singasongasixpence

Rebel, lover, leader, mother, Rose Quartz was one of the original two Crystal Gems and lead in the rebellion against Homeworld. However, it takes quite the personality to go against the Gem grain, and Rose was nothing short of a visionary, contrasting starkly against the efficiently emotion-barred society of Homeworld.

Love is Rose’s greatest and strongest quality, and it from love that most of her other traits are born. A love and respect for all living creatures, not just Gems, is at the forefront of her decisions and course of action. She herself explains her amazement and respect this in the video she left for Steven: “Each living thing has an entirely unique experience. The sights they see, the sounds they hear. The lives they live are so complicated... a-and so simple. I can't wait for you to join them.” The Crystal Gems also recall how she treated her peers as equals, her respect for the alien lifeforms as great as that for the Earth beings. When taken into consideration that Garnet was a forbidden fusion of two different types and class of Gems, and Amethyst was a prematurely formed Quartz, it shows how much she valued their unique existences when Homeworld couldn’t or wouldn’t. We even recently learned that the respect was so deep she partnered up (again, as equals) with a renegade Pearl (a lowly servant class) to form the original Crystal Gems. So compassionate was she, that Garnet told Steven that his mother felt “great sorrow when her loved ones were hurt, with her empathy leading to her Rebellion and the founding of the Crystal Gems. ‘Rose saw the beauty in everything, no matter how gross’,” (http://steven-universe.wikia.com/).

Her love isn’t just her greatest source of character, but also her source of strength. It’s her raison d’etre, the driving force of all that she stood for and created. Of course, there’s no greater evidence of this than her defecting from all she had ever known, all she had ever been created to protect; instead, she rebelled against Homeworld, putting a stop to the colonization of -and subsequent destruction of life on- Earth. Heck, it’s even a part of her manefesto, a guideline for all actions of the Crystal Gems, citing that love is an uncontrollable force worth fighting for. Even her skills and powers reflect this mindset (as will also be expanded upon in the Powers section). Her main weapon is a shield, a defensive extension of her form, to protect and cause no harm, and her secondary a sword, to back up her stance. She cries healing tears, an action of love and sorrow all at once to save life, and she also has a natural ability to grow flora, to offer life through loving care, sometimes to the point it became sentient.

Beyond that, Rose was renowned as a remarkably skilled warrior and tactician; even though all Quartz are created as high-end warriors, Jasper revealed that even nearly 6,000 years later, Rose’s abilities and strength are still renown in Gem society, even to a Quartz who had never fought her in person. This is furthered by the Crystal Gem’s sentiment; when a mystic comet came barreling towards Earth, proving impossible to stop even with their combined forced, Amethyst commented, "If Rose were here, this would be so easy!" Another episode, Pearl recalled about Rose, “Brilliant leaders do brilliant things, that’s why you look to them for answers, answers no one else could have, that’s why you trust them…”

However, she isn’t just a protector and lover of life. Rose definitely had a goofy side, to which Pearl vocally did akin to Steven’s personality. We also see this in her dramatic entrances and comedically-quick exits, her quoted “playing along” with the human-variety of fun (which is why Pearl called Greg a novelty), forming Rainbow Quartz for the sole purpose of playfully showing off, and laughing at Greg’s attempts to fuse with her. That’s not to say she doesn’t have her reservations about letting loose; she does, as the responsibility and level of caring she holds herself to is quite high. For example, when Greg shows up in the Temple at Rose’s door, she’s hesitant to allow him to be near, knowing full well that a Gem’s virtual immortality and the duties of a Crystal Gem would stunt his ability to explore his own world and seek his dreams of fame and popularity. It’s simply not in her figurative heart to keep anyone from what they love.

Yet, for all we’ve learned about Rose, even seeing the emotive core of her being, her full history remains a mystery. However, that’s exactly how she wanted it; to be seen as the loving caretaker of Earth, friend to Crystal Gem and all Earth’s creatures, not as former Homeworld warrior. Much is shrouded in mystery, even to her last lover, Greg; he admitted to her that he hardly knew anything about her, to which she responded, “It’s better that way.” Even Garnet states that Rose kept secrets, information and experiences that none of the Crystal Gems knew in full (for example, Lion’s very existence). Yet we do see carvings of her, made for the former colony, suggesting that she was once favored by Homeworld and possibly had a high social status; however, when and why she first came to Earth is currently unknown to the audience, despite Pearl’s brag-worthy role as Rose’s confidante and first partner.

However, despite how little the world knew about her, she was always open to learning more about the world, even if it meant changing thousands of years of perception. Greg, in the episode We Need to Talk, is the best example of this. For most of the episode, Rose doesn’t take him or his relationship concerns seriously. She was unaware humans, in their short lifespans and -relative to the existence of Earth and life-span of a Gem- new position as the dominant planetary species, that they could experience emotions as complex and deep as those Gems could. It’s only after Greg asks her to speak like a real person that she realizes humans are not simply a novel species (something she hadn’t considered, nor was it something she always understood, especially in regards to communication, as revealed by her own words, “I’m not… a real person.”)

It’s from this reality check that she rethinks her stance on humans and human love. In the end, she valued it so much that she decided to create a womb within her form and to give up her physical form and sentience to give birth to Steven, a perfect fusion between human and Gem. All of this was in hopes of bridging the gap between the species socio-culturally, wishing for peace and Earth’s continued freedom and safety. Though she never met her son, she loved him, and left him the video (and Lion) so that he would know she cared and that she wished for him to protect life as she once did: “Steven, we can't both exist. I'm going to become half of you. And I need you to know that every moment you love being yourself, that's me, loving you and loving being you. Because you're going to be something extraordinary. You're going to be a human being. Take care of them, Steven.”

Her decision to sacrifice herself to give birth (something she could have avoided if she wanted him to be full human instead of half) certainly lends itself to her pervasive mysterious air about her, but it’s fitting. She came into the lives of the Crystal Gems (including Steven) like she went out: wanting the focus to be on neverending love and understanding and to inspire the protection of those beliefs. In other words… love is her legacy.

Gem Abilities: These are abilities all Gems share.

Shape Shifting: Changing her physical form. Her ‘normal’ form, itself, is nothing but a very fancy, solid hologram. Thus, with some concentration, any Gem can alter it for short periods of time, and can turn into any creature or object. However, it’s “unhealthy” and straining to keep anything but their natural form for any extended period of time.

Weapon-Summoning: Similar to shape shifting, Gems have the ability to summon a weapon from their gemstone, unique to them, which is an extension of their superficial physical form. In Rose’s case, her weapon is a shield, decorated with a thorned vine and rose insignia. *She also wields a large saber, however, since it can survive independent of her form, we can assume it was forged for her, and not an extension of herself. Therefore, despite it being iconic and matching her shield, I won’t play her as being able to summon it until canon confirms any ability to do so.

Regeneration: When a Gem is badly damaged, they stop using their humanoid forms and retreat completely into their gemstone. This allows for faster healing from severe damage and full regeneration of their physical, humanoid forms.

Superhuman Strength/Durability: Though durability and strength varies depending on the type of Gem, gems can take a lot more damage than a squishy human. Though their weak spots are always their gemstones, they can handle getting hit hard. They can also lift, throw, and demolish objects many times their size due to their superhuman strength. The bigger the Gem, usually the stronger and more durable. In Rose Quartz case, we don’t know specifics, but she survived in the war on Homeworld even before the hard-hitting Garnet joined the team, which speaks volumes of this ability on top of her renowned battlefield prowess.


Fusion: All Gems can fuse. Gems of the same kind (say 3 Rubies) fuse, they create one big Ruby, triple the strength of the originals. However, when Gems of different kinds (like Ruby and Sapphire) fuse together, they create a completely new being with a new personality, the originals there and not at the same time. These fusions are always much stronger than the originals. It takes a lot of compatibility and desire to stay fused to keep the fusion formed, though if they wish to defuse, they can without any issue. If there’s internal discord, the fusion can be broken, even without the desire to defuse. The healthier the relationship, the more seamless the fusion (see: Garnet), and the more toxic the relationship of those fused, the more misshapen the fusion (see: Malachite). Thus far, the only fusion we’ve seen Rose Quartz enter is with Pearl to create Rainbow Quartz.

Individual Abilities: Unique to Rose!

Healing Tears: Rose cries tears that heal injuries and damage. It’s pretty straightforward.

Phytokinesis: She has the ability to grow flora; the sentient flora can act as her guardians if they so wish. Back on Earth, she had a magnificent garden of both normal and sentient flora.

Emotive-Electric Interference*: This is mostly here for being thorough, as we currently don’t know if this effect was used to showcase a power or if it was for dramatic, storytelling effect. “In "We Need to Talk", Rose appeared to be able to control Greg's radio based upon her emotion. For instance, when she was shocked, the music stopped,” (http://steven-universe.wikia.com/). I won’t be using this as one of her abilities unless canon makes it explicit that it wasn’t for dramatic effect, but it seems wise to disclose it just in case.

One Gem and all the physical projections that come with it. So just Rose herself and her shield if she summons it.

Oh… so that’s how this works. [Casually curious, Rose turns over her new bracelet in her hand, examining it without much concern for how her scrutinizing may affect the feed. As she parts her lips to speak once more, she addresses everyone and no one all at once. Her arrival ---and her procuring of this fascinating little communication device--- is currently a simple excuse for her to exercise her voice. The smooth sound is warm, but a unsteady sadness lies beneath it.]

It could be considered a little archaic and illogical, but the idea is a neat gimmick. Though... I’m not so sure about wearing gemstones. That seems kind of… [She lowers her voice, momentarily.]...you know, cruel and unusual. What’s the term Earthlings use? Inhumane? I know I wouldn’t want to be anyone’s jewelry.

[Still, given the remarkable -if not bizarre- situation, it could be considered rude not to accept the gift, especially not when it filled a necessary logistic gap in communication. Wearing a visage that’s severely uncertain and uncomfortable, she slips the bracelet onto her wrist. Her tone wavers as she forces a smile and tries reaffirm that it’s morally-sound to wear.] ...This feels wrong. Are we sure they were never sentient?

Otherwordly. As silly and hypocritical as the term was, Rose Quartz couldn’t help but think it appropriate. It was an odd feeling, hard to place or describe in any different terms. There was the distinct confidence that there had been a passage of time, yet she had no memories to back it up. It made sense, though, knowing that she had given up her physical form in order to give birth to a half-Gem son. There was nothing solidly, uniquely her left after the birth to judge what could have possibly happened between Steven’s entrance into the world and her arrival in this nexus between time and space.

Yet, it was no less disquieting nor unsettling. If she had been returned to her physical, sentient form, what happened to her son? Was Steven still… Steven? If she now existed beyond the realm of the Earth and the life she had fought so hard to protect, could her newfound existence even impact him? The unconditional love of a mother refused to let her rest easy, instead throwing her into a void of uncertainty. Rose wasn’t sure if she should feel hope or dread.

She stood tall and walked with quiet, purposeful, long strides down the street, but inside she felt hunched over, yearning for answers --which, with her long lifetime, she was wise enough to know wouldn’t come easy without solid evidence. Until that opportunity came, the most she could do was continue to follow her manifesto here in this new place. The life here may not have been her Earth’s, but it was nonetheless precious.

With that gentle but steadfast determination, she turned the corner and entered the housing unit. Better now than later to meet whom she’d be working with to that protective goal.