CuddlySpider:SU:Shirley

## Shirley

 Overview:

**Gemstone:**Cherry Opal, fractured with amber filling it. Along back (shoulder blades to mid back), shaped like a sideways elongated eye

**Mohs scale** 5.5 - 6.5 “These gems fall at an intersection. Some may be fighters, others may be servants or work alongside of gem leaders as assistants. They may also perform odd jobs, such as keeping information about certain planet territories or Homeworld’s history (Lapis Lazuli). Others may have their special abilities used as Homeworld’s advantage during war and conquering planets.“

## Personality:

When threatened or under attack, she will try to reason with the target, sometime treating them as if they were the victim. This can be a weakness of here depending on the situation. By trying to talk it out first, she begins the encounter vulnerable. When she does attack she first tries to trip or force the target to stop. If they still do not listen, she resentfully will begin to fight them to make the target fall or poof. But regardless of what they may have done she will protect the gem or being from further harm after they have stopped.  When communicating with others, in a normal encounter, she will come off as timid and shy. If the situation does not call for it directly, she has a hard time being assertive and tends to go the passive route. Since she expects the best of everyone she can be easily startled if they become harsh. When she is under stress or is anxious, she will begin to stutter as one of the “defects” from her fractured gem. Other than the stuttering and the solid eyes, there are no further defects. further detail on the gem in the history.

## Abilities:

**Skills:** Jewelry crafting

**Weapon:**  Needle like insect legs which expands from her gem. (can be seen in the appearance spoiler) She uses her weapon to grab, stab, or slap her opponent. She targets weak points since she does not view herself as strong. The “legs” can expand up to 5 meters (16 feet) and can bend up to 5 times (corners, no curves). It takes energy to expand them to their full lengths so she does not use it unless absolutely necessary. She can summon up to 4 at one time (2 on each side). They are can be as thick as 4 centimeters (1.5 inches) to to thickness of an edge of a knife.

**Ability 1:**  She is able to produce thin strings from her gem. The stings can expand to 15 feat in length at a time and have similar tinsel strength as silk fibers (a little less than the strength of steel). these are a consistent thickness of any average string you can find at a craft store, but can vary in color and transparency. They can be stretchy, stiff, or flexible depending on how it is summoned. The string holding the Amber together as a pendant are stretchy and transparent while the string holding it around her neck is just flexible and orange/golden in color.  Although she can produce silk like fibers, she is not able to control them out side of her gem. once one is summoned she has to manually move it after it has been produced, but as it is being made by her gem she is able to manipulate it’s position (while it is still glowing) The filaments can be severed by any sharp object, but are tough to pull apart due to the tinsel strength.

**Ability 2:**  She does not know about it yet, but in a rested state (meditative or sleep) she can communicate through the astral plane (like steven). This has not happened to her yet however. Through the astral dimension, she is able to enter the consciousness of others for communication. She cannot physically alter any part of the mind or force out information, only simply communicate with the individual(s) in the mind space she is in. They can tell her what ever they want on their own free will and are not forced or manipulated to say anything they don’t want to. She can also go only as far into the mind as the individual will let them and can only see what she is shown. She cannot do this in while she is active an awake, she must me in a resting state of mind. The individual can be in any state of mind when she visits them. However, she can only freely enter the front of the mind and can only be allowed in if welcomed. In the front of the mind she will be in an empty space representing the individuals’ active state of mind (like Lapis holding down Malachite), but when allowed in they can  see what they individual is thinking/visualizing or seeing/sensing. She is not just seeing and hearing, but she experiences all of the senses even emotional senses of all individuals in the mind space when allowed in. She does not actually enter the astral plane, but rather it is what transports her mind to another’s.

## History:

Cherry Opal (aka Shirley) was one of the thousands of gems formed in the Kindergarten on Earth before its shut down. Her particular gemstone was rarely ever used in the kindergarten due to being among the more fragile types due to its sensitivity to the elements used and present during the creation. Because of this high sensitivity many end up being defective, Shirley being one of them. Her particular defect from a chip in her gemstone left her with damaged vision and an apparent stutter in her speech. Gem kind did not have a use for a damaged gem. She was unwanted so ended up wandering the kindergarten alone. She did her best to remain hidden while wandering around, not that she even had to since she was practically invisible due to being defective. Months pasted by before a gem finally acknowledged her existence.

A formal and intimidating Amber who was sent with others to check on the primary kindergarten. She took notice to the little Cherry Opal watching from around a corner. Most gems ignored her presence, basically leaving her to break on her own. However, when Amber spotted her, she did not look away in disgust, but rather asked about her to one of the gems operating the Kindergarten. In a curious tone with an edge to it she asked “What’s with that gem?”. The operator sneered in disgust as if they saw a pile of garbage that had not been cleaned up. “Oh, that is just a defective gem that someone didn’t shatter. I’ll take care of that now for you.” Amber stopped them stating that she was interested in the defective gem. She whispered so that the Cherry Opal would not hear that it was for experimental reasons.

Amber thought about it after they left the Kindergarten. She decided to use her ability to generate resin to somewhat repair Shirley’s gem. It was technically not fully repaired, however, do to the chip simply being filled rather than healed. This filling would prevent the fracture from expanding and also managed to fix some of the defect’s effects. Her vision improved and her shuddering decreased dramatically. Since she was technically no longer full a Cherry Opal, Amber decided she needed to be called something else. She decided to call her Shirley after the Earth Cherry Soda drink. She had done research on humans purely for her own enjoyment and to find ways to mess with them.

Shirley followed Amber any where she could. She felt no one else would ever accept her. Amber rarely ever talked to Shirley but Shirley would smile up at Amber when ever they looked at each other. Amber would return a warms smile, but not always. Amber would continue to experiment on Shirley and Shirley remained oblivious to it. She would test how the defective mixed gem would react to certain things as well as any observed abilities. As far as Amber could tell at the time, Shirley was just had the basic gem abilities, but did not posses a weapon or ability of her own.

It was seen as an insult for her to be walking around with a defective gem. It was disgusting. Like a person walking around with a useless and worthless toy. However, there were a few who did see it as cute. Like a little child following their guardian around. But Amber was one for collecting as many positive outlooks as possible. Whenever a gem would ask her disgustedly about Shirley, she would tell them that she was using her to find out more about defective gems to increase the efficiency of their production. Which was true to an extent. She mostly wanted Shirley as a prop, like a peal, but unique in a way to boost her own status.

Playing with people’s opinions and emotions with lies comes at a price. Amber unknowingly made some great enemies when they found out she had been lying to them. It was only a matter of time before she was ambushed. Amber was unsuspecting and unprepared for the attack from another gem. It did not take long for her to fall from the unexpected attack.

Shirley silently watched while shaking in horror, unable to make a sound, as Amber’s whip fell to the ground before vanishing with her form. The other gem quickly and without hesitation shattered Amber on the spot. The shards sparkled as they fell to the ground. She stood shaking for a moment, tears running down her face. She could barely move, but she managed to make her way to the shards. She knelt and slowly scooped them up in her shaky palms.

As she knelt on the ground sobbing a gentle hand rested upon her head. This cause her to stop for a moment in tear. Before she knew it she had began to run, she did not know where she was going, she just ran without direction. She hid away once again, terrified of being hunted down like Amber as she coped with her loss. She may have unknowingly been just a pet, something to flaunt around to Amber, but the her, Amber was her world, the only one who had given her a chance.

She remained hidden in a cave she found by the beach for a few years. During that time she worked hard to discover and practice summoning and using her own weapon as well as an ability of conjure string. She used her string to fasten a necklace and a pendant to hold Amber’s shards together. She lased the necklace around her neck so that Amber would be with her. When she felt comfortable with herself and with using her weapon she began to leave the safety of her cave. She had not known that the Earth had been cut off from Homeworld nor the corruption of the gems on Earth. It did not take long before she encountered a corrupt gem. She had no choice but to fight since the gem would not stop attacking her. She had no idea it was an actual gem until she had defeated it. She could not help but wonder what had happened to cause such corruption and if there was a way to help these gems. She had no reason to care for the gems after how they have treated her like garbage, but these corrupted gems hit a cord with her that she could not explain. Perhaps how they seemed to have just been abandoned and forgotten like herself. She began hunting and collecting and bubbling these corrupted gems for a few more years. The collection grew to a point were she realized she needed to start really searching for a way to help these gems. She decided it would be best to go back where it all began. The Kindergarten

## Other:

**Items:** Necklace with shattered amber in the pendant Turquoise Gem (bubbled)

**Connections:** Amber (shattered)

**Likes:**  Likes to collect corrupted gems in attempts to find a cure for them.She loves all creatures and being, but she has a soft spot for the corrupted. **Dislikes:**  Dislikes cruelty or prejudice. (generic I know)

**Fears:**  Fears not being able to uphold her promises in general. Fears watching another gem shatter. Is afraid to fuse due to her necklace