Rose Quartz

Rose Quartz was 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 around 5,500 years before the events of the series, successfully driving the invading Homeworld Gems off the planet and saving the life forms inhabiting it. Rose eventually developed a romantic relationship with a human, Greg Universe, before giving up her physical form to give birth to their son, Steven, who inherited her gemstone.

Appearance
Rose Quartz had very long and curly pink hair styled in thick, tube-like ringlets. She also had defined lips with a pale pink color, bright-peach skin, and a taller and heavier build than the other Crystal Gems, due to being a quartz. In "Story for Steven", she was shown to be similar in height to Garnet and stood at eight feet, according to Greg. In "Lion 3: Straight to Video", she was shown to have had black eyes. Rose wore a strapless, floor-length, lilac and snow trimmed, tiered white dress (in some appearances white and pink) that had multiple layers which resembled the petals of a rose and had a star-shaped cutout in the navel area showing her gem. She was also barefoot.

Personality
A natural leader, Rose Quartz is indicated to have had a caring and loving personality. According to Bismuth, Rose was an atypical kind of Gem; rather than living in accordance to her Gem caste's values, Rose chose to be different and encouraged other Gems to be, too. Her doctrine was that Gems can take control of their own identities and that her race's limited display of individuality is a conviction forced upon them. In the same manner, Rose had shown displeasure towards the Gems' traditions and natures; in "Greg the Babysitter", she got somber when reflecting on Gems' static existences, and in "Story for Steven" she admitted that she never missed her home. This discontent sparked her interest in humans, who are always changing and redefining themselves.

In "An Indirect Kiss", she is described as feeling great sorrow when her loved ones were hurt. Her capacity for empathy led her to establish the Rebellion and the Crystal Gems, and extended even to her enemies; as documented in "Bismuth", Rose values her enemies' lives just as much as her allies'. She is also said to see beauty in everything "no matter how gross," showing that she treats everyone as equals. In "The Return", it is revealed by Jasper that Rose Quartz was a masterful tactician, a crucial skill that earned her renown. Despite her role, in "Story for Steven", she was seen to have (at least to the knowledge of the Crystal Gems and Greg) a personality greatly resembling that of her son. Rose showed some ambivalence toward her role in the war; when Greg says he knew little about her, she described this as "a good thing." She is described by Pearl and Greg as someone who "always did what she wanted."

Rose did not fully comprehend the depths of human love in the early stages of her relationship with Greg, seeing that she was very confused when Greg tried to explain the concept of genuine affection. This led Pearl to believe initially that there was not much between Greg and Rose, confronting him with the idea that their "love" was only a phase, and that Greg's novelty would soon wear off. Seeing Rainbow Quartz gave Greg the idea to fuse with Rose, which he had hoped would help them understand each other. When Greg's fusion attempt failed, Rose started laughing at the thought in a way that he considered to be emotionally distant. When asked to talk like a real person, Rose was quick to admit that her sense of love was a facade, and she had no idea how human love worked. Greg and Rose began to talk, deepening their relationship. After their talk, it can be assumed that she had learned from Greg how to be more 'human', in a sense.

As revealed in "Greg the Babysitter" Rose had not just a misunderstanding of human love, but a misunderstanding of humans in general, going so far to think babies and adults were separate species altogether. Upon learning this, she became fascinated with the fact that humans grow, change, and chose what they become, where Gems are pre-destined to be whom they are. It could also be seen that she treats babies and adults the same motherly way, ironic given that she originally believed them to be separate species.

There is another unexplored side of Rose's personality - the legends surrounding her paint her as a ruthlessly efficient warrior and leader of the Crystal Gems who not only commanded her fellow Gems in the rebellion, but also participated in the fighting personally. Both her allies and enemies remember her as the one who shattered Pink Diamond. This side of her personality seems at odds with the all-loving, motherly side of her, reflecting perhaps how the beauty of Earth and its lifeforms greatly affected the stern Gem warrior. It is worth noting that it is her compassion that leads her to rebel to protect others, so this behavior is not entirely out of the realm of possibility. In "The Answer", Rose is shown fighting alongside Pearl. She cracks a cocky smile before destroying a Ruby fusion. This would suggest an aggressive side to Rose's personality, which makes sense in light of her Gem type, a quartz. As implied in "Bismuth" however, Rose's nature as a warrior during the war was tempered by a strong sense of righteousness, as she refuses to go to the extent of needlessly killing Gems to win the war against the Gem Homeworld, proving her love for life was stronger than her warrior instincts.

"Bismuth" highlights both her compassionate nature and her capacity for deception in the form of Bismuth. Rose poofed and bubbled Bismuth and did not tell Pearl and Garnet the truth about what happened to her but did it due to Bismuth's development of the Breaking Point and her intentions to use the weapon mercilessly against their enemies during the war. Further examples of her secretive side are shown in "Rose's Scabbard," when Pearl learns Rose did not confide everything to her. Pearl knew nothing of Lion, nor the fact that Rose kept meaningful things in its mane, including Bismuth's bubbled gem. Though speculation in "The Trial" and other supporting evidence suggests that Pink Diamond was shattered by some one else, Rose herself was never known to deny being the one responsible.

Abilities
Rose possessed standard Gem abilities, including shapeshifting, weapon-summoning, fusion, bubbling, regeneration, and superhuman strength/durability. As a Quartz Gem, she was created to be a soldier, albeit one with abilities that focused on defense. Noticeably, she was able to effortlessly defeat a fusion of three Rubies in an instant. She was proficient in both combat as well as military command and strategy, being able to lead the Crystal Gems from the front-lines in a successful rebellion against their Homeworld.

Fusions

 * When fused with Pearl, they form Rainbow Quartz.
 * When fused with Amethyst (via Steven), they form Smoky Quartz.

Natural Abilities

 * Enhanced Strength: Being a Quartz, Rose had strength fit for a soldier. In "Greg the Babysitter", she destroyed the control panel to a Ferris wheel with a single punch. She was then able to stop the malfunctioning Ferris wheel, and ripped off one of the seats with her bare hands.
 * Enhanced Reflexes/Speed: "The Answer" and "Greg the Babysitter" showed that, despite her size, Rose was extremely fast and agile. In the former she destroyed a Ruby fusion quickly and precisely, and in the latter she ripped off a seat of the Ferris wheel leaped and caught a falling Greg and baby Sour Cream easily.

Unique Abilities
The original bearer of the rose quartz gemstone, which is currently in possession of her son/successor, Rose Quartz would have been able to use all the abilities Steven has - and perhaps even more.
 * Healing: Rose manifested her ability to heal through her tears. Her tears could heal broken Gems/gemstones, and heal other creatures of general injuries. In "Bubbled", Eyeball mentions that she heard rumors about how during the Rebellion, Rose used her healing power to keep her Crystal Gem soldiers in contention with Homeworld's superior forces.
 * Resurrection: In Lars' Head, it is implied that Rose could also resurrect organic beings, giving them special powers in the process, the most notable example being Lion.
 * Phytokinesis: Rose had the ability to grow sentient flora that act as her guardians.
 * Shield Proficiency: Rose had the ability to summon her shield to protect loved ones.
 * Electrical Interference: In "We Need to Talk", Rose appeared to be able to control Greg's radio based upon her emotion. For instance, when she was shocked, the music stopped. However, like her son, it is unknown if she possessed it or if this was for dramatic effect.
 * Speed of Descent Regulation: In "Steven Floats", it is revealed that Rose was able to alter her gravity, allowing her to control the speed of her ascent and descent. She was briefly seen using this power in "Story for Steven". She also used it several times in "Greg the Babysitter".

Weaponry

 * Rose's Sword: Rose possessed a great sword that she has used during battle and is currently wielded by Connie Maheswaran as of "Nightmare Hospital". As stated in "Bismuth", the sword was designed by Bismuth for a fair fight, to cut through a Gem's physical form, destroying the body but never the gem. Bismuth calls it her "finest piece of work." It also has its own scabbard.
 * Laser Light Cannon: Rose once owned a cannon that shot a very powerful beam that could destroy an object such as the Red Eye that the Crystal Gems could not destroy on their own. The weapon activates by reciting Greg Universe's favorite catchphrase, "If every porkchop were perfect, we wouldn't have hotdogs." It is currently in the possession of the Gems after retrieving it from Greg's storage unit in the episode "Laser Light Cannon".
 * Rose's Secret Armory: Rose had an armory full of weapons and armor that she kept secret from the rest of the Crystal Gems, except Pearl. For unknown reasons, Lion knows about the armory and brings Steven and Connie there in "Lion 2: The Movie".