Name (Nickname): Renée Iacaruso
Age: 24
Gender Female
Side & Role: Gamemaster
Personality
A complex young woman with a stoic face, Renée is an oddity who doesn't seem to truly get along with anyone. At the age of 8, she was diagnosed with prosopagnosia - the inability to recognize faces and expressions on the whole, despite being able to make out individual features. Because of this, she adheres strongly to etiquette in speaking with others, unable to communicate to others without them. Her catchphrase - "smile for me" - is also born of this disorder. By memorizing people's smiles - with all the facial features aligned in one position - she can take note of their facial appearance without really having to process their expression as a whole. Renée's other methods (the more normal ones, according to psychology) for remembering others include memorizing their footsteps and stride, clothing style, or voice. She also might remember the appearance of specific features - the shape of the nose, for instance, or the width of the brow - even if the face as a whole is unclear to her.
Despite her social difficulties, Renée is actually quite brilliant in the fields of economics, sociology and psychology. While unable to really attach to human society as a part, she understands it well from an intellectual level, and is glad to dissect and analyze anyone's emotions - including her own. She actually has a very strong (albeit inconsistent) code of morality, which often moves her to the point of hypocrisy. However, she has no conception of the importance of an "individual" - losers are those who must be sacrificed for the growth of others. This is her philosophy in investing, as well as in creating the game. Renée actually suffers from an inferiority complex, believing that as soon as her wealth and power fade, she will be worthless.
Renée is popular - though known for being enigmatic - amongst her neighbors, who only see her polite but standoffish side. Her butler, Rose, and two bodyguards are the only ones to witness her breakdowns and guilt. She does little for her own physical appearance - being unable to see her face herself - but insists that her servants always present her in the best light possible.
History:
Renée is the oldest of four children in an upper class family, but due to her sickliness and inability to remember people outside of her family, she was often babied and treated as the youngest. When she reached age 8, this was finally attributed to prosopagnosia. Her doting parents and younger siblings made huge efforts to help her live "normally," and therapists began to teach her the normal patterns of human interaction and other methods of recognizing and forming relationships with people. Renée became rather cold and stiff in speaking, but this was an improvement over previous years - in which she had thrown fits, unable to express her emotions. Still, she remained physically weak and rather unattractive (her current appearance was largely shaped by cosmestic surgery a bit later in life).
Finally free to pursue her interests and aware of a larger world before her, Renée first dove into psychology with particular interest. However, she only found that humans as a whole were much darker and more primitive than she could have imagined. Frightened but intrigued, she continued her studies, eventually turning her interest in humans to an interest in the economy and becoming a dextrous trader by the time she was sixteen. She finally found her connection to the rest of the world through wealth and exchange, emerging from college debt-free and with a small independent fortune but still estranged. For a few years, she tried philantrophy - but quickly became disillusioned of her ability to make a difference in the world. She married Thomas Rendor at the age of twenty-two to gain access to his computer company, but divorced him six months later because of his views on the "ideal wife." After this divorce, Renée kept the house that would later become the site of her chess game - Renshaw Manor.
Broken and even a bit insane (and disgusted by her incapable siblings and parents, as well as her pathetic childhood self), she began to adopt a new worldview, singling out those who were "useful" to society and wishing to eliminate the weak. Unfortunately, Renée's assurance of her own capability hinged on her extraordinary mind and her wealth - both of which, she knew, were bound to fade eventually. Her "chess game" eventually emerged from a desire to silence the weakness within the world - and within herself - and from years of economic support for more "esoteric" projects. The board and pieces used were an inheritance from her father.
Image References: None
References: Wikipedia on Prosopagnosia