follow me into the rain

And one final time - God jul/Merry Christmas from me!

Katsura asks Gintoki for a date, using the lure of an (insincere) coupon and not much else.

( he knews his target well )

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all who celebrate!

New Gintama fan art behind the cut. Katsura is convinced that a giant likeness of Elizabeth is much better than any Christmas tree, real or artificial, for decorating the urban landscape!

( God jul! )

In the end what else could it be? We end this series of flower-themed Gintama art with Shoyo-sensei and cherry blossoms.
Perhaps this is predictable - but I think sometimes simple is the best way to go.



(I'll probably end up drawing one more picture, though - I want a "title page" picture for when I post the whole thing to Pixiv.)

I drew three pictures for Katsura's birthday today on June 26th. I've posted them separately on my other platforms, but here I gather them together! The first one above the cut, the other two below it.

One flashback picture, one from the present day, and one picture from a what-if scenario.



( it's not the birthday boy, it's Katsura!! )

Zinnia for Mutsu!

The zinnia flower symbolizes 'loyalty' and 'endurance' in Japanese flower language. I like the unusual way it looks.

I thought it felt right for Mutsu the Diamond-Pebble Princess - tough and quirky and wonderful.

Going with red tulip for Kamui! This is another case where I'm just going with my own feelings. Officially tulips seem to only be symbols of uniformly good things - even symbols of perfection!
But for me tulips are handsome-looking flowers with an air of confidence, pride, ambition... and, perhaps, a bit of hubris as well.
I'm reminded of the famous Tulip Bulb Mania in the Netherlands in the 1630s, the speculative bubble that eventually collapsed into ruin and emptiness.

Still, tulips remain strong, popular flowers that are nice to look at, and who will bounce back after being struck down! With a bit of help.

Japanese Snake Gourd for Nobume!

The Japanese Snake Gourd is a fascinating plant with tall thin fruits. Its white flowers look very unique and bloom only at night.
Very beautiful, very unusual and strange. I think this flower fits Nobume well.

(The scientific name is either Trichosanthes cucumerina or Trichosanthes pilosa - there seems to be disagreement between Wikipedia and other websites on this point.)

Part 21 brings us to the Red Bullet of the Kiheitai. She gets the Rosa rugosa!

Also known as "beach rose" "Ramanas rose", "Japanese rose", and "wild rose", is native to Japan and other parts of East Asia.

It's a very tough and hardy bush plant with beautiful flowers, which grows well even on poor soil, and in salty air close to the sea.

Symbolism-wise, it's associated with love and adoration. It has prickles rather than thorns.

For a while I considered giving Otsu roses, since the promised gift of roses figure in her introduction episode and backstory with her convict father.

But while Otsu might enjoy roses, ultimately I wanted to give her the marigold instead. More precisely the field marigold, Calendula arvensis. A popular, widely spread, hard-working, adaptable, beautiful and glamourous flower with perhaps just a bit more brashness to it than the much-courted rose, it's associated with creativity, optimism, good luck, cheer and so on.

Chrysanthemums, especially yellow ones, are associated with the emperor in Japanese flower symbolism. But we never see the emperor in canon, so let's give these flowers to Sho-chan and Soyo instead!

Certainly the majestic aura of the yellow ones fits Shigeshige well, and by changing the hue to a youthful pink you get a serene flower with a both dutiful and hopeful air that I like for Soyo.