The moon rises and tires you out

Bune - IMWA warrior who's magic form is tied with magic from lunar planets. A.k.a magical girl who has moon powers

Phos moon form

I saw that you write for land of the lustrous so i was thinking hat maybe you could write moon phos and a lunarian reader??

"GOD BLESS MY FLOWER, LET IT BLOOM FOR THE WORLD TO BEHOLD AND LET IT NOT BE SO COLD."

(REQUESTED) MOON! PHOSPHOPHYLLITE / LUNARIAN! GN! READER

LAND OF THE LUSTROUS

[ slight ANGST ] 799 WORDS

[SEMI! HC AND SCENARIO FORMAT.]

⸺SONG// the perfect girl by mareux //

Moon Phosphophyllite is a gem of much curiosity, going through far and wide to busy his head in somewhere it shouldn't be. This is no surprise when you manage to catch his eye, though you take the form just as similar as all the many lunarians that he has become familiar with. He cannot seem to place where the source of his intrigue and fascination with you has originated from.

⸺Perhaps, it was the fact that you brought him back to a past. A past where he was not so burdened with the responsibilities that he holds today, he reminisces in memories filled with grassy bedding unlike the smooth surface of the cold floors he walks upon now.

⸺Though phos is a gem of confrontation, he finds just as much relief in glancing at your form from a distance as well. He decides in this one instance that he won't headbutt himself into the situation like he always does instead he'll simply just -stalk- watch you.

⸺He's a gem who has known helplessness like the back of his hand, like a familiar foe who he fights off every time he watches you slip past his peripheral vision or a familiar friend who he invites back when an unsettling void has settled inside of him.

⸺In his days of stress, he can't help but find relief in this odd -obsession- fascination he has harboured for you. A subject to take over his mind when he need not to think most, an object to pry his eyes away from visions he does not want resurfacing.

⸺ After a short amount of time ( he's a gem with a patience as low as his hardness ), he goes around subtly asking his fellow gems and lunarians. One time being as desparate enough to seek information of you from the admirabilis. Perhaps it was your odd nature, you had an aura of enigma that a curious person like he was magnetised to.

⸺ Sometimes, he finds himself searching for your presence in every room he walks in subconsciously. Sometimes, he even finds himself at places he has heard you frequented usually with a look of expectancy. Amongst the tall artificial meadows and gardens that overlook the scenery of kumera.

He discovered that you were a botanist of some sort, retrieving plants of varying kinds from earth and documenting them by writing encyclopedias. However, the plants retrieved from earth dies sooner or later due to the lack of oxygen that was supplied.

So you started to pursue a new project. To grow authentic plants on the moon, ones that could replicate the beauty and vibrancy the ones on earth held. Of course, it was discovered that the experiment had a difficult time progressing due to the moon's contrasting nature compared to earth's. Even though the meadows he stands in hold a serene view of vibrancy and colours, he'd find that after wandering through, a green house of sorts. The green house houses a view of solemnity, wilting petals are scattered on the floor as they slump.

Tragic, he mused at the odd division separating the tall moon flowers swaying along his movements and the wilting brown of the earth's flowers inside. However your form sticks out the most amongst all the slumping flowers. Your slouching form almost resemble the wilting flowers that you have encassed yourself with, unlike theirs your vibrancy never withered nor your beauty. ( That's what he thinks at least )

He reminisce back when he was tasked the same, almost wishing how he should've gone through with the job and gain some extensive knowledge just so he could find a reason to strike up a conversation of sorts with you.

Though with the overwhelming situation at hand, he finds it difficult to indulge himself in your presence. Usually being taken from here to there for this and that.

However he'd find that he wasn't the only one with a keen eye for engimatic figures,

With colours like the convolvulus tricolor plant, a true morning glory he was. You found yourself eyeing the gem often, it really wasn't your fault. How could you deny such an inviting glance? You were well aware of the effect you had on the gem, though you weren't aware of how deep the depth of this effect went.

It was still quite a comedic situation, peers would confront you one after another about the inquiring gem and it only brought a smile out of you after each one. It was only fair to reciprocate the interest he has showed, you were just as interested in the byronic hero as he was in you after all.

Unfortunately, work's calls and demands will not go unanswered. Though you walk in the same garden, you both have different paths to travel upon.

so... I know that we are all joking about our newest friend Rock-chan but the thing that made my jaw drop to the floor was the realization about our boi, our big flameo hot-man in the middle of our cosmic home: The Sun is a WHITE DWARF.

Houseki no Kuni has made The Biggest Timejump I’ve seen. Like we were losing our minds at 10.000 years... That’s a fart now.

Look at our handy dandy graphic:

Source

(yes the scale is in billions of years)

Obviously, in HnK we are not in the same era as us, humans, because is supposed to be set in a distant future in which humanity has been extincted for a while. So we need to reajust a bit.

Let’s say a billion uh?? A billion years has passed between us and the start of the manga. I’m being conservative over here, but enough time for humanity to peak, to be hit by 6 meteors, and for the main chunk of the Earth to be were the gems are ( the other small chunks, debris of the original Earth, probably are part of the plethora of moons that exist in the HnK universe, besides our original Moon. 6 Moons of diferent sizes, with oceans too.) Okay cool.

The main story line happens. Several timejumps. None substantial enough in this scale.

Phos prays and goes to sleep.

The Sun used it’s main sequence supply, has become a red giant, probably destroying Mercury and Venus (and let’s just say that main chunk Earth was kicked out of its original orbit by the 6 original meteors because otherwise it would have been cooked) and then has gradually lost it’s fuel in the form of superheated nebula to end up with it’s stellar core outside: The white dwarf.

So. *cheecks notes*

By all accounts, Phos has been asleep for 6 BILLIONS OF YEARS.

...

The gems, the lunarians, the admirabilis, Adamant, the ice foes even... Have been gone for longer than they existed.

phos lineup feat. new brush

Description: a lineup of busts of character Phosphophyllite from Houseki no Kuni's forms on a lilac background. From left to right it's regular Phos, post winter Phos, post moon Phos, post earth attack/monster Phos, and human Phos.

some thoughts about the ending of land of the lustrous and why I think it’s good

Spoilers ahead for Land of the Lustrous/Houseki no Kuni up to Chapter 100 (as of now that is the most recent chapter) and also (potentially) long post ahead (idk i haven’t written it yet)

A take i see often is “Phos shouldn’t have prayed for the Lunarians, fuck all of them” you know that kinda bitter revenge move, but I don’t think that while that’s the most cathartic (at least for the audience) move Phos could’ve made, I don’t think that it would’ve been the right one, and one that makes sense for HnK. HnK has never been a revenge story, it’s been a story about cycles and change. The three species have all had their own twisted form of humanity, echoing some of it’s worst aspects. The admirabilis willingly gave up their criminals to the lunarians, leaving them to whatever fate would befall them upon the moon. The Lunarians started an endless war. The Lustrous are the furthest from human of the three, immortal rocks, and not as in the immortal remnants of a soul. They would have no reason to even pack bond, to even talk to one another, it is only through Kongo’s influence that they developed as they did, he gave them eyes to see and a human’s education. The threat of the lunarians, plus the influence of a machine built by humans is what developed the Lustrous society and Culture, and we all know how well that is. In Lustrous society, what you are at birth decides what you’ll be forever. The strong will remain at the top, the weak will be left at the bottom, and this is how it must be to survive the onslaught that is the endless war the Lunarians wage. They are naturally unchanging, and of course they are they’re rocks, an inorganic material brought to life, now forced to fight for their lives. They don’t cope well, and how could they when their only fate is to learn and fight and lose, the legacy of humans screwing them over well past the point they were even relevant, but it’s okay, you may lose the battle but the war will never end, because new lustrous will be born and the cycle will continue. You are fighting for a future that is the same as the present but with different actors. And this can’t foster unconditional love, because you can only ever be what you started out as. If you were born weak you are looked down upon, you are dead weight, and you can never change. the only source of love you will get is from Kongo, but that won’t change the fact that you are unloved as a whole by the rest of your brethren. But Phos, might just be the best the lustrous could have hoped for, because they’re empathetic when they don’t have to be, to Cinnabar to Ventricosus. They want things to change for the better. And by the end of the story, when they are once again at the beginning, that has not changed. Phos has both changed immensely and not changed at all. “At last we understand eachother” and empathy: “ the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.” Phos has been once described by Aechmea as having nothing which made Phos the perfect candidate for a human, but if Phos had still been feeling the most human emotion, revenge, then they wouldn’t have prayed them away. The final prayer isn’t about revenge or forgiveness. It’s not about Phos forgiving everyone it’s about an act of empathy for themselves, Phos has never known what they’ve wanted to do besides being “useful” but now they know. Phos’s own desire for nothingness as well, in the beginning they had their own form of nothingness through the lack of bonds, and through this act they can go back to that state. And so they burn the bridge the professor told them to by praying. And the old cycle is ended, all the misery it brought has ended, and now something new can start, it’s the Beginning again and Phos is at that same starting point. And it thrives, new life comes and goes and it is content, Phos meets a rock less capable they were in their first form but this rock is content, and this simplicity, has been what Phos has been missing, the ability to just exist as you are and find happiness in that. If you don’t first love yourself as you are how can you take any other’s love as it is, especially when that love is conditional. And what if Phos hadn’t prayed? What then? Nothing changes, everything stays the same, old wounds fester and hurt remains. Kongo couldn’t pray because he loved like a human, Phos couldn’t pray because they hated like a human. Revenge isn’t the ultimate form of self love, and letting go isn’t the same as forgiving those who hurt you, I think the ultimate form of self love is knowing when to let go of grief, of hurt, not to excuse others, but to give yourself space to change for the better and for yourself. We the audience wanted Phos to not pray, we wanted revenge for Phos, because we are human because we feel revenge and empathy and it’s amazing that those two emotions are the catalyst for such changes within HnK, but it makes sense. It’s an ending that reminds me of a burnt down forest, everything is gone, burnt to ashes, but that doesn’t mean new things can grow. Everything happened, but it’s okay now. Phos has new connections and they have themselves. They are loved for being themselves, not for what they can provide. And I think that’s the best ending for a story filled with self loathing and hate.

Some hnk oc

I know people are allergic to long texts, but I'll still do info dumping 💅

Name: Pearl

Hardness: 2.5-4.5

Resilience: very good

Age: 323

Prons: any (preferably female)

Lore summary:

It could be assumed her birth in common with the gems, but her origin is different; she comes from the moon.

It is one of several attempts to create gems by the Lunarians, although unlike their other attempts, it is not synthetic. It was made by an admirabilis, and its entrusted objective was to be the eyes of Aechmea, showing him everything that happened in the society of gems on earth, thus, throwing it into the sea so that when it reaches the shore it is accepted as one more.

Although Pearl did not know, as she did not remember what had happened on the moon.

Due to its rarity as a non-gemstone, Rutile took an interest in her, and she also accepted Pearl as an apprentice.

The other gems, on the other hand, had some interest at the beginning, but when they became familiar with her, they simply stopped paying attention to her, except for Antarc, cuz' she's the only gem that stayed with him in the winter anyway .

Due to Pearl's cheerful and servicial personality (and being close to Rutile most of the time) she was able to form a close friendship with Phos, which would develop better as time went on.

At some point Pearl ends up going with Phos and his group to the moon, where she can progressively begin to remember things from her past before she came to earth.

And the rest; is history.

(Me being lazy to write here, but i know what she will do and will be until the end. Uploading all the info in: ⤵️)

(More messy information: ⤵️)

Trivia:

She needs very little sun, and prolonged exposure can damage her.

She needs to hydrate. Its surface is capable of absorbing liquids, and her fave is sweet water.

Unlike other gems, she can sweat and cry, although the first is a method against dryness from sun exposure, and the other is a leak.

Her luster and hardness depends on how hydrated she is.

Due to its need for hydration, she does not hibernate and works during the winter.

Although her hardness is low, it is extremely resilient. She doesn't tend to break, but she can be scraped or scratched.

She's fairly good at singing, but due to being bussy she can't do much more than chore on tunes while she works.

hnk stuff from reddit

The running joke is that you need a PhD in Japanese Pure Land Buddhist philosophy to understand what is going on. The main thing to get is that HnK is a critique of Pure Land Buddhism.

As for discussions on ship of theseus or plato's save this is anglosphere Westerners trying to use Western philosophical terms (which are more familiar) to interpret the existentialist themes inherent to Buddhism.

Most of this stuff is searchable on the internet. But you can also look up a primer on Buddhist philosophy and Mahayana Buddhism in particular which is the form most popular in East Asia.

Other than that there was this one imgur post going around compiling mythological references but I don't remember where it it.

Specifically ship of theseus/grandfather's axe deal with the question of what is the essence of something (or someone one). If something keeps changing having it's parts replaced with different parts at what point is it something different than the original. To understand a more Japanese perspective on philosophy and aesthetics look up kinsugi, wabi-sabi, or even the shinto influences on Japanese Buddhism. 

 Plato's allegory of the cave is about perspective, experienced versus objective reality, what is real, and knowledge. Some's dude's only seen the world through the shadows cast on a wall, then leaves the cave and realizes that everything they're seen has been shadows. 

 Some basic extremely simplified highschool takeaways for Buddhism is that suffering or discomfort (durka) is inevitable in life, this suffering stems from attachment to the world and desires (of any kind). Life is in a cycle of reincarnation (samsara). The way to break free of the cycle is to reach enlightenment (nirvana) by freeing oneself of all desire. In Mahayana Buddhism someone enlightened may instead choose to remain in the world to guide others becoming a bodhisattva. In the context of history this allowed Mahayana Buddhism to better adapt to local religions as it spread across Asia, incorporating local religions and deities. Thus Japanese Buddhism is descendent from Chinese Buddhism and you can see the Chinese influences in it (same with Korean Buddhism). Chinese Buddhism itself was influenced by other non-Indian cultures along the silk road in Central Asia (Persia, etc). So the route Japanese Buddhism took was from India to Central Asia then China before finally coming to Japan. Honestly just read the Wikipedia page on Buddhism it explains thing better than I can.

I'm not well versed enough in Buddhism to have a good guess but here's some notable plot points in relation to Buddhist themes in HnK.

Phos is set up narratively to gain all 7 jewels/treasures (houseki) of Buddhism and then the author deliberately makes it so he doesn't. Phos gets the wrong final jewel. Phos gets shell and agate legs, gold platinum alloy arms, Lapis Lazuli's head, and Achemea implants an artificial pearl eye into their head. The last treasure Phos was missing was a red gem/carnelian/coral. But instead Phos got Adamante's eye and became "human".   

Humanity failed to go extinct. Their souls, flesh, and bones existing separately and simultaneously in the world. Instead of continuing the cycle of reincarnation the Moon People/Lunarians are stuck in a state of neither life of death, stagnant. Instead of striving to reach enlightenment they seek complete annihilation the cessation of existence. To these descendents true humans are as to gods, the only ones with the power to have them die.

There's also a lot of ominous imagery. Like the lotus is probably the most significant symbol in Buddhism representing enlightening and the cycle of reincarnation. And Phos is associated several times with an empty lotus seed pod, like that he has failed Buddhism or something, the lotus failed to complete it's lifecycle and will not be born again from it's seeds.  

I honestly don't have any conclusions what to make of all this, still mulling over it all.

✨houseki no kuni ask meme✨

I thought it would be fun to see one of these floating around! Anyone who reblogs this will get an ask from me in their inbox 💛

(If you want to use this with your OCs, say so in your reblog and show people where to find your OCs!)

💎What type of Gem are you? Why did you pick that particular gem?

🍼When were you formed? Does your story take place in the HNK universe? (Note: I personally use "BP (Before Phos)" and "AP (After Phos)" for HNK Universe OCs. Check out my timeline here!)

🧵What uniform do you wear? Do you wear gloves and/or socks or leggings? Any other accessories or deviations from the standard seasonal uniforms?

⚔️What weapon(s) do you use? Do you have any notable techniques when fighting?

📋What is your job? Do you go out on patrols? Does your hardness have anything to do with your job?

🛏️Do you live at the School? If so, what does your room look like? If not, why not? Where do you live?

❄️Do you hibernate through the Winter? If so, what does your hibernation outfit look like? If not, how do you cope with the Winter?

💔How much of yourself have you lost? Is your hair, as it is, the length you were formed with? Are there any notable memories you've lost?

🦾Do you have any replacement limbs/inclusions/etc.? How did you acquire them?

🪦Were you shattered and taken by the Lunarians? If so, how did it happen? If not, what was your closest call?

👯Do you have a partner? If so, what is your relationship with them like? If not, have you had one previously? Is there a reason why you are partner-less?

🌙How do you feel about the Lunarians? Would you/Did you go to the Moon with Phos?

🎉What would or did you do once you got to the Moon after Ch. 94?

🐙How do you feel about the Admirabilis? Have you ever interacted with one before?

🙏If you went through 10,000 years of suffering- would you pray?

If you'd like to just fill this out with information, totally do that too!

Houseki no Kuni Chapter 101 Thoughts: Paradise Broken

Well... This was an interesting way to celebrate my birthday early.

I’m just going to jump right into this before I forget anything since...wow. I have some thoughts about this chapter. As always, please feel free to share your own thoughts and theories in the post! And sorry again if this ends up being long! This may turn out a bit messy, so when I get the chance, I’ll come back and make it pretty!

Paradise Shattered: Reality Setting In 

So it looks like one of my theories from the previous chapter was correct to a degree. The little rocks do in fact contain remnants of humanity, and it’s this revelation that caused Phos to react the way they did in the previous chapter. And despite telling the little rocks that their reaction was out of happiness, their thoughts clearly indicate otherwise.

But what I didn’t expect was the revelation that a bit of the old Phos (as well as humanity) was still there inside of their new form and it may have influenced this new world in ways that Phos didn’t expect or want.

This new revelation has once again put Phos in a emotional spiral. After finally extinguishing what was left of humanity for everyone’s sake, but mostly their own, and after finally finding happiness with these little rocks... there’s a new chance that they will come back. And that’s the last thing Phos wants. 

Phos doesn’t want any reminders of humanity to come back, whether they be in the rocks or themselves. They don’t want humanity or the suffering that goes along with it. Phos had finally found paradise, or what they convinced themselves was their “paradise,” and now there was a chance that it’d come back. Of course Phos isn’t going to be happy. It seems that once again, their goal for happiness was moved again, even though the pebble thinks otherwise.

With this in mind, I want to hear your thoughts on this. Isn’t it just me or doesn’t it feel that Phos’s interaction with the pebble after this feel... off? In the previous chapter, Phos seemed genuinely happy to be around with the pebble and was having fun but thoughtful talks with them. But now, after fully realizing that humanity is not fully gone and lives on inside them and the rock beings, Phos seems rather cold, giving small and delayed answers.

Maybe I’m looking too into this observation, but I definitely think it’s deliberate. And why this might not be a good thing will be elaborated further down. The only exception was Phos’s comment to the pebble’s comment about Phos’s happiness “going on forever.” I will come back to that in moment.

Before that, I need to talk about... THAT.

“THAT”: The Creature’s True Identity Theory

This was the first image I saw when raw leaks started popping up. At first, I thought the same as some of the other viewers asking myself “What the hell is that? Is that a new species?” But the more I thought about it, I came to this conclusion. No. That isn’t a new species. That’s Phos. Or another part of them that survived.

 I’ll do my best to explain my reasoning.

Recall many chapters ago, back when Phos was destroyed by the Earth gems and put away for many years to then result with Adamant putting most of them back together. Many parts of them were missing that he didn’t get to add before being confronted, including their remaining Lapis Lazuli eye. That part Adamant kept. The other eye was the synthetic pearl eye that Aechmea put in on the moon and the missing Lapis eye was replaced with Adamant’s eye.

And recall after after being mostly put together, Phos transforms into an unrecognizable creature that is held together and driven by pure, unadulterated anger and despair. 

Their transformation only intensifies after they return to the moon.Now I don’t know about you, but doesn’t their initial “berserk” form during these scenes seem very similar to the one eyed creature? And I find it interesting that the eye was not accounted for after Adamant disintegrated and after the descendants of humanity were (mostly) wiped out.

There are a few things that could disprove this theory, with the main one being the fact that I don’t know what the tendrils coming off the creature is made of. They don’t look like the gold alloy that Phos used to use. They look fibrous and organic. The droplets dripping off them look like alloy but I’m certain it’s water. This could be enough to prove that this creature is just another thing that formed over time like the little rock beings. But for the sake of this post, I’ll stick with this theory because I have another revelation that revolves around it.

Now, if this eye creature is part of Phos, what exactly is it and why is it attacking the rocks? I hypothesize that this creature is somewhat of a manifestation of Phos’s newly reawaken negative feelings towards humanity. Like how Phos turned into a puddle in the last chapter, this creature is clearly something new that hasn’t been witnessed before in this new world. I think Phos’s newly ignited negative thoughts about humanity had re-awoken this side of themselves, maybe through their inclusions, and had subsequently “given birth” to this new creature through the eye Adamant kept. This could be a farfetched idea, but after Phos came to the realization that they may have unintentionally influenced their new world because of the remaining piece gem inside them, it could be possible. 

With this theory in mind, this leads me to another theory that I’m sad to say isn’t a good one.

Edit to add: Thank you @aspirationatwork​ and @modern-alebrije​ for your comments on this post! I’m glad I’m not the only one who believes that eye belonged to Phos. But you made a good point, modern. I saw another post explaining why the eye could be Adamant’s “older brother” and I think the OP’s reasons make a lot of sense! Ooh, this is very interesting... I hope the final reveal will be good.

Phos Wasn’t Fine After All... Time To Try Again?? 

Phos’s thought process through this chapter has sadly confirmed something I hoped wasn’t true. Before this and the previous chapter, I wanted to believe that Phos was finally moving on and that they had found peace with themselves. But after everything that happened up until this point, it’s more than clear that they didn’t. They hadn’t healed or moved on. The unfortunate truth is that Phos had just put on a metaphorical band-aid on their true feelings in the form of their little pebble friends and had instead tried to ignore those and hope for the best. Just like how the old gems used to deal with their issues. 

So even after everything Phos learned and experienced through their own and other’s suffering, it seems old habits die hard.

And speaking of old habit... Phos’s dialogue in the last few pages are concerning.

What Phos said here to the pebble was ominous especially considering their change in tone and demeanor.  And if my theory about the one eyed creature being a manifestation of Phos’s negative thoughts are correct...then I fear that the rocks aren’t going to exist for much longer. Because if Phos’s desire for humanity to stay gone becomes their new “wish,” I’m afraid this could mean that the rocks are going to be destroyed, and I think Phos is going to allow that to happen.

I’m sure that’s a fate fans don’t want to see happen to these little rocks. I mean, come on: they didn’t do anything to Phos. They are just little rocks who are enjoying their simple lives and Phos’ company. The only thing they are “guilty” of is containing remnants of humanity inside them, just like Phos.

But that reason might be enough for Phos. 

It would be kind of messed up for Phos to allow these rocks to be destroyed for that reason after everything that Phos went through and how desperate they seem to want to get away from any reminder of the descendants of humanity...it might not be that surprising. They are kind of an expert at this point after all.

EDIT: This is all just a theory though! After stepping back for a few hours, I see how REALLY farfetched it is. It was the first thing that popped in my head after re-reading the chapter, and I admit it was far more cynical than I originally thought. I read another poster’s view of these events as Phos fearing that they may harm the rocks and they don’t wish ill-will on them. I think that’s true. But I still believe that the eye creature is a manifestation of Phos’s remnant anger  towards the descendants of humanity and it may hurt the little pebbles.

Burn out

That’s all I have for now. This wasn’t a bad chapter, I overall liked it. Though I’ll say it again, I’m not as enthusiastic about waiting for these chapters as I once was. It’s mainly because I’m refocusing on important aspects of of my life and I’ve grown attached to new things; I haven’t posted about these new fixations of mine on this blog, but I might change it. Who knows. But despite this, I’m curious to see how the next couple of chapters will play out. I’m still hanging in there and I want to see how it’ll all end. But honestly... I’m more excited to see it end than continue on because... I’m getting tired.

Euc is seen as a good leader when others see Phos as a shit leader, and its such a cool foil bcause effectively they are the opposite

Phos is proactive, and Euc is really not that, theyre reactive. It's not Euc's fault necessarily.

Once Euc is established as "leader" they quickly fall into the same type of limbo Sensei had been in for years. They have constant ideas on how to combat their problem and try to move forward to a mutual understanding, a form of peace, and understand why Phos is doing what he's doing.

But they ditch all of their plans, because the general consensus of the earth gems is to just. Shatter Phos. They're constantly hostile to anything that resembles a form of letting Phos even move. Any form of compromise that Euc thinks of, they know their fellow gems will not accept because they'll interpret it as some form of compliance (letting Phos speak and at least try to understand why they betrayed them and took the other gems).

Euc doesn't know what to do with Phos's remains that'll satisfy what they want to actually do and what the gems think should happen, which is why Shinsha making the suggestion to hide parts of them was a saving grace.

Euc stops pressuring Sensei to pray after years and years, because they finally understand. They don't know why he refuses to pray, but they know the stress that comes with wanting to keep others happy while having ideas that they can't enact.

They're seen as a good leader because they follow the others, but still at times voices and chooses to make a decision to put things into motion. No one did anything when Sensei revealed himself a robot. Euc was the one to accept him first.

In high stakes moments, when no one else is around to hear, they actually do what they want to do without the fear of peer pressure.

The scene where Euc manipulates Phos before they're crushed by Cairn? It's what they actually wanted to do. They don't want Phos to be outcasted, hated, or lonely. They knew Phos would choose earth over the moon once they heard that. They don't have enough time to articulate, they're fighting each other of course. That's why they said it. And that's why Cairn crushed Phos, and why Padpa doesn't exactly reprimand her.

When Phos crushes all the gems, Euc relents and begs him to take them to the moon to work things out. This mightve been what Euc wanted to really do, a long time ago, with their other ideas. They've been around the others for so long that they haven't seen Phos's descent into pure madness and hatred despite Phos's very disfigured appearance which indicates their mental state, because everyone slowly began to accept their circumstances and not work to improve them, a stark contrast to Phos's loud determination to change everything. And who could blame them? Phos was the first of their kind to show genuine hate, and a desire to destroy with no mercy. True malice. They only saw that in the form of lunarians, who they only saw as mindless drones until they all had the chance to turn into lunarians.

The last time Euc voices their decision, is when they're a lunarian like the rest. Even after everything, they know Phos is only a gem, a child who wanted to be loved and was effectively, lonely. And even then they only do this after the gems 'closest' to Phos said they'd forgive him. So they ask, "is there anything we can do for Phos?"

Phos, is seen as a bad leader. Whether it's because the gems are scarily quick to accept their circumstances and once again, not thinking of ways to improve them and liking things as they are, or because of Phos's brash, arrogant, and loud personality. Everything they do directly opposes and disrupts the lives of everyone around them. They break the peace. But they're constantly making decisions that move them towards their goal.

They make the decision to reassemble the gems with the hardness of 5 and up, even though the gems under that will be forever lost. They decide to stage a night raid, they decide to go back on their own and try to convince Sensei to pray. They meet with other head figures to discuss what needs to be done. They're constantly doing something.

So why the fuck does everyone hate them? One, they're selfish. Not in the bad way, but in the way you can tell that this kid is also just a kid. They chased Shinsha once (lightheartedly). Before the moon, Phos used to tease Cairn like a sibling would. After the moon they argue with Cairn and become petty, because that's effectively in line with their personality.

Constant kerfuffles like this serve to show that Phos wasn't supposed to become like this. Wasn't supposed to make big decisions at the age of 300, relatively young for a gem, and decide the world is a fuck and things could be better for the gems because there was a possibility that peace could truly happen. It's like giving New Goshe trauma by taking New Morga and then pushing them saying "go and solve all of the world's problems!". Because that's quite literally what happened.

Its also why Phos doesn't give into peer pressure if you ignore the other major factor of being so far removed from relationships and being lonely. They're rebellious, so they never gave two shits about things like that even though they so desperately wanted to be loved.

The only leader that the gems know are Sensei and Aechmea. Sensei, is calm and collected, and tries his best to stay away from personal relationships because in the end the gems will get taken to the moon. But he also taught and raised them and tries his best (even though he gives up pretty quickly) to help. Aechmea is the embodiment of what a good leader should act like, even though he's probably one of the worst beings in all of the earth and the five moons. Charismatic, all welcoming, technically an extrovert, great personality, everyone loves him! Even Euc shares some qualities with these two, and why they're also seen as a good leader personality wise.

And then there's Phos. Who is the total opposite of all these things.

They think of every possibility, but also forgets about the unpredictability of the situation. They didn't expect 88 to switch with 34, they didn't expect New Goshe to sneak in, they didn't expect Padpa to decide to become an absolute killing machine during the night raid, Cairn to dump them, and everything in between. And when unpredictable things happen, their personality shines through.

They constantly drop their leader facade, and are unprofessional. The thing is, their leader facade was only there because Antarc was taken from them. The personality change was from trauma, and when they slowly recovered and their mental state improved, they went back to being snooty Phos.

The next form of personality change was because of Lapis Lazuli's influence, even then that didn't last long.

And unprofessionalism? They've always been like that.

Aechmea was proactive, and Sensei was reactive. Phos became proactive, and Euc became reactive.

The constant negative feedback eventually crushed them, the doubts and things the gems would say ate at them, and their resolve crumbled and they stopped being a leader the moment their nervous breakdown still continued even after being put back together. The only one who saw all this was Aechmea, who effectively did nothing because it furthered his plans and agenda. Phos was never meant to be a leader.

Euc never stopped being a leader, but being more removed from the gems like Sensei and Aechmea were seem to give them more confidence in their decisions even if we only see like, one instance of it. Euc has the personality, professionalism, and already had experience at being a leader. The only downside that they had was that they gave into peer pressure because of the personal level they were at with their peers. Euc effectively is fit for a leader.

Its why Euc is seen as a good leader to the gems, and why Phos is seen as a terrible one.

phosmoceanlial !

a phosial gender lit by moonlight on the ocean.

[ID 1: A rectangular flag with ten horizontal stripes. From top to bottom, the colors are: Purple-black, deep magenta, rusty orange, pastel orange, a large stripe of black that peaks up into the past two stripes, forming a triangle shape, a stripe of pale light yellow that has a large diamond shape in the center, a large stripe of black that peaks down in the next two stripes, forming a triangle shape, pale blue, dark blue, dark indigo, blue-black. End ID.]

etymology - phos + mo (moon) + cean (ocean) + li (light) + al.

for @mogai-sunflowers

Phos moon form sketch

I just love seeing moon Phos scary and or deranged looking

Houseki no kuni is ending soon I’m hoping it’ll have a better ending than what I’m expecting, I love the series but imo it began to go downhill after the moon arc.

Like so many character arcs/development got cut short and I think the fact we get only like one chapter of the gems during the 10000 years with the only thing detailing any form of development being an bonus book that probably won’t be available in the English volumes is pretty sucky. Same with how the Admirabilis got completely abandoned in all but a couple of mentions.

It’s sad how the series went from an manga I would actively get super excited for the new chapters releasing to one I barely even bothered with as I was constantly left unsatisfied with another underwhelming chapter .

That said I 100% will finish it, watch season 2 if that ever comes out and buy the phos figure if they ever get re released 😅. Despite my issues with how it went it’s still an special series to me I just wish it played out better.

˖ ࣪ . GET TO KNOW THE MUN ! ✧ °. ‧₊˚⋅.

What made you pick up the muse you have ? : I wanted to take the time and energy we have to write and flesh out Astereus' original series in the rpc before we work on the official version of it. Astereus is the protagonist of this series, so it's just most fitting to write xem in order to tell this story in the best way possible. Is there anything you really enjoy writing ? : I highly enjoy writing out the fluff, romantic, and metafiction parts. I'm a huge hopeless romantic softie with an immense fascination of The Narrative and The Audience interacting with it. Is there anything you don't like to write ? : Anything angsty. I get emotionally affected quite easily and deeply, so engaging in writing angst centered pieces, especially involving characters I'm most connected to, just drain me a lot. How do you come up with your headcanons ? : I reflect on various aspects of the character from their interests, backstory, etcetera, that would make me think of the (head)canons based on those parts, as well as I take a few certain pieces of myself, the people I'm closest to, and my cherished canon and original characters into this character for them to be more real and alive. Do you write in silence or listen to music ? : I have to listen to music or I won't be able be in tune with my writing pieces. It doesn't matter if the genre and music fits with the scenes I'm focusing on or not, but I just can't work with the silence. Usually I'll listen to songs that are lyrical more than instrumental. Do you plan your replies or wing them ? : Often times I wing them, but if the thread / reply can really intrigue me to the core, or I can see someone have really taken the time and energy to do the reply ( i.e. a 3+ paragraph response ), I'd plan my replies to make them feel more in tune with the other's. Do you enjoy shipping ? : Generrally very much so, yes! But with Astereus, usually I let the dynamics develop naturally, especially with romance as slowburn, as it feels more natural and authentic to see how dynamics form and build over time. What's your alias / name ? : I don't have a consistent name to go by, so, just ask! Zodiac sign ? : Gemini sun, Cancer moon, Taurus rising. Birthday ? : May 25. Favorite color ? : Sky blue! Favorite song ? : Fireflies by Owl City, which have been my longest time favourite. Last movie you watched ? : The Iron Giant ( 1999 ). Last show you watched ? : The Last Airbender animated series. Last song you listened to ? : Tenebrescence by Crywolf ft. Emalyn. Favorite food ? : Pho. 🍜 Favorite season ? : Winter. ❄️ Do you have a Tumblr best friend ? : @lunarisdog is my best friend and worst enemy and significant beloved of sun! ♡ ☼ ⋆

TAGGED BY : @cosmicangsts ( thank ya so much !!! ♡ ) TAGGING : @lunarisdog, @jadebone, @mercred, @artmadc, @lifesver & you ! ✧