#i love phosphophyllite from hnk so much

[yogurtlid10000]

To the like 3 people who follow me for hnk I finally drew them again. 😓 they are so dear to me 🙏 when will th new chapter come out pls

🤔I was thinking about cairn and phos when phos lost that long luscious hair 🤬high ponytail was elite

[pemprika]

hnk 92: apology


i think shinsha’s attachment to phos has been severed but like if either could still empathize for each other in some way, they deserve to have closure for all the emotional turmoil they’ve experienced apart…i feel like shinsha would have wanted to hear an apology from phos, but maybe they’d also have deep feelings of regret for how greatly phos had spiraled…


i’m so sad i just want shinsha to talk to baby phos one last time before they all perish

[houseki-no-suffering]

can you also rec some of your fave fics? that masterlist is a gift!

glad it’s useful! 

i’m taking this chance to expand on last year’s masterpost, hope it helps:

ongoing stories:

“My novelty socks are never clean” by @greygayghost. 9/? chapters, AU, featuring (among other things) Cinnabort and Cairnphos. Grey hasn’t updated in a while but it’s still a very pleasant read. Know that I’m very much in love with the way they characterize Phos and Cairn. 

You can also check out Grey’s other fics

“Red Pens” by @lieutenantruby. 3/? chapters, AU, euclase x lapis lazuli. I just love these assholes so much and their banter is so good. I don’t know if it’s gonna update again but please support the euclapis agenda

finished stories:

basically all that dreamofspring has written. Their Cinnabar. Can we please talk about their Cinnabar? The characterization is so on point. dreamofspring was also there for Cinnabort when no one else was so definitely check them out if you like that pairing.

Two of my favorite fics from this author are:

“Go anywhere”, a heartbreaking collection of missing moments from Cinnabar’s past featuring baby shinsha. yes. I know.

“Starting over” a canon-divergent fic set after chap 65 and that i just… love, with all my heart. Makes me wanna hug Shinsha and never let go.

“Alone“ by fallingmistinthedark (@phos-phophyllite​). A canon Cinnaphos oneshot with really good characterization. It will hurt, but in a good way

“Meeting in the rain” by yurimperial (which now goes by @phantasticphilosophy​ i think). AU. Another Cinnaphos-ish oneshot. I really, really love the mood of this one and the characterization is really good. I also wish I had half of the author’s vocabulary

“Night” by @anjubilu​. AU. This oneshot is part of their Cinnaphos week series. There’s a tendency in Cinnaphos stories to have Phos comfort Cinnabar while this is one of those cases where Shinsha is there for Phos and I’m so here for that 

“The concept of death” by dirtwerm. Canon, baby!Phos-centric oneshot that reads like a children’s story. Wow. Just wow. The way this is written, Phos’ innocence, the way the story explores how childlike gems can be and how they understand life and death. I can’t recommend this enough.

“Alone Together” by @anjubilu​. An AU oneshot and my favorite antarcphos story. The characterization is just flawless and Phos’ inner monologue is to die for.

“Wonderful” by @phoslos. A Diamond/Phos/Cairngorm/Antarc/Cinnabar human AU ficlet. Extremely cute. I have a soft spot for second person narration and this fic is just adorable. These rocks need more silly moments.

“To fight the cold“ by leviadrache. AU, oneshot, cinnabar x phos x antarc. In which phos just wants cuddles and a little warmth but their partners happen to enjoy the cold somehow.

“It was ice being partners with you” by phosphophyllite. Canon, oneshot. It’s just… this story is so *cute,* and funny, and sweet. And if you too think that a canon-divergent snowball fight and outrageous doses of fluff are everything these sad rocks need, then please read it

“Upādāna” by @rinboz. AU, Oneshot, chrysoberyl x alexandrite. Probably one of the saddest, most tragic Chrysoalex fics in the tag. It will hurt but it’s very good and it fits into a very elaborate AU that I’ve come to love. Maybe look it up on Salin’s blog before/after reading. It’s a Mature fic with potential triggers, so keep that in mind.

“Who I’m holding” by @ludella​. AU, oneshot, cairn x phos. I really like this one, I think it portrays cairnphos very well and it mirrors canon even if it’s an AU. Nice flavor of angst 

“I’ll give you my heart on a plate” by dirtwerm. Canon Cairn-centric drabble that explores the problematic sides of cairnmea from Cairn’s perspective. Very nuanced and very effective, which is impressive given how short this story is. Please check it out

“Classic together” by nothingbutregret. A canon cairnmea oneshot in which the author captures their relationship so well. It’s meant to be cute but I had a sick shiver running up my spine when I finished it

“Stargazing” by ameraldpalace. A canon ghost x lapis oneshot. Very cute, very in-character and I have a soft spot for nerds and for stargazing

“The big blue maw“ by king_of_dreams. Canon, oneshot, yellow & padparadscha. My two favorite old farts being cute friends and reminiscing about the good ol’ days when paddy finally wakes up. This is so bittersweet, i love it

“Going by the seasons alone” by luminescent ( @delineative​ ​) is a lovingly written and careful study of Rutile’s character and their history with Padparadscha and Yellow. Tragic and sad in a typical HnK fashion, i adore the mood of this one, really

“Is red for love or anger?” by @mrshansman​. Canon, oneshot, rutile x padparadscha. Ugh I love this one. It captures the stillness of the HnK world so well. The angst is subtle but so good

“Scar for scar, heart for heart” by @ludella. AU, Oneshot, rutile x padparadscha. Very very fluffy, very very self-indulgent, very very cute. Basically, Paddy sneaks out of the hospital to have a date with their doctor

“How could anybody love you and lose you?“ by @ludella. AU, Oneshot, rutile x padparadscha. A very interesting AU in which Paddy is a lustrous and Rutile a human. Things escalate from here

“Jaded Crevasse” by @radishleaflets​.13/13 chapters, canon, Jade x Rutile. The story that made me consider Jade and Rutile as a pair and now I love them. Especially the bantering. The bantering is so good.

“I resent you for being kind” by @shushtaouk. Canon, oneshot, euclase x lapis lazuli. The character study behind this, the sheer quality of the writing, the perfect characterization, the atmosphere, the card game, Lapis’ brilliance and Euc’s mind… I’m shook. These words can’t give this fic justice so please read it

“Weight of eternity” by BisexualDisastaur (AlpacaSoon). Canon, oneshot, euclase x lapis lazuli. “A series of vignettes from Lapis’ birth to Phos’ rebirth, all seen through the eyes of Euclase.“ I love the structure of this and how it explores Euc and Lapis as characters. It’s so good

since i’m at it, you should also check out @pinktatertots99, cause she writes fanfic prompts and an appealing amount of stories, and @keiiilalei for her speedrun AU. you can also check out my stories too

[lotusillustration]

i know there’s a hnk tarot deck which i own and ADORE but here’s my take

I tried to keep this based off the rider-waite deck, but I’ve used some interpretations from my personal favourite deck too.

mobile users: I’m so fucking sorry

0. The Fool - Phosphophyllite Upright, The Fool represents new beginnings and innocence. It’s numbered 0 as it’s the beginning of the journey through the Arcana. The Fool encourages a free spirit and diving into the unknown. Reversed, The Fool represents being unprepared, taking too many risks. “What am I getting myself into?” could be an interpretation if you draw this card, and that you should reign back the once carefree energy.

I. The Magician - Euclase Upright, The Magician represents power and resourcefulness. To draw this card may mean that your current plans are in order, and ready to be acted upon. It represents clarity and focus. Reversed, The Magician means you may be unsure how to act upon a situation. To draw it may mean the universe wants to to reign back, and you’re out of touch with yourself.

II. The High Priestess - Lapis Lazuli The High Priestess signifies one’s subconcious mind, which constrasts The Magician’s focus on the concious mind. She represents that the world is not all it seems, and can be a fascination with higher powers, and unseen events. She essentially represents enlightenment and psychic insights.Reversed, she represents withdrawal and silence. She can represent manipulation, secrecy and hidden agendas - even when that knowledge should be shared.

III. The Empress - Red Beryl The Empress is a difficult card to explain to non-tarot users, as the “base” for her is femininity. In this sense, femininity is not being a feminine person, but rather represents traits such as creativity and connecting with your senses. The Empress sees beauty in all things. Reversed, The Empress may show you’re throwing yourself into your work too much. You may be neglecting your own needs. Red Beryl is the only gem who creates clothing for the gems - that’s their only purpose in life. Rx, The Empress suggests you take time for self love, enjoying beauty for oneself rather than the world around you.

IV. The Emporer - Kongo The Emporer is the perfect card to describe Kongo-sensei. In a literal sense, The Emporer represents a father figure. The Emporer is a strong, powerful man, who status and respect come naturally to him. He also represents a social system, a strict way of living, and order. He also signifies knowledge and expertise. I don’t to go too far past these literal meanings of The Emporer, since he already reflects Kongo perfectly. Reversed, however, he can represent a system that has too many strict rules. To pull The Emporer rx, you may be struggling with a person in power over you, you could be struggling where you’re the person in power and don’t know how to act. It could mean unhealthy and unequal relationships that, over time, become toxic.

V. The Hierophant -  Yellow Diamond Upright, The Hierophant could show that oneself is seen as a mentor, the one who people look to for adivce, for teachings. He represents someone with strict family traditions, who will pass these traditions down generation to generation. The reversed Hierophant is a card that isn’t nessicarily bad, like many other rx cards. It may show you that you need to assess your own wants and needs, to teach yourself before others. It encourages one to really think about the world they live in, and challenge the status quo if deemed appropriate.

VI. The Lovers - Rutile Upright, The Lovers represent passion and how one chooses to interact with those around them. While it can represent a close one-on-one relationship, it can represent relationships in general. To go deeper, The Lovers represent one's personal values, and carrying out tasks that are most important, and making difficult descisions. To draw The Lovers, it is a sign that one should focus on self love first. Reversed is where this gets juicy. Reversed, the Lovers represents an imbalance in relationships, communication is difficult and ones values may change or no longer match. To pull The Lovers rx, you may be facing a difficult choice, perhaps with no perfect outcome. One may be having severe inner conflicts, unsure of current values, and disharmony within oneself. Interestingly, The Lovers rx are encouraged to seek out The Hierophant's advice.

VII. The Chariot - Cairngorm Upright, The Chariot shows determination and willpower, potentially for a specific project. Once one decides on their project, they will try, to no end, to complete it. Ignore those trying to block you, move forward. In an incredibly literal sense, The Chariot can represent moving from one place to another Inversed, however, The Chariot is a warning to stop. Your plan is failing, you may have lost motivation. You're focused too much on yourself, and ignoring your Higher Self and what the Universe wants for you. You may find yourself controlled by another person, or controlled by your own thoughts in a negative way.

VIII. Strength - Diamond & Bortz Strength is often depicted with an image of a ferocious lion, being tamed by a gentle woman (in my deck, it depicts the constellation Leo). Upright, Strength represents raw power, internally (this contrasts to the external powers of The Chariot). To draw Strengh, it shows that you have a lot of raw energy and, well, strength, However, you need to control, or “tame” this raw energy, which is why I’ve included Dia. Strength reversed may better depict Dia, to draw it means you’re full of self doubt, unsure of your power and overall lacking in self confidence. As a side note, Strength rx can also depict explosive anger.

IX. - The Hermit - Cinnabar I'll start with the inverse Hermit for this one. Inverse, The Hermit represents taking too much time to yourself, hiding away, and ignoring the Higher Self. In a relationship sense, one might be withdrawing aggressively, despite the reaching out of another. Upright, The Hermit is representative of a more healthy self reflection - stepping back from "real life" to focus on yourself for a little. Upright, The Hermit appears at a pivotal point in one's life, an important changing point. At this point, one may need to stop withdrawing in order for personal growth. Priorities and understanding of the Higher Self may be deeply improved, and one may move away from an unhelpful society.

X. The Wheel of Fortune - Ventricosus The main reason I selected an Admirabilis for the Wheel of Fortune is that this card can represent the fleetingness of life. Upright, the Wheel of Fortune represents rapid change and the cycle of life. The Admirabilis are the only species in the series with a “regular” lifespan, and their society behaves as such. The Wheel of Fortune can also relate to karma and lovingness. For the Gems and Lunarians - the world is not in a state of constant change, while the Admirabilis live and die.  To draw the Wheel of Fortune, one may have a difficult choice on their plate and urgency to change. The Wheel of Fortune urges one to believe in the Universe’s plan, and may represent critical turning points in life. To draw the Wheel of Fortune reversed asks you to step back from taking matters you shouldn’t into your own hands, and can flip the balance of your Higher Self. In order for good karma to come back to you, you must accept responsibilty for your wrongdoings.

XI. Justice - Jade Justice, of course, represents justice. Digging deeper, though, it represents one's alignment with the Higher Self and how one interacts with others. Justice tried to keep others in order, possibly even trying to distract from the negative in the world. Justice is a search for the truth, despite adversity. Reversed, Justice can reflect your inner self, and not believing in a choice you've made, or been forced to make. One may be at conflict with themself due to actions they've taken, or even unwilling to take accountability for the poor choices one has made. Justice rx can also represent a severe inner critic, or, again, facing a descision with no truly "good" outcome.

XII. The Hanged Man - Benito The Hanged Man represents taking a break, a step back to assess your situation. Thing is: these pauses may be voluntary or involuntary. The Universe may be at play, allowing you time to take a break, reassess yourself and your life. He can also represent feeling "stuck" with oneself.  Reversed, The Hanged Man can show a resistance to change, filling your life with distraction, ignoring the real issues. Inversely, The Hanged Man rx could mean your life is already on pause, and has been for a long time. One could be frustrated by this, wanting to live again. Benito feels “boring” or “normal”, but this is one of the most positive traits a gem can have.

XIII. Death - Morganite & Goshenite (both old and new) Death upright can mean sudden, unexpected change, and as a whole the card represents death, rebirth, transformation and transition. The deaths of the original Morga and Goshe were sudden, unexpected - but needed. To throw in a headcanon, I believe they chose to die together - opening death with open arms - which is a very literal interpretation of the card. The birth of new Morga and Goshe also came as a shock, restarting the cycle of the beryl-class gems. Inversed, Death represents a need for change, a need for a restart and a need for deeply meaningful change. To draw Death rx, the card offers one a chance to restart, be reborn, on their own terms. The card can often also mean one is going through a massive personal transformation, and often requires a follow up card to be drawn for context.

XIV. Temperance - Red Diamond To draw Temperance (upright) enourages one to bring more balance to your life, and take the middle road. Red Diamond was the first Gem, the one who started it all, and the one who gave Kongo a new purpose in “life”. Temperance is all about changing, combining and mixing one’s life - Kongo and Red had to mix their traits to create a space for themselves and the future Gems to live.  Temperance inverse isn’t quite the opposite, and rather signifies the end of a time period - to keep the balance in order, To draw Temperance rx one should evaluate themself and the life they’ve lived, and try to restore the balance. Perhaps, Red Diamond’s death was all part of the balance.

XV. The Devil - Aechmea I did initially want to not be generic and not assign The Devil to Aechmea, but it really fits him more than anyone. The Devil is deeply representitive of the Shadow Self, and could certainly be related to the cardinal sins. To draw The Devil it may represent that you’re controlled by your impulses; greed, lust, etc. It represents addiction and obsession, as well as close personal bonds that are still in the “honeymoon phase” To draw The Devil reversed, it urges you to let go of unhealthy obsessions, addictions, and sins in order to reach the Higher Self. Obviously, this can be taken quite literally for Aechmea.

XVI. The Tower - Alexandrite The Tower is representative of change and disaster. In most cards, it’s depicted as a tower - a stable structure - built on the top of a small clifface, indicating that it’s fall is near. One bolt of lightning hits the tower, and it falls. The Tower is another card that represents change, however it’s change is one of chaos and violence. You might pull The Tower if you’re experiencing trauma or massive, chaotic change. The best way to cope with The Tower’s symbolism is simply to let it fall, so you can rebuild and start anew. To pull The Tower inverse, the chaotic energy is caused by an internal trigger, rather than external. You may also be resisting change, which makes the inevitable change even worse.

XVII. The Star - Ghost Quartz Again, I’ll start with the reversed meaning. The Star reversed is a symbol of loss of hope, overwhelmingness and may test your faith in the Universe. It represents one who was once full of hope, and had it all crashing down upon you. Upright, The Star follows The Tower, and is the glimmer of hope in the aftermath. The Star upright symbolises coming to terms with yourself and the future. The main symbol of The Star is hope, and rediscovering your sense of meaning (such as Ghost gaining more purpose upon being paired with Phos)   XVIII. The Moon - Zircon The Moon represents fear and illusion, which I think fits Zircon well, being tossed around between partners and feeling inadequete. Fears from the past become projected into the future, and descision making becomes hard. The Moon should ask for advice from The Empress, as they may be losing touch with their “femininity”. Interestingly, The Moon is often depicted with two towers in the image, still coping from the stress of The Tower. Reversed, The Moon often means these insecurities are beginning to fade, and one is able to put their fears aside. One may also be recieving messages from the Universe, but unable to quite comprehend them. XIX. The Sun - Watermelon Tourmaline The upright and reversed meanings of The Sun are quite similar. Upright, it is indicative of success and happiness, while inverse it can indicate one’s inner child. We know that Melon is a younger Gem, and with recent parts of the manga we can see how their “inner child” has been warped and manipulated. The Sun can represent a longing for an easier time, a time in one’s life where they felt more carefree and happy.

XX. Judgement - Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Alexandrite, Amethyst 84, New Goshenite (think I got them all - the Gems currently on the moon) Judgement can definitely tell a bit of a story about the Gems on the moon. Upright, the card is indicative of new hopes and life-changing descisions. To draw Judgement upright, a pivotal life event could be on the horizon. Reversed Judgement, however, indicates self doubt, fear, and regrets. When one pulls judgement, they may be ignoring a descision that needs to be made. Getting too comfortable in putting off the descision can become dangerous. (side note: I just noticed some lotus root symbolism in my personal card)

XXI. The World - Phosphophyllite, Euclase I didn’t particularly want to reuse characters so much, but these two fit in for The World perfectly. For Phos, the story started with them, and should end with them. For Euclase - the figure depicted in The Magician is the same as the figure depicted in The World, The Magician has reached their enlightenment. To draw The World, upright, is to show that one’s journey is near completion. Euclase is the last character Gem to be worried about Phos, to even remember them. For Phos, their determination to finish what they started may be nearing it’s end. Reversed, The World is about seeking closure. Perhaps one is seeking out shortcuts rather than completing the task.  It represents nearing closure, but some sort of barrier being in the way.

anyway thanks 4 coming 2 my ted talk if u actually read it

[naihexiang]

fave hnk ost tracks

this is for you @solsmasher 

1. Afternoon - lighthearted and fun, listen for a boost in energy bc it’s just… so nice and bubbly

2. Trials in Winter - played when Antarc is showing Phos the ins and outs of winter duty and the reason why I think Antarc plays lower range instruments because of the big parts the cello/double bass have in this track. Also, it’s really fun to listen to because you can practically hear Phos and Antarc bickering lmao

3. Idea - a more low key version of Afternoon featuring some nice flute and violin duet

4. Phosphophyllite - literally the sweetest, most innocent, most hopeful track I’ve ever heard. Like, it’s just… so nice to listen to because it’s just so soft??? I miss bby Phos okay

5. Unreachable - listen to this only if you want to cry because this is the track that is played when Antarc is taken ;; like, you can literally feel Phos’ desperation through the music and like… oof that hit me right in the feels, thank you

6. liquescimus - listen to this to be instantly reduced to tears (also that cello solo tho)

7. Battle - you know that song that plays during every episode preview? Yeah, that’s this one

8. Danger - the track that plays during Bort’s first appearance, and it sounds pretty badass to match

9. Breather - I don’t even know why I like this track so much, it just sounds fun and also kind of chill… like Padparadscha but in song form. I don’t know what I’m talking about, the strings part at the end just gets me okay

10. What is This?! - this is the track that’s played whenever bby Phos is being a little shit and I love them so much. Baby Phos shenanigans are immediately brought to mind. You can practically hear Jade sighing.

11. Transformation - played when alloy Phos is first presented to the other gems after winter and also when Padparadscha wakes up. Fhdcdjxmdj Padpa’s voice in the sub? Hnggg

12. Isolation - that cello part tho. I have to admit, I’m a cellist, so basically any song with a good cello part is immediately on this list.

13. Cinnabar - BABY ANGEL PRECIOUS CHILD I LOVE YOU SO GODDAMN MUCH- But Shinsha as a character aside, this song just feels… so lonely and detached and distant and sad and I want to pick Shinsha up and hug them and never let go

14. Retreat - played during Bort and Phos’ encounter with Shiro (and also that time in ep 12 when Shinsha saves Phos from a sunspot) and like… it’s just so good on so many levels? Like, there are actually layers to this track, and I can feel all of them…. Also, at the part near the end you can totally visualize Bort dragging Phos away from Shiro and then yeeting them at the bell lmao

15. Shiro - play for fun memories of that one time Phos lured Shiro away from the other gems by making a gold fake gem and then getting their ass beat

16. Awakening Power - one of my top faves of the OST; played when Phos discovers their speed and also when Dia and the other gems get Phos out of Ventricosus’ shell and put them back together. It’s like… so hopeful and soft and sweet… it’s just really good okay

17. Phos and Cinnabar - “WHY ARE YOU RUNNING???? WHY ARE YOU RUNNING”; jokes aside, I thought this was a cool rendition of Shinsha’s theme so yeah

18. Hibernation - time to cry over the winter arc :’)))

19. Kyoumen no Nami Orchestral ver - okay so there are two versions of this one, one that has the actual song and the other that’s an instrumental, and they’re both so good oh my god

20. Land of the Lustrous - this is my ultimate OST fave because it is a fucking medley and I’m weak for medleys okay??? Like, the song transitions and the whole composition is just so good and I literally love this so much. Also, them having Shinsha’s theme after Phos’? ;)))

21. C’mon! - played only once during the entire anime, and that’s when Sensei stomps into the school to scold Phos for running off into the sea. That entire scene is fucking hilarious and I love it and this track so much

also tagging @pancakethepikachu bc this is basically a better version of the original i sent u <3

hope u enjoy ~

[oc-rehab-centre]

[HNK OC Review] Sapphire

Hey there guys, gals and other gendered pals! This account has been rather quiet as of late, wouldn’t you say? A shame indeed, although we received our first public OC review request today. While the user would prefer to be left anonymous on this post, this review is available for you and them to read through. So sit down, relax and let’s do a quick review of this Houseki No Kuni OC!

Part 1 - Biography Analysis

+ some quick words in advance!

What there was to read of Sapphire’s bio was admittedly scarce. The amount of information chalked up to about 1 page and just over 500 words. While shorter character biographies are quicker to read and easier to get through - I’m a firm believer that when it comes to telling your OC’s story and telling us about them, more is always great! I would definitely suggest adding more to this bio and there are several templates for OC bios available on platforms like DeviantART and Amino.

Also, apologies if I’m mistaken, but it looks as if this and the other piece of Sapphire sent to me were created in an avatar/anime dress-up game. I’d advise instead of doing this, perhaps drawing your OC yourself or requesting/commissioning artwork from an artist instead. It just adds something more original and personal to your art and OC, plus there’s more creativity that way!

Name: Sapphire Nicknames: Saphy, the Blue Angel, Jewel

There is already a canon “Sapphire” in the Houseki No Kuni universe. However, this isn’t a huge problem. Perhaps add a colour, shade or type into her name to distinguish her from the canon character. For example, there are various diamonds in Houseki No Kuni: Diamond, Yellow Diamond and Red Diamond. Perhaps you can distinguish your Sapphire from the canon “Sapphire”. Below is a picture of some shades of sapphire and I think “Cornflower” or “Kashmir” might fit your character the best.

Credit: SpiralMuse.org

As for your character’s nicknames, perhaps add some more context, like:

Who refers to Sapphire by these names? 

How did she earn these nicknames?

Does she like these nicknames?

I believe doing so would add some more dimension to your character. It would show the reader how she fits into the universe and can even allow them to determine things about their character before even reading through the entire bio. Also, I don’t think that the Gems would know what an “angel” is, given they don’t seem to have much of a grasp on human religion albeit mythological creatures stemming from these religions. 

Age: Between 200-250 years old

Species: Sapphire

While I can’t say a straight-up “no” to this being an answer to this question, sapphire wouldn’t qualify as your character’s species. For this category, I’d suggest writing “Gem” or “The Bone”, as those are the most common names for the species’ of the crystalline characters in Houseki No Kuni. My apologies, just a nitpick!

Strength: 9

Sexual Orientation: Straight

Appearance: Sapphire is a blue gem with long flowing hair tied up in a ponytail. Everyone likes Sapphire’s hair because it is very sparkly and shimmers a lot in battle, making them hard to miss when they fight the Lunarians. Sapphire’s eyes are also blue. Sapphire has markings on her face which appear when she’s very angry at the Lunarians, and they don’t go away until Rutile comes to calm her down. Sapphire doesn’t like these markings but Sensei says that they make her special, but it doesn’t make her like them any more though. Sapphire has large wings made out of wax and pieces of silver that were made by Rutile, which she uses to fly and cut through her enemies with. 

To begin this, in the two images that I was sent with this biography, there is very little consistency in the design, which I reckon is because the customization options varied between the two used games/apps(?). Nothing hints to this character having a wardrobe of outfits and I believe that more care should’ve gone into at least ensuring the design didn’t change so drastically and like this. Like I said, drawing it yourself or asking for art from another person can make a larger difference than you may think!

Now as for what is stated here in this portion of the bio, it is admittedly very cluttered and rather disorganized. The sentence structures are rather awkward in nature and seem to jump from one topic to the other. (eg. Rutile calming her down and Sensei’s opinion on her markings.) A few pieces of this information could definitely be removed from the “appearance” section and placed into another, like “personality” or “relationships”. Please stay true to the fact that this is an “appearance” description and not a description of everything under the sun.

There is a strong emphasis on Sapphire’s beauty and strength in this portion, which is alright, although it comes off as just slightly conceited. (Though I think I’m alone on that stance, nor was mentioning that opinion truly important lmao.) I have a slight problem with her two most apparent traits, I will confess. Sapphire’s facial markings and wings. 

What struck me as odd about the facial markings is that such things have never been seen in the canonverse, it just seems so alien and frankly unnecessary. The markings are cited as only showing up when she is angry and sound as though they serve no sense or purpose other than displaying this single fact. While there is a potential for some interesting OC lore, I would personally suggest removing this feature unless you have a logical way of explaining their presence on her face/body.

The gems also wear thick coats of powder across their bodies, remember? If these markings were anywhere, I imagine they’d exist within/on Sapphire’s crystalline body and would struggle to show up through this powder... This concept is just very confusing and I can’t think of any logical reasons/examples to give you that would make them work. 

Now for the wings, it’s obvious that this was inspired by the Greek tale of Icarus. I personally think that your concept is interesting but it brings up many questions, both for the sake of character-building and well, science.

Why would Rutile create Sapphire a set of wings? How come none of the other Gems get their own wings? Did it take Sapphire time to learn how to use their new wings? In Houseki No Kuni, the laws of physics are constantly defied, but seeing a character flying with wings made from a metal that is 655 lb per cubic foot seems like science the creators wouldn’t push against... Ahem, anyways, I believe these are questions you should explore if you plan on keeping the implemented features there. 

Personality: Sapphire is an emotionless character who is very strong and works alone whenever she can. She thinks that she is too dangerous to work alongside other Gems because she could hurt them when she gets angry or made in battle. This is why Sapphire asks to work alone. Sapphire also wants to protect her friends very much and that’s why she’s always so angry at the Lunarians for taking away the other Gems. Sapphire also competes a lot with Phos because they’re both strong Gems only Sapphire is more loyal and useful to Sensei more than Phos was. Sapphire also doesn’t like Padparashadda very much because Padparashada isn’t helpful to Sensei either when he’s asleep all the time, and because he makes Rutile really upset which Sapphire doesn’t like.

Emotionless, hm? Given the fact that she supposedly have markings that trigger as a result of an emotion (anger), I would hardly go to say she’s emotionless. In this paragraph, she’s listed as: angry, protective, competitive, loyal and passionate - all of which are emotions. 

Just like in the “appearances section”, there is information in this paragraph that would fit better elsewhere, like her relationships with the listed characters, whose affinity and history with are never explained in this bio. 

I think that there are definitely more traits you could add to Sapphire’s personality. She is rather simplistic and I believe there is a lot of potential for her to be much more. Perhaps read about sapphires and find out what they symbolize for some inspiration or even randomly generate personality traits/attributes in online generators! Spice things up a little, make this OC more personal, make them feel more real.

Likes: Sensei, killing Lunarians, blue roses, King, her wings, being strong, the night time Dislikes: Phos, Padparashadda, when the lunarians get away, seeing broken gems, getting very angry

Powers: She has wings that let her fly and attack the Lunarians in order to make sure they cannot return back to the moon. Sapphire is stronger than Phos

Another useless piece of info, but you’ve spelt Padparadscha wrong a number of times. It’s not so hard to do a quick spellcheck! I probably sound like a broken record, but the wings continue not to make much sense to me, and I think you need to revisit the concept a little more. Given how you explained them, they sound very very powerful, seemingly strong without consequence. Also, the fact that Sapphire is stronger than Phos would be more believable and intriguing if Sapphire had clearer motifs and a more developed personality. 

Her likes and dislikes are rather generic, which admittedly broke my interest a little. I’d suggest adding some likes and dislikes that reflect Sapphire’s character a little better than her love for murdering the Moon People. 

The characters she likes and dislikes also may leave the reader curious. Though you went into slight detail about why Sapphire and Phosphophyllite aren’t besties, seeing more info on relationship with Sensei, Padpa and the aforementioned Rutile would be great. 

Backstory: Sapphire was born on the Cord Shore and taken to the school by Sensei. Sapphire liked to cling to Sensei because she saw him as a father and always wanted to please him. When Sapphire was growing up, Sensei could tell that she was powerful when he saw Sapphire’s markings, which showed up when she got mad after seeing some gems return to the building broken by the Lunarians. Sensei let Sapphire fight earlier because he knew she could protect the gems with her hardness and her ability. One day, Sapphire was in battle but the Lunarians escaped too quickly, making her very angry. Rutile gave Sapphire a gift which was a set of wings made out of wax and silver so that the Lunarians could never escape her again. Sapphire’s wings were so powerful she didn’t have to use a sword anymore and could take down even more Lunarians every day with only her wings. 

*inhales*

Oh boy. 

Ok, uh, I feel as though Sapphire’s backstory makes her seem like a very very special snowflake - something you should never strive for with a character. Sensei and Rutile both seem to be out of character, as both seem to feed Sapphire what she wants with a silver spoon... She seems like a bratty chosen one and I can’t say this backstory will sit well with everyone. 

There’s so little here that it makes me question a lot, and it frustrates me that’s there isn’t more to justify the choices and thoughts of Sensei and Rutile. Why did Sensei see such potential in Sapphire? Why would Rutile craft wings for Sapphire? Why did Sapphire get away with working alone?

There’s just so much left unanswered and unexplained... Please, if you ever decide to work on this, please add more and fill in these enormous holes. Adding a timeline would help with the pacing because when all of this is happening and at what ages Sapphire was when these events happened isn’t specified, adding to the confusion. 

Fun Fact

Sapphire has never gotten broken before but she is curious about what it feels like. 

Sapphire wraps herself in her wings when she sleeps.

Haha that first piece of trivia is rather cute. It reminds me of being young, seeing a friend with a cast and wondering what it feels like to break an arm or a leg. I think that’s really cute! The second - well, you already know my stance on the wings ^^’

Notes + Summary

If there is one thing that always sucks about fandom OCs, it’s that the fandoms always impose restrictions on creativity. In the case of Sapphire, I feel that a lot of the creative choices would definitely work to her benefit, but in the world of Houseki No Kuni, several aspects of her character feel unnatural and vague. 

Anyways, here’s a reiteration of my main points from this review.

Please add more to this bio! There wasn’t a whole lot of information in this bio, certainly not enough for Sapphire to be considered a fleshed out OC. As a result of how short this bio is, there are a lot of holes and a lot left unexplained. There is a lot of potential for this OC to be bettered by filling in those holes wisely! You can look online for a template to find section headings you’re missing, like: relationships, statistics, etc.

Getting your own images would be pretty great! Artists are always better than doll maker games!

Altering her name just a little by a colour prefix (eg. “Cornflower Sapphire”, “Kashmir Sapphire”, etc.) would differentiate her from the canon blue Sapphire. 

The removal or better explaining of the facial markings and wings would definitely be beneficial if you want to make her fit better into the series. 

Sapphire is written like a special snowflake, she’s practically written like a protagonist and seems to directly challenge Phos. Perhaps tone down the amount of special features she has, there’s nothing wrong with being just average. Sometimes, looking and behaving like a wallflower can make an OC better?

Explaining Sapphire’s connections with her peers in greater detail would be beneficial, considering they seem to baby her a fair bit. 

Overall, I’d give Sapphire an overall rating of 3.5/10. There just wasn’t a whole lot to work off of from this bio and what’s there is admittedly not superb. I hope this doesn’t discourage you from creating OCs and encourages you to make some changes to Sapphire. As I said, I see a lot of potential in her, as long as you fill in those holes in her bio and correct what is flawed in a way that makes sense and seems natural. 

That’s all for this review, Ciao!

[cinnbar-bun]

In a Blink of an Eye

(Phos x Human! Reader)

A/n: Angst...angst...angst...first thing that isn’t GBF and ITS SOME HNK ANGST IM SORRY. CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR HNK. Also, male pronouns for the gems. 

“Ne, (Y/n), look what I made!” 

“It’s so pretty! These flowers are more beautiful than the ones from my time.” 

“Dia taught me how to make them into a crown. For you, uh, if you want?” 

“Of course, how could I resist? You made it for me!” 

“Since we’ve got nothing better to do, why don’t we sit in the fields for a while?” 

“Let’s go. There’s so much we have to talk about!” 

I remember that time. That was when (Y/n) kept talking about home. They said they missed it, but being with me made it easier for them. How strange. It felt strange to be wanted by someone. 

“Phos! Slow down! I can’t keep up with you!” 

“Heh, maybe all those snails are starting to drag you down!” 

“Meanie. I thought you cared for me!” 

“Of course I do. But~” 

“Oh no.” 

“Tickle fight!” 

“Stop! Phos! Heh, s-s-stop! I don’t wanna hurt you!” 

“Huh? Why would you hurt me?” 

“I wouldn’t. You just uh...” 

“O-oh...yeah...shattering...it’s fine, Rutile will patch me up again.” 

“But I’d feel awful if you broke because of me.” 

“You worry too much. Seriously, this is Rutile’s job, he’ll do it.” 

“If you say so...” 

Right...this was after I lost my legs...I chased (Y/n) around all the time. They always tried to run by my side, even though they were no where near as fast as me. It was fun running through the fields with them. We’d catch butterflies and just talk. They cried once because they thought they broke me. Even if they did, I wouldn’t mind, it was just nice to be with them. 

“You’re up for the winter?” 

“Of course. Where else would I be?” 

“Uh...hibernating?” 

“Humans don’t do that Phos, only some animals.” 

“Huh...strange...then how do you live with low levels of sunlight?” 

“I dunno. We don’t need it that much, we get energy from other things. Don’t be surprised if I’m tired and mopey all the time though!” 

“So then, what do you do for winter?” 

“A lot. We can go ice-skating, or sledding, or make snowmen and snow angels. Tons of things!” 

“What are those things?” 

“I’ll show you okay? Wait, even better! We can celebrate Christmas together!” 

“Christmas?” 

“It’s a holiday where friends and family get together and exchange gifts. We sit next to a warm fire and have dinner together, and then in the morning, we open the gifts Santa left us from that night.” 

“S-Santa?” 

I still don’t understand what Christmas is. They gave me a red hat with cotton on the end and said it was a “Santa hat”. Still don’t know what that is either. My gift was a book about how much they loved and cared for me. They felt awful they couldn’t get me anything, but I loved it. I kept it in my room. They helped me when Antarcticite was taken. They helped me when my arms became gold. My brothers were scared of me, but (Y/n) never stopped loving me. I felt better knowing that I could be by their side. 

“Phosphophyllite, you do know the dangers you are putting yourself in by getting attached to them, right?” 

“What are you talking about, Sensei? They’ve helped me and I don’t think I could be where I am without them.” 

“It’s much more complicated than you’d ever understand. Tell me, what would happen if they suddenly left?” 

“I’d go find them.” 

“What if they were to wither and break slowly?” 

“Then I’d fix them, like they did for me.” 

“Phos...you have much to learn. They’re not pleasant things to learn. Humans are different from gems. Once they’re gone, they’re gone.” 

“But we can always put them back together! Rutile will fix them!” 

“No, Phos, you cannot put back together a human body and soul. Death is a foreign concept to all of you, but you will learn the painful truth about life. Not everything can be brought back, and not everything can last. Some things are gone in a blink of an eye.” 

I wanted to argue with him, I wanted to say how I’d never let (Y/n) get hurt. How I didn’t care how bad I was injured, I’d rather they lived. Words cannot describe how wonderful they’ve been to me. 

“S-sorry, Phos...my body isn’t as young as it once was.” 

“It’s fine. I’m sure a little nap will fix that.” 

“Maybe...let’s sit under the sun again...” 

I noticed they always were tired and slow. They were becoming weaker and couldn’t keep up with me as much. They complained their back and their knees were hurting, but that they were fine. “Growing pains” they laughed. If they weren’t seriously injured, then I didn’t mind. (Y/n) was strong. I know that.

Yet...it’s strange...sometimes I hear them saying my name...talking to me... I want to say something back, but my voice never leaves me. And then one day, it stopped. It must have been my imagination. 

“Phos. Phos. Phos.” 

The sensation is new. I don’t understand what happened. Cairn is in front of me, a bewildered expression on his face. 

“You’re finally awake.” 

“I guess so...” This isn’t my head. I can feel it. 

Lapis. 

I looked around the room before looking back at Cairngorm. 

“I feel like I was supposed to see someone. Their name is on the tip of my tongue...it’s...it’s...” 

“(Y/n).” 

“Ah, yes, that’s it! Where’s (Y/n)?” I want to see them again and ask more about Santa. I want to to sit in the sun once more. 

“Uh...about that...” Cairn doesn’t face me. 

“What’s wrong? Why are you so sad?” 

“P-Phos?” I turn around and assumed it was (Y/n), but it didn’t sound like them. Diamond and Bort were at the door, staring at me in surprise. 

“It’s been over a hundred years! We thought you’d never wake up.” Diamond says before he embraces me. 

“Heh, well, I’m here. Do you know where (Y/n) is?” Diamond and Bort nod before they make me follow them. 

I feel giddy all over at the thought of seeing them. One hundred years without them has been quite boring, but I’d wait more for them. 

“Hey, we’ve been walking for a while now. Where are you taking me?” I ask impatiently. 

Bort shakes his head before we stop in the open meadow. I don’t see (Y/n) anywhere.

“Are they going to surprise me again?” I didn’t understand what was going on. 

“No. They’re right here.” Bort stated, pointing at a stone on the ground. 

“So funny, Bort. Come on, where are they?” 

“Phos, they’re right here. They died. Years ago.” Dia states a bit too casually for my taste. It was almost like it was a joke to them. 

“W-what? Dead? But it’s only been a hundred years, I’m not understanding wha-” 

“Phos.” Sensei steps forward and places a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Remember what we discussed a long time ago? Humans are much more different than you. They are gone quicker than you’ll ever realize.” 

“B-but...can’t we- can’t we put them back together?” I feel tears in my eyes. Why am I shaking so much? 

Sensei shakes his head. 

“Humans rot. They cannot be replaced. Their body does not exist anymore, all that’s left is bone.” 

“When did this...” I can hardly muster out the courage to ask. I’ve been gone for how long? How long had (Y/n) been dead while I was resting?

“Over eighty years ago. They barely reached one hundred years of life.” 

Barely a hundred? Was that even living? 

“So...so...they really are gone?” I huddle over the stone on the ground. This was the last remainder of (Y/n) I’d get. 

A horrid thought came into my mind. What if I forgot about (Y/n)? What if all our days together just disappeared? 

I can’t hear anything. I can’t feel anything. It’s just a horrible choking feeling, as if I was drowning. I don’t remember what happened next. Sensei had to pull me away from the stone and tried to hold me back. The other gems were screaming for me to stop. There’s some dirt on my hands and knees, but I can hardly even think about that. 

(Y/n) was gone. 

A hundred years is nothing. I remembered the phrase Sensei used to describe humans. 

“They’re gone in a blink of an eye.” 

[rin-chan32]

Hnk Royalty Au

Lapis Lazuli walked out of the room where she had her intense discussion with Cairngorm, letting out an upset and heavy sigh as they walked out, turning and her eyes looking at Phosphophyllite— who was standing at right next to the doorway and eavesdropped on their conversation.

Phos froze up when Lapis noticed her standing at the door frame, not knowing what else to say to the Queen next to her. Without thinking, she pushed herself off of the wall and bowed repeatedly to the other, “I’m so sorry for listening to your conversation when I wasn’t allowed to! I-I was just curious about what you were talking about when you mentioned Antarcticite-- I-I mean..” she explained clumsily, her cheeks heating up when she forgot to add queen or lady to the beginning of the deceased ruler.

It was quiet between them before Phos’ body froze up once more as she heard Lapis’ heels walk towards them, closing her eyes tightly to avoid her upset look and prepared herself for some kind of punishment.

But, instead of what she thought was going to happen, she felt the soft hands of queen in front of her on her cheek. “Lift up your head,” Lapis said gently, no anger present in her voice as she spoke. Phosphophyllite stayed where she was before she opened her eyes and lifted her head to look at the lady in front of her. When she noticed that the other’s face was calm and gentle, she let out a small sigh of relief before she stood up properly and looked at the queen nervously.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about something,” Lapis said before she smiled at the servant in front of her, taking her hand off of the other’s cheek before she took a step back and started to slowly walk away. “Come with me, we need to talk in private.”

Phosphophyllite watched the queen walk out of the hallways before she shyly trailed behind the other. The two of them walked out into the garden, an awkward silence between the two of them as they silently walked away from everyone else who was working or in the castle. Phos turned around every once in a while to see how far they were walking away from everyone, and started to wonder how important this conversation was going to be.

When Lapis decided that they were in a private enough space for them to talk, she came to a sudden halt— which made Phos let out a small yelp as they stumbled back so she wouldn’t step on the others elegant dress. A sigh came from the ruler in front of her as she gathered up her thoughts before she turned around to look at the other female. “I want you to take my place,” she said suddenly.

Phos’ eyes widened as her mouth opened and closed multiple time, “e-excuse me!?” They said a bit too loudly, lifting up their hand and clasped it over their mouth before they said anything else loudly.

“I want you to take my place, as ruler,” Lapis Lazuli said, another sigh leaving her lips as she turned away from the younger servant in front of her and looked at the flowers around her. “You know, I have a feeling that I’m going to die soon.” She said, her calm, but also had hints of sadness as she spoke.

“Why!?” Phosphophyllite asked, getting upset that one of the best queens that she knew was already predicting her death at a young age. “You shouldn’t be dying this early, Lady Lapis!! You’re an amazing and successful leader and everyone loves you!” She protested, her cheeks becoming a shade of pink from anger.

A gentle laugh passed through the others lips— Phos heard from Cairngorm that she did that when someone complimented her on her accomplishments, it was a silent way of saying thank you— before she moved her head to look at the other. “Secrets aren’t kept forever, phos.” Lapis said gently before she looked away again.

“Oh..” she muttered, looking at the ground before she started to kick the small pebbles on the ground with her worn out shoes. Phos completely forgot that it was considered a sin to be in a relationship with someone of the same gender— which was the case for Lapis Lazuli and Ghost Quartz.

“I never told anyone this, but some people have started to figure it out already,” Lapis muttered gently as she closed her eyes when a gentle breeze blew. “Of course, Jade and others has said that it wasn’t true for my people to maintain respect for me— but it won’t be much longer until the truth gets out.” She muttered as she sighed once more, “I’ve been getting some letters from people threatening me in multiple ways for being in a relationship with her, even though the truth never came out.”

Phosphophyllite was deeply upset when she heard this— she never expected that some people would go _that_ far to get the truth out of their leader. “But…” they started before they looked at the queen in front of them, “but why me to take your place? I’m just a simple servant who can’t do much, and you’re a beautiful woman who has done so much!”

“Because I trust you,” Lapis Lazuli said softly, turned to look at her with seriousness in her gorgeous blue eyes. “I know that you’re just a servant, but I trust that you can do greater things than this. I don’t trust Cairngorm to take care of my people after seeing how little he cares for his own, and I don’t want to have Ghost stress more after my death.” She explained swiftly.

“I-I see..” she muttered, feeling a bit special that a great queen in putting her trust into her and not the ruler she was serving for.

“I’ve talk to Jade already,” Lapis added, taking a few steps towards the other. “When my funeral happens, Jade and Euclase will take you back to my country and from there, they’ll prepare you to properly take my place as queen. Bortz will also help you as well.” She explained before she put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. “I believe in you.” Lapis whispered before she started to walk out of the gardens and back into her gardens.

And that was the last time Phosphophyllite saw her again— or saw her alive, that is.

A month later, Lapis Lazuli was sitting down in a chair, her eyes closed as she let Euclase comb her fingers through her hair. She opened her eyes when there was knock on her bedroom door, slightly lifting up her head as she moved it to looked at the closed door. “Come in,” She said before she looked back down, making it easier for the other to finished her hair.

The door opened and Jade walked into her room, stopping a few feet away from the doorframe. “My lady, there is someone who is wanting to see you. They said that it is quite urgent,” she explained, her voice a serious tone as it always was.

“Tell them that I’ll see them in a little bit,” Lapis replied, her eyes moving to look at Jade nod before they closed the door and left.

Euclase continued to do the others hair, putting it up in an elegant bun before she took a step back and looked at the other with a worried look. “Be careful,” She Warned as she watched the other start to leave her room.

“I will,” Lapis Lazuli said with a kind smile before she started to go to the other that waited for her patiently for the two of them to go to where her visitor wait. The whole time they walked together, Jade made sure to remind her to make a signal of some sort if she saw anything suspicious. And as usual, Lapis gave her a small nod before reassuring her that nothing was going to happen.

When they arrived at their destination, Lapis’ visitor straightened their posture before giving her a deep bow from respect as she walked towards him. Both Jade and Euclase were standing in the shadows in the hallway to make sure everything was okay with her and their sudden visitor.

The two of them talked normally, from what they could see from their spot, their queens voice sounding normal as she spoke. But, it wasn’t until a little later when the man she was talking to got a bit suspicious— mentioning different things that she did that wasn’t necessarily good for the country. Jade tried to hear what else he had to say to her, but eventually she wasn’t able to hear their conversation anymore.

Her green eyes watched the queen take a step back and tried to signal something to the other, but before Jade could do anything, There was a sword that went through the other’s stomach and the tip coming out of her back.

Jade took out her sword that she carried with her and ran towards the man, who carelessly threw Lapis to the ground and pointed his sword at the other. Euclase ran down the hallway, yelling for help from the other people in the castle since she wasn’t properly trained in combat.

Jade tried to fight off the other as she waited for Euclase to come back with reinforcement, but the man was a lot more skilled than she was. It seemed like almost every time she tried to attack him, she always got cut by his blade. Things didn’t go better when Euclase came back— it just got worse for them and more amusing to the man in front of them.

He bent down and grabbed Lapis Lazuli by her hair, pressing her slightly weak body against his own and the blade of his sword against her pale neck. She tried to pry his arm against his neck, but her struggle to get free wasn’t strong enough from her open stab wound in her abdomen.

“Put down your weapons and tell me if the rumors are true,” he demanded, ignoring the queens efforts to get out of his grasp. “Tell me that she’s committing a sin and is in a relationship the that Ghost Quartz!”

“No,” Jade said firmly, her grip tightening on the handle of her sword.

“Tell me or else she dies!” He yelled, making a small slit on her unscarred neck and made her let out a moan of pain. Jade watched the blood from the slit in her neck roll onto the bloodied blade before looking at the ground and thinking hard about it.

Although she loved her queen very much, she vowed to keep her and Ghost Quartz’s relationship a secret so nothing bad will happen to Lapis Lazuli. She was conflicted on whether to tell him the truth, or to stall and try to get him away from her.

“Jade!” Euclase’s voice took her out of her thoughts, turning around to look at the slightly older woman behind her. “Jade… please tell him the truth..” she pleaded.

The green gem look at her for a while before she sighed and put her sword back in it’s rightful place, waiting for the other people behind her to put away their weapons as well. When their weapons were out of sight, Jade let out a slightly nervous sigh before she looked at the man and opened her mouth to tell him the truth about their queen. But, when she opened her mouth, the large door behind the two of them with some of the army who probably heard news from Euclase.

Instead of hurriedly telling him the truth, she freaked out and ran towards the door. “NO!!” She yelled as her palms grew sweaty. Lapis turned her head to look to see what she was yelling about, but when she turned her head the man behind her tugged on her hair tightly before he made a deep slit on her throat. His hand held her up by her hair before he threw her bloody body back onto the ground, his actions enraging Jade and made her take out her sword out.

She heard Euclase yelling something, but she ignored her voice as she charged at the man in front of her. When she got close, he raised his sword up and managed to slice her cheek before she stabbed him in the chest. She stayed there for a while before she took it out of his upper body and turned around see Euclase run towards Lapis Lazuli’s body on the ground.

Her shaking hands touched a part of her bloody neck before she lifted up her arm and touched around her wrist frantically. And based on the others facial expressions as she looked up, Jade already knew the words that were going to come out of her mouth. “She’s dead,” Euclase muttered softly, her voice cracking as her eyes looked at the other sadly. “What… what should we do…?”

Jade bit her lip before she sighed, looking at Lapis on the ground before she closed her eyes, “she… she told me that she wanted Phosphophyllite to take her place when she died.”

“Phosphophyllite?” Euclase repeated as she got up and looked at the other and got up, “isn’t that Cairngorms servant?”

The other nodded, “she didn’t tell me why she wanted her to take her spot, but I figured that she had a reason in mind.” Jade opened her eyes as she looked at the other, “and… since it’s her last order to us, we should probably do it…”

The two of them were quiet before Euclase let out a sigh before she turned around and started to slowly walk away, “I’ll contact someone help us preparing her funeral and stuff…” she muttered softly.

Jade watched her leave the room, telling the people who were still in the room to help clean up the room before she turned around to go outside and give the people the bad news.

[phoslos]

ch. 70 thoughts here--press j to skip. im sorry to mobile users. 

couple of things: i was surprised at how much i loved cairngorm’s entrance, for one thing. the other thing is--all the gems seem off, not just the moon gems. 

If gems really are the bones left over from humanity, then we can assume they’ve never really were meant for fighting. Spirit and Flesh, that is what battles are for. Bones do not grow stronger or weaker as flesh/spirit can. Phos defies that, because, well, it’s Phos. 

Something of note--the bell toppling over (a symbol of wisdom in Buddhism, esp paired with a vajra), and Cairngorm’s weapon--another vajra. We’ve seen one before, with Semi/Cicada (I wanna know why post apoc subs has his name as Cicada but eh). Vajras are meant to be symbols of compassion--at least that is what most things said when I was researching. Honestly, I find this to be a good sign for Cairngorm. And Cairngorm felt like themself to me--rash, powerful, and violent. It made me happy, even if they shatter Phos’ (Lapis’) head. Honestly, I’d rather the head than the torso--the last bit of Phosphophyllite left. 

Worrisome. 

As for Padparadscha, I think they were cool! Rutile wouldn’t give in, and we can assume Padpa knew Yellow wouldn’t/couldn’t fight, so they went with the swiftest fix. We don’t know much about Pad’s fighting style, beyond that they’re only second to Bort. I think we definitely see that here. We’re used to seeing Padpa as the cool, older sibling sorta vibe (or Sleeping Handsome), but if HnK teaches us anything, it’s that there’s always more underneath the surface. 

Bortz was cool, too! I hate seeing the gems fight, but, well, I feel like we don’t really know what the purpose of the raid was--just talk, try to convince more to come? Break Sensei? Either way, the Earth Gems initiated battle. I think that’s undeniable, here. Also, Padpa likely knows that any breaks suffered could be repaired...Compared to Cinnabar’s mercury. And we don’t know what the Earth gems planned if they defeated our Primary Night Raid Trio (primary bc primary colors). That’s worrisome. Using Shinsha against Lunarians is one thing, but against other gems...? It makes me kinda sick. 

Is it weird for Euclase to be giving me Aechmea vibes? Gosh, would that make Jade Cicada/Semi? Awkward. But, somehow...I dunno if I can deny the parallels there, now. Few as they are. 

From the beginning, Phos has been special. While seen as annoying and useless, the gems do dote on Phos, even if it seems more teasing/light bullying (save Bortz). As Phos changed, the more special they became. Why? Why them? Why did Ichikawa go for a brittle gem, one that could not even be made into jewelry? What is the significance of that, beyond an interesting plotline for the protagonist? Why must so much of them be replaced to be stronger? 

For all we know, Euclase, with their amazing prediction skills, determined when a gem would be taken to the moon. “Helidor should be at the cave today.” We know they’re something of a secret leader, after all. (This is speculation btw, I absolutely adore Euc and really hope this isn’t the case--but choosing a gem with two sides like euclase? It’s a curious pick). 

I think I’ve already accepted Sensei is likely asleep, from one of red-dia’s posts a while back. Not to mention, I really doubt he would want them fighting Phos like this. 

To summarize: I have a good feeling about Cairngorm right now, Padpa only remained composed while ensuring Yellow and Phos’ survival, I really don’t like them using Shinsha’s mercury in battle against their own kind, weird vibes about Euclase but mostly just speculation, Phos continues to be a shining light for the future--whatever that future is, and...Earth gems initiated fighting. We don’t know what they would’ve done if they beat the primary raiders. 

I really encourage people to do research on Buddhism, especially as symbols come up (which is all the time). Ichikawa pretty much has said that the story has ties with Buddhism, anyways. Also, keep in mind the stories Ichikawa has told so far--how they deal with unhealthy/toxic/abusive relationships and the human condition. These are both points I think about a lot when I consider Houseki no Kuni. 

Also, Ventricosus and Antarc are still deeply missed by me, thanks for coming to my TED talk byeee

[rutilation]

So, I’m putting all my crack theories/observations about hnk in one place so that if any of them are proven correct I’ll be able to refer back to this and say that I called it.

The title of Ichikawa’s art book, Pseudomorph of Love seems to allude to her approach for Phosphophyllite’s changes.  Whenever Phos loses and gains a new body part, it’s an act of compassion in some way.  Except for the pearl eye, all of Phos’s alterations have followed this pattern

They lost their legs while trying to help Ventricosus, and gained their agate legs because Ventri decided to show them compassion and not stoop to the level of the Lunarians.

While Phos’s own self-hatred tempted them to chop off their arms, it was only when the ice floes preyed on their desire to save Cinnabar that Phos accidentally-on-purpose lost their arms.  Antarc initially dismisses the gold and platinum as useless, but when they see that Phos is not-so-subtly projecting their own feelings of uselessness onto the metals, Antarc changes their tune and decides to attach them to Phos.  In a roundabout way, Antarc is trying to communicate to Phos that they aren’t useless ;_;

Phos loses their head trying to save Cairngorm’s arm, and Cairngorm decides to give them Lapis’s head.  While they kind of can’t help but project Lapis onto Phos after they wake up, the fact that they were willing to give up their own head, and the fact that they finally admitted to themselves that they don’t believe any of the gems will be brought back indicate to me that they did this out of genuine concern for Phos and not because they’re trying to resurrect Lapis.

Edit as of 5/11: I totally forgot about this, but Phos loses Lapis’s hair trying to shield baby Morga and Goshe from the lunarians.

Edit as of 6/12: Phos had to have some pieces chipped off from trying to help Cinnabar.  They also lost the piece of their leg they offered to Variegatus.

Because the pearl eye is the exception to this, and is primarily associated with betrayal on Phos’s part and manipulation on Aechmea’s, I suspect it’s going to be replaced later on in the story, maybe by a red pearl, which is closer to how the pearl is described in the whole seven treasures thing. (and just as an aside, I totally buy that Ichikawa is referencing the seven treasures with Phos’s new limbs.  She said in an interview that Buddhist sutras about gemstones are what inspired her to write the story in the first place so I think it’s safe to say that she’s familiar with the concept.)  I also think that Phos will get this possible new eye from Cicada, because he is a cinnamon roll. 

I also think that Phos choosing to get rid of one of their alterations and replacing it with a more positive one would be a good way to progress their character arc while also forwarding the work’s themes about identity.  Perhaps the solution to the tragedy of Phos slowly losing themselves is gaining the capacity to choose how they change, which I find a lot more poignant than edgy pondering about how Phos isn’t Phos anymore–I find that take in particular to be a rather un-nuanced appraisal of Phos’s situation, and it bugs me how common it is.

I think that the lower half of Phos’s torso is going to be the next thing to go, leaving only their chest (metaphorically, their heart) behind.  There are several bits of visual story telling that lead me to think this is a possibility.  The first is in the various non-permanent injuries that Phos suffers throughout the series.  I may be reading too much into things since there are only so many ways for Phos to break, but it’s possible they function as visual foreshadowing:

loses their arms and legs in the first chapter after getting caught up in Kongo’s attack

loses their arms while trying to grab cinnabar

is completely dissolved by Ventricosus (I’ll come back to this.)

left eye gets knocked off by one of Aculeatus’s tentacles

arms get shattered after Kongo yells at them

an arm gets broken after Phos falls off the roof of the school

they get cut in half by a lunarian’s arrow

their face is punched off twice by Cairngorm

they destroy their head during a mental breakdown, and then get punched in half by Jade–in more or less the same spot where they got shot before

lol I cannot keep track of all the injuries they got against the explosive shogi pieces

Cairngorm shatters their torso

Aechmea slices off their limbs

Every single one of Phos’s more permanent losses has been preceded by at least one injury to the exact same area.  In the first half of the manga, it was mostly losses of their arms and legs, in the second half, we see a lot of Phos getting either decapitated or bisected.

Another bit of visual storytelling comes from the anime.  The director has stated in an interview that he had a long chat with Ichikawa and is aware of future events not yet depicted in the manga.  While he obviously wasn’t allowed to overtly hint at said future events, there’s one bit of anime-original content that might hint at Phos’s future changes.  The abstract scene of Phos being put back together after being dug out of the shell is very different between the anime and manga.  In the manga, they slowly coalesce out of a stream of Cinnabar’s mercury.  In the anime, Phos forms out of a liquid of their own coloration.  What I want to focus on is what the camera emphasizes in this scene.  It focuses on Phos’s feet, arms, pelvis, head, and then their eye.  Apart from their pelvis, these are all parts that Phos eventually loses.  I suspect this scene was actually the director trying to include some visual foreshadowing.

Assuming I’m right about Phos losing half their torso, I think Padparadscha is going to be what replaces it.  Despite their few appearances, they’ve been given a lot of narrative weight, and have a similar coloration to carnelian, ruby, and amber–which are the different interpretations of the red gem written of in the aforementioned sutra.  Not to mention all the lotus symbolism surrounding them.

I think that the new Morga and Goshe are actually reincarnations of the old ones, only they were reincarnated as the others’ gemstone.  New Goshe’s personality matches old Morga’s and vice versa.  The fact that they heard Phos calling out to them in their dreams while Phos was dreaming of the shattered gems seems like a dead giveaway to me.  Although given how bad the translation is, I could be misinterpreting Goshe’s words.  That said, I do think that Phos is actually somehow psychically connecting to the dead gems in this scene and not just dreaming–the fact that it’s the first full-color scene we’ve had since the beginning of the manga just screams “Pay attention, this is important!”

I’m not the one who came up with this theory but I certainly agree with it: I think that the reason the gems were ground into a fine powder and not just turned into jewelry is because it allowed the Lunarians to extract the gems’ inclusions, and that’s what the human particle is made of.  In which case, the dusted gems are well and truly dead, and no amount of reconstruction will bring them back.  In my view, the thematic core of the story is about coming to terms with change, loss, and death.  Bringing back the lost gems would undercut this theme. 

However, I have a feeling that Antarc was actually kept alive.  This is one of my crackier theories but please bear with me:

As much as I love Phos to bits, Antarc would probably hate the person Phos has become, which means Ichikawa could still forward those themes I just mentioned even if Antarc was brought back.  Things would never be the same between them.

The fact that Aechmea had a replica of one of the broken pieces of Antarc’s face ready when he met Phos is reeeaaaallllly suspect.  At the very least, it means that Aechmea has been interested in Phos and has expected them to come to the moon eventually for a while now.  Why on earth would he just happen to have a piece of Antarc on him otherwise?  My theory is that when Aechmea became aware of Phos’s new arms and the fact that one of the seemingly static gems was rapidly changing, he took an interest in Phos and decided to spare Antarc so he could use them as leverage.  (Not that he really needed to since Phos was dumb enough to do his job for him and bring a bunch of potential hostages to the moon. rip)

Going back to the situation with Morga and Goshe, I think it’s possible something went wrong when the Lunarians tried to extract their inclusions which lead to their inclusions dying, and thus why Mora and Goshe were reincarnated whereas none of the other gems appeared to be.

Also going back to when Phos got dissolved and eaten, I think it might be foreshadowing that by the end of the story, Phos will have lost all their original parts.  Or maybe it’s just supposed to clue us in early on that the story we’re reading will be about how Phos is broken and repaired, both literally and metaphorically. One or the other…

I’ve noticed that apart from Phos (and kind-of-sort-of Cinnabar,) no one appears on the volume covers more than once.  Since they’ve been pretty active recently, I suspect that Euclase and Jade will be on the cover of volume nine.  On a related note, I think that Cinnabar will finally crawl out of their dust jacket hovel and onto the cover in the final volume. 

The Lunarians briefly mention a gem called Apophyllite after they collect Phos.  The fact that there used to be a gem who was the same color as Phos, as well as having a name with similar etymology–and said etymology refers to both gems’ breakage no less–makes me think they might be important later.  It wouldn’t be the first time Ichikawa casually name-dropped someone crucial to the plot many chapters before they became relevant.

While Kongo couldn’t understand Ventricosus, the way he talked about the ice flows made it sound like he could understand them.  So I think the ice flows must be speaking some human language.

The Admirabilis all seem to be named after the shapes of their shell.  Aculeatus means spiked, and he has a spiky shell.  Ventricosus means swollen or distended, which may refer to her round snail-like shell.  Variegatus means multicolored, so if we ever see her shell, I expect it will be very colorful.  I also think Variegatus herself might be bluish green like Phos, since the chapter focused on her definitely invited parallels between her and the old Phos, what with her outgoing personality, the fact that her people see her as a little kid and don’t take her seriously, her tendency to get herself in trouble, and her desire to venture past the safe confines of her society and explore the gems’ island and the moon.  Not to mention the fact that Phos themselves could be described as variegated at this point in the story.

Melon has pikachu powers as a sort of fantasy take on tourmaline’s pyroelectric (generates a charge when heated) and piezoelectric (generates a charge under applied mechanical stress)  properties.  But hemimorphite is also strongly piezo/pyroelectric.  I theorize that the reason the two were paired up was so that Hemimor could teach Melon about their electricity powers, and that we’ll see Hemimor using said powers sometime in the future.

Everyone’s already talking about that intriguing shot of the human particle after Phos gets the pearl eye, so I don’t really have much to add to that discussion.

Also, I’ve seen people speculate that the gems are all super short because of how tall they are compared to Kongo.  I don’t know if I buy this though, because that assumes that Kongo is as tall as an average human man, which has never been confirmed.  When we see Aechmea stand next to Phos, he’s not much taller than they are.  In any case, I think it’s a bit too early to speculate on how tall the gems are.

Well that’s about all I can vomit out of my brain for the moment.  And despite the wall of text I just wrote, I don’t have much of an idea of how the story will end.  I’m excited to see what Ichikawa will say with the ending regardless of how happy or sad the story ends up being.  Knowing her, it’ll at least be interesting.

[yogurtlid10000]

……….a collection of my favorite phos arts (mostly phos and gormie) over my HNK loving career OH HOW I LOVE GEM PEOPLE (I kind of like cairnphos but I make them silly they’re INCREDIBLY fun to doodle)

😁more transformers art soon

i CANT believe my favorite medias are: super fragile 4ft tall rock people who are super pretty and cute from some depressing anime

and then like 30ft tall massive metal robots who transform into all kinds of shit and are super tough and strong and epic who could probably speak and shatter the HNK characters

what a contrast

If u follow me youre gonna get Both transformers and land of the lustrous 🙁 (idk how blogs work…. Can I make a blog just for HNK and one just for tf without making a whole new account? Someone help me)

ANYWAAAAY moon phos is so fun to draw :3

Why did I write so much.😎

[bahamutdragoon]

💎#JAPAN EXPO - SUNDAY 💎 I don’t have much pics the other days so I will keep them for later until I get some pics from my friends 🙏💕 I worn Phosphophyllite from Houseki no Kuni with some friends and met others HnK cosplayers the same day, it was great 😍 I started to wear Phos in the afternoon so I didn’t have any photoshoot with my friends 😣 I hope I will later this year ! I especially love the wig and the makeup, I really want to wear Phos more in the future, they are my fav character 💚 • Wig : Handmade Lenses : @ohmykitty4u Costume : Aliexpress • #宝石の国 #宝石の国コスプレ #HousekiNoKuni #HousekiNoKuniCosplay #LandOfTheLustrous #LandOfTheLustrousCosplay #LèreDesCristaux #フォスフォフィライト #フォスフォフィライトコスプレ #Phosphophyllite #PhosphophylliteCosplay #PhosCosplay #Cosplay #JapanExpoParis #JapanExpo2018 #CosplayWig

[lotusillustration]

HnK Yakuza AU notes...I have taken this wayy further than I anticipated/intended so it’s under the cut,

-The Lustrous, Amirabilis and Lunarians are all opposing Yakuza groups.

-The Lustrous group eventually splits into the Moon/Earth gems.

-The Moon gems have been kidnapped, murdered or jailed.

-The Lunarians were holding Aculeatus as a captive, so Ventricosus kidnapped Phos to trade them for her brother. In the ensuing fight a bomb went off, causing Phos to lose their legs. They now have prosthetic legs (I’m imagining something like this)

-Phos’ arms were badly damaged and scarred in the fight in which Antarc was killed. They’ve lost the ability to feel pain in their arms, and had the scars covered with full sleeve tattoos.

-When Lapis Lazuli was killed, their dying wish was for Phos to become their replacement as second-in-command. Unfortunately, Phos was injured badly during this fight and was knocked into a 4 year long coma. When they awoke, they discovered Sensei and Yellow had been waiting in order to fulfil Lapis’ dying wish.

-Phos dyed their now-grown out hair blue to match Lapis, as they wanted to be more like them. It was later cut short, but they kept the colour. They also begin wearing a gold hair accessory left for them by Lapis. (thank you to @shiinsha, @rin-chan32 & the anon for inspiring my Lapis incorporation!!) 

-Ghost Quartz has DID. Cairngorm takes over the role as host as Ghost reaches their breaking point and simply can’t exist anymore.

-Cinnabar has a highly contagious but unknown bloodborne disease. They stay away from everyone to avoid transmitting their disease, as they pick at their skin and open have open wounds.

-Padparadscha has a heart disorder and their health is slowly deteriorating due to it. They can’t fight how they used to, and can sleep for days-weeks at a time without being able to be woken. Rutile desperately wants to cure them, but they’re running out of options and time.

-Despite this, when Padparadscha can stay awake, they’re incredibly strong and among their best fighters.

-Sensei is the leader of the Lustrous. He once had a child named Red Diamond who he loved dearly, but they were kidnapped and murdered by the Lunarians. This was why Sensei began ‘adopting’ the other gems - he fears losing his other precious children (many Yakuza members join the gang and are ‘adopted’ by them due to being exiled or abandoned by their families).

The Yakuza hierarchy and how each gem fits into it:

Oyabun (’Family Boss’) - Sensei

Wakagashira (’First Lieutenant’) - Yellow Diamond

Shateigashira (’Second Lieutenant’) - Padparadscha (retired when their condition became too much to handle), Alexandrite (retired after Chrysoberyl was taken), Lapis Lazuli (was murdered), Phosphophyllite (current...hasn’t been replaced since they left for the Moon Lustrous)

Saiko-komon (’Administration’) - Euclase, Jade

Kyodai (’Elder brothers’) - Padparadscha (current), Alexandrite (current), Sphene, Peridot, Rutile, Diamond, Cinnabar, Morganite, Goshenite, Antarcticite

Shatei (’Younger brothers’) - Bortz, Ghost Quartz/Cairngorm, Benitoite, Neptunite, Obsidian, Red Beryl, the Amethyst twins, Hemimorphite, Watermelon Tourmaline, Zircon

Alex time! If u know anything about me u know I stan so there’s a lot.

-Before Chrysoberyl was kidnapped, they were a pretty bright and bubbly person despite their past trauma and being kicked out of home. 

-When Padparadscha’s condition became too much for them to handle, Alex was appointed the Sateigashira as the next most senior member.

-When Chrysoberyl was taken away, they blamed themself for it, believing they should’ve been taken and that they should’ve protected their younger lover better. They develop a form of psychosis causing hallucinations and fits of berserk rage.

-They started picking fights and throwing themself into any dangerous situation they could, and would go completely berserk and destroy anything in their way, losing the ability to differentiate between friend and foe.

-Due to this they were banned from engaging with the Lunarians, and had to retire from the role of Sateigashira. They became obsessive over the opposing gang and do as much research on them as they can, primarily by infiltrating the Lunarian online communications. 

-Since they have nowhere else to go, they generally just stay in the Lustrous headquarters.

-Close with Yellow. Yellow often visits and the two just sit together, drinking or smoking and talking about the past. Euclase visits the two to make sure they eat some real food occasionally so they don’t, y’know, die.

[kinhelping]

Hi! I'm kin with Phosphophyllite from Houseki no Kuni, and I'd really talk to *literally anyone* about this source, kin or not, though I'd also rly like to talk to other hnk kins!! I'm rly looking for antarc, shinsha, lapis, and cairn too..dia would be nice (I love everyone so much) pls msg @ glitterandkin

@glitterandkin

[memoryjoule]

what's hnk? can you tell something more about it?

I’M SO EXCITED YOU ASKED, ANON….

houseki no kuni (land of the lustrous) is a story written and illustrated by haruko ichikawa, and it follows 28 gems inhabiting a fantasy earth-like setting as they defend themselves from being harvested by the “moon people.” phosphophyllite is the main protagonist, though there are individual chapters in the manga dedicated to introducing the other gems as well (cinnabar/shinsha and diamond to name a couple). much of the story is also devoted to exploring the gems’ relationships with each other and their environment, which i think ichikawa did a most wonderful job in showcasing.

*AHEM* i’ll stop myself before i accidentally get into spoiler territory, but i strongly encourage you to experience hnk for yourself if you’re still curious! it’s a breath of fresh air in the genre and i love it very deeply ;_;

[yogurtlid10000]

another assortment of old HNK art (gamer edition)

IGNORE that phos’s computer screen has the touchscreen buttons OK I TOOK A SCREENSHOT FROM MY IPAD Ik it looks wrong.

😰ok have a nice day