#filed under: the courneuve cult.

[armsdealing]

* COURNEUVE’S INNER CIRCLE.

The Inner Circle comprises Renaud’s most trusted, reliable, and committed members. They’re his main vessels, and they oversee everything that happens in Courneuve, both the place and the organization. Over the decades they’ve seen members come and go, including losing some prior IC-level members as well, but as of the last twenty years the line-up has stayed solid. 

These people come from all sorts of backgrounds, from all sorts of time periods, but they’ve got two things in common -- their skillset is appealing to Renaud, and they’re willing to go the extra mile. They also all happen to be quite susceptible to Renaud’s possession, with the rare quality of being able to meld their minds with him. As a result, Renaud influences their personalities, but they also influence Renaud’s.

Warnings underneath the cut for: talk of drugs, crime, violence, alcohol, etc.

CASSANDER LANE.

He was originally an immigrant in France in the early twentieth century. When he met Renaud he was on deathrow for murder. After accepting his deal, Renaud worked his influence to make the charges on him disappear and forge him a new identity: Cassander Lane, born in Saint-Malo.

He doesn't disclose much on his past pre-Renaud and he is in fact largely a mystery to most of the inner circle, even those that have known him for decades. Besides the deathrow thing, the other thing they do know is that he was involved in the manufacturing of heroin in Corsica, and the trafficking from Corsica to other parts of the world. This would explain his deep knowledge of opium-based products. 

Not known to anyone but Adrienne is that he was also partook frequently in his own product as well as alcohol. He’s developed a distaste for it, though he’ll still dabble.

He’s closest to Adrienne because of the time they’ve been together in this. He’s also on good terms with Marcos.

He’s an extremely good safecracker and designs plans and strategies with clockwork precision. He runs the building efficiently, acting as the landlord and the most visible member of the circle inside the building. People are actually convinced he’s Renaud himself.

A quiet, mild-mannered guy. He always seems to be thinking of something. 

ADRIENNE SAO.

Out of them all she's the one that can use Renaud's illusory powers the best. even better than Cassander, though she's not been around as much as he has. She can make people hallucinate even while they are awake and sometimes tap people out of their senses... which is great for espionage because she can just make people not hear or see shit. She could be right in front of you and you wouldn't be able to notice up until she touched you, which is when the illusion breaks down.

She's got as much a mysterious background as Cassander, perhaps even more so since she reveals nothing. As far as everyone else knows she was born and grew up in Paris and she has no living family and that's about it. 

There’s more than passing reason, however, to believe she comes from a couple of early-Cold War spooks that worked for French intelligence.

Her fighting style is greatly based on both Karate and Hapkido, both disciplines which she's mastered.

The right-hand. She’s closest to Cass for obvious reasons, and Dahlia bc she's cute.

Blunt, callous, cruel, assertive. Sees the world as one big playground. Though Cassander designs the plans, it is Adrienne who executes and leads them to completion. 

MARCOS TORRALBA.

His childhood was spent in Juarez, Mexico until he was on his teens, then he moved to the capital to live with his grandmother after his parents’ passing. 

From the start he showed a talent for languages and entrepreneurship. He was good at talking his way in and out of places. He had an impressive grasp of English at mere 10 years old and often acted as translator, messenger or spy for a few unsavory characters in his hometown. 

On his teens he took a different approach and started learning languages from a professional perspective, which was something that his grandmother stressed for him. He perfected his English and enrolled in French classes. He studied tourism in college. 

Of the circle he probably has the cleanest background, second perhaps to Dahlia and no one else. He's had brushes with the illicit side of things but he's kept things legitimate. He worked as a translator for businesses at the same time as he started to learn other key languages like German and Japanese. 

His "recruiting" process was likely.... simpler or less flashy than others maybe. He was lured by the idea of wealth and "wrongness" of the whole thing. He became more committed as he went along. 

Renaud got him the job at the Park Hyatt Paris Vendome, or at least put the right things on the table to make it happen and let Marcos do the rest. He wanted to turn Marcos into his asset, which was a familiar (but not unwelcome) feeling. He was great for the job of concierge — charisma, sociability, creativity, a natural helpful air, a trustworthiness to him. Marco's role, given by Renaud is basically information gathering by any means necessary for blackmail/recruitment purposes. 

He's pretty seductive and uses that as a weapon as well. The horror aspect of Renaud is downplayed, and instead it's the lustful/enticing side of his "magic" that's played up. He’s a freak.

DAHLIA BOUHOUCHE.

Dahlia had the most normal background of the whole inner circle. She wasn't prone to criminal activity before her recruitment and she led a fairly ordinary lifestyle previous to it. 

She wasn't so much lured by riches or power as she was lured by Renaud himself. Her relationship with Renaud is.... How can I say this.......... More emotional? Like if I had to say which one actually had feelings for Reanud, it would be her. That isn't to say she is legitimately in love but that she might be more devout from that angle. And in the other hand we have the fact that Renaud could be considered protective of her. He’s fond of Dahlia.

Not unlike Marcos she has a more welcoming air to her. She seduces and manipulates people. She has a great persuasive ability, definitely enhanced by Renaud. She seems the “weak link”, and this serves a purpose -- it makes people underestimate her, when she’s also pretty formidable in her own right (in no small part thanks to Adrienne’s involvement).

She's closest to Adrienne and Marcos. Adrienne has a dominant, leader personality that she responds to well and Marcos is just likable and friendly in general. She gets along with Cass and respects him for being the main vessel, but they're not close. And Matthew's vulgar demeanor is kinda off putting so she doesn't go out of his way to talk to him.

On her own she's pretty sweet and quiet, she might give off a shy air when she isn't on a "mission". She seems the most humane of them all. She doesn’t live in the building, but in a more strategic flat in the heart of Paris with Marcos. Both of them frequent Courneuve, though. 

MATTHEW SPECTOR.

Rough, mob-riddled background. He enlisted in the French Foreign Legion to leave that behind. 

After a few years of active duty he suffered a life threatening injury in combat, which finished his military career. He was given French citizenship due to Français par le sang versé, French by spilled blood. 

In reality, Matthew would've most certainly died if it weren't for Renaud. Renaud essentially saved Matthew's life in exchange for his services - he's got elite military training, and is probably the most skilled fighter bar Adrienne, where she has a bit of an edge. 

He's skilled with long ranged killing techniques and clean murders but specializes, by own admission, in torture and butchery. 

He's sadistic, cruel and ruthless beyond compare. He is likened to an attack dog. He doesn't care about material goods as much as the others and is instead there for the possibility to freely enact violence. 

He was the last one to join the inner circle and doesn't have as strong a relationship with the others as they have amongst themselves. He has a bit of a rivalry/antagonistic relationship with Adrienne but since she's higher in the hierarchy he does as she says and considers the banter entertaining. He gets along well enough with Marcos (Marcos has the ability to get along with anyone, for which he sometimes acts a mediator/voice of reason in this group), and thinks Dahlia is alright but he doubts they'll ever be best friends. Cass intrigues him, but Cass intrigues everyone tbqh he's weird.

Although he most often takes an offensive stance, he leads the crew that protects the complex from aggressive outsiders, and they make a point to keep tenants safe from any threats looking to ‘take down’ Renaud. 

[armsdealing]

RENAUD. UNKNOWN AGE – CRIMINAL, CULT LEADER, THIEF – “NIGHTMARE” – BOARD

WHO? 

most recurrently, renaud (renaud theroux, if he’s feeling generous) is the landlord of a building in the commune of La Courneuve in seine-saint-denis, france. occasionally, and more accurately, renaud is the actual owner of the building, the manager’s name being cassander lane. he seems to be quite a shady character, much like cassander, much like the building itself and its tenants, and not many (at least not those that are in on it, sure) seem to be sure of how he looks like. man sure seems to have a lot of people to work out his errands though.

WHAT? 

renaud can be a lot of things depending on who you ask. he’s regarded as a demon leaning towards the incubus subtype, or a devil, or a non-christian malignant entity, or a spirit, or a ghost. he’s even been described as simply a nightmare. he himself is rather unsure of what he is. he’s a little bit of everything and a whole lot of nothing. he’s wholly non-corporeal, a creature that can solely be through possession of other creatures, usually humans. otherwise, he’s limited to dreams, specifically nightmares or sexual dreams, from which he draws energy from.

truthfully, there’s no true way to describe him, except as a superlunary accident, a cosmic anomaly given sentience by chance. he can induce fear or arousal the likes of which can’t be measured, and he feeds from that, not necessarily because he might die if he doesn’t feed, but because he grows stronger when he does. he’s not bound by time, though he is bound by space. he can take on any shape in the dream realm, and even show up to people in proper sleep-deprived or predisposed conditions, but he does not have a physical body. instead, he has to invade one. but because it’s him, one wasn’t enough.

naturally, he created a cult.

A CULT? 

though the term is used ironically, they are more or less just that, indeed. renaud, over the decades, has gathered a specific group of individuals to “work” for him and his operation, which invariably includes being possessed by him whenever he needs a corporeal figure. his relationship to them is a mix of employer-employee and deity-followers, and it’s best described as the latter disguised as the former.

WHO ARE THE MEMBERS? 

mostly lowlifes, admittedly. people who exist on the fringes of society. people who have nothing to lose and a lot to gain from the business deal renaud offers them. outside of criminals (that range from murderers to small time street rats), renaud has pocketed a few lawyers, a couple municipal council members in la courneuve and adjacent communes, a handful of cops, custom house officers/dgddi agents, and hotel managers. in varying degrees of commitment, involvement, and loyalty, renaud has his proverbial hand in many pockets.

ARE THEY ALL VESSELS? 

no. many of them, he’s just visited in dreams or through one of his more firmly established vessels. however, they’re all aware that they could work as potential vessels at a moment’s notice. renaud tends to go for people with certain qualities, though, so some have less to worry about than others.

there’s people who have never been possessed by renaud that have been however visited by renaud and that actively believe in renaud in a religious manner. this applies to a good percentage of the courneuve building’s tenants. they might not be his body, but they most certainly are his eyes and ears.

see the following post for a glimpse at the familiar faces that make up the “inner circle”, as they’re called. if he contacts someone, chances are it’ll be through one of them.

WHAT DO THEY DO? 

long story short, they do renaud’s bidding. the side effects of said bidding include: drug running, information brokering, bribery, blackmail, forgery, smuggling, contract killing, robbery, theft, extortion, tempering, and money laundering. mostly, he’s interested in a reliable supply of bodies that help him do what he does best, and that’s being a nuisance. the crime aspect is done “for the artistic sake of it” – he couldn’t care less about money, but it sure gives you many freedoms to have a lot of it, and it keeps his vessels busy, whether that’s getting it or spending it.

IS IT REALLY A CULT? 

i’m not really interesting in discussing the semantics of the word, but it does meet a fair bit of the criteria for one. there’s varying degrees of commitment to renaud (oh, because there’s a commitment level, because he’s built himself to something like a religious idol for these people), but all of them have signed the contract with him, regardless, whether seeking youth, wealth, power, or the freedom to cause mayhem. renaud becomes a part of the people he inhabits, and they become a part of him in turn, turning almost hivemind-like (or giving the feeling of one). the core members (like cassander) have been around for a good bit now, but it is them who are the most aware and willing to give to renaud the ultimate sacrifice if comes to it – again, the most committed members are people that have nothing outside the life renaud has given them. leaving is not forbidden (if there’s something “decent” renaud can say about himself, it is that), but it’s not so common.

if it’s not a cult, it might as well be a criminal gang with quite the unorthodox religious thinking patterns.

NOTES.

Renaud deals heavily with NSFW and horror themes, especially pertaining to body horror / psychological horror / erotic horror. To roleplay with him is to understand this.

He has no face. All the faceclaims used will implicate Renaud’s possession of someone, except in dreams, where he will take either a face of his own liking, or an object of your character’s lust/fear (this would have to be discussed).

He’s not open to romantic relationships, but your character may become entangled with him (or any member of the inner circle) one way or another.

The line between Renaud/The Inner Circle, where personhood is concerned, gets blurrier by the day. When Renaud is acting through one of them, he will partially adopt their mannerisms, personality traits, among other things. This would explain him not acting the exact same way.