#{ honestly ppl so caught up in calling her a villain or w/e }

[rosequartz-queen]

   Notes on Pink/Rose that we know of:

The youngest of the Diamonds. (White seems to be oldest, potential for Yellow-Blue to be same age (if not one slightly older than the other; I’d pick Yellow for oldest over Blue), then Pink.

It’s hinted at by Blue Diamond in Change Your Mind- while Steven has a dream-flashback of Pink in the tower- that Pink Diamonds antics were making White upset, threatening to take away her Pearl if they kept up.

(So “White” Pearl- aka Pink Pearl- was taken away for this reason? Replaced by this other Pearl- our Pearl- to keep her more in line, perhaps?)

Noteworthy that Pink has ALWAYS cared too much; she saved some animals/creatures from a planet either Blue or Yellow had as a colony. Saved them from death, but also set them loose during the Ball.

Edit: Just watched the flashback dream from Jungle Moon; I think those creatures were from the planet Yellow was conquering in that flashback?!? Geezums, Rebecca Sugar...

Also, Pink was locked away in a tower for her mischief on Homeworld, often subjected to Blue’s powers unintentionally as part of her “crimes.”

Spinel was gifted to her somewhere before Pink Pearl was taken away; Pink Diamond seems to have learned juggling from Spinel and shows off to her Pearl what she learned.

Also, Pink abandoned Spinel around the same time she was gifted her colony, Earth. (Apparently a crisp 6,000 years before the start of the show...if a little less, if we assume it’s a perfect six thousand by the time of the movie.)

Likely done as an attempt on Pink’s part to run away from her problems AND let go of “childish” things in one fell swoop. (Not accounting for how Spinel would feel about this, since it was likely PD assumed nothing of what could happen to her until far later, if at all. Also, we ALL know by now she’s horrible with figuring out emotions that other people deal with; other people’s emotional problems are a mystery to her on a deeper level.)

PD obtains Earth and Pearl, likely as help to get work done. (Could this mean Pink went without a Pearl for a few hundred/thousand years? It’s possible, since it’d be like taking a toy away from a troublesome, disobedient child... Except that “toy” is a living being all their own. The Diamonds are fucked up.)

However... Colonies are actually SUPER boring. Pink realizes this too late, as well as the fact she’s not allowed to make friends with her new, growing court. (Blue and Yellow are looking over her shoulder a LOT; where’s White??)

Cue Pearl helping Pink realize the freedom she could have by disguising herself as a Rose Quartz to hang with the Amethysts. Whoops Number 1.

Rose- in this way- learns about the beauty of Earth. Because her sympathetic butt doesn’t want to hurt the Earth anymore, this starts up a new phase: Pink doesn’t want to continue the colony nor the plans for it. However, Blue nor Yellow won’t have her backing out now.

It’s shown Blue COMPLETELY shuts her down. (Can’t Go Back) Yellow isn’t even looking at Pink... Very likely was yelling at her/getting into a screaming match over the colony. (Yellow very much has a temperament; we’ve seen this before.)

“...too many organics...cities too hard to dismantle...” Sounds like Pink’s been thinking of every excuse in the book to save this planet.

Blue even gave her the idea. If Pink isn’t there to rule...guess it’s nobody’s planet then, is it?

Bismuth likely came up with the Breaking Point around this time, wanting to shatter the Diamonds. Rose, who didn’t want internal fighting nor to be LITERALLY SHATTERED, could only find one solution: attack Bismuth when she argued her literal point, then bubble her, hiding her gem away in Lion’s mane.

(Lion existed around this time, too?!? Rose, what the he-)

Cue the eventual “shattering” of Pink Diamond. (A Single Pale Rose) This allows her to be Rose Quartz full time; no more Pink Diamond.

This registers with her gem as a new form, as well. (Can be seen in Change Your Mind.) However, doesn’t stop her gem from being a full Pink Diamond... Thus, the poofing problem. (And why Pearl got so sacrificial over Rose during this time.)

Cue the Corruption Song. This marks the “end” of the war, but no side wins. Rose and the remaining CGs are stuck on Earth with no way back. Their forces- Homeworld and CG alike- corrupted with no cure. The Diamonds mourning the “death” of Pink Diamond.

It’s unknown if Rose realized what she meant to the Diamonds after this. Either way, it didn’t matter; she couldn’t confess anything, anyways. She wouldn’t want to, either.

Rose gets a shitton of boyfriends and girlfriends and datemates. She seems to love Pearl- on occasion- but also doesn’t take anything seriously, leaving her pining Pearl on the sidelines while she has short-lived (literally) relationships left and right. For thousands of years.

Some time during (or before?) this, the Temple is founded. (Definitely wasn’t during the war, but also in time for Amethyst to have fused with everyone, creating Obsidian, who is the Temple Fusion. Also was before the first Dewey landed in Beach City.)

I also personally HC that Rose’s Fountain was the main hub of Crystal Gem activity during the war. It’d certainly make healing cracked gems easier, if Rose wasn’t around to personally do so.

Greg eventually shows up and turns everything on its head.

Originally treated like all the other humans- a toy-like or pet-like commodity to play with and not take seriously- it’s him pushing her to become...human. To realize what it means to REALLY love and care about someone...and that means equivalent exchange. Give back what you’re given.

This very likely blossoms into a relationship where Greg does a lot of teaching for Rose, helping her be more mindful and kind... However, considering her background at the hand of the Diamonds, it’s incredibly likely she still slipped up and said some insensitive things, on occasion.

Greg confirms to Steven that Rose tried to tell him everything at a later date. (Steven’s Dream) Greg potentially knew Rose had been Pink Diamond? Though it sounds like he either stopped her before she admitted it or heard as much as she wanted to say, stopped her from rambling, and then- more or less- forgot about it. (Judging by how he responds to Steven, however, I’d say she told him, he knows, but he still doesn’t care.)

Meeting baby Sourcream influences Rose to want a child of her own. Immature when meeting the little guy, but now determined and excited to make new life with someone she loves.

Rose is many, thoughtless things, but I still strongly believe in Lion 3: Straight to Video and Storm in the Room; Rose was far more invested in a child who was half her, half Greg....all new. There was no intentions to run from old problems with Steven/Nora, nor have her child have to DEAL with those problems.

She sincerely believed the problems were over with. The Diamonds would never come back to Earth. The war was over, Earth safe. The Crystal Gems weren’t needed, including her...and Spinel was likely forgotten due to everything that had happened.

Her last act of “cruelty” would be to leave the remaining Crystal Gems behind, but it’s also a little unfair to put the blame on Rose. In trying to set everyone free, she accidentally put herself BACK in the role of the idolized leader. Something she’d been trying to run from as PD. Pearl had never gotten past her programming, Garnet was inspired by Rose, and Amethyst...saw Greg as her best friend and Rose as a mom-figure. (So she lost someone that was her world, and blamed him for it due to some emotional immaturity on her part. Not that I can blame her, either...)

Garnet can’t stop this, but can’t ask questions due to an accidental Diamond Command Rose issued. Pearl can do nothing but panic and cry and lash out in blind anger. Amethyst...very likely did her best to face facts and be excited, but the realization she’d be losing Rose hit her just as hard as the rest.

That’s BEFORE mentioning Greg... Poor guy met the love of his life and he has to watch her belly grow, knowing in nine months, he’ll have lost his love, gained a child, and have forever three other gems hovering over and around him. Judging him for a decision Rose made.

(I love Rose/Pink so much, but considering how codependent so many of her friends/followers were, I have to admit... It’s true. She is better off “dead” as she is... Nobody would have reached their full growth if she was still alive. Nothing short of her running away again would’ve changed them and- without meaning to- she kinda did just that by having Steven. She NEEDED to leave for them to find themselves and Steven to show them what they really need.)

(...But also, FUCK, give my son a break?!? JFC, he’s NOT YOUR THERAPIST...!!! #Let Steven Take a Long Nap 2k19 and 2k20.)

On a sidenote from the timeline: Love Like You is from Rose’s POV. It’s been said before, but I need to say it again.

“I always thought I might be bad, now I’m sure that it’s true, cause I think you’re so good, and I’m nothing like you.” ( @ Greg)

“Look at you go; I just adore you, I wish that I knew... What makes you think I’m so special.” (I can see this still being aimed at Greg, but I also imagine Steven a lot with this line; Steven also very much idolized Rose and I feel like she wouldn’t understand why her son would feel like he couldn’t match up or was so great. I truly feel that- later in life- Rose realized her flaws and is rightfully ashamed of them.)

“If I could begin to do something that does right by you, I could do anything, I could even learn how to love like you.” (More things at Greg. He was her biggest motivation...)

Also, this would make an interesting contrast to how Greg viewed Rose in the early years. RE: Destiny and Let Me Drive My Van Into Your Heart.