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rosenotactuallyquartz · 5 months ago

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Any headcanons on why Rose's Rainbow Quartz looks the way that she does?

pearl + rose = rainbow quartz

(& what she tells us about their relationship)

here’s what storyboarder katie mitroff said about their fusion in we need to talk:

“I LOVE these two so I was absolutely ecstatic to draw this scene. I remember being really pressed to pack all of their passion and Pearl’s smugness into one moment that lasts the length of a guitar solo… and their fusion that’s just an embodiment of that into one giant, shamelessly beautiful dancer!”

fusion is the ultimate connection between gems and the personification of a gem relationship. it’s important to note that pearl and rose had a stable fusion, which tells us that they were in perfect sync physically, emotionally, & mentally. had they been too flustered, confused, not connecting well for whatever reason in we need to talk, their fusion would not have worked that way.

their dance signifies a strong emotional, romantic, sensual, and emotional relationship. it becomes someone who is unique, strong, & vibrant.

boldness

everything about rainbow’s disposition, body language, & appearance is bold.

her boldness represents just how passionate pearl and rose’s relationship is, and she’s also a reminder of how their love started. together, they rebelled against homeworld, a place where diamonds and pearls are not considered equals. love between pearls and diamonds was unheard of and considered wrong. during the rebellion, when pearl and rose began to feel for one another, a ruby-sapphire fusion resonated with rose. she wanted to fight for the beauty of these relationships, and fight against those who perceived certain gems as inferior & relationships between “inferior” and “superior” gems as gross.

despite how not allowed their relationship was in homeworld, rose still looked pearl in the eyes when she confessed her feelings & replied with, “please, don’t ever stop!”

rainbow demonstrated everything they fought for in the rebellion, her boldness representing that they were never afraid to love each other despite the homeworld’s disapproval.

her stability and her boldness also shows just how sure they were. neither of them ever thought like homeworld did, not even a bit. this relationship would never be easy, and there was a lot of danger around them, but they were courageous and loved each other shamelessly, because they knew their love was beautiful.

but that’s not all:

“Rose falls in love with Pearl’s surprising boldness that comes out of left field.” — end of an era, page 86

rose’s consistent love for pearl is so intense yet such a second nature to her, such a part of her, that one of her favourite things about pearl shines through rainbow quartz.

pastel pink, blue, ??? more on her appearance

rainbow does not look or act more like pearl or rose. rose does not overpower pearl, or vice-versa. for example, her hair is long and large like rose’s hair, but the tips of her hair and the color are very similar to pearl’s hair.

her exact colour palette is not quite known due to the tinted lighting of the music video. whether this be the creators’ intentions or not, i like to think that her unknown colour palette represents something about their relationship, too. pearl has early memories of rose when she would juggle, scribble drawings, struggle to control a spaceship, spend ages outside with her little playmate. their closeness lasted so long that not even their best friends could possibly know everything about their dynamic. no one knows about all the memories they share, simply because it would take a ridiculously long time for them to tell all these stories.

however, what we do know is that pearl and rose’s pastel colours really seem to show—lots of light pinks and blues. her movements are incredibly gentle and graceful. there’s a softness to her, despite how bold she is. i think this symbolizes the softness of their relationship, the comfort and sweetness. their fusion was initially thought of after they witnessed love. as a result of this, they also met garnet, someone who would be very important to them. their best friend, and together, they learned about and experienced all types of love.

her design is very 1980s, as this was reflecting the era. her dance skills reflect pearl and rose’s dispositions. pearl is very graceful, and her movements often resemble a ballerina’s. when she attempted to teach steven about his powers, she brought up creating his own dance. this is a pearl thing, not because she’s a pearl, but because she’s herself. it’s a part of her, and rose always encourages her to be herself. so, of course this part of pearl is shown in rainbow quartz. her dance moves also suggest a sensuality, and she shows this shamelessly. many other gems are more private about this sort of thing if this is something they’re interested in, but it appears that both pearl and rose were comfortable with being rather open about this aspect of their relationship at the time. not so much that it was uncomfortable for anyone, more in a flirtatious, implied sense. so, we have a dancer who is sensual like both of them, but she also has pearl’s type of gracefulness and rose’s type of playfulness.

name & crystal

there’s also symbolism behind her name, rainbow. i know what you’re thinking, sapphic relationship and the rainbow flag. it’s funny, and it’s very true. but it’s not just this; throughout history (even around the time of their first fusion), the rainbow has been a symbol of hope. after a dark and gloomy rainfall, there’s a beautiful rainbow. after pearl makes pink disappear, rose reforms, and as sugar says, “the dust clears, revealing an endless honeymoon” (end of an era timeline). after the war, pearl + rose live together for thousands of years. heck, after centuries of being traumatized by homeworld, both together and in separate ways, they share a love that goes against homeworld’s rules, norms, and beliefs. a fusion is a relationship personified, and everything about pearl and rose’s love signifies something warm in the midst of something cold and dark.

i could have a whole post about crystal properties and how they relate to the characters’ personalities. but i’ll touch on this a little bit for rainbow. rainbow quartz is a stone that reflects every colour of the rainbow. how interesting, because white diamond stated, “as for me, i’m certain I don't need you. after all, i’m every color of the light! but you're a part of me… the part i always have to repress” in change your mind, when she spoke to steven, whom she believed was rose. “white believes that because her gem channels white light, she is essentially a gem light form all the time” (end of an era, 116). pearl and rose both know rose is a diamond, yet as a fusion, they are rainbow quartz. i believe this represents comfort, acceptance, trust, healing. we all know that rose was in a lot of pain, and no one could have changed that. she was deeply ashamed of herself, but a very important aspect of her relationship with pearl is that pearl knew. rose told her every secret she could say, pearl was aware that she was pink diamond, and she was aware of the abuse she experienced. she even saw some of it, as confirmed in now we’re only falling apart as well as pearl’s behavior when white diamond is brought up. rainbow suggests that pearl wanted to help rose heal from her abuse trauma. when she was with pearl, rose was able to feel better about herself & white’s voice in her mind quieted down a bit, even if it never completely disappeared. quartz suggests that pearl loved rose as rose and not as a diamond, and rose still felt comfortable as a quartz, as her new self, around someone who knew the individual she used to be. however, please note that things are not all good. it’s incredibly apparent, just how much pearl wanted to protect and heal rose. it’s partially why she became so fixated after losing her, it’s why she struggles to think about herself. in my opinion, pearl’s feelings for rose are a lot like the song two by sleeping at last: “no, i don't want to talk about myself; tell me where it hurts. i just want to build you up, build you up, until you're good as new and maybe one day I will get around to fixing myself, too.”

the rainbow quartz crystal is soothing, healing, and it radiates positive energy. this reminds me of the time pearl and rose explored earth. it was their first good day, their first safe environment, and they spent that day together. it boosts creativity and clarity, which reminds me of their personalities. rose is very playful with childlike wonder, and this gives her a brilliant imagination. she daydreams a lot, so much that it makes her withdrawn, so much that it can be distressing sometimes. pearl is logical and she was able to take rose’s rambles and jumbled up thoughts and say, “that’s a brilliant idea, here’s how we’re going to do it!” this is why they worked so well together, pearl being rose’s second in command. after the war, they had many successful missions alongside garnet who’s wise and balanced with a lot of leadership qualities, and amethyst who provides a different perspective and is also creative with lots of positivity.

voice

there was this time when we were all very sad about the fact that we never heard rainbow’s voice. in the music video, she obviously couldn’t talk, then they let each other go after the song was over. i think this represents that, while they liked to show off certain aspects of their relationship, they also kept a lot of things private. they didn’t want to share many things and so much of their emotional relationship happened behind closed doors apart from obvious things they kept private.

rose also sounds different in now we’re only falling apart. in we need to talk, greg the babysitter, straight to video, buddy’s book… her voice is much softer. her laugh is much softer. when she was alone with pearl, she spoke loudly and rambled more and allowed herself to speak excitedly. i don’t think rose likes the sound of her voice. i think it’s an insecurity because she knows she’s quite childish sometimes but she wants to be different and she was supposed to be a leader on earth, but she questions if she even sounds like one. she permanently reformed as rose, but she could never change her voice, so it reminds her of pink. her scream once cracked the walls, signifying her pain and everything she’s trying not to be.

but in flashbacks from pearl’s perspective, we see a side of rose that really reminds us of steven! pearl highlights her awkward rambles, her loud and childlike exclaims that she has when she’s excited. pearl loved when rose was like this, she clearly seemed to think it was adorable. this helped rose relax more, but i like to imagine rainbow’s silence being a symbol of the fact that every time rose softened her voice or had an act that was not quite genuine, pearl would notice. she encouraged her to be herself, and the gems loved when she was as playful and genuine as ame is, but there’s still a lot that she’s hiding; still so much she’s ashamed of. it also symbolizes rose’s constant fear of hurting pearl, her guilt of hurting individuals from her past (even with her voice—her scream—itself). when they were together, rose was undoubtedly quite genuine but she definitely still had this fear of saying or doing something wrong and accidentally hurting pearl. sugar said, on page 95 of end of an era, that rose could never trust herself. although she could relax more around pearl, she had such low self esteem that she could never trust herself around anyone, as she feared she would hurt them. with this specific analysis and interpretation, the symbolism is even present in the episode’s title, we need to talk.

that being said, this is just symbolism and remember that rainbow’s actual voice could sound nothing like rose or pearl. a fusion is a completely new individual. we don’t get to hear rainbow’s voice, so we can only headcanon.

concept sketches of rainbow quartz by rebecca sugar and katie mitroff

to conclude…

so, rainbow’s appearance and disposition says so much about pearl and rose’s relationship. however, there is not a lot of information provided, but there’s so much symbolism. as for the section with my headcanons… there’s a bit of information that led me to believe them, but some are simply based on her energy and demeanor.

i love her. rest in peace, rainbow quartz

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