Shattuckite

Shattuckite is a Gem that lives in The Garden on Mars, after having been stranded by a band of intergalactic Gem pirates. She is considered a member of Pink Zirconia's Court.

## Appearance

Shattuckite is a somewhat short Gem; not including her hair, she is about a half a head shorter than a Pearl. She has blue skin, thin arms and legs, a thin build, and a wide head framed with periwinkle hair. Her eyes have no pupils, her nose is short and pointed, and she has no lips. Her Gemstone is on her forehead.

Shattuckite's appearance has not changed at all since she first emerged, and is therefore very simple. Her hair is in a short, tidy, circular afro. She wears a light blue dress with Blue Diamond's insignia on her chest, along with navy blue sleeves and a matching belt and shoes.

## Personality

Originally, Shattuckite was a calm, composed, obedient Gem, that did her job without question or complaint. However, after undergoing extensive torture, including from Blue Diamond herself, she has become insecure and frequently anxious. She is known to overreact to conflict, pleading for mercy or trying to run even if there was no threat made against her. When not crippled by anxiety, she is reserved but fairly friendly, acting as an assistant and advisor for other Gems and spending much of her free time in the Garden's observatory.

## History

Shattuckite's past before and during the Rebellion, if she existed at all, is unknown. Around 5,000 years ago, Pink Diamond was supposedly shattered by a rebel, and her "shards" were brought to Homeworld. Blue Diamond gave them to Shattuckite for analysis, with the hopes of finding out what exactly happened that day. Shattuckite, however, proved unable to call forth any memories from the shards. Blue Diamond was infuriated, convinced that her subordinate was lying to her, and tortured her in an attempt to force her to bring out Pink's memories. This proved to be futile, and Blue Diamond ultimately had Shattuckite arrested and imprisoned in an active state for treason, where she was tortured even more in an attempt to get her to "admit" to betraying her Diamond; all the while, Shattuckite insisted she literally couldn't have obeyed her orders, and that there were no memories to call out from the shards.

After the war and several other Shattuckites proved to also be unable to call upon Pink's memories, Blue Diamond finally realized that the analyst she had tortured and imprisoned was innocent. Shattuckite was released without even receiving an apology, expected to return to work like nothing happened. However, needless to say, the torture had a serious impact on her, to the point she would sometimes experience flashbacks from just holding Gem shards. Shattuckite was soon ordered to board a ship to a remote planet occupied by Howlites for intensive therapy.

On her way to this planet, her ship passed through the solar system, where it was ambushed by Gem pirates. These pirates commandeered the ship, recruiting some of the crew and passengers before dumping the rest, including Shattuckite, onto a nearby desert planet. It is there she met Pink Zirconia and, after telling her story to the faction leader, was taken in by her and her allies. She has been with Pink Zirconia's court ever since. Her fate is unknown to the Gems of Homeworld, who have covered up her existence so as not to encourage betrayal.

## Abilities

As an Era 1 Gem, Shattuckite has standard Gem abilities.

### Unique Abilities

* **Shard Memory Projection:** Shattuckite's signature ability; she can cause Gem shards to project any memories they have retained from the Gem's life, in the form of a weak hologram. When she served Homeworld, this ability would be used to solve murder cases.

### Weaknesses

* **Anxiety:** Due to severe emotional trauma, Shattuckite is plagued with crippling anxiety. It is to the point she sometimes cannot even use her signature ability, as just holding Gem shards can be enough to trigger a flashback.

## Relationships

### Blue Diamond

Like other Gems, Shattuckite originally had a strong respect for her Diamond. However, after years of torture over a misunderstanding, and not even receiving an apology once her name was cleared, she feels nothing but fear and contempt towards her former superior.

### Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz

After arriving on Mars, Shattuckite learned of the dual-life Pink Diamond lived, and, while shocked, realized that it explained why she was unable to find any memories in Pink Diamond's "shards." Unlike some other members of Pink Zircona's court, she has no strong feelings, positive or negative, towards Pink Diamond herself, and doesn't blame her for her predicament.

### Pink Zirconia

Shattuckite and Pink Zirconia are surprisingly close, due to them both having been betrayed by the Diamonds they trusted and admired. However, she recognizes how unstable Pink Zirconia is, and knows her well enough to be able to avoid her when she's having a bad spell—which she often does due to her fear of conflict.

## Trivia

* Shattuckite was made for the April 2020 Monthly Gem Challenge.
* Shattuckite's afro is inspired by the spherical crystal formations that real-life shattuckite sometimes appears in.
* Real-life shattuckite is believed to aid individuals in contacting the deceased. This was the inspiration for Shattuckite's signature ability.
* Her Gemstone is intended to resemble a "third eye," referencing the psychic powers real-life shattuckite supposedly holds.

## Gemology

* Shattuckite is an uncommon, deep blue copper silicate hydroxide mineral of the inosilicate mineral group. It has a chemical formula of Cu5(SiO3)4(OH)2.
* Shattuckite receives its name from the Shattuck mine in Bisbee, Arizona, where it was first discovered.
* Shattuckite is not an ideal gemstone for jewelry, having a hardness of only 3.5 on the Mohs hardness scale and a brittle tenacity. However, it is still sometimes made into jewelry, and is also a collector's mineral due to its deep blue color.
* Shattuckite often appears alongside other minerals, such as quartz and malachite.
* Metaphysically, shattuckite is associated with truth and intuition, and is believed to aid in contacting the deceased.