Cain [WIP]

Do I perform tarot readings on myself? Ahaha, I used to-- but there are only so many times you can pull Tower before you start to take the hint...

-- Cain

Known locally as "The Psychic" (complete with capital 'T' and 'P' to match his showman persona), Cain is the sole owner of The Hourglass, a small shop chock full of mystic and magic wares-- and his personal psychic services. Unbeknownst to the general public, however, his act as a psychic is just that: an act. He has not a single iota of psychic power; everything he passes off as psychic abilities is either smoke and mirrors, observation, sleight of hand, misdirection, cold reading, or just plain theatrics.

Backstory

Cain has been living in Crossroads for about a decade now, having hailed from... well, somewhere else. He doesn't really talk much about from where he's from, his family, or his past prior to showing up in Crossroads, but word around town is he's let a few tidbits slip after a couple drinks: allegedly mentioned that he "learned his trade from his parents" but had to "move to a city to find any success in it", apparently adding that he sends the majority of his money back to his family for reasons yet unspecified.

Unbeknownst to anyone in Crossroads (sans perhaps The God Eater herself), 'Cain' is not his real name. If you wanted to know what his real name actually is... well, you'd have one hell of a time coaxing that out of him; Cain is incredibly guarded with that information.

Somehow along the way, Cain acquired a severe debt and now owes someone (or something) that is very impatient and very unforgiving. Is it money he owes? He certainly seems to act like it is. How much? He hasn't said, outside of "too much". To whom exactly? Due to how revealing that information would likely anger the debtor more and put his safety at higher risk, he won't say. He has revealed, however, that it's all clearly rigged against him; the interest mysteriously increases every time he pays some of it off, and that he'll likely be in debt the rest of his life (which will be very short at this rate).

Personality

✦ The Façade

Ever the showman, Cain is exceedingly charming and personable, able to gracefully maneuver his way through conversations with even the toughest of personalities. He has the ability to entertain, coerce, and convince most to whatever it is he may be trying to peddle (or glean) at the moment, all of which comes quite in handy as a salesman. Keenly observant while also empathetic, Cain is able to combine both traits to understand how others may think or feel, using that sense to manipulate situations toward the outcomes he desires; both traits also help him with his "psychic" services (which is to say, as a professional liar). Confident, charismatic, congenial; Cain is either well-liked or detested, there is rarely any middling indifference to how others feel about him.

A few more notes about Cain with his façade:

• Life of the party
• Probably an ENTP-esque personality
  • Minus the obsession with debating
• Rolls with "Yes and-"
• Chameleon
  • Will literally change voice/accent to appeal to someone
  • Appears well-off
• Very skilled liar
  • Though ironically doesn't enjoy lying

✧ Under The Façade

Rather surprisingly, Cain is actually reserved and quiet, not at all a showman by nature. For reasons he has not yet revealed, before moving to Crossroads, he forced himself outside of his comfort zone and learned how to play the role of the entertainer. While the extroverted charm is manufactured, his keen senses of observation and empathy are true to his core, leaving him frequently laden by a deep guilt due to lying being part of his current livelihood. As such, even while Cain is technically lying for certain psychic services (such as séances, for example), his end goal is still to help his clients, and will therefore do every ounce of research he can in preparation and suss out what is the best possible thing (in his opinion) for his client to hear. In a way, he's a bit of an unintentional life coach-- just with a lot of theatrics thrown in. Hidden under that extroverted façade, Cain is simply a lonely depressed man who feels trapped in his circumstance.

A few more notes about Cain's true self, under the façade:

• Guilted and lonely
  • Doesn't really believe he deserves happiness
• INTJ-esque personality
• Poor
  • Has the one nice outfit that he's learned to repair/tailor himself
  • Basically starves himself to save funds (hence being so thin)
• Depressed

✦ Socializing & Relationships

[Possible expression sketches to be added]

• Observant & perceptive
• Reading others
• Agile & quick
• Sneaky
• Silver-tongue
• Improvisation & thinking on the fly
• Dexterous
• Persistent

• Every normal human weakness
• Self-loathing & guilt-ridden
• Low stamina
• No magic, no powers, no extra-human anything
• Physically weak in strength & defense
• Weighs very little
• Stubborn
• Loner