The Thing About Rose Is That, Yes, She Hurt People. But If She Had Been Aware The Pain She Was Causing

the thing about rose is that, yes, she hurt people. but if she had been aware the pain she was causing while she was causing it, or had the ability to make things right, she would’ve done everything in her power to help. the problem was that she often acted impulsively, without fully knowing what the consequences of her actions would end up being. she never meant to cause harm… and when she learned that she did, it was often too late.

and i can’t say the same for her abusers. those people hurt others with intention. they dehumanize others and hurt others for the fun of it all while rose saw the good in everyone and thought that all life was precious and worth protecting, as pearl had said. that’s why i’ve never understood the claim that rose was “the worst character.” she wasn’t. all she ever wanted was to make sure the other crystal gems never had to feel the way she did back on homeworld. that was her whole goal. yes, her dishonesty and impulsiveness were flaws, but she was never cruel. and the fact that she would have tried to fix things if she was able to? that says everything about who she really was: she was someone who didn’t want to cause harm, and who deeply cared when she realized she had.

something that always haunts me is the thought of rose trying to heal those corrupted gems, but never being able to. it’s too late, she couldn’t get to fix them before they were full on corrupted. and that isn’t her fault. but it would absolutely feel that way to her.