Gem

***Gems*** are a race of inorganic beings originating from the planet called Homeworld.

## Overview

### Biology

Gems naturally hold a very Human or humanoid appearance, though exact details such as colors, size, and details in their anatomy vary between different subspecies, or "types" as they are commonly referred as. These forms do share similarities with eachother however, one of which being the main feminine characteristics despite the fact they don't possess any true forms of gender like true organic creatures. This also means that they lack any reproductive organs, and as such can't naturally reproduce outside of being artificially manufactured. Another common attribute is their natural physical abilities, many of which exceed other organic lifeforms often by a default. The extent of their physical prowess isn't entirely clear. Do to this and their inorganic nature, they're engineered to inherently be immortal: the body of a gem gets all of its energy from the gemstone for its entire existence, and doesn't require sleep, food, water, or even breathable air in order to survive.

Gems are also notable for a variety of "magical" abilities, which differ between gem types and even gem individuals. One ability many gems share is an ability known as "Fusion", which itself is an amalgam of two or more gems combined magical and physical attributes, fused into a single entity. By the gems in question becoming in perfect synch with their physical, mental, and emotional state, their physical light forms start to morph into shape, and form a completely new being known as a fusion gem. Fusion gems are themselves different entities from the gems they're composed of although the components themselves aren't completely gone after the completed process, and once the gems in said fusion un-fuse with eachother, the entity disappears.

No matter the exact shape, the only true permanent, unchanging feature of a gem is their gemstone, which itself functions as the main core to a gem's being. The rest of the features are made up of a light-based mass generated and molded into shape through the gemstone itself. Because of this, damage to the gemstone is the only real means of permanently harming or even killing a gem. This is because the gemstone actively creates the form they're in, and any damage done to the gemstone directly would result in severe effects on the gem's physical and mental state. If the form itself is damaged but not the gemstone, this results in the gem "poofing", the physical form disappearing and the gemstone remaining so it can regenerate. This state leaves the gem completely vulnerable, and the stone can be covered in order to prevent the gem from reforming.

### Society

Gems, in a general sense, was once a very restricted caste system: each gem made only to serve the jobs their gem type dictates. These jobs range from mundane activities like servants and workers, to more high-ranking positions like generals, captains, and ship pilots. The highest form of gems in this society are diamonds, which had formed an order known as the Diamond Authority. In this state, any and all who tried to question this system or even went as far as to go against this caste system were swiftly punished, the severity often being very high. This system often influenced many gems in a judgmental, self-viewing sense.

As of current time though, this strict system has become dismantled, and gems had been given the freedom and choice to become whatever they so wanted to be.

## ***In Universe***

In Star-Crossed, Gems are a very prominent species featured throughout the franchise, most prominently in the form of the Crystal Gems: a group of renegades that went against the diamond authority and stood to protect earth. The species presented strongly follows the canon of the franchise they originated from, but there are some notable differences shown:

* Although gems prominently use "she/her" pronouns with describing eachother in terms of gender, there are example of gems using "He/Him" pronouns as well, such as with Envy. This does prove that "male" gems exist naturally within gem society, albeit rarely.
* Gems are shown to be able to genetically modify organic lifeforms in order to suit Homeworld structure, as shown when they modified Rabbits from Earth to create the Homeworld Hares.