#pink diamonds rebellion

[dynjay]

An old AU idea I had where Pink Diamond and Rose Quartz were two different people and Pearl belonged to White Diamond.

[periwinkling]

I have a current idea for a steven universe AU

What if during in the rebellion, rose was discovered to be pink diamond, the diamonds furious and annoyed decided to take away Rose's colony and take over the earth, as they did they use their power to shatter all of Rose's allies, and as most of her friends shattered, rose in fear decides to rejuvenate pearl and place her somewhere on earth safely and places a magical barrier around her gem to keep her safe from the diamond blast, she says goodbye to earth as the diamond blast occurs corrupting most gems on the face of the planet except for pearl, and..... A few...

Thousands of years later she gets discovered by.... Someone...

A group of teenagers thousands of years later find her gem... And decide to take her home

Fun fact one of those teenagers are greg

This takes place in the 80s and since In the movie greg was the owner of pearl for a while I thought it would be funny if it were also the same here, and ofcourse since pearl is rejuvenated like yea she's gonna be like Greg's servant again

I rlly want this thing to be like maybe a comic if I'm not lazy or a story in AO3 or wattp

[weedle-testaburger]

i just rewatched your mother and mine for i think the first time since it orignally aired and it's fascinating how garnet's story of rose is actually way truer to her own experience than rose/pink's, and yet the details and point are accurate even though the overall story isn't

[swagging-back-to]

and then of course you have garnet's breakdown... which is always heartbreaking.

[ask-whitepearl-and-steven]

Next up is... the Bad Prediction AU!

The Bad Prediction AU is a concept that focuses on the idea that the Diamonds HAD crushed the Rebellion and pulled Pink Diamond offof Earth, and forced her back to Homeworld as a puppet ruler... but in the end, she still had Steven! This story has been incredibly inspiring to me, and I have pushed myself to get closer to the SU artstyle after seeing the amazing work done by the artists of @badpredictionau .

Thank you to the Bad Prediction AU for not only an incredible concept, but a stunning execution!

[spectralreplica]

Madoka Magica Gem AU!

Vague backstory: Everyone except Kyoko + her little sisters was from Homeworld but ended up on Earth either as part of Pink's court or with Blue when she visited. Kyoko et al were made on Earth. They all ended up joining the rebellion and somehow also survived the Diamonds' final attack (maybe Homura does something with the Glass of Time?), minus Nagisa who gets corrupted into the Charlotte worm... (Sayaka is somehow corrupted later on...)

They set up shop in Japan, far away from the canon Crystal Gems, and don't keep in that close contact (somehow Rose always seems a little uncomfy with other Rose Quartzes...), but I'd assume Steven manages to bring them back in touch during the SU canon timeline.

I have some little ideas for all of them interacting I'd like to draw, plus ofc fusions!!! I'm obviously going to do Mado+Homu, Kyo+Saya, and Mami+Nagi, but if you have any other specific fusions you'd like me to include, let me know!

[rosenotactuallyquartz]

rebecca sugar’s halloween sketch of the crystal gems, 2014

this is my favourite sketch by rebecca sugar. the tension & chemistry between pearl + rose is so incredible. i love pearl’s hand placement, not just because it’s cute but because her thumb is touching her gem & she’s the only one who knows… what that gem is. in 2014, no one would know about pink diamond for awhile, let alone the fact that pearl kept that secret for thousands of years & it made her even more protective than she already was. there’s also the diamond that’s drawn on the far left of the coven, and pearl + rose are on the far left of the crystal gem picture.

i also just love how flirtatious they are here. i love that rose is the one who says, “shhh” and pearl’s sort of teasing her in a way, showing her attraction to rose without hesitation and knowing full well that rose feels the same way. there’s something really endearing about the way rose says shhh as pearl is flirting with her even though she deliberately positions herself to attract her. pearl’s smug expression says that she knows this.

it really demonstrates what’s said in the book end of an era. rose fell in love with pearl’s boldness, and she tends be more shy when they’re flirting, which is a nice “screw you” to their old, forced homeworld dynamic. it also shows just how different things are from that time, even if things aren’t perfect! i think people overlook the growth that pearl had in the flashbacks alone. she went from being anxious about trying to fuse with rose because “you’re a diamond! forgive me!” to shamelessly & confidently flirting with her and fusing with her in public. rose is enjoying pearl’s boldness & pearl’s enjoying rose’s bashfulness, and it’s so sincere, which is really lovely. they’re both being themselves here. there’s also definitely… all kinds of tension here. their body language shows that they were both very comfortable with having physical intimacy and an emotional connection.

this sketch looks like it took place in the timeline between the rebellion flashbacks & the 90s flashbacks, so it’s comforting for me. it supports my headcanon that pearl + rose had some very lovely & drama free years as they lived together in the temple. which is something they deserve, because things were not easy for these two. they both seem comfortable with themselves & i absolutely think pearl played a part in helping rose feel completely confident in the form she chose, while rose helped pearl feel more comfortable expressing herself & showing the sassy & opinionated & passionate part of her personality that she repressed on homeworld.

i love it so, so much & i thought i would post this since halloween is coming up

[thecupidwitch]

Planetary Magick🌙

Sun

Zodiac: Leo

Metal: Gold

Day: Sunday

Colors: organge, yellow, amber

Stones: Amber, topaz, ruby, diamond

Tarot: The Sun

Herbs: Angelica, poppy, sunflower, marigold, hibiscus, mistletoe

Symbols: lion, hexagram, sparrow hawk, dragon, head, heart, swan

Influences: renown, potency, fortune, tyranny, pride, ambition, masculinity, arrogance, bigotry, vitality, health

Moon

Zodiac: cancer

Metal: sliver

Day: Monday

Colors: blue, sliver

Stones: moonstone, pearl

Tarot: The High Priestess, The Chariot

Herbs: eucalyptus, coconut, jasmine, lotus, myrrh, sandalwood

Symbols: bow and arrow, crab, cat, turtle, Sphinx, owl

Influences: gradtitufe, friendliness, safe, travel, physical health, wealth, protection for enemies, deception, illusion, women, emotions, healing, dreams

Mercury

Zodiac: Virgo, Gemini

Metal: aluminum, Mercury

Day: Wednesday

Colors: violet, gray, purple, indigo, yellow

Stones: opal agate

Tarot: The Lovers

Herbs: hyssop, juniper, betony, carrot, chickweed

Symbols: wand, octagram, the mind

Influences: good fortune, gratitude, gain, memory, understanding, divination, dreams, forgetfulness, communication, business, cleverness, creativity, information, intellect, memory, perception, science, wisdom, gambling, writing, root of dishonesty, deception

Venus

Zodiac: taurus, libra

Metal: copper

Day: Friday

Colors: green, pink

Stones: turquoise, emerald, sapphire, jade

Tarot: The Empress

Herbs: jimsonweed, violet, rose, alder, apple, angelica, olive, sesame

Symbols: sparrow, dove, swan, pentagram

Influences: peace, agreements, cooperation, fertility, joy, love, good fortune, jealousy, strife, promiscuity

Mars

Zodiac: aries, scorpio

Metal: iron, red brass, steel

Day: Tuesday

Color: Red

Stones: ruby, garnet, bloodstone, diamond

Tarot: The Tower

Herbs: ginger, mustard

Symbols: sword, pentagram, horse, bear, wolf, vulture

Influences: war, victory, judgements, submission of enemies, bleeding, stripping one of rank, harness, discord, conflict, aggression, lust, power, courage, goals, protection, motivation, ambition, strength

Jupiter

Zodiac: pisces, sagittarius

Metal: tin

Day: Thursday 

Colors: blue

Stone: sapphire

Tarot: The Wheel of Fortune

Herbs: balm, hyssop, maple leaf and bark, oak, sage, dandelion root

Symbols: eagle, dolphin

Influences: gains, riches, favor, peace, cooperation, appeasing enemies, dissolving

Saturn

Zodiac: capricorn

Metal: lead

Day: Saturday

Color: black

Stone: onyx

Taror: The World

Herbs: alder, apple, ash, asparagus, baneberry, belladonna, distort, hellebore, blackthorn, corm, cypress

Symbols: cuttlefish, mole

Influences: safety, power, success, positive response to requests, intellect, causes discord, strips honor, melancholy

Uranus

Zodiac: aquarius

Day: Thursday

Colors: blue-green, electric blue

Stones: quartz, labradorite, blue topaz, amber, amethyst, garnet, diamond

Tarot: The Fool

Herbs: clover, pokeweed, snowdrop, foxglove, love, rosemary, trees of heaven, hellebore, morning glory, sage, wintergreen, orchids, sweet woodruff

Symbols: dragonfly, butterfly

Influences: breaking connection, sudden and unexpected change, freedom, originality, radical and revolutionary ideas, enlightenment, equality, individuality, rebellion, instability, loneliness, boredom, mistrust of self

Neptune

Zodiac: pisces

Minerals: coral, aquamarine, platinum, neptunium

Colors: green, blue, lavender

Tarot: The Hanged Man

Herbs: morning glory, night-blooming jasmine, pine, water lily

Symbols: the sea, Trident, the spine

Influences: dissolving boundaries, expanding upon ideas, changing established rules, intuition, idealism, sacrifice, glamour, illusion, evolution, decay, visions, art, healing, inspiration, dreams, creativity, compassion, drifting from reality, carelessness, stubbornness, absent mind

Pluto

Zodiac: scorpio

Metal: plutonium, tin chrome, steel

Day: Tuesday

Colors: maroon, dark red, purple, white, black

Stones: snowflake obsidian, clack tourmaline

Tarot: Judgement

Herbs: pomegranate, rosemary, vanilla, basil, poppies, belladonna, foxglove

Symbols: Phoenix, snake, scorpion, fox, eagle

Influences; destruction making way for renewal, rebirth, knowledge, spirituality, transformation, destiny, the subconscious, desire, arrogance, death, obsession, destruction

[artbyblastweave]

Any ideas to connect SU Diamonds and Worm Entities for a crossover?

For the past three years and change, I've been kicking around the idea of the Gempire as the residual result of an entity that botched its own cycle so badly that the central Zion-style figurehead holding the entire operation together is a hundred-thousand-year-gone memory. The result amounts to an entity with serious brain damage; The gems retain elements of the original programming for the cycle- namely, the ability to create anthromorphized avatars reflective of the local culture, and the drive to reproduce and consume planets to perpetuate themselves- but they've completely lost the plot on other important elements, namely the importance of hybridizing with local host species, their historical record, the full extent of their dimensional manipulation capabilities, best practices for resource extraction, and, most crucially, mutation, change and innovation as a desirable outcome.

Rather than an avatar, White Diamond is an intelligence analogous to a Endbringer or Titan who slid into the vacant role as the next-most-powerful autonomous portion of the network, holding the consolidated, stretched-thin remains of the original Network together by her fingernails while also deleteriously superimposing her own residual instinct from her original role onto the entire network- namely, to pacify, homogenize and sterilize host planets if and when a cycle is beginning to get out of control. This hybridized with residual data from previous host species that caused the gempire to organize in a fascimile of imperial structures encountered back when their cycle was still functional; essentially "Playing House" at the societal level, aping the culture of a host species without really remembering why.

The result of this is a "cycle" that's bad at everything it's supposed to do but effective enough that it limps on regardless- supremely energy inefficient, stripping planets bare rather than experimenting, and utterly developmentally stagnant. In the unlikely event that an entity were to cross paths with the Gempire, they'd have an uncanny-valley reaction to it and likely attempt to euthanize it, but compared to most entities the Gempire is tiny- while Shards canonically deploy in the hundreds of millions, the gems tend to reproduce only a few tens of thousands of themselves each time they claim a planet, and they usually only strip mine the handful of "active" worlds that would feature in a normal cycle rather than obliterating all dimensional iterations of it.

Yellow, Blue and eventually Pink are similar constructs to White, brought online to assist her in the project after the "imperial" territorial holdings grew too vast to micromanage. Unfortunately (for the cycle) another one of the things that got lost in translation were the controls meant to keep individual shards from developing autonomy or attachment-to-hosts. When the Gempire hit Earth, Pink Diamond and a significant contingent of the network, after patterning themselves after humans and spending a significant amount of time on the ground, pulled a fragile-one and went native, leading to a localized civil war that ended under unclear circumstances when the other the diamonds glassed the planet from orbit and pulled back their operations to prevent whatever affected the rebels from spreading.

All of this happened about 8000 years before the events of Worm, in a universe about 43 dimensions down the line from anything seen in the Earth Bet Cluster; due to the Gempire having mutated so much as to no longer be immediately recognizable as fellow Entities, and with so few active gems left on the planet in the aftermath of the rebellion, Zion ignored the crystal gems and folded them away into the inaccessible dimensional space, where the events of the show played out much as they did in SU canon. Ironically, Steven is the first ever example of this cycle successfully empowering a host, in the most roundabout way possible.

In my notes, and in keeping with the religious-theme-naming of the canon entities, I usually refer to this whole situation as Nirvana (what else would you call it when they break the cycle?)

[purpledemonlilyposting]

I get home from work, wash off, and have to give Lily Orchard a dissertation on what metaphor and allegory is.

[Lily's Post]

My response under the cut.

Lily it's a metaphor because in real life people can't fuse into a singular being that is the embodiment of who they are together.

Maybe Lily has been watching my videos. I'm surprised she now knows Anthy has more going on than "helpless brown girl slave with no will of her own".

But yeah Lily... the rose imagery in Steven Universe was inspired by Utena. That doesn't mean they share the same meaning as symbols across both shows. She always does this. It's like how she keeps insisting that because Ryoko Kui likes Baldur's Gate, among other CRPGs, then she must have based all of Dungeon Meshi on Baldur's Gate 2 and Lily's favorite blorbo Imoen specifically. Maybe because she herself is so uncreative she only knows how to copy her influences?

Both Pink and Rose are represented by flowers, a hibiscus and a rose specifically. Rose can also, you know, be the past tense of "rise"? Pink as Rose rose up again the other Diamonds? The establishment of her society? Started a rebellion? At any rate, the hibiscus and rose are symbols in Steven Universe, not metaphors.

Whereas in Utena we see Anthy cultivate roses that are the colors of the duelists. She grows them for the duels. And color theory plays a big, big role in Utena that I usually don't cover cause I can't remember it all myself. Roses are also fleeting things that are coveted for their beauty but will wilt and die upon being plucked. Wonder if THAT correlates to any themes in Utena, huh?

Yeah actually Lily Tolkein despised allegory cause he was sick and tired of people speculating that Lord of the Rings was an allegory for World War 1 or World War 2. Dude seriously just wanted to write a fictional history for the languages he spent time inventing.

His aim with LOTR was to write something that felt between ancient myth and a historical account so he got annoyed when people tried to superimpose then modern issues onto it. That's it. You have no idea what you're talking about as usual. Who the fuck is out there saying LOTR has no themes?

[barblaz-arts]

Idk if you have answered this before, but what's your opinion on Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond? I really like her character and I consider her quite complex and greyish (morality wise)

I think she's a wonderful character! She tried really hard to do the right thing, even tho she gets it all wrong sometimes because the way she was raised was fucked up. Characters who try to break away from the fucked up system they came from no matter how isolating it may be for that sweet sweet taste of freedom are so so fascinating to me. Rebecca's choice of having her redemption story shown backwards, strictly through the eyes and mouth of others, was really interesting too. Although it caused majority of the fandom with some less than average media comprehension to see her in such a terrible light, I honestly think that having her fleshed out the way they did made the show all the better. Rose hurting so many people before and even after the rebellion doesn't change how revolutionary she was to the gem's freedom and Earth's survival. And it doesn't mean Steven is a bad son to have such complicated feelings over her. I think it just was what it is. Rose was a person, not a saint, even if she didn't have enough self-worth to believe that she was an individual. I think that's probably the most tragic part about her. Steven learned from his experiences that he was his own person and wasn't just a new version of his mom or her replacement. Meanwhile Rose hated who she was so much that she tried to change her identity, up to a point where she completely erased herself to give life to Steven. It was basically a suicide, and I find it sad how she ended her journey giving up and truly believing that ending her life was for everyone's good.

She's great, is all I'm saying. Steven Universe was such a phenomenal show for allowing so many of its female characters fuck up so much and be treated like normal people over it instead of immediately being painted as the villain. Wish I could say the same about its public reception tho lol

[atamascolily]

There are a bunch of pages in the Rebellion Production Note about the Dark Orb, but I keep coming back to this image in particular:

The overall shape is reminiscent of a chess piece, which is very fitting in context. The center "pin" holds the orb part in place, and reminds me of Homura/Homulilly's sewing pins. It also reminds me of what we see when Sayaka's grief seed is formed--for split second, a similar "pin" is visible before the rest emerges.

The connection to witches makes sense because the Dark Orb was created in part from a shattered soul gem and has Homulilly's name on it in earcuff form, even though it's not a typical grief seed/soul gem. Elsewhere on this page, it's even directly compared to a witch.

There is a lengthy passage on an earlier page that says the salamander/lizard is laying its wings down in this emblem (which I assume is reference to the Devil falling from heaven) and that this insignia is different from both the Law of Cycles and a Western coat of arms (hence my difficulties in describing it as such, hahaha). It's also said to be a symbol of Homura's faith, which makes sense given the movie's religious overtones and devotion as the source of Homura's power here.

The pink jewel is not visible when the Dark Orb is in earcuff or salamander form, suggesting that Homura is only drawing on her own personal powers, and keeping the Madoka part hidden. Once again, the metaphor is tangible.

The Walpurgis no Kaiten trailer shows a salamander sigil--two of them!--appearing as the unknown "new girl" draws Homura's bow. The doubling is fascinating given the hinted themes of mirrors, reflections and inversions, but what's striking is that this is different from the sigil in Rebellion--no wings and no diamond, only the body of the salamander surrounded by what may be stylized flames.

It's possible this is a redesign/updated version of the original; it certainly resembles some of the discarded concept sketches in the Production Note. But given the presence of a doppelganger Homura, it suggests to me that this is her sigil we're seeing here and this girl is under her influence or her creation--and also that the Law of Cycles is not directly involved. We'll see how it ends up playing out.

[spaciebabie]

OKAY THE ONE THING I DONT LIKE ABOUT STEVEN UNIVERSE IS HOW THEY VILIFY PINK DIAMOND/ROSE QUARTZ BRO SHE'S LITERALLY AN ABUSE SURVIVOR MAKING CHOICES AN ABUSE SURVIVOR WOULD MAKE AND THE PLOT AND EVEN STEVEN IS LIKE, "yeah she sucks," BRO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I SWEAR TA FUCKING GOD BE SO REAL RN.

"she made mistakes/hard decisions" TURNS INTA, "she was a bad person," IN THE MOVIE AND FINAL SEASON LIKE??? SHE WAS A LEADER OF A REBELLION AND HADTA PRIORITIZE CERTAIN THINGS SHE DIDNT WANT TA MAKE THOSE DECISIONS!! SHE CARED ABOUT THE GEMS AROUND HER!! SHE LIED CUZ SHE FELT SHE HADTA. SHE WASNT SOME SPOILED BRAT SHE MADE SOUND DECISIONS FOR HER CIRCUMSTANCES!!!!!! she literally tried ta tell the gems around her she was like them and told them not ta put her on a pedestal but they did anyway??? and got upset when she turned out ta be a flawed person???

like thats not ta say characters arent justified in being upset with her actions but making her out ta be a bad person cuz she inadvertently hurt people??? painting her as a villain b/c her abusive guardians decided ta go apeship on earth and any crystal gems they came in contact with???? when she was likely in survival mode???? i hate the way the show paints her i hate hate hate it.

grrrrr GRRRRR

[novantinuum]

Some Themed Asks for your Gem OCs

I always enjoy these little ask games to help build up lore about my characters, but so many of them are too human in scope for my Gem OCs- thus, I decided to throw together a set of Steven Universe specific questions for all of your OC and gemsona desires.

Questions are sorted into "eras" thematically. Enjoy!

Era 1:

⚜️Which court does your Gem belong to, if any? 🎆What is your Gem’s planet of origin and given designation? (Ex: Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG… Facet-5, Cut 8XM… Facet-413, Cabochon-12…) 💎Describe your Gem’s gemstone. What color, shape, facet pattern, and placement does it have? 🛠️What is your Gem’s given role under the Diamond Authority? 📌Where does your Gem perform their duties? Do they travel a lot for their role, or mostly stay in one place? 🧦Does your Gem get along with others of the same cut? 🖇️Has your Gem ever partaken in fusion with someone of the same cut? 💼Does your Gem report to anyone below the Diamonds? What do they think about this authority figure? 💥Has your Gem ever been rejuvenated? If so, how many times? 🪦Does your Gem harbor any hidden desires they think might get them shattered?

Era 2:

🌸Was your Gem incubated before Pink Diamond’s shattering, or after? If after, does your Gem differ from others of their cut due to Homeworld’s Diamond essence shortage? 🔎Does your Gem like the role they were given, or is there another role in society they would rather have? 🪢Does your Gem have any friends outside their cut? 🪄Can your Gem summon any weapon or special item? 🌍Has your Gem ever heard of the rebellion on Earth? If so, do they have any opinions on it? 🪩Has your Gem ever partaken in fusion with someone of a different cut? If so, do they defy Homeworld’s fusion rules openly or keep it secret? 🏝️Your Gem has been reassigned to perform their duty on a planet or settlement of their choice. Where do they go? 🫧Has your Gem ever been poofed? How? 🙈Your Gem discovers that someone they work alongside is off-color in some fashion. Do they narc to a superior, or keep this secret? 🪓Does your Gem know anyone who’s been shattered?

Era 3:

👑In the wake of this brand new era, where does your Gem’s loyalty lie? (The Diamonds? Themself? Someone else?) 🎓Would your Gem ever consider attending Little Homeschool, why or why not? ⭐️What is your Gem’s honest opinion of Steven, if they are aware of his role in Gem history? 🪁Name three hobbies your Gem partakes in. 🌄Describe your Gem’s idea of a perfect day. ⚧️Imagine your Gem is presented with the concept of human gender. Do they have any preference in how they are perceived or addressed? 🐌Does your Gem have any non-Gem friends? 🌙Would your Gem ever consider living as a permafusion? 🍕Has your Gem ever tried ingesting food or liquid? If so, what is their opinion on this activity? 🎻Assign your Gem an instrument. What type of sound do you feel best captures their vibe?

[rosenotactuallyquartz]

“you, you’re supposed to change”

(pearlrose, healing, & body positivity)

the angst in pearlrose is deep & meaningful, but the purely comforting parts have impacted me, too. as i wrote this, i realized how much my perception has been shaped by my own experiences. i relate to all of this in some way, and that’s what comfort characters do, really.

unsafe versus safe environment symbolism

(sensitive subject matter, abuse mentions)

pink diamond hates being a diamond. she’s forcing herself to be someone she isn’t, which is exhausting and uncomfortable. she’s smaller than the other diamonds & they literally look down on her. of course, she’s beautiful, but pink is forcing herself to fit into the expectations of what a diamond should be, even though it causes her pain. she doesn’t smile easily; she feels powerless & weak. as pink, she’s unhealthy, being in constant fight-or-flight & facing unimaginable punishments such as being kept away from light, isolated. deprived of anything that might help her live or bring her comfort. she’s repressed & her her “home” at the time is horrific.

initially she shifts to a quartz so she can fit into another group for a day. a lot changes from there.

rose is finally in a safe environment for the first time in her life. as time goes on, she realizes that rose is her true self. an important part of the rebellion is that she wants gems to understand that their life is their own and they don’t need to fit into homeworld’s society. they can be whoever they want to be, they’re perfect the way they are even if they don’t look or act as they’re expected to based on their gems. she doesn’t exactly fit in anywhere, she looks how she wants, she becomes aware of some unique powers, & she’s comfortable being just rose. once she’s able to escape from her abusers and never needs to return to that environment again, she permanently reforms as rose.

she’s shorter than she was as pink diamond, but it doesn’t scare her. in fact, she doesn’t feel smaller; she feels bigger, literally & figuratively. she was only small on homeworld because she was abused, made & forced to feel small & weak. now, she’s stronger, aware of her powers, & no one looks down on her—they often look up to her. this can be challenging: she struggles to trust herself & to be vulnerable (see eye-to-eye) with others. healing takes time & isn’t always perfect; leaving an unsafe environment brings trauma & it’s okay to need support and have ongoing issues. her body is also very different: her true self is naturally chubby. as time goes on and she adjusts to her new environment, experiences life on earth, & is more relaxed than ever, she wears what she wants, embraces her femininity & sensuality, and her belly is no longer flat. she lives with someone who gives her consistent protective care & intense romantic love—such a contrast to life on homeworld. being abused can exacerbate guilt & make one feel undeserving of something so new and different: genuine love. she’s loved anyway because she is, in fact, deserving of it even if she doesn’t think she is. pearl doesn’t stop when she needs to remind her that she’s important (��yes, you are”) every now & then. garnet, ruby, sapphire, & ame are safe people she has a unique bond with & loves living with. she feels more comfortable with her form than ever before.

i love the symbolism, especially in a society that often views putting on weight as solely negative, an indication that one is unhealthy & unhappy. rose is a reminder that it can be a sign of healing, and she’s far healthier, stronger, more comfortable as rose than she ever was as pink.

image description: the far left depicts rose quartz in her quartz outfit, a crop top & pants with her arms in the air and a smile on her face, the background being the kindergarten. the middle is of rose with the crystal gems, dressed as witches for halloween. the far right is of rose in her white dress in story for steven, looking at a cd, the background being the blue sky.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ⋆ ☁︎ ✩₊˚⋆⁺₊✧ ⋆ ☁︎

“you weren’t built for fighting”

pearl’s body is different from the gems who are supposedly “built for fighting.” according to homeworld, pearls are made to to “stand there and look pretty.” they’re made to feel weak.

sword fighting is a passion of hers and she’s incredibly skilled. rose gives her a decision to stay & fight with her or opt out, and pearl argues that she wants to fight. from there, she never tries to change her body. she protects rose, and aside from the excessive self sacrificing issues i’ve brought up in the past, she has a very important line in do it for her. just think about the life you’ll have together after the war!

yes, she was putting rose’s life over her own. at the same time, she didn’t expect to die. she had hope in her goal to save both of them, and she was never intimidated by the fact that the gems she was fighting against were bigger than her, with body types that were supposedly “more capable” of doing something that she was passionate about. she proves them wrong, as she has a memory in which she protects someone who’s much bigger than her by fighting against a gem who’s also much bigger than her.

when she sings strong in the real way, it’s clear that pearl is not completely comfortable in her own skin yet, and much like what i said about rose, that’s okay. healing takes time, isn’t linear, and the way that the homeworld gems underestimated pearl for being a pearl understandably has an impact on her. still, as she slowly builds confidence, she teaches steven that there are other ways of being strong.

pearl focuses on what her body can already do & she uses all of her traits to her advantage instead of trying to change them. ballet comes naturally to her, so she has a pattern of fighting that involves ballet & quick, graceful movements that her opponent struggles to keep up with.

she also uses traits that are less about her physical abilities & more about who she is, such as her intelligence & attention to detail. she often outsmarts her opponent & can confidently say "you can’t beat me" because her main motivation as she learned to fight was to protect rose. her love for rose is so deep that she believes it's stronger than anything or anyone. it’s amazing how pearl uses her love & ballet movements—things that would be considered weak on the battlefield—to become a powerful, terrifying, & intimidating sword fighter.

people sometimes mock her nose, a feature all pearls have, & while it annoys her, she never tries to change it. it’s who she is, & she’s proud to be a pearl (that’s right! i am a pearl!)

pearl wears whatever she wants and doesn’t try to look intimidating or like a rebel—it doesn’t need a look, and she doesn’t need to fit stereotypes; it's just who she is. she loves legwarmers & skirts. occasionally & on other platforms i’ve seen fans make fun of her thin arms & legs. they miss a comforting message: she doesn’t cover anything. now, the thing i wrote about rose in the last section? i closely relate to it, and i always knew i did. i’m now realizing i relate to pearl in a way, too, even if it’s to a lesser extent. when i was a little girl i was smaller than my classmates & i’d be encouraged to hide my arms with long sleeves. i really wish i knew this character back then. she’s so pretty, so bold with a lovely sassy side, and she doesn’t change a thing. she doesn’t need to.

image description: pearl in the episode we need to talk, in a studio where greg makes his music video. one leg up and the other en pointe (standing at the tips of her toes). she has a smug smile on her face and her eyes are closed.

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a good partner

i love that my favorite ship is not only sapphic representation, but they both have underrepresented body types. they’re both flawed & traumatized and their relationship is complicated, but nevertheless they are entirely & deeply in love with each other.

“pearl is falling in love. pink, as rose, is intoxicating. she’s free somehow. they both are, when they are on earth.” — rebecca sugar, end of an era, page 77

i’ve written about this a lot, but pearl falls in love with her true self, the person she is when she’s happy & safe. she doesn’t have anything against how rose used to look, she just knows that person isn’t who she truly is. pink was unhappy, uncomfortable, repressed. the environment was unsafe for both of them & everything was so forced. pearl sympathizes with pink (i.e., crying when she fakes the shattering, telling steven & sapphire about how she really did everything she could as pink, just all around feeling sad for what she went through) but she adores her form as rose; seeing rose fills her with joy & warmth. rose isn’t fitting into any society & she’s no longer a diamond; she’s a rebel who’s still figuring everything out. she’s imperfect, she’s not forcing herself to fit into any homeworld expectations, & pearl’s met her true self & she falls in love.

a good partner will understand who you were in the past & they’ll care for & sympathize with that person, but they’ll be in love with the most genuine version of who you are. pink was a higher status gem as part of the great diamond authority, but that wasn’t her true self. that's why pearl loves just rose. pearl is also a reminder that a good partner won’t love you any less if you gain weight. if someone gains weight because they’re healing, happier, & aren’t forcing their body to look a certain way that doesn’t reflect who they truly are, a good partner will not only accept the weight gain but they will love it. while it may be tricky to grasp this symbolism because they’re gems, the point is this: rose being comfortable in her own form and true to herself is not just lovable but deeply attractive to pearl. the form that was the most beautiful, in pearl’s eyes, was the one that rose had when she was the happiest.

society can be a bit painful at times. sometimes, people feel like they can only be liked & loved if they’re thin and distinguished in some way, even if it’s inauthentic & they aren’t happy. but pearl fell in love with rose when she was no longer thin & no longer a diamond—and still figuring things out as a crystal gem leader, too.

they not only accept but adore each other just as they are. sketches & the fusion dance show pearl embracing their sensual relationship, teasing rose, & showing off their connection on camera. pearl does this confidently, by being herself.

they defy stereotypes beautifully. rose, who is larger, contrasts with pearl who is shorter & thin, but rose appears more shy in their flirtatious moments. she’s also more feminine and pearl tends to be more bold & she’s incredibly protective of rose. they remind us that you don’t need to be short & thin to be feminine & gentle, nor tall & big to be protective and bold. their genuine, beautiful, & sometimes, sensual chemistry goes against stereotypes and as i said before, they have underrepresented body types. a lot of characters in the past consist of the more masculine character being taller and bigger (but muscular, not fat) while the more feminine character is shorter and slender, yet has large breasts and some curves. really… how frustrating is that? pearl + rose are sapphic representation and they defy multiple stereotypes, not fitting into that very oddly specific box, and in my opinion they look incredible together.

lastly, remember the symbolism in rose’s section, where i talked about how abusers looked down on her & people on earth looked up to her?

in now we’re only falling apart, pearl literally lifts her up. encouraging, supporting, uplifting her.

this is rose’s first experience with love & pearl goes on to confess her feelings. they nearly fuse; something that’s done only between the same (“equal”) gems on homeworld. rose isn’t familiar with being loved & genuinely cared for. she’s scared, but pearl uplifts her before they connect. it’s representative of how intense her love is; how she’s the first to show her affection, the first to express love for her, and she’s encouraging and supportive, showing her love until her death.

image description: sketches by rebecca sugar. the left image depicts white diamond talking to pink with a mocking smile, pink looking very afraid. the right image depicts rose kissing pearl’s forehead. they both look comfortable & they’re smiling.

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healing your younger self

i wrote this when i was describing why rose is a comfort character for me:

“i loved princesses & fairytales as a child & [rose] gives me nostalgia with her healing powers & other princess traits. my four-year-old self watched princesses who did everything right, did no wrong, were loved by everyone. straight with one specific body type. i couldn’t quite relate to them, & of course i wanted to be a princess. but rose! she’s sapphic & chubby & she fights with her knight who uses she/her pronouns & she makes mistakes & has mental health issues & is disliked by some. i can’t even begin to explain how refreshing that is. she’s unique, realistic, relatable, different from the stereotypes, complicated, & just as beautiful (if not, more) as any princess that i loved growing up. her story with pearl has so many fairytale features & yet it’s so complex.”

pearl + rose's story has many fairytale elements, yet they embody qualities i felt i couldn’t have as a kid to be like the princesses i admired. princesses symbolized beauty to me, so i thought i had to fit into a very specific mold to be beautiful. pearl + rose, with their imperfections, underrepresented body types, sapphic love, trauma, etc. remind me of the fairytales I loved as a kid but are even more beautiful & interesting in my opinion. it’s really lovely & incredibly healing.

i wish i could go see four-year-old me and say that it’s okay to be yourself, you don’t need to change anything to be a princess!

image description: official artwork by elle michalka. pearl stands in front of rose with her sword as they meet garnet. the background is pink, like a sunset, with bushes of flowers.

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gems being gems can help with self esteem

for gems, everything moves quickly on earth. human beauty standards & ideals shift quickly and gems couldn’t possibly keep up with them. not that they would want to. instead, they focus on all the wonderful things about earth.

rose loves growth because it’s a symbol of how people are constantly changing and inventing who they are based on their experiences. it’s comforting to remember our favourite characters whenever we’re made to feel bad about our differences because of messed up beauty standards. for example, some parts of society act like putting on fat or getting stretch marks is always a negative thing, or it’s unattractive. rose wouldn’t feel that way. in fact, i wouldn’t be surprised if she loved getting her own stretch marks, i.e., when she was pregnant with steven. i’m in no doubt that pearl would love them on rose too, & she’s bright enough to understand exactly why they develop. “rose, i love it so… oh, you don’t know what it means? it means you’re growing. yes, you are! you must be happy after that long speech about how beautiful you think it is that humans are never the same and everything should grow. yes, i remembered. how could i not. you talk about it every. single. day.”

gems have a variety of body types. steven shapeshifted to be taller on his birthday, which hurt him. this symbolizes that everyone has different versions of what’s healthy. forcing yourself to look a certain way, even if it’s deemed “healthy” or “attractive,” can be unhealthy if it doesn’t suit your natural body type or involves a harmful process.

as magazines and celebrities became popular in beach city and thinness was the desired beauty standard, maybe once or twice, some absolute loser called rose fat, in a rude way. rose, being unaware of beauty standards, would have likely stared blankly and replied, "yes, i know i’m fat, are you okay? are you angry? but why? i’m confused, do you hate my pink hair, too?” later that day she’ll visit the bakery & feel guilty when she eats lots of blueberry pie… but only because she doesn’t want pearl to think she likes the pie from the bakery more than the homemade pie pearl makes for her. you deserve something from a good bakery too, and to be completely unfazed by any hypothetical jerk who dares to say anything cruel about your body.

you’re wonderful. yes, you.

image description: two sketches by rebecca sugar. on the left, pink is in gym clothes: a pink hoodie glancing over her shoulder with an unhappy, angry look. on the left, rose is wearing a crop top, a hoodie, & leggings, all grey. she has a peaceful, almost curious look & she seems to be pulling her hair back.

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[amaryllidae]

wanted to make a little comparison of rose quartz vs angel aura/pearl! taking notes from my og concept sheet of angel aura under the cut along with some insight!

while rose also is looking to appear human, angel aura is not. she does not have breasts and blushes blue-more alien-like. her form is slightly more adrogynous.

iris diamond was bigger than pink diamond, so not only is angel taller but she has more mass distributed (longer, more voluminous hair and the bow nearly touching the ground) she does not have a star. she is not a leader and never was.

iris is afraid of herself. angel aura does not want to be a diamond. she is quieter and more of a background character. she rarely spoke during the rebellion to protect her identity. this is not necessarily due to how the diamonds treated her (in her eyes) but due to what she has shown to be capable of. rose pearl was someone that makes her happy. iris is absolutely still head over heels for rose; i don't consider that to be a pearl thing. the diamonds always sought to make her "better", to make her someone else, to be this big, charismatic, powerful leader that commanded her gems as a big, jovial matriarch. i think iris would've been an okay diamond but the others really thought this vast difference in personality was a big deal because it was nothing like them. they were trying to solve this problem that.. wasn't really a problem? and it warped iris' view of herself. the other diamonds didn't treat her cruelly but they always saw her as different in a sort of scary way.

what she did to nacre terrified her. she thought she had been powerless for so long and it turned out she wasn't, that whatever she was capable of was much, much worse. she had essentially obliterated her, leaving only a hollow shell, and that became sort of a turning point for her where she was like, not only am i a freak, i'm a monster. the other diamonds can't do this to someone. not like i can.