at school they taught me how to be
so pure in thought and word and deed
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THE HERETIC PRINCE...
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ㅤㅤBorn towards the end of a thousand-years war: who in Ishgard wasn’t? Laurent was the third child of a prestigious military family: his eldest brother was a soldier--until his death in the line of duty--and his father was a soldier and his father before him, and so on, and so on, and so forth. He could not tell you how many generations back such devotion to the Fury’s Spear went for he often found himself glossing over such details. The family was. They served the See, like good cogs that fit perfectly in the military machine. Laurent, however, had little aptitude for such militaristic arts. A reasonable enough fencer, he was not gifted with heavier sword and moved ill in armor. His sister took to it far better than he, though surely some uncle or somewhere snubbed such a thing in secret.ㅤㅤThe daughter was in armor, and the son attended Saint Endalim's Scholasticate, making marks that were absolutely exceptional. The Enchiridion, The Parables of Saint Daniffen, The Seventy-two Articles of Halonic Polity, and any other book that had ties to the Halonic faith and doctrine were devoured by the ever-gaping maw of curiosity. Unfortunately, Laurent was too smart to not have questions. Questions that fathers–both holy and biological–urged him to put aside and simply trust the Word.
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i'm sorry, but your story isn't adding up.
think your religion is a lie
toㅤkeepㅤ myㅤmouthㅤshut
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ㅤㅤA good fit for the Scholarship, but not a good fit for the Priesthood, had been the recommendation upon his graduation. It suited him fine. Standing before the masses on Sunday and droning on did not appeal to him, nor did frightened women confessing their emotional affairs in the confession box. Alongside his official duties as a scribe of the Holy Vault, he pursues scholarship in the often stubbed arte of summoning--but specifically, why?ㅤㅤLaurent, above all, is a Truthseeker. This, amongst other traits and his position and profession, lead him to inherit leadership of The Order of the Ishgardian Truthseekers. (Some regard it as a cult.) None of his studies, none of his books, none of his work produces that: the truth. It is malleable, the stories that are told, and he realizes that. Summoning is his effort to find said truth. If one can make something manifest with aether, what if one could reroute where the aether pulled from? What if he could draw a consciousness from the lifestream?ㅤㅤA schoolmate once jokingly called him the heretic prince: he is refined, dignified, and a picture perfect noble–safe for his questioning of the doctrine, which was more than enough to have whispered allegations. But they were just that: pure gossip, not even tangible allegations, without proof. No Dravanian rosaries, no proof of cavorting with dragons, and each summoning tome his hands lay upon were bound in-dragon skin. He knows all the rules, how to follow them to the exact letter, to the detail of the calligraphic script he copies for hours on end. So 'heretic prince' is a somewhat joking moniker, as surely he knows better.ㅤㅤThe truth, he knows, does not lay in ink and paper. The truth is something different, strange, something out there–can the dead that they are even provide it?ㅤㅤHe reasons there is only one way to find out.
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laurent sainte-rosé
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he/him
35 years
200.1 cm
silver eyes
homosexual
ishgardian noble
black & white hair
scribe of the holy see
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finnian d'aubrey
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ㅤㅤI.
Laurent possesses the equivalent of a postgraduate/Master's Degree from the Scholasticate. That means that he was there for a while--fellow students and lecturers very likely would be familiar with him, to mixed reception.ㅤㅤII.
He is a man amid a miasma of RUMORS. Of his supposed 'heresy,' first and foremost, and his involvement in the occult: that being any practice outside of the Halonic faith.
Note: with consenting partners who play into historic themes of homophobia, there are also rumors of his sexuality and proclivity towards men.
A PENNY FOR A TALE...
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ㅤㅤIII.
Studies lead him often to the Summoner's Guild in Limsa Lominsa, though he isn't particularly fond of traveling to Vylbrand. The climate never does him any favors. If there is talk about a slightly eccentric Ishgardian about the Guild, there's a rather high chance it is him.ㅤㅤIV.
While he would not consider himself active in his recruitment for the Order of Ishgardian Truthseekers, there are certain things that will make him pay attention. Most notably, doubt in the stories spun by church and government, questioning the honesty of the dragons, and so on.
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GENUIS LASTS LONGER THAN BEAUTY...
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ㅤㅤLANGUAGE.
Laurent is fluent in Dravanian, not helping the heresy accusations as he began studying when still in the Scholasticate. This was for valid reasons, of course, to translate and to understand.ㅤㅤFAMILY.
His relationship with his family is tepid at best. He did not follow in the footsteps of his father and older brother, much to the chagrin of the men in the family. There were heavy expectations on him after the death of the eldest and he still did not take up shield and armor. He is fiercely protective of his younger sister and gets on well enough with his older sister, though she is concerned after his wellbeing.ㅤㅤPETS.
While he lives alone in his apartments, he came into possession of a very fluffy white cat when one of the lecturers of the Scholasticate retired shortly after the end of the war, moving to a more temperate climate. Miss Diamond, he was told, hates carriage rides. He's tended to the cat ever since, and she's very fond of him.ㅤㅤEDUCATION.
While Laurent's marks were easily high enough to a position on the Trinity, he had no interest in that rple--nor did his lecturers think him a fit. His official position is as a scribe to the Holy See, granting him access to some of the most sensitive information in pen and ink. Functionally, it is a 'lower' rank, insofar as serving in the Vault goes, but it is still worthy of note.
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you walk around this town
like its holy land
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ㅤㅤRELIGION.
Despite rumors to the opposition, Laurent still practices Halonic Orthodoxy. He regularly attends service and celebrates the major Halonic holidays appropriately, gives alms, et cetera. That is one of the reasons the rumors against him are not more viscous.ㅤㅤRUMORS.
Ishgard being what it is, there are many rumors to be heard about most anyone who is anyone and even some who are no-one. Laurent's accusations of heresy are amongst the top--far too interested in dragons, and far too questioning of the church's stories. More interested in other men, and often gallivanting off to Limsa Lominsa. A disappointment of a son, amongst other things.ㅤㅤPUBLICATIONS.
There are not many scholars in Ishgard who focus upon summoning, so saying he is one of the foremost scholars on the arte in Coerthas is not nearly impressive as it sounds. But he has four published tomes in regards to the application of summoning, the first of which deals directly with the ideals of summoning in alignment with the orthodoxy, citing a number of primary sources over the years. Cheekily, he often requests these be bound in dragonskin.ㅤㅤINHERETENCE.
After the death of the eldest brother of the family, it is Ishgardian tradition that the second son would become the heir. However, it was not Laurent who was named the heir of the d'Aubrey title, but his elder sister.
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OH, SINNERS, COME DOWN...
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ㅤㅤI.
Adults only. Both you and your character. If you cannot drive your car buy liquor, cigarettes, and bladed weaponry, I don't want to write with you. This also applies to characters that act like children. Not interested. (25+ preferred.)ㅤㅤII.
I prefer to write with good writers. I don't care if that makes me sound snobby: if I don't like reading what you write, I won't like writing with you. It's okay to not be compatible as writers.ㅤㅤIII.
No shipping or romance. Laurent is rather flamboyant and may lean flirtatious at times, I am not interested in writing any romantic or sexual content with him. Anything beyond platonic physical affection (hugs, an arm around the waist, etc.) is absolutely off the table. And I mean socially acceptable platonic affection, not "I casually fuck my friends" physical affection.ㅤㅤIV.
I will not give strangers my Discord, my Mare code, my mother's maiden name, or the name of the street I grew up on. I keep that private. If I want you to have it, it will be given to you. If you bug me for it repeatedly, I will tell you to fuck off.
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fortune, fortune, smiling fate.
haven't seen you
much ㅤ of ㅤ late
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ㅤㅤV.
No drama, no gossip, no harassment, no witchhunts. I don't care. I am here to play pretend and not profess my moral superiority over internet conflict. Keep it on Twitter.ㅤㅤVI.
I'm fine with dark themes. I'm fine with most themes outside of the really extreme stuff. Feel free to ask, but if you ask me to engage in themes of sexual assault (adult or child), necrophilia, incest, or bestiality, I'm calling the fucking cops and blocking you. ("But what if my character was assaulted when they were younger--" you're being pedantic and you know that's not what I mean.)ㅤㅤVII.
Unlike many other homosexual male Elezen with similar aesthetics, Laurent has no interest in hedonism or the elevation of pleasure above all things. While he's been at the occasional 'party' of sorts, he finds overindulgence wasteful and numbing to the senses. Being assumed as a hedonist will likely annoy him. And me. Stop it.
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everyㅤillㅤthatㅤi
must ㅤㅤㅤㅤsuffer
clearlyㅤbrought
onㅤ by ㅤ myself
