cold and careful
Verity Elisandre Stuyveris
| Age | Late 20s |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Female |
| Height | 6'2" | 188 cm |
| Weight | 140 lbs | 66 kg |
| Force Sensitive | No |
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
The most noticeable feature of Verity Stuyveris' appearance is her height. At 6'2", or around 1.88 meters tall, she is usually one of the tallest women in a room. After nearly three decades of life, she carries her height with a kind of careful but unfussy composure. Her frame is best described as willowy, all long limbs and narrow hips. She operates her body and occupies space with an unmistakable precision: shoulders relaxed but never rounded, spine aligned, chin level, as if waiting to be photographed at any moment. Her face is fine-boned and striking rather than conventionally beautiful: a narrow oval with high, clear cheekbones and a strong jaw that tapers into a narrow chin. Her skin is so fair as to be almost translucent in certain lights, with a cool undertone that makes artificial illumination bounce off of her rather than sink in. It doesn't take much to color her skin -- anger, embarrassment, or an abrupt change in the temperature -- but years of discipline has taught her to keep control over when anyone sees it. She has pale blue eyes that have been described as 'grey' or 'glacial' set under smooth eyelids. At rest, her eyes are cool and observant, unreadable and aloof. When she's genuinely engaged, they sharpen, narrow, sometimes with an unnerving intensity. Her nose is straight and narrow, set in just the right proportion to the rest of her features, with the kind of profile anyone would think was produced in a cosmetic surgeon's office if not for it being nearly identical to her mother's in her youth. Lips, pale pink, well-defined and slightly fuller on the bottom than the top, sit in a neutral line that could be mistaken for severity. Amusement arrives on her face slowly, pulling first at one corner of her lips, then the other, before making the journey to her whole face.
Verity is a natural blonde, a color pale enough that it could read almost white under harsh halogens and warm gold in firelight, with just enough weight to fall sleek and straight when left alone. Verity almost never leaves it alone. In professional settings it is ruthlessly controlled, parted cleanly and swept back from her forehead into low chignons, pinned twists, or compact braids coiled at the nape of her neck. The styles are chose for practicality as much as aesthetic, to ensure that her hair stays out of her eyes in a briefing or escapes its pins to pose a safety hazard during a tour of the staryards her family owns. On the rare occasion when duty relaxes enough to let her hair down, it falls in a smooth curtain to just below her shoulders, and she has the slightly restless habit of tucking it behind one ear when she's thinking.
Her body language is a study in controlled economy. She wastes very little motion by fluttering and fidgeting. When she sits, it is with a straight back, sometimes crossing a long leg over the other or slanting with crossed ankles, hands folded neatly or else resting on the edge of a datapad. Standing, she tends to anchor herself with the lightest possible touch, like a hand on the back of a chair, fingertips against a tabletop, claiming the space without crowding it. When speaking, her gestures are small and precise: for instance, a tilt of her fingers to emphasize a point, or the faint lift of one hand when a conversation threatens to spiral. Her voice matches her bearing, in a low to mid-range, clear and steady, with a naturally measured cadence. She doesn't rush through sentences and picks her words carefully. When some emotion hits her hard enough to sting, her tell is almost imperceptible: a small muscle in her jaw flickers, a quick tightening and then release, before her face goes even more still. Anyone that knows her will learn to read that twitch the way sailors read the sea.
Verity's wardrobe is an extension of the same disciplined aesthetic. She dresses like someone who expects to be photographed but refuses to let it dictate to her. She favors highly tailored coat-dresses, structured sheath dresses under long, lean jackets, high-collared blouses with clean lines. Almost nothing frilled or fussy, nothing ostentatious. Though she does not have old money, she has studied those who do and dresses the part, in simple, high-quality items rather than flashy pieces. Jewelry is minimal and meaningful: a signet ring, tasteful earrings appropriate to the occasion, a thin bracelet or chain at her throat, and an antique wristwatch.
INVENTORY
TBD
PERSONALITY AND BELIEFS
At a distance or at a glance, Verity Stuyveris can seem cold. People who work closely with her, or who know her well, know that's not quite right. She's controlled, rather than cold. She knows that eyes are always on her, and she refuses to give away more than she chooses. She rarely raises her voice; rather, when she is angry, her sentences get shorter and more precise. Her humor is dry and understated, sometimes delayed. She is a master of the deadpan, with a voice made for the task. By default, she is not warm, but is very courteous. Politeness is a tool, but true warmth is reserved for a smaller circle. Verity hates nothing more than making a scene. If she is blindsided or hurt, the only sign is usually that small muscle in her jaw before her face goes even stiller than usual.
Internally, Verity is less serene. She feels deeply, particularly where duty and loyalty, attraction and guilt and disappointment are concerned. She has trained herself to process these feelings after a crisis, rather than in the middle of one. She has an endlessly self-interrogating mind. After big decisions, she keeps herself awake with questions about whether it could have been done better, whether the price paid is too high, whether there was something she missed that could have made the difference. She is genuinely duty-driven, because the privilege in her hands comes with an obligation to use it responsibly and to be competent and honest about what it costs. Though she comes from privilege, a quiet vein of humility runs through her, causing her to regard what she is doing and why.
STRENGTHS
Systems Thinker: Verity instinctively sees moving parts and systems, thanks in large part to her upbringing in the shadow of her family's staryards. Fleets, budgets, politics, public moods are all systems that need working -- or working around.
Pain Tolerance: Capable of working through exhaustion, grief, and frustration makes her a steady hand at the till.
Industrial Leverage: The Stuyveris Starworks Company builds ships and the Stuyveris Philanthropic Foundation are but two of the powerful entities that share her name. They carry weight when discussing defense policy and related topics.
Legal & Policy Expertise: Verity got her education in finance before going to law school. She practiced constitutional law and did pro bono work with the workers' guilds, and not (only) for the good PR!
WEAKNESSES
Emotional Reticence: Verity has a hard time asking for things she needs, or expressing emotions. She fears she will come across as needy or stupid. This results in people taking her distance for indifference.
Control Issues: She needs things to be coherent, predictable. Chaos unnerves her more than she would care to admit.
Quiet Jealousy: It's relatively rare for Verity not to get what she wants, but when it happens, it can make her lash out.
Nepotism: However well-qualified she may be, Verity knows instinctively that she would be nowhere without her family name and the money and influence that come with it. It is a dual-edged sword: it inspires her self-doubting streak, but also makes her work all the harder to deserve what she gets.
HISTORY
Born into the illustrious new money Stuyveris family, which made its fortune in shipbuilding on Druckenwell, Verity is one of two. Her elder brother has been groomed to take over the family business, while Verity was molded along a different path. She took an interest in politics and was encouraged to pursue studies that would suit as a jumping off point for it. Leveraging family connections after university, she worked internships in local and planetary government before she took work as a deputy director of legislative affairs for Druckenwell's Senator.
During this time, the Stuyveris family was entering planetary politics in a big way. Though they have money, they lack a significant standing in parliament, and thus were able to make minimal influence without enjoying the patronage of a larger house. Still, the influence and capability of Verity's father could not be overstated. He finagled himself a position in the cabinet due to his industrial holdings and expertise. He negotiated a betrothal between the then-head of Druckenwell's prestigious noble Thule family, which promised to provide financial resources, expertise, and investment opportunities to the Thules in exchange for the Thules' political backing. Verity was not terribly happy with the idea of being married off like some kind of old-timey holodrama, but she understood the necessity for it. She negotiated for herself, too, and as a gesture of good faith, when the previous senator retired, Andromeda was appointed the interim Senator until Parliament could debate and confirm another choice. With the backing of the Thules and other noble allies, she would have the votes, but time and fate intervened.
Thule died in the Battle of Atrisia, where he had led a force of Druckenwellian volunteers in the defense of Atrisia. With no one to cast the votes, and no one able to command a clear majority of the Parliament's confidence, Verity appears to be trapped in limbo -- Senator, but living as such on borrowed time -- while genealogists scoured the archives for the next in line to the title. Little did Verity know that her father still had grand plans for an alliance with the Thules, provided one could be found eligible to take up their votes in parliament.