Torbernite

## Concept and Creation

At one point after the Cluster arc and seeing a bit more about Corruption in the show, I just kinda thought to myself "who the hell developed those things anyways? Like what kind of secret top scientists worked on these awful things?" and then bam I thought of Torbernite. A gem who would have a lower sense of morality which would make her work on dark experiments with little thought, but with such a high intelligence that she didn't actually follow the Diamonds all that blindly, and would even disobey them without their knowledge. Also I wanted another character to link the Pearl and Rhinestone characters I had brainstormed before her.

## Personality

Torbernite is a cold, uncaring gem. She has little regard for who or what gets harmed because of her, and she seemingly only cares for the results of her work. She sometimes goes too far in her work, even by Homeworld standards, to the point where her experiments seem more like torture. But she doesn't find any enjoyment from the suffering of her subjects, but rather enjoys pushing the limits of gem kind. She is dying to make new discoveries, and is constantly asking questions such as: "How long can we delay the effects of corruption?" or "How stable can we make a cluster fusion?" or "How can we fix off-colors?"

The only other things she feels real care for is her two partners, Mint Pearl and Rhinestone. She will almost never perform experiments on these two (even if one of them is an off color), and she has them follow almost everywhere she goes. She would give up everything for these two, and will protect them at all costs. However, she never shows this love out in the open, and keeps it to herself. Every once in a while she may let it slip out in front of the two, but it is rarely if ever known.

## Relationships

### Mint Pearl

It is difficult to notice, but Torbernite is infatuated with her own Pearl. While most high-ranking gems treat them as servants and accessories, Mint has been the only friend that Torbernite has had for thousands of years. She has been known to shut herself inside of her lab constantly, and has never formed a real bond with any other gem before. Once she was given her own Pearl after the rebellion, she had seen something in her, and instead trusted her with the responsibility of being a lab assistant. Eventually, she grew an emotional attachment to Mint, and soon enough a romantic interest. Sometimes she will fuse with her under the excuse of "scientific research", but deep down they both know it's really for the experience.

### Rhinestone

Rhinestone however is a different story. Torbernite has known her for barely a few centuries, and she is the result of the scientist's experiments. Rhinestone was made by Torbernite in an attempt to create a gem with substituted materials, and now Torbernite feels the responsibility to watch over her now. Rhinestone would have normally been shattered for being defective, but instead is safely kept secret and occasionally researched. While Rhinestone plays a role similar to a henchman for Torb, Torbernite would never consider her "disposable".

## Trivia

* Torbernite was mostly inspired by Gaster's portrayal in the Handplates Undertale AU
* Her hair is also a reference to Marie Curie, a scientist who studied radioactivity and most photos of her are with a messy bun hairstyle.
* Despite being alive during the rebellion, Torbernite has never actually set foot upon earth's surface.