Laurent Moreau

Hadrien Moreau - Brother

Jules Moreau - Brother

**Full Name**: Laurent Émile Moreau

**Pronouns**: He/Him

**Orientation**: Unknowingly Pansexual

**Birthday**: March 17th

* Pirate: 27
* Modern: 23

**Height**: 6’2”

**Hair**: Blonde, Messy Curls

**Skin Color**: Fair

**Eye Color**: Blue

**Tattoos and Piercings**: None

**Occupation:**

* Pirate: Cook on the Morbid Eel
* Modern: Chef/Baker

**Parents**:

* Cecile Yvonne Moreau - Cecile grew up down the street from the Monreau Pâtisserie in Lyon, France. Shortly after she finished her schooling, she found herself being courted by the eldest Monreau son, Émile, who made a habit of slipping cakes in with her daily loaf of bread. Within that same year, they were engaged and married. Many whispered about a child out of wedlock, but the happy couple simply hadn’t seen a reason to wait. Soon enough, Cecile was balancing her life as a mother of five boys and working hand in hand with her husband to keep his family’s shop prosperous.
* Émile Auguste Moreau - Émile was the eldest son in a long line of pâtissiers destined to take over the family shop. He attended a short amount of schooling, but his focus was apprenticing under his father so that he could take over leadership of the shop as soon as he was old enough. By the time he finished his schooling, he was running the shop full time and his father was able to retire. A few years after, Émile found himself besotted by one of their regulars, Cecile, and soon he was flirting with her every time that she stopped into the shop. A mere six months later, he bought her a ring and they married three months after that. Soon after, Émile found himself living his best life with his many children, beautiful wife, and family business that continues to thrive to this day.

**Siblings**:

* Noe Henri Moreau - Laurent's oldest brother by nine years. He is happily married to Océane Moreau with two children, Odette and Delphine. He is in the process of taking over the family business from their father and is the only sibling who has never left Lyon. His main concern is being a good son, brother, husband, and father for all his family in France and around the world. Every one of his brothers receives monthly check-ins from him and is always notified of family gatherings well in advance so that they can fly in for a visit. When he isn’t buried in work or family matters, Noe is often found cycling around Lyon and occasionally participates in races for charities.
* Jean Baptiste Loic Moreau - Laurent's second oldest brother by eight years. He also caught the baking bug, but he was more adventurous. He went to a school in Brazil to learn more about the local cuisines and he decided to stay to open up his own school teaching the French style. Two years after his move, he married Iara Monreau Reis, a woman he met at his school. The two settled in Rio de Janeiro near Iara’s family. Jean has a quirky sense of humor and is always trying to get everyone to try the new recipes he finds that include outlandish materials. Laurent is the only family member who enjoys these challenges.
* Hadrien Pascal Moreau - Laurent's third oldest brother by six years. Throughout his twenties, he couch-surfed while styling himself as a philosopher poet in the Ancient Greek tradition. Moving around was his choice as his parents offered numerous times to take him back in after he quit several of his jobs. He never attended university. His friends convinced him to settle down and get an actual job as a daycare worker, though he continues to operate his anonymous blog where he posts both his rants about philosophy and his poetry...which isn’t getting published anytime soon. But he enjoys doing both and that’s what’s important. He has had several girlfriends, but he hasn’t kept anyone around.
* Jules Pierre-Yves Moreau - Laurent’s fourth oldest brother by five years. Jules was the baby of the family until Laurent came along and he has never quite forgiven his youngest brother for taking his place. He deviated from his family at a young age and took an interest in clothing and fashion beginning in secondary school. When he reached his final year of secondary school, he came out as gay to his family and was warmly accepted by them all. He went on to pursue a degree in fashion design and moved to Paris to follow his dreams. There he met his current long term boyfriend, Virgile Dubois, who he has lived with for three years now. Jules is the least personable of the Monreau brothers and is often described as distant or, by those less charitable, bitchy.

**Other Family**:

* Océane Moreau - Noe’s wife and Laurent's sister-in-law. Océane attended school with Noe and the two began to date after she returned from university with a degree in nursing. As such, she grew up around all of the Monreau brothers and was happily welcomed into the family when Noe proposed to her three years later.
* Odette Moreau - Noe’s eldest daughter and Laurent’s niece. Odette was born the same year that Laurent moved to America and is now two years old. She was named after the ballet character as she is one of her mother’s favourite characters in fiction.
* Delphine Moreau - Noe’s youngest daughter and Laurent’s niece. She was born a short three months prior. Laurent hasn’t been able to visit her in person yet, but hopes to at Christmas. Delphine was named after Laurent’s grandmother who passed away when he was young.
* Iara Monreau Reis - Iara is a Brazilian saucier currently working her way up in a local four star restaurant in Rio de Janeiro. She met Jean in culinary school in Fortaleza and the two soon began to date. A year and a half later, Jean proposed and they married a year later. The newlyweds chose to settle in Rio closer to Iara’s family. Iara has a good relationship with her in-laws, though she hasn’t had much time to interact with them.

**Past Partners/Crushes**:

* Collette Durand-Gosse

**MBT**: ISFP-T

**Likes**: Experimenting with new baking and cooking techniques, French pop music (his favourite artist is Nâdiya) and cooking competition shows

**Dislikes**: Crowded, loud places, confrontations with anyone, and being surprised

**Strengths**: Laurent is a very kind-hearted person who is inclined to help anyone near him who is in need. He has excellent time management skills and has been known to whip up feasts at a moment’s notice when company comes over unexpectedly. He refuses to let anyone go home hungry when he is at a gathering. He also values his friends greatly and often goes out of his way to ensure that they are getting along well.

**Weaknesses**: Laurent is very timid and has difficulties engaging with strangers. It has made making new friends equally as difficult for him. He is easily intimidated by others which has made him a target of bullying in the past. These struggles have resulted in low self-esteem for Laurent which often causes him to beat himself up over every little mistake and blame himself for things going wrong around him.

## Biographies

### **Pirate Universe**

**The Pre-Pirate Years:** Laurent was the unexpected fifth son of Émile and Cecile Moreau. The couple had thought that their fourth son would be their final child until Cecile took sick in the middle of the summer and her symptoms were quickly diagnosed as morning sickness. Their shock turned to joy, and soon the pair had welcomed their youngest son into the world.

Laurent grew up in his father’s bakery. Even before he could walk, he was playing with the ingredients and trying to imitate his father and older brothers as they worked. Food quickly became his life’s passion and he spent every waking hour helping either his father at work or his mother in the family kitchen. Only school took him away as his father insisted that all the boys be taught their letters and arithmetic.

At school, Laurent found himself uncertain when it came to making friends. He wanted to befriend the other children, but they were all much braver than he was and their way of playing was too rough for his tastes. That was when he met Colette Durand. She was only too happy to take him into her fold, and the two became inseparable.

Life went on like that for many years until Laurent had become a young man. It was then that Laurent found a new struggle. His brothers all had left home to pursue their trades with the exception of Noe who was destined to take over the family business. Laurent realised that he too would be expected to leave home and seek his own fortune, and yet he couldn’t imagine leaving. His home was all he had known and he dreaded the idea of going out in the world alone. Noe offered to keep him on at the family bakery, but Laurent knew it would be unusual to do so. No self-respecting man would settle for second when he could strike out alone.

If that were not enough, Laurent had developed confusing feelings for Colette. She was his best friend, and yet he wanted to be closer to her. She often talked of her fondness for him, yet she never accepted his offers to court her and she liked to speak about other men. He thought perhaps he ought to leave her be, and yet when he tried to turn his attentions elsewhere, Colette told him how very hurt that made her. So he continued to pursue her in whatever little ways she would allow him to. That was enough until the day that she came to him and said that she was engaged. Laurent felt his world crash down around him, even as he whispered his congratulations to her. It was on that day that he knew he had to leave.

**Life at Sea:** Mere days later, Laurent announced his intention to leave home to seek his fortune. His parents told him not to be rash, yet none of their arguments could dissuade him from packing his most important possessions and making for the port of Marseilles. He didn’t know where he would go, but wherever he landed would be far away from his bad memories.

Upon arriving in town, he literally ran into a woman in the market. The red haired beauty introduced herself as Alexa Montez and she immediately invited him to join her crew on the pirate ship, the Morbid Eel. Though hesitant about turning to crime, Laurent discovered that the pirates in question were all good men and women who welcomed him with open arms. He doubted that he would find a finer opportunity in the whole of France, and so he wrote home to inform his family that he was going to sea and left his old life far behind.

In the years that followed, Laurent became a beloved member of the crew. Though not the fiercest or the most skilled with weapons, he kept the whole crew well fed and the galley in spotless condition. And anyone assigned to help in the galley for the day learned quickly that the mild mannered chef was master of his kitchen with uncompromising standards.

### **Modern Universe**

**Childhood**: Laurent was the unexpected fifth child of Émile and Cecile Moreau. Two years after they made the decision to stop trying for children and Émile had a vasectomy, Cecile unexpectedly became pregnant. After several months of flustered doctor’s appointments, they discovered that Émile’s procedure had failed and they had yet another boy on the way. Rather than fret, the couple prepared a loving place in their home for their new bundle of joy. Laurent came into the world to a doting mother and father, three overprotective older brothers, and one brother who resented him for usurping his place as the youngest. Noe was quick to tell Jules off whenever he acted out at the new baby, but Jean was more sympathetic to his now second youngest brother’s plight and often took it upon himself to look after Jules. Hadiren hardly noticed the new addition to the house. In time, Jules accepted his newest brother, though he babied Laurent like the rest of the family did which was something that Laurent came to appreciate about his brother as he got older.

Laurent was happy in the early years of his life until the time came for him to go to school. Nothing had prepared him to spend even an hour away from home without even one member of his family there. The first three months of his schooling experience included daily crying fits and a good deal of stress for all of the adults around him. His father suggested holding him back a year in school, but his mother was convinced that they ought to see a doctor to understand why Laurent was struggling more than any of his brothers had. The doctor concluded that Laurent was spoiled and that he required a firmer hand to end the tantrums. His mother had her doubts, but she tried her best to be more strict in the days that followed. It worked until the end of that school year.

The next year led to another bout of tantrums that had both of his parents at their wits end. However, Laurent was fortunate. Before another doctor could suggest a psychiatric placement, Laurent’s new teacher suggested that Laurent ought to be tested for autism as he himself had been diagnosed as a lad and recognized several of the symptoms in Laurent. With his guidance, the Moreaus were guided to one of the country’s leading experts in childhood autism diagnoses, and from there learned that Laurent was on the spectrum. Armed with this new knowledge, his mother dedicated herself to advocating for Laurent so that he would be able to attend school with the other children.

With a better understanding of his needs and as much classroom support as his mother could muster, Laurent soon stopped fearing school and began to flourish academically. However, he remained painfully shy and unsure how to make friends. Laurent often asked his parents and brothers how they made friends, and yet none of their advice served him very well. That was until the day that Colette came into his life. Her family moved in down the block and she was placed in his class at school. She took a shine to him immediately, and soon the pair were inseparable. Laurent couldn’t have been happier. He had finally found a friend, and now all the confusing parts of school had fallen into place.

**Lycée (High School)**: Most of his schooling experience after that was no different from the other children around him thanks to his mother and his own struggles being more social than academic. He learned to manage his meltdowns and how to play the social games at school which meant masking for much of the day. Colette was the one who taught him as they grew older. Once they had entered collège, she began to see him as her personal project. A friend that she could mold into any image that she so desired. Laurent was only too happy to let her guide him as he believed that her lessons were what had won him all of his friends. It was stressful and Colette could be cruel with her critiques, but it was all that kept him afloat socially.

By the time they both entered lycée, Laurent found himself falling in love with his childhood best friend. He had always enjoyed her company, but then he began to daydream about kissing her and taking her out to the movies like they did on TV. He knew that it was the man who did the asking, so one day, he came to school with flowers and asked her if she would like to see a movie together. She rejected him. He felt the sting sharply, and yet she was quick to soothe him. She said that she saw him as a friend and would never wish to jeopardize their friendship. Though painful, he agreed with her and spent the following months trying to find a way to get over his affections for her. That proved difficult when she began to talk to him about her newest boyfriend and the many intimate details of their relationship. Laurent smiled through it, but often came home near to tears.

At that time, his brother Hadrien was home for a visit and noticed his brother’s troubles. He told him that he needed a night out to meet other girls and promptly took him out to a club. Laurent hated it, but tried to make the best of it for Hadrien's sake. By the end of the night, he found himself tipsy for the first time in his life and pictures went up online of him and a twenty-something woman kissing his cheek. He came home so dysregulated that he asked his parents to allow him to stay home from school the next day. They agreed, and then scolded Hadrien for dragging his brother out drinking on a school night. The day after, Laurent went to school and found Colette giving him the cold shoulder. He couldn’t understand what had gone wrong until she confronted him about the picture. She told him how disrespectful she found his actions and that he had hurt her. All that Laurent could think to do was to apologise and promise her that he’d never do it again.

That pattern repeated itself for the remainder of his schooling career. Any time that Laurent would try to get over Colette and pursue a new woman, she would get angry with him and demand that he stop speaking with the new woman. Soon, Laurent feared speaking to anyone without Colette’s permission. Even other men became off limits after a gay classmate at school dared to compliment one of Laurent’s sweaters. It had gotten so bad by his final year of school, that Laurent worried he wouldn’t be able to focus enough to graduate.

It was Jules who stepped in to help. The rest of Laurent’s family had tried to encourage him, but none were willing to address the problem head on. Jules flew back home from Paris and told his brother straight out that Colette was a conniving bitch who was wasting his time and energy. He was fierce with his own critique of the girl even when Laurent tried to defend her. He told Laurent that he would have to decide if he was going to spend the rest of his life under her claw or if he was going to take command of his life for once. Laurent left their talk terribly upset, and yet as the days wore on he began to see what his brother’s meant. Colette had her own boyfriend at the time and was talking about marriage, and yet if he so much as looked at another person, she told him how she needed him in her life. She had a life planned with another person. He was only a side attraction of hers. Not to mention, that he’d been feeling pressured to decide what to do with his life once school was over. He knew he could attend a university in the city which was what Colette had chosen, and yet it wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted to bake like his father, and now he wanted to strike out away from everyone to become his own man.

So that summer he quietly set in motion plans to take a job in America and move there for the foreseeable future. It was drastic and perhaps a little overboard, which was why Jules supported him wholeheartedly and helped him to put plans into place to make the move as smooth as possible. Within that same year, Laurent had an apartment with three roommates he had met on an autistic forum all more established in life who were happy to help him to adjust to independent life, a job working as a pâtissier in LA, and a pending first appointment with a therapist experienced in life transitions and the autism spectrum. Laurent’s parents were both upset that he had done so much without informing them, but neither could say they weren’t proud of their son’s ambitions. Noe nearly bought a house in America so that he could be near his brother to help until his wife reminded him that they had a baby on the way. Jean and Hadrien both agreed that the move out of the house would be good for Laurent, and Jean even offered to come up and visit later that year. Ultimately, all of his family agreed that Laurent would be fine, though they also told him to call at any hour if he needed help with anything.

Colette took the news the worst. Laurent waited until the night before he was set to leave, and for good reason. She threw a screaming tantrum that lasted for nearly an hour. He let her yell and fought hard against the guilt welling up inside of him. She turned on her heel and told him that if he left, he was dead to her. His hands trembled and so did his voice, yet he managed to whisper quietly that he was sorry before he began to walk away. She watched him go and screamed after him that he would be sorry when he died alone. Laurent wandered home in a fog and found Jules waiting for him in the house. Laurent collapsed into tears, and for once, his brother put an arm around him and helped him through the overwhelming emotions that had pushed him into a meltdown. The next day, they flew together to America where Jules spent a week helping Laurent to settle in before he went home to Paris.

**In America**: Though Laurent feared the worst, he found himself enjoying his new life abroad. His roommates helped him to land on his feet and his therapist showed him techniques that he’d never learned before to better manage his autism. He was even given support in his workplace to make his working life easier. What was even more surprising was that Laurent quickly made friends with several of the other employees at the kitchens where he worked. Colette hadn’t been the author of his social life after all. In fact, she had hampered all of his attempts to make one apart from her. Suddenly, Laurent was free to do as he wished.

However, he still bore scars from his failed attempts at dating in school and found himself unable to approach any of the people who caught his eye. Two of the waitresses at his work had recently learned of his trouble and decided to take it upon themselves to set up their sweet coworker, though none of their attempts had been successful yet.

## **Trivia**

* Whenever it's Alexa's turn for look-out in the crows nest overnight, Laurent always has a cup of warm milk and a sweet treat waiting for her the next morning, because he knows how tired she is.
* Go to karaoke song -  "Come to Me" by the Goo Goo Dolls because he has to try and sing a sweet song for his perfect girlfriend even though he's nowhere near as good as she is. He spends the song attempting to stay on key while hoping his accent doesn't get in the way. Alexa, of course, is smiling and blushing the whole time.
* First app in the morning -  iMessage either to text his girlfriend or read a text from his girlfriend or both.
* Most played Spotify playlist - 'Chansons sur la maison et l'amour' - his collection of French music from home and some Spanish ballads that Alexa likes to listen to.
* He has no issues with hugs if he thinks the other person will appreciate it. He loves to spoil his girlfriend and later his children with affection, always happy to give them a hug or a kiss or just pile everyone on the couch together. If his friends want to join in, he's more than happy.
* He tends to roll throughout the night, usually muttering something as he dreams. He'll start out holding Alexa though and always go back to her if she wakes up chilly.
* Period Help: He's not good at predicting or keeping track of when Alexa’s period is due, but whenever she starts, he'll always do whatever he can to make her feel better. Usually, that takes the form of getting her pain meds and making her favorite foods from home, also chocolate because Alexa is addicted to it. Good food fixes everything, it is known. Alexa isn't terribly moody during her periods though it is best to respect when she wants alone time during this portion of the month. Laurent has learned the balance of helping without smothering.
* Laurent can't do heights. On the ship he can manage to get himself into the crow's nests to watch with some effort but otherwise he feels sick so high up, always paranoid something will give out under him and send him crashing down.
* Laurent buys Alexa flowers whenever he screws up, but Alexa's too lovely to hold a grudge so she just looks after the flowers because she's got a green thumb anyway.
* Laurent is even more awkward around sex than his girlfriend is, and while he's more than happy to learn how to make her feel good, he's not a toy person.
* Jules, being the second youngest, never got along with Laurent during their growing years. Their relationship improved once Jules moved out to study tailoring (fashion design in the modern universe). All the older brothers agreed that Laurent had to be protected at all costs.