#I’m not excusing her actions but the Rose Quartz we met in the very beginning is obviously the best version of her

[oneknightlight]

Listen I don’t typically get itchy and shitty over fictional discussions because they’re. Fictional. But nothing gets on my nerves like “Rose Quartz is the most evil piece of shit in that entire show.” Because it’s really not hard to detect that her redemption arc is in reverse. It’s really not. It takes about 2 seconds of critical thinking.

[redsrandomrants]

Let Me Tell You Why You're Wrong About Pink Diamond💎

**spoilers for the show Steven Universe if you aren't caught up**

A lot of people on social media have some very strong opinions on the character of Pink Diamond. It’s not really a secret that the Steven Universe fandom is rather toxic, which is why I usually I try to stay away, lest I contract idiocy, but I made the horrible mistake of watching one of the many, many, YouTube videos on her, and let's just say I have a lot of feelings.

First off, the impression people seem to have of Pink is that she was a selfish brat that used and manipulated everyone around her, faked a new identity to escape her Disney Princess life and responsibilities and was in general a horrible person. These people are wong. Don't listen to them. Listen to me. I have a blog. 

So, since apparently those geniuses have been watching an entirely different show, I, a scholar, shall provide you with evidence from the show to back up my claims instead of just spewing whatever unfiltered word vomit enters my brain. You might wanna buckle up, folks, when I rant I rant for hours.

Let us begin.

First, we will need to reconstruct what we know of Pink's timeline. The earliest glimpse we can get of her is in the episode "Jungle Moon".

-I want my own army! I want my own planet! I deserve it! I’m just as important as you!

Pink Diamond, Jungle Moon

Here is where the 'spoiled brat' idea was probably born. And I would agree with that... if this was the last we saw of Pink. But it isn't. This is, in story terms, Pink Diamond pre-character development. When you write a story, it's important that your characters grow and change over the course of the adventure. Otherwise it makes for a bad, boring story, because if the events didn't have an impact on the characters, how are they supposed to have an impact on the audience? Who wants to see an adventure that doesn't leave a mark and after it's done it's quickly forgotten as if it never was? It's nearly impossible to pull off a compelling story like that. Hence why characters start out with a problem or a character flaw that they need to overcome. Let me ask you this, can you see this tantrum-throwing version of Pink leading an army? Can you see her acting like that with Amethyst, Garnet or Pearl? With Greg? No, because by the time she met them, she was a different person. Would a selfish brat leave behind her cushy life? Didn't think so.

Back to the timeline, after Pink throws a fit that she is a Diamond too and wants to be a big girl now, after much pleading and begging and probably more tantrums, her sisters decide that she's mature enough to to handle it. It's possible that she demonstrated in some way that she was up to the task, but we have no proof of that at this point. The next bit of her we see, she's already overseeing progress on her very first colony -- Earth. It's not all that she imagined it to be, as we see her bored and she even remarks to her Pearl that she wished something more exciting will happen. Pre-character development Pearl at this point is brainwashed to be an obedient pawn, so she agrees and does anything her Diamond says.

- Could you imagine that running a colony would be this dull?  

- I could imagine it, if you would like me to, My Diamond.

-Pink and Pearl on the Moon Base, Now We’re Only Falling Apart

In this segment we see how Pearl accidentally gave Rose the idea to shapeshift into a Quartz and go to Earth to meet her soldiers. Now, at this point it's worth noting how nice Pink is to them. The newest episode at the time of this post is Familiar, where we see that Pink treated her Pebbles similarly (they try to hide from Steven until he says 'thank you', and only after that do they recognise him as Pink Diamond)

- Welcome to Earth!

- That is the first and nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.

Pink and a newly-emerged Amethyst soldier,  Now We’re Only Falling Apart

Pink and Pearl tour Earth, hugging trees and being hippies. And then something happens - Pink sees humans for the first time. It dawns on her that this planet already has life on it, and that completing this colony, this thing she's wanted for so, so long, would mean destroying that life. At this point we're already seeing some of that character development, but this is a call to action that really gets the ball rolling.

So, what did Pink do next? She decided to run away from her boring responsibilities, not caring about the destruction she was causing and what she was leaving behind, but only looking to selfishly disappear under a fake identity. No? You think that's a bit inconsistent with the gem that thanks little worker pebbles and was most excited not about conquering but about creating life, saddened by the fact she has to end the life already there? Well, you'd be right.

What Pink did next was go to her sisters, the other Diamonds, and say, “I don't want to complete this colony.” When the Diamonds, rightly so, pointed out that Pink had been badgering them for it and asked why she didn't want it anymore, Pink told the truth: there are humans and flowers and she doesn't want to destroy that. Naively, she sincerely thought that if she told her sisters this, they would agree that it's wrong, they would leave Earth alone and maybe only colonise uninhabited planets. But what did the other Diamonds say? We don't care about humans, they told her. You wanted this, now finish what you started! They scolded her, the way you scold a flippant child. Because, let's not forget, she is by far the youngest of the four. Those of you with older siblings, would they listen to you about something they've done longer than you? Imagine you've just now started a new activity, like let's say fencing. You go to your sisters who are both years older than you and you tell them you want to fence holding the rapier backwards and that they should do the same. The response you would get will fall somewhere between annoyed eyerolls and condescending remarks, possibly a derisive laugh or two. And guess what, that's exactly how the Diamonds reacted.

-Why did she have to rope us into all of this? Why couldn’t she just stop the colonization herself?

-She tried. When she told the other Diamonds she didn’t want to go through with the colony, they told her to finish what she started. When she told the other Diamonds she wanted to preserve life on Earth, they created the Zoo and threw a handful of humans in. She did everything she could as Pink Diamond, but her status meant nothing to Blue and Yellow.

-- Sapphire and Pearl, Now We’re Only Falling Apart

We need to remember that she was a Diamond, yes, but she didn’t have absolute power to do as she wanted in every single respect, especially given that this is her very first colony and she’s the baby of the family. No matter how much you grow up, to the adults in your life you will always be that kid that drew on the walls and pooped their diaper. But Pink didn’t give up, she kept making excuses after excuses, and when nothing worked, she decided to take a stand ‘as someone they couldn’t ignore’. Notice that she didn’t just tear down the kindergarten and break her toy like a petulant child. No, her first instinct was non-violent solutions.

-She was going to scare every gem off the planet.

Pearl, Now We’re Only Falling Apart

And that might have been where it ended. Buuuut…

-Everything changed when she saw your fusion. Before Garnet, Rose was only fighting for Earth. But Garnet changed everything; Rose wanted to fight for her, she wanted to fight for gems.

Pearl, Now We’re Only Falling Apart

But how, please tell me how, is any of that selfish? Pink didn’t want to be a fusion. At the beginning, this was about preserving life on Earth. Then it became about other gems. She didn't do any of this for herself -- she did it for them. She could see how brainwashed all the other gems were to love the Diamonds and serve them and do what they’re meant to do.

-Rose Quartz changed my life. I came to Earth thinking this was just another colony -- build another arena for important fighters to fight in, build another spire for important thinkers to think in. And then I met her. Just another Quartz soldier made right here in the dirt, but she was different. And she was different because she decided to be. She asked me what I wanted to build; I’d never heard that before. And gems never hear they can be anything other than what they are, but Rose opened our eyes.

Bismuth, Bismuth

Some people are salty that it turned out Rose Quartz wasn’t ‘just another soldier’ and that made her less special somehow. But what does it matter if she was a Quartz or a Diamond? She was still different. Was she like the other Diamonds? No. Was she like any other gem? No. So what does it matter? She still made the choice to be different, she still decided to fight for innocent life and for the right of other gems to choose, something no one, Diamond or otherwise, had ever done. She pretty much acts the same as Rose as she did as Pink, so why the hell does it matter?

And this is the point where we will take a slight detour and talk about Pearl. Pearl has now been demoted in public opinion for some reason because she’s ‘less of a rebel’, because now she's just following a Diamond like she’s supposed to. That’s what everyone says, right? But here’s the thing. Everyone is full of shit.

-Pearl.

-Yes?

-I’m going to stay and fight for this planet. You don't have to do this with me.

-But I want to!  

-I know you do. Please, please understand, if we lose, we’ll be killed. And if we win, we can never go home.

-Why would I ever want to go home if you’re here?

Rose and Pearl, Rose’s Scabbard

Pearl wasn’t just following Pink -- she was given a choice. Stay who you are, stay a maid, an object, go to one of the other Diamonds. I’m going to do this dangerous thing, but you don’t have to. Pearl joined the rebellion because she wanted to join, and she was given the choice of staying behind and being a servant, but she rejected it. Like with Bismuth, Pink asked her what she wanted to do. And notice how different she is now than Flashback!Pearl. She snaps at Peridot that she doesn't belong to anyone, she learned to sword fight and to build things and to do stuff that Pearls aren’t supposed to because she wanted to. She stayed with Pink because Pink is the epitome of sunshine and goodness, not because of some slave complex. Dobby the House Elf didn’t die for Harry Potter because of some slave-in-love-with-its-master crap, but because Harry showed him a kindness no one else had and Dobby wanted to help him, and fight for him, and ultimately die for him. Harry freed him, but he was still there, following him and helping him because he just wanted to. Are you seeing it now? Pearl was famous for throwing herself between Pink and attacking enemies, even though Pink told her not to do that.

-Why won’t you just let me do this for you, Rose?!

Pearl, Sworn to the Sword

-Did Rose make you feel like you were nothing?

-Hah! Rose made me feel like I was everything.

Connie and Pearl, Sworn to the Sword

Pink showed Pearl kindness that she’d never seen before, asked her what she wanted to do. That’s why Pearl follows her. Maybe there wasn’t a symbolic sock of freedom, but Pink told Pearl that she was free to do as she chose. And Pearl chose to fight.

Pearl is a renegade pearl, and she doesn't belong to anybody. Fight me.

And now let’s talk controversy -- the shattering.

Going back to the timeline, let’s recap.

Pink wants a colony of her own

Pink gets colony

Pink finds out running a colony is boring, but Pearl gives her the idea to sneak into the kindergarten in disguise

Pink sees humans and flowers and decides she wants to protect the planet

Pink talks to the Diamonds about stopping the colony, but gets shot down

Pink decides to take on the form of Rose Quartz and chase the gems off world.

Pink meets Garnet and decides she wants to fight for gems and their right to choose

Pink gathers more gems to her cause, such as Bismuth, and creates the Rebellion

While points 5-8 are going on, Pink continues making up excuses to stop or slow down colonisation. She knows that the Rebellion is outnumbered, that Homeworld can keep sending troops indefinitely and that they, unlike the rebels, aren’t afraid of shattering. Pink was very much against shattering, as it’s a permanent death for a gem, and as discussed previously she is a big poofy marshmallow. Pink tries, relentlessly, to get the colonisation stopped, even while she is leading the rebellion, and even tries to use this to make the other Diamonds back off. This goes as well as you’d expect.

- This is what you wanted. You begged us for a colony of your own, and now all you want to do is be rid of it! First there were too many organics, and then their cities were too difficult to dismantle, and now these Crystal Gems? We're tired of your excuses, Pink! This Rose Quartz can't hurt you. You can't be swayed by a few unruly gems. Enough! You must understand... you are a Diamond. Everyone on this planet is looking to you. You don't even have to do anything; just smile and wave. Show everyone you are unfazed by this little uprising. Your gems will fall into line, and these Crystal Gems will be no more. As long as you're there to rule, this colony will be completed.

Blue Diamond, Can’t Go Back

This is when the idea forms. Pink realises that as long as she is there to be the ruler, the other Diamonds won’t relent. But maybe, just maybe, if she were to disappear, Blue and Yellow would leave the colony unfinished and tend to their own.

- Blue and Yellow don’t care. They never have. This is Pink Diamond’s colony. We can end it all, right here, right now.

Rose, A Single Pale Rose

Please note again that Pink doesn’t command Pearl to play along, but instead asks her to participate. Also note that Pearl is no longer mindlessly agreeing, she is considering the danger and making her own choice. Pink believes that this is the only way to get the gems to leave, and she also chooses to present as Rose Quartz, because that’s who she feels she really is. Here is the thing. Diamonds, just like any other gem, are made for a purpose. Pink was supposed to be a conquerer or world, that was her job. But she didn’t want to be. She didn’t want to be treated like a Diamond (please refer to the scene on the Moon Base and her disdain for the robotic way Pearl addresses her). How is that any different than a Pearl choosing to fight or a Quartz soldier choosing not to? Rose Quartz or Pink Diamond, she rejected the role she’d been assigned and sought to make her own path in life. She wanted to be free, too, the same way she wanted that for all gems. 

Please note my choice of words, people. ‘Chooses to present’. ‘Role she’d been assigned’. ‘Trying to be someone she’s not’. Those are not coincidences.

-Mom lived in hiding by the name of Rose, with the friends she’d made and the form she chose

Steven, Reunited

With such big LGBT+ vibes in the show, it boggles my mind that people aren’t picking up on this. Is it because gems are genderless aliens? Is it because Rose is the same ‘gender’ as Pink?

Moving on to the final bits of Rose Quartz’s history (since this is the name she chose for herself, we’ll go with that from now on). Let’s see, what haven’t we addressed? Selfish, spoiled brat? Character development, we went over that. Manipulated and lied to everyone? Um, to do what, fight for their own freedom? Since she pretty clearly gives everyone she meets a choice, I’m gonna call bullshit on that one. And she always acted as herself while she was Rose, so she wasn’t pretending to be someone she wasn’t. Faked her death to escape her responsibilities? Nope, did that so the Diamonds would leave Earth (which worked btw). She’s a horrible person? Well sure, if by horrible you mean sweet and nice to everyone she meets, fighting for innocent life and for the rights of all gems, then yeah. She’s so horrible everyone loves her.

Had many secrets? Well, that one is kinda legit. She did have secrets, but she hid things for the greater good. Her being Pink Diamond? I’d imagine a lot of gems would have reacted like this butthurt fandom “Oh, so we never really rebelled? We were just following another Diamond this whole time? THIS WHOLE REBELLION IS A LIE!!” Except that it isn’t. Everyone made the choice to follow Rose, not because she was a Diamond, but because she inspired them. They did rebell on their own, and they were fighting of their own free will. They didn’t know that she was a Diamond, and that’s what really matters. But, well, we’ve seen what happens -- people jump to conclusions without stopping to think. So yeah, I get that. Bubbling Bismuth? Well, I mean… Bismuth did try to kill her. What else was she supposed to do? This is as close to prison as Rose can do, and obviously she wouldn’t shatter her or banish her so that she would fall into enemy hands. Rose kept Bismuth safe, along with her most treasured possessions, but knew she couldn't let her out. Why? Bismuth would still want to take the war to Homeworld. And Rose made a choice not to sully Bismuth’s good name and tell others of her betrayal and radical murdery ways. Not an easy choice, but it was the one she made. People were also kinda salty that her being Pink means that she never had to make the tough moral choice to kill an evil dictator, but here you go, imprisoning your crazy, extremist friend counts as a morally grey choice. 

Created Steven so that she didn’t have to face consequences and left him this mess to clean? What was her grand plan for him, why did she have him? Surely there is a great conspiracy behind this, right?? The machiavellian mind of  Pink Diamond at work???

- I don’t understand! Why is this the same as the video you guys made me? Who’s Nora?

- Nora is you! We had it down to two names: Steven if you were a boy and Nora if you were a girl.

- So then… would Nora have the magical destiny if I wasn’t here?

- Magical destiny? I dunno about that.

- But Mom did! She was trying to tell me something with my tape! She keeps leaving me puzzle pieces! Sooner or later, I’m going to understand what I’m for!

- Whoa, Steven, it’s okay! C’mere.

- … Am I supposed to be… Did she want me to be Nora?

- Steven, she just wanted you to be you. When you have a kid you have no idea who they’re gonna be; even Garnet couldn’t predict it. That’s what was so exciting to your mom, that life is full of so many possibilities and you would get to explore them for yourself. I mean, you could be Steven, or Nora, or anyone else. And you can always change your name! Hey, I did.

- So that’s it. I’m just… supposed to be her kid.

- Well… yeah. Is that okay?

- Yeah. I think I can handle that.

Steven and Greg, Lion 4: Alternate Ending

- I get it. I know you didn’t want me to deal with your problems. But you’re a part of me now. I have to deal with what you left behind.

Steven, Storm in the Room