Chrysolite

Peridot (specifically Facet-8BR Cut-4NC), better known by her nickname "Chrysolite," was a disillusioned Homeworld Gem that secretly experimented with unauthorized Gemetic modifications. She was broken in two during a self-experiment, and is now considered deceased. Her "remains" became Alexandrite and Zultanite. In addition to inventing and perfecting the process of Pseudomorphing, Chrysolite is credited as being the creator of all known Pseudomorphs and Chameleon Diamond, the only known synthetic Diamond.

## Appearance

Chrysolite was a tall and slender Gem, roughly the height of Pearl. Her Gemstone was a triangular facet and on her chest. In her final regeneration, she wore a light green V-necked labcoat with yellow and pink diamonds serving as buttons. She also wore green sleeves and pants, dark green boots, and a lavender visor resembling horn-rimmed glasses. In addition, she wore dull green, long gloves, each bearing a yellow star on the palm. Her hair was in a pentagonal shape.

## Personality

Chrysolite, despite being a Homeworld Gem, had very little respect for Homeworld or even her Diamond. In fact, the stars she wore on the palms of her gloves were a nod to the Crystal Gems, whom she silently revered. She gave herself her nickname to give herself a feeling of distinction from other Peridots. Despite her respect for the Crystal Gems, she lacked their care for other life, be it organic or Gem, and was so willing to put herself before everyone else that she was said to have "a Diamond complex."

Chrysolite's decisions were fueled primarily, and sometimes purely, by her logical reasoning. She only rarely realized her own logic was flawed and muddled by emotion, and almost never took others' emotions into account while making decisions. She questioned why the Diamonds would quash a rebellion on a perfectly good planet just to abandon and destroy it, and drew the conclusion that all of them, including the "late" Pink, were inherently flawed despite their claims of perfection. She only realized how strong emotional influence can be at the end of her life, when she was already preparing to create Rainbow Diamond—and by that point, she decided it was too late to go back.

While she bonded with her fellow Gems, and asked them for consent before experimenting on them, it was mostly to fulfill her own agenda. Chrysolite often withheld information regarding her Pseudomorphing experiments from her test subjects, or convinced them they would become the Gems they always wanted to be (which was rarely the case). In addition, she had a notorious habit of bubbling and collecting defective Gems, had no qualms against ordering her Pearl to perform actions against his will, and was willing to go forward with her self-modification despite knowing it would destroy the planet she performed it on. That isn't to say she was completely remorseless; she did regret taking advantage of the trust given by her friends and superiors, but in her mind, the ends would justify the means.

## History

Chrysolite was an Era 1 Peridot sent to Earth to aid in the colonization effort. Consequently, she experienced the Rebellion firsthand. As a Kindergartener, she was targeted by the Crystal Gems and inevitably had to take part in the fighting to defend herself. Being surprisingly successful in stopping rebel attacks, capturing rebels, and getting non-combatant loyalists to safety, she was heralded as a hero. The Peridot eventually received a private laboratory and even her own Pearl for her actions during the Rebellion. Despite this, her experiences during the Rebellion, especially Pink Diamond's supposed shattering, caused her to question the Gem hierarchy.

Around 1,000 years before the series, Chrysolite was sent to Pandora to aid in its colonization, when her experiments, now known as the Rainbow Diamond Project, began. Numerous Gems were Pseudomorphed and subsequently disappeared, and the Peridot perfected the technique over the course of five hundred years; however, Chrysolite considered all of them to be prototypes. She intended to use what she learned to create a near-omnipotent Diamond. At first, her intent was to replace the Diamond Authority. Eventually, though, she focused on just finishing what she started, realizing she couldn't just explain what happened to the many Gems she experimented on. The details of "Rainbow Diamond's" creation are unknown, except that something had gone wrong, and Chameleon Diamond was made instead. Her final experiment was an attempt to Pseudomorph herself into an unknown Gem type. However, a superior found her incubation capsule and broke it open early, causing the process to be incomplete. When she tried to form, she was so unstable that she split in two, forming Zultanite and Alexandrite. Since the mind and personality of their parent Gem were altered so drastically by the modifications, Chrysolite is considered shattered despite technically never being killed.

## Abilities

Being an Era 1 Gem, Chrysolite presumably had all standard Gem abilities, such as shapeshifting, superhuman strength, and bubbling.

### Fusions

* When fused with Peacock Pearl, they formed Trinitite.

### Natural Abilities

* **Exceptional Durability:** As a Peridot, Chrysolite's physical form was able to withstand more damage than the average Gem.

### Skillset

* **Grappling Gun Proficiency:** Chrysolite had a Gem weapon in the form of a grappling gun, which she could use almost instinctively.
* **Keen Intellect:** As a Peridot, Chrysolite was very intelligent, to the point she was even able to repeatedly outwit the original Crystal Gems, setting up a wide variety of booby traps and using her environment to her advantage.
	+ **Kindergarten Knowledge:** Since she was a Kindergartener, Chrysolite had extensive knowledge on the creation of other Gems. She used this knowledge to create the Pseudomorphs and Chameleon Diamond.
	+ **Engineering:** Chrysolite was adept with Era 1 and Era 2 Gem technology. She designed many of the details of her own ship, and modified it extensively after receiving it to suit her needs. When not working on projects for Homeworld or her own experiments, she was inventing new machines and gadgets for personal use, including the Retro-Specs and the Gem Splitter (though the latter would never be used while she was alive).

### Unique Abilities

* **Wall Scaling:** Chrysolite could walk up vertical surfaces and along ceilings without any equipment. This is an ability typical of Era 1 Peridots.
* **Hologram Projection:** Chrysolite could project holograms and holographic screens from her gemstone without technologic assistance. This is an ability common among Era 1 Peridots.

## Relationships

### Rainbow/Chameleon Diamond

Chrysolite considered Rainbow Diamond to be her magnum opus, and was confident that she could create a Diamond that even the Era 2 Authority would bow to. However, obviously, this was never realized, and if she lived to see the result of her work, she would be disappointed with Chameleon Diamond.

### The Great Diamond Authority

Chrysolite originally idolized the Diamonds, but, like many Gems, imposed her own personality on her superiors. Consequently, she expected them to be purely logical brings like herself. She was horrified by their total abandonment of Earth after its decimation, especially with them planning to destroy it despite it still being abundant in natural resources. Not realizing their emotional attachment to her own Diamond, Chrysolite concluded that all of the Diamonds were inherently flawed and needed to be replaced, somehow. She only questioned herself right before she started making Rainbow Diamond; by this point, she concluded not that the Authority needed to be deposed, but that she was simply in too deep to just stop.

### Lace Goldstone

Chrysolite's relationship with Green Lace Jasper mirrored that of her other guinea pigs. She was utterly shocked when the Pseudomorph escaped post-modifications, and she began to wonder if she could even control an especially powerful modified Gem.

### Peacock Pearl

Chrysolite treated her Pearl more like an equal than an object. Prior to her splitting, Chrysolite and Peacock Pearl were very close, sharing a kind of bond that was rare for Chrysolite to form with another. Their bond was strong enough that they could fuse with little effort, despite them only doing so for utilitarian purposes. However, when he started questioning her intent and protesting against her actions, Chrysolite was so blinded to her own flaws that she failed to see the Pearl's logic, instead just viewing him as an ingrate. By the time she planned to Pseudomorph herself, they had developed a mutual animosity. It is possible, however, that Chrysolite had at least started to realize the truth behind her Pearl's protests as she realized how strong emotions can be.

### Peridscha

Like Ruby Quartz, Peridscha was a willing test subject for Chrysolite's experiments. Chrysolite intended to create a Sapphire, but was disappointed that Peridscha technically emerged defective, having retrocognition instead of precognition. She imprisoned the Pseudomorph, primarily to cover her tracks.

### Pink Diamond

Chrysolite's exact sentiments towards her original Diamond are unknown, though since she kept them to herself—not even telling her Pearl—it is likely they weren't entirely positive. It is, however, known that her "death" caused the Peridot to question the validity and reasoning of the incumbent Diamond Authority. She also believed her Diamond to have been essentially powerless, with her only powers revolving around her amplifying the inherent abilities of other Gems and Diamonds. This is partly because Pink's actual unique abilities were never publicly shown, and partly because Chrysolite assumed there was a logical reason that Pink Diamond was never replaced, not even considering the possibility that there might be an emotional reason.

### Ruby Quartz

Ruby Quartz, as a regular ruby, was previously assigned to guard Chrysolite's private lab. The two secretly developed a friendly bond, eventually causing her to become one of Chrysolite's willing test subjects. The Peridot was confused as to why Ruby Quartz lacked healing powers, and considered continuing testing; however, she decided instead to imprison her alongside all the other Pseudomorphs, to keep their existence as much of a secret as possible.

### Scapolite

Scapolite was Chrysolite's superior even before the Rebellion started, though they didn't interact much outside of basic business until Chrysolite began defending Homeworld's cause during the war. This caught Scapolite's eye, and she came to deeply respect the Peridot under her command. Since they expressed similar views towards the Authority after the war ended, Chrysolite was able to get Scapolite to greenlight her modifications project and even assist her with some of the messier details (i.e. covering up disappearances), though few details were made known to her and even fewer to Homeworld. However, the Peridot still didn't fully trust her naïve superior, and expected her to die during Pandora's destruction, or at the very least be useless to stop it.

## Trivia

* Unlike with other Pseudomorphs, neither Alexandrite's nor Zultanite's gemstones resemble Chrysolite's, implying that she attempted to modify herself to a much greater extent.
* Chrysolite's current design draws inspiration from a group of Gems, believed by some to be Era 1 Peridots, seen in the episode "Legs from Here to Homeworld."
* Chrysolite's Gemstone was originally on her forehead; this was changed to reflect her self-serving behavior and to help distinguish her from the canon Peridot.
* Chrysolite is one of several Mars AU Gems associated with a Major Arcana tarot card; specifically, "Death."
	+ This is due to her dramatic transformation (her metaphorical death).

## Gemology

Gemstone Information

* Chrysolite is an antiquated name for peridot. The name "chrysolite" was formerly applied not only to peridot but also many similarly colored stones, which is part of the reason it is no longer commonly used.
* Peridot is a gem-quality variety of olivine that is one of the few gemstones that occur in only one color, an olive-green. This is because peridot gets its color from the mineral itself, rather than impurities in the stone.
	+ Olivine is a very common mineral, technically considered a mineral group, or a hybrid, with forsterite and fayalite being "parents" called end members.
* The name "Peridot" is believed to have originated from the Arabic word faridat, meaning "gem", or, as the Oxford English Dictionary suggests, it came from classical Latin pæderot - a kind of opal.
	+ The ancient Romans called it 'evening emerald' since its color did not darken at night, but could still be appreciated by candlelight and the light of a campfire.
* Peridot is the official birthstone for the month of August as adopted by the American National Association of Jewelers in 1912. It is also the stone for the Zodiac sign of Libra. Peridot is assigned to the planet Saturn. It may be given as a gem on the sixteenth wedding anniversary.
* Peridot is a healing gemstone often associated with peace, compassion, and harmony of relationships. Its powers are thought to promote growth and renewal while alleviating negative emotions such as guilt, resentment, and apathy.
* Even though peridots existed in ancient history, at one point they vanished until some were found 30 years ago in Pakistan.