Rose Quartz

Appearance

Rose Quartz was taller and had a heavier build than the other Crystal Gems, standing at approximately eight feet[1] (similar to the Amethysts from the Prime Kindergarten, as seen in "Now We're Only Falling Apart"). She had pale peach skin, defined pink lips, bright black eyes, and long, curly pink hair styled in thick ringlets. Her gemstone was located where a human navel is. First Form Garnet's story in "Your Mother and Mine" shows Rose shapeshifting out of her standard Homeworld uniform. In truth, the first time Pink Diamond took the form of Rose she was in that uniform, pretending to be one of the soldiers created on Earth to blend in with her subjects. Second Form After she defected from Homeworld, Rose wore a strapless, floor-length, white and pink dress with its multiple layers resembling the petals of a rose. It had a star-shaped cutout in the navel area showing her gem. She was also barefoot.

personality

A natural leader, Rose Quartz had a loving and motherly personality. In "An Indirect Kiss," she was described as feeling great sorrow when her loved ones were hurt. She was said to see the beauty in everything, "no matter how gross" it was, showing how she treated everyone as equals. Her capacity for empathy led her to establish the Rebellion and the Crystal Gems after exploring Earth and its inhabitants. According to Bismuth, Rose was an atypical Gem, choosing to be different and encouraging other Gems to be as well rather than living in accordance with the Caste System's values. Her doctrine was that Gems can take control of their own identities and her race's limited displays of individuality was a conviction forced upon them. In the same manner Rose showed displeasure towards her fellow Gems' natures and traditions, becoming somber when reflecting on their static predestined existences in "Greg the Babysitter" and admitting that she never missed her old home in "Story for Steven." This discontent sparked her fascination in humans who are always growing, changing and redefining themselves. She also described them as "funny" and "adorable." Despite her role in the Rebellion and its consequences, Rose had a curious, adventurous, and fun-loving personality, greatly resembling that of her human son Steven. She was described by Pearl and Greg as someone who "always did what she wanted." Rose tended to explore the cities and socialize much more than the rest of the Crystal Gems, who secluded themselves from the rest of the world until Steven's birth. However, Rose still didn't fully understand humans at that point, falsely believing that human babies and adults were two different species until she learned otherwise. Rose didn't fully comprehend the depths of human love in the early stages of her relationship with Greg, and was very confused when he tried to explain the concept of genuine affection to her. This led Pearl to initially believe that there wasn't much.

History

Pre-Series Real Story Before the colonization of Earth, Pink Diamond was a member of the Great Diamond Authority alongside White, Yellow, and Blue Diamond. Often overlooked by her fellow Diamonds, Pink desired to colonize her own planet and lead her own armies on the basis that she was just as important and as capable as them. She frequently played in her Garden with Spinel, who had been created to be her "best friend". She originally had a Pink Pearl, however, White Diamond took her away after Pink threw a tantrum that damaged Pink Pearl's eye. Eventually, Pink was given license to colonize the planet Earth and was even given another Pearl to make her feel happier. She then left Spinel behind in her Garden. When Earth's colonization began, Pink Diamond was largely bored and unsatisfied with the process. To make her feel happier, Pearl brought Pink Diamond, disguised as a Quartz, to the Kindergarten to meet the newly formed Gems. Pink soon fell in love with the planet as well as its inhabitants and, in order to preserve the planet, she created an alter-ego for herself named “Rose Quartz” by flipping her gemstone upward and shape-shifting into a Gem that resembled an ordinary Quartz soldier. As Rose Quartz, Pink Diamond incited the other Gems into openly rebelling against Homeworld, in an effort to ward off Homeworld and save the Earth from being destroyed. Pink Diamond would often switch between being herself and Rose during the events of the rebellion, fighting Homeworld on some occasions, while playing along as a leader on others. At first, she attempted to give excuses to her fellow Diamonds, trying to persuade them that it wasn't worth it to try to push the Earth's colonization to completion, giving reasons such as the difficulty in dealing with the native inhabitants and the increasing fervor of the rebellion (which she was secretly the mastermind of). However, the Diamonds urged her to continue with the colonization effort, not giving any credence to hersel

unique abilities

Healing: Rose manifested her ability to heal through her tears. Her tears could heal broken Gems/gemstones, and heal other creatures of general injuries. In "Bubbled," Eyeball mentions that she heard rumors about how Rose used her healing power to keep her Crystal Gem soldiers in contention with Homeworld's superior forces during the Rebellion. In "Monster Buddies," Garnet tells Steven that Rose tried to use her powers to save Corrupted Gems, although she was never able to heal them.[4] Resurrection: In "Lars' Head," it is implied that Rose could resurrect organic beings, giving them special powers in the process. The most notable example is Lion, whose salvation created the Pink Dimension. Empathic Telepathy: According to Garnet, Rose possessed the ability to sense others and connect with them. This power was mainly seen through Steven. Phytokinesis: Rose had the ability to grow sentient and not-sentient flora, which acted as her fighting guardians. The most notable examples are the magic spike vines in "An Indirect Kiss" and her magic moss. Speed of Descent Regulation: In "Steven Floats," it is revealed that Rose was able to alter her gravity, allowing her to control the speed of her ascent and descent. She was briefly seen using this power in "Story for Steven" and several times in "Greg the Babysitter". Electrical Interference: In "We Need to Talk," Rose appeared to be able to control Greg's radio, based upon her emotions. For instance, when she was shocked, the music stopped. Weaponry Rose's Sword: Rose possessed a great sword that she has used during battle. As stated in "Bismuth," the sword was designed for a fair fight, to cut through a Gem's physical form, destroying the body but never the gem. Bismuth calls it her "finest piece of work." It also had its own scabbard. It was later smashed by Blue Diamond in "Reunited." Laser Light Cannon: Rose once owned a cannon that shot a powerful beam that could destroy an object such as the Era 1 Red Eye.

Legacy

At one point about 5,000 years prior to the events of the series, Rose led the Crystal Gems in a rebellious war against the Homeworld Gems on the Gem Battlefield and wins. Jasper states that although they fought on different sides, she respected the military tactics that Rose used during the war. Rose left behind a fabricated story of the shattering of Pink Diamond in which she is responsible for it. This version was taken for fact by both sides of the war, which eventually culminated in the use of the Corrupting Light by the Great Diamond Authority. Due to her actions, Homeworld later created rumors about Rose's origins portraying her as a villain and/or tried to hide her existence in Era 2. As revealed in "An Indirect Kiss," Rose had a spring filled with her magical healing tears to heal her allies. Many thousands of years later, the remaining Diamonds and her son Steven later reversed the corruption on most of the surviving Gems on Earth using the water of her Fountain in "Change Your Mind." Rose's Scabbard 213 Pearl holding Rose's Battle Flag. The Crystal Gems often reminisce about Rose and express their gratitude for her actions. As seen in "Story for Steven," the Crystal Gems (excluding Rose) didn't wear stars on their outfits at the time that she met Greg. This implies that the symbol may have been adopted as a sign of respect and grief for Rose after she gave up her physical form. Greg often laments over her departure with seemingly similar reasons. A portrait of Rose hung over the doorway to the Beach House before it was destroyed in "Reunited." While pregnant with Steven, knowing that she could never meet him personally, Rose made a video with the intent of posthumously expressing her love for him. She also made a similar tape for "Nora," as she was uncertain if her child would be male or female.

relasonships (Steven)

Steven is Rose's son who she gave up her physical form for and inherited her gemstone. According to Garnet, he is a "fusion of love." While she knew they couldn't exist at the same time and thus never got to meet her son, Rose cherished Steven even before his birth, showing nothing but pride and happiness for the kind of person he would become. According to her, she couldn't wait for him to join them. She assured Steven in a video she left behind that when he loves being himself, it is really Rose loving Steven and loving being a part of him. Rose trusted Steven to carry on her mission of protecting the Earth after her passing. He is similar to her, as they are both adventurous, empathetic, and loving, and they both tend to have a great impact on others. "Bismuth" portrays Rose differently to Steven after finding out that she had poofed and bubbled Bismuth without telling Pearl and Garnet. As a result, he shows his respect for her by promising to tell everyone what happened, giving her closure before poofing, unlike Rose. "Back to the Moon" and "Bubbled" causes Steven more doubt towards what he thinks about Rose after learning about her alleged shattering of Pink Diamond during the Rebellion, first mentioned by Eyeball, then confirmed by Garnet. In "Mindful Education," one of Stevonnie's hallucinations is the giant head of Rose Quartz staring down menacingly at them, further highlighting Steven's doubts on what he should think of his mother. In "Storm in the Room," Steven conceives his mother using her room, and they bond through various activities a normal parent and child would do such as football. When Steven is about to take a picture of him and Rose together, he quickly realizes that the Rose with him is merely an incarnation of what Steven knows of her. He breaks down into tears because he believes Rose lied so she could paint herself in a saintly light and only created Steven to get away from the problems she caused for everyone involved. Rose denies this.

relasonships (Greg)

Greg Universe was the romantic partner of Rose Quartz until she brought Steven into the world. They met at one of his one-man band concerts in Beach City, where she was the lone attendee. Their relationship started out rocky because Rose didn't really understand how human romantic relationships worked, but things got better over time. The two seemed to have had a good relationship, but most of what is known comes from his point of view. He said that they were together since his concert, yet he had no idea "what a magical lady like her ever saw in a plain old dope like [him]." She used his catchphrase as the activation words for her Light Cannon, reflecting her feelings towards him. One thing these two did share, was that both ran away from their former homes and both were hinted to be miserable. Neither told the other of their past, and although Greg showed no-ill will about Rose keeping her true identity from him, Rebecca Sugar pointed that behaviour as an example of them enabling one another. Pearl attempted to one-up Greg by making him insecure about how they couldn't "fuse". However, according to Garnet, after talking they end up achieving a better understanding which is the goal of "fusing"

relasonships (Crystal gems)

e long stories. ” —"We Need to Talk" Story For Steven 130 Rose with the Crystal Gems. Rose Quartz was previously the leader of the Crystal Gems before she brought Steven into existence. The group seems to hold her in high esteem. In the episode "Laser Light Cannon" for instance, Amethyst is quoted as saying, "If Rose were here, this would be so easy!" The members of the group seem to mourn her disappearance from the world after she gave up her physical form to create Steven, though they do not hold Steven accountable for the loss. In an in-character interview with Newsarama, Pearl seems to confirm that Rose Quartz was a leader of the Crystal Gems, noting, "Brilliant leaders do brilliant things, that is why you look to them for answers, answers no one else could have, that is why you trust them, even when you can not understand why they chose... Greg."[6] Following the revelation that Rose was Pink Diamond, the remaining Crystal Gems, notably Sapphire, feel a mixture of confusion and anger for Rose's deception. However, they still share her objectives and understand her actions to some level.

relasonships (pearl)

Pearl was Rose's second-in-command and confidant in the war against Homeworld and once her personal Pearl during her reign as a Diamond. Matt Burnett has described their relationship as "complicated."[7] After witnessing Garnet's first fusion, Pearl made a failed attempt at fusing and tried to apologize for her impulsive decision and how she needs to stop imagining things about her relationship with Rose, only for Rose to urge her to never stop which resulted in an accidental first Rainbow Quartz fusion. Rose had high respect for Pearl, to the point where she called her "My Pearl," something that Homeworld Gems call their superiors. It is explained by Garnet that, during the war, Pearl was extremely protective of Rose to the point of ignoring all logic and reason, and was willing to risk her own life to ensure Rose's safety repeatedly. It is implied that this recklessness sparked heated arguments between the two of them. It was revealed in "A Single Pale Rose" that "Rose Quartz" was a persona Pink Diamond created and asked Pearl to help to frame her own assassination and make "Rose Quartz" a culprit. Pink Diamond's last order as Pearl's diamond was to never tell this to anyone. Rose cared deeply for Pearl, who claimed that she was closer to Rose than the other Gems were. She trusted Pearl with the information she didn't tell Garnet and Amethyst. She seems to value this connection highly; in "Rose's Scabbard," Pearl became furious when she realized that there was information that Rose kept even from her. In "Sworn to the Sword," it is stated by Pearl that Rose made her "feel like [she] was everything." After the episode "We Need To Talk," it was confirmed that Pearl's feelings for Rose were of the romantic kind.[8] Such feelings were confirmed to not be one sided.[7] However, Pearl's almost obsessed and co-dependent behavior and Rose's difficulty with communication in relationships most likely difficulted things for them.

relasonships (Garent)

Rose was the first Gem to accept Garnet for being a fusion between two different Gems. This acceptance would ultimately play a key factor in Garnet's decision to join Rose and the Crystal Gems. Like Pearl and Amethyst, Garnet holds much respect for Rose and was deeply saddened with her passing. Garnet is shown to believe in Rose's ideology strongly and is committed to carrying on her cause by leading the Crystal Gems in her absence. This reverence for Rose is demonstrated in "It Could've Been Great", when Garnet becomes angered at Peridot's criticism of her former leader and her legacy, to the point of threatening Peridot.

relasonships (Amethyst)

Rose and the other Crystal Gems found Amethyst in the abandoned Prime Kindergarten. The two had a close relationship, as Amethyst made a comment in "Maximum Capacity" that suggests Rose always was there for her. Rose "protected" Amethyst from having to know troubling truths related to Homeworld; sheltering her from knowing the full truth of her origin and therefore she wasn't free to build on that aspect of her identity until much later. This was because she didn't want Amethyst to have the restrictions of the Gem society they rejected, but that meant Amethyst didn't have the chance to rebel against or choose to follow anything associated with them.[9] Still, Amethyst is shown to think highly of Rose, who returned to her positive regard. In "Crack the Whip", she reveals that Rose had told her that she is perfect the way she is, conveying that Amethyst's defective nature didn't diminish Rose's opinion of her.

relasonships (lion)

Hundreds of years ago, Lion traveled with Rose Quartz in a pack of lions when she visited the Desert. At some point, he died and was resurrected when she cried over his body. Since then, Rose entrusted Lion with the key to her landfill and got him familiar with many of her special locations, such as her fountain and armory. She also trusted him with her most important belongings, which are stored inside of his pocket dimension, implying that the two had a very strong and close relationship.

relasonships (bismuth)

Bismuth is a Crystal Gem and one of Rose's closest friends and followers. However, Rose didn't accept Bismuth's ideas of shattering Homeworld Gems for winning the Rebellion and bubbled her away in Lion's mane after an argument and fight over the use of the Breaking Point. Unlike her son, she never revealed the truth to her friends. When Steven revealed to her that Rose Quartz was Pink Diamond, Bismuth screamed in a pool of lava in shock before proclaiming, "It all makes sense now!"

relasonships (the great diamond authority)

Rose was a member of the Great Diamond Authority when she was known as Pink Diamond, who created the Rose Quartz alias so she could rebel against the Diamonds and save Earth. During her rebellion, Rose directly attacked Blue Diamond's Cloud Arena and later expresses regret over leaving Garnet at her mercy. After Pink Diamond's alleged shattering at the hands of Rose, the other Diamonds felt a great amount of fury and hatred towards Rose, with Blue and Yellow Diamond not finding out the truth behind Pink Diamond's faked shattering until "Reunited." In "Change Your Mind," the remaining three Diamonds are seated at the Rose Quartz statue when healing the Corrupted Gems at Rose's Fountain, finally establishing peace with their mortal enemy.

relasonships (unknown male humans)

Rose admitted to having loved other humans before loving Greg. However, she later admitted to not understanding human love, casting doubt on this claim. In "Mr. Greg," Pearl passively mentions that Rose met with various men throughout her stay on Earth, but Greg was the first that she ever had a significant romantic relationship with. Garnet's story in "Your Mother and Mine" implied that Rose first fell in love with a human man before the Rebellion and that it likely was one reason for her trying to save Earth, though since it was revealed that some of Rose's story was a made up past for her to hide behind, it may not be fully accurate.

relasonships (sour cream)

Greg the Babysitter" revealed that Rose knew Sour Cream for a short while, though only while he was a baby.

trivia

Ian Jones-Quartey confirmed that Rose's skin color is based on a peachy light pink color, like some kinds of rose quartz stones.[10] The blast emitted by the Laser Light Cannon and Quartizine Trio assumes a shape loosely resembling her.[11] Rose's style of dancing when fusing was similar to Waltz. Rose's symbol repeatedly appears throughout the series, such as when the door appears to her room, in the middle of Steven's shield, in the handle of her sword, and on the Crystal Gems' battle flag during the Rebellion. Rose gave up her physical form on August 15, the date Steven was born.Rose Quartz GTTCG Page Rose's entry in Guide to the Crystal Gems. When asked how she decided to "kill off" Rose, Rebecca Sugar cryptically replied, "Is she dead?"[12] This statement was most likely referring to the fact that Rose gave up her physical form to give birth to Steven, thus making her "still alive," albeit in a limbo-like state inside her son's gemstone. However, "Change Your Mind" confirms that she had indeed perished. In "Rose's Room", when Steven is falling through space in Rose's room, a Tiny Floating Whale speaks to him in Rose's voice saying, "What do you want, Steven?" Rose bears a great resemblance to Granmamare from the film Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. Both have long wavy hair that is similar in color (Granmamare's being red, and Rose's being pink) and wear long gowns and pink lipstick. Both are also extremely powerful and have high esteem, with Rose being the leader of the Crystal Gems and a Diamond, and Granmamare being the Queen of the Ocean. Both are considered to be very wise, understanding, benevolent beings and have a love for humans and life on Earth. Both have children with humans: Rose had a child with Greg Universe and Granmamare with Fujimoto. Rose is similar in some respects to Kenshin Himura from the manga and anime Rurouni Kenshin.

gemstone

Rose Quartz's gemstone is located on her navel. It is a circular gemstone with a pentagonal facet. As seen in "A Single Pale Rose", it has a pavilion on the back side. Her gemstone appears on Steven, Stevonnie, and Steg.