note on pronouns
I am happy to answer questions about grammar, nonbinary genders, how this affects Rutile, and gender identity in Land of the Lustrous at any time! You can reply directly to this post (comments are screened) or PM this journal.
You can also find a brief guide to nonbinary pronouns here. c:
[ Khu Ioduan ] Rutile | Application
Added pronouns for Rutile.
Noted canon update to chapter 71.
• Player Information •
Age: 21
Contact:
Other Characters Played: N/A
Most Recent AC Link: N/A
• Character Information •
Canon: Land of the Lustrous | Houseki no Kuni
Canon Point:
Age: Approximately 2500-3000; appears as a young human adult.
Type of Character: Canon
References:
[ Note on pronouns ] There is some room for interpretation regarding the pronouns used by the gems. In Japanese they are referred to with strictly and strongly masculine terms, but exclusively present as femme, to emphasize that their society has no concept of gender. This is due to the strict gendering in the Japanese language. Because English syntax does not have the same gendering that Japanese does, this technique of contradictory gender signals falls short. It is thus more appropriate to use ambiguous pronouns such as they/them in English.
[ Spoilers through Chapter 65. ]
"For the sake of science, public benefit, and my own personal research."
Rutile is a gem of medicine, their practice grown in a world of unceasing struggle for survival. Extraordinary patience and attention to detail are the words of the day: without these traits, Rutile could not fill their critical niche in Lustrous society. They are the most skilled at reassembling bodies from thousands of unrecognizable shards, and at carving and attaching prosthetics from the material at hand. Their meticulous documentation of medical experiments, discoveries, theories, and general gem physiology date back millennia, and their unwavering devotion to the task of maintaining the Lustrous' health has ensured that Rutile's words are respected and heeded by everyone.
Though Rutile cares deeply for the other Lustrous, they have personal stakes in developing their skill as a medical practitioner. On a surface level, they are devoted to the progression of their field, to learning more about the properties of minerals and how they interact with each other and their constituent inclusions, in order to better care for their fellow gems. They are also fascinated by physiology in general: though their hands are steady, their mind is quick about wanting to dissect anything that catches their interest, including other gems, and often suggesting this as the solution to any problem. Rutile is aware of death as something that happens to living things, but as an immortal inorganic creature, the death of plants and animals is not something that concerns them. This occasionally makes the other Lustrous uncomfortable, as Rutile is known to wander around with a manic grin and scalpel in hand.
Their other stake in their profession is highly personal. Rutile was not always a doctor: originally they were a soldier, with a partner and a patrol like so many other gems. Their partner, Padparadscha, was born with the unique condition of being full of holes: eventually this caught up with them, and Padparadscha has been in a comatose state ever since, temporarily waking only when Rutile can find the right combination of material that will revive them. It was this process of studying, documenting, and experimenting with different mineral combinations that made Rutile a skilled physician. It was at this time that Rutile took up a general medical practice, retiring from the field in favor of maintaining the other gems and researching how best to revive Padparadscha permanently. They have not fought since.
Working on Padparadscha, although technically Rutile's secondary goal, has a way of commanding their existence. It creeps into their journals about unrelated surgeries, keeps them awake during winter hibernation, and strongly affects their decisions and sense of self--in Rutile's estimation, they are not worthy of their profession if they cannot fix Padparadscha, their greatest challenge and greatest failure. Padparadscha is also their greatest weakness: losing their body is enough to shatter Rutile physically and emotionally, causing them to revert back to the fierce and violent nature of their youth, drawing comments that they are scarier than the Lunarians and "back to how they used to be". Their bio in the official translation of Volume 5 points out that they "used to be quite cocky".
Normally, though, Rutile is polite and formal, though not unapproachable. As a member of a strongly collectivist society and one of the more senior gems, it often falls to Rutile to care for the juniors both physically and mentally. Rutile is no replacement for Sensei, the gems' father figure and leader, but they will often give kind advice or reassurance to the Lustrous who need it and ensure every gem has a chance to be included in group events. It's not beyond Rutile to be frustrated when certain gems end up in their clinic multiple times a day, but the frustration comes from a place of concern and desire for them to be more careful. They refuse to mince words when a scolding is warranted. Rutile is often the first person juniors go to with a question about the world, though how helpful they are depends on how relevant the question is to their work.
Still, Rutile is not always so above it all. Though they "seem like a perfectionist," they are actually "quite laid back" (Volume 3 bio). They gently mock the more senior gems and love a good fight with their peers, delighting in victory and even basking in the frustration they cause others. They also have no qualms about playing around with the juniors from time to time, though their presence is not always wanted. Rutile's worries are confined to the small hours of the morning, when the other gems have gone to bed; it's not fair to burden the juniors with the problems of adults, and their fellow seniors have enough to grieve. But though Rutile is light-hearted and occasionally jovial, they don't like to take what they dish out. The fastest way to irritate them is to accuse them of being a quack.
[ Summary ]
Average gem height, with two-toned auburn and yellow hair cut in an asymmetric bob and matching eyes. Never seen without their lab coat and long, black gloves. Their skin is not true skin; they dust over most of their limbs with powder to appear more humanlike. According to their Volume 3 bio, has sexy legs.
Abilities:
[ Physiology ]
Being constructed entirely of titanium dioxide (TiO2), perhaps with additional iron, niobium, and tantalum, Rutile is resistant to damage from anything at or under Mohs 6 (steel knives and weaker). TiO2 is commonly formed in high-temperature and pressure environments; its melting point is 1855°C, beating the temperature of lava by 600°C. Thus, while Rutile is brittle and can be cracked or shattered, it is rare that this happens, and they cannot be burned or melted. In fact, any temperature short of 1855°C has no damaging effect on Rutile. That said, gems have some amount of sensitivity to external stimuli, and can detect changes in texture and temperature in trace amounts.
Gems do not require sustenance, produce metabolic waste, age, or fall ill. They don’t technically require sleep, either, although the inclusions in their body run off of sunlight*, and without a significant amount of it they will shut down. If there is a significant lack of light during a season, they will choose to hibernate rather than struggle with exhaustion all season. In temperate climates, this is a non-issue. Rutile in particular is prone to sleeping issues, such as waking up from hibernation. During sunny seasons, they often work late by the light of bioluminescent jellyfish and have been known to sleep during the day. It is possible that Rutile's troublesome circadian rhythm is due to TiO2's UV-scattering capabilities (it is a common component of sunblock).
Inclusions are a significant part of Lustrous physiology. These are imperfections spread throughout their bodies that hold memories and personality traits and determine whether a gem will be compatible with alternative materials (such as for prosthetics). Because of this, losing pieces is a major concern for gems: even small shards could potentially carry crucial memories, the loss of which would be devastating. The loss of limbs is even riskier a prospect. Rutile typically avoids coming into contact with things that could break them at all costs.
Note also that because gems don't breathe, it makes no real difference whether they are underwater or above it. That said, salt water is abrasive, and they avoid swimming without an anti-salt resin coating if they can. Strong acids, of course, can dissolve TiO2 much as they do anything else.
*Bioluminescence from luciferin reactions can be substituted when working at night, but is not as effective. It is likely that standard artificial lighting would be no more sufficient for gems than it is for growing plants.
[ References ] Rutile (WebMineral) | TiO2 (PubChem) | Rutile (Wikipedia) | Luciferin
[ Medical and Scientific ]
In their society, Rutile is a skilled doctor, prolific geologist, and occasional chemist. They are noted for their skill at reassembling whole gems from tiny shards, for transplanting limbs and other appendages (including heads), and creating prosthetics out of atypical materials (finding a way to attach quartz agate (Mohs 7) to phosphophyllite (Mohs 3) without damaging the latter). They are intimately familiar with the properties of various minerals and how they interact to support the Lustrous's physiology.
Rutile is also responsible for procuring the powder and resin the gems use to protect their polished surfaces. They are intimately familiar with the flora of their homeland, though not to as great an extent as the fauna, and a decent hand at compounding materials.
[ Combat Skills ]
Rutile has been retired for several millennia, but before settling down as a physician, they were a formidable combatant. Though they have a Mohs hardness of 6, their former partner Padparadscha had a Mohs hardness of 9, a mismatch in strength rarely seen in gem strike teams. They are also extremely fast, being able to leap high and far. Their agility and mid-rank strength are their greatest assets.
It will also be a massive opportunity for character development on Rutile's part: although they are fairly self-sufficient, they've never lived without the support or company of the other gems, and learning to define themselves without that community will be one of the greatest challenges they face--one that I am eager to explore.
Nothing too special. They leave most of their belongings in their clinic.
1 x Forceps
1 x Small Hammer
1 x Small Chisel
1 x Pen
1 x Small Notebook
Talent Preferences: Alteration, Restoration, Destruction
• Writing Sample •
Even on a rare cloudy day, the selys’s scales stand out from the surrounding foliage. Though not quite so bright as the ones in the city, its adamantine lustre is brilliant. A brief twinge of nostalgia—for home, for company—makes Rutile put down their careful notes and crawl over to the selys, hanging back a careful distance so as not to scare it away. They lie on their stomach and fold their arms under their chin, watching the serpent slink toward the water. Rutile softly admires, "Aren’t you quite the specimen? I wonder if you look like me on the inside, too."
The selys doesn’t deign to reply.
Rutile’s ability to lie still is unparalleled by other denizens of Aifaran. As the breeze tugs at their clothing and hair, as insects run across their gloved fingers and clouds pass overhead, Rutile’s position never changes, their eyes never blinking. When the sun is gone like it is today, it’s almost like sleeping: letting consciousness take a backseat to presence, barely registering the passage of life around them. Slowly the selys slips away and dives with a small splash into a nearby creek, the displacement of several white flowers the only evidence they were there to begin with.
Rutile sighs and pushes back up to their knees, brushing mud off the front of their clothes. They pick one of the flowers by the bank, examining it closely. "If only you were what I was actually looking for. I wouldn’t have to get my lab coat so dirty."
They pick the petals off the flower one by one, tossing each in turn into the water, and finally throwing the stem after. A honeybee, upset by the displacement, buzzes around Rutile’s face. They catch it with one hand and examine it through the space between their fingers.
"You’re the same as ever. I’ve at least got that, I suppose. Maybe you can help me figure out why I’m so determined to find something that likely doesn’t exist."
Because you’re a quack, says Phos in Rutile’s head—not the pensive Phos who returned from the moon, but Phos from a hundred-odd years ago, so tiny and brazen and with nothing to show for themselves but personality. Even that memory is a pleasant one, as insulting as it is. Back then, everything was so much simpler.
"Quack or not, I don’t have anything better to do." The honeybee tries to sting Rutile without success. They let it go.
Several yards away, Rutile’s guide—a small kedan child who’s kept nicely to themselves throughout the afternoon—calls out to them. "Hey, um, Rutile?"
The child sheepishly scratches their head, glancing at the city just visible in the distance. "Well, it's just, I gotta get back in time for dinner, and it's getting kind of late, and you're just sitting there. I thought this would be more fun."
"You're not having fun?"
"Well... no." They pause a minute, then say, "Actually I'm bored. And hungry."
The child is short and vaguely human-like, with hair that flops over their forehead and ears and a perturbed expression indicating that their manners stop where their hunger begins. Their pout once again reminds Rutile of Phosphophyllite, and Rutile knows they've been defeated.
"You're rude," says Rutile, but they get to their feet and check their coat again for mud, and then stretches out a hand to the child. "But you're right. We don't want your family to worry."
"I don't want dinner to get cold," the child says as they take it.
"That either."
(no subject)
FRIENDS | |
![]() land of the lustrous Their battle partner from long ago. It's good to have a familiar face, though the reunion is bittersweet. | |
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
land of the lustrous
A clever junior who deserved more than they got. Rutile has always had a soft spot for them.
ACQUAINTANCES | |
![]() realm of the elderlings A deft hand and a quick tongue; he's easy to talk to, and even easier to reminisce with. | ![]() She reminds Rutile of Phos as they used to be - boundless energy and nowhere to put it. Hopefully it goes better for her. |
![]() She seems driven, with a wild side to her that speaks to Rutile's reckless streak. There are more mysteries than answers. | ![]() blood blockade battlefront His eyes are the likes of which Rutile has never seen, though he doesn't seem adept at using them. |
![]() american mcgee's alice They had a gentle conversation once, and they might get on well, but they haven't spoken since. | |
![]() kamen rider He took Rutile for quite a violent ride. They're not certain what their feelings are toward him. | |
ENEMIES | |
![]() They were doomed from the start. Valdis is in the Sentry, and Rutile has a chip on their shoulder. Perhaps they're too similar. |
code by
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
(no subject)

With strength come influence and responsibility. Think about that.

A doctor. Legs crossed, slightly mad.
DETAILS

TALENT

[ Land of the Lustrous: Brief Summary ] In the post-apocalyptic future, mineral life forms (the "Lustrous") fight for survival against the Lunarians, ghostly beings from the moon who capture them for jewelry and weapons.
Personality;Rutile is normally polite and reserved, befitting their position as a figure of authority among the gems and of responsibility for their physical health. They are unafraid of giving juniors a scolding when they deserve it, but for the most part are amiable and impartial in their interactions. Meticulous, they have maintained detailed journals for centuries at a time, and thorough in their work. They will often dissect flora and fauna they're interested in, and will ask for genetic samples from other beings for further study. Though they acknowledge limitations and are respectful of boundaries, this rarely stops them from asking.Still, Rutile has a strong mischievous streak. They're unafraid to gently mock their superiors or play mild pranks on peers, and they're just a tad vain - they've got legs a model would kill for, and they know it.
For their violent past, Rutile has mellowed over the years. That said, they still fall back on vicious behaviors when they are threatened or angered. Given time and space they'll calm themselves, but woe befall anyone who gets too close.
BACKGROUND
Rutile is a medic trained on the job: they began life as one half of a strike team, meant to defend their community of Lustrous against the Lunarians. With a Mohs hardness of 6 and brittle constitution, they were not the most likely choice for combat, and particularly not to be paired with the corundum gem Padparadscha, who was three orders of magnitude tougher. Still, Rutile held their own in the field, notable for their fierce and violent nature.
When their partner Padparadscha took a turn for the worse - they had been born filled with holes, and it was only a matter of time before it caught up with them - Rutile took it upon themselves to fix Padparadscha once and for all. They quit combat and devoted their full time effort toward finding the right combinations and compositions of gems that would bring Padparadscha back to life.
Centuries of doing this made Rutile into the most skilled physician among the Lustrous, and now they are solely in charge of maintaining the other gems' health. They run regular check-ups, repair broken and shattered gems, and cut replacement prosthetics when material is lost.

1 x Forceps
1 x Small Hammer
1 x Small Chisel
1 x Pen
1 x Small Notebook
[ IC INBOX ] [ Audio, Video, Text ]
Inbox.

You have reached Rutile. I'm not available at the moment.
If this is an emergency, contact Aifaran's emergency services.
Otherwise, leave a message and try again later.
Thread Tracking

History
2018
- May. Rutile arrives in Aifaran in a whirl of emotion leftover from Phos's actions just before Rutile's snatching by the Dreaming. After getting off on the wrong foot with the Sentry and some other Dreamfolk, they discover that Padparadscha is alive and well. They are temporarily relieved.
- June. Their relief is short-lived. At first Rutile is excited to be in Aifaran, away from the Lunarians and Phos and with Padparadscha again at their side, but it quickly becomes clear that Rutile has some trouble adjusting. The Sentry is still not fond of them, and their lack of familiarity with Ioduanese customs inhibits their acclimation to society. A trip to the Opara Core sows the first seeds that Rutile is out of their depth. They spend much of their time alone, save for some interactions over the network, merely exploring the world and trying to redefine their place in it.
- July. Rutile's viral post on the Network and languid explorations of the City have helped them meet more of the Dreamfolk. Unfortunately, their interactions with Valdis, their inability to discover anything substantial about the Narrakra, and their continued lack of scientific competency have shattered their confidence. They are still aloof and insecure about their lack of a job, but have been distracted by a proposition of another Dreamfolk: to seek out the barrier and see what lies beyond it. As more and more conversations suggest that the barrier holds the answer to the mystery of the Narrakra, Rutile becomes more obsessed with this journey.
- August. Things in Aifaran are not as they seem. The Narrakra returns and Rutile spends their time trying to discover the significance of a strange stone they found on board. Later, Rutile and Aly set off for the barrier.
[ OOC ] Permissions
[ OOC ]
- Backtagging: Sure!
- Threadhopping: With permission from everyone, yes!
- Fourthwalling: No; I don't have anything against it, but I don't really find it fun.
- Offensive subjects (elaborate): Sexual content. I'm not interested in it, and neither is Rutile. That said, I don't mind having threads with R18 themes or language in them--see the other permissions below!
- Hugging this character: Yes, if you're friends!
- Kissing this character: If you're friends this could be okay, but Rutile won't know what the point is.
- Flirting with this character: Yes, but following from the above, it wouldn't have any sexual component to it. Think of flirting more as banter, and that's absolutely fine.
- Fighting with this character: Yep.
- Injuring this character: Yes--however, note that to do so you need something harder than a knife. You can just go ahead and shatter them. Better do it in one shot.*
- Killing this character: Sure, do your best, though we should discuss it first. Probably the only way to truly kill Rutile is to melt them. Good luck finding something hot enough! A good alternative is grinding them to dust.*
- Using telepathy/mind reading abilities on this character: Sure, but we'd have to work out OOC how it would go. Rutile doesn't actually have a nervous system, so tel/empathic powers might work differently, if at all.
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
[ SPOILERS ]
Rutile is as of chapter 65 in the manga, meaning the characterization takes into account spoilers for anime-only fans. If you're interested in reading the manga OR are not caught up yet, I can leave out as many spoilers as possible for you--just let me know! And stay away from Rutile's application!
Get your own copy of the IC/OOC Permissions meme!
 
![]() ![]() RUTILE With strength come 𝒾𝓃𝒻𝓁𝓊𝑒𝓃𝒸𝑒 and 𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓅𝑜𝓃𝓈𝒾𝒷𝒾𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓎. Think about that. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
(no subject)
Moonsand is a Houseki no Kuni (HnK, Land of the Lustrous) sand/musebox/dressing room. It is completely open access with no application or activity check system. Our goal is to provide a place where HnK players can find each other and access RP memes and prompts that are more directly tailored to the nature of the characters, without the formality or committment of a full game.
All characters are welcome in Moonsand with the following caveat: given that this is an HnK musebox, all threads should incorporate aspects of the HnK canon in some way. We leave it up to players how they choose to accomplish this. AUing a character in as a gem or a Lunarian is a completely valid approach; so is leaving your character as they are and working within the setting.
Yep. The mod team is here if anyone gets into any serious altercations. Other than that, we're very laissez-faire. We won't police the way you want to run your threads.
Like bakerstreet, people post memes every so often, you'll post with a character you want to play, and then you tag in to anyone else. It's very straightforward. There is no consistent canon between threads or posts, unless players want to do that.
We also have world-state logs which function more like test-drive memes, where we outline an AU or a canon point in a post, and then you tag in as you would on a TDM. The only canon required in these threads is the world state; everything else is individual and up to players.
Absolutely! We want this place to be largely player-driven. You can, theoretically, post whatever you want. Developing your own world state or meme is encouraged, and so is posting one from somewhere else (although we ask that you try to make it HnK-specific, since we're not trying to duplicate bakerstreet or dear-player). You could also post a set of individual prompts for your character in a single post, if you wanted to do that. It's up to you.
We have a contact page with information and instructions on how to do that here.
(no subject)
A very bad joke.
Moonsand is a Houseki no Kuni (HnK, Land of the Lustrous) general fan community that doubles as a sand/musebox/dressing room. It is completely open access with no application or activity check system, and open posting upon joining the comm. Our goal is to provide a centralized place where HnK fans can gather for sharing and discussing content, and where roleplayers can find each other and access RP memes and prompts that are more directly tailored to the nature of the characters without the formality or committment of a full game.
You can share fanwork, have discussions, meet other Houseki no Kuni fans, roleplay informally, and more! You can find more details about this in our rules page.
There will be a mod-posted log every month for discussion of the latest chapter/episode, as well as a general thread for off-topic conversation, introductions, and more. The Moonsand Discord server is also open to general chatter! We want this to be a social sphere as well as a content-oriented one.
Yep. The mod team is here if anyone gets into any serious altercations. Other than that, we're very laissez-faire. We won't police the way you want to run your threads, discussions, or other fun, so long as activity is compliant with our code of conduct.
As a blogging platform, Dreamwidth is naturally slower-paced than microblogging social media such as Twitter and Tumblr. It is not at all unusual for conversations to occur over days or even weeks. That's just the culture here, so don't take it personally!
We have a contact page with information and instructions on how to do that here.
All characters are welcome in Moonsand with the following caveat: given that this is an HnK musebox, all threads should incorporate aspects of the HnK canon in some way. We leave it up to players how they choose to accomplish this. AUing a character in as a gem or a Lunarian is a completely valid approach; so is leaving your character as they are and working within the setting.
Like bakerstreet, people post memes every so often, you'll post with a character you want to play, and then you tag in to anyone else. It's very straightforward. There is no consistent canon between threads or posts, unless players want to do that.
We also have world-state logs which function more like test-drive memes, where we outline an AU or a canon point in a post, and then you tag in as you would on a TDM. The only canon required in these threads is the world state; everything else is individual and up to players.
It's an alternate universe, or a time point during canon events, or any other roleplaying prompt that has worldbuilding as its main draw rather than a list of prompts like a meme. The line is fuzzy, and we'll consider a post a 'world state' if it generally defines some worldbuilding in the post, whereas a meme is a simple list of scenarios like TFLN that leaves context largely up to the roleplayers. This can be as extensive as you like, and the line can be crossed at will.
Absolutely! We want this place to be largely player-driven. You can, theoretically, post whatever you want. Developing your own world state or meme is encouraged, and so is posting one from somewhere else (although we ask that you try to make it HnK-specific, since we're not trying to duplicate bakerstreet or dear-player). You could also post a set of individual prompts for your character in a single post, if you wanted to do that. It's up to you.