Fluorescent Diamond III

**Fluorescent Diamond III**, also known as *Portuguese Diamond*, is a major antagonist in A Course in Advanced Rebellion; the third in a lineage of Fluorescent Diamonds, she possesses incredible powers and an army of thousands.

## Appearance

Fluorescent Diamond III is an incredibly tall Gem with an hourglass figure, thinly muscled limbs with thicker calves and forearms, and disproportionately small feet. She has light yellow skin with bluish shadowing and slight translucency, showing blue scars just under the surface of her skin, indicating her crystalline faults. Her eyes have diamond-shaped blue irises with yellow-glowing pupils.

Her head is long and gaunt, with prominent cheekbones and jawline, along with deep dimples and a cleft chin. Her ears are rubbery tendrils, normally curled tightly in the vague shape of a human ear. Her hair is curly and styled in a "beehive" of stacked spirals with a wide chignon hanging down the back of the neck. She lacks eyebrows, relying on prominent bare brows to indicate her feelings.

Her gemstone is located on her breastbone, following the line of her "cleavage" and resembling a decorative jewel on her tunic. The gemstone often rotates in place, allowing her to orient it longways-out in order to stab Gems upon it, potentially shattering them if aimed directly at their gemstone.

Her outfit consists of a multipart blue-and-white, gold-trimmed tunic with a short straight skirt (formerly a bouffant hoop skirt in her previous incarnations), puff sleeves lined with gold buttons, a gold Möbius strip sash across her chest, deep blue leggings, and thigh-high boots with gold buttons down the ankle. She may sometimes wear floating gold bracelets or earrings depending on her tasks for the day.

## Personality

Fluorescent Diamond III is a maverick among Diamonds, since her lineage never quite fit within the primary color hierarchy, nor within secondary or tertiary color Diamonds. Coming from an eccentric "family" that pursued fringe science and conspiracy theories, FD3 is likewise prone to special interests in long-dormant mysteries and secrets of the universe. Her eccentricity also leads to a somewhat flighty and lackadaisical attitude towards Homeworld Rule, which has led to extensive conflicts with Primary Diamonds over her lifetime.

For a Diamond, FD3 has always been extraordinarily equity-minded, treating all members of her court as mental and moral equals, and talking with them as close friends. However, she also likes to treat her court members as toys, taking fetishistic joy in playing with their light forms until they could warp to her size, or larger. She will even play with Gems larger than herself, such as superior Diamonds, by climbing on them and caressing their expansive bodies.

Regardless of her unorthodox policies, she still rules her court with an iron hand, demanding only the best performances from her Gems in order to exact her tasks on time and within strict standards. Her rationale being that her court acts akin to a grand timepiece; no one part being greater than the other, for if any parts fail, regardless of size or structure, the whole operation ceases. She will empathize with her members' issues, and offer assistance where applicable, but nevertheless demand nothing but their best behavior.

## Abilities

Fluorescent Diamond III possesses standard Gem abilities (albeit enhanced for her status as a Diamond), including super strength and durability, shapeshifting, agelessness, regeneration, fusion, and bubbling.

### Skillset

* **Shapeshifting Manipulation:** Fluorescent Diamond III can alter any Gem's light body to suit her needs, from increasing and enhancing their bodies past their natural shift limits, to locking them into any given shape for as long as she commands. Repeated manipulation can lead to that Gem acquiring unlimited shifting power for themselves.
	+ **Gem disguise:** She can alter a Gem's appearance and abilities to resemble another type of Gem within their color, though only for a limited time due to increased strain on the disguised's end. For example, she can give her Pearls the height, mass, and physical prowess of Quartz soldiers, and apart from their telltale gemstone, they would pass superficial examination from most Gems, though mineralogical identification and light signature scans from specialized drones would give them away easily.
	+ **Limited reprogramming:** FD3 can manipulate an inactive or recently dissipated Gem to alter the circumstances of their regeneration, potentially speeding up their regeneration and having them come back stronger, though they may revert to their original programmed shape depending on their deviation from the norm.
* **Möbius strip sash:** FD3 can remove the Möbius strip sash from her outfit and utilize it for a variety of purposes. The strip is self-animating, variably textured, microscopically thin, incredibly durable, and infinitely sharp-edged. When attached to constructs of FD3's design, it can act as a bandsaw, sanding belt, or conveyor belt, among other applications of that nature. However, if twisted or stretched too far, the belt's unusual geometry will collapse in on itself and disintegrate, taking everything on its surface with it.
	+ **Möbius mirror:** In the usual physics of our universe, anything applied across the strip would just move along it, with the belt experiencing equal wear across its one side; however, using dimensional manipulation, FD3 can make something move *within* the belt and come out its mirror opposite. Not only is the appearance mirrored, but also its molecular chemistry (chirality), which can lead to unique side-effects, especially if performed on organic life or chiral minerals.
* **Gilt Pt/Ir alloy empowerment:** Normally limited in movement by her own weight, FD3 has developed gold-plated platinum-iridium alloy accessories for her clothing which grant her more control over her body. If necessary, however, she shall shed this jewelry, as a projectile on occasion, in order to summon greater internal powers.
	+ **Self weight manipulation:** Through unknown psychokinetic means, the buttons around FD3's uniform allow her to alter gravity's effects on her Light Body, enabling her to increase her speed and agility. She can also disconnect from a planet's gravity altogether and float aimlessly; she cannot manipulate her trajectory mid-air unless she jumps towards her intended destination beforehand, or finds things in her reach to push off from.
	+ **Power projection:** Wearing bracelets and earrings made from the special mineral combination, FD3 can project her shapeshifting manipulation powers for miles, theoretically enduing shifts in her entire court at her whim without additional strain.
* **Prehensile hair and ears:** When deprived of her jewelry and under intense emotions, FD3's hair will unfurl into greasy curls which can move and extend like tentacles to attack her enemies. Her ears can also unfurl to attack Gems near her head, as well as to reveal additional appendages within her "ear canal".
	+ **Aural tendrils:** These additional aural appendages, rumoredly engorged with Liquid Light, appear distorted and uncanny to most entities' sense of sight, discomforting even the most horror-adjusted being; they are likewise capable of horrific atrocities towards Gem- and even humankind—very few have encountered these appendages and lived to tell of it, let alone recover from such experiences. Their effects range from permanent corruption to potentially-lethal organic mutation.

## Relationships

### Court Members (non-exhaustive)

* **Leader:** Fluorescent Diamond
* **Advisor (former):** Deep Blue Zircon
* **Courtiers/Advisors (current):**
	+ White Pearl
	+ Yellow Pearl
	+ Blue Pearl
* **Quartz Army:**
	+ Moon Quartz
	+ Spirit Amethyst
	+ Banded Amethyst
	+ Blue Quartz
	+ Rutilated Quartz
	+ Lemon Citrine
	+ Medusa Quartz
	+ Phantom Quartz

## Gemology

Fluorescent Diamond III's gemstone is strongly based on the properties of the real-life Portuguese Diamond, known for its clarity and strong fluorescence.