Rose Quartz

Rose Quartz was a Gem and the founder and former leader of the Crystal Gems.

Enthralled by the beauty of Earth, Rose led her friends and allies in a rebellion against the Gem Homeworld over 5,000 years prior to the events of the series, successfully preventing the Gem invasion of the planet. Rose eventually got involved in a romantic relationship with Greg Universe before giving up her physical form in order to give birth to their son, Steven, who inherited her gemstone.

## Appearance

Rose Quartz had very long, shiny, curly, pink hair styled in thick ringlets. She had pink lips and a heavier build than the other Crystal Gems, and light pinkish-peach skin. In "Story for Steven", she was shown to be similar in height to Garnet, and stood at eight feet. In "Lion 3: Straight to Video", she was shown to have had black eyes. Rose wore a strapless, floor-length, lilac-trimmed, tiered white dress that had multiple layers that resembled the petals of a rose, and had a star-shaped cutout in the stomach area, specifically where her gem was located.

## Personality

A natural leader, Rose Quartz is indicated to have had a caring and loving personality. In "An Indirect Kiss", she was said to be very empathetic when her loved ones were hurt. She was also said to have seen beauty in everything "no matter how gross," showing that she treated everyone as equals. In "The Return", it is revealed by Jasper that Rose Quartz was a masterful tactician, a skill that earned her respect. Despite her role, in "Story for Steven", she was shown to have (at least later) a personality greatly resembling her son's personality.

Despite the details about her relationship with Greg that had been given, Rose did not fully comprehend the depths of human love in the early stages of her and Greg's relationship. This led Greg and Pearl to initially believe that there wasn't much between Greg and Rose, and that their love was only a phase. When Greg first saw Rainbow Quartz, Pearl had unintentionally given him the idea to fuse with Rose, where he'd hoped that the two would understand each other. When Greg's fusion attempt failed, Rose started laughing at the thought in a way that he considered to be distant, and, when asked to talk like a real person, Rose confessed that her sense of love was a facade, and she had no idea how human love worked. Greg then had the idea of just having a talk, and Rose became more serious for the brief moments where she and Greg came to truths with their relationship. After their talk, it can be assumed that she'd learned from Greg how to be genuinely romantic like a human.

## Abilities

Rose possessed standard Gem abilities, including shape-shifting, weapon-summoning, fusion, bubbling, regeneration, and superhuman strength/durability. Though she has yet to be seen in battle, it has been implied by Jasper that she was quite powerful, and her skills on the battlefield proved to be a winning factor for the Crystal Gems during their first war for Earth.

### Unique Abilities

The original bearer of the rose quartz gemstone, which is currently in possession of her son, Rose Quartz would have had all of the abilities that Steven has- and perhaps even more.

* **Healing:** Rose manifests her ability to heal through her tears. Her tears could heal broken gems, and heal other creatures of general injuries.
* **Phytokinesis:** Rose had the ability to grow sentient flora that acted as her guardians.

### Weaponry

* **Rose's Sword:** Rose possessed a sword that she had used during battle, and is currently housed by Lion.

## Legacy

Statues and wall paintings of Rose can occasionally be found in Gem ruins, indicating she was looked upon favorably by Gems at one point.

The Crystal Gems often reminisce about Rose, and express their gratitude for her actions. Greg often laments over her departure with seemingly similar reasons.

While pregnant with Steven, knowing that she could never meet him personally, Rose made a video with the intent of posthumously expressing her love for him.

At one point about 5,000 years prior to the events of the series, Rose led the Crystal Gems in a rebellious war against the Homeworld Gems on the Gem Battlefield and won. It is stated by Jasper that, although they fought on different sides, she respected the military tactics that Rose used during the war.

As seen in "Story for Steven", the Crystal Gems (excluding Rose) did not wear stars on their outfits at the time that Rose met Greg. This implies that the symbol may have been adopted as a sign of respect for Rose after she gave up her physical form.

## Episode Appearances

### Season 1A

* "Laser Light Cannon" (pictured/mentioned)
* "Together Breakfast" (pictured)
* "Frybo" (pictured)
* "Bubble Buddies" (mentioned)
* "Serious Steven" (pictured)
* "Giant Woman" (pictured)
* "So Many Birthdays" (pictured)
* "Lars and the Cool Kids" (mentioned)
* "Steven the Sword Fighter" (pictured)
* "Rose's Room" (mentioned)
* "Coach Steven" (pictured)
* "Steven and the Stevens " (pictured)
* "Monster Buddies" (mentioned)
* "An Indirect Kiss" (mentioned)
* "Secret Team" (mentioned)
* "Fusion Cuisine" (mentioned)
* "Garnet's Universe" (pictured)
* "Watermelon Steven" (mentioned)
* "Lion 3: Straight to Video" (video message, minor appearance)
* "The Test" (mentioned)
* "On the Run" (mentioned)
* "Maximum Capacity" (indirectly mentioned, mimicked through shape-shifting)
* "Rose's Scabbard" (mentioned/pictured)
* "The Return" (mentioned)
* "Jail Break" (mentioned)
* "Open Book" (mentioned)
* "Say Uncle" (cosplayed/mentioned)
* "Story for Steven" (Flashback/major appearance)

### Season 1B

* "Joy Ride" (mentioned)
* "Sworn to the Sword" (mentioned/pictured)
* "We Need to Talk "(Flashback/major appearance)
* "Chille Tid" (dream)

## Relationships

### Steven

Steven Universe is Rose Quartz's son. Rose gave up her physical form in order to bring Steven into the world. While she never got to meet her son, Rose cherished Steven, showing nothing but pride and happiness for the kind of person he would become, and trusted him to carry on her mission after her passing. She also assured Steven in a video she left behind that, when he loves being himself, it is really Rose loving Steven and loving being a part of him.

### Crystal Gems

Rose Quartz was previously the leader of the Crystal Gems before she brought Steven into existence. The group seems to hold her in high esteem. In the episode "Laser Light Cannon" for instance, Amethyst is quoted as saying, "If Rose were here, this would be so easy!" The members of the group seem to mourn her disappearance from the world after she gave up her physical form to create Steven, though they do not hold Steven accountable for the loss.

In an in-character interview with Newsarama, Pearl seems to confirm that Rose Quartz was a leader of the Crystal Gems, noting, "Brilliant leaders do brilliant things, that’s why you look to them for answers, answers no one else could have, that’s why you trust them, even when you can’t understand why they chose… Greg".

Pearl was also Rose's second-in-command and confidant in the battle against the Homeworld Gems on the ancient battlefield. Pearl claims that she was closer to Rose than the other Gems were, and as such, Rose trusted her with information she did not tell Garnet and Amethyst. Pearl seems to value this connection highly, as she became very angry upon realizing that there was information that Rose kept even from her in "Rose's Scabbard". In "Sworn to the Sword", it is stated by Pearl that Rose made her "*feel like [she] was everything,*" and it is explained by Garnet that, during the war, Pearl was extremely protective of Rose to the point of ignoring all logic and reason, and was willing to risk her own life to ensure Rose's safety.

### Greg

Greg Universe was the romantic partner of Rose Quartz until she brought Steven into the world. Greg and Rose seemed to have had a very good relationship, but most of what we know is from Greg's point of view. The two of them met at one of his one-man band concerts in Beach City, where she was the lone attendee. He said that they became inseparable, yet he had no idea "what a magical lady like her ever saw in a plain old dope like [him]." Rose used Greg's catchphrase as the activation words for her Light Cannon, reflecting her feelings towards him.

## Trivia

* As seen in "Story for Steven," as well as in "We Need to Talk," Rose was barefoot.
* Rose's symbol appears repeatedly throughout the series, such as when the door appears to her room, in the middle of Steven's shield, in the handle of her sword, and the Crystal Gem's war flag back when they fought for the Earth.
* In "Laser Light Cannon", the light that came out of the cannon morphed to vaguely resemble her.
	+ This is seen again when the Laser Light Cannon, along with the Quartizine Trio, fired at the Gem Warship in "The Return" but failed.
* Rose's gemstone was located where a human navel is - as such, Steven's gemstone is located on his stomach where his navel should be.
	+ This also makes sense because a mother and an unborn baby are connected by the umbilical cord, part of the navel.
* In "Rose's Room", when Steven was falling through space in Rose's room, a Tiny Floating Whale spoke to him in Rose's voice, saying, "What *do* you want, Steven?"
* Greg and Rose's backstory was first seriously looked upon in "Story for Steven".
* The Gem depicted on the Crystal Temple strongly resembles Rose.
* In "Monster Buddies", Garnet told Steven that Rose tried to use her powers to save some monsters, although she was never able to heal them.
* As revealed in "An Indirect Kiss", Rose had a healing spring filled with her magical healing tears.
* Ian Jones-Quartey confirmed that Rose's skin color is based off of a peachy light pink color, like some kinds of rose quartz stones.
	+ This also results in Rose appearing more human than any of the other full-blooded Gems.
* All of The Crystal Gems, including Pearl, were unaware of any possible connection Rose had with Lion until the events of "Rose's Scabbard".
	+ Garnet admits that it was fairly obvious in hindsight.
* It is stated by Ian Jones-Quartey that Rose shape-shifted a womb for Steven to be born from.
* Greg gave a raw estimate on how tall Rose was, that being eight feet.
* During flashbacks in Story for Steven as well as We Need to Talk Rose's hair is shown to be ruffled in some places. In Lion 3: Straight to Video, however, her hair is in perfect curls. This is probably an indication of her previous lack of experience with humans and her growth after learning to respect them.

## Gemology

Gemstone Information

* Rose Quartz is a gemstone has an association with healing, love, peace, compassion, empathy, beauty and heart, which perfectly describes Rose's personality.
* Rose Quartz is a rosy pink variety of quartz.
* Its color is usually soft, ranging from very light pink to medium pink in intensity.
* It is often called "Love Stone".
* Rose Quartz is used to balance emotions and bring peace and calm.
* Rose Quartz's chemical formula is SiO2::Ti+3, where the titanium impurities make them have a pinkish-red coloration.

## References

1. ↑ http://ianjq.tumblr.com/post/98525160924/if-the-gems-arent-supposed-to-have-human-skin-tones
2. ↑ http://ianjq.tumblr.com/post/113794156834