#I'd love to hear people's thoughts!!

[momentsofamber]

If the Graves siblings ever got a Nintendo Switch, Ashley would insist on getting these so they can play 2P games and each have their own designated controller.

And then whenever one of them plays 1P they'd still be thinking about the other the entire time, whether or not they're watching them play. 💗

#the coffin of andy and leyley #tcoaal shitposting #gravescest #coffincest #proship safe #proshippers please interact #this is a silly contribution I'm sorry #I've been too stressed to make Serious Stuff lately. #reblog this with your headcanons on what games you think they'd play together or what games you think they'd take turns on etc. #I'd love to hear people's thoughts!! #( now our system wants a green and pink set of joycons though alksjd #ours really do need replaced one of these days ... ) #I shrank the images so this post wasn't super long on the dash.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

i wanna know more about svsss menopause

They synced their periods together too well. Now they are synced through their perimenopause years.

#Poorly drawn svsss #svsss #shen qingqiu #luo binghe #shang qinghua #mobei jun #ask #I truly think that the peak of the SVSSS (peri)menopause era is just them commiserating over the experience of it. #Not pictured here is Liu Qingge barely suppressing his hormonal rage. He would have it *bad*. #I think Liu Mingyan is the only person who does not have a bad time with menopause because she takes estrogen supplements. #Which sounds like a trans headcanon but I think regardless of cis/trans status she's researched this and is prepared. #I have developed a sense for what menopause is purely by exposure to the various complaints I have overheard/been told. #These are all very specific and yet very common stories. #I do not know what the overlap is for SVSSS fans and people (not just women) going through menopause. I hope this is funny to SOMEONE. #It's an untapped market of potential! Too many young'uns in these woods. #Synced periods this. Ovulating that. Where's the menopausal homicidal rage? #Come on! Ripping off your clothing in a sudden burst of heat is *SO* SVSSS core!!! Make perimenopause sexy!!! #Anyways. Please put your menopause headcanons in the comments/tags <3 I'd love to hear them. #Thank you joblessmonday for following up with an ask and giving me an excuse to release this train of thought.

[rroyalguarantee]

a ramble about arthur's relationship with dutch and hosea

haven't used tumblr in a while (let alone made an actual original post in who knows how long) but i can't stop thinking about that one interaction between dutch and arthur in lakay. specifically: "you sound like hosea." it breaks my heart, because dutch is right in saying that. as chapter six unfolds into the tragedy it is, arthur becomes more and more like hosea, and just like hosea, arthur tries and tries and fails to get dutch, stubborn and single-minded, to see reason.

one of my favourite journal entries, is where arthur says, "i love dutch like a father, but in many ways i love hosea more." arthur loved hosea. hosea saw arthur for who he was. knew arthur wasn't near as dumb as he liked to pretend he was. one of my favourite interactions between arthur and hosea is early on in chapter 3, very shortly after they get to clemens point. arthur walks by hosea sitting at a table, who calls out to arthur and asks what he thinks about dutch's plans. arthur's response is "you know me, i never did much thinking." to which which hosea says one of my favourite lines in the game, and it's a line that gives far more insight into arthur, hosea and their dynamic than you might first think.

dutch was arthur's father in a more abstract way. whether it was dutch's intention or not (and i believe, at the very least, it was later on), i always found his "you're like a son to me" comments to arthur to be very manipulative in nature, meant to reel arthur back in when he's concerned he's "getting away," so to speak. i have personal experience with men trying to get me on their good side by saying i'm like a kid to them, and maybe i'm projecting a little because of that, but the way dutch says that to arthur triggers the same alarm bells in my brain.

again: "i love dutch like a father, but in many ways, i love hosea more." say what you want, but hosea was arthur's true dad. he was his dad in all the ways that mattered. hosea knew arthur so well, he knew arthur was putting on "an angry moron act." in the video i linked, he sounds genuinely frustrated when he continues saying "but it's a thin enough veneer." he knows arthur is capable of more. is capable of being better, and i think hosea knew that things were doomed in the end, whether or not he would admit it.

arthur spent a lot of time, both early in the story and at the end, reflecting on what was happening, on himself, on the other gang members. i like to think he was unconsciously channeling hosea in chapter 6. honestly, the parallels are kind of painful. maybe that's, in part, why dutch was so adamant on not listening to arthur; because he reminded him, painfully, of hosea, his oldest and dearest friend. of course, that's not the only reason, but it makes sense, doesn't it? arthur is so much like hosea, and we see that more and more as the story progresses.

#of course i should mention that i wrote this with high honour arthur in mind as not only is that my preferred way of playing #i also perceive high honour arthur as the canon story #red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 #arthur morgan #hosea matthews #dutch van der linde #please feel free to add your own thoughts if you have any #i'd love to hear other people's opinions #this was just me wanting to get my thoughts out lol so apologies if it's not the most coherent

[angel-archivist]

It's so interesting and so exceedingly frustrating how agab is being utilized now within the queer community as a way to isolate and sort nonbinary and genderqueer folks into binary boxes that determine their moral purity levels, and their authority to do and write and exist.

The way nonbinary writers are being put under accusation of fetishizing gay men while their AGAB is continually brought up in a way that feels like queer-space-approved misgendering.

The way feminist circles that are supposedly trans-inclusive will use the word AFAB in a way that implicitly but intentionally isolates nonbinary people who aren't AFAB from joining. It's for women*.

The way the language is already flawed and leaves out intersex folks from the conversations while focusing on a binary of sex that isn't truthful.

The constant obsessing over whether someone is AFAB or AMAB and whether or not that gives them the privilege to join, do, write, or be present in certain spaces really really concerns me. How are we supposed to dismantle a binary system of gender if we can't even move past forcibly assigning and focusing on people's genders assigned at birth?

#and yes i understand! that agab language can in some circumstances be helpful in inclusive language and in the medical world but ultimately #is misgendering and unnecessary it should be up to the person to disclose their agab not an expectation of them to give up freely #I think that inclusive language shouldnt be misgendering in nature and agab as far as i can tell should only be used in select discussions #and certainly not as a way to frame a nonbinary writer as a “biological woman” but in a way where the queer community will nod along and sa #“oh they have a point” because you used the word AFAB instead #honestly afab is the term i see used most frequently and most harmfully towards other nonbinary people who don't identify w the label #to exclude trans women and amab nonbinary people #to frame nonbinary people as “still women” because of their assigned gender at birth #also i understand its not as simple as “not using” these terms bc they still serve a purpose and are important #but as they leave the queer community and as they enter the hands of cis queer people they become weapons #i wish i could like manifest my thoughts super clearly but i really cant bc its a difficult situation #its just another example of misogyny and bio-essentialism creeping into the queer community #because the patriarchy impacts all things including our discussions of trans oppression and gender we need to stop viewing it #as a strict binary of male female and oh sometimes we'll mention nonbinary people but we're all afab and amabs at the end of the day <3 #like flames literal flames #if you wanna like chip into the conversation just shoot me an ask or respond to the post i'd love to hear other peoples perspectives #im not infalliable so if i said anything you view as incorrect especially in regards to intersex folks and how you all would like to be #included in these discussions as im not intersex but am aware of how agab is a subject that leans into the idea of a binary of sex #so yeah rant over <3 #retro.bullshit #rant

[automatonkisser]

#selfship community #selfship #um idk what kind of tags people are using but i'd love to hear everyone thoughts <3 #i just think it's very interesting to see the different ways each of us relate to our self-inserts and interact w selfshipping in general!!

[miramelindamusings]

More sketches for the Rikai adventure/search for Sora AU :) I’ve been watching alot of Disney’s output in the 60s/70s and I’ve really enjoyed them! So here is Robin Hood and sketches of what Riku and Kairi could possibly look like and their disguises for the archery tournament. It could be fun to see them disguised as Lord and Lady but it might be funnier and cooler to see Riku as a jester and Kairi as an archer in a white mage robe like Garnet in FFIX! I also like the idea that once Alan-a-Dale heard their story he would sing songs about Sora, Kairi, and Riku. I also think Goliath from Gargoyles would be so cool to see! Maybe he could be a joint summon for Kairi and Riku or perhaps he could be in a certain world (maybe even Quadratum since Gargoyles takes place in New York City, he could be found in Shibuya or something?). Anyways, I’d love to hear people’s ideas and I hope everyone enjoys the holidays :)!

#rikai #kingdom hearts #goliath gargoyles #robin hood (1973) #destiny trio #robin hood #gargoyles #sorikai #kh #Kingdom Hearts Series #riku #kairi #kh riku #kh kairi #my art #my fanart #digital art #i am struggling with riku's look -like maybe a knight look instead? i'd love to hear people's thoughts! #the first one is inspired by an old tie-in novel for Disney's Robin Hood #and the lord and lady design is based on older film versions of robin hood and marian :) #artists who can ink and who can draw anthropomorphic animals have my undying respect #it was alot of fun to try but challenging! #I also tried using brushes i'm not used to for coloring and I really loved using the pencil brush I used for the jester drawing!

[plushie-lovey]

Anyone who's an adult and a plushie collector. Do you still play with your stuffed animals/have you gone back to playing with them? And I mean full on playing, not just taking them someplace to take photos.

I have an urge to start playing with my plushies again, but idk if I could actually do it. Atm my version of "playing" with them is taking pics, or staring at them while imagining the stories I want to tell with them. Or I'll pick one or two of them up and wiggle their limbs and stuff around a bit then put them down back. It still feels...silly? I guess? To play with them? But I still want to. But the part of me that cringes holds me back. So it'd be nice to know what some other collectors do!

#plushies #I used to love playing with stuffed animals #soup is the only plushie I'd say I play with #but I don't make him talk or anything like that #I just like to shake him around n put him in silly positions but thats it #but idk if that counts #I'd love to hear other people's experiences #also I have some questions for people who read these tags who qanna respond to the post: #how did you get back into playing with plushies? #did you ever stop? #if so how did it feel to pick plushies back up and play with them again? #did you have to get over a feeling of embarrassment or did you embrace it without any worry or thought? #thank you all in advanced. I look forward to everyone's responses #viti shoosh

[pocket-size-cthulhu]

Andor is like if they made a political drama that was so good that most of the time you didn't even remember it was set in space opera universe

#it's actually not 'like' that it literally IS that #sorry not sorry to the star wars fans #I'm an average star wars fan. grew up on the original 3. enjoyed the 3 sequels. loved rogue 1. fell off the boat and got burned out #have not loved many of the latest star wars offerings #lately i hear people saying they wished that there was star wars for adults #andor is it. watch it you cowards #I'd love it even if it wasn't star wars. it's just great tv #if you want explosions and stuff go watch the obi wan show or whatever #if you want restrained thought provoking adult political drama watch Andor #andor series #andor #star wars andor

[daddyfuckinlonglegs]

Okay I know there's some fun and silly fan wank going round about "do ghouls count as monster fucking"and it is a laugh to debate that. But on a separate, slightly serious note for a second, I would really like to encounter more conversations that don't treat ghouls as a separate species. Because... They're people? If they aren't feral, they're people with some pretty horrible experiences? Who survived massive amounts of presumably very painful radiation related illness and came out the other side disfigured and then are often ostracised from non-ghoulified society?

I dunno, not to bring more discourse into the room but I'm interested in the idea of ghoulification as chronic illness or disability, turning feral as a problem of social care for elders akin to dementia or another neuro-affective problem, and how we might talk about that in a setting where there are limitless possibilities for how the world restructures itself post-war. We get so close when we see those moments that are meant to be touching and difficult like euthanising someone turning feral ("apple pie", anyone?), and ghouls being banished from their communities (in a country with historic "ugly laws")...

Maybe it's one for the discord, maybe this will take off in the wrong direction, but I'd just really like to look at this stuff with this kind of critical lens. No one has to, but the potential for interpretation here is another element of this setting that keeps me coming back, and so far I've not seen this kind of discussion out there.

#fallout #maybe I'm starting something i can't finish here #but I'd love to hear people's thoughts

[voxpraxis]

the more i think about it, the more obvious it becomes that christianity -- especially catholicism -- is, in the practical sense, a polytheistic religious system. this is true for any religion whose followers pray or reach out to multiple manifestations or "sides" of a singular entity (eg. the trinity) or to any other multiple beings regardless of whether they are referred to or considered to be on the same level as god(s) within the religion's doctrine (eg. saints, angels etc). "but the saints aren't gods--" that's not the point. the point is that you are directing your energy through prayer to multiple entities, which is the core element of polytheism. it's not a coincidence that the vast majority of early civilizations developed polytheistic religions independently and without prior/outside influence. even though christianity was initially touted as a religion that worshipped only one god, the ideas of the trinity, saints, and angels were soon introduced as "acceptable" ways for christians to essentially worship multiple entities. this is all because humans have an inherent knowledge that directing our energy in multiple directions is the most effective form of spiritual praxis, so it's really just more evidence towards the concept that polytheism is the most true religious system. and i think that's neat

#i'd actually love to hear people's thoughts on this one tho #as long as you're not a christian coming to threaten or convert me #philosophy #theology #hellenism #hellenic polytheism #pagan #paganism #polytheism #religion #op

[mylasteverlution]

Please go into detail about the feld computers

Okay so! We get quite a bit of information about the Feld Playback Experiment, a lot more than I realized before writing this post. The interface of the game (menus, dialogue engine) is actually designed to look like its on a Feld computer. Plenty of other people have talked about that, so I'm not going to go into it here, but I will drop this archived post from the developer's blog for those who are interested.

One thing I do want to highlight from that post:

This computer uses long strips of film for feedback (projection), memory (storing on magnetic tape) and interfacing (submit commands in handwriting) purposes

The strips of film for feedback and the magnetic tape storage are what I was expecting. But using handwritten commands for input was not on my radar! This would be what's called offline handwriting recognition, where text is converted by the computer after it's written (as opposed to online, where you use something like a stylus on a screen and the computer interprets it as you're writing). This is comparatively pretty difficult to achieve, and very error-prone, as everyone's handwriting looks slightly different. Most modern versions of this use machine learning techniques, but I'm assuming these computers used very basic character extraction and recognition engines.

Trant is the only in-game source we get for the Feld computers. And after doing some digging I found him saying something similar:

"As I was saying, the device itself was very elegant, fragile even. One could write directly on the tape using a special chemical solution. The machine would then analyze the handwriting, perform operations and project output onto a white screen. It was a beautiful, delicate thing."

I initially interpreted him saying they "perform operations and project output" to mean that they can process internally, unlike radiocomputers. But this post from the developers is making me think otherwise (thanks @sollandan for sharing this on my other post!):

"These machines have on-air processing. Large prime number stations criss-cross the air. Advanced tape computers use arrays of antennas to sieve through their calculations to perform advanced calculus on site: to run programmes and communicate between the remote corners of the world."

The advanced tape computers being referred to here have to be the Feld computers. I'm still not sure how this kind of processing would work. As far as computing goes, prime numbers are used primarily in cryptography. Maybe their version of 'processing' somehow involves decrypting? People have theorized that the world in Disco Elysium is made of information. If all the information already exists, maybe it's just a matter of decoding it? I'm honestly just spitballing here, but I'd love to hear other people's theories.

Regardless of how they work, it seems pretty clear to me that the Feld computers are meant to parallel the rise of digital personal computers in our world. Like how Trant described them here:

"An elegant folding mechanism of rollers and ferrotape ribbons, portable enough to be a take-it-home solution, revolutionizing business machines, possibly even bringing them to the average consumer."

This reads almost exactly like promotional material for early home computers made by IBM, Apple and such. (Side note: 'ferrotape' here refers to ferric-oxide coated tape, used for magnetic tape storage and popularized for use in computers by IBM in the 50s.)

But in Disco Elysium, this revolution never took place. Computers never made it to the average consumer, as is clearly demonstrated by even the RCM having only limited access to radiocomputers. The only characters I know of with access to computers are Soona (obviously) and Trant (plus his kid), who seems to be much wealthier than the average citizen of Revachol. The thematic significance of this form of communication never becoming available to the masses is not lost on me.

That said, I think ending this on one of the most interesting hints we get on what happened to the Feld Playback Experiment is appropriate:

YOU - "Why did the revolutionaries destroy it?" TRANT HEIDELSTAM - "Who knows? Maybe it was an accident, or maybe they didn't want the technology to end up in the wrong hands. Either way -- they're all gone now, all three versions of the prototype. Nothing but debris and ashes remains inside that building." He takes a step back; the boardwalk creaks mournfully in the wind. SHIVERS - Two seagulls circle in the sky. You look up and think: really? Or was there a fourth prototype that remains hidden in the mausoleums below Coal City?

#thanks for asking!! #this was a great excuse to spend way too much time researching fake computers #and again i'd love to hear other people's thoughts!! #cyan.txt #disco elysium

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Thank you all for voting in the poll to decide who was going to be the leader of the band! It turned out to be such a close race!

#poorly drawn mdzs #better drawn mdzs #mdzs #madam lan #A-qing #Band AU #(Reminder that Madam Lan's design inspiration goes to Qourmet!) #Madam Lan may have been the winner per vote count but there were so many strong advocates for A-Qing! #I played around with a few versions of what the 'poll winner' art was going to be and ultimately decided I wanted them both. #As any good theater love knows though - The battle for leadership was a ruse. They *all* get a chance to be featured. #Cooperation was the real end goal! However I do think these two have the best frontman energy of the group. #Or at least 'crowd favourite' energy. I also really loved hearing what people thought their vocal styles would be like! #This was probably one of my favourite polls to do and I love drawing these characters a lot B*) #I'd love to spend a bit more time in this AU so count on me bringing it back. #One thing I keep feeling like I need to redeem myself on is Madam Lan's Translucent skirt. I have *not* done the concept justice yet. #It is such a crack-platonic ship but I want to think Madam Lan and A-Qing would enjoy each other's company. #Possibly also with JYL as well. They can be like mutually beneficial therapy dogs to each other. #Madam Lan never got to see her kids grow up into teenagers after all. She only had sons. Never daughters. #Even if she saw her kids once a month we do know she treated them with so much love and kindness. #She would bite the shit out of YZY for yelling at JYL. What a sight to see. A-Qing would also start biting (for fun).

[edwardsdeathcabcd]

hey gang if I were to do a little project for school about why it's interesting & special that twilight's queer online fandom finds queer themes & narratives within a story that's so overtly pushing a mormon heteronormative agenda.. would anyone be like interested in sharing their thoughts on that with me or

#i am thinking about focusing mainly on bella and how her being So Not Like Other Girls kind of unintentionally queer-coded her #but i'd also be curious to hear anyones thoughts on other characters! like if you are an ace edward beliver i'd love to know more about tha #and outside of the text like how are these characters important to queer people #i'd wanna know what about certain characters resonates with you and why you choose to see them in a queer context #things like that #twilight #tts #bella swan #edward cullen #the twilight saga #twilight renaissance #twilight blog #jacob black #twilight saga #alice cullen #mine

[thetarttfuldickhead]

do you think how Jamie reacted to Roy and Keeley's teasing at the auction in 1x04 was related to his trauma from his Dad making him loose his virginity to a lady from the red light district? and do you think after the three of them officially get together, that they ever talk about that?

Tricky one, nonny, because as much as I tend towards Watsonian explanations over Doylist ones, in this particular case I can’t quite disregard the fact that I am not at all convinced that Jamie’s Amsterdam backstory was in place when 1x04 was written. It might have been, sure, but… yeah, I doubt it, actually.

And, like, in hindsight, after 3x06, it’s hard not to connect Jamie’s discomfort at the gala with his experiences in Amsterdam. Even if he doesn’t consciously join the dots himself, even if he’s not yet realized that the experience was traumatic to him (and I think 3x06 does suggest that it was, even if it’s possibly to argue otherwise), the notion of having to have sex with someone he doesn’t want to have sex with, especially when they’re that much older (not because having sex with old people is gross, obviously, but because it would mirror the experience he had as a child), would have made him deeply uneasy.

I mean, it would make most of us deeply uneasy, so that’s not the strange part. The strange part, really, is that Jamie believes – if only for a little while – Roy and Keeley’s assertion that he’ll need to put out. Becaue, yes, Jamie’s not always the brightest, but of course the club’s not actually pimping out the players. He knows that, surely. But for a moment he isn’t sure – and maybe that’s because it’s already happened to him, hasn’t it? Not quite like this, no, but money exchanged and him required to fuck someone he had not chosen to fuck. So, yes, things like that can happen and maybe they do happen at Richmond because Jamie didn’t see it coming the first time either, did he, but no, it’s just a fucking joke, Roy and Keeley having a laught and he looks like a right idiot now, doesn’t he, for having believed them, and he can’t even articulate (not even to himself, I think) why he thought, for a moment, that maybe…

Yeah. Makes a horrible sort of sense, doesn’t it?

So, in hindsight I think we can read his reaction being at least partially related to what was done to him in Amsterdam, and normally I’d be perfectly happy with that, actual text over authorial intent, but in this case I can’t stop wondering about what it all was originally intended to mean (if, indeed, the Amsterdam part was not known to the writers at the time of writing 1x04). Maybe it intrigues me because it has the potential to reveal more and interesting things about Jamie? I don’t know, and I don’t have any real theories either, just… something about football players being used to getting sold and traded, something about his sense of self and value directly tied to his body and what he can do with it, time spent creating his brand and the slight disassociation and/or confusion between self and image it can cause (even as I think that Jamie has a very strong sense of self generally). Given all of that, is it so outlandish for him to briefly assume that maybe this too might be required? Especially given his experiences in Amsterdam… Can be a mix of the two, really. Maybe that’s the interpreation I mostly favour.  

As for if they ever talk about it... I don’t necessarily think it’s something Jamie would bring up and I doubt Roy immediately connects the dots once he hears Jamie’s tale of his first Amsterdam trip. Keeley, I think, doesn’t know what happened in the Red Light District; to me, Jamie telling Roy reads very much like a ‘first time I ever told anyone’ thing, but that’s obviously open to interpretation.

But say something reminds Roy of that gala dinner, and what was said then. Maybe they’re getting ready to attend it once more and this time they’re dead pleased to be seated at the same table, making little jokes about can you fucking imagine if someone would have told us then that this is where we’d end up and could have saved ourselves so much trouble if we’d just gone home together that night and Keeley playfully reminds Jamie that he doesn’t actually have to sleep with someone if he doesn’t want to and Jamie pouts like that shit wasn’t funny but he’s laughing too because it was long ago and they’re here now and he doesn’t tend to dwell –

– but Roy goes quiet because wait hang on oh no fuck no, and he doesn’t say anything right away, they need to get going and he’s not sure is he, and he keeps on saying nothing throughout the dinner, and behind the still face he is quietly spiralling as he watches Jamie’s every move like a hawk, every twitch of his lips and every roll of his eyes.

Jamie and Keeley both notice, and are both confused. They keep exchanging glances and when Nate’s off to the loo and Jade’s done her disappeaering act and Sam and Dani drag Jamie off to join the rest of the team for a round of shots, Keeley takes the opportunity to lean in and ask what’s going on, Roy, are you okay?

He’ll tell her then, I think, and that’s not great – not his story to share – but it’s eating at him and there’s no one else for him to confide in and Keeley is part of it too, so yes. He tells her; she’s upset but still the voice of reason; no matter what happened that night Jamie’s doing fine right now, he’s having a great time with his friends and we shouldn’t ruin that for him, but come tomorrow we’ll have a proper chat all three of us, okay, sort things out?

And come tomorrow, they do.

#had more thoughts on this than i expected to #hope they make some sort of sense to you nonny - thank you for the ask! #i'd love to hear other people's thoughts on this #because i'm not fully committed to any of these musings #like i have thoughts - apparently - but i'm very prepared to change my mind if presented with compelling arguments as to why i should #1x04 #3x06 #jamie tartt #roy kent #keeley jones #royjamiekeeley #roy x jamie x keeley #asks

[pemprika]

hnk ch. 100 thoughts (spoilers)

Making a full-on separate post because I thought there was a lot to draw from in this recent chapter... I needed to document it, so here is my veryy long thought bubble on hnk 100:

The chapter felt like a depiction of Phos in transition to accepting themself and adapting to a new phase of peace that they hadn’t experienced before. While young Phos had a carefree life, they were perpetually stuck feeling useless, never satisfied with the way they lived, and gradually lost all their friends, selfhood, and purpose.

It’s a little difficult to emotionally match the pacing of the story considering how often the series goes on hiatus now, but note that Phos had only recently come to terms with their own flaws and the reasons why everything ended up the way it did. They had a wish to be happy, and meeting these lifeforms allowed them to realize the meaning of their existence and be more content with it.

That poetic verse was introspective and contemplative. Rather than placing worth based on certain levels, like the gems’ hardness levels or Lunarians’ caste system, these rudimentary rocks perceive that all life is made equal. For thousands of years, gems tied their own value to a designated role, and if they couldn’t fulfill it, they devalued their existence. We saw a lot of perspectives throughout Phos’ journey, including how Rutile “failed” as a doctor for being unable to fix Padapradscha on their own, or how Dia “failed'' to live up as a diamond with refined fighting skills compared to their rivaled counterpart. Again, these are just flawed traits passed down from their human predecessors and the curse of immortality.

The chapter ending conveyed a hopeful conception that all things, primitive or refined, come from the same place (nature). I struggled to connect the details mentioned in ch 97 before, but it gave us sooo much foreshadowing to this new world. Dr. Ayumu said that, “the inorganic things that we had been using for ourselves will soon have a world of their own'', alluding that these little guys that Phos met are the new world.

 Interesting how Dr. Ayumu wanted Adamant to “build the bridge” and Phos to “burn the bridge” in order to create this “beautiful, rational world” to be a more freeing and less destructive place, and refresh the Earth to avoid relying on human values and qualities to stay self-fulfilled.

I was talking with @/mlkinis who brought up an interesting theory of using rocks in this new arc to symbolize the reversion of materialism. The rocks, elements derived from basic nature, have vastly different virtues compared to the gems, a class of refined minerals that developed a habitual routine of upkeep socially and culturally. While gems are also made from the Earth, they are perceived as high-value and are often polished to be artificially beautiful. 

One Buddhist principle reflects on detaching oneself to worldly possessions and desires, such as wealth, in order to attain inner peace, and it seems that having these primitive rocks is a representation of Phos “letting go” of the gem society, which may be another way of showcasing that the world is returning back to life as the way it once was, and that Phos is on a path to attaining ultimate happiness. I’m wondering if Dr. Ayumu’s line, “When you cross that bridge, burn it” refers to Phos leaving their suffering behind as they’re going forth to being happy in this new world that is coming to be...

Anyway, upon reading the passage, along with meeting the sentient rocks and hearing its rock friend sing the verse, I felt like Phos reconciled with their own self and existence, and melted from feeling at peace 🥺😭!! Thank you, Ichikawa as always… This was a very cool and comforting chapter for me.

#hnk #hnk spoilers #hnk 100 #houseki no kuni #very very introspective read between the lines kind of chapter #thank you for reading!! #the pacing of the story has been a little wacky considering how many hiatuses it's been going through #you often forget the context of previous chapters... it can get a little hard to piece together #i'd love to hear other peoples' thoughts too =)

[adarkroomandawallflower]

#feel free to elaborate on any of the choices! #I'd love to hear people's thoughts 😊 #data soong #data star trek #data tng #star trek the next generation #star trek tng #polls #noll's nonsense