The Summer Hikaru Died fanart based on @luckyfool2 ‘s fanfic on Ao3!! Fanfic name: A Monster Just The Same
I drew Yoshiki as a black sheep/ram that protects ‘Hikaru’ who is the wolf in sheeps clothing.
‘Hikaru’, the wolf, wears the body of Hikaru who is shown as a young lamb. His horns have not grown in which symbolizes the fact he died before he was able to grow up and become an adult. Hikaru is a white lamb which is how I imagine Yoshiki would envision him. Yoshiki always looked to Hikaru as a beacon of light in the unforgiving and suffocating town. Hikaru wasn’t “a monster” like how Yoshiki views himself. Lambs are often used for sacrifice which is similar to the way the villagers used to offer heads to the mountain god.
If you think about it from a religious guilt way then Hikaru is Yoshiki’s savior. While Yoshiki isn’t Christian he has a lot of internalized homophobia that leads him to believe he is a monster similar to the way queer Christians would. There is also a scene where Yoshiki stares at one of the villagers crucifix necklace. This may just be because its Japan and theres not a lot of Christians. However Jesus is referred to as the “Lamb of God” and he is the savior and light of the world. To Yoshiki, Hikaru would be the only savior that he believes would accept a “monster” like him. When Yoshiki and Hikaru were at the river together Yoshiki talked about a gay kid who has been ostracized by the villagers. Yoshiki says he hates the village and wants to go to the big city, and Hikaru says anytime he feels like that he can just stay with him. So Hikaru was Yoshiki’s refuge and light.
The broken horn shows how Hikaru died, as he slipped and hit his head on a rock.
‘Hikaru’ is shown as a wolf much bigger than Yoshiki and Hikaru. He has blood on his mouth and licks unapologetically at his mouth. To a sheep it would be against everything in their nature to befriend a wolf, however thats just what Yoshiki does. Just like ‘Hikaru’ needs to take in souls, a wolf needs to eat.
Yoshiki is the black sheep of the village as he is queer. He unlike Hikaru was able to grow into his horns. While he is not an adult yet, he has gone through so much that he has been forced to grow up. His horns also represent that he has accepted that he is a “monster” and he has accepted ‘Hikaru’. He told Hikaru he would bear his sins even if he killed again and he stands in front of him to prove it. He bears a bite mark on his front leg given by ‘Hikaru’ when he got too hungry. Yoshiki’s soul burns bright like a fire as he protects a monster and illuminates the scene.
There are nails in the ground as described in the fanfic, you should def read ittt.