You’re a Gem, Taylor Hebert (SU Crossover/Alt!Power Taylor)

[Mixter E]

Premise: An AU Taylor who triggers as a gem-human hybrid, a Master-Tinker with a Changer component.

Warning: touches upon Taylor's sui/cidal ideation, a result of canon and AU bullying, and includes explicit death threats that encourages sui/cide. Discrimination against LGBTQ characters.

...​

January 4, 2011. Tuesday. Winslow High, Earth Beta

In another world Taylor would've triggered after realizing that her tormentors were willing to get their hands this dirty, just to mess with her. After realizing that no one was coming to save her, that she couldn't rely on anyone other than herself, all while surrounded by the components necessary for her powers, triggered.

In this alternate world, it came about in much the same way, the same trigger event even. Except in this universe the potential held within her Corona Pollentia was one of a different power set. The context for the events leading up to her trigger event wasn't quite the same.

In one world the requisite requirements to trigger were right there, trapped alongside Taylor. In this one it was the pressure of it all, crushing her to the very core.

The pressure to continue on this way, the pressure to get through high school despite the torment she went through on a daily basis. The pressure to honor her mother's memory and follow in her footsteps, to earn a college degree, to make her dad proud.

The pressure of blame being placed purely on Taylor's own shoulders, that she shouldn't have been acting a certain way in the first place, as if she fucking deserved the treatment she received.

It was the pressure of being told by those she should've been able to trust, by those with the authority to do something about her current situation, that she shouldn't have tempted the bullies the way she did.

For the simple act of being her.

All of it culminated into the 'locker incident' as it would later be called, but right there and then, to Taylor Anne Hebert, it was an act of escalation. Despite their 'subtle' insinuations and not so subtle demands to 'die', Taylor hadn't really thought that the trio would really go so far as to...

Filling up my locker with used feminine hygiene products? Who did they think they were kidding? I knew exactly the kind of message my tormentors are trying to send, trapping me in here with these used products.

Especially with the way they say my name, with such contempt in their voices; no one would believe the words of Emma's new 'friends' other than Emma herself.

No matter how much she likes to deny it, Emma's as fake as they come. If I had been a different kind of person, I'd tell Emma's sister what's she been getting up to with her new posse.

Stealing and desecrating mom's flute had just been the start. Sophia deciding that shoulder checking me in the halls and pushing me down the stairs wasn't enough, and got a couple of upperclassmen to try and beat me up(I only got away because of my long legs). All of the digital hate mail, and more than what the trio could do alone, didn't help.

Die. Burn in hell. Bitch. Go fuck yourself. Eat shit and die. I hope you slit your wrists, faggot. Filthy bastard. Queer loser. Go fuck yourself.

I doubted that if I did kill myself after this, because of this, that the trio would even feel anything resembling guilt. Or in regards to Sophia, bat an eyelash. I didn't expect anybody to miss me if I died or anything, but what got to me, is the fact that nobody in Winslow would regret having pushed me over the edge in the first place.

But still I had someone who would miss me, even if- Even if it didn't feel like it right now. Dad would still miss me. He would- he might even go back to the way he was right after mom died. Except then he wouldn't even have me with him. He'd truly be alone then.

Utterly, unfailingly alone in the world just like how I feel.

I couldn't do that to him. Imagining what it'd be like for him to come home to—-

I wish- I wish I could just move far, far away from here, where nobody knows who I am. Somewhere my wish didn't have to stay just that, a wish, but become reality. Where I could start over. Where I matter.

I just want to make some friends, friends who'd stay with me for me.

The combined mental pressure of an eighteen month long bullying campaign and the metal walls of her prison pressing down on her like the earth on a forming diamond.

It was too much, too heavy, and so Taylor Anne Hebert triggered.

...​

Taylor's trigger might have occurred on that day, but nothing immediately noticeable occurred, at least not anything easily confirmed by the human eye. But much like the other Taylor from another world, this one didn't remember her vision of a gigantic and otherworldly worm either, however. Unlike the that other Taylor, catatonic, she didn't resist her extraction from the locker and without the background noise of a thousand living creatures in the back of her mind, Taylor avoided a week spent in the psyche ward.

Still she spent a week in and out of unconscious, being observed as a subject of interest by the PRT for any signs of triggering as a Parahuman, but finding none, they'd left without any further ado. There wasn't any reason for the PRT or the Protectorate to investigate an incident involving a Winslow High School student at all. Same with the Brockton Bay Police Department, they didn't try very hard during their investigation on the matter, because of, well, a lot of reasons (read excuses).

Taylor wasn't exactly rich for one, or even particularly smart (given her grades), and although she was white, Taylor wasn't exactly pretty enough for anyone to be outraged at just any injustice done to her. After all, she was still alive and not even the least bit dead. Not only that, but Taylor also went to Winslow High and there could have been any number of reasons why someone there would want to target her.

It could've been a gang related hate crime, which wasn't all that uncommon in Brockton Bay. Or it could've been for a different kind of hate crime. Who could tell really?

Either way she could've been attacked, because she wasn't Asian or looked a little too much like the wrong kind of white (again it could've been a hate crime unrelated to race but still dealing with the Nazis). It even could've been an initiation into a gang or subsequent hazing gone wrong. The BBPD might have even jot down somewhere in their folder that she was a suspected member of the Merchants, and to look out for any red flags.

Like an increase in her GPA, she seemed like the type to seek out performance enhancing drugs.

...​

AN: I've done it again. I started another fanfic. Please note that if you don't want any Steven Universe spoilers don't continue with this fanfic.

EDIT (09/13/19): I've added more details, and I've rewritten some parts to be in first person POV. I've also clarified, in a round about kind of way, how between this AU Taylor and original Taylor's Trigger events are different. If you're a repeat offender, please read this and hopefully soon, my next chapters since I'm doing a rewrite.

 

[SLYCuteer]

Tentatively watched cause it seems interesting

 

[Hommit]

Too small to say anything yet

 

[Mixter E]

Premise: An AU Taylor who triggers as a gem-human hybrid, a Master-Tinker with a Changer component.

...​

January 11, 2011. Tuesday. Home, Earth Beta

The week long stay at the hospital wasn't something that I remember. Not that I particularly want to remember, that is, I heard I'd been comatose for most of the stay anyway, and from what I did remember mostly consisted of surreal and half-forgotten dreams.

Coming home, I felt, wasn't any different than my stay at the hospital. Sure, it felt like dad walked on eggshells around me, and he radiated anger like nothing else (it wasn't aimed at me directly), but at the time I hadn't noticed.

I came home in a daze, ate a tasteless dinner, and got ready for bed like I was sleepwalking. I didn't notice anything that night, but I'm not too sure I would've noticed if anything had been different.

Can you believe being a Parahuman for over a week and not even know it?

...​

Unknown to Taylor as she laid asleep in her own bed for the very first time in a week, unsuspecting of the exceedingly minuscule changes her body had slowly gone through that past week; concentrated in her blood, sweat, and tears (and saliva) went into overdrive to change Taylor into something truly magical.

In the night while she slept fitfully, plagued by strange dreams, Taylor produced not a small amount of sweat, blood, tears and even drool. All of which went into the formation of a new part of Taylor Hebert, all of it centered on where her belly button used to be, a part of her she may never be able to now live without now that it was a part of her.

A hybrid between human and gem, two parts of one fusion. One half of a strange new whole, she will never truly be alone ever again.

Unbeknownst to Taylor this was all because her Shard thought that a gem-human hybrid of Pink Diamon would cause the most conflict compared to say, oh, one of White Diamond, or even a full Gem.

...​

It should have never reached this point, but here we are, looking out for her. One day Taylor will learn to love herself just as much as her mom did, just as much as her dad does his best to show.

Now Taylor will always have someone to love her, to look out for her, someone who will have her back, even if she doesn't know it herself. And on that day when she finally (re)learns how to love herself, will be the day the multiverse learns the name of one Taylor Anne Hebert.

...​

January 12, 2011. Wednesday. Home, Earth Bet 2.0

Despite being hospitalized for the past week, and not needing get up early for school until the end of the month, I still woke up at an insane hour. Old habits die hard, is it?

And it certainly didn't help that I woke up to a tangle of sweat soaked sheets. I didn't even realize that the bedsheets were dyed a slight pink (from the blood she sweat) until I did the laundry later on, only that it was gross and kinda smelly.

Looking into the mirror in the bathroom didn't reveal anything new, it wasn't like I was suddenly pink or something.

But I would have thought that after being locked into a locker full of that stuff, there'd be some sort of visual marker telling people what had been done to me by the hands of my ex-best friend.

Despite everything, it's still me.

Too tall, too gangly, lips too wide to be considered pretty, a nose just a little too long to be anything other than cumbersome, and the eyes behind my glasses much too large to be described as anything more than bug-like. And despite the frames perched upon the bridge of my nose I couldn't see very well, it looked like I might need a new prescription for my glasses. Again.

Oh, well, I didn't usually tell dad about this sort of thing right away anyway.

Even the thick, curly hair I normally felt quite proud of, because of all the care I usually put into it, was rendered limp during my stay at the hospital.

This morning I didn't particularly feel like Taylor Anne Hebert, just.

Washed out. Downtrodden. Plain ol' tired.

Hold on a second...

Looking closer, I realize there's something weird with my reflection. Like I have something stuck underneath my skin near my navel area.

So when I looked down, past my (sadly still) modest chest, and saw something geometric protruding from underneath my shirt, I was rightly puzzled. I didn't remember putting something like that there.

I lifted the bottom corner of my shirt up, and there in the mirror I could see..!!

When did I get a belly button piercing!?!

No, wait, better yet. Where did I get that absolutely ginormous gemstone sitting right where my navel would normally be?

Did I rob a jewelry store in my sleep???

It glittered, and although the light couldn't quite go through it completely because of it's unfortunate position; it looked real.

It was like having a giant pink diamond sticking out of the middle of my stomach. It was more than a little unnerving to see there, something inorganic, looking like it was making nice with its new neighbors. Aka her internal organs. My very squishy internal organs meeting what was most likely the sharp end of that not-squishy stone.

Distantly it made me wonder if the gemstone's pointy end was causing anything untoward to happen where I couldn't see, like punching holes in my appendix.

Irrationally, I kind of wanted to rip it out, but also, didn't, because it looked like the gemstone was quite a bit larger and occupying much more real estate than my original belly button had. If I pulled the giant rock out would all of my intestines just... fall out like some macabre version of a bathtub stopper?

But a Parahuman's powers couldn't hurt them could it? I was sure I'd read that about powers somewhere.

Powers, because that's what this had to be right?

My powers (and wasn't that a strange thought? Almost like a childhood daydream...) wouldn't, couldn't hurt me.

Could it?

Unless my... new belly button was now a part of me, and wasn't supposed to be... taken off. Or bad things might happen. Really bad things like Taylor's insides quickly becoming Taylor's outsides.

Right... So no pulling parts of yourself off no matter how much a precious gemstone of that size would really, really help dad reach his goals of revitalizing Brockton Bay's ferry system, and therefore, revitalize its economy. Not that I knew where to go to get it appraised or where to sell it, or even if precious stones made from a Parahuman was even legal to sell.

It was also pretty weird that the precious gemstone came already faceted, like how did this process come to be? ...Not that I knew how a diamond came to be, perfectly lodged in the middle of my stomach.

And now that I thought about it, how lame was it having a belly button gem as a power? The lamest unless I could somehow shoot gemstones out of my belly button at Villains? And certainly, it sounded lame, and possibly a reason for Villains to go after me instead of a more secure jewelry store.

Anyway I really needed to test out my new powers, and see if I could do anything other than possibly shoot lasers out of my new belly button diamond (although that would be kind of cool) before I did anything drastic like stop a bank robbery.

And maybe, just maybe there was more to these new powers than a pink diamond in place of a belly button. (And why pink instead of a regular, see through diamond?)

...​

AN: EDIT: In SU, Gems seem to just automatically know their own names. At least, fusions and full blooded Gems do.

It's come to my attention that human gem hybrids don't automatically know the name of their own Gems. So the reason Taylor says it's a diamond is, because that's one of the few precious gemstones she knows about. It doesn't look like a ruby or a sapphire and diamonds with other colors isn't that uncommon so that's what it is to her. Unlike Steven, she didn't have anybody calling it a Rose Quartz for her.

EDIT (09/13/19): First person POV change. I also changed the ending scene because I re-read it and felt skeevy. The first time around I made it look like Taylor was staring at herself in the mirror naked, like a really bad novel written by a man who has no idea what women do in their spare time.

I also got rid of the Spoilers because I realize the way I was describing her powers didn't really work with how I was thinking about it.

Undertale reference in fan fiction 2019? It's more likely than you think.

 

[Jetsmillion]

Might want to start threadmarking your chapters before you get too far into your story or new readers might miss some of the content.

 

[Geoul]

The authors note at the end of chapter two is something you really should avoid. It's better to let your readers discover things with your character, or put it up in a spoiler box at the top of the first chapter. Talking about how awesome your own writing is going to be while telling us spoilers is a bit of a turn off to further reading.

 

[the DragonBard]

I think Gems know the name of their own gem are automatically even if not what others are.

Click to shrink...

I should point out that Gem Hybrids like Steven don't know this, as Steven isn't aware he's a Diamond until it's revealed much later.

 

[staplesdex2]

All hail our illustrious Pink Diamond?

 

[Cybresamurai]

This means she can fuse with people. Nice can't wait for more.

 

[Ljapaubeaves]

Hmm… Watched for now, lets see where it goes.
Not certain yet if what the writing styly is tho.

On the naming: If you are planning on creating original gems then using a name that is not directly connected to SU is propably a better idea. Also Rose was her mothers middle name, she may as well join New Wave if you give the secret identity out like that.

 

[RoyalNoises]

Cape Name: Living laser.

 

[LocalCatHybrid]

AN: Taylor knows what her gem is because of her power. In SU, Gems seem to just automatically know their own names. I think Gems know the name of their own gem are automatically even if not what others are.

Click to shrink...

OBJECTION!

Steven doesn't, otherwise the revelation that

Spoiler: Spoiler for SU S5

Rose Quartz = Pink Diamond

Spoiler

wouldn't have been quite so much a revelation.

 

[Mixter E]

Premise: An AU Taylor who triggers as a gem-human hybrid, Master-Tinker with a Changer component.

...​

January 19, 2011. Wednesday. Home Basement, Earth Beta

"Holy shit," the words I said, came out in an awed whisper.

The only solace I had since recovering from the hospital was keeping busy, learning the ins and outs of my power.

Oh it had been fun, in the beginning, figuring it all out, but by now it's become a teeny bit tedious.

I'd just begun using the basement of our family home as a sort of makeshift training grounds. Collecting soda cans and other miscellaneous objects to test out my powers. Or trying to test out my powers to say the least.

It became an increasingly frustrating test in patience that didn't seem to go anywhere productive. I might've been able to cross belly button laser off my list of potential powers, but only because no matter what I tried nothing laser like seemed to shoot out of my new and involuntary flashy fashion statement.

It seemed like the harder I tried, the less cooperative my powers seemed to be.

All of my stress and frustration eventually reached a boiling point, and the famous Hebert temper reared it's ugly head. I'd just gotten so incredibly angry, and.

In a fit of thankfully brief rage, I accidentally punched a hole in the wall.

The cement wall. The only thing I could say was that 'thank gooness, it wasn't a mirror.'

My hand hadn't come out of it unscathed, of course. A few of my knuckles were scratched and even a little bloody, but it definitely wasn't the kind of damage punching a cement wall, and putting a sizable dent in it would result in. In fact, against my fist, the wall had lost.

It meant... it meant that I was a Brute. It meant that my powers were a lot more hero worthy than I'd first suspected. What it really, truly meant was that I could make a difference in the world.

Now I could be a real-life hero.

Other than my own.

(And that I would never have to be afraid of the trio and their antics ever again. At least, not the physical side of things.)

Overwhelmed with what I was feeling - and it must have been pure joy - I jumped up into the air, whooping.

Normally, I would've immediately felt embarrassed even if there had been no one else around, and my shoulders would have already been on their way to migrating towards my ears. Except this time I found myself jumping several feet into the air, and would've gone further if not for scrambling to avoid the basement's ceiling.

Much higher up than I should've been able to go.

Somehow stuck in between two of the ceiling's exposed boards, like some sorry excuse of a ninja, I had time to ponder the predicament I somehow go myself into. At least, I'd reacted in time, because Brute rating or no, I really did not want to take my chances with the basement's exposed electrical wiring. Or you know, crash into the ceiling, and possibly come out of the other end, destroying the floor of my house in the process.

Or not coming out the other end.

Which, by the way, was not how I wanted dad to find out that I was a Parahuman. Or consequently having to deal with the questions dad would ask me, because although I used the basement for a lot of my projects he'd still wonder why I was sneaking around. Acting suspicious in the basement after school, trying to figure out the uses my powers in secret before he came home from work.

And looking down, I could only be grateful for the abnormally high ceiling we had for the basement.

In conclusion... I wasn't sure if the reason why I could jump higher than normal was, because of a brute or a mover rating or what, but I intended to find out. Though I wished getting down from the ceiling wasn't the way I had to find out.

I hadn't formed cracks in the cement floors jumping, at least, but that was a small comfort. Right now I needed to figure out a way to jump down without causing cracked floors was the question.

Now only if I could just safely touch down? Fly? Let go?

Oof. Nope. Definitely not. Not a flyer, or if I was, I didn't get the hang of it yet. Looking myself over, it seemed like I didn't get too badly hurt, only lightly bruised. More like I bruised the ground and not the other way around.

Shuffling the boxes against the wall around solved the risk of dad discovering the hole in the wall whenever he'd come down to do laundry or whatever. Hopefully he wouldn't look up to notice how weird the ceiling looked after today's excursion. At least, I hadn't crashed into the basement lightbulb or anything equally disastrous. And I could only be grateful that I'd remember to clean up the resin and my artificially colored sand before I started messing around with my powers.

Still I must be some sort of Brute with a Mover rating if I could move like that. The last one needed to be put on the back burner until I could figure it out since I couldn't do it on command. Wasn't too sure how being a Brute came with the property of a diamond belly button, but maybe it was something similar to the Villain Hookwolf, and I was actually some kind of Breaker or Changer that could cover my entire body with diamonds?

Hard as a diamond does seem promising.

...

EDIT (9/14/19): Change to first person POV.

Please note that although Taylor describes her powers a certain way does not mean that's how her powers work. She's a semi-permanant Changer, half her body is made out of hard light.
A bit of detail added, reworded some stuff.

 

[Slayer Anderson]

Looking good so far. It'll be interesting if she has access to the Gem's... um, I'm going to call it a 'tech base' even though it's not.

Anyway, it'll be fun if she figures out how to grow other gems, if that's a thing she can do.

But Rose's powers were pretty diverse and ridiculous even without that.

I look forward to seeing what happens the first time Taylor 'pops' and has to reform. That'll be pretty hilarious in hindsight.

 

[DragoNT]

This is certainly an Interesting premise as for names, Diamantem sounds decent or perhaps something that references the Noor-ul-Ain or Daria-i-Noor.

 

[Mixter E]

Premise: An AU Taylor who triggers as a gem-human hybrid, Master-Tinker with a Changer component.

...​

January 19, 2011. Wednesday. Kitchen, Earth Beta

Thinking about my powers too hard seemed to give me a headache, so I decided to head upstairs. Maybe getting something to eat would clear my head, and looking at the clock in the kitchen explained it. I must I've skipped breakfast and lunch without realizing it.

Skipping two meals in a row couldn't be too good for my health, but my mind kept going back to figuring out what I could do now. Intellectually, I knew I couldn't know everything there was to know about my new power right this instant. Considering the fact that I just found out that I was even a Parahuman, I still felt like I needed to make up for lost time.

Just thinking about that week spent doing nothing made me restless in the end; it was like having an itch on my nose I couldn't scratch, absolutely unbearable.

And despite it being just a day or two since I'd gotten home from the hospital I was going stir crazy already. It was strange being so antsy and feeling the need to talk to someone, anyone.

Usually, I could entertain myself better than this, I could handle myself better than this. Before the incident involving my hospitalization, to avoid the trio I'd normally head directly home after school. I didn't go out on the weekends for obvious reasons, and it wasn't like I had anybody to call. I essentially had no social life to speak of.

Most days Dad was too busy with work, and we barely talked anymore despite the fact that we both felt our loneliness so strongly. Thinking about how dad must have worried himself sick for an entire week didn't help, and only made my headache pound even harder. Maybe I was working myself up for no reason, but it felt like the walls I'd built up around me over the past few year have all been for nothing, with it and everything around me crumbling.

My heart didn't seem as hard as rock, but in the end, brittle... like a Diamond.

This was the reason I generally kept myself busy with school, thinking up new solutions to circumvent my petty bullies. Why I liked to make jewelry to sell online (although this did help in keeping dad in the dark about why I always needed to replace my ruined school supplies). Partially, even one of the reasons why I started running in the mornings, I needed the exercise, yes, but also to busy myself, or else I'd spiral into a cloud of negative thoughts that I knew couldn't be to great for my mental health. Managing to run away from the upperclassmen Sophia occasionally sicked on me counted as a bonus but it wasn't the real reason.

I ran because it kept me focused most days. Maybe if Sophia wasn't Winslow's Star on the track team then I might have joined, but that was a big if anyway. It wasn't like anybody in their right mind would want a target painted on their backs, including me like that would entail.

Sitting down at the kitchen island, I stared at the object in the middle of the table. Dad must have forgotten to put it back after he brought it to the kitchen this morning. Normally sitting on a bookshelf between the kitchen and the living room, it was a photo of mom and I as a kid, held within a beach themed frame I'd made shortly after the picture was taken.

Similar to what I'd see dad sometimes do, I picked up the beach themed picture frame for a closer look, thumbing it's edges. The picture depicted the two of us enjoying a vacation, on a beautiful beach, during a time when our family could still afford to travel outside of Brockton Bay for the summers. Dad had taken it, so he wasn't in the shot, but the photo reminded me of days gone past when our family was still complete.

Waving at dad just out of shot, past me had a big smile on her face despite there being sand in her hair, and a dab of greasy sunscreen still on her nose. And mom. Mom always did have a presence about her, and where she could, inspiring admiration and awe.

Wholeheartedly, she laughed at the camera with a grace I could only dream of, her dark curls bouncing with her mirth and cast adrift on the wind. My wavy hair paled in comparison to her mane of gorgeously well-kept and tight curls.

I looked almost nothing like her.

I still remember the dirty looks mom would get if dad wasn't with us, or the derisive ones we'd get as a family. When I was younger I didn't understand why it mattered that mom's skin was a warm brown, but mine wasn't. Or why some people didn't like that mom and dad didn't have the same color of skin.

Oh no, I thought. I must have gripped the edges of the frame too hard, because one of the small shells I remember collecting with my parents fell off into my hands. Pocketing the shell since I could always glue it back on later, I went back to concentrating on my food, however. The sound of crunching in my mouth made me look back down at my scrambled eggs and grimaced.

Judging by the amount of cronch I must've dropped what must have been the entirety of two eggs, shells and all, into my scrambled eggs. Mouth gritty and disgusting, I had to wash it all down with my tall glass of milk. Almost without thinking of it, I then proceeded to shovel the rest of the eggs into my gullet.

After all, I shouldn't waste food my mind supplied.

Finishing the eggs, I walked to the fridge and guzzled the rest of the carton of milk, mildly disappointed when there wasn't anymore. Strange that I'd do that, I haven't drank milk right out of the carton in years, since I was a little kid really.

Then I ate a whole block of cheese. It was as delicious as I thought it'd be. Proceeding that I stripped five string cheeses from their wrappers and ate those too. They weren't as good, but for some reason I was really craving dairy right now.

After the fridge and freezer became emptied of their cow byproducts, I reached into the fridge and started pulling out all of the leafy greens kept in the humidity drawers. I ate them raw and unwashed, and it tasted dirty and bitter because of this. I stepped over to the kitchen counters, and took out a can of sardines, and than a second one. A third and fourth one of those would be gone too if there'd been any more.

Finally satisfied, I went upstairs thinking that maybe I wanted to brush the taste of sardines out of my mouth, but found myself turning on the tap for the bathtub. It wasn't for very long, the water only reaching ankle deep.

And then I had an epiphany. And now I knew what it was I was aiming for with this strange behavior. And it wasn't sudden, but a very gradual understanding of newly acquired knowledge.

It felt like I knew what I was doing all along, even if everything I've been doing it all unconsciously the entire time. I could feel the palms of my hand starting to sweat just at the thought.

The shell, a mother of pearl; the water in the tub and the sand trappped in knick knacks all around the bathtub's edge, an approximation of a beach front; the calcium rich food from earlier, to replace all of the calcium I'm about to lose.

Pulling up the bottom of my leggings, I sat at the ledge of the tub, dipping my feet in.

It was all towards one end goal, accumulating into one realization.

Because. Isn't this what tinkers do? The thought almost made me breathless. Almost. Because the last thing I needed to do is take a deep breath.

So I took it, a deep breath I then held.

In the middle of my palm was the small seashell from earlier, something from that picture frame that I could always replace.

I blew into my cupped hands, feeling the procedure kick into gear, my hands releasing a copious amount of sweat. Something that didn't gross me out as much as I first thought it would.

I don't know how long I sat like that, waiting for it to finish; it could have taken hours or it could have been only minutes. It didn't feel like anything in particular, only a strong sense of all consuming concentration.

For a second time I blew into my cupped hands, releasing both the hold the procedure had over me, and the Gem from my hand.

I could feel my eyes growing larger at the sight of what was in my hand. What must've been the largest pearl in the world. How much money could I earn from selling, but my power advised me against it. And I had to wonder why?

The pearl had a nice pearly sheen to it, like those peach-white pearls, and a amber-gold ring around it. Fitting comfortably into the palm of my hand and perfectly oval, I could become rich selling artificial pearls of this quality.

Holding it up to the light made me wonder what the ring of amber-gold was supposed to be, turning the pearl this way and that way, and then... my hand slipped.

My heart leaped up into my throat, and although my scrambling managed to cushion her descent, the pearl still managed to fall into the tub with a splash. Luckily the fall hadn't managed to damage the gemstone and I let out a sigh of relief, but unbeknownst to me my relief would be much too brief.

Plucking the Pearl out of the water, I start drying the Gem with my shirt. Or at least I start to dry the Gem with my shirt, because suddenly there's this glowing light coming from somewhere. At first, I thought it came from my belly button gem like it usually does when my power activates, but then I realized the light wasn't coming from me.

It was coming from the Pearl in my hands, which became more apparent when the Gem started to levitate away from me. Stopping at my line of sight what happened next blew my suspension of disbelief right out of the water, because...

A holographic clam in amber-gold started to speak to me.

...

AN: I've realized that I've been thinking of Taylor's power as strictly seen in the show of Steven Universe when I should be thinking of how Shards work and what they're supposed to be a part of. A cycle, which usually tweaks and fine tunes these shards. So here a Taylor who's a Master-Tinker who counts as her own magi/bio-tech machine. Also, Taylor's shard is influencing her emotions.

To answer some comments: Taylor is never going to poof, so she can be stabbed and bleed out or alternatively become a smear via Endbringer if she's not careful. Also, I do consider the gem technology shown in Steven Universe to be a legit (albeit fictional) tech base. It may be powered through esoteric energies, but it most likely has rules and regulations that's never shown in the series.

Short answer: Sufficiently advanced science and sufficiently advanced magics are pretty much the same in my eyes.

AU elements: Yes Taylor is a Trans-girl, and yes, her dead mom is black, but she still looks white. And if anyone asks Taylor's eyes are hazel, not brown or green.

 

[Y Ddraig Goch]

What do you mean by a trans girl?

 

[Magpy]

Huh. I wonder if this Pearl is going to be like Reset Pearl.

 

[Bailey Matutine]

What do you mean by a trans girl?

Click to shrink...

The doctors told Danny he had a son but they were mistaken.

 

[Lorddarkrai2]

some doctors need to get a refresher course

 

[Mre]

Interesting story so far.

I'm not the biggest fan of Worm, but I'll read crossovers between it and stories I do like if the writing is good enough, and the writing here is definitely good enough.

Also, that makes I think 3 active SU fics on this site, and a fourth on Hiatus with a recent update. The movie really did a good job waking up this fandom, didn't it?

 

[Mixter E]

Premise: An AU Taylor who triggers as a gem-human hybrid, Master-Tinker with a Changer component.

...​

January 19, 2011. Wednesday. Bathroom, Earth Beta

"Please identify yourself," states the floating holographic clam shell in a soft, feminine voice. The levitating clam shell which had materialized around the pearl I'd just made, moments ago, with my bare ducking hands. Wow, and wasn't that all just a mouthful?

It's not everyday a disembodied voice asks for me to identify myself, and I'd be lying if I said the request hadn't made me curious. In an attempt to parse its meaning, my brain went into overdrive, compiling and then dismissing most of a list of what the holo-clam shell could possibly mean, however. Why an aspect of my own power would ask for me to identify myself was a mystery. Hopefully one I'd soon figure out.

Perhaps the holographic clam shell was some sort of supercomputer, powered by that pearl right in the middle? And it needed a password? Although if that was true I hadn't set a password in the first place so I wasn't sure how that was supposed to work.

Thinking about it the holographic clam shell must be asking for a voice recognition sample, like in futuristic movies. In a sorry excuse to speak more clearly, I straightened up, and carefully enunciated my name, deliberate in the first e of Hebert. It'd be embarrassing if my own power misheard my name and called me Herbert.

"Greetings, Taylor Anne Hebert. Please state preferred customization options." Customization options? Maybe this wasn't a supercomputer like I thought but something else.

"Uh." Think of something futuristic... "Virtual?"

"Virtual setting selected. Please stand by."

The holographic clam shell opened up, allowing for a beam of golden-amber light to shoot out from the glowing pearl right in the middle. At first, scanning me and then the room in it's light, finishing with a blinding white light. By the time I blinked the spots from behind my eyes away, I appeared to be, not in the bathroom, but in a fantasy.

Instead of the previous washroom, the sight before me was one that could only have been made in the wildest of imaginations. A serene landscape made obscure by soft amber clouds, ethereal in that they seemed to glow with an unearthly light. Creating a gradual fade to the edges of what must have been a virtual world.

Not only did I seem to be walking (or in this case standing) on water, but also, a wall made of what looked to be still water had appeared behind the holo-clam shell. Just as my eyes had stopped marveling at the wonders of the place, and landed back on the holo-clam shell, the pearl reacted to my presence. Although it wasn't as blinding this time, the pearl once again began to glow brightly.

Beginning as a holograph and tapering into a more realistic look, a full length mirror materialized right before my very eyes. Captivated within its reflective surface, however, wasn't my reflection, but someone else's. Considering the virtual world I'd just laid eyes on, a magic mirror wasn't that impressive.

She had a slender, thin build, and a delicately pointed nose, however. That's where the normalcy ended. She might have been tall enough to be a model, but she was extraordinarily thin. It wasn't quite reaching into the uncanny valley, but that might have been the clothes covering up most of her body.

And her skin, she had pale blue skin that went beyond the scope of oxygen deprivation, and into the land of extraterrestrial. She didn't look like someone you'd run into on the street with her bubblegum pink hair, styled in the most atrocious hairstyle I've ever seen. Not that I hadn't seen atrocious hairstyles on the street before. The messy bangs that framed her face looked okay, but the back of her hair? It was pulled back into a legit point. Like someone wanted to use her hair like a ledge to hold something up.

It felt very much like one of those online dress up games she used to play in middle school, all exaggerated cartoony features and unrealistic beauty standards. Except the model wasn't bald or in her undergarments.

I blinked, rubbed my eyes, and when it looked like nothing changed, I blinked one more time, just in case. It seemed like this virtual simulation just read my mind.

The vaguely ballerina-dancer type outfit disappeared, replaced with a white tank top and shorts reminiscent of those same exact online dress up games. Not only that but now she lacked even a speck of evidence of the full head of hair she had just a second ago. Coupled with the deliberate shine to the pearl in her forehead and the large glassy eyes, Pearl looked like an eerie mannequin with features painted on.

Especially since she didn't have any ears to begin with, so the first thing I did was rectify this fact. Honestly, I didn't want anything to further compounded the cartoonish art style on what I'm guessing will be my avatar for a virtual reality game (?) I made with the tinker aspect of my power.

Going earless was so not option.

And just for fun, I decided to start with earrings... And woah, that's a lot. The earrings all seem to come in two variations. Either it came as a free floating semi prescious stone in a cabochon cut, or strangely enough an empty spiral cage. Not that it wasn't aesthetically appealing, spiral cages are meant to be a part of jewelry pieces, after all, but it's still weird that there's no rough or tumbled stone inside.

Ears done, I go on to check out the options for hair. Sadly, all of the hairstyles found here are similarly outrageous to the first one, and since I can't figure out how to chose hairstyles from real life - not that it's not an option - I just don't have the attention for detail apparently needed for it. I try out what I like to think my hair would have looked like if it'd been closer to mom's hair type than dad's, but quickly changed my mind.

It was hard to look at the hypotheticals I've had over the years and see it on someone else, couldn't get into seeing it on a stranger's face. Maybe if I manage to change the avatar's face to mine later.

Deciding to go back to the original one, I simply shorten the back, and clean up the bangs, and presto, a much more presentable hairdo. It didn't look too bad on my avatar if I say so myself, but the bubblegum pink color had to go. The hues for hair on here ranged from the natural ones I'd see in the real world to a plethora of pastel ones. Blue, yellow, green, purple - even a peach one that I—

Oops, it looks like I flicked my wrist a little too hard there, and the computer's interface interpreted it as me wanting to drop the peach color somewhere else, specifically change the skin peach.

Huh.

On second thought I might just leave it at that. Certainly, it looks much better than the original pale blue, or even the ivory white that I can see, now that I have the skin pallet open. There's even a choice color for blush which I first thought meant, blush as in makeup, but in reality meant the color you blush in. This fact made itself known to me when the computer played a short animation of the avatar blushing amber.

And wow, such an attention to detail I hadn't even realized went into this computer simulation.

Although, I'd been mildly disappointed in myself for not keeping the dark hair I have in real life, but I've always wanted to try out being a ginger for once, without Emma there to take a jab at me.

Next, while I have my avatar underdressed, choosing my preferred face shape and body type seemed pertinent. Only it didn't seem possible to change the avatar's figure, at best, I could make her taller or shorter, but not by much at that. What's up with my powers that I couldn't choose a different set body type!?

Ugh, whatever, I'll just try on the clothing choices first. Hmm... There's- certainly plenty of sheer choices. I mean there's so many sheer options of clothing; sheer shirts, sheer dresses, sheer skirts, sheer pants, sheer shawls and sheer cardigans. I've... never seen anything sheer so colorful either. Usually, if I do see someone where something sheer, it's either black or a dark color, but this? It came in a lot of... pastels. But this, wait, what's this? Ooh.

I can make designs on these shirts that can ignore the laws of gravity!? Its just floating there, not connected to anything! How cool is that!? I wonder what it'd look like as a puffy, sheer (hehe?), long sleeved shirt..? Maybe in the color green? I'd have to leave a solid shirt underneath, white might be the best color, but what about adding a collar to the shirt? It might look a little funny underneath a poofy shirt, but it's not exactly a button up, since there's no buttons and the sleeves are skintight.

Afterwards I tried my hand at editing the face too, but it seemed to be limited to a ridiculously small range.

Oh, there seems to be a tiny bit of leeway in the shape of the eyes, but they tended to stay in the same expressively large configuration; the nose didn't want to go in any appearance other than pointed; I could make the lips fuller, but in a way, that was even more frustrating. Furthermore, shape of the face seemed to have a hard lock on it. If I wanted to make the avatar's face look even a little different, I'd need to go back to hair and choose a style that would make it look like the face shape changed.

Oh, and I could also make the feet bigger (or smaller) for some god-forsaken reason, but neither do I want clown feet!!! What's up with these features?? Who decided to put this in here?

I couldn't take it anymore and yelled, "I don't have a fetish for long clown feet, ok!?!" I was absolutely incensed.

So angry in fact that I decided to rage quit the game, by screaming, "I'm done!"

Which by the way was a big mistake, because I forgot to close my eyes against the blinding flash of light that came next. At least, when I opened my eyes next I could already see again. Locking eyes on the holo-clam shell, it seemed to once again sense my sight on it, and then it flew away! Oh sh-

...

AN: Ended on a cliff hanger there, didn't I?

There's a lot of things about Tinkers that really give me a headache, like a tinker fugue or the fact that they could make something without knowing what goes into it.

Like how Taylor keeps calling the shell on the picture frame a seashell when in fact it's a freshwater shell she got on a lake, sure that was literal years ago. But she also (accidentally) correctly guesses that the hologram is a clamshell when saltwater pearls come from oysters and not clams. Long talk cut short: Pearl has a oval pearl, therefore she's a freshwater pearl. But Taylor doesn't know this, she sees a pearl and thinks ocean.

If anyone's curious about what Pearl look like, here's a link:



On another note, Taylor didn't really put a lot of thought into what Pearl looked like other than that she's not eye searing to look at, and the clothes and accessories, so those lips are kind of an accident. And if you can't tell, I have no idea about makeup, so the lipstick on Pearl is just her skin color (or was it hair?) but a little darker. Taylor's also one of those people who gets bothered by the uncanny valley very easily, so looking at Pearl, who's a little too skinny to be healthy, makes it feel like she's looking at a visual nails on chalkboard kind of deal. Like where are her ribs?

There's also a lot of call backs to Pearl from the Pilot here, blue skin, pink hair, gold ring, earrings, etc. and yup, This Pearl's skin color is the hair color of the Crystal Gems Pearl, lol. Her hair one of the redraws of Pilot Pearl, drawn between Pilot and the final design for the show we all know and love.

Also, I gave Taylor a little hobby with jewelry and clothing, lol.

some doctors need to get a refresher course

Click to shrink...

C'mon now there's no need to be obtuse. Taylor's a Trans girl. All the answers are literally right there.

EDIT: I added a picture of Pearl to Media. It should work better than the broken link here.

 

[Lorddarkrai2]

If anyone's curious about what Pearl look like, here's a link:

Click to shrink...

there's no link.

 

[Mre]

there's no link.

Click to shrink...

It actually is a link. The image is broken and doesn't show up on the page, but highlight it and the URL the image is hosted on pops up.

 

[Kamico]

It actually is a link. The image is broken and doesn't show up on the page, but highlight it and the URL the image is hosted on pops up.

Click to shrink...

On phone, there is no link