Apoteryx

Apoteryx is one of Golden Forge's OCs. Apoteryx is a rather mysterious Gem-Dino-like creature that arose from the Prime Kindergarten about 1000 years ago. While he doesn't have a specific side, he has been known to be particularly nasty towards other Gems for unknown reasons. He's also quite dangerous due to being a creature pretty much at the Gem's level of evolution.
== Appearance ==
Apoteryx appears to be a rather peculiar mutation of an Archaeopteryx, the transitional species from dinosaur to bird. He is actually bipedal, standing at a varying height from 3 feet up to 7 feet tall. His legs are actually considerably shorter, and he has a larger torso with a somewhat fat gut. His face seems to be slightly more rounded, hinting towards the reptile/Gem part of his biology rather than his bird side.
He is mainly covered in white body feathers, covering most of him except for the wings, lower parts of his legs, and obvious parts like his eyes and such. There are also light blue feathers to line certain parts of his body, particularly as "hair". His wings are lined with long rainbow-colored feathers, varying in different styles. His tail is long and also lined with long light blue feathers, but the very last feather is his Gem, being a long and solid rainbow feather with shards as the pieces. His eyes can have a different color depending on whether he's stressed, emotional, or neutral.
== Personality ==
Due to Apoteryx's biology and background, he can be a rather unstable specimen. When angered or extremely stressed, Apoteryx tends to go 'corrupt', causing quite some mayhem. He also has a rather obnoxious tendency of holding grudges against certain individuals for very long periods of time. Additionally, Apoteryx can become quite depressed after one of his 'corrupt' phases, or after traumatic events.
He however can be a mostly friendly individual, as he does try to be nice towards strangers at first. He also tries to keep his friendships from going down the drain instantly. Whenever Apoteryx becomes attracted to someone, he tends to try and keep the relationship locked, tending to focus only on the relationship and pushing out those that try to interrupt.
== Abilities ==
Like most Gems, Apoteryx can shape-shift, summon a weapon, fuse, and retreat to his gemstone to regenerate.
=== Weaponry ===
Bone of Prehistory: Apoteryx's main weapon that he can summon is a blunt bone that can vary in size depending on his current size himself. While this weapon isn't extremely special, it does have one special effect. It seems as though it deals more damage to older and older targets. This makes it feel like a simple cane for young Humans and Gems, while being a very dangerous weapon to primordial beings like the Cold and the Diamonds.
Sharp Feathers: Apoteryx's wing feathers can actually turn to steel and be picked off easily, allowing him to throw them at other targets like daggers. These feathers tend to degenerate after about a minute, and his current wing feathers regenerate about 20 seconds after being plucked off.
=== Advanced Shapeshifting ===
Apoteryx has one, if not, the most powerful shapeshifting abilities of any individual. While other Gems can simply change shape or size, Apoteryx's powers go so much further than that. His shapeshifting allows him to be at the maximum height of 20 feet, which brings him up to the size of a Diamond. Additionally, his body can be shaped with much more detail, and be altered in color.
His shapeshifting also actually allows him to receive powers appropriate to the form that he has taken. For example, if Apoteryx turned into a fire-based dragon, he would have high fire resistance and the ability to breathe fire. He however cannot use abilities that are far too powerful, such as time manipulation or teleportation.
=== Unique Biology ===
While Apoteryx is considered to be mostly a Gem, his biology tends to make him a rather unique target. While he is a Gem, he actually has much more capability to bleed and lose body parts. He also has resistance to anti-Gem weaponry, such as a Destabilizer. While such anti-Gem weaponry would affect him, it wouldn't instantly poof him like it would with a normal Gem.
== Backstory ==
In the course of the War on Earth, there has been many blatant struggles to attempt to make more use out of the planet. These include the Beta Kindergarten, the Diamond's Corruption Order, and most importantly the Cluster experiments. When certain Crystal Gems were shattered, they were actually buried in the ground as shards to see what would happen if they were regenerate.
However, one of these experiments, a Cluster-based one, had a rather... interesting, extra. A Ruby, Jasper, Topaz, Emerald, Sapphire, and Amethyst Gem were each buried together... but very close nearby was also a fossil of an Archaeopteryx feather. Over the course of about 4000 years, the Gems and fossil slowly moved to mesh together, and drained the rest of the power in the Prime Kindergarten. On January 17th, 1016, a rather peculiar specimen arose from the Kindergarten.
This specimen began to live the next 1000 years in the shadows, learning of both his prehistoric and Gem heritages through interactions with the Humans and Crystal Gems. He lived most of his life in America, living as a mythical creature to Native Americans with a Kiwi as a pet. When he learned that he looked very similar to an Archaeopteryx, he compared the name to Apteryx, the scientific name of Kiwis. He then decided to name himself Apoteryx.
However, over the course of the past 50 years, Apoteryx has been involved in quite some traumatic events. First off, he was trapped and imprisoned in Area 51 for about 20 years, until he was broken out by a very particular Xenotime and Larimar fusion. He had lived in Rio de Janerio for another 20 years, and actually ended up in a relation with a friendly Harpy Eagle, until she tried to kill him for sport. This caused his personality to slowly become more unstable, followed by more betrayals and such. Lastly, he was attacked by a Homeworld scout, and badly wounded as he had to shatter the scout.
Nowadays, he lives not so far away from Beach City, in the woods. He understands that not all beings are bad, but he still has skepticism of certain species, and especially the Gems. He has been however aware of the Crystal Gems in Beach City, and has decided to observe them from a distance. Maybe, just maybe... he could convince them that he isn't hostile, and that they could interact like they have all those years ago.
== Relations ==
TBA
== Fusions ==
* TBA
== Trivia ==
* Apoteryx is actually a general-fandom OC for Golden Forge, and is actually one of his *very* first OCs.
Category:Males
Category:No Alignment