History Characters / StevenUniverseWhiteDiamond

* LiteralSplitPersonality: Implied to be the case in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E28ChangeYourMind "Change Your Mind"]], where after encountering White inside of her head after assimilating Yellow and Blue into her HiveMind, she implies that she had created the other Diamonds in a bid to rid herself of her perceived flaws; but that the process when creating Pink Diamond had seemingly been a flawed as she insists that Pink's ''"The part I always have to suppress"''.

'''As the majority of White Diamond's characterization occurs in the closing episodes of season five, ALL {{spoiler}}s will be left [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff unmarked]]. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!'''

* SoftSpokenSadist: She took Pink Pearl from Pink Diamond because they got too familiar — and then used her mind control powers on said Pearl, turning her into White Pearl and leaving her nothing but an EmptyShell for White to use as her MeatPuppet; the other Diamonds either poof or shatter lower Gems that displease them, so this makes White especially cruel. And given who White is, she probably didn't see it as any different as confiscating a ''toy'' from Pink.

* VisualPun: She's secluded herself for eons in her {{Faceship}} mecha, cutting herself off from everyone else, even her fellow Diamonds, left to sink deeper and deeper into her unhealthy perfectionist mindset - she's quite ''literally'' stuck inside her own head.

* OrcusOnHisThrone: It has been stated that she never leaves her head these days and couldn't be bothered to attend the first royal ball in a millennium.

* AbusiveMom: She's the oldest of the Diamonds and the one in charge of the group. Blue and Yellow seem ''terrified'' of her and it's implied they try to limit their interaction with her to avoid getting on her bad side; Yellow Diamond specifically mentions her poofing and bubbling the other Diamonds as a punishment. As shown in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E28ChangeYourMind "Change Your Mind"]], she readily employs physical violence and even brainwashing to keep the Diamonds in order. She finally grows out of this at the end of the episode, however. Given the primary theme of the show is interpersonal relationships, it's little surprise its apparent ultimate villain embodies one of the most toxic of relationships.

* AffectionateNickname: Has called Pink "Starlight" in the past, and uses it again when she meets Steven.

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: [[VillainousBreakdown When she throws a tantrum once Steven recovers his gem]]:
-->'''White Diamond:''' [[BigNo NOOO!!!]] You're PINK DIAMOND! THAT IS PINK DIAMOND'S GEM! You do NOT look like this. You do NOT sound like this. You're NOT half-human. ''You're just... acting like a CHILD!'' \\
'''Steven:''' [[InsultBackfire I]] ''[[InsultBackfire am]]'' [[InsultBackfire a child...]] What's ''your'' excuse?\\
''[White Diamond blushes in shock as Connie bursts out laughing]''

* BewareTheNiceOnes: An odd example in that this is inverted for White Diamond, being that she goes from tyrannical, ruthless and vicious to becoming a motherly self-help guru in ''Future'', who openly interacts with and helps Gems. You still don't want to piss her off though.

** White Diamond possesses a dislike towards off-colors Gems much like Yellow and Blue, and is clearly uncomfortable when she is forced to play nice with the Off-Colors on Earth. Considering all of Homeworld's hierarchy and the laws that governs it all come from her, it is safe to say that discrimination of off-color Gems are all her doing. What makes this ironic is at the end of [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E28ChangeYourMind "Change Your Mind"]], it is revealed that she secretly has a flaw (in her case, a pink blush) that makes her off-colored.

* {{Clairvoyance}}: She is aware of many things that neither she nor her subjects could have witnessed in person, such as the truth about Pink Diamond's "shattering", the exact time and place that Blue and Yellow would return to Homeworld, the Crystal Gems' deep-seated insecurities, and the fact that Steven has been experiencing [[PastLifeMemories his mother's memories]]. However, she is also clearly ''not'' TheOmniscient, as her assumption that Pink was using Steven as a MeatPuppet proved to be [[NotSoOmniscientAfterAll incorrect]].

** For all her big show about not needing anyone, she almost immediately reaches out to Blue and Yellow in her moment of weakness.
* ItsAllAboutMe: She views the entirety of the Gem Empire as a direct reflection of herself and has mandated every Gem live up to her set of standards, which prove impossible for anyone to actually hold themselves to, including White herself, it turns out. Although only in extreme cases does she step in and forcibly ''make'' a Gem live up to her standards. As it turns out, White is deluding even herself, as that perfect version of herself she is forcing everyone to live up to exists only in her own head and is nothing but a toxic fallacy. It's only when she realizes this that she begin to understand the harm she's done to everyone she was supposed to nurture and protect.
* ItsAllMyFault: In "[[Recap/StevenUniverseFutureS1E19IAmMyMonster I Am My Monster]]", everyone starts having a breakdown about how Steven [[OneWingedAngel turned into a monster]] because of all of them. In White's case, she cites the fact that [[GreaterScopeVillain everything bad that has ever happened in the series]] - from creating the Empire's oppressive system, all the way to Pink defecting and the harm that drove Steven unto this state - was all because of her.

* LackOfEmpathy: While this is basically Homeworld's hat, White [[ExaggeratedTrope takes this further then any other Gem]], including the other Diamonds. She refers the entire Crystal Gem rebellion and everything both sides fought for as just a "little game" of Pink's. It's also implied that she figured out that Pink faked her shattering and was Rose Quartz all along, but never bothered to tell the obviously still grieving Blue and Yellow. It's implied that this was the result of perceiving herself as the UltimateLifeform and thus all other beings being lesser than herself. It isn't until Steven forces her to see she's not that she finally starts seeing anyone else as ''worth'' listening to let alone caring about.

* MadGod: She's a PhysicalGod like her fellows and implied to be on another level than even them... but seems just ''off'' and not quite right. She believes her unnatural behavior is a sign of her perfection, and would like nothing more than to see the rest of the universe like herself.

* MistakenIdentity: Most Homeworld Gems think Steven is Rose Quartz or Pink Diamond, but White Diamond's view is a bit different. Rather than just thinking Pink has taken a very different-looking form (again), White knows Steven has a human body and believes himself a different person. However, White still thinks Pink [[RaisedAsAHost just stuck herself in that body, took it over]], and [[BelievingTheirOwnLies deluded herself into thinking she was Steven]]. This conclusion actually has enough physical evidence [[BreakHimByTalking to worry Steven himself]], but is disproven when pulling his gemstone out just makes a full-Gem version of Steven.

** Like Garnet. Design-wise, they are the tallest of their respective teams as well as their leader, their hair dwarves the rest of their head and their moods swing between [[TheStoic calm and calculated]] and UnstoppableRage. They both inspire a level of fear in the rest of their team (though Garnet is only as hard as she is to inspire strength in the others while in White's case, it's unambiguously abusive) and have a soft-spot for their youngest (but while Steven and Garnet are close, Pink, like Yellow and Blue, did everything to avoid White).

* {{Narcissist}}: Just like any other narcissist, White Diamond truly believes she is perfect. She also gaslights Steven, which is another feature of Narcissists: manipulation. However, when she finds out she is not perfect, she breaks down and has her Heel-Face turn.

* NonStandardCharacterDesign: In [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E24LegsFromHereToHomeworld "Legs From Here to Homeworld"]], Pearl explicitly describes White Diamond as being different from other Gems, even from the other Diamonds. And when we meet her in person, we see that Pearl wasn't exaggerating as her appearance alone waves a red flag that there is clearly something ''off'' about her. Her body is mostly obscured by the light emanating from her gem, making it look like her entire body is made of light (to the point that her head looks almost like it's two-dimensional from some angles). She also stands completely motionless with her arms outstretched in a crucifixion pose which, when combined with her dissonant, monotone voice, makes her seem almost robotic. The ''only'' part of her body that makes ''any'' movement is her face, making it seem disconnected from the rest of her body. Moreover, she is drawn in the style of the show's ''background'' art, as if to further emphasize her rigidity and immobility. Her design is specifically based on the works of American artist Creator/NellBrinkley, while the other three Diamonds curb influence from three Japanese manga and anime artists (Creator/HirohikoAraki, Creator/LeijiMatsumoto, and Creator/ChihoSaito for Yellow, Blue and Pink, respectively). And when she ''does'' start moving in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E28ChangeYourMind "Change Your Mind"]], the animation only adds to her unsettling nature as her [[http://moonlightsdreaming.tumblr.com/post/182307716287/steven-universe-change-your-mind-now face and fingers constantly distort]], resulting in some unnerving facial expressions. She's also the only Gem to have eyebrows at all times (the others only have them in close-up shots), and the only one at ''all'' to have fingernails, giving her a disturbingly more human-like quality than the other Gems.

* TheUnfought: The most direct harm done to her is when Pink Steven knocks her off her balance with his primal scream of "She's '''GOOOOOOOOONE!'''" and bringing her to her knees by reflecting her control beams back at her. Otherwise she fights through proxies like the Diamond mecha and mind controlled Pearl and is only actually defeated though [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath talking and non-violent action]].

* WalkingSpoiler: Although her existence had been implied for a while, she isn't even mentioned by name until [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E24LegsFromHereToHomeworld "Legs From Here to Homeworld"]]. Once she appears in person, she implies she may have known about Pink Diamond's SecretIdentity ''all along'', and sends Steven off to Pink's chambers in a cliffhanger ending.

* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Naturally has white hair, and is the most twisted of the Diamonds.

* ShesGotLegs: On top of the shoes she's wearing, White has long, and slender legs and her dress has slits up to her thighs. They are even pointed out in her debut episode's title, [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E24LegsFromHereToHomeworld "Legs From Here to Homeworld"]].

* AnimeHair: She has the spikiest hair of all the Diamonds, and it sticks way up.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: An odd example in that this is inverted for White Diamond, being that she goes from tyrannical, ruthless and vicious to [[spoiler: becoming a motherly self-help guru]] in ''Future'', who openly interacts with and helps Gems. You still don't want to piss her off though.

* EasilyForgiven: Steven, Blue and Yellow don't hold it against her despite everything she's done to them. However, "Homeworld Bound" shows that [[spoiler:Steven still has a lot of suppressed anger towards her for all the trauma that she put him through, which surfaces when White allows Steven to control her body, even attempting to shatter the gem on her head by smashing it through a pillar as revenge, only for Steven to snap out of it at the very last moment and exit White's body]].

* EvilMatriarch: The leader of the Diamond Authority and technical "mother" of the other three Diamonds. [[spoiler:And with TheReveal of Steven being the son of Pink Diamond, makes him White Diamonds' Grandson.]]

* PersonalityPowers: White's SignatureMove is the ability to [[AssimilationPlot assimilate other gems]] with her EyeBeams to act as [[MeatPuppet extensions of herself]], a literal form of PsychologicalProjection reflecting her ControlFreak tendencies, her [[AGodAmI god complex]] and [[ItsAllAboutMe her inability to comprehend the thoughts and feelings of other people]]. [[spoiler:Between her HeelFaceTurn in "[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E28ChangeYourMind Change Your Mind]]" and "[[Recap/StevenUniverseFutureS1E17HomeworldBound Homeworld Bound]]", she eventually learned how to use this power in reverse and [[WillingChanneler allows others to possess her instead]], a power that compliments her newly-acquired humility.]]

** ''The Movie'' has gone even further with the beauty of White's genuine smile, especially when [[spoiler: she and the other Diamonds invite Spinel to live with them on Homeworld]]. Compare her expression when she and the other Diamonds sing the first line of their "Let Us Adore You" reprise to her expression in her debut appearance, it's hard to believe these two are the same character.

* NiceShoes: To emphasize her ridiculous size, she wears sandals with high heels that look like ''marble columns''. Rebecca Sugar says that she had spent ''five hours'' drawing them.

* ShesGotLegs: On top of the NiceShoes she's wearing, White has long, and slender legs and her dress has slits up to her thighs. They are even pointed out in her debut episode's title, [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E24LegsFromHereToHomeworld "Legs From Here to Homeworld"]].

** UpToEleven. Blue and Yellow are about eighty feet tall, and she's a head taller than them, making her around '''''a hundred and ten feet tall'''''.

* HumanoidAbomination: Everything about her appearance is unsettling and eerie, like some kind of ethereal statue made of light that has facial features floating around, attached to nothing. Though she speaks more or less normally, White Diamond shows a bizarre disconnect with her surroundings and even the people she's supposed to be talking to. Pearl emphasizes that she's fundamentally different than any other Gem, or even the other ''Diamonds''. Her confrontation with Steven in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E28ChangeYourMind "Change Your Mind"]] takes this further, with her [[TheAssimilator Assimilator]] powers on full display — with an added dose of VoiceOfTheLegion — and her facial features [[UncannyValley distorting nightmarishly]].

* KnightOfCerebus: According to WordOfGod, she is the ultimate challenge to the show's "problems can be solved by communicating your feelings" mentality. That's because she doesn't have any problems other than the belief that she's flawless, and it's not her feelings that she needs to search, it's her ''flaws''.
* LackOfEmpathy: While this is basically Homeworld's hat, White [[UpToEleven takes this further then any other Gem]], including the other Diamonds. She refers the entire Crystal Gem rebellion and everything both sides fought for as just a "little game" of Pink's. It's also implied that she figured out that Pink faked her shattering and was Rose Quartz all along, but never bothered to tell the obviously still grieving Blue and Yellow. It's implied that this was the result of perceiving herself as the UltimateLifeform and thus all other beings being lesser than herself. It isn't until Steven forces her to see she's not that she finally starts seeing anyone else as ''worth'' listening to let alone caring about.

* MarionetteMotion: Victims of her power exhibit this at first, including AbnormalLimbRotationRange. [[UncannyValley It's creepy as hell.]]

* NothingNiceAboutSugarAndSpice: Per WordOfGod, White, unlike other Gems, was given markers of an old-fashioned, stratifying femininity to emphasize her alien nature even when compared to the other Diamonds.

* TimeDissonance: UpToEleven. She refers to Pink's FakingTheDead and the consequences that followed as her ''game'', and it's likely that to her, bubbling the other Diamonds for the next few millennia is [[GoToYourRoom equivalent to]] ''[[GoToYourRoom grounding]]'' [[GoToYourRoom them]] (especially since there are pink bubbles in Pink Diamond's ''room'', and Yellow implies that it has been done to her before).

** Ironically, it's doing this to her to ''herself'' that makes her finally possible to be reasoned with at all, as realizing she's not as perfect as she ''thinks'' she is forces her to talk to Steven like a normal person instead of being so secure in her perfection she'll never consider anyone else as worth listening too.

** White Diamond takes pride in the fact that she is white and free of "impurities", lording it over "colored gems" (including her fellow Diamonds) as something that makes her superior to them, and is devastated when she discovers that she has a bit of color in her too. It also does not help that she is the oldest and arguably most stubborn, making her something of a RacistGrandma for Steven.

* AbusiveParent: She's the oldest of the Diamonds and the one in charge of the group. Blue and Yellow seem ''terrified'' of her and it's implied they try to limit their interaction with her to avoid getting on her bad side; Yellow Diamond specifically mentions her poofing and bubbling the other Diamonds as a punishment. As shown in [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E28ChangeYourMind "Change Your Mind"]], she readily employs physical violence and even brainwashing to keep the Diamonds in order. She finally grows out of this at the end of the episode, however. Given the primary theme of the show is interpersonal relationships, it's little surprise its apparent ultimate villain embodies one of the most toxic of relationships.

* ArcVillain: Of the Diamond Days arc at the end of season five, culminating in the finale, "Change Your Mind".

* TransformationOfThePossessed: White Diamond using her powers to control other gems make them turn [[DeliberateMonochrome monochrome]] like her and [[VoicesAreMental speak in her voice]].

* BreakThemByTalking: She uses her ability to read the minds of other Gems to figure out their insecurities and pick at their flaws. When she confronts Steven she plays on his fears, first by claiming that he only keeps the Crystal Gems around because their imperfections make him feel superior by comparison. Second, she claims that Steven never existed in the first place and that Pink Diamond simply deluded herself into believing that she was was a different person. The appearance of Pink Steven instantly disproves this.

* MistakenIdentity: Most Homeworld Gems think Steven is Rose Quartz or Pink Diamond, but White Diamond's view is a bit different. Rather than just thinking Pink has taken a very different-looking form (again), White knows Steven has a human body and believes himself a different person. However, White still thinks Pink [[RaisedAsAHost just stuck herself in that body, took it over]], and [[BelievingTheirOwnLies deluded herself into thinking she was Steven]]. This conclusion actually has enough physical evidence [[BreakThemByTalking to worry Steven himself]], but is disproven when pulling his gemstone out just makes a full-Gem version of Steven.

* NothingNiceAboutSugarAndSpice: Per WordOfGod, White, unlike other Gems, was given markers of an old fashioned, stratifying femininity to emphasize her alien nature even when compared to the other Diamonds.

'''As the majority of White Diamond's characterization occurs in the closing episodes of season five, ALL spoilers will be left unmarked. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!'''

* AntiVillain: Despite how [[TheDreaded the other Gems perceive her]] [[MadGod and how she presents herself]], she is just trying to be the perfect example of a model Gem that her Homeworld subjects can take after, since all of her ridiculously perfect standards are a result of her genuine, yet deluded belief that she is perfect above all others.

* DotingGrandparent: By the time of [[WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie The Movie]], she acts as this role to Steven, along with Blue and Yellow as his [[CoolUncle Cool]] [[MaidenAunt Aunts]]. All of them [[PleaseDontLeaveMe beg for him to stay]] with them on Homeworld so that they could [[MyBelovedSmother shower him with affection]] to the point where Steven (who is famous for being a CuddleBug) [[EveryoneHasStandards finds it too much]]. White in particular turns up [[LargeHam the ham]] in order to guilt-trip when he tries getting out of it.

** Her [[{{Wrath}} infamous temper]] turns out to be hers: while she starts off in SugaryMalice, when she finally encounters something she ''can't'' control (that Pink Diamond is ''truly'' dead and ''never'' coming back no matter what she does), it devolves into rage before becoming [[PsychopathicManchild a temper tantrum]]. Notably, this flaw being forced into the light is what finally forces her to realize she's not as perfect as she thinks she is.

* PsychopathicManchild: She may act like she's above everyone else, but when her attempts at getting Pink Diamond to turn back to her old self fail, she hammers at the floor like a fussy toddler in contrast to the creepy matriarch she has been portrayed as before.

* BigBad: She is undoubtedly the ''true'' main antagonist and the ultimate source of all Gem-involved external conflict in the original ''Steven Universe'' series. Her supreme authority over Homeworld is why their empire is so rigidly conformist, expands at the expense of any other form of life, and fought a war on Earth against several Gems who turned against her, which resulted in many Gems being corrupted into monsters.

* EasilyForgiven: Steven, Blue and Yellow don't hold it against her despite everything she's done to them. However, "Homeworld Bound" show that [[spoiler:Steven still has a lot of suppressed anger towards her for all the trauma she put him through, which surfaces when White allows Steven to control her body]].

* HartmanHips: [[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E28ChangeYourMind "Change Your Mind"]] reveals that she has these to further highlight her womanly and goddess demeanor.