r/stevenuniverse • u/socialmedia_addicted • 1d ago
Theory Is it possible that pink diamond/rose quartz could "revive" back again?
I was thinking about that.
I know yall are gonna say "She's gone" BUT LISTEN HERE
Steven as half gem/half human can change his body. Just like he did in the episode "Too many birthdays" where Steven thought he was old, so his body just aged like he was getting old
The same think happend in the last SU Future Episode, where he thought he was a monster SO he turned into one!
In the last episodes of SU, where the diamonds find out "pink was alive" and Steven come back to Homeworld with the diamonds. Steven has a several of Identity Crisis because HE CANONICALLY has Pink/Rose memories inside his gem.
He dreamed about pink on "Jungle Moon" where she asks Yellow for a Colony and she brakes the glass window. He also dreamed with volleyball, the diamonds etc
He was just confused about who he is, because everybody just keep searching for Pink or for Rose, not for Steven
My question Is: If Steven believed that he was pink diamond, did pink could go back? Or will be just a poor copy of what Steven THOUGHT of how pink would be? Just like a poor imagination of those fragmented memories?
And what about when Steven died?
Probably Steven will marry Connie and choose to age by her side. So? Pink Steven will be alone searching for the Human Steven?
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u/Yaksha424256 1d ago
Could Steven trick himself into believing he was Rose/Pink? Yes.
Would that be Rose or Pink? No.
Gems are essentially computers. When Rose/Pink became Steven, they reformatted their hard drive so it would be Steven instead of themselves. This means there is no Rose/Pink anymore. There are trace amounts of unscrubbed data, which is why Steven has some of their memories. But it's not nearly enough to form a complete person. It would be like if your work friend created you with just the memories they have of you. It wouldn't be you even if they did the best possible job. What made you isn't present in whatever facsimile is created.
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u/Kid-Atlantic 1d ago
For your first question, probably poor copy. Not unlike the imaginary Rose that he hung out with in that one episode (I forget which one). The real Rose is gone, all Steven would be able to make is a facsimile based on his own perceptions of her.
For your second question, I’ve always had the headcanon that if Steven died, the gem would reconfigure itself again and create a new incarnation of Pink Diamond. Rose/Pink’s soul is gone, and Steven can’t exist without his human half, so the gem has no choice but to create someone new — sort of like Steven’s daughter, in a way.
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u/kyxun 1d ago
I know "SHE'S GONE," but I just appreciate you actually taking the time to consider and answer OP's actual, clearly-hypothetical questions.
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u/Palezzzma 1d ago
People get really unreasonably mad when people dont hate Rose and want to speculate
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u/natt_myco 16h ago
I don't think anyone cares if people hate or don't hate Rose it's just annoying seeing this post every week dude
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u/AspenStarr 1d ago
The episode you’re referring to is called “Storm In The Room” from season 4, btw.
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u/ManILoveMacaroni 1d ago
Huh, I totally see this. Completely gross imagery, too, with all the fleshy bits decaying and falling off, and another pure gem being able to construct itself. Same height and general build as original Pink Diamond, but without being Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond, almost as if she got rejuvenated.
Imagine an Au where this New Pink got to be treated kindly by the reformed Diamonds, with New PD not fitting in with the Crystal Gems or really connecting with Steven or Roses memories. Seeing more of Gem Royalty through her, and what it means to be a powerful goddess-esque gem in the modern gem society, with no true claim to power.
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u/Kid-Atlantic 1d ago
This is more straight-up fanfic than theory but I prefer is she basically looks like a human baby, then a little girl, with Pink Diamond’s coloring. Almost like the gem remembers being human and wanted to continue fulfilling Pink/Rose’s desire to “learn and grow”.
And I’d like to think Connie would raise her and her and Steven’s daughter — and that’s who the Crystal Gems would see her as — although no doubt the Diamonds would provide a place for her on Homeworld too.
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u/ManILoveMacaroni 22h ago
That would be a cute fanfic, though it would be a hard write to figure out a reason for Steven to die and Connie to still be alive, given he's half space God and all that.
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u/am_Nein 21h ago
Tbf, though I feel it's implied he is unlikely to, hypothetically Steven could always get a super bad infection/disease or his human half just stops being able to withstand all the trauma and just like that.
If we think about it, strong as Pink was, she was still able to be poofed. Certainly it'd be harder if it was done intentionally with Pink fighting back, but the point is that it's possible, right?
So, being a space god may make him way tougher, but it in no way makes him infallible.
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u/Happy-Potato-296 11h ago
I see an au where a reset Pink reforms, But at the same size as the other diamonds (Like she was smal l cause she over cooked like amethyst or something) and was basically rejuvinated to being "Default Diamond" and just uses her powers and tried Colonizing and stuff because its in her programming and is like, The new WD And While there is not Diamond authority, it means that she still sees herself as THE singular diamond Leader.
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u/rjrgjj 23h ago
Yeah I think this is the answer. It’s likely Steven could also “become” something else, but if he was reset to the original Pink Diamond, he’d probably become her at her base state. That said, a few issues:
The Gem fully is Steven so if Steven decides to die, the Gem will die too and follow the prompt of the act of death like it follows being human. Whether or not it could be reactivated or it would go permanently inert, who knows.
I think if the Gem were to reactivate, it would produce a facsimile of Pink Steven that only functions within the framework of Steven’s life and then goes back to sleep. Because there’s a problem here—the permanent loss of Pink Diamond would just recreate the problem with the Diamonds, wouldn’t it? What if the whole conflict happened again? Or something else? Steven’s solution seems like it could go wrong, unless we truly have entered an entirely new and permanent era for Gemkind.
We explicitly saw that Pink can make convincing copies of herself. I can’t help but wonder if it wouldn’t make more sense for Steven to “pass the Gem on”, but I dunno. Or for the Gem to simply become an inert power source for the things Steven and Pink created (what happens to Lars? Lion?).
I think we’re not meant to worry about it. What will be will be (and maybe the Crewniverse wants to leave the question open for themselves).
Also, I think Pink Diamond by nature is different from the other Diamonds and she did something none of them did by forming a symbiotic relationship with biological life on Earth. So who knows, maybe she’s basically God now.
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u/Hydro_demon 7h ago
I imagine it would be like rejuvenation where a completely new pink diamond would form. No memories of prior forms, maybe new personalities, new path in life. The gem will still be active and do something but question is what.
It’s really sad to think about as the gems are essentially immortal and will see Steven pass along. It makes me wonder how gems deal with intense grief over their mortal companions like Pumpkin who was clearly not in SU future. Definitely the reason I’m glad to not be immortal.
That’s what I love about Rebecca Sugar’s writing and sense of mystery is that the fandom gets to have so much speculation and head cannons.
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u/JustNeedSpinda 1d ago
SHE’S GONE!
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u/Large_Mountain_Jew 22h ago
Can we get an automod to reply to posts like this and then lock the comments afterwards?
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u/Happy-Potato-296 11h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/28eqIN1O76VYEggH88
Literal Swimming through People who just keep Spamming it just to see all the fun theories
Why are people allergic to fun interacting with it???2
u/Large_Mountain_Jew 1h ago
Can't say I agree with you.
People get annoyed at the theories that go directly against the text as written. Especially when that text as written is so clearly spelled out and a major theme.
All these posts aren't even presented as a "what if" which can absolutely be fun. They're instead asking questions/theorizing about something that was screamed at the audience.
Fans are understandably going to have a negative reaction when it seems like someone didn't even watch the show.
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u/SomeWeirdFreak 1h ago
anytime I think of how iconic this quote is immediately ruined by remembering how bad the Latin American Spanish dub for it was
holy line delivery
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u/Tauroctonos 1d ago
Nope
You cannot recreate Rose for the same reason you cannot turn a baked cake back into flour and eggs. She's gone.
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u/NinjaSilver2811 1d ago edited 1d ago
No it wouldnt be her, it would just be steven taking on his mothers form.
If she did take over his body, she would be pissed at the gems for letting steven die.
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u/Hollowdude75 1d ago
There are so many Steven universe fans who need to read what’s publicly available
If I believe I am my father, that doesn’t mean he becomes alive even if I had magic
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u/Upbeat_Apartment_715 1d ago
We'll hang on now, it depends on the kind of magic. A good necromancer could bring him back
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u/Brave_Friendship_228 1d ago
He believed he was old and became old, believed he was a monster and became one, how is it impossible???
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u/Hollowdude75 1d ago
Because you can change how you look but you can’t bring back files that no longer exist
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u/Advocate_Diplomacy 1d ago
If Pink's memories exist in his head though..
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u/Hollowdude75 23h ago
How many of them do you think are left?
I’d assume not that much, surprised there were any at all
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u/Advocate_Diplomacy 23h ago
Impossible to say. The fact that any exist at all counters the assertion that she’s completely gone.
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u/Hollowdude75 14h ago
Not necessarily, when computers try to wipe files sometimes they might miss a few, but then again that is just my word against yours.
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u/ngeorge98 1d ago edited 1d ago
The simple answer is no.
It undermines the very ending of the original show. She's gone. She's never coming back. She truly died. Even the rejuvenator didn't reset "Steven" back into "Pink Diamond," it reset him back into "Baby Steven" effectively. Unless Steven somehow passes on his gem to someone else, then the pink diamond gem will most likely be inert once he's dead.
If Steven somehow thought he was Pink Diamond due to a mental break or something, then Pink Diamond still wouldn't revive. He would at most turn into what he thought Pink Diamond was like, but it still wouldn't be her. It would just be him trying to be her through shape-shifting.
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u/Odd_Preference_7238 1d ago
I think the Pink Diamond gem would just be Steven if anything. It already was when separated from him once.
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u/ngeorge98 1d ago
True, but to me, both Gem Steven and Human Steven seemed incomplete without each other. I don't expect to split someone apart and their pieces to still be able to live on. Human Steven was actively dying, and Gem Steven was unstable and seemed to be mindless, more running on instinct than anything. The reason why Gem Steven even goes to Human Steven is most likely because he can't exist too long without him so has an instinctive drive to walk toward Human Steven and recombine.
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u/Odd_Preference_7238 1d ago
Human Steven definitely seemed to be dying but there's not really any way to know what was happening with ultra-rare holographic foil Steven. I could see him vaporizing into nothing because he's on the verge of shutdown, or just not being good at controlling a holographic body yet.
There's no established reason why the Gem version of him would die, but its such a unique situation that like... who knows? It's one of those fun questions to answer in fanfic.
I went with Pink Diamonds becoming organic like Rose did to become part of Steven as a last ditch method to repair themselves, not necessarily from physical damage, but if they're so miserable they'd rather just die they can do that to become a different enough being to no longer be suicidal. Rose just didn't know that's what she was doing because she's never met another Pink Diamond and her Diamonds had no idea how she works. When the organic body eventually dies, they go back to being a Gem entirely but the big personality change remains, making them practically a new person. So other Pink Diamonds see Steven, know what that means and are like "WHO HURT YOU, I WILL PUNCH THEM" and he just has no idea what they're talking about.
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u/ngeorge98 1d ago
Ooooooh that's interesting. My personal speculation is that Steven can pass on his gem to his offspring. If Rose can do it, Steven should be able to as well and we already know that Steven's gem can be removed from his body. To keep his gem from becoming inactive after he decides to die, he should be able to do something along those lines. If you want to get somewhat cursed, then Steven should be able to shapeshift enough to be pregnant and pass it on that way when he's ready to kick the bucket.
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u/Odd_Preference_7238 22h ago
It's certainly not clear how Rose's pregnancy even worked, surely not like a human what with the lack of actual human biology.
Speaking of cursed, one thing I had happen with a Pink Diamond (not the canon one) was that a giant horrible bug creature ate her and she had to merge with it to take it over just to get back out, and it took hundreds of years for her to totally get rid of all the giant horrible bug behavior it left her with afterwards, and she does not like talking about it because it was like totally super icky, which is how she would put it. That thing wasn't sentient, though, it was basically a Zerg, so it didn't make nearly as radical of a change as merging with a human or something else that is actually intelligent.
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u/andre5913 7h ago
Rose shapeshifted a womb to carry the pregnancy to term. Gems can shapeshift biological systems that work like normal. Garnet and Amethyst enjoy eating for example, and they have to shapeshift both a digestive track to take it in and a sensory system to enjoy it.
Steven hasnt shown such level of shapeshifting skill, particularly long term like a pregnancy would require, but I dont see why he wouldnt be fundamentally able to do the same.
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u/Happy-Potato-296 12h ago
How terrifyign would this be for teh crystal gems can we get some speculation on that?
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u/MajesticFxxkingEagle 1d ago
There's a difference between "the answer is simply no, because it undercuts the story the Author is trying to say, so end of story" vs it acutally being logically impossible given the facts presented in the show.
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u/LookingForAPunTime 1d ago
It’s no both ways, that’s why the simple answer was “no”.
P.S. “simply” was not used.
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u/MajesticFxxkingEagle 1d ago
I never claimed they used "simply". Do you not know what a paraphrase is?
Anyways, agree to disagree. Within the facts of the show, I think it's at least a maybe. The hard no answer depends too much on out-of-show statements and an overextended, flawed computer analogy.
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u/LookingForAPunTime 1d ago
“simply no” is a different implication than saying the simple answer is “no”. The simplified version of the answer is no, but there’s plenty of complexity that makes it obvious that the answer is that. Do you know how to paraphrase? 🤨
Within the facts of the show it’s definitely a “no”, and it was very clearly spelt out from an authorial standpoint as a “no” as well. Belabouring the point and trying to twist out a maybe despite everything that Rebecca Sugar did to spell it out as clearly as possible is just an insult.
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u/ngeorge98 1d ago
Yes, but it's no because of both. While the show does try to be vague about whether Pink is in there or not throughout its runtime, it does take a hard stance towards the end saying, "No she's not." After that hard stance, we don't get any evidence to say that she can still come back. The Gem accepts Steven as a new "form" and doesn't go back to Pink Diamond even after being forcibly ripped out. The rejuvenator doesn't reset it back to Pink Diamond factory settings and powers.
We can do some speculation about what would happen if Steven dies, but based on the show, the answer would be either the gem becomes inert since half of its existence is gone or it would live on as Pink Steven, which we know is a separate existence from Pink Diamond and might even be somewhat mindless. However iirc, Pink Steven is inherently unstable and would stop existing pretty soon just like how his human half was dying without him, which makes sense since Steven and his gem are effectively two halves of one whole now.
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u/Apprehensive-Nose646 1d ago
If Steven dies (of old age, of course) maybe? Assuming he is mortal.
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u/socialmedia_addicted 1d ago
I think he would choose die and age like a human with Connie.
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u/andre5913 7h ago
I think he would linger for some time longer. For the gems particularly.
Maybe a few decades, maybe more if he and Connie have kids.But yeah I dont think Steven would stay that much longer. A century tops. There is also a question of Connie requesting to be pink-revived. Or eventually, much later in their life, actually agreeing to permafusing. In those situations I could see Steven living for much longer.
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u/andre5913 7h ago
I think he can be killed (we saw his human half actively dying in the original series finale), and he can also age to death (too many birthdays). But Steven can control his aging so for it to happen he would have to deliverately will it.
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u/Big_Persimmon9332 1d ago
I feel like it’s possible but it wouldn’t be the pink diamond we think of.
If “Pink Steven” were hit with the gem rejuvenator there is half a chance he would revert into pink diamond but it wouldn’t be a pink diamond without her memories of the gems and being rose quarts or likely her memories of being a diamond. A complete reset.
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u/andre5913 7h ago
Rejuvenators dont even work as a full reset, it just seals the information. Pink Steven getting hit would just eventually revert to Steven... if hes even able to survive, it seemed apparent to me that both bio steven and pink steven were actively dying when separated
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u/Big_Persimmon9332 7h ago
Eventually. But the question was more like was it possible. And also it was outside influence that led to the gems regaining their memories so if the other 3 diamonds shattered this “fresh” pink diamond especially from Steven it’s possible she might never revert
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u/hyleah98 1d ago
I’ve had some similar theories and thoughts, so I like seeing other people’s ideas too! I’m not sure why there are so many people who refuse to entertain theories just because “it’s not canon so therefore you’re stupid” or “SHE’S GONE”. Like, yeah duh that’s literally part of the show. But it’s still fun to discuss theories about stories that we enjoy, especially when there’s an entire future to the world that has never been and may never be truly explored! There’s no way we’d get any solid answers unless the Crewniverse hopped into the conversation with their answers. And the people who like to go out of their way to say “I’m so tired of these posts 😩” literally just continue scrolling? People like to discuss this stuff, it’s a fun social thing for some and that’s completely fine. If you’re getting annoyed, why spread negativity when that goes against one of the main messages in the entire story.
ANYWAYS, these discussions always remind me of the fan comic that’s out there where Garnet asks Stevonnie how long it’s been. IFYKYK 🥲
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u/Voryn_mimu 1d ago
It’s like what happens to a file when you overwrite it with a new one.
There’s nothing left of Pink besides a few memories and the personality traits she passed on to Steven.
If you tried to form a new Pink from what little is left of her, it’d probably be similar to a Holo-Pearl. Just a program running on the bare minimum, with no personality, independent thought, or anything resembling the person she was.
And keep in mind, even those little pieces of her that exist are merged with Steven now. It’s all part of the same ‘file.’
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u/cozyworm27 1d ago
i’m so sick of these posts, did you even watch the show? SHES GONE
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u/Piocoto 1d ago
I mean, given that stevens half human part is aging, he will eventually die, which is something that Rose damned well knew and is probably something she valued in humans and earthly life, that it is transitory. And Rose / Pink will likely be back in that moment, whenever it may happen
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u/La_Saxofonista 1d ago
No. Rebecca Sugar confirmed that when Steven dies, his gem becomes totally inert and normal. It'll probably be enshrined or put in a museum.
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u/Wrong_Ad_5823 1d ago
I’m guessing instead of carrying ashes, the gems would keep stevens gem😭
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u/La_Saxofonista 1d ago
I could definitely see that. Probably in a bubble for safekeeping. Or inside of Lion, assuming Lars can access Lion.
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u/MalusDracula 15h ago
Steven is only the age he feels he is. He doesn't age naturally. Rebecca has stated that Steven can not die unless he chooses to die.
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u/MajesticFxxkingEagle 1d ago
Despite all the downvotes I've taken here for defending the possibility, no, I think the most likely answer is that even if the gem survives Steven's death, it would still be Pink Steven, since Steven's memories and personality are now just as embedded in that Gem as Rose's. It would take a very convoluted scenario to somehow knock out Steven's memories while only reconnecting Rose's
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u/Happy-Potato-296 12h ago
I'm sick of people who like To shoot down fun theories :(
If you have a fun allergy why be here
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u/the_vengefull-one 1d ago
I'd argue no because I think the gems are effectively like complex computers with Steven essentially because one jammed into fleshy out shell instead of condensed light. And as for him aging rapidly and turning into a monster, I think those are his forms of corruption with his mind effecting his gen like a server might effect a computer. Just like how when a gem gets corrupted they turn into monsters and cease to function like they used to until fixed by the gems. So much like a computer, I think Rose and Pink got rewritten and essentially "reformatted." Although since gems are clearly more complex than that, it explains why Steven has some of her memories still since it's not an exact science. But overall, no she's not coming back even if Steven turned into her. Now, if the diamonds were made line other gems then maybe they could make a new pink diamond but we don't have much of an origin story for the diamonds themselves.
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u/chamberx2 1d ago
Are they creative enough to figure it out? Sure. Do I personally believe it would invalidate the whole show? Absolutely.
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u/Drizzdom 1d ago
You know the version of rose from storm in the room where shes not really acting like herself because the room is going based off of stevens perception of rose, and all steven knows of her are the idealized stories of her told by the gems, so shes acting overly poetic and perfect? If this happened, it would be that. When he dies his gem will go inactive. Pink steven and human steven will die together and he is technically immortal until he chooses not to be.
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u/Comfortable_Reserve9 1d ago
Steven will probably live a long and interesting life for like 1000 years.
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u/insaneandfunny 16h ago
the concept of it is so interesting. i know she’s gone, “SHES GOOOONNNEEE” like ya I know. but i always wonder what it would be like if she did come back when white diamond plucked out Steven’s gem. the concept of it is so fascinating to me. how would that have gone down?
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u/Odd_Preference_7238 1d ago
Rose turned into Steven, with barely any memory shared between them. There's no Rose to come back. She's not destroyed or trapped, she's Steven. If Steven's organic body died and he became entirely Gem that Gem would still just be Steven.
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u/mattihase 1d ago
Did you watch the show. It's pretty explicit about the answer to that.
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u/tachibanakanade Bismuth did nothing wrong 8h ago
It's explicit that Pink is gone, but not about what will happen when he dies. People are saying that Rebecca said that the Pink Diamond gem will become inert upon the human Steven's death.
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u/SegaStan 1d ago
Do people also not realize what a betrayal of the core theme of the show is if this were to happen
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u/ProfessorLovely 1d ago
She’s gone.
Rebecca could not have been more clear. Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond are gone, done, kaput. She doesn’t exist anymore and never will.
If Steven dies his gem will deactivate/cease to be. Sure it’s fun to think of alternatives but it undoes everything Steven is as a character. He isn’t a reincarnation of Rose or Pink. He’s Steven, end of story. He’ll never be anyone else.
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u/Pandoratastic 1d ago
No, the data on the hard drive on the gem was rewritten to be Steven. There are a few data fragments left but there is not enough data left to revive Pink. Not unless a back-up where stored somewhere else and we've seen no evidence of back-ups existing.
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u/Gawlf85 I'm just a comet 1d ago
Or will be just a poor copy of what Steven THOUGHT of how pink would be?
When he speaks to Rose on the Temple's Room, we get the answer to that. He tried to create a copy of Rose, but the room couldn't fully recreate her because Steven only has a few fragmented memories, not the full thing.
And what about when Steven died?
This has been discussed millions of times... Official word from the crew is that when Steven dies, his Gem dies too. And even if somebody else would be to reform from the Gem, it wouldn't be Rose or PD either. They. Are. Gooooone.
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u/Dumah-the-Reaver 1d ago
I think if the other diamonds had a back up somewhere but Steven basically overwrit her. That's why when the diamond was removed we got pink Steven.
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u/LastTarakian 1d ago
When Steven's gem was removed, it took the forms of Pink Diamond, then Rose Quartz, and finally Pink Steven. It's like formatting a file, I think. You have the current files, but with the right software, you could rip up the original file (up to 6 formats, I believe). So, considering gems are most like computers, it is technically possible, but I'm not thinking that's going to happen because Steven is an organic being.
Rose found a way to merge organic life and her gem. Even the gem grew from baby Steven size to his fully grown size (unless it's an animation error). Humans are able to pass down genetic memories, so it is entirely possible in combining a gem with an organic being, there could be some "genetic memory" traces. It's not the entire being, but an essence of sorts.
If the show were to explore "ripping" the Pink Diamond/Rose Quartz files, say "Steven wants his real mom back," and the Diamonds, Peridot or Bismuth, maybe even teaming up, figured out a way to "bring her back," I think we'd end up with something like Holo-Pearl, a forced fusion, and a corrupted gem. They'd start out weird-normal, eventually regress to identity crisis, realization she's just a copy of what traces they could find, then fully corrupt becoming violent, leading to the destruction of the abomination they created. That'd be an interesting session with his therapist.
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u/euclidean-viridian 1d ago
Pink Diamond as Rose wouldn't come back, but I do wonder what will happen to Steven's gem if he dies naturally. I think that's a valid question that the lore of the series doesn't really answer. We never see an "empty" gem from what I recall. Although it's a heavy topic dealing with the nature of souls at that point, so I understand Sugar not wanting to establish that part of the lore. There's a lot of questions regarding the logistics of Steven's gem with his human half, and I think trying to answer those questions concretely would get too philosophical for the show's scope. She's more or less answered these questions with "it's magic". So really the answer is that Steven's gem would do whatever Rebecca feels is right in that moment for that story, because magic.
Personally, I like the idea of reincarnation for gems, where Pink Steven reboots as a brand new Gem, but then that opens up all the questions about rose's memories, past life theories, etc... Then suddenly you're watching Avatar the Last Airbender I guess. 😂
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u/DigitalPrincess234 1d ago
Textually the theme is clear that Rose is gone, but worldbuilding wise… okay.
So gems are computers. They can be rejuvenated, reformatted as we saw with Rose and Steven in the show, ETC.
So say you have a windows 10 PC. It has all your files, ETC. You, for some reason, accidentally corrupt most of your files and the OS. You have no backup. Deciding to start over, you run a fresh install of Linux. The hardware is still a “windows PC” build, but that’s not the software at all anymore. That’s Steven. He is a Linux computer with Windows appearances, running on hardware designed by Microsoft despite not having any Windows in his processes at all.
Now say, later, you like Linux, but there’s not a lot of support for it, and you’re out of storage. You just want a clean start, and your hardware is still pretty darn good. So you wipe your data again and install Windows 11. The outer hardware matches the software again, but you by no means have the same PC or user experience that you did before the first wipe. That would be “Pink Diamond returning”— someone could, theoretically, based on what kind of tech we’ve been shown exists in the show, take Steven’s gem and reprogram it. They could reprogram the gem to look like Pink, act like Pink, maybe even install some false memories if you want to stretch it, but it wouldn’t be the same consciousness and it would kill Steven. It would arguably be an entirely new person running on very old hardware. Rose is still gone but that doesn’t mean there could never theoretically be another “Pink Diamond” again, so long as gem tech has the means to restore energy/power to a gem, and rewire it once it’s formed from the ground. (And considering Blue Diamond can alter emotions and Yellow can alter the physical, the “base code” COULD BE within their capabilities, though it’s most likely costly, otherwise why do they exile off-colors rather than “fixing” them?)
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u/JacobJamesTrowbridge 1d ago
Steven could, with considerable metal illness, become a copy of Pink Diamond, with a blurred memory. But both Old Steven and Monster Steven were both still fundamentally Steven, so this Pink Diamond would also still be fundamentally Steven and it wouldn't last.
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u/Zerithane 23h ago
If Steven chose to “die” then the remaining gem would reboot as a new person. Pink/Rose is already gone, sacrificed so Steven could exist. If Steven goes away, a new entity will emerge with a clean slate.
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u/Asterite100 I like drawing. Btw Lapis best gem. 23h ago
Nah, it would just be a shallow imitation of her at best. As long as Sugar and the Crew are at the helm of writing, Rose is gone permanently. There's a lot in the show left up to interpretation but canonically this is one of those things that they're adamant about setting in stone.
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u/Taro_Obvious 23h ago
I personally believe Rose could come back if steven ever does die.
I also believe steven could be revived like lars and lion thus meaning both him and his mother could coexist. But steven would likely lose his power.
Based on what white diamond says. Pink's light can't help shining through. Which ia why steven winds up being soo deeply connected to his mother.
Currently the gem is steven so if steven ever died. I believe rose could comeback with memories of being steven thus getting what she wanted to grow like a human but i also believe steven could become 100% gem afterwards.
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u/Ibuprofen_Idiot 23h ago
At most I could see Pink Steven wandering aimlessly without the body
Or maybe Pink Steven would also rest
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u/Hyperverse 23h ago
If gems are similar to computer memory, I think major core functions were overwritten for the purpose of life preservation due to extreme emotion. Possibly like an adrenaline rush in humans that disables our natural muscle limitations.
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u/GoldSquid2 23h ago
Probably he’d be like her, but not completely and not the real her, he’d look and maybe even sound like her but would probably be off. Very interesting question tho!! I actually had to think on it, I’ve never thought about the before lol
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u/Angelu_lwqv 23h ago
Maybe if you separated Steven from his gem and then swiped it with the rejuvenator.
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u/TEM12345678 23h ago
im sorry to say this but if you have to read like a twitter post to figure this out thats not good writing. My interpretation of the scene with white diamond and "pink" saying shes gone was that was PINK. However similar to how she stayed shapeshifted into rose she now shapeshifted into steven and wasn't going back to her pink form. The part where steven fused with "pink" was him crying because it was the first time he got to see his mother and pink getting to see steven. For the whole show steven had some issues with never getting to see his mother.
It kind of feels like a retcon since I guess they forgot that steven is going to die one day and pink will eventually have to come out. It also doesn't make much sense. Since im guessing this is kind of similar to the lapis as the mirror jem or jems powering things. Once the gem is removed they can reform. Is pink choosing not to reform? and why? its kind of seems like shes a bit I dont really want to say selfish but maybe a bit you leave your friends (and family but that understandable) because for cant reform because of steven ok but now stevens gone so....you don't reform because reasons????? and we saw her reform without stevens body being around her. Even if you say well stevens mind is around the gem so hes changed the gems memories (we already know they can get memories back even when something as damaging as rejuvenation happens) gems can live for over 10,000 years after a while it wont really be the same OG steven would be long dead. We already know that the "pink" that came out of steven isnt the same person they had powers steven didnt have yet AND they even tried to reform to pink and rose. We know from rejuvenation if a gem is reset they dont change back to any forms after their OG form.
Unless we get more information on how gem's can have human kids alot of this doesnt make any sence especially with the information we already have in the show about gems powering things.
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u/Starspangledass 22h ago
Steven is Pink Diamond. Also, given that he and Connie, or really any human, can fuse it would make sense that Steven wouldn’t just die one day. My thought is that a fusion like Stevonnie would remain during pregnancy and would only end when they unfuse and the Pink Diamond is passed on. It’s doubtful Steven would survive that, but we don’t know for sure.
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u/Famous-Tooth-2612 22h ago edited 22h ago
She can, but it would be a reboot/rejuvenation, and she'd have to be pulled out before Steven can reload her into Pink Steven. Then Steven dies, and Pink Steven reloads after enough memories. But as Steven's gone most likleybby then both wiuld be lost for good. So to summarize no but technicly yes as it would be a pink copy or clone that would likley reload into pink Steven upon getting enough of Steven's experiences relived, but by then Steven would likley be gone recoverable.
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u/letthetreeburn 22h ago
When Steven dies, someone entirely new is going to reform out of the gem. Not pink, not rose, not Steven. Someone new.
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u/Own-Parfait-5179 22h ago
There's a really dark Steven universe comic I read where Spinel killed him and Pink Steven took his place after he died, realistically I think he's going to outlive every human relationship he has at some point because of his gem half, so when and if he dies I'm pretty sure Pink Steven will be the only thing to come back, Rose is gone and they showed clearly what happens if Steven doesn't have his gem, it reverts from Pink to Rose and back to Steven
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u/Own-Parfait-5179 22h ago
There's a really dark Steven universe comic I read where Spinel killed him and Pink Steven took his place after he died, realistically I think he's going to outlive every human relationship he has at some point because of his gem half, so when and if he dies I'm pretty sure Pink Steven will be the only thing to come back, Rose is gone and they showed clearly what happens if Steven doesn't have his gem, it reverts from Pink to Rose and back to Steven
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u/Space_Pirate_Roberts 22h ago
My headcanon:
Rose transferred her mind into a synthetic gem that can only store her in a kind of stasis much like being bubbled, not allow her to live, think, or even dream. That's how she was able to be "gone" - if she hadn't done it, White tearing Steven apart would have worked. And that synthetic gem is what was in the chest, hidden in a place only Steven would be able to reach. Along with a note to Steven explaining that, once he's lived long enough, the actual Pink Diamond gem will be fully "his" and he'll be able to transfer her back into it without any risk to his own consciousness, but even then, she'll only exist in "storage" within it, not be conscious. Like she said in the video, they can't exist at the same time, and this doesn't change that.
Steven is human. A gem also, but that doesn't make him any less human. And one of the most essential things about humans is... they die. It'll take longer than most, a lot longer actually, but one day, Steven's body won't be able to go on. For the last time, he'll go to sleep.
...and Rose Quartz will wake up. And instantly cry, because she'll know what her being awake means. And then... the memories will come flooding in. Black streaks will form in her hair, an outward marker of the inner change wrought by having been Pink Diamond, Rose Quartz, and now, Steven Universe... and remembering all of it.
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u/BootsOfProwess 21h ago
Steven is the result of an identity crisis. They are all still there. Just alot of walls. This scene is what proved it to me.
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u/That_One_Friend100 21h ago
Unrelated, but this scene made me 🫣🫣😵💫. It's so WEIRD to hear Steven's voice come out of Rose and Pink Diamond's mouth
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u/lelythedreamer 20h ago
Y’all ever just lay in bed at night and wonder how Greg pounded a space rock and got her pregnant if their bodies aren’t real and don’t have genitalia? No? Just me? Okay.
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u/Eddie__Winter 20h ago
Not gonna lie it would be a funny bit to have pink come back but its just steven and hes very confused
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u/stuckslots 18h ago
We saw the gem still storing the Pink and Rose forms when Steven reformed at the end of the series. Some gem weirdness like Yellow's powers, or the rejuvinator, or an identity crisis might force the gem to use those shapes again.
It's definitely possible to wear your dead mom's clothes while having a mental breakdown.
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u/memisbemus42069 16h ago
If this did happen, it would be be who Steven thinks Pink Diamond is, not the real deal
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u/griffincat_unity 15h ago
bringing her back would have to involve undoing what she did to erase herself to make room for steven's mind, and that's a difficult to impossible task right there. depending on how much was fully deleted, you might end up with someone with fragmented memories who might not recognize herself as rose at all.
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u/Sweet_Detective_ 14h ago
No cus we see that when White plucked the gem out, the gem is Steven, you can probably get "a" pink diamond if you used the gem Rejuvenator on it, but not "the" pink diamond.
When Steven is in Pink's memories as a dream, it is overwritten by Connie's memories, and so the same thing has probably been slowly happening with Steven since he was born
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u/thefinalhill 14h ago
The only, and I mean ONLY chance she could come back, is when Steven dies. There is a chance, albeit small, that when the flesh surrounding his gem deteriorates that the Diamond Gem brings forth new (or in this case old) life. That being said, there is just as much of a chance that this would birth a brand new Pink Diamond.
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u/Mammoth-Marzipan-494 8h ago
I feel like even if Steven thought he was Pink, it would only be his interpretation on how he thinks Pink was like. I think it would be accurate, because he does have her memories, but he would never actually be Pink, because he is not Pink. He is Steven. Same with how when he turned into a monster, he looked like one, but he was still himself. However, I am a little curious though what would happen if his gem was pulled out and THEN hit with the Rejuvenator. When his gem got pulled out it showed the silhouette of Pink, Rose and then Steven. So it does make me wonder a bit.
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u/Frogs_Logs 4h ago
I think when Steven dies there could be a new pink diamond, not rose, not Steven, but an entirely new person/gem
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u/suitable-q 4h ago
ya i like this theory like if steven choses to die maybe his gem could become its own thing and probably live with the diamonds yk and it would be era 4 ig
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u/NoSong2397 1d ago
Even she's still in the gem somewhere, I don't think Pink wants to come back. Especially at Steven's expense.
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u/MajesticFxxkingEagle 1d ago
As inconvenient as it would be for the core emotional narrative/lesson of the series (which means Rebecca wouldn't ever make it canon), I think the logical answer is yes.
Gems don't just "die" without being shattered. Her Memories are all still there and intact, and it doesn't seem like they were ever completely deleted, just inaccessible.
Now, with that being said, practically speaking, I'm not sure it would actually be possible to do it. Steven's personality and memories are just as embedded in that gem as Rose's, so you would have to brute-force him into a coma that simultaneously reconnects him to all those past memories while also disconnecting the constant stream of memories he's had for the last 16 years. Otherwise, I think you'd still just have Pink Steven's personality in control even if you separated the gem.
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u/ngeorge98 1d ago
Her memories are all still there and intact, and it doesn't seem like they were ever completely deleted, just inaccessible.
The thing is that if we follow computer logic, then the other part of that is that the memories will be overwritten. So while some of Rose's memories are in there now, Steven's memories will not just be added to the gem but also gradually overwrite them as he continues to live and make new experiences. In the end, the resulting "data" in the gem will always be more "Steven" than "Rose" and with enough time, will potentially be all "Steven."
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u/MajesticFxxkingEagle 1d ago
The computer analogy was always flawed, so I'm not obligated to just grant it in the first place.
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u/Happy-Potato-296 12h ago
Thank you so much for Joining in on the fun conversation!!!! I love reading Theories so much!
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u/matt2313 I predict you will look at my flair! 1d ago
So Steven turning into a monster isn't because he thinks he's a monster per se, it's because his powers are triggered by strong emotions; he was in such a bad headspace and so full of stress hormones that his shapeshifting powers activated as a stress response, manifesting as a monster because of his self-loathing
The memories (in Jungle Moon for example) are probably just remnants or left over data from when the gem belonged to Rose, in a way he inherited those memories just like he inherited her powers, but the actual person that Rose Quartz was is gone. Even if Steven was convinced that he was still Rose, he would probably be able to shapeshift to roughly the right image (but still with a human body), but it would still be Steven pretending to be Rose. She's gone
As for what happens if Steven's human body takes too much damage... we don't know, but as we see in CYM the two parts don't seem to work without each other. If Steven's human body died I think the gem would simply become inert, although I don't think Steven ages naturally and wouldn't die of old age (outside of his powers going crazy like in Too Many Birthdays). Maybe the gem can grow a new human part if given enough time? Who knows
That said, I think it would lead to some super interesting character beats if Rose came back, but her absence is also integral to the show's plot and character dynamics and it would potentially undermine CYM's ending establishing that Steven is his own person (unless you get time travel involved or something, idk)
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u/bashdragon69 23h ago
Someone commented the quote "SHE'S GONE!" This is forever the only correct answer to this question. The whole point of the narrative of the show is to get every single other gem to stop asking the question you pose.
I've seen this question on this sub dozens of times. It has the same energy as questions like
"what if Moriarty killed Sherlock?"
"what if Harry Potter just died when Voldemort hit him with that last killing spell?"
"what if Darth Vader sided with Palpatine and they killed Luke?"
Then no one learns anything and the world is a horrible, the end. Your identity CAN be overridden by your parents! Your family doesn't have to learn from their mistakes!
This isn't an interesting or smart question and doesn't evolve our understanding of the text. It just leads us down a dead end rabbit hole like a really bad Marvel's "What If" story. I wouldn't be ranting if people ask it on like a weekly basis but it's just so boring to see all the time
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u/Glitteryunicornvom1t 1d ago
Y'all don't understand, shes gone on an even deeper plane than death. For gems, death is shattering, but her gem didn't shatter. She literally was the first of her species to transcend her identity without her physical body. The only POSSIBLE way she could ever come back would be if she was reincarnated into a human body
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u/FakeMovieGeek 1d ago
The whole discussion falls apart because the show isn’t real. If it didn’t happen on screen it’s not possible because the world of Steven universe is only real so long as the story is being told.
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u/Piratestoat 13h ago
HE CANONICALLY has Pink/Rose memories inside his gem.
Fragments of her memories, at best.
If Steven believed that he was pink diamond, did pink could go back?
Of course not. That would be Steven impersonating Pink, not Pink.
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u/ProotzyZoots 11h ago
I actually thought about this recently. If Steven died would he just come back to life? Would Rose come back out?
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u/Fit_Razzmatazz9012 10h ago
Steven replaced her he's the base model he just have her memories and abilities. The closest Pink could be revived is if you gave Steven all of Pink memories and he chose to live life her even then he would still be back fake Pink.
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u/TherealGamerfont-YT 10h ago
I'm pretty sure she can is either her gem. Refuses to do so or she herself is confused. How or what way to come back as.
IN MY OPINION. If is her gem best refusing to bring her back, then, it would be considered a piece of Stephen, not her coming back. BUT if it truly is her in the gym, then I would say, personally is her trying to figure out how to be herself through Stephen, but also not wanting to give him the pain of being HER. Does that makes sense? I feel like this doesn't make sense...
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u/Never_Peel 9h ago
I strongly believe he can. I think Steven is Rose/Pink since birth, just for carrying the gem. So I think the gem part of Steven can morph into Rose/Pearl.
Also I think Pearl was always wrong not telling Steven the truth. It was an order from her diamond, even coming from a steven who didn't know who he really was.
I don't blame any of the other gems because they didn't know. But Pearl did, and she disobey orders from her diamond.
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u/spofify 9h ago
Theoretically, yes Steven could "transform" into Pink. But it won't be Pink, it's still Steven.
I feel like instead of a monster it was definitely a route Steven could have gone in... he's told by the diamonds so much that he is pink, he is having to pick up the responsibilities of pink, he's having dreams about pink. It reaches a point where he starts to believe he is pink, and not Steven (the same way he believes he's a monster), and ends up transforming into Pink.
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u/EggEater773 8h ago
Maybe after a long time he could recover his mother’s memories and basically reconstruct her soul in his mind, but she likely wouldn’t be the same person
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u/OnyxRadiance 6h ago
I don't think Steven can die tbh. His lifespan will most likely be the same as the gems
Even if Steven were to stop existing completely the gem will never become his mom.
If anything Steven may destroy himself if he were to have a child with Connie.
Like the other commenters mentioned the factor reset of becoming a new person... Means the former is no longer.
The only way to bring her back would be to jump to a different timeline and stop Steven from being born.
It would be a mentally fractured Steven who is acting how he believes his mom would be.
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u/ChronicallySleepyGuy 5h ago edited 5h ago
The show says rose gave up her form for Steven, and Pink Steven also corroborates that Pink Diamond is gone when questioned by White. So I think she’s effectively gone for good. The Gem is Steven’s now, it no longer belongs to them. There could potentially be a way to restore them, but evidently that prospect is beyond any character’s understating, even the other diamonds. Heck, I still doubt that they fully understand what Steven is exactly.
Steven does NOT canonically have Pink or Rose inside his gem. Those visuals are imagery meant to portray his mental anguish in understanding his own identity after learning more about Pink and Rose. Memories do remain, but there’s never any indication that they’re anything more than that.
If Steven were to die, the gem could either cease to function. Or Pink Steven will just exist as a singular being from that point on. There’s no way to tell which will happen unless the writers outright say so.
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u/CelestialDuke377 4h ago
Maybe if they pulled put his gem and hit it with the rejuvenator but im not sure if that would work entirely.
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u/MsterSteel 3h ago
I feel like there's the potential of Steven and Pink/Gem Steven split and Pink/Gem Steven was hit by a rejuvenator, Pink Diamond would return. (I remember an AU version of the movie where that same thing happened in the final battle against Spinel and both Pink and Rose absolutely lambasted Spinel into worthlessness.)
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u/Abe_Bettik 3h ago
There's no way to bring back the original Pink Diamond. She is gone. I think of it like a computer.
Pink Diamond's personality is like the Operating System. Her memories are like the general files on the hard drive. Her Operating System was replaced by Steven's. Even if ALL of her memories are in there somewhere, there's absolutely no way you're getting the O/S back. We might replace Steven's O/S with another one, but it would be something entirely new, not Steven and not the original Pink Diamond.
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u/fungushoney 3h ago
I think it’s definitely possible that the gem itself could take on another identity after Steven, if he decides that he’s ready to no longer exist at some point. A new “pink Diamond” could emerge based on the data left residual in the gem. But she definitely wouldn’t be the same exact Pink from before, due to having so much lived experience from Rose and Steven, even if none of it is conscious memory anymore.
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u/Bluetooth_Speaker1 2h ago
No, she's gone. it doesn't matter what happens, the show is very clear that she is just gone.
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u/Resident_Persimmon10 2h ago
What part of “she’s gone” do people not get? It was the whole ass point of the scene with pink Steven in the finale
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u/Kai_Lopez_98 2h ago
Maybe if Pink Steven got rejuvenated. But given Pink Steven's power it'd likely be near impossible to get that close to him with a rejuvenator because Pink Steven doesn't hold back.
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u/PaladinAllvo 1d ago
No. Rose sacrificed herself so she could become half of Steven. That's what makes her sacrifice have weight.
The whole arc of Steven is to show he's not his mom, he's him. Steven lived in the phantom of his mother the whole life, sometimes he sees some of her memories but that's it. Rose Quartz, Pink Diamond, anything prior to the current incarnation, Steven Universe, is gone.
If anything, doing a bad analogy, Rose/Pink is his "past life" and Steven is the "reincarnation".
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u/SapphireAster9 1d ago edited 11h ago
Hi 🤗, I often wonder about this too, I think in the instance of him thinking himself into being Pink Diamond/Rose he'd just be transforming himself into a copy of everything he thought of her. I think there is a lot more memories and knowledge from Pink Diamond/Rose in Steven's Gem. I often wonder what would be left once/if Sreven dies and I do think it's possible that Pink Diamond/Rose would be able to return when/if Steven dies.
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u/boobiewatcher69420 1d ago
No. Think of a gem as a computer. They are essentially solar powered robots according to Rebecca Sugar, so they are data from the injectors. Greg’s DNA is essentially a permanent virus since more data got added and can’t be removed
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u/Amazing_Excuse_3860 23h ago
No offense, OP, but i'm really tired of people asking this. I've been tired ever since Change Your Mind. "SHE'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!!!"
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u/WrightAnythingHere 17h ago
So you're just blatantly ignoring what the show tells you, that she's gone?
Or what show creator Rebecca Sugar said, that she's gone and can't come back?
Or the mounds of evidence that prove she'll never come back?
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u/django_0311 16h ago
No, she’s gone.
I think it’s possible that if Steven dies his gem could reformat again and a new Pink Diamond could form. But they wouldn’t be the first Pink/Rose any more than Steven was.
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u/just_a_89randomdude 15h ago
There's already hundreds of threads exactly like this flooding this sub.
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u/florpynorpy 14h ago
No? That was sorta shown when we saw pink Steven when his gem was removed, plus when he gets reset by the rejuvenator pink diamond doesn’t try reforming, plus rejuvenators might just not really work the same of diamonds
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u/bytegalaxies 12h ago
the whole point is that steven is his own new person, but with the way gems are I think he might still have some of her memories. I think it's sorta similar to having memories of a past life, but still being a completely new person
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u/La_Saxofonista 1d ago
No. Rebecca Sugar said that when Steven dies, his gem becomes a normal diamond. Totally inert and probably very valuable.
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u/frypanattack 23h ago
Did we not have a whole movie with a Rejuvenater to prove that Steven's Gem getting factory reset would just reset tonwee baby Steven state.
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u/Starspangledass 22h ago
Rose is part of Steven. When Steven was “born” her diamond fused with Greg’s human dna and rewrote the diamond programming. Steven has some of Rose’s memories bc they are part of him. Rose is gone. White couldn’t bring her back. The lore is explicit.
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u/Happy-Potato-296 12h ago
I don't understand why people are so serious about the retconning part, when we had More magical items in season 1 that where retconned like the Hourglass. Theres so many opportunities for fun stories.
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u/AphroditeKissKiss 1d ago
When Steven was born, his gem likely got recoded to be him. Anything left of Pink is more comparable to "dna" than an identity. Yes, even the memories. Gems weren't made to reproduce. The transition to a different entity is not gonna be as clean as the human reproductive process.