Tourmalinated Quartz

Tourmalinated Quartz is a Gem currently residing in The Palace on Mars. They are considered a member of the Watchers.

## Appearance

Despite being typical for their Gem type (Howlite claims they are one of the "least ugly" Tourmalinated Quartzes), Tourmalinated Quartz is unusual by Gem standards. They have four arms, snakelike eyes, and no visible nose or lips. Their skin is charcoal black and their hair is white. Their Gemstone is a white, round cabochon with black lines crossing in a diamondlike pattern on their lower back.

Tourmalinated Quartz wears a gray bodysuit similar to the typical sleeveless Homeworld uniform with White Diamond's insignia on the front. They have what appears to be a ribbon wrapped around their waist and tied in a bow on the back, with their Gemstone replacing the knot. They wear slate gray knee-length boots with white toes and white, jagged frills on the openings.

## Personality

Tourmalinated Quartz, despite being a formal member of the Watchers, is surprisingly open-minded and friendly. They regularly chat with other Gems around the Palace, though behind Howlite's back. However, at the same time, they don't go back on their orders, nor do they question or complain about the conservative system used by the Watchers. They don't necessarily support the Homeworld-established rules, but they don't dismiss them either, seeing the system as just "the way things are."

## History

Nothing is known about Tourmalinated Quartz's past yet.

## Abilities

Tourmalinated Quartz has standard Gem abilities, such as bubbling and superhuman strength.

### Unique Abilities

* **Silk Production**: Tourmalinated Quartz can produce a spiderlike silk that they can weave. They primarily use this material to maintain The Palace's structural integrity, as it is extremely strong and durable, but can also use it as a weapon.

## Relationships

### Marble

Tourmalinated Quartz is close friends with Marble, and the two regularly chat when they know their superiors aren't paying attention to them.

## Trivia

* Tourmalinated Quartz's use of gender-neutral pronouns reflects the belief that real-world tourmalinated quartz balances masculine and feminine aspects.

## Gemology

Gemstone Information

* Tourmalinated (or tourmalated) quartz, as the name might imply, is a clear quartz that has small hairlike inclusions of tourmaline crystals. Since both tourmaline and quartz tend to grow in the same areas, tourmalinated quartz is fairly common.
	+ While various colors of tourmaline have been seen in quartzes, most tourmalinated quartz contains schorl (black) tourmaline, likely due to how common that variety is, and the term "tourmalinated quartz" usually refers to the schorl variety.
* Tourmalinated quartz, as it is mostly quartz, has a hardness of 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale.
* Due to its nature, tourmalinated quartz is considered to have the metaphysical properties of both its components strengthened.
* Tourmalinated quartz is associated with the crown and root chakras, and is a zodiacal stone for Scorpio and Libra.
* Tourmalinated quartz is considered a balancing stone and is used to balance or deflect negative energies, balance masculine and feminine aspects, and ease depression.