Amber Redesign (Steven Universe OC)

I recently decided to redesign my old Gemsona Amber partly because I wanted to tweak her origin a little bit after watching Keeping It Together, partly because her color scheme was too similar to Citrine's, & partly because I was worried that she looked too much like a rip off of Lapis Lazuli before. When originally designing Amber, I wanted her to be a Gem/Plant hybrid (rather than being just half tree resin), so I decided stick with my original idea and give her a "deity/guardian of the forest" motif. Her redesign is mainly based off of forest sprites & dryads (wood nymphs) from mythology. To show that Amber's half plant, I decided to have tree roots sticking out of her head to look like horns or ears, while also making her feet look like tree roots. Her long hair is meant to show that she originally came from the Kindergarten, while at the same time showing that she's lived in nature for so long so she doesn't feel a need to groom herself.

Also, in case anyone was wondering, her gem is where right thumb is supposed to be (a reference to having a "green thumb").

Height: 4'10" (or approximately the same height as Steven)

Age: Technically- less than 5000, Physically- 10-11

Species: ½ Gem, ½ Oak Tree

Affiliation: None (But slowly becomes an honorary Crystal Gem after meeting Steven)

Origin: Shortly before the Crystal Gems shut down the Kindergarten, one of the Injectors accidentally punctured into a long tree root that was buried underground, causing a Gem to be incubated in a nearby oak tree rather than the Earth's crust. Though the implanted Gem was able to grow inside of the tree, it was forced reformat itself in order to adapt to the plant's nutrients since it differed from the life-force it would've absorbed underground. When the Gem was finally born, it developed a number of plant-like qualities due to adapting to the tree's life force, & Amber was the result.

Bio: Since she was born after the Kindergarten was shut down & abandoned, Amber spent most of her life alone, not knowing what she was or where she came from. She did see Homeworld Gems during the war, but she immediately grew to resent them after seeing how they were harming the planet due to the fact that see saw herself more as a plant than as a Gem.  She does have friends, but most of them are animals- especially her best friend Robin who lives on top of her head. Until she meets Steven, her goal is to take down all Gems (not knowing that the Crystal Gems exist), repairing the damage they've caused the forest she was born in during the War, & stopping any humans from hurting the forest any further.

Amber is a strong and courageous Gem who is not afraid to stand her ground and fight for what she believes in. At first, she spent most of her life in fear of anyone or anything that would harm the forest, but she eventually decided to stop hiding and fight back. Despite this, she's also sweet & kind hearted, and is more than willing to make friends once she starts to trust them; however, she has a hard time trusting humans or other Gems since they've mostly been her enemies her whole life and she doesn't easily let her guard down. The only thing she's afraid of is trying new things such as leaving her forest since it's the only life she's ever known and she worries that any kind of change will only make things worse. Plus, she's afraid that her forest will be destroyed again if she's not there to protect it.

Likes: Plants, animals, Steven Quartz Universe, clear open skies, watching clouds fly by, looking at the stars and constellations at night, water, swimming, sunlight

Dislikes: Change, most humans (especially hunters and businessmen), machines, cities, Homeworld, pollution, Connie Maheswaran, food made from plants & vegetation (ex- fruits, chips, fries, etc.), zoos, leaving home, trying new things, Homeworld Gems, winter

Powers & Abilities: Amber's main power is ecokinesis, which allows her to communicate & control other plants (which differs from Steven's plant powers since she's unable to grow sentient plant life but only work with the plants in her surroundings). Her additional powers include secreting tree resin to act as a suit of armor and energy balls of sunlight through photosynthesis

However, due to being half plant, Amber lacks some abilities that are found in other Gems such as shape-shifting and modifying her physical form when she regenerates.

Weapon: Going along with her resin-related powers, Amber tends to create a set of claws that she uses as her main weapon (which mainly based on tiger claws). Robin also occasionally fights with her in battles, & most often attacks enemies by either pecking them or dropping objects on them


Meaning:  According to Gem and Tree symbolism, both the Amber Gemstone & the Oak tree (Amber's plant half) represent courage, spirit, power, & strength. It's also related to tigers in China (where it's also referred to as the "tiger's soul"), which is why Amber uses claws as her weapon