The story of Rose Quartz is one of redemption
Spoilers for Summer of Steven Universe
The story of Rose Quartz is a redemption arc.
She was born a quartz soldier that (at least for a period of time) took part in the invasion and attempted colonisation of Earth, which she came to feel was wrong.
When she did finally decide to rebel against Pink Diamond to protect the Earth, she first went too far and shattered Pink Diamond. An act which was unthinkable and which she immediately and forever regretted.
In the aftermath, she successfully led the rebellion and she tried to be better than she had been (stopping Bismuth from using the Breaking Point), but war is war and no side is ever completely innocent or righteous.
When it became clear that the rebellion was going to succeed, the diamonds chose to sacrifice the remaining Homeworld gems on Earth by releasing a weapon that corrupted all gems on Earth. Rose was able to protect Garnet and Pearl (Amethyst was still in the ground) with her shield, but she was unable to protect many of her own soldiers from corruption.
The war was over but the Earth was still scarred from the invasion and there were corrupted gems that humans needed to be protected from.
Rose had won the rebellion, but at a terrible cost. Even though she had tried to be good, she had done terrible things in the name of her cause and she dedicated the rest of her life to making up for them.
She and the remaining Crystal Gems worked to protect humans and the Earth by collecting the corrupted gems and bubbling them. But nothing she ever did could make up for the terrible things that she had done.
Then she met Greg Universe and he was so good and she loved him, but no matter how she tried, she could never be like him, she could never love like he did. And eventually, she realised that she would never be able to love like he could - at least not in her current form. She was a rock. She wasn’t human.
So she chose to give up her form and give up her life to create something entirely new. A child who would be the best of her and the best of Greg. Something wonderful. A human being. And a Crystal Gem.
The story of Rose Quartz isn’t the story of a Machiavellian rebel dictator who lied and manipulated everyone in order to win. The story of Rose Quartz is the story of someone who wanted more than anything to be good and to do the right thing, but who made terrible mistakes and got it wrong a lot of the time (maybe even most of the time).
Until she finally got it right: By becoming Steven Universe.
Because no matter what Rose Quartz was, Steven Universe is good. He’s as good as it’s possible for any kind of being to be.
I always thought I might be bad, but now I know that it’s true, because you are so good and I’m nothing like you.
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