Red Crackle Quartz

* Current
* Previous

Red Crackle Quartz is a Gem that, similar to Pink Howlite, was accidentally dyed by Rose Quartz. She disappeared near the end of the Rebellion, and while the Crystal Gems presume her to be dead, her fate is unknown.

## Appearance

Red Crackle Quartz is a head taller than most other Quartzes and has a typical Quartz build. She has a rounded nose, full lips, white pupils, and long eyelashes. Her Gemstone is on her forehead.

### Previous

As Herkimer Quartz, Red Crackle Quartz had white skin, light gray hair, and gray eyes with black sclerae. Her hair was styled into three points with an angular hairline. She wore a gray uniform with broad shoulders and White Diamond's insignia on the front.

### Current

After her modification, Red Crackle Quartz has pale red skin, raspberry red hair, and red eyes with dark red sclerae. Her hair is short and curly, and her body is covered in veinlike cracks. She wears a red two-tone tank top, red leggings, and burgundy ankle boots.

## Personality

As a Crystal Gem, Red Crackle Quartz showed a fondness for the life on Earth, be it the native organic life or the off-colors that chose to stay and fight for it. She expressed care for the lives of all Gems, regardless of which side they were on, but she also believed that, during war, morals had to take a back seat—especially when your opponents don't play fair. During the Rebellion, many of her opponents disappeared and have not been found, shards or otherwise.

## History

Red Crackle Quartz was originally a Herkimer Quartz, made to serve a particular Howlite. Similar to another Herkimer Quartz, she loyally served her Howlite for millennia prior to the Rebellion. When Howlite was sent to Earth to confront Rose Quartz, her Herkimer Quartz went with her. To make her easier to restrain and hypnotize, the Quartz attempted to drain a portion of her strength. This caused her to be dyed just like the Howlite she served. The transformations shocked her to the point that she ran away in fright.

Despite her initial shock, Red Crackle Quartz took her modification well, and came to embrace her new form. Rather than attempt to inform Homeworld of what happened—an action which would have undoubtedly ended in her shattering—she chose to join the Crystal Gems and fight for Earth's freedom. She was believed by Homeworld and Crystal Gems alike to be a defective Carnelian from the Beta Kindergarten, and her true origins were unknown to everyone except herself and Rose Quartz. She disappeared near the end of the Rebellion without a trace. There is no evidence she is dead or alive, but the remaining Crystal Gems presumed her to have been captured or shattered, her shards possibly being used as part of a forced fusion experiment.

## Abilities

As an Era 1 Gem, Red Crackle Quartz has standard Gem abilities.

### Skillset

* **Sword Proficiency:** Red Crackle Quartz learned how to wield a sword as a Crystal Gem.
* **Exceptional Strength:** Despite being weaker than the average Quartz, she still is stronger than the average Gem; in addition, her strength was bolstered slightly by her modification.

### Unique Abilities

* **Phytokinesis:** An ability she received from her modification, Red Crackle Quartz can manipulate plant life to some degree, mostly by using it as a tool or weapon.
* **Speed of Descent Regulation:** An ability she received from her modification. Similar to Rose Quartz and Steven Universe, she can alter the effect of gravity on herself, allowing her to control how high she can jump and how quickly (or slowly) she falls back to the ground.
* **Empathic Telepathy:** Similar to Steven Universe, Red Crackle Quartz can sense and connect with others. However, the extent and limitations of this ability are not known.

### Former Abilities and Tools

* **Strength Absorption:** As a Herkimer Quartz, Red Crackle Quartz could absorb a portion of a Gem's physical strength and temporarily make it her own. It was the use of this power on Rose Quartz that caused her modification; ironically, it was said modification that caused her to lose it.
* **Longsword:** Red Crackle Quartz owned a material longsword, forged for her by Bismuth, that she used throughout the war. Her sword is now one of the many weapons that litter the landscape of a particular abandoned battlefield.

## Relationships

### The Crystal Gems

Red Crackle Quartz was on good terms with most of the original Crystal Gems, including Rose Quartz herself. However, as the war escalated, she became increasingly frustrated with the code of honor imposed by Rose Quartz and many of the other Crystal Gems.

### Pink Howlite

Red Crackle Quartz was made for, and loyally served, Pink Howlite for thousands of years. However, they lost contact after their modifications.

## Trivia

* Similar to Pink Howlite and Mojave Turquoise, Red Crackle Quartz's modified status reflects the fact that crackle quartz is a treated gemstone.
* Red Crackle Quartz was originally intended to have veinlike fractures in her Gemstone, but the artist decided this would be too difficult to draw consistently and chose to add cracks to her body instead.
* Crackle Quartzes do not exist on Homeworld; Red Crackle Quartz chose her current name after noticing that her dyeing left her with cracks on her body.

## Gemology

* Crackle quartz is a type of treated quartz that has been subjected to rapid changes in temperature, causing cracks to form inside the crystal (hence, the name).
	+ Sometimes, natural quartz crystals display similar internal cracks. Since the cracks tend to create a "rainbow" effect, these naturally occurring crystals are often called aurora quartz or anandalite.
* Crackle quartz is generally made from clear or milky quartz. However, the cracks make the crystals easier to dye, and for this reason crackle quartz appears in every color of the rainbow.
* Metaphysically, crackle quartz is believed to promote inner strength and counter negativity.
	+ Red crackle quartz, as a red gemstone, is believed to promote love and courage.

## Gallery

Red Crackle Quartz's previous designRed Crackle Quartz's previous design, immediately after modificationRed Crackle Quartz's previous design, before modification