#hnk meta

[king-paimon]

Houseki No Kuni Chapter 108 Thoughts: Everything Stays....

Hello all. I hope the month of April was good to everyone. It was alright for me, though I'm just in awe by how fast it went! Time really goes by too quickly as you get older.

Speaking of time, would you look at that? The final chapter of Houseki no Kuni was released! 108 chapters over the course of 12 years. And I've been following it for nearly 5 of those years! Wow! That is quite the feat, Ms. Ichikawa.

I'd been waiting for this day for a long time, and the feeling is bittersweet, with the overlaying feeling of relief. This emotional rollercoaster that Ms. Ichikawa had sent us on has finally reached it's dock.

Phos's story is finally complete. What a ride it had been!

Now the question is: Was I satisfied?....

I'll do my best to answer this. I don't know how long this post will be, but I'm hoping that it won't be too long (edit: Oops. I was wrong.) And as always, please feel free share your own thoughts if you're interested!

Here we go:

Phos's True End: Was It Satisfying?

I reread this chapter a few times to answer this question and to be honest, I still reach the same conclusion: It was fitting. Not absolutely bad or 100% amazing, but in terms of Phos's whole journey throughout this story, I think this was a fitting ending for Phos, and that's good. And if anything else, it's a little ironic.

I mentioned in my last post that I thought it was funny that the remaining piece of Phos had become the youngest/newest member of the pebble species much like how they originally were at the beginning off the whole manga. It seems though, the similarities don't end there because of this little interaction between Eyeball/Pita-pat and Pebble Phos:

I'm sure this was supposed to be a little cheeky conversation and Eyeball/Pita-pat didn't really mean it. But still, this was an interesting exchange to include in this final chapter, especially right before it's implied that Eyeball/Pita-pat passed away.

One intriguing story choice Ichikawa made was having Pebble Phos continuously fall apart near the end to the point that they become a small spec. To be honest, I was not sure how to feel about this part when I first read, especially considering how now there's hardly any of Phos left now. Like, after Eyeball/Pita-pat saved that last bit of Phos so they could have a nice life away from humanity, it'd be unfair for them to break apart again to nothing after all of that. But I did like how the pebbles decided to view Pebble Phos' changes; that their fragments surely became beautiful comets that would brighten someone's day. And that shot with original Phos was nice...

Also, I saw the post that implied that Ichikawa released this final chapter around the same time that a rare famous comet was supposed to be seen on Earth. I want to say that I think it was a pure coincidence, but I'm not putting anything past this author!

This chapter made me think of that one song from Adventure Time: Everything Stays. If you haven't heard of it, please give a listen. It's a song about life and the course of change. It focuses on how even if things appear to stay the same over the course of time, changes still occur, even if subtle. Phos certainly changed a lot throughout their story through intense mind and physical altering events. But I also think they changed subtly even during the less intense moments. I think the moments in this final chapter fit with this song, too. Phos was always evolving, even when it didn't appear so. Through their interactions and lack thereof with others and their environment, Phos was always changing and growing, ever so subtly. And even in this last chapter, Phos is still evolving and that'll likely never end.

Interesting... after thinking about it some more, I think I feel a little more satisfied with how this chapter/story ended. I'm glad that Ms. Ichikawa didn't pull some other twist near the end; that certainly would have ruined it for me. Am I 100% happy with how Phos's story ended? I don't think so. But to me, it's a fitting end.

But what do I think about the series as a whole?

When The Journey Ends: Was It Worth It?

There are very few manga or written stories that had me wanting to see how things end because more often than not, there aren't that many stories that I've read to completion. Part of it is because I don't want the story to end; basically, I'd have the thought process that if I don't know how the story ends, the story doesn't end! Perfect logic (sarcasm). Though this usually happens because I lose interest or because the story goes in directions that I don't like, I'd say one of the main reasons I end up dropping a series is because of how a story ends. How a story ends can completely change one's opinion of a story, and I've seen my fair share of stories that end badly. Sometimes the ending is abrupt and not satisfying, especially if it was lead by a big build up, or the ending is a result of a jarring story pivot that seems to come out of left field. It just seems that many creators don't know how to end their story well. And if I like a story a lot, sometimes I'm too scared to see how it ends. Partially because I don't want the story to end, but mostly because I don't want the end to ruin my experience.

Houseki no Kuni is a unique case for me. I know I've mentioned this before but I'll state it again: I don't think I've ever been so invested in a story like this before. Though that investment had dwindled over time, partially due to me developing new interests, life, and being occasionally dissatisfied with certain story choices, I wanted to see this how this story would end no matter what. And now that it's done, I'm glad I stuck it out.

Was this story perfect? No. There were several story decisions that I wish was either told differently or completely omitted that could have made the story stronger in my opinion.

Did I get a too invested in this story? During certain points, most definitely haha. I remember getting very emotional about certain chapters when I first started making this series of meta posts. I remember seeing some posts from people stating that they no longer liked the manga because of the direction it was going and in some cases, I could see where they were coming from.

Do I regret getting so invested in this story? No. No I don't. Despite not liking certain story aspects, I do not regret getting invested in this story. Though the story was not perfect, this was such a unique experience that I'm grateful to have gone through.

I plan on talking more about how I feel about Houseki no Kuni as a whole in another post. I intend to delve into what I loved about it and what I wish was different. While I could include that stuff here, I think this post is long enough. I've already started working on it, but I know it'll be a while before it's done; you bet there will be some parts with me ranting a little haha

But long story short, despite some grievances I have with some parts of the story, I feel satisfied with how it ended. And I'm glad that I read this series.

What Happens Next: Thank you, HnK Fandom

I want to thank those who've read, liked, and even commented on my posts! I didn't think so many of you would like, let alone read, my longwinded messy posts. I loved every feedback I got, even the ones that didn't agree with me. You made me love being part of this niche fandom. Like I said in the previous section, I have at least one more post that I want to make detailing everything I feel about Houseki No Kuni as a whole. I might make another one that's more for fun, but we'll see. I encourage anyone who's interested to share your own thoughts on the post! I seriously love reading different perspectives.

But after those posts, I don't know how involved I'll be in the fandom afterwards. I may repost some art and other people's meta posts on occasion. But when it comes to meta commentary, these will likely be my last posts about HnK. I have other fandoms that I like to follow, though I don't make posts about them. Perhaps I will, though I know they will be nothing like the posts I've made about Houseki no Kuni. This was the only series I've ever felt compelled to analyze so deeply, which makes it special for me. If I were to post anything about the other stuff I'm into, it'll most likely be of fanart that I made for my own personal enjoyment. I know scare many of my followers away since they'll not be HnK related. But who knows? I haven't made any HnK art in a long time... Maybe one of these days, I can try to make some HnK art again. I have some unfinished pieces on my computer that's now years old. Yeah, I should finish them when I have the time. That'd be a fun little send off.

Anyhow, if you are interested, please hang around for my final HnK meta posts! And when it's out, please please PLEASE share your own thoughts in it! Don't be afraid to share your opinions. I promise I don't bite.

So that's it. These are my thoughts of the final chapter of Houseki no Kuni. I might add more to it, but I'm fine with what I put out. Wow... I still can't believe I got into this series 5 years ago! So much had changed in my life since then. Despite everything, it was worth it.

Thank you again for reading my jargon. It means a lot and I can't wait to post my true final meta posts about Houseki no Kuni.

What a ride this was.

Until next time...

#houseki no kuni #land of the lustrous #hnk #hnk spoilers #hnk meta #lotl spoilers #hnk phos #lotl #hnk spoiler #hnk phosphophyllite #hnk manga #houseki no kuni spoilers #personal thoughts #hnk chapter 108 #phosphophillyte #phos #hnk manga spoilers #manga

[cody-00]

Immortality and Boredom: Euclase Analysis

Note: this has been taken from my Twitter thread, but there's some edits I've been wanting to make, and generally multi-platform access is a good thing, especially here with how tags work on this site as well the amount of Euclase metas already present here.

It feels a bit academically awkward to base this analysis off of Western philosophy knowing the series' Buddhist influences, but the former's concise terminology helps illuminate the series without any evident conflicts. Conveniently, I have only needed to base this thread off of one source: "Immortality and Boredom" by John Martin Fischer and Benjamin Mitchell-Yellin.

If one believes that immortality necessarily causes boredom, Fischer and Mitchell-Yellin have observed two notable ways in which one could make this argument. One way, coined as "content-boredom", argues that immortality would eventually exhaust the supposed finite amount of desires that would drive a person to live (Fischer and Mitchell-Yellin 355). This is partially shown through the Lunarians. Their desire to pass on stems from the resignation that they have done everything that could bring any sort of pleasure. The Lunarian's problems regarding immortality do not stem from content-boredom, for there is a more existential component present, but it is a real factor. Content-boredom is limited to the Lunarians, for they, outside of Kongo, have lived much longer than anyone else.

The other way to argue immortality that causes boredom is to say that an immortal life would not be constrained by time, and, therefore, lack a certain urgency. Lacking the energy to actualize one's desires and complete projects would make life dull. This is labeled as "motivation-boredom" (361). While perhaps not as intuitive argument as content-boredom, motivation-boredom is an application of the common practice of procrastination at its most extreme. Where one may put off a task until the last possible moment despite wanting and knowing that they should have started that task earlier, people who support the idea of motivation-boredom believe people can and will put off everything indefinitely since there is no last possible moment. Motivation-boredom is best substantiated through the Earth Gems, but most importantly, through Euclase, an elder gem who displays more apparent control over the Earth Gems as the series progresses. Showing how this is the case is what the real meat of this post is.

First of all, Euclase's role in demonstrating motivation-boredom is something only Euclase can properly do. The other elder gems (i.e. Yellow Diamond, Padparadscha, and Alexandrite), are caught in problems regarding immortality that are outside of boredom. The same reasoning applies to Kongo.

Ironically, they acknowledge the idea that immortal existence fundamentally differs from mortals in a psychological sense, but they (through their own admission) ultimately seem unaware of how motivation-boredom affects their judgments. Before any budding criticism comes to mind in how the previous tweet is phrased, Euclase does only mention that an immortal being's sense of danger being distorted—not necessarily an immortal being's sense of urgency being distorted. However, the following paragraphs should demonstrate the compatibility and sometimes interchangeability between the two traits. Euclase's distorted sense of danger is actually rooted in Euclase's distorted sense of urgency.

Relative to other gems in the series, Euclase's conversations take a lot of focus on temporality. There are many examples. In fact, Chapter 4, their first major appearance, foreshadows this tendency. The third image shows a juxtaposition between Euclase and Phos in valuing time.

Another example early in the series (one in which credit goes to Shamu, for he pointed this out during our note-taking process of this video) takes place during Chapter 7 when Jade reports that Euclase dropped their schedule and is in need of more time to reassign roles for the future. The reason is indirectly linked to Phos, which hints at how Phos will impact Euclase’s future.

Euclase, contrasting from the Lunarians, values the benefits that come from the lack of urgency. With infinite time comes the infinite opportunities for conflicts to resolve. The earliest moments where this sentiment shows itself is through Chapter 41 and Chapter 58.

While a bit digressive for this analysis, Euclase's word choice incorporates time once more to compliment Phos' condition by returning from the moon in Chapter 58. There is an irony here in that Euclase's support for the idea that a lack of urgency eventually will towards positive outcomes through patience is vindicated through Phos. Euclase's encouragement to Phos could have only happened through the systemic neglect that Phos is under.

Chapters 60 and 61 display where motivation-boredom's consequences start to directly impact the plot. Euclase recognizes the threat Phos poses but fails to enact any action outside of sharing their suspicion to Jade and expressing an ambiguous threat towards Phos. Euclase failure here stems from two reasons. One is that Euclase misreads the identity of Phos. Lapis is a gem known for their analysis paralysis. Euclase, by believing Lapis has the most control over LaPhos, assumes that Phos would not follow through any plans with such haste. Furthermore, by predicting their actions through the Lapis-colored lens, they fail to consider what would happen if really is Phos in control, a gem that carries human-like tendencies to carry out tasks with an urgency.

The second reason originates from Euclase's inability to detect time constraints. Notice the juxtaposition between Euclase and Phos here: the threat not only fails to prevents the gems departing for the moon but actually hastens the result.

Even though Euclase manages to prevent a few gems from leaving the moon, it's a pyrrhic victory, suggesting once more how Euclase's inability to feel urgency causes negative results. Consider Rutile, whom Euclase successfully prevents from going to the moon. Rutile could have served as a pivotal piece in preventing the departure to the moon, for they were the only one to consider disseminating Phos’ plan to Kongo. Instead, Rutile’s psyche starts to take a turn for the worse in the series. Euclase’s failure here is multilayered.

Euclase starts to recognize urgency more due to Phos. Kongo's pending request for a self-imposed exile forces Euclase into action. Why Euclase feels compulsion to stay on Earth is slightly outside the scope of this post, but Euclase's argument for staying on Earth lies in identity and its connection to time. Note that Euclase's urge to make up each other's shortcomings results from Phos' actions as well as Kongo's response being tied to the relationship future life forms and the present day.

The scouting mission in Chapter 69 implies that Euclase's natural state is one that tries to maintain a state that avoids urgency when they can. Pad's analysis, considering their constant state of inactivity, suggests that Euclase's character has been unchanging for a while. The threat of Phos does urge Euclase and the Earth gems to respond with a defensive plan, however, as seen in Chapter 70. The following interaction between Phos and Euclase centers once more on time.

Euclase's decision for everyone to rest after the night raid lies upon the premise that relationship between Phos and the Lunarians is currently one of dysfunction. Urgency to act only comes when the danger is immediate and the time constraints are evident for Euclase.

When Phos is separated for 220 years, Euclase once again approaches the problem under the assumption that the amount of time to solve all the conflicts with Phos is not constrained by time. The following chapter shows Euclase's belief that Phos no longer endangers their safety; the small amount of motivation they have to ask Kongo to pray is caused not out of sympathy for Phos but instead of out consideration of the possibility that that Lunarians might invade.

While Euclase's reasoning to delay cleaning up during Kongo's birthday party may have justifiable reasoning, it does show how motivation-boredom even plays a part in casual situations.

Upon recognizing danger from Phos' imminent invasion, Euclase's response is to buy time, which seems rather indicative that their response to urgency is infinitely delay whatever causes urgency.

Through Alexandrite's action sequence, due to the positioning of Euclase at the start of the sequence compared to the other images, it almost seems as if Euclase is trying to delay inevitable danger by using their companions to buy time.

Based on Euclase's previous actions, their reasoning for their negotiation plea towards Phos expresses sincerity. However, as time has proven before, Phos shows that they need to be the danger in order for goals and desires to be reached. Euclase's shortcomings show that becoming immortal does not mean everything can be put off until later.

When wondering why Euclase fails to get anything done later in the series, a serious factor to consider is the influence of motivation-boredom. Euclase's passivity may not be entirely based on intentional callousness, for their existence and their relation to time distorts all decision making, and living as they have distances themselves from a perspective like Phos' and reinforces those distortions.

To wrap everything up, Houseki no Kuni frequently criticizes immortality. Does the depiction of both kinds of boredom claim are aspects that necessarily happen to those who have immortality? No. In a sense the two types of boredoms oppose one another, yet they coexist in this story. However, having these two kinds of boredoms correspond to a respective immortal species shows how these criticisms could happen to those who are immortal. Additionally, unlike content-boredom within Houseki no Kuni, motivation-boredom does not directly lead to unhappiness for reasons concerning the lack of energy to fulfill desires like its supporters suggest. Instead, the manga shows that those in power who lack urgency due to their immortality can lead to excessive and idle conservatism and eventual, destructive consequences by not recognizing and responding to time-sensitive issues. To me, that sounds more like a warning rather than a criticism.

The paper summarizes both types of boredoms, but interestingly, they reject these two concepts as sufficient reasons to oppose immortality. Originally, before making this post, I did not think either forms of boredoms had any merit, but analyzing Euclase has shown me that immortality would, while not necessarily causing motivation-boredom, a distortion of urgency within projects that would require it, thereby risking to harm one's quality of living. Furthermore, for supporters of content-boredom, reading "The Makropulos case: reflections on the tedium of immortality" by Bernard Williams may interest you. For supporters of motivation-boredom, I cannot say I have read them, but Fischer and Mitchell-Yellin's response on content boredom is based off of Todd May's "Death" and Martha Nussbaum's "The Therapy of Desire".

Fischer, John Martin, and Benjamin Mitchell-Yellin. “Immortality and Boredom.” The Journal of Ethics, vol. 18, no. 4, 2014, pp. 353–72. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43895884.

#euclase #land of the lustrous #hnk #phosphophyllite #kongo sensei #houseki no kuni #rutile #hnk meta

[mieowkoid09]

OMFG. WHEN PHOS GOT THEIR NEW ARMS THEY TRANSFORMED INTO A BOX. JUST LIKE HOW THE ICEFLOES/KONGO'S BRO/THE EYEBALL WAS A BOX WHEN HE MISCALCULATED THE METEORITE STRIKES. AHHHHHHHHH

#houseki no kuni #land of the lustrous #phosphophyllite #phos #宝石の国 #hnk spoilers #houseki spoilers #land of the lustrous spoilers #hnk manga #hnk #hnk meta #lotl #kongo's brother

[housekinokuniabridged]

HNK POST CHAPTER 98 THEORIES

I don't really use this account for posts, but I want to spitball about what maybe happen next. I'm pretty sure HNK is going to end on chapter 108, so we still have 10 chapters till we're done.

The final chapters are about everyone in the afterlife. This is the one that's least likely to happen. They did want to return to "nothingness" and that means there's literally nothing there waiting for them.

We go back in time to look at Earth's final days. Also unlikely, we know all we need from that era and I don't know what more can be said aside from "Human's were fucked up eh?". It's too thin to get 10 chapters out of.

The cycle continues. My personal favorite and the one I consider the most likely. Whether a new species disconnected from humanity arises, or Phos's saint powers weren't as all-reaching as they though (or as someone else put it, the oblivion they desired was actually the oblivion of the cycle of reincarnation), the cast returns in new forms to do this whole song-and-dance over again. It won't be entirely one-to-one, the Professor was nothing like Phos after all, the final 10-ish chapters would follow this slightly new cast around and end in a way that parallels the beginning of the manga. Maybe even on a more hopeful note, where the new Phos is allowed to have a happy life this time around.

#Sanzen Sekai no Hakoniwazukuri/Creation of the World Garden #houseki no kuni #land of the lustrous #hnk meta #hnk spoilers #anyway share your thoughts below #chapter 98 was okay though I wish Phos got to run #we have a month or two to theorize anyhow #plus a lot of manga end with cast reincarnating into better lives #it wouldn't be out of nowhere #anyway if you're looking for a happy ending for Phos read

[nanuuiy]

What will happen next? my thoughts and theories on hnk

(sorry for some spelling mistakes, english is not my first language )

Chapter 96 is out and as expected the suffering never ends

we can finally see what happened to the other gems and it seems that everyone has forgotten or is not interested in what happened to phos (as usual ) ,we can also see how they have adapted to the mon

Cinnabar can finally do a job and be around others without harming them.

it seems that antarc and cairn have become "friends"

Yellow still seems out of touch with reality

Euclase is still close to sensei

And other gems have very quickly embraced the culture of the moon while being back to a state of conformity like when phos was unconscious for 102 years and 200 years

Why do I say "quickly"? Well, although we don't have an exact number of how long it's been since they became Lunarians, I still don't think it's been a long time because of how Euclase talks about phos

Euclase feels sorry for phos but is still happy with the fact that with time everyone will forget phos (so no one will feel responsibility or guilt for all the bad things they did to phos) It is something that makes me quite angry since nobody wants to talk about or remember phos, nobody expresses gratitude towards them, except cinnabar who mentions having thanked him

And after that euclase still wonders if phos wants to pray for them (really you bitc-)

but then that means that phos will pray?

I have several possible scenarios for this

We know that the last wish of phos now is to seek their own happiness, this is a new wish for them since they always sought happiness for the others gems or lunarians,this may influence why they may pray or not

What is happiness for phos?

I have always thought that phos would achieve happiness if they realized that they don't need to focus their value on other people and simply feel proud to exist

If phos comes to this conclusion maybe they won't pray for the gems or lunarians, after all they have always thought about how to make others happy to consider themselves useful.

But now that there is no need to feel useful maybe they don't want to pray for others anymore, they know that others don't want them so maybe they try to finally live their life , Away from the wishes of other people

But another possibility would be that phos, even though they realized their value as a person, still wants to help the other gems, maybe happiness for phos is helping others even if others don't deserve it (that's the nature of phos, to want to help in some way while they screw up)

Another scenario could be that while living the memories of sensei for the entire ten thousand years, they won't be able to think about what they want and who they were.

Could they still be sane enough to think? Will they light up with all those memories in their mind replaying over and over again?

Could they even pray after all that emotional pressure?

Would they even want to pray after all that emotional pressure?

I really wish that phos didn't pray for anyone and let everyone rot in their eternity but I don't think that would happen or leave phos satisfied (I don't know if ichikawa wants this for her other characters either )

Maybe phos could came to the conclusion that they just want to end this whole situation and pray for them while he is happy with their lonely existence

I have a feeling that maybe cinnabar will do something for phos in future chapters, from the way emma and sensei talk, maybe they know that cinnabar could help phos in some way or simply be one more piece in the transformation of phos towards divinity

#houseki no kuni #land of the lustrous #hnk #phos #land of the lustrous phos #hnk spoilers #hnk phos #hnk chapter 96 #hnk ch 96 #houseki no kuni phos #houseki no kuni spoilers #houseki no kuni cinnabar #houseki no kuni euclase #hnk euclase #land of the lustrous spoilers #lotl spoilers #lotl #phosphophillyte #hnk meta

[orchiddevourer]

Random HnK thoughts part 1

  Ngl i’m feeling a bit anxious for the upcoming chapter. It’s the same dread i felt after ch. 77 about Phos’s well-being and what Ichikawa might dump on them again for the 100th time. I really hope they don’t become like Adamant, even if they are already on that path, because that means Aechmea, their abuser, and everyone else including Adamant are being let off easy. It’s like everyone gets a slap on their wrist for their actions while Phos gets their whole life ruined for trying help their kind and for wanting to be accepted and loved by their peers.

  On the brighter side we might see how Yellow, Ruti and Pad are doing. It would be very interesting to see how everyone is coping with the new changes. What interests would Antarc, Cinna and Pad would have after they no longer have any physical limitations? Will Antarc become an entirely different person during or after the timeskip like Cairn? I just like the little details about the gems’ personalities. And let’s not forget that there is a chance that Lapis and Ghost might come back. And IF they come back (which is likely) than there is chance for baby Phos to return. Now that would be interesting.

P.S. I might share my personal opinions on each gem soon, but that’ll be after the new chapter.

#hnk #houseki no kuni #hnkthoughts #hnk meta

[borbology]

had a dream this was an episode

#hnk/krbay episode 101: meta knight has appendicitis #meta knight #king dedede #dedede #borbdoodles #shitpost #i like this style for things i dont put much effort into #but this one is boring because its all blue/green and no warm colors :p

[starflungwaddledee]

from: @starflungwaddledee to: @post-it-notes7

message from santa: "happy holidays post-it-notes! 🎄🥳 i know you very politely only wished for a few modest things- characters high fiving, or struggling in christmas attire- but i hope you'll still enjoy this given that i kinda went the opposite direction entirely! i'm an enormous fan of your work and most times you post anything i wind up browsing your art tag from tip-to-tail in enraptured delight. as such, i thought it was only fair i give back something a little more significant in gratitude for all the joy your work has given me. i knew i wanted to do a comic, so i was thrilled you already had a whole storyverse for me to work from!! this scene seemed the most obvious choice (chapter 8 of "wishful thinking" on ao3) given that i enjoy a dramatic fight scene 😂 i tried to stick as beat-by-beat to the writing as i could and worked in as many details as possible; i hope it'll be fun to see it envisioned this way! merry christmas! ~starflung 🎀🔔 "

#phew... this is by far the most ambitious piece i've ever posted here! 12 pages! this is why i've been so afk from other work haha! #shout out to the poor mods who sent through assignments and received no small amount of all-caps panicked screaming from me in response!! #me?! draw a gift for THE post-it-notes7!? immediately knew i had to overachieve to stand any hope of being up to the bar haha #if you feel these characters look a little different to how i usually draw them- that's totally on purpose! #i worked really hard to match post's designs and styling for them rather than my own; seeing as this was a gift! #actually think it stands out a *lot* surprisingly- given that they are still the exact same orbs. really interesting to compare to my usual #i hope some folks will notice all the details from the story in here! if you've read it and you recognised it please let me know! #genuinely hoping someone just recognises it on the first page. iconic canyon fight... what an honour to draw for this fic tbh #also thank you to the mods for handling all the wips and progress on this ridiculously sized entry from me with such grace #it's being posted on my personal blog due to length for anyone wondering. should be seamless... fingers crossed. #my art #my comics #meta knight #galacta knight #hnk secret santa #cw violence

[marvinhere]

#hnk meta

[hoshinokaabi-secretsanta]

From: @starflungwaddledee

To: @post-it-notes7

Message from Santa:

"hello, me again! i overthought my original gift in leaps and bounds (was it too serious? was it too close to angst??), so i also wanted to make sure i properly filled in some of the more light-hearted prompts from the wishlist. here’s a few extras! we’ve got meta knight struggling out of a christmas sweater, galacta knight discovering high fives (goes about as well as you’d expect), and a tiny gag that i couldn’t shake while working on the main piece 😂

i know these are probably more of a new years gift now, but i hope you’ll enjoy them anyway! happy holidays! ~ starflung"

#starflungwaddledee #post-it-notes7 #meta knight #galacta knight #hnk secret santa

[king-paimon]

Houseki no Kuni Chapter 107 Thoughts: Goodnight, Sweet Phos...

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay with this post. I originally intended to finish it and post it on Wednesday, but you know.... life happened.

Another month has gone by and now we're on our second to last chapter for Houseki no Kuni. That's right; it's been confirmed that the next chapter will be the last chapter. Can you believe it? If you've seen my previous posts, I'm sure you have an idea of how I feel about this news.

But that'll be for the end of this post. For now, let's talk about this chapter! I don't know how long this one will be, but I'll still warn you that it might be longer than intended, which is the norm for me. This post is a bit too messy for my liking so I might end up making some edits to it later. For now, I just want to have it posted.

As always, please feel free to share your own thoughts in this post! Here we go!

Visual Storytelling Through Change in Style

The first thing I want to talk about is the visuals for this chapter. It greatly contrast with the visual style of the previous couple of chapters. In those chapters, the art was loud, intense, and chaotic, and yet mesmerizing and immersive. The heavy use of black, sharp lines and patterns emphasizes on the harshness of the changing environment. And in many of those page, Phos looks so small, as they are literally being consumed by their surroundings. Even though there were many panels where Phos, Eyeball, or the pebbles are the focus, the background is still very overwhelming in comparison.

Now contrast that with most of the visuals in this chapter. Most, if not all, of the intense visual motifs from the previous chapters are gone; no sharp patterns, black is subdued significantly, and the background isn't overpowering the characters.

The intensity of the visuals were cut back significantly and were traded in for simplified line art, heavy use of the white negative space, and soft hues that make everything airy and dream-like. This is especially true during Phos's sequence. I like how there are very few thick continuous lines in the artwork. These illustrations are mostly made up of light, loose broken up short lines that create abstract structures. And I like that as the regression continued, Phos's design simplified to the point that they were just a small abstract face.

This art style literally and metaphorically showed us the deconstruction of Phos. It's so simple, and yet so impactful.

This is also the case for the last two pages.

The change in visual tone does a nice job emphasizing the literal and figuratively change in scenery. To be more specific, the drastic art style changes can symbolize the final metamorphosis of the remaining characters and the story itself. With Eyeball and the pebbles, the style emphasizes how they've transitioned to a whole new place in a literal and allegorical sense. And with Phos, they're style does the same by emphasizing on the deconstruction of their being during their final moments.

I apologize if what I said was confusing (I also got myself confused for a moment haha) But I'll just end this section with this: I liked the art in this chapter.

Now then, we should jump into the meat of this chapter....

Phos's final curtain call.

Phos Can Finally Rest...

Like I stated before, I found Phos's pages really beautiful for different reasons. In terms of visuals, it's nice seeing some softer imagery after having nothing but sharp, chaotic ones. And story wise, it's nice to see Phos finally letting go and feeling fulfilled.

They are finally free, for real this time. Free from heartache, pain, existing. Phos is no longer held back by the sorrow they had been carrying, and they are free of regret.

They are finally at peace.

And would you look at that? We got to see Pho's original face one last time. And they were happy.

Good for them.

Before going to the next section, I want to quickly talk about this page:

When I first looked through the spoiler tag for the previous couple of chapters, I remember seeing some posts from people who seemed unsatisfied with how the story progressed. From what I understand, many of them didn't like that Phos decided to forgive the remnants of humanity. With this latest chapter, I'm sure there are fans who were also not happy that during Phos's final moments that they are thinking about wanting to see their old families again. I can understand the sentiment, though I'm not surprised with this development.

Despite everything that had led the story to this point, Phos did not hate their old families. Yes, they harbored malice towards them during different points of the story, and it would have been justifiable for Phos to punish them along with the other remnants of humanity came to them to pray. But instead, Phos chose to forgive and free them.

I originally saw Phos's actions as their way of finally cutting ties with their families and relieving themselves of the emotional baggage that they burdened them with. But it's been hinted for a while that despite everything, Phos still loved their families. And the fact that Phos wishes they could see them again solidifies this fact.

Though I can't say if I like this revelation or not, I still find it interesting. But again, I can understand if some readers disagree with Ichikawa's writing decisions. If you have your own thoughts about Phos's final moments, please feel free to share them!

But regardless of everything, I still think this was a wonderfully fitting send off for Phos.

But I'm not done talking about Phos just yet.

And Start Anew...

I'll admit that having the first image I see be Phos's last gem piece shatter was not the welcoming image I wanted to see. For a moment, I thought my hope that there was a chance the small piece of Phos would grow sentience and live a new life was shattered (haha.)

But hooray, for that theory became a reality! Despite Phos's last piece breaking up again, a small bit remained and is evidently showing signs of life. It was wonderful how the pebbles immediately recognized that small piece as their brother, showing once again how open and welcoming their are. Small Phos is so lucky.

And how ironic is it that this Small Phos is considered the smallest, (in some ways) youngest, and most fragile new member of this new family... much like how Phos was with the gems at the beginning of this whole story. (I know that Phos was the same height as the other gems, but because of their makeup and position within their society, Phos can be considered less significant or "smaller" than everyone else)

Hm. With that thought in the air... I hope the parallels end there and this doesn't mean that this small and untainted piece of Phos won't be subjected to a similar treatment of their predecessor, right?

...right??

Nah, it should be fine....Unless Aechmea somehow comes back-

Created Their New Path: Final Act of Defiance?

The second to last thing I'd like to talk about is this page because it had me thinking about few things.

It made me think back to the previous chapters, namely the crazy, nearly perfect plans perpetuated by Aechmea and the Lunarians. It's been emphasized many times how calculated Aechmea's plans were, especially when it came to Phos. He nearly predicted every action Phos would make and kept planning and manipulating accordingly until things go the way he wants. And in the previous chapter, it was also heavily implied that he and the other remnants of humanity counted on Phos, Eyeball, and whatever new organisms they came across, to get onto the Dues Ex Machina ship. In some way, they predicted correctly.

But now I must ask these questions:

Did they also count on the possibility of Phos not entering the ship?

Did they also count on Eyeball switching off the ship's autopilot, manually controlling it, and subsequently crash landing it on a planet that more than likely wasn't the original destination?

For these questions, I want to say no.

It's interesting how even though at this point in the story, both Eyeball and Phos seemed resigned to the fact all of their actions were a result of them being manipulated, even after the perpetrators were long gone. But funny enough, I think that their very last actions were entirely their choice. For Phos, staying on the planet and ceasing to exist was entirely their choice. And for Eyeball, choosing to meddle with the ships settings to grab Phos's last gem piece and boost the ships' output. I don't think Aechmea counted on Eyeball doing that. If Eyeball is correct and they did pass the planet that Aechmea had possibly prepared for them, then this means that Eyeball had in many ways changed the trajectory of his and the pebble's lives, albeit unintentional. This could all mean that are all finally free from Aechmea and his long-game, 4D chess plans.

Phos and Eyeball have finally and truly defied Aechmea and humanity.

...BUT THEN AGAIN.. there's always that dumb chance that this was ALSO somehow part of Aechmea's plan. I highly doubt it, because that would be very ridiculously convoluted, even for this story. But then again, you never know with this author.

But for the sake of this post, I want to believe Phos and Eyeball came out on top in the end by intentionally and unintentionally forging paths that wasn't previously made for them. Even though Phos's final choice was somewhat influenced by the professor, it still felt like it was truly their decision.

I hope this doesn't unravel somehow with the final chapter.

Speaking of which-

The Final Stretch...

I can't believe it. This story is about to end. We'll finally almost done and what a journey it has been. I can't believe I started getting into this series almost over 6 years ago. Many things have happened since then, and during this time, this story had sent me on such an emotional rollercoaster. Though there are many things within the story that I wish was different or handled better, I still think this was a very wonderful and thought provoking story.

Now Ms. Ichikawa has to stick the landing. This could make or break this series.

After everything you put us readers through, I hope the true finale will be worth it.

#houseki no kuni #land of the lustrous #hnk #hnk spoilers #hnk phos #hnk spoiler #lotl #hnk meta #lotl spoilers #hnk analysis #hnk chapter 107 #hnk phosphophyllite #hnk manga #hnk thoughts #story analysis

[kallulily]

Falspar feeding baby sailor dee some appy Sause (He doesn't know how dees eat!!!!)

#this was also from an rp with a friend where meta and falspar took in a baby sailor dee #they became dads and fell in love and it was soooo funny #falspar #sir falspar #falspar percival #galaxy soldier army #star warriors #kirby #sailor dee #sailor waddle dee #kirby right back at ya #hoshii no kaabii #krbay #hnk #waddle dee #kirby au

[0li0llie]

I know I reblogged the version that was posted for HNK Secret Santa earlier, but here is my latest version with the proper lighting that I originally wanted to capture! This was made for @staring-at-a-blank-pagee as a secret santa art trade hosted by @hoshinokaabi-secretsanta~

Happy New Year everyone! С Новым годом!

#OliOllie's Gallery #my art #hnk secret santa #fanart #kirby fanart #meta knight #kirby series #kirby #bandana waddle dee #kirby waddle dee #waddle dee #digital painting #digital art #christmas #nintendo fanart #kirby nintendo #nintendo

[mieowkoid09]

Ya know what's really interesting that I havent seen anyone talk about?

Rutile was the one who brought up the idea of Phos finding a job for Cinnabar.

#houseki no kuni #land of the lustrous #phosphophyllite #phos #宝石の国 #hnk manga #hnk #lotl #cinnabar #shinsha #rutile #houseki #hnk meta #cinnaphos

[purble-gaymer]

good news everyone! big announcement post!

this project has been cooking for the past year and a half, and i’m finally ready to share it. so here we are: i wanted more knights content, so i made more knights content. what were these three doing in their spare time off-screen? i’ve got a few ideas...

#kirby #kirby right back at ya #hoshi no kaabii #hnk #meta knight #sword knight #blade knight #rhyn's art #wwtmk #(<- new tag! all related art/notes/etc will be under it) #fun times with my favorite guys i'm so hjdskfkg

[houseki-no-suffering]

not entirely related to ch 96 but the thing i'm most fascinated by, in this whole ordeal, is that in his millennia of confinement on the moon aechmea didn't understand a damn thing about salvation.

first, humanity creates a robot to do the praying because they can't be bothered to be good people themselves or pray genuinely for salvation (which might be among the things that condemned some to the moon in the first place)

then, the robot breaks and instead of finding a better solution, dickmea orders genocide on the lustrous to try and force said machine's hands.

finally, when genocide doesn't work he thinks 'well, then i must create a human to do the praying' which seems perfectly reasonable if you ignore the immense amounts of pain phos had to go through for that to happen but THEN

then, instead of asking the new human to please pray for eveyone's salvation, he decides that the best course of action is to make the human inherit the powers of the machine. basically creating a new machine

sensei probably gave phos the 'eye' because he genuinely wanted them to be happy and, as a praying machine, that act was the only thing he could think of. if phos is a human and has the powers to pray and save everyone then why shouldn't they pray for themselves, first and foremost?

and it baffles me that at this point, after everything, after forgetting even about shinsha and their promise, phos is still kind. their first thought after acquiring the eye is that they should piece every gem back together. they have changed, but their core hasn't: they're still a kind child

aechmea, on the other hand, is just repeating the whole process that condemned him in the first place over and over, hoping that it works and without learning the actual lesson or changing

and since change is the core motive of hnk and since everyone is so damn bad at changing, besides phos, i'm pretty sure this new praying system also won't work.

#houseki no kuni #hnk spoilers #aechmea #sensei #phos #meta #some nuances are escaping me cause i havent reread the whole thing and it's been more than a year #but still