Sunday, 23 February 2020

299 - Cassandra Zaveri, Lovelorn Psychic Vampire

GMC: Cassandra Zaveri, Lovelorn Psychic Vampire

Two aspects of Cassie’s childhood define her: the first is that she grew up on a diet of Disney princess films and romantic comedies, the second is that she supposedly comes from a fae lineage.

That’s what her mother insisted at least, Cassandra believed her at first out of juvenile awe and later repudiated her mother as a pseudo-spiritual crank in a fit of teenage rebellion. She wishes she’d listened more, before the elder Zaveri died of a stroke 6 years ago. Her inherited powers are a burden but uniquely motivate her play cupid: Cassandra literally feeds off affection, even vicariously, to the detriment of her victims.

This appetite and a stubborn commercially-romanticized view of human relationships has scuttled over a dozen chances at love but also given her the motivation to meddle in the affairs of others. She runs a professional matchmaking service after years of unofficially doing the same for friends (who all praised her insight before dropping out of her life, emotionally exhausted) and she’s brilliant at it. Whatever problems she has with parsing the realities of human interaction Cassandra is lethal at targeting the hopes and dreams of those motivated to seek out her services. Few of the relationships she sets up last but the honeymoon period is something that sticks with a lot of her clients, enough that she has repeat customers.

The reason for this is that Cassandra feeds off that early bloom, follow up contacts allow her to leech away client’s fresh emotions for herself and the dizzying rollercoaster is equally addicting to them. If only they could recapture that feeling they might not have to feel this horrible low ever again. Her own relationships fail for the same reasons but her beau’s tend to cut things off entirely, eventually.

Her belief is that if she can find just the right connection, a soul mate, that they will bond forever in a perfect feedback loop of transcendent connection. Cassandra believes her powers reflect her deeper ability to love than normal humans, that it gives her special insight and authority. She resents people who quit on her but she’s got a big enough stable that she hasn’t resorted to stalking the ones who finally leave. Yet.

STATS
Personality:
Protean, usually upbeat but occasionally inconsolably depressed. Cassandra changes her behaviour and mannerisms to match what she thinks would appeal most to the people she’s interacting with. She’s good at it but someone with a keen social barometer can taste the undercurrent of well-founded insecurity. Cassandra tries to cover this up by being more interested in talking about you than herself.
Rage: Emotional manipulation.
Noble: No one deserves to be alone.
Fear: I’ll never find my other half (Isolation).
Obsession: Finding her perfect match.
Wound Threshold: 50.

Matchmaker 60%* (Substitutes for Connect, Evaluates Isolation, Protects Isolation.)
Psychic Vampire 60% (Vague Harm, Casts Rituals, Use Gutter Magick. Cassandra has to spend time around her victim to hex them and gains an equal benefit to any harm she inflicts. It doesn’t happen automatically but she tells herself it does. She’s addicted to it.)

Shock Gauges
Notches
Violence
Unnatural
Helplessness
Isolation
Self
Hardened
1
3
2
3
2
Failed
0
1
1
1
0

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