houseki-no-suffering

[houseki-no-suffering]

[houseki-no-suffering]

Hey! I found a post of yours (specifically a phos analysis) from a looong while ago. Just curious to hear what your thoughts on the last chapters and the conclusion of the story are!

I recently finished the manga after putting it off for 4 years, and it was an incredible but such a bittersweet read. Maybe it's just me being a sucker for happy endings, but man, it really did not get happier </3

And you probably already know this, but did you know that Ichikawa released the last chapter the same day a comet flew by that looked exactly like the comet from the last chapter? Really cool stuff but I am emotionally destroyed haha

I suppose it was the only kind of happy ending HnK could have, and I don't think I mind it as much as other things that have happened in the last few chapters. It reads more HnK than anything that has happened in the past 1-2 years of serialization.

I appreciate the bittersweet notes (always have) and Ichikawa's words that this is how she wanted the story to end, it doesn't happen to every mangaka. Also, the comet bit is such a nice touch.

As for Phos (I suppose this is the post you meant?), I do believe that they got a happy ending.

If you think about it, instead of becoming a lunarian and being prayed away like the others, Phos' journey gave them the power and knowledge to rise above them. Thanks to their flaws (being brittle, having special inclusions, maybe being the most human of all the gems) they became human, the most flawed of creatures, and basically reverted to the purity of a child, a god, sin-less (even if this is a Buddhist story, so idk if I can actually speak of sin) and therefore free of everything that made humanity always dissatisfied, dangerous and unhappy. The others renounced existence, Phos found a way to reach paradise.

Humanity doesn't come out of this looking like a nice bunch of people to hang out with, and neither do the lunarians (gems included at this point). And yet, there's so much compassion in everything Phos does: a kind child, up until the very end.

I always speculated (and was not alone in this) that Phos' job would become to pray the lunarians/everyone away, find Cinnabar the job to kill them, become a Bodhisattva... in this, I believe, the story remained true to itself. What I believe no one saw coming was how shallow(?) it all seemed in the end.

Everyone came back, making Phos' sacrifices and suffering basically meaningless, everyone started getting along and solving centuries-old problems in seconds. Then, Ichikawa introduced so many new changes abruptly... It felt rushed, lazy and overly simple, when most of us loved HnK for its complexity and depth.

Maybe it was because Ichikawa wanted (or needed to) end the series with ch 108. Usually, when mangaka put a limit to the chapters they want to write, it really damages the story and I wasn't a fan of this even in this situation.

Aside from these issues, I appreciate how Ichikawa seemed to care about the character of Phos.

Maybe this all happened so that Phos could be happy, maybe this was the only possible way for Phos to be happy? It would be a little bit like in Devilman, where the world basically ends only so that Satan can understand love. Idk, little old Phos didn't seem that desperate a case, they just wanted truth, yes, this did cause some... issues, but other than that they're a sweetheart.

This is the leitmotif of the series, after all: Phos is a kind, selfless gem who cultivates a deep sense of self-hatred.

They internalize a pressure and a need to feel useful (coming from gem society) and turn them into a necessity for change (unlike in gem society). Initially, they want to find a job. Then, they want to help Cinnabar find a job, then they want to help Ventricosus, then then want to become a fighter, then they want to help sensei, then the gems, then the lunarians...

Contrary to most of the other gems, Phos loves and loves openly and unconditionally. They start off as a self-less creature who believes that their life isn't worth anything. Therefore, they put it on the line time and time again and, eventually, lose it time and time again as they change form.

It's their journey towards truth and happiness: they change and lose pieces of themselves, forget things, renounce gem-ness in favor of humanity and then humanity for god-hood.

Phos changes until they find the form that makes them happy. Their purest, happiest form. They change so much that they come back to square one almost: they become pure Phosphophyllite, with no inclusions at all. Still fragile, still small, but selfless and cheerful. Carefree.

In a sense, HnK ends with Phos becoming Phos.

[houseki-no-suffering]

Houseki no Kuni, Chapter 1 -> 108

[houseki-no-suffering]

I love how all the pebbles represent the creativity Kongo actively discouraged—they sing and dance; they tell stories; they process emotions. Kongo fostered a culture devoid of emotion, evident in his dismissal of Phos' crying as a flaw. Phos was always seen as a burden to the other gems because they put so much value onto things. This is why Phosphophyllite is now finally valued in the new society.

[houseki-no-suffering]

On the idea of Theseus's Ship: in the end, it's still his, isn't it? It was known as Theseus's, and it will continue to be known as Theseus's.

Even after he has returned to the ground which grew the wood of the hammer used to nail the ship's frame, Even after generations of new wood have rotted and the sails are rags clinging to threads, Even after millennia,

it will still be Theseus's Ship.

Goodnight, Phosphophyllite.

[houseki-no-suffering]

despite everything, it's still you

[houseki-no-suffering]

Houseki no Kuni, Chapter 36

[houseki-no-suffering]

Houseki no Kuni, Chapter 107

[houseki-no-suffering]

gembros......

[houseki-no-suffering]

I've just been made aware of the fact that HnK is ending in less than 10 days. How are we all holding up?

[houseki-no-suffering]

I’m glad you’re doing well, congratulations on getting your PhD!! You were always one of my favorite HnK blogs (though I too am feeling less connected to the manga after recent events). Your writing was always beautiful, thank you for all you’ve given us and good luck on your future endeavors. <3

Thank u so much! Good luck to you as well

[houseki-no-suffering]

phos didn't die for this...

And yet....

[houseki-no-suffering]

memories better left forgotten

i was emotionally groveling over how phos and shinsha's last moments together were tainted with anguish and sorrow... 🙂 i think it's interesting to see the progressive shift in shinsha's confidence, indicating how much their resolve grew since their first encounter with phos.

out of the two, shinsha is the only one who remembers their promise and the extent of its deep significance. between letting go of the notebook and crushing the mercury-formed figure of young phos, it felt like shinsha forcibly wanted to distance their old feelings for phos, at least the memory of the version who actively wanted to save them in the first place, in order to protect adamant.

nevertheless, i'd like to think shinsha's efforts didn't fall through considering how clearly they could recall their gratefulness to phos since the last few centuries the promise was made until the very end. ^_T

[houseki-no-suffering]

It’s a gift

[houseki-no-suffering]

HIII are you still alive? how are u doing? I just found out about your account because of a cinnaphos post you made on 2018 (one of them, i dont remember which tho) that randomly popped up for me while I was searching a panel from the manga and since then I have been looking through your tumblr and reading all of your analysis (especially the ones about Phos & Cinnabar) during all night and i loved them all so much and i totally agree with you in everything and you just put every thought and feeling and worries and doubts i have about hnk (and about cinnaphos) ans I just lost a whole night of sleep HELPPPP

as i was looking from your oldest posts till your latest one, i got a feeling that you kind of slowly died inside through all those years and from 2022 to now you seem to have gotten very tired (and more hopeless) about hnk, since your posts started to take longer inbetween gaps and you seemed to be talking less in your newest ones and posting less analysis so i got a little worried (though i know Ichikawa has started to take a liiiittle bit TOO LONG gaps between releasing new chapters and us hnk fans have been forced to take some painful breaks of the series) if you were actually doing alright and if everythings okay in your life in general, is it? (゜.゜)

by the way, i really wanted to ask you a very important question (i know that i will probably sob about it but i might also get hopeful depending on what you think):

do you think that there's canon evidence or, at least, a slight possibility that Phos and Cinnabar may end up being together? or at least come into terms, apologize to each other and have a happy ending for them and their relationship?? that something may happen and make that possible??? waiting anxiously for your answer! hugs, sweetie

hello there, this ask is the main reason i resurfaced for a few secs.

I am definitely alive and okay, sometimes I even update my twitter, I simply feel a disconnect with HnK and Tumblr after everything that happened. Also, now that I am a full time nerd with adult responsibilities, I have little free time to dedicate to this space, even if sometimes I miss this community and how we used to scream all together anytime a new chapter would drop.

Thank u for sticking by and enjoying my posts, carry on the cinnaphos legacy for me but do NOT lose sleep on these pebbles, take it from your internet grandma, take care of yourself. As for your question, I do not think Phos and Shinsha will ever end up together (except in the form of the seventh treasure, which I believe Shinsha ended up being, so yay?). Also, I hate to break it to you, but these rocks are no longer part of this plane of existence thanks to Phos praying everyone away and initiating 3rd impact. We can always dream tho, that's what fanfics are for.

[houseki-no-suffering]

hi, i just stumbled on your fic recs page and read through and enjoyed them, but it's been a while since then. do you have any more recs?

unfortunately, I no longer have time to read fanfics (homophobic, i know). When I get the chance to read some again, I'll update it!

[houseki-no-suffering]

I just wanted to let you know that your chrysoalex wwii fic lives rent free in my head. I read it for the first time a few years back and I still come back every once in a while to reread it. The depiction of both love and grief devastated me throughly and irrevocably and I will never be the same. Pain. Anyway you’re a really talented writer

messages like this warm my heart, ty sm, i had no idea people still read my stuff