life it gives him an opening to escape- in turn Laurent protects him from punishment when he is recaptured, and even explains away the attempt on Laurent’s life because it was done to implicate him. [SPOILERS] It is later revealed that Laurent does this despite knowing that Damen was his brother’s killer. His unexpected morality extends to his political views- he is against both the slavery practiced in the neighbouring Akleios and the sanctioned prostitution in his own country. This is buried fairly deep down- necessity drives a lot of Laurent’s actions and often obscures his own values. Laurent does accept the service of a slave at the invitation of Akleios’ provincial leaders, mostly to secure the political tie, but refuses to make any sexual advances (which was the norm of what people did with their attendants).
When left to his own devices Laurent gravitates towards being mild and forgiving, if a bit playful; Laurent on covert missions is reliably cooperative and finds satisfaction gambling away his money for the prize of learning a magic trick. He is, contrary to popular belief, capable of genuine laughter. Laurent in fact says he enjoys games, and immediately after that line sabotages his own getaway for an Enjoyable Chase Scene. He’s certainly inexperienced with having fun, but if sufficiently relaxed has no problem having fun like a normal person. (Getting him relaxed is the problem.)
He is also, contrary to popular belief, unselfish. Most of Laurent’s actions eventually come to a self-serving effect, but this is again very much due to his unfriendly environment. He can go out of his way to assist others if it doesn’t put him at risk- a prominent example is when he sits with a child who lost family in border skirmishes and teaches her the one magic trick he knows- but beyond that, once he decides Damen is important to him Laurent is willing to put aside a lot of interests for Damen’s benefit. Specifically, all of the interests (See: Kingsmeet).
“He wouldn’t have come back alone. If you think that, you don’t know him.”
EXTRA NOTE, on sexual matters: Laurent was also sexually abused as a child. This is something he doesn't talk about, and I've managed not to bring it up in his previous game so I don't really expect to be doing so here. This is what feeds a lot of his trust issues (as mentioned above), especially since it was by a relative he once used to trust. As a result he's extremely uncomfortable with physical intimacy and will stab a bitch if someone tries to cajole him into casual sex.
Additionally, the royal court Laurent spent his teenaged years in was grossly sexual, with many courtiers taking prostitutes and even occasional sanctioned displays of exhibitionism. As a result Laurent can be unexpectedly crass-mouthed (several characters compare his vocabulary to a prostitute’s), though he himself is notoriously celibate.
Personality Shifts: Most importantly, he's learned to maybe chill a little. Most of canon Laurent's neurotism stems from self-preservation: he was constantly under threat, and developed a hostile personality to fend things off. This is immediately overhauled the moment he starts off- he’s apped from a Fourth Wall event and starts as a Wraith, an emotion-absorbing creature who takes the shape of magi it’s taken emotions from. By implication, this means that the real Laurent's bitten the dust. Self-preservation now makes a lot less sense since- in his view- he can hardly go back to his homeworld and take the place he once did.
When agreeing to Kyuubey’s contract Laurent already suspected that he was signing up for a lifetime duty- which he can accept, since he was already about to sacrifice himself in his original canon point. He can also accept being a literal monster, especially when entry into Nyoi-Cho somehow suppresses the Wraith’s abilities and hungers. So Wraithdom is mostly frustrating rather than crippling. He's annoyed that he doesn't seem to have any memories between making his wish and presumably dying to a Wraith. He’s annoyed (and maybe just slightly anxious) that his identity would in all likelihood have the rest of the game out to kill him if they knew, because death by Witch-hunt is a messy way to die. He's also annoyed that the one CR who has seen him in his Wraith form is kind of a sociopath.
However it's still a great deal more relaxed than his homeverse, where there is enough threat to his life to necessitate constant vigilance and planning. Laurent comes to Nyoi-Cho and literally no one thinks to check his background. His co-magi are mostly children and still believe in the magic of friendship. Being in a game as just an extended Holiday Inn situation before going to Hell, honestly.
Most of the events in Soulgemmed have been par for the course to Laurent. Sneaky background plans, despair-inducement, he’s been there and done that. His CR however have influenced him into changing his mindset somewhat; the unwavering faith in magi such as Ryoko Asakura and Madoka Kaname have been reminders that maybe there's still good in the world. Maybe there are more trustworthy people than he believes. A CR of special mention is Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, who has the (mis)fortune of being Laurent's only acknowledged friend. Laurent with all his mistrust issues is terrible at keeping friends, and Diarmuid's saintly patience has provided an opportunity for him to figure out what trusting someone is all about. It's still going to be a challenge getting Laurent to loosen up and be vulnerable, but it's now an option that’s conceivable.
Removed from the threats of his homeworld and surrounded by people he has no reason to be horrible to, he's become better at actually working together with others. CRAU Laurent is more consistently cooperative, socialable, and relaxed. Sure, Soulgemmed has been threatening, but not specifically at him as an individual- and considering that death isn't even permanent here, what’s there to lose?
Abilities:
Regular abilities:
Soulgemmed magic:
Let's backtrack a bit and examine the nature of his assholishness. Laurent indeed has a lot of capacity for being a terrible person; he is consistently terrible to the protagonist (Damen), whom he has power over at first, in the first book. He appears to have no qualms keeping Damen locked up most of the time, throwing Damen into a ringfight while drugged, et cetera. Truly Laurent is a bundle of joy. But he isn’t awful all the time: with the arguable exception of Damen himself, Laurent doesn't go out of his way to be an asshole when there’s no incentive for it; a lot of the time he’s dislikeable because he’s so unwaveringly cold about everything, usually keeping his emotions inside a limited range of ‘I don’t really give a damn’ and ‘I’m offended’.
He's actually shown to be decent- almost fraternal- with the Regent’s young prostitute Nicaise, even offering to purchase Nicaise’s contract and essentially liberate the boy. Once Laurent leaves the capital of Vere to travel to the border he becomes a lot more civil to Damen- an outward sign that he can set aside whatever drives his vindictiveness to focus on more pressing things. Detached, still, but civil. His shows of viciousness tend to be driven by necessity- his uncle is hellbent on disgracing his name and barring him from the throne and many of his seemingly petulant actions are discrete circumventions of that- or emotional stress.
He's actually shown to be decent- almost fraternal- with the Regent’s young prostitute Nicaise, even offering to purchase Nicaise’s contract and essentially liberate the boy. Once Laurent leaves the capital of Vere to travel to the border he becomes a lot more civil to Damen- an outward sign that he can set aside whatever drives his vindictiveness to focus on more pressing things. Detached, still, but civil. His shows of viciousness tend to be driven by necessity- his uncle is hellbent on disgracing his name and barring him from the throne and many of his seemingly petulant actions are discrete circumventions of that- or emotional stress.
“It’s not naive to trust your family.’
‘I promise you, it is,’ said Laurent.
‘I promise you, it is,’ said Laurent.
Laurent is a very stressed prince. He keeps himself on high alert constantly, often neglecting sleep and straight-up pretending all kinds of pain don't exist. His frigid front is propped up by a stubborn refusal to show weakness; he’ll only let trusted parties in on his mortality, and he kind of literally trusts no one until Damen came along. Emotion counts as a weakness. That’s also why he’s so unemotive.
This is out of a fundamental belief that no one can be trusted indefinitely- even those that are loyal for the moment can be bribed or threatened. It's later revealed that Laurent has been fighting for survival against his powerhungry uncle for years- an uncle he once trusted as a child, who really only saw him as an obstacle to the throne to be eventually gotten rid of- and from this stems many of his issues. He has huge problems with trust and regularly keeping his allies at an arm’s length. When stressed, he tends to shove them even further just to get them away from him. In the second book [SPOILERS] he finds out about Nicaise’s death and is visibly unhinged by it; under this duress he (verbally) lashes out against Damen so viciously Damen retaliates with actual violence.
This behavior is likely a knee-jerk reaction; his composure, when lost, tends to lead to reckless and blinkered decisions. Not to mention an absolutely horrid personality- Laurent gets exponentially more vitriolic towards any and everyone when emotionally compromised. He’s reduced people to tears while like this. It’s unfortunately not easy to realize he’s upset, because he will calm down eventually if left alone.
“ You deserve to know that, as you deserve at least a fair . . . In Arles, I treated you with malice and cruelty. I will not insult you by attempting to atone for deeds with words, but I would not treat you that way again. I was angry. Angry, that isn't the word.”
Underneath his prickly aloofness, he’s not a bad man. He’s surprisingly a decent one; he doesn’t shirk work and has a sense of fairness. Laurent tries to makes amends when he gets people hurt, and conversely will repay acts of kindness even if he hates the actor. The first time Damen saves Laurent’s life it gives him an opening to escape- in turn Laurent protects him from punishment when he is recaptured, and even explains away the attempt on Laurent’s life because it was done to implicate him. [SPOILERS] It is later revealed that Laurent does this despite knowing that Damen was his brother’s killer. His unexpected morality extends to his political views- he is against both the slavery practiced in the neighbouring Akleios and the sanctioned prostitution in his own country. This is buried fairly deep down- necessity drives a lot of Laurent’s actions and often obscures his own values. Laurent does accept the service of a slave at the invitation of Akleios’ provincial leaders, mostly to secure the political tie, but refuses to make any sexual advances (which was the norm of what people did with their attendants).
When left to his own devices Laurent gravitates towards being mild and forgiving, if a bit playful; Laurent on covert missions is reliably cooperative and finds satisfaction gambling away his money for the prize of learning a magic trick. He is, contrary to popular belief, capable of genuine laughter. Laurent in fact says he enjoys games, and immediately after that line sabotages his own getaway for an Enjoyable Chase Scene. He’s certainly inexperienced with having fun, but if sufficiently relaxed has no problem having fun like a normal person. (Getting him relaxed is the problem.)
He is also, contrary to popular belief, unselfish. Most of Laurent’s actions eventually come to a self-serving effect, but this is again very much due to his unfriendly environment. He can go out of his way to assist others if it doesn’t put him at risk- a prominent example is when he sits with a child who lost family in border skirmishes and teaches her the one magic trick he knows- but beyond that, once he decides Damen is important to him Laurent is willing to put aside a lot of interests for Damen’s benefit. Specifically, all of the interests (See: Kingsmeet).
“He wouldn’t have come back alone. If you think that, you don’t know him.”
EXTRA NOTE, on sexual matters: Laurent was also sexually abused as a child. This is something he doesn't talk about, and I've managed not to bring it up in his previous game so I don't really expect to be doing so here. This is what feeds a lot of his trust issues (as mentioned above), especially since it was by a relative he once used to trust. As a result he's extremely uncomfortable with physical intimacy and will stab a bitch if someone tries to cajole him into casual sex.
Additionally, the royal court Laurent spent his teenaged years in was grossly sexual, with many courtiers taking prostitutes and even occasional sanctioned displays of exhibitionism. As a result Laurent can be unexpectedly crass-mouthed (several characters compare his vocabulary to a prostitute’s), though he himself is notoriously celibate.
Personality Shifts: Most importantly, he's learned to maybe chill a little. Most of canon Laurent's neurotism stems from self-preservation: he was constantly under threat, and developed a hostile personality to fend things off. This is immediately overhauled the moment he starts off- he’s apped from a Fourth Wall event and starts as a Wraith, an emotion-absorbing creature who takes the shape of magi it’s taken emotions from. By implication, this means that the real Laurent's bitten the dust. Self-preservation now makes a lot less sense since- in his view- he can hardly go back to his homeworld and take the place he once did.
When agreeing to Kyuubey’s contract Laurent already suspected that he was signing up for a lifetime duty- which he can accept, since he was already about to sacrifice himself in his original canon point. He can also accept being a literal monster, especially when entry into Nyoi-Cho somehow suppresses the Wraith’s abilities and hungers. So Wraithdom is mostly frustrating rather than crippling. He's annoyed that he doesn't seem to have any memories between making his wish and presumably dying to a Wraith. He’s annoyed (and maybe just slightly anxious) that his identity would in all likelihood have the rest of the game out to kill him if they knew, because death by Witch-hunt is a messy way to die. He's also annoyed that the one CR who has seen him in his Wraith form is kind of a sociopath.
However it's still a great deal more relaxed than his homeverse, where there is enough threat to his life to necessitate constant vigilance and planning. Laurent comes to Nyoi-Cho and literally no one thinks to check his background. His co-magi are mostly children and still believe in the magic of friendship. Being in a game as just an extended Holiday Inn situation before going to Hell, honestly.
Most of the events in Soulgemmed have been par for the course to Laurent. Sneaky background plans, despair-inducement, he’s been there and done that. His CR however have influenced him into changing his mindset somewhat; the unwavering faith in magi such as Ryoko Asakura and Madoka Kaname have been reminders that maybe there's still good in the world. Maybe there are more trustworthy people than he believes. A CR of special mention is Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, who has the (mis)fortune of being Laurent's only acknowledged friend. Laurent with all his mistrust issues is terrible at keeping friends, and Diarmuid's saintly patience has provided an opportunity for him to figure out what trusting someone is all about. It's still going to be a challenge getting Laurent to loosen up and be vulnerable, but it's now an option that’s conceivable.
Removed from the threats of his homeworld and surrounded by people he has no reason to be horrible to, he's become better at actually working together with others. CRAU Laurent is more consistently cooperative, socialable, and relaxed. Sure, Soulgemmed has been threatening, but not specifically at him as an individual- and considering that death isn't even permanent here, what’s there to lose?
Abilities:
Regular abilities:
- Fighting ability: Laurent has trained in swordfighting extensively since thirteen, aiming to seek revenge on his brother’s killer. He's excellent in swords and proficient in spears from their use in hunting.
- Athletism: From the above.
- Horses: An excellent horse-rider, good enough to run down game even on a dying horse. Additionally he's generally good with handling horses and can roughly figure out the source of a limp or ailment.
- Politics:
Laurent was born for politics. He has great hair and loves lying.But really, he's great at lying.
Soulgemmed magic:
- Transformation: As a magical boy Laurent has access to a sparkly outfit change. When transformed he can summon an (otherwise ordinary) sword out of thin air.
- Wraith??: Somehow suppressed by his Soul Gem, this gives no benefit whatsoever.
- Telekinesis: He can throw around a maximum mass equaling that of a small car. The target and its desired endpoint must both be in his field of vision. He's had this skill since the get-go, and can use it simultaneously on a few objects (max. 4), though not as well as on a single target.
- Cryokinesis: by default he can summon up to four ice spears, but he's improved to being able to conjure other small objects.
- Passive magic: He's slightly stronger and more resilient than a non-magi- and given that he was above average to begin with this makes him pretty darn good. Additionally, his presence creates a calming aura that soothes anyone nearby and somewhat offsets other mind-affecting magics.
- Regeneration on death: Laurent will heal or regenerate on death (depending on intactness of the corpse & its proximity to the magi's Gem) as long as his Soul Gem is intact: this will be nerfed in favour of the game’s revival rules.
Inventory:
- His horse, a bay mare, regained in Soulgemmed. She’s outfitted with basic riding gear (reins, briddle, a saddle.)
- A smartphone. Its camera lens has cracked, and the screen has many scratches too. Water damage has glitched most of its programs, crippling its communications functions and scrambling some of his message logs. The only surviving app that Laurent actually uses is the photo album, full of pictures from his old game (mostly of his horse.)
- His Soul Gem, which defaults to sitting in a bangle on his left wrist.
- A plain wallet with some money, random notes (phone numbers/addresses, receipts etc.), and a staff card to the local library under the name “Charls”.