Drawn on procreate - 7h 57m
NO REPOSTS ON OTHER PLATFORMS!!!
Also this is up for interpretation whether you want it to be a ship post or not, my intent was to only show my interpretation of their characters themselves :)
Alternatives + the reference!
I used this book for the flower meanings! Very interesting indeed:
The Language and Poetry of Flowers (Cornell Uni digital library)
+ a few google searches lol
If you wanna hear me ramble abt my choices and flower language here (possible spoiler warning tho!!!):
On Shuichi’s side, there is an Eglantine (also known as a Sweet-Brier), that is the one covering the eye. It’s a gorgeous flower and the book describes its poetic meaning as “I wound to heal.” It stuck out to me when thinking of what flowers to draw for him since he was beaten down so much, but eventually got to the path of healing every time. I’ll always think of Shuichi as a strong character for that, even if his main trait is being “weak”. Shuichi reads as so human and despite that being the biggest flaw of his character, being a detective and all, it’s what led him to get thru the game and end it.
Alongside that flower, there is a daffodil, representing “new beginnings.” I found that to be fitting of him taking on the protagonist role after Kaede’s unfortunate demise. As well as it calling back to the end of the game where life is entirely different now, and that no matter what the outside world is like, it’s a new beginning. There is also a chrysanthemum to which the book declares it to represent “truth.” He’s a detective and the protagonist, I don’t need to yap about the connection there lol
For Kokichi, it was very difficult. He has strong character traits: leader, courageous, perseverance, etcetera etcetera. However, I wanted his to depict his flaws since that is was it was is thrown in your face and is something that Kokichi doesn’t necessarily have the chance to come to terms with such issues given his situation.
The Rosa ‘Great Maiden’s Blush’s poetic meaning, as stated in the book, is “If you love me, you will find me out.” And I couldn’t find a set answer on what it meant, but my initial thought was concerning vulnerability. I believe one of Kokichi’s biggest flaws is his fear of being emotionally vulnerable, and that is shown when he is so distant from the rest of the class. While (mostly) everyone else found themselves to enjoy the company of the others, he actively made the choice to not grow close with anybody. His constant lies and chaotic energy pushed people away and covered up any sense of humanity within him. Maybe he believes that if he lets someone in, lets someone love him (no matter it is as a friend, a classmate, a lover), that is leaving a direct door to figuring him out as a whole. And I put Shuichi in this because of course being the protagonist, but also being one to match Kokichi’s intellect, Kokichi may have been more weary with him—even if it wasn’t shown with all of Kokichi’s lies and facade.
Alongside that, I put lavender which represents “Distrust.” Nothing too deep there, just his general lack of trust in the others. And Apocynum, aka Dogbanes are representative of “Deceit”, again, not super duper deep as Kokichi is known to be a deceiving character.
Another thing is I love these two’s dynamic, it’s so fun. No matter if you think they could be best friends, ship them, they’re just acquaintances, or that they’re arch enemies and hate each other, it never changes how well their characters can fit in any situation. It’s such a textbook definition of ‘opposites attract’ that it’s just so fun. A quiet, reserved, emotional, likable, and polite person with curiosity that’s gonna kill him one day—and a loud, chaotic, fake, pretty much purposefully unlikable, and considerably rude person who doesn’t let anybody in with any clues (and most definitely swiped your wallet during a normal conversation). Yet they’re both crazy smart, analytical, and possess a strong attention to detail. They’d make an unstoppable team if Kokichi didn’t drive Shuichi up the wall. It’s just so interesting to imagine Shuichi, a detective, so set on finding the truth within Kokichi, a walking lie and contradiction, it sets up such a great dynamic that I wish was explored more.
Yikes, this was a long post, sorry 😭
If you read any of this thank you <3 I do appreciate every interaction, especially kind words or rambles of your own so feel free to rant all you want on this blog, I talk wayyy too much lol
But making pieces like this really reminds me of how much us artists truly think about every stroke we make and every detail we sneak in. I spent like a good hour researching flower language and how to properly represent these characters using such a thing so I hope I did it right <3
