HB’s art

I have a lot to say about this beloved queer horror manga, but I’ll limit myself to mention just how adorable it is that we’ve reached a point in the manga where Yoshiki is embracing what he is: his otherness, the most sensitive parts about himself, and that’s helped him accept “Hikaru” in his entirety, while “Hikaru” in turn has cared for that kind soul from the start, and Yoshiki has been his sanctuary. Their bond is the heart of the story, after all.

This is meant to be creature Xue Yang and human Song Lan.

Agh, so many years in this fandom and I'm finally posting art with these two together!!!

This was heavily influenced by that “Choosing” painting by George Frederic Watts, as well as the concept for the Karaoke Iko doujinshi cover. Kyouji with curator gloves my absolute beloved.

I have more thoughts about the strawberries in the story, which I read as Kyouji’s way to try and preserve some sense of normalcy in Satomi’s life, while ultimately failing, since they’re store-bought, not actually picked by Satomi himself, how it was meant to go.

I think that’s a perfect way to illustrate the imbalance they have from the beginning and how Kyouji affected Satomi’s youth despite trying to not influence it as much. Any attempts will be fruitless at that point. Ha. Fruitless. Get it? Because strawb-

I’ve been really into this manga (and the wonderful anime adaptation it has), and I figured I’d make art referencing the chapters that messed me up the most first.

This is an idea I’ve had for a while. The thought of them wearing gloves keeps me going.

This is something I had in mind for literal months. First, I had thought of making it for 0913; then, I considered it for Lu Guang’s birthday. For one reason or another, the WIP had stayed there, on the back burner as I took more side quests, but the idea was there.

One thing I wanted to convey, aside from the obvious clock and the time it’s telling, was to include a little nod to Cheng Xiaoshi’s eyes when his powers activate. Although it’s not as golden, I knew I was going for some yellow as my color for this art. There’s something pretty nice about stained windows and clocks resembling irises.

Second, speaking of stained windows, I must confess something: as an afterthought, back then I got reminded of that “stained glass” that appears for a split second in the first season intro, and how much it would resemble an actual clock if I included it there too. Joke’s on me, it took me until staring at that screencap as my reference to notice the Roman numerals, indicating not only that it was a clock indeed, but that a very particular time appear there all along.

I joked on Bluesky that I’m turning my study sketches into art about Karafami, because that’s essentially what I’ve been doing these Saturdays dedicated to this guy.