(no subject)

[stompadour]

PLAYER

NAME: Harry
AGE: 32
PREFERRED CONTACT: ormery
OTHER CHARACTERS: n/a

CHARACTER

NAME: Jasper
AGE: ~5000
CANON & CANON POINT: Steven Universe, circa the beginning of Steven Universe Future
RESERVATION LINK: HERE.
HISTORY: https://steven-universe.fandom.com/wiki/Jasper

PERSONALITY: Jasper is a soldier. She was created as part of an emergency batch of Quartz gem warriors in the midst of a war that the gem Homeworld was losing. Pink Diamond had attempted to colonise Earth, but a group of gems had rebelled there, attempting to defend the planet's organic life from being destroyd in the planet's assimilation into the gem empire. Jasper's kindergarten was a rush job, and a lot of the gems that came out of it didn't end up as planned, deemed 'defective' by their creators. Jasper, on the other hand, was perfect: huge, loyal, powerful; the ideal Quartz soldier. Her prowess in battle became legendary, with other soldiers like the Ruby squad still remembering stories about her exploits thousands of years later. The war for Earth was lost, though, Pink Diamond supposedly destroyed, and in the aftermath every gem created there was seen as an unfortunate mistake – but not Jasper. Where the other quartzes that were grown in Earth's kindergartens were tucked away out of sight as a sentimental reminder of the lost Pink Diamond, Jasper was chosen by Yellow Diamond to serve in her court, the only relic of Earth good enough to be considered of any use.

However, this has never been good enough for Jasper. Ironically, although by gem society's standards she was flawless the moment she burst out of the ground, she feels in the core of her being that she is a failure and needs to prove herself. She talks big – says things like "this planet [Earth] ruins everything – except me" – but she's massively insecure, having had over four thousand years to stew in her inability to win the war and protect the Diamond she was created to serve. This permeates basically every aspect of her character, but it's especially visible in how viciously she bullies Amethyst, another Earth Quartz. Amethyst is a 'defective' Quartz, having come out smaller and not as strong as a Quartz 'should' be, and in theory she should be below Jasper's notice – Jasper sure talks a lot about not considering some people 'worth' fighting, after all, and seems impatient and annoyed about being asked to do easy tasks she considers a "waste of my time". When she fights Amethyst, though, Jasper really relishes beating her, taunting her cruelly the entire time, because bullying her lets her feel better about being an Earth Quartz too. She calls Earth as a planet "worthless" even though she seems quite comfortable in even its most extreme conditions – snowstorms, oceans, deserts – it's all talk, so that no one could possibly accuse her of being attached to the planet, or belonging there.

Jasper has a stick up her ass compared to the other Quartz soldiers we see in the series, who seem to be pretty carefree and rambunctious as a group compared to her. Judging by the disparaging comments Holly Blue Agate makes about how wild and unruly the Earth Quartzes she's in charge of are, it seem likely that Jasper's more joyless demeanour has developed as a reaction to other gem's similar assumptions about her. Jasper desperately wants to believe she's not a failure like they are, and she's not an undisciplined idiot like them, and so she acts stern and serious – but whenever Jasper cuts loose in a fight, a whole lot of those walls come down, and we get to see her having a good time (and also all of her identical rectangular teeth). When she fights Steven at the start of Steven Universe Future she's so excited about having a worthwhile challenge that he has to yell at her to stop laughing.

Jasper is fully bought in to the Homeworld gem hierarchy and the idea that some people are inherently more worthy and valuable than others, although she can't really think of herself as the perfect soldier that system would consider her. She insists that "we all get what we deserve", that any hardship she experiences, she's brought on herself. She repeatedly refuses to accept help from her enemies because she thinks it would make her weak, and weak is the worst possible thing she could be.

Although she loves to fight, she doesn't get fired up about it unless it provides a challenge (or unless, as mentioned, there's some cruel emotional catharsis involved in demonstrating herself superior to whoever she's fighting). She disapproves of approaches to fighting she considers 'cheap' or unfair, although she is willing to adopt those same practices if she sees no other option. She gets mad when she thinks a fight is unfair, but she's totally willing to behave unfairly towards others. Jasper could be an honourable warrior type, but she's so desperate to beat her enemies – and to soothe her insecurities – that she'll do literally whatever it takes, however low she might consider it at other times.

Although she is a staunch believer in Homeworld's hierarchy and values, Jasper doesn't seem particularly invested in them beyond the opportunities they provide to talk down to other gems, like the way she talks to Amethyst and Garnet, and the structure they provide her. She is a bully and an authoritarian, but if her authority of choice isn't there to make her feel strong and secure, she'll take whatever she can get instead: when Lapis Lazuli tricks her into fusing, believing they'll work together to defeat the Crystal Gems only for Lapis to drag her under the ocean and hold her prisoner in their dysfunctional fusion, Malachite, the experience is apparently absolutely miserable for both of them – Lapis admits afterwards to having enjoyed hurting Jasper and having power over her, but with immense regret, and ultimately the fusion was a prison for them both. But after Malachite is separated, the first thing Jasper decides to do is track down Lapis Lazuli and drop to her knees to beg for her to fuse with her again, insisting she's learned better now and she won't fight back this time. She's desperate for Lapis to exert power over her so that, as part of Malachite, she can feel strong. It's only after Lapis (who has experienced some emotional growth at this point, unlike Jasper who has never learned anything in her whole entire life) roundly refuses her that Jasper returns to her quest of destroying the Crystal Gems.

Despite all of her professed hatred for Earth, after the Diamonds stop waging war on it and Steven institutes peace throughout the galaxy, Jasper does choose to stay there. She could easily have returned to Homeworld, but it seems that how much things are changing there has made the prospect unappealing. Whatever the exact reason, Jasper decides to stay in a rock hut in the woods, on a patch of land that she doesn't allow any animal or plant life to encroach on because she says she hates "Earthlings". Mostly what she seems to do out there all day is sulk, and kick rocks around for "training", although it's fair to assume she also has to spend a lot of time weeding. Finding out that Pink Diamond was never actually destroyed and that the Diamonds are no longer at war with the Crystal Gems or Earth, and that the war she was created for in the first place was actually basically pointless, kind of undermines Jasper's entire sense of self, but she is absolutely not acting like that is the case. She's just as judgemental and dismissive about the power of friendship as ever, just as eager to feel strong by telling other people they're weak, but she has no direction in her life any more, and seems to be just waiting sullenly around for an opportunity to fight worthy opponents.

Because of this, she won't have needed much convincing to come to another world to fight a war. She has no investment in any of the ideology involved, and at this point probably isn't even really particularly bothered about the prospect of her world dying – but she does want to fight, and maybe this will be a challenge! Ha ha,



ABILITIES/SKILLS: As a gem, Jasper's actual physical being is just a magic rock, encoded with some kind of arcane space magic technology that gives her personality, awareness, and the capacity to interact with the world around her. The key supernatural ability involved here is that she can (and does, by default) project a physical form made of magic and light that makes up her body as she usually appears to others. Despite being made of light, Jasper's body has mass and volume, and interacts with the world around her broadly the same way any other person's body might, with some key differences:

- RECUPERATION: When a gem's physical form is seriously damaged, they retreat to their gem – in Jasper's case the jewel she has instead of a nose – in order to recuperate. This can take anything from minutes to weeks, or more, depending on the severity of the damage and the disposition of the gem in question. While Jasper does feel pain, and may show scuffs, bruises or even cuts on her physical form, any damage to her body is temporary; shattering her actual gem is the only way to take her permanently out of commission. However, even minor damage to the gem is a worst case scenario: a small will gradually worsen until the gem breaks entirely.
- FUSION: When two (or more) gems are in sync emotionally, they can merge their forms to become a different, more powerful gem. This can occur accidentally, if two gems are especially in tune with each other, or can be carried out deliberately – dancing helps with doing it on purpose. A fusion gem is generally a mix of their component parts, both in terms of appearance and personality, and may have additional eyes or limbs. Fusions Jasper is involved in tend to have a taur shape, with a quadruped lower body and a humanoid torso in the front. Gems can generally only do this with other gems (unless they're half-human like Steven, in which case humans are on the table too), but it's possible that drawing on this world's magic for it could blur the lines. Jasper finds fusion distasteful in theory, but rewarding in practice.
- PHYSICAL CAPABILITY: All gems are stronger and more resilient than humans, but Jasper is considered a 'perfect' example of a gem type specifically designed for combat, and her physical prowess is immense. She is extremely strong and acrobatic, and has been shown to be able to get up to keep fighting from a crashed spaceship.
- SHAPESHIFTING: Gems can alter the appearance of their physical form at will – either changing fully into a different shape or just extending or enlarging limbs. However, this is always temporary, and every gem has a 'base' form they will always return to. (The only way for most gems to alter the default form is to reform with a different appearance after spending time retreated to their gem, but even this only extends to changes to their clothing and hairstyle; the base shape of their default body remains the same.) Jasper does not use this ability much, though, so it may be beyond her for a long time at Fellden.
- GEM WEAPON: Like many gems, Jasper is capable of summoning a magic weapon to fight with. Hers is a shining orange helmet with a large diamond shaped column in the front used for extra bad headbutts.
- WHATEVER THIS IS: Jasper can launch herself into a Sonic the Hedgehog style spin dash that damages her surroundings and whatever she hits. Just normal stuff

ALSO: Aside from her gem abilities, Jasper is a very skilled fighter and a competent tactical thinker, although her pride and temper can get in the way of her better judgement in this area.

INVENTORY/COMPANIONS: Maybe like a big rock? A tarp??

FACTION CHOICE: Court of Stars

REASON: Jasper likes to think she is careful and tactical but actually she is an impulsive dumbass whose jerkwad whims are only barely restrained by her dedication to her strict views of how the world works and what is acceptable for her to do. Even things she thinks are unacceptable can become acceptable to her if she feels wronged or that it's the only way to achieve a goal she feels strongly about, as we see when she is willing to fuse with Lapis or the corrupted gems despite her assertion that fusion is a 'cheap trick'. She's assigned to escort Peridot to Earth for a specific mission, but as soon as she thinks she might be able to get closure for her biggest long held grudge while they're there, she tosses their entire reason for being there out of the window for the sake of her personal beef. She probably thinks she should be with the Moon Temple, because she has like zero self awareness.

TATTOO: The constellation that contains Earth's sun, as viewed from the gem Homeworld. Located on her right shoulder, over the patch of green discolouration she has there.

SUITABILITY: Jasper is not good at much else besides fighting, but she is really, really good at fighting, and she loves to do that! She was born in the middle of a war, and spent the first like five hundred years of her life fighting that same war.

SAMPLES

NETWORK: https://limacharlie.dreamwidth.org/49889.html?thread=5384929#cmt5384929
https://limacharlie.dreamwidth.org/27699.html?thread=3149107#cmt3149107

LOG: https://lostcarnival.dreamwidth.org/58310.html?thread=14928582#cmt14928582
https://fellmemes.dreamwidth.org/4875.html?thread=3824395#cmt3824395

NOTES, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS: thanks for reading!