Character study of Rose Quartz

I could be very wrong about a lot of this. If you think I am, I’d like to hear your interpretation of Pink Diamond. 🙂

I’d like to focus on her reactions to and mentality about love. It’s obvious she loved Pearl. (I lost it at “Don’t ever stop!” and then they almost fused akslajal) But I always wondered what kind of love it was. Because it was different from her love for Greg. Rose was always an authority figure and mentor with the gems. She didn’t have to be that way with Greg. Greg made her want a different life. Maybe it’s because that was something she hadn’t experienced yet or it just didn’t feel right with anyone else.

But Pearl did sweep Rose off her feet. She showed her things she hadn’t seen before. That’s bound to make you feel something. And I always wondered what Rose thought about Pearl’s reaction to her relationship with Greg. It was very blatant, obvious jealousy and Rose acted like it was totally normal. This is probably because as well-meaning as Rose is, she’s not very good at reading people. She was inexperienced and naive in a lot of ways. Plus, it was hard for her to be genuine. Maybe it’s just me but sometimes her reactions to Pearl seem more like “you’re sweet and cute and I’m proud of you. I’m glad you’re here for me” not “I’m in love with you” like it was for Pearl. Sometimes she treated their relationship very casually, especially after meeting Greg, and I think that’s what made Pearl feel the worst. She was farther gone for Pink than vice versa, in my opinion.

It just seemed very easy for her to fall for Greg (and I guess other humans before him) even when Pearl was right there still being supportive and loyal and lovely and all the sudden Mr. Music Man comes along and changes everything. I mean, I get it, Greg is a perfect human being, but you understand what I’m saying, right? Like Pearl has said, Rose was a little selfish but not on purpose. I don’t think she realized she was doing it. She was so used to her life as Pink Diamond and that probably changed her outlook on relationships.

It’s not that it was Pearl’s right to be with her if she didn’t want that, but a little explanation and communication would’ve been nice. She wasn’t aware how much she was hurting Pearl by not saying where she was and what she wanted. She thought everything was fine because we’re on Earth and anything can happen. Why not hang out with this human and have some fun?

Even when she wasn’t a spoiled brat, she was very…innocently entitled – that’s the best way I can describe it. She didn’t know any better. At first, she took her and Greg’s relationship for granted too. She treated it too lightly and that’s when they talked it out and decided what to do. If it weren’t for Greg, she never would have learned how to love like that. Up until that point, maybe she was still kind of thinking like a Diamond, just in her own sweet, innocent way. “These things are mine and they make me happy.” You can tell by how she seemed to view humans during the start of her and Greg’s relationship.

But really, her characterization makes so much sense. It’s amazing how she developed and learned but you can still see that young Pink Diamond inside of her who just wanted her own planet. I’m not sure if she was completely naive or the exact opposite. She didn’t understand how to treat people at first but maybe that’s because she’s so much older and experienced than humans. She thinks that since they haven’t seen what she has, they are simpler and young at heart. She thought she wouldn’t be able to connect with them fully because of that innocence. Until Greg :>

Rose seemed very free-spirited. She just wanted to experience life and love any way she could. And though she wanted Pearl and every other gem “below her” to be their own person and not give her special treatment, I think there was still a small part of her that thought of Pearl as “hers” but not necessarily in a completely romantic way. I can see Rose treating things, even people, in her life as something interesting that amuses her. I have no clue how to say this without making Rose sound terrible. It’s way more subtle than I can describe. Because Rose didn’t belittle people. She loved how complex life was. But at first, it must have been confusing for her when she was no longer Pink. Pearl was also almost dangerously loyal and has only recently started fighting for herself, not just her Diamond or Steven.

I love them all. They’re amazing. They were written perfectly. And they’re flawed in a beautifully human way. I’m not sure if I said this the way I wanted to, but I did find this post that does an excellent job of explaining Rose. I recommend reading that too ^^

So. Lars. | Steven Universe ★

There were new episodes of Steven Universe and they were great so of course my obsession resurfaced. One highlight of the new episodes was seeing Lars again and how much he’s changed since Steven had to leave him on Homeworld. I forgot some things about him and I watched this entire video compilation of every time Lars showed up so you don’t have to! I forgot exactly when he stopped being…terrible, and honestly, it’s kind of worse than I thought. It’s a very slow process, but I believe we’re getting there!

Throughout the first half of the video, Lars acts the same. He goes through stuff that other people would have learned from and subsequently changed their behavior. But Lars has such deep-rooted insecurities and issues with popularity that he pushes everything down, puts on a persona to seem “cool,” and hurts people in the process. When he’s supposed to apologize or recognize he’s being a jerk, his reaction is “Whatever, I don’t care” (when he does care, maybe too much, he just doesn’t say it). I do think he learned lessons throughout the show, he just never implemented any new behavior. This is why I didn’t like Lars. For most of the episodes he’s in, he wasn’t enjoyable to watch and the whole time I would be thinking about how Sadie deserves better.

It takes about 40 minutes of this video for him to actually learn a lesson and change. It took Steven switching brains with him for something to happen. He stopped saying mean things and was nicer everyone. But then he was too busy worrying about the Cool Kids and baking to really be “better” so…boy’s still got issues but that’s fine, I guess. He’s workin’ on it.

The interesting thing about Lars is he’s always been like this but there have also been little moments and hints that show he’s not all bad. Sadie knows him better than anyone because around her, he’s just relaxed and doesn’t pretend to be “cool.” (It would have been nice to maybe see that side of him more often but I digress.) Still, it wasn’t surprising to see him blow up on the Sun Incinerator. He’s had moments of weakness like that before when he hid on the spaceship or when his friendship with Ronaldo was ruined.

It would have been really great to see him progress and become the captain of the Off Colors. I do wish they included that somehow. But I have never enjoyed seeing Lars onscreen more than I did when watching “Lars of the Stars” and “Jungle Moon”! Because…he’s still a brat…but like, in an enjoyable way now? And he takes initiative, which is new and refreshing. He’s definitely more considerate than he used to be when you look at how he interacts with the Off Colors. Ever since becoming a pink zombie and wanting to be someone who deserved it, he’s shown growth. That episode specifically really is one of the most important when it comes to Lars’ development. He was hero.

The little things get to me. Him hugging Steven instead of doing their failed high-five thing or even “Bingo-bongo!” That was a nice touch. I like how some random, embarrassing thing he said one time has turned into his catchphrase. Thinking Sadie having fun was meant to spite him was a low point and I’m hoping we’ve moved on from that BUT ANYWAY. I really really really want him to improve even more.

Being in space and fighting for your life as an alien fugitive with new pink skin and a wormhole in your head on a planet inhabited by rock people is not the easiest circumstance to combat your insecurities in. I doubt he had time to really think “Maybe I shouldn’t care what people say about me. I’m a freaking space pirate now! Let them talk.” SO for now, I’ll give him a pass, but the next time we meet Lars I want things to be a little better because there’s so much potential for him. This could be a great story with wonderful character development or it could flop. He’s already had a lot of development but sometimes you can tell it’s still old Lars. Being a sly thief in space won’t excuse him from anything when he gets home.

My hope is when he gets back, everyone will be so glad he’s OK that he’ll feel comfortable enough to calm down and accept himself. Because the people in Beach City do like him. And now so do I!