Stahma Tarr @ Ataraxion

[finer]

P L A Y E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Your Name: Sapphire
OOC Journal: Swordspoint
Under 18? If yes, what is your age?: No.
Email + IM: velaxise at gmail
Characters Played at Ataraxion: Alex Millar

C H A R A C T E R I N F O R M A T I O N
Name: Stahma Tarr
Canon: Defiance
Original or Alternate Universe: Original
Canon Point: S01Ep12
Number: 152

Setting:

Canon wiki

History:

Born into wealth and a high, prominent class, Stahma belongs to a high ranking Castithan caste. It had been decided early by her father that she would marry well and into equally high society, and was so engaged to "a man of honor" during the Castithans' long journey to earth. Stahma’s fiancee met an untimely and extremely suspicious end after challenging a commoner--the man who had been tirelessly pursuing Stahma and would later become her husband--to a blood duel. It is not known who had administered the grisly fate of being flushed out the ship's airlock before the duel had taken place, but Stahma doesn't flinch at the suggestion that she’s had a hand in it.

Aiding her ambitious suitor, and then husband, to prosper on earth, the couple settle in Defiance (formerly St.Louis) among those left to deal with the ravages of the long running Pale Wars. And while not completely integrated into the life of humans on earth, Stahma possesses a wide understanding of human culture that befits her subtle yet ambitious personality. She is far from complacent of their station on earth, and knows it could be better.

Stahma’s marriage to Datak has borne an only son, Alak, whose budding romance with a human girl, Christie, alarms his parents. Stahma, however, sees potential benefit in this relationship, as Christie’s father owns the mines--the source of much of Defiance’s economy. Despite the tension between the two families, Stahma sets her eyes on long term profit and the prospects of the Tarrs eventually inheriting the mines. When the young girl starts having second thoughts about her engagement to Alak, Stahma intervenes to change her mind.

Using subtlety and indirect suggestions, Stahma manages to have her husband included in the town council, promising that it will make him malleable and eager to aid the mayor, whose sister has been kidnapped. After the rescue of the mayor’s sister, Kenya--the owner of a bar and a brothel, Stahma engages in an affair with the young woman. Stahma soon advises her not to refuse her long term client, her own husband, in the future. Eventually, Kenya threatens to make their affair public when she discovers Stahma’s unwavering support of her husband’s underhanded methods. Stahma only keeps a brave, unfazed front. Soon after, Datak correctly suspects his wife’s unfaithfulness and threatens to kill her. Stahma, in turn, encourages her lover to leave Defiance altogether to spare both of their lives. The two agree to meet in seclusion, where Kenya’s doubt are revealed regarding her sincerity. She plans to hold Stahma hostage in order to force Datak to leave town once and for all. Stahma ends up poisoning Kenya, having been following Datak’s orders all along.







Personality:

Stahma’s relationships with the men in her life highlight the painstakingly subtle shrewdness in her personality. Having been born to a high caste and coming from a prominent family, her father was quick to put a stop to her artistic nature as soon as they were noticeable, deemed inappropriate for a woman of her status. Many of the limitations Stahma faces as the daughter of an aristocratic class and the wife of an influential man have given rise to the quiet deviousness with which she navigates the world. She has to be patient when her race is known to be bristly, and accommodating while the men are entitled. Her ambitions may not be as overt as her husband’s, but they drive her just as consistently. Upon settling in Defiance after the war, Stahma is shown to be restless and discontented with Datak’s position in their community. She believes he can rise even higher, and works throughout the story-line in order to push him along the path of becoming a mayor. Her suggestions and remarks help in pulling the strings behind the scene, a foil to Datak’s more open and fiery nature. Upon admitting Datak into the town council, Stahma is noted as the snake to keep an eye on.

Despite the tension between the elite Tarr family and the McCawley’s mining clan, Stahma understands that more lies after the joining of their houses in marriage when her son shows interest in Christine McCawley. Despite concerns regarding the history of the two families, and over the union of a human and a Castithian, Stahma is able to see a clear benefit in inheriting the mines, one day, considered the main source of income for Defiance. In order to facilitate what could otherwise be a thorny courtship, Stahma takes her prospective daughter in law under her wing, displaying an affection of in order for the human girl to acclimate into a new culture, with incredible patience. While Stahma is not always completely truthful with Christie, she exhibits an adequate show of kindness, even if it doesn’t lack self interest.

Stahma’s outward serene demeanor is a defining characteristic that’s reflected in her immediate actions, if not indicate the underlying reasons for them. She mediates, soothes, counsels, and suggests. Underneath that calm are well planned motives and a strong minded attitude. She recognizes her husband’s deep need for respect and legitimate recognition, providing an outlet via his introduction to the political community through the power of reasoning and suggestion. It seems that upon first impression that Stahma inhabits a traditional space of the dutiful, supportive wife who waits in the shadow, when, in fact, she employs her cunning and foresight to pave the way for his success. Rather than merely being the foil to Datak’s aggressiveness, Stahma’s deliberation works hand in hand with his forward ruthlessness.

How Stahma manages to negotiate the precariousness of her position as a subservient wife in her marriage and society illustrate her control over that frail balance. Stahma ultimately plans in accordance to her benefit, if not convenience. She allows Datak the extra-marital freedom his position affords him while pursuing an affair with another woman, knowing she has to follow a different set of social rules that mark a distinctive double standard in their relationship. What appears to be a power imbalance in their marriage to outsiders (of humans) is countered by a mutual system of benefit as Stahma directs her husband’s motives with her own pragmatism. After all, any power Datak comes to will be hers by extension..


Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations: Nothing supernatural or out of the ordinary. Stahma, however, possesses above average intelligence and is incredibly sharp, if subtle. Her weaknesses are primarily physical as befitting a lady of an aristocratic, pampered, non working class.


Inventory: White dress, corset, and hooded cloak..
Appearance:


as played by Jaime Murray

Age: Early forties.

AU Clarification: N/A

S A M P L E S
Log Sample:

Of all her best laid plans, waking up on a spaceship for the first time in over twenty years had never been one of the options researched and deliberated.

The surprise, the shock, and the disorientation were inconvenient at best. The quaint feeling of comfort that had followed, unanticipated as it was, settled on her like an old cloak. So much could go wrong out here, with the entirety of this little community contained in a capsule. And yet, so much can change just wonderfully.

Stahma Tarr had worn that comfort with ease, acclimating to and absorbing the nuances of so many differences around her. After all, someone had to take in and navigate the wildly variant cultures that existed in organized chaos around them, here. Out of the two of them, Datak was not going to be that person.

Letting your outer self get immersed into everything else that existed here was like dipping into a pool, soaking in the stinging coldness of shock, and emerging with purity. It was a notion that had been utterly indulgent when they were on earth, when the best of its ravaged remains had to offer lay low in the sky of Stahma's ambitions.

And on that note of pools, she had to see about apparent lack of traditional bathing spaces, before anything else. The thought of it was simply barbaric.


Comms Sample:

I am quite heartened by the warm and genial company I have found myself in upon arrival. There may not be any faces I recognize, kind as they are, but I am sure that will be remedied in the shortest amount of time.

To be completely honest, I find the facilitated methods of communicating with everyone here so very charming and convenient, especially in regard to time and comfort. I would like, however, to convene with you in a more intimate and personal fashion. I may have just arrived here among your numbers, but I can assure you I can provide an adequate and exemplary show of hospitality.

After all, what better way to spend my time here than to learn all about you?