#she's pretty small for quartz and not so fancy but i'm working on it

[thelastspeecher]

I know you're in a spy au mood but the finale for Su s5 is still in my mind and I'm thinking: for a gem au who would be what and what would the McGucket family's jobs be. If they were gems?

Okay, so, what I come up with may conflict with SU canon.  I know for a fact what I say about Angie being a Citrine conflicts with SU canon, but I honestly don’t care.  I’ve literally got a degree in geology, I know my gems and minerals and rocks.  I know them personally, and I know the McGuckets personally, so let’s do this.

(Oh, and if you wanna see a design for gem!Angie, @agent-jaselin already did that, with a gem!Stana to boot!)

Ma McGucket - Morganite (Pink Beryl)

Morganite is the pink variety of beryl; blue beryl is called aquamarine, and green beryl is called emerald.  It’s uncommon, highly sought after, and definitely considered fancy.  Which works pretty dang well for Sally McGucket, who grew up in high society.  Also, that color suits Ma McGucket so well.

Role: She’s in Pink Diamond’s court as some sort of entertainer.

Pa McGucket - Plagioclase

Plagioclase is a variety of feldspar, the most common mineral in the Earth’s crust (it beats out quartz because unlike quartz, feldspar is found in mafic igneous rocks).  Pa Guck is just an ole farmer boy from a farming and mining family.  He’s nothing sparkly or fancy, so the gem version of him shouldn’t be, either.  I chose plagioclase specifically because it’s the most plain looking of the feldspars.  What a scandal, when a Morganite falls in love with such a low-level gem, barely one step above a Pearl.

Role: He’s a laborer.

Violynn - Tanzanite

It’s the blue mineral in the picture.  There are a lot prettier pictures of tanzanite on the internet, but I liked this one because it shows the crystal habit and cleavage planes really well.  Anyways, tanzanite is blue-violet variety zoisite, which belongs to the epidote group (any geologist worth their salt could tell that by this picture).  Tanzanite is very rare, and very pretty, much like Violynn.  It also displays very nice pleochroism - it changes colors depending upon which angle you’re looking at it.  Works very well for Violynn, a person whose personality changes depending upon who you ask.  Violynn’s parents think she’s wonderful, a real angel.  Harper thinks of her as his rough-and-tumble big sister that he’s gotten into many scuffles with.  And Angie can’t decide whether she admires Violynn or is jealous of her.  

Role: She’s in Blue Diamond’s court.  She’s a rare, color-changing gem, after all.  The color changing coincides with her ability to predict, and on a small scale, alter the weather.  She stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Sapphires.

Harper - Amazonite

I knew he had to be something greenish-blueish in color (…don’t ask me why, it was just a gut feeling).  My first thought was “turquoise”, but nixed that for a couple reasons.  First, amazonite is harder than turquoise, and while my boy Harper is a goof, he’s a toughie.  Second, amazonite is basically just feldspar that’s all dressed up for a party.  Feldspar is kinda unassuming on the surface, and it’s really easy to look at it and think to yourself “well, that’s just a rock”.  But when you look closer at it, you can see things like exsolution lamellae, striations, or really nice cleavage surfaces.  Perfect for Harper, the country boy who goes to Hollywood to become a big name in special effects.

Role: He fires laser guns in a spaceship.  Or something like that.  Feldspars tend to weather easily, so they wouldn’t be used as laborers, but given how common they are, they would likely be soldiers.  Similar to Quartzes, but I see them operating in a soldier-exclusive role; I think Quartzes had pretty much general labor/soldier positions.  His specific variety is rarer, so he’d probably have a more specialized role, hence the laser guns.

Basstian - Heliotrope (Bloodstone)

Heliotrope is actually green jasper (cryptocrystalline quartz) with hematite inclusions, so unlike the other things I use in this list, it is not a mineral.  Wikipedia calls it a “mineral aggregate”.  …Whatever.  The point is, it’s got a lot of quartz, which is a notoriously tough mineral.  Very fitting for stoic Basstian.  The hematite inclusions, now, that would symbolize the fact that Basstian is mostly one thing (calm, stoic), but he’s got another side to him.  He’s got thoughts and feelings, he just doesn’t broadcast them.  They don’t seem to be as common as his outward appearance.

Role: He’s like, a military general.  Quartz is a tough mineral, good for war and combat.  The fact that bloodstone is a bit fancier than plain quartz, and has some hematite in it, too boot, would translate into a higher standing in gem society (since seems like more valuable gems have higher roles in the show).

Fiddleford - Zircon

I mean…the Zircons we saw on the show were clearly gem Fiddleford anyways.  But some reasoning behind it would be that zircons are used for industrial purposes such as metal casting (perfect for an engineer making machines).  They’re also used as a source of zirconium ore.  Zirconium has a number of uses in high-level, very specific technological equipment (again, perfect for an engineer).

Role: In the show, zircons were lawyers, so I guess…a lawyer?  But a lawyer that desperately wants to take the engineering role of a Peridot.

Lute - Halite

Ah, halite.  Easily the best mineral to lick.  Why?  Because it’s salt.  And honestly, that’s the entire reason behind Lute being Halite.  It’s salty and he’s salty.  Case closed.  Also, the cleavage halite displays (cubic; three directions at 90 degrees) just screams Lute to me.  Like the color of amazonite suiting Harper, don’t ask me why it works.  Just trust me on it.

Role: Halite fluoresces (essentially, glows when exposed to the right wavelength; fluorescence is used frequently in medicine) and is transparent (you can see completely through it).  So I’m gonna go with him being the equivalent of an x-ray technician but for gems.  He can see into their gems when they are broken and figure out what exactly is wrong and how to fix it.  Fits pretty well with his human career of physical therapist.

Angie - Citrine

Honestly, citrine just plain looks like Angie.  It’s her hair color.  But also, it’s a rare variety of quartz.  Quartz, as a mineral, is common as hell.  The specific chemical cocktail it takes to turn citrine that pretty golden color is not.  Angie doesn’t think that much of herself; being the youngest of six will do that to you.  She thinks of herself as just a country girl; one of a million just like her.  Citrine’s just quartz; one of a million crystals with the same chemical composition (SiO2).  Angie and citrine both may seem to be common, not noteworthy.  But take the time to look closer, and you see a gem.

Role: She stands around in White Diamond’s court and looks pretty.  Quartzes are supposed to be laborers, but her rarity means she gets put up on a pedestal, shown off to the real aristocratic gems.  Basically, she’s a token quartz.  But she still sneaks off to explore and have adventures whenever she can.

[urbanspellcraft]

hi! i'm trying to make a "witchcraft starter kit" for my sister as a x-mas gift b/c she always talks about wanting to be a witch. i want to gift her a good beginner book on witchcraft & some tools: a few herbs, candles (maybe 1 white, 1 black? i cant afford all colors), a crystal, a tarot deck. problem is, idk what other tools witches of all types might consider essential, & i haven't been able to find a good book that isn't wiccan or isn't full of cultural appropriation. any advice? thank you.

This is actually a really cute gift idea, and very personable as well. Tailor it to what she is in to and what you think she may be interested in casting. But here are a few ideas for you:

Books:

Books Tag - I am going to be a bit lazy and just leave that there because there are a bunch of good book references in that tag. As a pre-warning, all books should be read with a bit of skepticism because it is the authors view on magic and doesn’t work in all cases. Plus like you mentioned a lot of them (especially the older ones) are written from a Wiccan POV and/or are full of cultural appropriation.

Of Witchcraft & Whimsy - Written by @orriculum, this is a great beginner book, and really cute as well too.

Pastel Spells - Also written by Orriculum, I haven’t actually gotten a chance to buy this one yet but I adore Orriculum and her content so I am positive its a goodie.

The Sisters Grimmoire: Spells and Charms for Your Happily Ever After - You see this one floating around and its by @breelandwalker & is pretty wonderful as well. She also wrote Grovedaughter Witchery: Practical Spellcraft which is another good purchase.

Herbs:

This is tough because its really what you think she is going to be using the most. Here are some that are pretty useful for various things (and you can find in your spice cabinet).

Salt - this seems so basic but its a staple. You can go with table salt or fancy salt if you want to look fancy, or go to the craft store and buy a cute jar and pour it in and label it. But salt is something I would definitely include.

Rosemary

Lavender

Rose

Basil

Oregano

Thyme

Sage (Doesn’t have to be white sage)

Bay Leaves

Mint

Chamomile

Cinnamon

Ginger

Garlic

Alternatively, if you can have a small garden or if that is anything your sister may be in to eventually, you can get her seeds of some of the above as well and she can grow her own witchy garden.

Candles:

I think candles is a great idea. You can definitely go one white and one black, and remember they don’t need to be large either! You can get tea lights for really cheap (I get white tea lights at ikea for something like $5 for 100 tealights) OR you can get birthday candles in various colors at the dollar store which work beautifully as well. Plus those are great because they don’t burn long, so if you are waiting for a candle to burn down in a spell you aren’t waiting for like… 3 hours. I am just impatient and have shit to do though, lmao! Chime candles are also great if you need a slightly longer burn time, and they are also really affordable at places like amazon. Check sale sections in places like craft stores as well, as you can find candles there fairly often. At least mine typically has candles in the sale section from previous holidays.

Tarot Deck:

Base this on what type of art you think she would enjoy and connect with.

Crystals:

A few good starter crystals:

Clear Quartz

Tigers Eye

Selenite

Amethyst

Smokey Quartz

Rose Quartz

Quartz in general (you notice a trend)

Labradorite

Onyx

Jet

Obsidian

Copper (not a crystal I know, but I use copper a lot and this is the best section)

Agate

Citrine

Other Tools:

Oils (essential or even just a base oil like jojoba or olive) are sometimes useful.

JARS - you can get new fancy ones at the grocery store or start saving and cleaning out those sauce jars from shit like spaghetti or alcohol or jam or whatever. They are incredibly useful for so many things.

A Wand - I don’t personally use mine a whole lot but she might and it could be fun to include

A nice pen - Witches like to write shit down and a good pen goes a long way. I am a bit obsessed with pens.

A Journal - So she can write things down and start a grimoire or correspondence book or whatever she fancies!

Tea/Tea bags - If she likes tea, tea is good.

Incense - if you guys can burn it where you are at?

Hopefully that helps a bit! Tools aren’t needed by any means, but you can’t really wrap up nothing. Good luck to both of you, and send her the way of tumblr as well because tumblr can be an awesome resource!