#in any case its safe to say that i will be looking at RQ with a more critical eye moving forward

[hezekiahwakely]

Just a btw, Newt isn’t a full time employee of Fable and Folly. They’re a freelance artist. F&F had no idea about the article until it was posted, nor are they rivals of RQ. Something that is constantly brought up is that audio drama fans love having more shows to listen to! I personally am a big fan of shows from both networks equally. People pointing out that Newt works for F&F are trying to discredit the article because they love RQ/TMA that much and it’s really frustrating to see. I’ve known Newt, Tal, and Wil for years and I can say the article was written in good faith. I respect all three of them a lot and they wouldn’t say something if there wasn’t a reason to. They wouldn’t just write this to get a reaction or whatever else folks are accusing them of. /ci

Are they a freelance Director of Marketing? Because that's what Fable and Folly's website says about them and where I got most of my info from.

In any case, that still presents a conflict of interest (not sure if this is the best term for this) in writing an article critical of Rusty Quill, one which tries to persuade readers to remove financial support from RQ and put it towards other creative projects. I can't imagine how F&F and RQ aren't competitors seeing as they're both podcast networks in the audio fiction industry doing (what appears to me!) Very similar things.

It's true I do love TMA a great deal, and it has compromised my feelings about the situation. I want to be open about this because as my emotions calm down and more information comes to light, my opinion is likely to evolve.

But I don't want to throw common sense out the window and jump on a bandwagon, or 'cancel' RQ mindlessly either, especially when one of the biggest problems in this situation is lack of transparency and information (from RQ, from the author not disclosing their associations initially, and, unfortunately, what's apparently necessary from the anonymous victims).

I shared the information to increase clarity, not just to mindlessly support RQ because I love TMA. I did this in good faith, as much as can be said for me. Yes I am absolutely biased from the get-go, but I am trying to be open about that fact and combat it as best I can. I'm not trying to stir shit just for the sake of it. I appreciate you coming to the defense of someone you know and I would do the same! But forgive me for not being immediately trustful of the author or of you. There is so little real tangible information here, and I still see a possible incentive for RQ to be slandered in a bad faith manner for multiple reasons (from the author and from former employees). I've seen too many fandom witchhunts to just believe allegations or defenses of allegations that come from anonymous sources in this subject matter. I'm withholding any definitive opinions on the drama until more information is available. But personally I'm not withdrawing my financial support from TMA related projects either until I feel there is stronger evidence to do so. I also don't want to stop supporting all the creators involved who shouldn't suffer for RQ's supposed sins. I'm just really hoping Rusty Quill quickly comes forward with a response to the article, and that they don't blow it off. Or perhaps that someone feels empowered enough to go public and share receipts.

[temilyrights]

He doesn’t deserve you

Anon RQ: Could you write a Sloane x reader fic where reader is upset about how her boyfriend is treating her and Jack keeps telling her that she deserves better. And eventually, while she’s encouraging reader to break up with him Jack gets really passionate and ends up confessing that she has a crush on the reader then gets a bit embarrassed. Reader is shocked because she feels the same and was only dating other people because she thought Jack wasn’t interested.

Warnings: major relationship red flags, alcohol and swearing.

Read on AO3

“You should bring your boyfriend!” Bishop grins excitedly.

You laugh awkwardly “But this is a team thing, I don’t want-”

“McGee is bringing Delilah! And I think Jimmy’s bringing Breena too!” At your resistant expression, Bishop continues “Awh come on! We’d love to finally meet him!”

“Alright, alright.” You manage a small smile but even you can tell its unconvincing, Bishop doesn’t seem to notice though already turning to talk to Jack, who’s watching you curiously. You duck your head and head off to somewhere quieter to phone him.

Your boyfriend was called Adam. You’d been dating for just over two months now. You and Torres had been out getting coffee for the team when he comes over to you. You’d both flirted and he’d given you his number. You were just going to throw it anyway but when you’d gotten back to the office Jack was talking to Bishop about a date she’d gone on the week beforehand and you’d felt that familiar stab of jealousy and longing and decided it was probably about time you tried to get over your feelings for Jack.

You’d texted him and the next evening he took you out for dinner. He was nice. He made you laugh, and it was good to have someone. It made you feel less lonely.

You’d been resistant to introduce him to the team. The only reason they even really knew about him was because Torres had made a few remarks about him that the rest of the team caught on to.

Adam had been pushing to meet your friends, you having already met his, so when you ask you aren’t surprised, he immediately says yes. You give him the details for tonight, and he says he’ll meet you there.

It’s bad you’re silently hoping for a new case to come in so that the plans are postponed however, for the first time, it doesn’t happen.

Adam’s already there when you arrive, he’s talking to someone at the bar. You head over to him, while the team go and find seats.

“Adam!” You shout over the music to get his attention. He looks up, and the woman he’s talking to turns around to face you too. She looks annoyed but you don’t have time to think about it because then Adam is pulling you into his arms and kissing you.

“Hey, you.” He smiles and you offer a small smile back. “Let’s get drinks and then I can finally meet those friends you’ve been keeping from me.”

The team have found a booth in the corner of the bar. “Hi, guys, this is Adam” you smile pointing to your boyfriend, as he snakes an arm around your waist and pulls you softly into his side. You smile up at him. “And Adam this is everybody” you grin brightly and begin to point around the table “That’s Delilah and Tim, Gibbs, Jack, Kasie, Jimmy and Breena, Nick, and lastly, Ellie.” Everyone offers out pleasantries and you then slide into the booth next to Ellie, Adam slipping in next to you.

Adam seems to be a hit with them all. McGee tells him about a case they’d been working the week beforehand. “You should have seen the way Y/N and Sloane got him to confess in interrogation.” You look to Jack smirking proudly and see the same looked reflected back on her face. Adam’s arm is still wrapped around you and he pulls you closer looking down at you and presses a quick peck against your lips. You smile as you pull away, your eyes forbiddingly go back to Jack and you see an emotion cross her face that you don’t recognise before she’s quickly turning to Kasie and joining the conversation between her, Jimmy and Breena.  

You frown slightly but turn back to Adam, leaning into his side and focusing back on the conversation between him and McGee.

Adam’s arm hasn’t moved from your waist since you both sat down and you’re beginning to get really hot and uncomfortable because of it. Jimmy’s telling a story which everyone is listening to so you get Adams attention by softly patting his hand and quietly whisper “Hey can you let go, it’s really hot in here.”

“Aww but I like holding you”

“I like it too but-”

“See” There’s a smug tone in his voice that you don’t like. He pulls you back into his side.

You instantly move back again “Seriously Adam, It’s really hot” you can see Delilah watching you both subtly before leaning over and saying something to McGee.

Your confused, unsure how the conversation had spiralled so quickly. Adam’s about to say something but McGee interrupts.

“Adam! I’m going to the bar to get drinks, join me?” Adam looks like he’s going to decline but he notices he’s also gained the attention of Gibbs (who’s giving him a not so friendly look) and Jack and instead slips out of the booth following McGee.

The tension you didn’t realise you’d been holding slips away as you lean back into the booth. “You ok?” Delilah questions.

“Yeah of course.” Your smile is too big to not be completely fake and Delilah must notice because she just raises her eyebrows. “I promise. He’s just a lot more into PDA than I am” You shrug slightly trying to play it off as if it’s nothing and steadily avoid looking at Jack who you can feel watching you closely.

When the guys return 15 minutes later McGee is watching Adam cautiously and the tension you’d been feeling comes right back. McGee places the tray of drinks on the table handing them out to everyone and Adam falls into the booth next to you, sloppily handing you your own drink.

“Are you drunk?” Adam doesn’t respond, instead, he leans back into the booth. You look to McGee for answers.

“He did a couple of shots” McGee responds awkwardly before sitting down and taking a sip of his own drink.

It gets out of hand pretty quickly after that. Adam and Torres are talking about the protein powder they both apparently use when Torres makes a jokey comment about definitely being able to out bench him.

“Is this why you didn’t want me to meet your friend’s Y/N? Think I’d be intimidated by the special agents.” The comment may have passed as a joke if it wasn’t for Adam’s tone. You tense and you notice everyone is now focused on Adam with a mix of uncomfortable, disapproving or curious looks.

“Adam” You warn quietly, and the man looks down at you rolling his eyes dismissively.

“Awh what Y/N. Don’t think I could take any of your friends?”

“Ok. Adam and I are going to go. Thank you every-” You start to push Adam from the booth, but he doesn’t move and instead cuts you off.

“Oh, look she’s embarrassed by me” Adams laughs and your face heats up.

“Adam stop it. Let’s just go back to mine-”

“You know she talks about you guys all the time. I’m surprised she even knows I exist. It’s all ‘At work this’ and ‘Rule number 280’ and ‘Ellie was telling me this’ and oh god and we can’t forget about Jack.” Adam turns to glare at the blonde “It’s always Special Agent Jack Sloane” Her name is spat out and you can’t even look at Jack as you duck your head moments away from tears “god anyone would think it’s her Y/N wants to be dating-”

“That’s enough.” Gibbs barks from his seat. McGee gets up and Gibbs follows. Gibbs grabs Adam roughly pulling him out of the booth.

“Is this the famous Gibbs glare?” Adam smirks

“I highly recommend you go home now Adam.” The only time you’d ever heard McGee speak like that was when he was trying to intimidate a suspect.

Adam scoffs “Whatever.”  Adam goes to step forward, reaching for you, but Gibbs moves in front of him.

“She’s not going with you tonight”

“She’s my girlfriend-”

“Stop it!” You snap. You take a deep breath, finally moving from the booth and standing behind Gibbs. “Adam go home. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

He goes to refuse again. “That was your last chance” Gibbs growls. He and McGee both grab Adam by the upper arms and begin to walk him out of the building.

Everyone is silent as you turn back around. They’re all watching you worriedly and when your eyes connect with Jack’s you have to bite down on your lip to stop yourself from sobbing. “I’m going to…” You point in the vague direction of where the toilets are and immediately turn around and walk away.

You start sobbing the second the toilet door falls closed behind you. You were so embarrassed. Adam had just made a complete fool of you in front of the people who were basically your family. You’d never be able to look them in the face again. He’d never been like this before, you really thought you’d met a nice guy. You shake your head. How had you been such an idiot?

You’re so consumed by your thoughts that you don’t notice the door open and close behind you. It’s not until someone places a hand on your shoulder that you snap around. The second Jack sees the tears streaming down your face she pulls you into a tight hug. You bury your head into her shoulder, allowing yourself to cry.

After a while, your sobs begin to subside, and you notice just how close you and Jack are. She pressed right up against you; one hand wrapped around your body while the other brushes soothingly over your head. The smell of Jack is comforting, you feel so safe in her arms and you push closer into her neck only to immediately realize what you're doing.

Pain erupts in your chest and you quickly take a step back, wiping away tears. There are tear stains on Jack’s shirt and you duck your head embarrassed.

“I’m sorry” your voice is rough from the crying and you finally look up, surprised to see Jack wiping at her face as well.

“For what?” Jack frowns.

“For ruining the whole evening. I promise you Adam’s not normally like that, he just got too drunk, he’s honestly so good and kind-”

“And you’re not going to dump his arse?” The words rush out of Jack’s mouth and you can’t tell if her shocked expression is from her own words or yours.

“I don’t know…it’s been really nice having someone and he is a great guy.” You respond defensively.

“But you deserve someone so much better” You scoff at that and don’t miss the irony of the conversation. Jack telling you, you deserve someone better when the only reason you’d even started dating Adam was because you couldn’t have the one person you wanted most in the world. You look at her wistfully before shaking your head to dispel the thoughts. You weren’t about to have another failed relationship because you couldn’t get over your feelings for Jack.

“You name one person that’s lining up for me” You laugh sourly and continue before Jack can say anything. “I really do like Adam, You saw the flowers he’s been sending to the office, it’s sweet no one's ever done that for me before.”

“Well then you’ve only been with assholes” You bristle at that “I’m sorry but he was rude and condescending. He had no respect for your boundaries even after you asked him to let you go” you duck your head at that unaware that Jack had noticed that certain exchange. “That man screams red flags.”

“But-”

“No! Y/N this whole evening you’ve looked uncomfortable and tense. Adam belittled you and your job the whole night. When you had to cancel your plans with him the other day for that stakeout with me you spent 5 minutes on the phone as he made a fuss about it!”

That was true. You were meant to meet Adam for dinner when Gibbs had put you on stakeout duty last minute. You’d phoned to cancel with Adam and ended up arguing with him as he was claiming you always cancelled the plans you two had. You eventually got him off the phone with reassurances that you’d make it up to him.

You’d spent the rest of the night in a freezing cold car with Jack and despite the fact you were scared your fingers were going to fall off they were so cold; it had been pretty enjoyable.

Jack continues “You are one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met Y/N. You are a brilliant friend and agent. You are kind and beautiful and funny and you deserve to be with someone who only makes you shine brighter. Adam is not that guy. He’s not good enough for you. You deserve someone who’d do anything just to see your smile, someone who will thank the stars every day that you walked into their life, someone who understands your job is there for you through the bad cases, someone who would happily volunteer to sit in a cold, uncomfortable car with you for 6 hours just so they could spend time with you, someone who loves you so much it hurts-” Jack’s voice cracks and a tear escapes her watery eyes which she quickly wipes away.

You stare at Jack in confusion. Was she saying? You’d never thought in your wildest dreams that this would be happening, that she might like you back. You are snapped out of your thoughts when Jack releases a sad chuckle. She takes a step back, hanging her head.

You just stare at her in wonder. “But you don’t like me like that.”

Jack laughs again, emotion still thick in her voice “Yeah I tried telling myself that for a long time too.”

“No! because I only started dating Adam because I was trying to get over you!”  The words woosh out and Jack freezes.

“What?”

You laugh “I was tired of pining over you. Why do you think I commute 20 minutes out of my way each morning just to get you coffee from that coffee shop you love? It wasn’t because I was just being nice it’s because of how your face lights up and that adorable little jiggle you do when I appear.”

A smile spreads across Jack’s face as she laughs “I love the coffee sure, but the reason I get so happy is just because of you.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I’d been trying to convince myself that I wasn’t in love with you but after I went on a date that Vance had set up for me and all I could think about was how I wanted the woman to be you, I knew it was useless. I was going to finally come clean but then you started seeing Adam and I thought that meant you weren’t interested in me.”

You shake your head in disbelief, a wide smile crossing your face as well as you step closer to her. “I’m in love with you too.”

Jack smiles back and you want nothing more than to pull this woman to you and kiss her senseless. If Jack’s sparkling eyes were anything to go by you think she’s thinking the exact same thing. Jack’s hand reaches out and brushes your cheek, but she takes a deep breath and steps back instead of forward.

“I need to break up with Adam.” You say and Jack nods.

“I’ll give you a lift home?” You agree. You leave the toilets, following Jack over to the booth. You aren’t surprised to see most people have left but Gibbs, Bishop and Torres are still waiting.

“Are you ok?” Bishop quickly moves from the booth and pulls you into a hug.

“Yeah, I’m ok. I’m really sorry about Adam, I’d never seen him like that before. Trust me you guys won’t be meeting him again” You laugh awkwardly.

“Good” Is Gibbs’ gruff response but you can see the concern in his eyes. He surprises you by pulling you into a hug and kissing the top of your head. “We put him in a taxi.”

“McGee had to go because the twins were playing up, but he wanted to make sure you were ok.”

“I’ll text him and thank him. Thank you all too. Jack’s going to give me a lift home, so I’ll see you at the office tomorrow.”

Ellie pulls you into another hug, and you think you see Gibbs smirking at Jack, but you can’t be sure.

It’s not a long drive to your house but when Jack parks the car you’re surprised to see Adam sitting outside. “Oh, shit” you swear. Jack tenses when she follows your eyes and notices the man as well. “You stay here and call him a taxi; I’ll get this over with.”

“Y/N” Jack goes to protest but instead sighs “Just be careful okay?” You grip her hand smiling slightly before jumping out the car and up the path to your house.

“Adam. You aren’t meant to be here.” He quickly stands up and you automatically take a step back. You can see he’s sobered up a little bit, but he’s definitely still tipsy.

“I’m sorry.”

“Adam let’s talk tomorrow when you’re sober. Jack’s calling you a taxi-”

“Jack?” Adam's eyes snap over to the blonde who’s now standing next to her car. You swear he almost growls.

“She gave me a lift home-”

“Sure just a lift.”

“Adam-”

“Here I was apologising because I’m a good guy-”

You laugh “Wow.” You shake your head “You really are an asshole, aren’t you?”

“What!”

You rub your face laughing “We’re over Adam.”

Adam starts spluttering “You little bitch.” He walks towards you threateningly and you don’t step back this time, instead, glaring back at him.

“Go home.” He just glares at you and then over to Jack who is now standing a few steps away looking like she’d be ready to fight him if it came down to it.

He huffs “I’m too fucking good for you anyway.” Muttering he makes his way over to the taxi that had just arrived and gets in. You watch as it drives away and breath a sigh of relief.

Jack pulls you into a hug before pulling back slightly to look at you, hands still wrapped around your waist.

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m really good.” You smile brightly. Your hands go to Jack’s face and you finally pull her towards you.

The first touch of your lips and its fireworks. You’re both smiling too much so it’s a little awkward, but you don’t care. The kiss begins to deepen, and you reach your hands into Jack’s hair. She moans lightly and it isn’t fair how something so small can do so much to your body.

Jack pulls away slowly and you look at her dazed.

“I love you, Jack.”

“I love you too Y/N.”

[underthewestway]

Rose Quartz Was Always Pink Diamond: An Essay

Wowie! What a bundle of information we got regarding Rose after A Single Pale Rose aired...yet I've seen a lack of discussion/writing on it around the Internet. This is most likely due to the fact that SO MUCH was given to the fans, especially during Change Your Mind, an hour long special, that it was easy to shift focus onto other, new things, like RQ 2.0, WD, and Pink Steven.

However, being as sad as I am, I am completely enthralled by Rose's character in the series, and also at how well written she is. I can safely say that I have rarely seen this character archetype displayed on mainstream television during my lifespan so far, therefore I thrive in analysing and piecing together information that the show gives us about her...and let me tell you, we got a LOT in those bunch of recent episodes. More than we can handle. It is particularly odd and refreshing that, after a wide stretch of seasons with a severe lack of context/detail on the Crystal Gem leader, all this explanations are thrown at us near the end of the fifth season. So, lets talk about it!

  In Now We're Only Falling Apart, Pearl explains why Rose held her identity secret forever, and why she decided to rebel and reinvent in the first place. We find out her intentions were not those of malice, or as a twisted 'game', like Sapphire suggests, but rather impulses and eagerness for freedom. There is no denying Rose greatly cared for the Earth, we see her and Pearl playing around in the environment and admiring its inhabitants, until she realises they were here before gems, and the gem's colonization is going to impact them greatly. Rose's almost irritable excitement and glee for a new colony turns to large regret, guilt and maybe self-loathing. This is a new thing we learn about her, her emotions and actions tend to be that of wide extremes, rushing to go to the Kindergarten, hurriedly grabbing Pearl, jumping around, happily playing along with the new quartzes-like a child. Fans never came to this conclusion before because we were never shown this aspect of her, Pearl never mentioned that she could be reckless and erratic, and because Amethyst was scolded so coldly for it by Pearl herself, it was never a thought that someone she admired so highly could act the same, maybe even worse due to her power.

After, Pearl states PD fought relentlessly with Yellow and Blue, trying to reinforce this idea that this method of expanding their colony was wrong and damaging to innocent species of life. Now, this already known fact about RQ protecting Earth is under a new light. Her determination could somewhat be fuelled by guilt, as well as a moral feeling. Pearl too. Another new fact is that Yellow and Blue, although loving and caring to Pink, do not respect her at all. Maybe this is Pink's fault, maybe it is theirs, or maybe both, but in their eyes, she is a kid, and not an admirable leader of anything.

 I really, really love this, because the representation of Rose is a COMPLETE 180 degrees flip of that viewpoint. RQ, as seen by others, was a magnificent leader, brave warrior, and selfless mother figure, winning a war, who was all-knowing and largely respected by CGs, and detested by Homeworld. On the other hand, PD, as seen by others, was a selfish, reckless dictator, cowardly failing a colony, and a mindless child in the eyes of her Authority- never taken seriously and admired repetitively by other Gems on Homeworld only for her status, and not her actions.

Rose's intentions for saving Earth then morphed because of Garnet, learning that gems of two different types CAN fuse, a desire for experimentation and discovery of gems fuelled within her, and she wanted to now fight FOR gems, and for all life, to be free of judgement and conformation. This idea is a beautiful one, but for the idea to become reality, there were some reprocussions, as we learnt in A Single Pale Rose, and additionally with Jasper, Bismuth, Eyeball, the Diamonds...countless people were affected by PD leaving the empire and starting a war. In fact, the Great Gem War had a lasting impact on every character it seems, even those who were born/created after it. So, Rose had started a major bad influence in this story, as well as a major good one. Which can leave many feeling largely conflicted on how to feel about her.

Furthermore, in the Diamond Days Arc, we discover that Pink was hugely oppressed by the other Diamonds for behaving the way she does. As punishment, they would lock her away in a chamber, until she said sorry. Now we are given reason to why she began keeping so many secrets, and resorted to being overly flippant and ignorant of other gems/humans real feelings, as suggested in We Need To Talk. Her family has encouraged this method of bottling up any true feelings or thoughts that could upset/shock/confuse someone, and could also risk changing someone's viewpoint of their character and ideals. The Diamonds are the ultimate figure heads, idols, leaders, striving to fit one ideal, and Pink just was never meant for that ideal. White herself, saying ''You're a part of me, a part I always have to REPRESS'', strongly infers Pink was created as a form of all White's, or a person's, faults and hidden behaviours. So it only seems natural that she would feel like an outsider, I mean her peers are many feet taller for goodness sake, she was literally always looked down upon.

 White took this enforcement of controlling Pink even more when she mind-controlled Pink Pearl, and took her away from PD permanently. I feel as if though this forever left a mark on Rose, and may explain the complexities of her and Pearl's relationship as well. Also, this explains why we never see Rose or PD even mention WD in flashbacks, she speaks of YD and BD- never White. Her determined avoidance of White is highly likely to be because of what she did to Pink Pearl, and her anger/shock towards this may have been the final straw to no longer being open and honest towards the Authority. We see she is completely furious and DONE with being repressed and mistreated in Now We're Only Falling Apart, and her willingness to utterly lie to them with the new Pearl and abandon her previous life is a bit more understandable.

In 'Familiar' it is found out that PD kind of lived in a sort of 'limbo' of toxicity, and my oh my was she BORED and FRUSTRATED. Like Steven in early episodes, Pink was left on her own a lot of the time, and always eager to impress her parental figures when they were briefly around her. Except, unlike Steven, this never changed, and the Diamonds never let her grow out of it, because it is a stigma that gems aren't supposed to grow. It is hinted Pink most likely wanted a change of pace with having her own colony, and killing two birds with one stone, she could also prove her worth to them by doing what they do. Although, with the issue of giving Pink so much time to herself, she began to reflect and think a lot, and become obsessed with doing something new, to the point of begging the Diamonds to give her something to achieve.

 This is ultimately really tragic, and relatable for those who constantly are wanting to impress their peers in a repetitive environment. Pink seemed to never be allowed outside of Homeworld without another Diamond, and anywhere she goes outside her rooms is to be with an escort, and the pressure of being a figure. This pent up fascination of freedom, new things, and expression is everything Rose Quartz represents as a result of this.

This follows up to my main point about Rose - her obsession with ideas, which is highly ironic due to the fact that everyone who remembers her is enthralled based on purely the idea of her, and seems to forget her faults/other aspects. Most likely because of the Authority's encouragement of such a thing, Rose's interest in other people seems solely based upon the idea they support, rather than them as a being. A great example of this is Greg. When Rose met Greg, she loved the idea that his song represented, freedom and being a lonesome rebel. She then states in We Need To Talk, ''That's what I love about humans, you're all so funny!'', to which Greg shuts her down upon, claiming she isn't talking like a real person. This is because she is trying to live up to her name and reinvention, and be this happy, loving Quartz, who knows the most about humans and is the most caring of others, which we know she isn't.

It is very clear with Greg that Rose understands very little about humans, and it is very clear with Pearl that Rose understands very little about being empathetic. However, it is displayed with Garnet that Rose was interested in learning about fusion and love, and with Amethyst, Rose experimented with the idea of bringing up a gem without the prejudice of Homeworld's society, and the fluidity of growth. In the end, Rose chose to be with Greg, and give up her physical form to give gem life to Steven. Personally, I believe this is because RQ was utterly enamoured with Greg's, and most humans, capability of empathy, love and persistent reinvention, which is everything she wanted to have - at least the IDEA of Greg's relatability towards others. Rose was achieved a respectable status because of her well-known SYMPATHY for comrades during battles; sympathy and empathy can be completely different emotions under different perspectives. In RQ's case, she evidently possessed bountiful sorrow for hurt loved ones, although I see it as something she could never relate to, being as strong as a Diamond is, or at least, she wouldn't be willing to share her own sorrow.

Throughout her journey, we begin to see her transformation from a selfish alien dictator, to leading a damaging war, to wanting to settle on Earth and become a better person. We even see this through her design, as PD she possesses vibrant and hot pinks, lots of magenta, as well as with almost-impossible hair, and a princess/jester outfit.

 As she shapeshifts into RQ, we see she has peachy/pale skin, more natural curly hair, sad walled eyes and a dress with many dark layers... with soft, pastel and earthy tones in her palette. It is very much apparent that she wanted to fit in with humans, no longer be alien, and kind of BECOME an organic being.

 Yet, with being a Diamond, she severely struggled to empathise and relate to gems, let alone humans, because she was brought up to put herself first. Consistently, she tried to be loving, tried to understand, maybe a little too hard, and I don't think she ever got to learn some people don't want to be understood. I see Rose as one of those people who tends to sympathise with loved ones, and feel strong pity for them, but they cannot ever relate or realise the depth of the experience that person is going through.

 So her solution to making people feel better isn't like Steven, which is helping people by talking and facing their problems, it is avoiding them. This is why she left the Diamonds, even after the Corruption, and left the Corrupted Gems in bubbles forever, and left Bismuth in a bubble; she literally tended to have 'lived in a bubble' of a farce life, being extremely flippant and ignorant to the underlying problems she faced within herself and with others. All the wrong actions she had caused originate from this issue.

In conclusion, it is very difficult to decide whether you like RQ as a character or not. She is very much morally gray, and created a major amount of conflict within the show's story, however, her ideas and values were those of moral good and happiness for all life. Rose was different, and complex, and very determined, yet she was still always Pink, just out of reach of humanity, and repetitively trying and changing, which I think a lot of people liked about her, she asked things gems never usually ask, and viewed all gems as equal. On the other hand, she lied, all the time, creating fake rumours of herself, convincing CGs that a Diamond could never love, or listen to them, so therefore they never tried doing that, resulting in full blown war. What ever way you feel about her, her impact was lasting, and there would be no Crystal Gems without her.

  But what she did to Pearl really sucked.

 Like - seriously a douche move, Rose.

[returntothesingularity]

The “RQ=Batman, PD=Bruce Wayne” Theory

This post contains spoilers up-through and including “Jungle Moon.”

Post “A Single Pale Rose” Update: 

I’m like 70% sure Rebecca Sugar has seen this post, and mentions in at the 17:50 mark in the Heart of the Crystal Gems episode of the official podcast. 

(No other changes have been made to the post below, since the “Stranded” special aired.)

The Theory:

At some point during the colonization of Earth, Pink Diamond became enamored with organic life on Earth. While the other diamonds regarded organic life as nothing more than a resource for creating new gems, she created a zoo in an attempt to preserve the species she knew was doomed to extinction by the colonization process. 

She was fascinated by humans' ability to choose their own destiny outside of a rigid caste system, but the humans kept safe in her zoo were deprived of that freedom. Eventually, keeping a relatively small number of humans alive, with no real freedom and away from their home, which she was helping to destroy, wasn’t good enough for her anymore. She wanted to save the Earth, and give gems the same freedom that humans enjoyed. 

Maybe she proposed this plan to the other diamonds, but they rejected it. Maybe she knew they would never agree to it and didn’t even bother asking. In any case, she decided to rebel against them, end the destruction of the Earth, and free the gems severing under her.

However, Pink Diamond realized that those gems were programmed to follow her orders, and would rebel against the other diamonds without question if she ordered them to. This would completely undermine her goal of granting her subjects free will outside of the caste system. So, Pink Diamond created an alter-ego: Rose Quartz. "Just another Quartz soldier, made right here in the dirt." Pink Diamond wouldn't lead the rebellion, Rose Quartz would.  And her subjects would be able to freely choose which side they wanted to fight for.  

Only one other gem would know about this plan: her pearl.

Pearl:  It's a secret, even to Garnet and Amethyst. Rose had a place that she kept hidden from all but me...

Pearl: I was your mother's sole confidant— for the words she could share with no one else, I was there to listen.

Steven:  Why'd she keep so many secrets?

Pearl: She had to, Steven! It's the mark of a great leader, knowing just what to keep hidden from everyone you're trying to protect.

Garnet: Rose kept many things secret, even from us.

Pearl: But not from me, I was the one she told everything!

For a thousand years, Pink Diamond led a double life, operating as herself out of her moon base and as Rose Quartz out of her secret armory and other rebel bases. Although in a position to try and minimize casualties, she also needed to give the rebellion the best possible chance of success while keeping up appearances with those gems who had remained loyal to Pink Diamond and homeworld. 

She would have been forced to make terrible, impossible decisions as she issued battle orders to soldiers on both sides, often sending gems who loyally served under her to certain doom.

Eventually, as the war became more and more desperate and the huge number of soldiers taking orders from the other three diamonds threatened to overwhelm the rebellion.

Revealing her deception was no longer an option. Too many of Rose Quartz’s soldiers, like Bismuth, were now completely opposed to the authority of “upper crusts” like Pink Diamond. If they learned they had been taking orders from a diamond the whole time, and that their beloved leader had also been commanding the forces they fought for a thousand years, they would never follower her again. She would become an enemy of both Homeworld and the rebellion, and the latter would surely fail without her leadership.

There was only one way out. Pink Diamond would fake her own death and hope that the other diamonds would be sufficiently terrified of Rose Quartz to abandon Earth. However she did it, her plan worked, but she failed to anticipate the the other diamonds would emit the corruption signal before departing. 

The Evidence:

Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond were both pink, had big hair, and their gem in their belly button.

Rose has a cave with a giant penny in it that only her most loyal servant knows about. Just like Batman, who has a secret identity.

Pink Diamond = Bruce Wayne 

Rose Quartz = Batman 

Pearl = Alfred

Moon Base = Wayne Manor

Secret Armory = Batcave

It seems like Pearl was programmed to loyally serve Rose Quartz. In the holographic memory in “Rose’s Scabbard,” Rose called her “My Pearl.” Pearl tells Steven, “Everything I ever did, I did for her. Now she’s gone, but I’m still here.“ Indeed, Pearl’s main character arc in the first three seasons is that she is constantly uncertain of her purpose in life now that Rose is gone, and must learn to function without Rose now. She’s a Pearl, programmed to serve, but the gem she’s programmed to serve is gone now.

But why would a Pearl be programmed to follow a common Quartz Solider? 

In addition to the evidence that Pearl served Rose Quartz, there are also several hits that Pearl served Pink Diamond. (See the numbered list below, and my master-post on the question of Pearl’s ownership.) This apparent contradiction is resolved by the realization that Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond are the same person.

(1) In “Adventures in Light Distortion” Pearl says, “When I still served ....Homeworld." Why that pause there? Why is Pearl hesitant to tell Steven who she used to serve?

(2) Later, in “Gemcation,“ Pearl again seems hesitant to tell Steven something about her past. “Steven, I'm sure you have a lot of questions you'd like answers to, like about the Diamonds, for instance. There are things that are impossible for me to explain. But I want to. I-- [covers her own mouth]. Steven I -- [covers her own mouth again].

(3) In “Back to the Barn,” Peridot says our Pearl “looks like a fancy one.” Fancy enough to be reserved for royalty? 

(4) Pink diamonds appear on Pearl’s flight-suit, hologram-Pearl, and on Sardonyx’s shoes.

(5) Pearl strikes an interesting pose in “We Need to Talk.”

(6) In “It Could've Been Great” Pearl is the gem who knows that there was a Diamond base on the moon.

Steven and Rose are often associated with the imagery of royalty.

Bismuth believes Rose Quartz was made on Earth, but we know from flashbacks to Rose's private conversations with Pearl and Greg that she's from homeworld. Why would she lie to her fellow rebels about where she was made?

Rose Quartz’s power set seems to be completely different than any other quartz soldier we’ve seen in the show. Other than having the strength, durability, and ability to summon a weapon that all gems have, the only special power both Amethyst and Jasper have is the ability to perform simple ‘spin attack.‘ Rose Quartz has never been seen performing a spin attack, but she can float, heal gems and organic life, control plants and even instill them with sentience. In “The Trial,” Eyeball states that Rose Quartz was the only know gem ever to have healing powers, and none of the diamonds or zircons present disagree with her on that point. Why are the abilities of this alleged common quartz solider from earth so unique?

When Eyeball says she witnessed the death of Pink Diamond, she is literally talking to a gem that is tricking her with shape-shifting.

Steven’s baby onsey is left partly unsnapped in a very interesting way for most of “Three Gems and a Baby.”

In “Lion 4: Alternate Ending,” we see two large pink structures outside of Rose’s landfill. Most fans think these are either the fingers of Pink Diamond’s hand-ship, or the legs of her...leg ship, which could form a Voltron-esque robot with the other Diamond’s ships. Either way, this is Pink Diamond’s ship. So what’s it doing where Rose Quartz kept all her old things she doesn’t need anymore? 

Furthermore, the fact that Rose’s landfill doesn’t seem to have been on the map of gem locations Pearl gave to Buddy Buddwick, and that nobody thought to use Pink Diamond’s old ship when Steven was trapped on homeworld, would seem to imply that existence/location of Rose's landfill and Pink Diamond’s ship was a secret Rose kept from the rest of the crystal gems.

In “Steven’s Dream” Steven has visions through the eyes of Blue Diamond after she arrives on Earth. None of the other gems on Earth seem to be effected by Blue Diamond’s relative proximity in the same way. Why does Steven have a special connection to the diamonds that allows him, and no one else, to have “diamond dreams?”

"The Trial” revealed that Pink Diamond was allegedly shattered with Rose Quartz’s sword. A sword its designer, Bismuth, said was incapable of shattering gems.

Rose Quartz is nowhere to be seen in Garnet’s brief flashback to fighting Pink Diamond in “Gemcation.” (Has anyone ever seen Rose Quartz and Pink Diamond in the same room at the same time?!)

Also, Pink Diamond is seen wield dual gem destabilizes. How suspiciously nice of her to use a weapon that just poofs gems instead of shattering them.

In “Jungle Moon,” Stevonnie has a strange dream where they are acting out a memory of Pink Diamond from a time before she was put in charge of colonizing Earth. Why is Stevonnie remembering something that happened to Pink Diamond in the alien moon base at all?

There’s some interesting symbolism going on in the dream sequence in “Jungle Moon” as well. In the dream Pink Diamond, shatters her own reflection. Foreshadowing that she faked her own shattering?

It’s currently open to interpretation how literal any individual element of Stevonnie’s dream is, but it seems like Pink Diamond may have been significantly smaller than Yellow. Maybe about the same size as Rose Quartz? This seems to be confirmed by the height of the spot where she punched the glass, and the size of her chair back on Earth’s moon base, compared to Yellow Diamond's on the alien moon base.

(Yellow Diamond’s chair)

(Pink Diamond’s chair)

Pink Diamond’s lips and nose are identical to Rose Quartz’s.

Oh, and look! It’s Pink Diamond with the shadow of her bangs hiding her eyes. Now where have we seen that before?