#i don't mean to be too negative lol but since hnk was so good for so long im a bit disappointed that i gave it benefit of the doubt and

[red-dia]

I think it’s crazy how Lapis was the last remaining Gem in the end. I really wish they could’ve done more with him. Considering how many deus ex machinas there were in the previous arc with how they could just revive all of the gems with no big deal, it’s surprising Ichikawa did not do this. I feel like there could’ve been more potential with Lapis especially with how he was so interested in the Lunarians and the truth behind their intentions, and I’m disappointed neither Cairn or Ghost really cared about the fate of their former partner. That was one of the biggest slaps in the face as someone who was so nervous to see after the long hiatus how Ghost and Cairn would interact with the topics of Cairn giving Lapis’ head to Phos, betraying Phos, Ghost in Cairn’s eyes, etc. .

But to be fair, I’d rather keep Lapis as a Gem who remained as a posthumous being with their complexities intact than rather sentence them to losing their multi faceted characterization like the majority of the Gems.

Very true! I feel like Lapis and Alex ended up being done dirty in similar ways because their "niche" (being the most interested in the lunarians and wanting to understand them more) ended up as... the norm, kinda? All the gems have accepted the lunarians, the lunarians are perfectly understood, there's nothing left for them to do, nothing to add to these dynamics.

About Cairn not really caring about Lapis' fate, I'm not too bothered by that, because it sort of feels like the natural trajectory of Cairn's arc. Everything about them is dictated by their existence as someone with no agency because of Ghost, who gains it suddenly under tragic circumstances, and latches onto other people who become their savior because they've never had this much freedom. You can see it with the way they try to please Phos (gifting them Lapis' head, going along with their plans even when they clearly don't like it) but immediately abandons them as soon as Aechmea appears and promises he can make them truly free. Whether Cairn was influenced by Ghost being in their eyes isn't very relevant, because either way, they immediately try to distance themselves from Ghost as much as they can. Cairn can't stand the idea of being manipulated (which is ironic given that, y'know, (gestures at moon guy)), and will try to move on from their past self at any cost. I think trying to forget Lapis is mostly coherent with this idea, since they associate Lapis with Ghost. But again, this topic was pretty much left untouched, you can occasionally see them doing something reckless because of Aechmea and then it's buried by three pages of them being loveydovey

But yeah, a lot of these choices feel very arbitrary (like deciding that the dusted gems could be retrieved, including Antarc, but not Ghost or Lapis apparently). Honestly, I'm mostly sad the story moved on so fast because it's not even about these points being solved, it's about them not even being brought up, and knowing there's a 0.5% chance they'll ever be elaborated on :/ But that's how it is I guess