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[shipoftheseus]

OOC

Handle: Kelly
Contact: tinybro or PM this journal
Over 18? Y
Characters Played: N/A

THE CHARACTER

Character Name: Phosphophyllite
Series: Land of the Lustrous (Houseki No Kuni)
Canon Point: Chapter 44, before the Lunarian encounter
Character Age: 301
Background: Phos @ the HnK wiki. Their canonpoint is at the beginning of the last paragraph under the Story header "Cairngorm".

Personality: Phos is a wildly dynamic character, especially for a member of a species of ageless, unchanging rock people in a static setting. Their developments, both as a person and on a more physical level, are at the core of Houseki no Kuni's story, and the person they are now is significantly different from who they were at the beginning of the story a year previous. They're adaptable, and more than that, they've actively sought change in both themself and the status quo in general where the others in their group were content to leave things as they were.

Whether or not these changes are good is another matter entirely, of course. They've always been a curious individual, prone to disobedience and getting into trouble because of it, but these days it's evolved into a need to learn the truth of their world no matter how unhappy a truth it might be. Phos' search for purpose and answers has so far led mostly to trouble for everyone involved. They carry a great deal of guilt as a result, and it has tempered what used to be an extremely impulsive, thoughtless nature into a much more careful one. They still have their moments of recklessness, but these days they're trying to act more cautiously for the sake of others.

While they are definitely doing better by their current canonpoint, it's only after coming through some heavy depression as a result of all that guilt. For a time they had horrible insomnia, and while it's eased up they aren't entirely out of those particular woods yet. They'd also been plagued by hallucinations and nightmares of a lost friend for a while, and only got over them because of the realization that they were probably subconsciously desperate for support of some kind. They've realized now that their attempts to figure things out alone left them feeling isolated even while still among others, and so they've made efforts to open back up, and to reign in their own drive for answers somewhat so they don't get others hurt by it again.

That care for others has been one of the most consistent aspects of their personality. Even from the earliest flashback we see, Sensei emphasizes that Phos is kind. And while they can be a bit selfish at times (though they've grown out of that somewhat), they've always been deeply empathetic even towards those who hurt them. They can't dredge up any anger towards the Admirabilis after learning the reason for their betrayal, and though they find Bortz's attitude intimidating and unpleasant they understand the care buried underneath it all. Most notably, they empathize with Cinnabar's feelings of uselessness and promise to find them a new job, even while Phos themself is without a real purpose of their own. The underlying motivation of their need to be useful was always a desire to help others, especially the Sensei they loved so much, and so their current goals leave them deeply conflicted. Not only do they struggle with their suspicions regarding Sensei, but they know all the others have recognized that something is suspicious as well and chosen to ignore it and keep things as they are. They're being forced to choose between letting everyone carry on as they are, purposefully blind but content, and finding a truth that might do nothing but cause grief.

Their struggles have led to them maturing a great deal as a person, becoming someone capable of greater understanding and seriousness when necessary, but their improved mental health these days has seen a return of some of their original self as well. They can be a little lazy sometimes, and they think a bit too highly of both their own appearance and that of the Gems as a whole. They hide their insecurities with humor and boisterousness and are prone to dramatics, but they aren't necessarily a very good actor, and it's often pretty obvious when they're purposefully trying to act cheerful for whatever reason. Overall, they can be pretty smart and they have occasional bouts of impressive insight, but those qualities are often easily overlooked or lost in their generally easygoing and sometimes oblivious attitude.

Powers/Abilities: + They're a Gem, which is to say they are entirely made of inorganic mineral. They don't age or breathe, they have no sense of taste or smell, and they aren't bothered by cold or heat. They don't need to eat or drink, but they're energized by sunlight and need to sleep like humans. They also tend to hibernate in the winter when there's not much sunlight, but can manage to stay awake with some effort (though they'll still feel very tired). They can be cracked or broken (and phosphophyllite is a particularly fragile stone at only a 3.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, compared to human bone which is a 5) but they don't feel pain when damaged. Significant damage (such as losing all limbs or being entirely broken in half) is enough to leave them unable to function and might make them lose consciousness, and losing their head will always leave them entirely nonfunctional. They can be repaired if the pieces are saved, generally by pasting them back together until the pieces fuse back together (a few days at least for it to really set in properly), and pieces that are missing can theoretically be replaced with other materials. For most gems the materials need to be very similar to their natural mineral, but Phos is a bizarre outlier who takes on new pieces relatively easily. It's unknown if continuing to do so will cause problems in the long run, as they're already an extremely complicated mix of minerals with only barely half their original body left. Gems' memories are also stored in all parts of their body, so losing pieces loses an equivalent amount of memory seemingly at random. Extremely intense distress can also cause them to crack and break apart on its own.

+ Their legs, now a compound of shell and agate, are capable of extreme speed. However, the weight of their alloy has since rendered that mobility useless and now they can only move at something closer to a human baseline.

+ Can understand the voices of sea slugs and ice floes back home. This is likely to do with certain aspects of the world back home, though, and thus won't apply to any slugs or ice here.

+ Their arms have been replaced with an alloy of gold and platinum, which has spread throughout their entire body and also sticks out at the heels of their feet. They can control this alloy at will, changing the shape and solidity freely. This requires some level of focus, and surprising them can cause their arms to lose their shape and hardness. Entirely knocking them out renders the alloy useless, at which point it takes on mostly liquid state. They make creative use of the alloy, using it to propel themselves upwards, restrain enemies, stretch out to hit distant targets, shield them from attacks, form golden doppelgängers for distractions, hold their pieces together temporarily when they've been broken, and plenty more. However, they're limited by the amount of alloy in their body, and it has to remain attached to them at least by a thin strand to remain under their control. The alloy is stronger than their base strength (which is almost comically weak), but also makes them significantly heavier -- likely somewhere between 400 and 450 lbs now.

Power Nerfs (if applicable): N/A

Inventory: Just their sword in its hilt attached to a thin belt. The sword has no special properties besides being made of obsidian.

Incentives: Phos is motivated mostly by concern for the other gems and wanting to know the truth of their situation. A guarantee that the other gems will be safe will go a long way (as will the chance that the gems that were previously lost can be returned to them), but they'll be most comfortable with complete transparency from the Orbiters regarding everything going on.

SAMPLES

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