#saki x momiji

[fluffygreenkoala]

Allow me to introduce you to one of my most beloved ships, Momiji x Saki / Momiji x Hana

[hello-there-nice-to-meet-you]

Can't express my love for fruits basket.

[cinnabun-faerie]

Fruits Basket Reactions: Doing the "Hide! My boyfriend/girlfriend/partner is coming!" prank on them

A/N: I'm finally starting to do Fruits Basket stuff! I'm super excited! I hope you all enjoy!

Arisa (Uo)

"Ha! Yeah right. Who's your other partner? Hana?"

You anticipated that she would not fall for this prank of yours, so you had been prepared. Like rehearsed, Hana suddenly came through the door.

"Y/N, are you ready for our date?"

This caused Uo's jaw to drop.

Hatori

He would give you a tired glare when you appear before him and tug at his sleeve. Even though you knew he knew what you were doing, you still did it. It was fun. To you, sure. To him, not so much as you had gotten Shigure & Ayame doing it.

"This is the 10th time you have done this, Y/N. While I'm not so bothered by you doing it, Shigure & Ayame have somehow gotten involved. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"No of course not."

Kureno

You weren't expecting him to laugh and let you know that he knew of this prank. He would pull you in for a hug before mentioning that he was your only partner.

"Aw! Who told you? It was Shigure, wasn't it?"

"Actually it was Ayame."

It would be then that he notices your pout and rests his forehead against yours. "If you do it again, I'll make sure to hide, okay?"

Kyo

As usual, you catch him off guard and he rushes to find somewhere to hide. He hadn't really even thought about what you said. He would be hiding behind a chair in a kitchen when Yuki would see him and laugh at him.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Stupid cat. You're their boyfriend."

"Y/N!"

Momiji

Rather than rushing to find a hiding spot, he would worry that it was true. It couldn't be, right? By the look on your face, you seemed pretty serious. His heart would break a little. He needed to know.

"Do you really have another partner, Y/N?"

Saki (Hana)

Honestly? She'd humor you when you run over to her giggling. She just liked seeing you smile. And honestly, some of these things you came up with also got her to laugh.

"Oh no. Wherever should I hide?"

Shigure

He would smirk when you'd come up to him while he was writing. You really thought you could mess with him, Y/N? Well, he could play that game.

"Is that so? Just in time for them to see who really knows how to take care of you. Shall we head to the bedroom while we wait for them?"

Tohru

She would blink a few times before rushing to find a hiding spot. She didn't want to be seen by your- wait a minute. You got her again. She would laugh and tell you that she would surely get you back.

Yuki

He would have been sleeping when you come into the bedroom and whisper it to him. So in his sleepy state, he gets outs of bed and walks downstairs. He almost makes it outside the door when Shigure's loud and confused voice fully wakes him. Expect to be the victim of his death glare.

[angstintensifer]

Fruits basket tweets pt 2: message edition

[cinderella-ish]

For the Fruits Basket asks: 2, 3, 19, and 18/20 for Momiji!

Oh, yay! I'm so glad you asked! (ask game here)

2. This might be the hardest question of all, because all the characters are so richly developed and I genuinely like (almost) all of them! I have a certain soft spot for Yuki and Momiji, of course, as the characters I relate to the most, and a similar soft spot for Ayame and Arisa, because I relate to them in a way as well, though to a lesser degree.

I've been writing a lot of Kyo, Saki, and (weirdly) Hiroshi, so I feel really attached to them right now. I mean, Kyo is a character whose happiness genuinely healed me. Saki's unapologetic weirdness is just the best (and uhhh my friend group in high school had a few people who shared several traits with Saki, so I was bound to like her). And Hiroshi and Yusuke are literally the best part of every scene they're in. (Especially Hiroshi in Cinderella-ish. Seriously, his narration is top tier!)

And Machi and Kakeru have a special place in my heart, too, partly because of their roles in Yuki's development, but also because of the ways I relate to each of them. And, of course, Tohru. I mean, there's so much to say about her, but her deep, deep empathy and the richness of her arc and development are just gorgeous.

I do keep coming back to Yuki and Momiji, though. They're central to two of the scenes that I found most surprisingly powerful; Yuki when he tells Kakeru "that isn't what I want!" and Momiji in his speech to Akito, when he says "a happiness might exist for me!" Outside of the major plot points of the series (which are nearly all centered around Tohru and Kyo), these two moments are, I think, some of the most satisfying developments for any of the characters, period.

(Oops, that turned into an essay 😅)

3. If we're sticking to named characters, I think Katsuya is the only choice. I know Takaya couldn't develop every single character in the series, but Katsuya is one whose development would have enriched not only him, but Kyoko, Tohru, and Grandpa Honda as well.

I think that the Katsuya-Kyoko relationship can be read as problematic and even predatory exactly as written. It reads as romanticized because it's told from Kyoko's point of view. But Katsuya himself remains kind of an enigma, and it's just really hard to like him when we don't even know what made him think pursuing a middle schooler was okay.

19. Oh gosh. You're going to get a few long answers, I fear. 😅

I have several favorite fanworks! Off the top of my head:

Ripples, by @proseprincess

So, canon divergent AUs are probably my favorite type of fic, and I especially love fics where one canon event changes, and everything that follows changes due to something like a butterfly effect. In this two-part series, Tohru never met Kureno in the park, which changes everything that came after in a big way. I love that this tackles some massive changes to canon, yet they all feel grounded in the world and characters we all know. The second installment is incomplete, but still very worth the read IMO, not only because part 1 ends with a massive cliffhanger, but because it's just so inventive and unlike anything else I've read. Maybe my very favorite fanwork.

I'll be Standing There By You, by Eboni_A

This is a beautiful, devastating AU told from Yuki's point of view where he finds out in the final weeks of her life that Tohru has terminal cancer. We see Yuki drop everything to come and support Kyo and be with Tohru in her final weeks, we see Tohru die, and we see Kyo and Yuki (and everyone else) try to keep going afterward. It's heartbreaking yet hopeful, and the author made relatively recent comments about a potential sequel! Fingers crossed!

Inertia, by miss_coverly @lesbian-kyoru

This is another canon divergent AU where Kyo and Tohru become friends with benefits before the curse breaks. It's honestly shocking how beautiful this work is. The prose is gorgeous, the angst is dialed all the way up, the sexual tension is dialed even higher, the characterization is crystal clear, it's honestly a masterclass in POV, the sex is sexy, and I could go on and on. I never thought a blowjob scene would make me cry, yet it did.

The Pursuit of Repeating History, by RiddleAfar @mistergrass

So, when I first started reading fanfiction, I stuck strictly with canon-compliant works. Then, I dipped my toes into canon divergence AUs like those above, but I heavily resisted reading anything with alternative pairings.

Then, I got curious about that one really popular Yuki/Kyo soulmates AU fic, and gave it a read. By the end of the first chapter, I couldn't put it down. And when I was finished reading, I knew I had to check out everything else by that author, which is how I ended up reading The Pursuit of Repeating History.

This story honestly showed me the power of fanfiction. The author legit crafted lore for the Fruits Basket universe. And the "lore" chapters (I think they're referred to as "intermissions") are each beautifully-told stories in their own right. But the author also grappled with how the curse might work, and I think they did an incredible job. I'm actually rereading this beast right now!

We'll Work it Out Together, by inheritanceofgeek @mrsmarymorstan

Okay, I'm a sucker for anything with lots of Hiroshi and Yusuke, and this story is probably the most Hiroshi-and-Yusuke-focused story on Ao3. (Probably worth mentioning the author's sideblog, @2d-iendfrays which is an absolute treasure!) In it, Kyo figures out he's asexual, then figures out he's demisexual, all with the help of his two wholesome buds.

Like almost all the authors on this list, inheritanceofgeek has some other really fantastic works that are worth checking out, from sexual humor to Yuki/Machi smut to a touching piece about new parenthood.

How Can I Thank You, by SharkFairy77

Another brilliant Yuki/Kyo piece, in which Yuki hosts Kakeru and Komaki for dinner (at the apartment he shares with Kyo), and at the last minute, Kakeru asks if Machi can come. (Machi is Yuki's ex in this universe)

The piece starts with dinner prep, and then dinner, and the character writing is just incredibly spot on. I loved the arc of the story through the dinner, and the way Kyo and Machi come to an understanding.

But then, we get into some A+ YukiKyo smut.

I'll Be Here, by Blanche2023 @biancanekoyokai

(Full disclosure - I beta read this work!)

This is a very sweet and sad piece about Kyo's first few days in Kazuma's care after his mother's death. Blanche's characterization is outstanding, and she handles tricky things (like writing a young Akito who's also performing head-of-the-family duties) in a really clever way.

I don't think there's enough pre-canon fic out there, nor enough gen fic, and this piece is just beautiful.

Escaping the future, by Modzy78

I really love the way Modzy78 thinks about the Fruits Basket universe, and her take on the canon-divergence of "what if Tohru never confessed to Kyo" is inventive, suspenseful, fluffy, and just such a fun read! I also really love her other canon divergent AU Cursing the Cursed. And Modzy78 is honestly a superhero for the fandom.

The Talk, by Geoduck @drgeoduck

Honestly, Geoduck has a ton of works you should read, but I'll mention this one because it's probably the funniest thing I've ever read. And then it somehow gets even funnier!

The Ones Who Walk Away From Sohma House, also by Geoduck

If you're a fan of Ursula K. Leguin (my very favorite author!), then you are probably familiar with her famous short story, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, and this short fic is an absolute must-read.

no one is lost, by emphasis

Momiji bumps into Ritsu in a gay bar. Not a pairing I ever imagined, but an excellent fic that puts Momiji in the position of "elder queer" to Ritsu. (Honestly, I wish there were more Momiji-as-elder-queer fics!)

Some other favorites:

The Night We Met, by pettyimperfections

Hold On, by Danyu

Heart Strain, by Kitty0430

I think about you all the time, by lucybeee @riceballcatfb (incomplete)

Making Nice, by Itsalreadyhalloweenright @riza-rin-rose (incomplete)

What's a White Lie Between Friends (& My Family)? by AnxietyAvocado

My Hands on You is Just a Fantasy, by unscheduledmakeouts

This Air is Blessed, by KyoDoodles

Please, Let Her Live, by @goldfishoflove

And that isn't even touching the dozens of phenomenal Yukeru fics! Just a small selection of Yukeru favorites:

fit back in, by @luftballons99

woebegone, by a-bigail @yunsoh

The Other Side of Paradise, by reconquer @yukisohmasmokesweed

If I Ever Feel Better, also by reconquer

if i do anything i regret tonight, no i didn't, by sacrificialParsnip (another fic where Momiji is an elder queer!)

i wanna be dyed with your colors, by halfhope

Like Fireworks in the Night Sky, by Princely_Hairdos (incomplete, currently being updated!)

President Perfect, by draebelle

tongue tied, by b_o_i (note: heed the warnings!)

And if you're familiar with OnigiriCat4Ever's canon continuation series, Always and Forever, some of my favorite works from that series include My Brother, Truth and Consequences, You Don't Understand, I Want to Understand, and all of their smut (collected in a separate series called Tohru and Kyo's Amorous Adventures, plus one explicit Hajime/Mutsuki fic).

And, of course, I'm really proud of my longfic, Bloom Within Us, and wrote it because it's the sort of thing I'd want to read. It's currently in progress, and I took a break from writing due to a family emergency, but I'm back at it and hope to start regular posting within a month.

uhhhh so I think I'll have to make my Momiji headcanons another post (hopefully tomorrow) because this got long! 😅 Thank you again for asking!

[thevulpinehero1]

Two new chapter updates (which I lumped together into one post because posting on social media somehow takes more energy than writing thousands of words).

Art by Riloyoy

First, we have Perfect Recipe Chapter 23, where Saki sits Reika down after rescuing her from a certain car-chucking, stealth enabled child, and finally reveals her nature as an altered human. It definitely doesn't lead to Reika developing any more weird conspiracy theories. Definitely. Story link:

Art by @kinoglossia

And in chapter 12 of Girls and [X], we rejoin Aya Shameimaru, who wonders what to do when your new assistant doesn't want to be there and, in fact, hates the living shit out of you, but is too principled to not turn up to work in the morning. Bread is consumed.

Story link:

[finalvortex]

also! here is an alternate take on my relationship chart

Mostly did this because it will be easier to keep updated, but I was also curious if i could get it to work without any lines crossing:

The answer, surprisingly, was yes, although I did simplify it a bit.

Breakdown:

❤️A connection that is definitively meant to be read as romantic in the text. These are Mai/Mei, Hakari/Karane, Karane/Ahko and, uh... Mimimi's whole group.

💜Also definitely something going on here, just... not a romantic something. That's Rin/Iku/Mei, Hahari/Kishika, Mei/Hahari, and whatever Momiji is doing.

💙 Kissed once, but I can't say that the relationship is canon. That includes Hahari/Naddy (ch 59), Hahari/Kurumi (44), Mai/Momoha (170), and Ahko/Uto (111 omake).

💚 Had at least one yuri moment. I'm not going to list all of these.

🧡There's maybe something here if you really have your shipping goggles on.

Some further rambling under the cut

Kusuri and Yaku are the only ones that I feel don't have any connections here. Well, neither do Saki and Meru, but that feels like more of a recency thing. Eira almost wasn't on here either, but then we got chapter 185.

The highest density of yuri (assuming you don't consider Usami x everyone canon) is Hahari at 6 pairings. Following that; Mei, Ahko, and Mai are all at 5.

[gyofukuki]

list of on-demand characters:

this one will be much more dynamic than the main batch and if you see a fandom you are familiar with and wanna see me try for a different character with you, just shoot me a message and i'll see what i can do, too! eventually i will try to include short character info for each, but it's not high priority for me at the moment.

Attack on Titan

Pieck Finger Jean Kirstein Historia Reiss Erwin Smith

Bungo Stray Dogs

Akutagawa Gin Sakaguchi Ango Oda Sakunosuke

Castlevania

Lenore Sypha

Death Note

L Lawliet Ryuk

Demon Slayer

Kyojuro Rengoku

Free!

Hazuki Nagisa Nanase Haruka

Fruits Basket

Saki Hanajima Sohma Isuzu Sohma Momiji

Fullmetal Alchemist

King Bradley Edward Elric

Hellsing Ultimate

Alucard

Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku

Aza Chobei Gabimaru the Hollow Nurugai Yamada Asaemon Sagiri

Howl's Moving Castle

Calcifer

Jujutsu Kaisen

Fushiguro Megumi Higuruma Hiromi Kasumi Miwa Panda

Link Click

Cheng Xiaoshi

Millenium

Lisbeth Salander

Monster

Tenma Kenzo

Naruto

Hatake Kakashi Nara Shikamaru

Old Kingdom

Mogget

Princess Mononoke

San

Spy x Family

Loid Forger

Wind Breaker

Hajime Umemiya Mitsuki Kiryu

Wolf's Rain

Blue Toboe

[charislcarousel]

Fruits Basket Season 3 Ep 13 thoughts

AAAAA last ep I’ve been putting this off for years I’m not ready!!!

Not Uo and Hana with their dirty jokes😂

Aww Kyo realizing cats have no interest in him anymore

And HIM REALIZING TOHRU PICKS UP THE BEADS BC SHE LOVES HIS PAST PRESENT AND FUTURE SELVES

Not Machi punching Kakeru into NEXT WEEK

“If you call me Mama right now, I’ll forgive you.” SAKI WHAT WHY R U SO THIRSTY

Kyo comforting Tohru is EVERYRHING

“It’s the start of a new banquet, right?” Woaaat what a good quote, Kyo

YUKI PRETENDING TO THROW THE KEY OUT THE WINDOW

MACHI’S PANIC😂

YUKI x MACHI KISS OH MY WORD

“The evil one has fallen!” 💀

Ritsu’s hair!! So short!

Hiro cupping Kisa’s face makes me so soft

Momiji, cute as ever

His new dream🥰

Don’t worry Momiji I’ll be your amazing significant other

Kunimitsu, what’s with the “woah”?? The fact that Saki and Kazuma are talking and with each other😂 cus yeah that actually is the craziest age gap of this whole series

Ayame is still so funny I love him

Ooooooh we getting more Hatori and Maru content?👀

Maru’s sense of humor is great

Maru lamenting over the fact that she’s flat and Hatori saying “That’s no news” 💀💀💀

Yuki’s reminiscing is PRECIOUS

“I wanted to be loved and needed. And then you appeared and made it all come true.” 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 “You gave it to me. That’s how I’m standing here right now.”

He wanted a mother’s love all his life and she could give it😭😭😭😭

They all love her SO MUCH AWWWW

And that’s all SHE ever wanted!!!!

YUKI CALLED HER TOHRU OH MY WORD YES

AAAAA IS IT THEIR GRANDCHILDREN TIME?!?!

Awww her daughter and granddaughter look JUST like her

They’re old and happy aww

AND THEY STILL HAVE THE HAT

It’s over…

Wow

I waited like a decade for this and it’s finally over. So worth it. Loved every second.

[medea10]

My Review of Hokkaido Girls Are Super Adorable

Just a random pick. Roll it!

Tsubasa Shiki has just moved from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo to the northernest and chilliest part of Japan, Hokkaido…well, Kitami City if you want to get technical. His first day there, he meets a young girl waiting at a bus stop and was just amazed at her. Minami Fuyuki has blonde hair, flashy nails, makeup, and has the leg strength to withstand frigid cold temperatures without the need of knee-high socks. They seem to hit it off. As Tsubasa is new to this area, Minami seems to have her priorities all settled in terms of everyday life. So, she has no problem helping out the new guy.

And that’s essentially it for the story! There are Hokkaido girls Tsubasa hangs out with. He hangs out with the extrovert Fuyuki, the gamer Sayuri and the odd-ball senpai Rena.

BETWEEN THE SUB AND THE DUB: I guess I must have slept on the dub for the last couple of months because up until doing the finishing touches on the review, I didn’t know of its existence. Like nearly every other anime that is coming out nowadays it was licensed and dubbed by Crunchyroll. The sub has a lot of recognizable names and all do a great job. Here’s what you might recognize these folks from.

JAPANESE CAST: *Tsubasa is played by Nobunaga Shimazaki (known for Yuki on Fruits Basket 2019, Haru on Free!, Eugeo on SAO: Alicization, Sunakawa on Ore Monogatari, Shinichi on Parasyte, Yuno on Black Clover, and Izana on Tokyo Revengers)

*Minami is played by Ayane Sakura (known for Orla on Pokemon Horizons, Uraraka on My Hero Academia, Gabi on Attack on Titan, Nero on Black Clover, Fiona on Spy x Family, Gasper on High School DxD, and Saki on Girlfriend Girlfriend)

*Sayuri is played by Yumiri Hanamori (known for Nadeshiko on Laid-Back Camp, Hayasaka on Kaguya-sama, Evileye on Overlord, Ryuuji on Blue Period, Asahi on Happy Sugar Life, and Doumeki on Eizouken)

*Rena is played by Reina Ueda (known for Mallow on Pokemon SM, Kisa on Fruits Basket 2019, Kanao on Demon Slayer, Ariel on Mushoku Tensei, Miyo on My Happy Marriage, and Jiro on Tokyo Ghoul)

ENGLISH CAST: *Tsubasa is played by Matt Shipman (known for Floch on Attack on Titan, Cavendish on One Piece, Inasa on My Hero Academia, Sogiita on Railgun, and Chrome on Dr. Stone)

*Minami is played by Mikaela Krantz (known for Momiji on Fruits Basket 2019, Clementine on Overlord, Misaki on Railgun, Ai on Wonder Egg Priority, Doll on Black Butler, and Hyouka on Shimoneta)

*Sayuri is played by Brittany Lauda (known for Riko on Made in Abyss, F.F. on Jojo’s Pt. 6, Satoko on Higurashi Gou, Mai on Nichijou, and Saki on Girlfriend Girlfriend)

*Rena is played by Jill Harris (known for Noelle on Black Clover, Fern on Frieren, Aura on Overlord, Hiiragi on Natsume’s Book of Friends, and Shizuku on Love Live Nijigasaki)

SHIPPING: Hmm…three Hokkaido girls. All of them are attracted to this kid (kinda not really in a love way). Tsubasa’s a shy boy and new to the concept of…well, everything involving the opposite sex. I think I’ve seen this set up before. The only difference here is that Tsubasa has a very strict grandmother that’ll stop any of these clumsy girls falling on him. But you have to admit that Minami, Sayuri, and Rena are at play here. Rena is actually on good terms with Tsubasa’s grandmother and loves all the traditional things Tsubasa is accustomed to. Sayuri and Tsubasa had a lot of great moments together whether gaming or just opening up. And as for Minami, well, she’s first girl.

Honestly, I think that Tsubasa will get with one of these three before Kazuya gets with Chizuru on Rent-A-Girlfriend at this point.

BURRRRRRN!

And my take on the matter, I kinda became a Minami x Tsubasa shipper when Tsubasa played the piano for Minami.

RANDOM NOTE: I can’t be the only person who thinks this.

Agree or disagree? The opening theme sounds a little too similar to Uptown Funk.

In episode 11, you can see the singer of the opening theme playing the song. This experience felt like watching the Love Rollercoaster scene from Beavis and Butt-head Do America. If you know, you know.

ENDING: Kind of a weird time for this to happen, but Tsubasa is now entering his second year of high school. Yeah, we don’t see that until the end of or beginning of a season. Whatever! We are in the spring season, but you wouldn’t know that since Hokkaido is much like the town of South Park. Snow is going to be on the ground regardless of what your calender says. There’s a lot of talk and thinking about the growth of these characters over the past few months. Since Tsubasa transferred, a lot of these characters have changed. Sayuri was able to kinda come out of her shell and do things with classmates she normally wouldn’t do. Rena was able to see the impact of what she does. And Matsuo…

Wait, who’s Matsuo again?

I guess this random guy, Matsuo is part of the crew now. I noticed it subtly when he was featured with the rest of the main cast at the end of the opening theme. I didn’t even realize that he was the guy that made that comment about not getting homemade chocolates from Minami during the Valentine’s episode. Whatever!

One little comment from Tsubasa about wishing to see cherry blossoms in Hokkaido prompted Minami to set up a surprise trip for him several hours from where they live. She wanted to have Tsubasa go out with her for one day and because she has something important to say. A myriad of possibilities pop up in our brains when Minami wants to discuss with Tsubasa. When it comes to this girl, it can be anything. While she is a flirt, we are approaching the season finale and this could be something serious. For now, let’s enjoy these two enjoying the spring weather, good food, music, and all that fun stuff. So, of course Minami is going to drop a bombshell at the end of this particular episode. And give Tsubasa some credit as he thought that Minami was going to reveal personal feelings for him. I’m glad his character isn’t that freakin’ oblivious. Actually, Minami is leaving as she’s going to study abroad. Tsubasa hugs her and next thing you know, they’re both in a hotel room together.

Yeah, they both missed the bus from their current location and Tsubasa’s father (whom we haven’t seen up until these last two episodes) hooks his son up. Being alone in a hotel room with a pretty girl gave Tsubasa quite the vivid images in his mind. Fortunately, nothing came of that as he fell asleep while she was taking a shower and then she left immediately after.

In that aftermath, Tsubasa was quiet and kept himself inside, not even talking to Rena or Sayuri. Well, this is the day that Minami was going to leave. Minami reveals to Sayuri that it was because of people like her, Tsubasa, and Rena that she came to this decision about her future. Tsubasa eventually gets off his ass to go to the airport in one last romantic gesture you’ve seen in God-knows how many romcoms.

And as we all know, Tsubasa would never have the clearance to make it to the boarding area if this is any program after September 11th, 2001. But logic be damned as he came in to see Minami off and give her a hairpin that was left behind. And then she drops a big ol’ bombshell of a facepalm. Minami will only be gone for 2 weeks. The time passed by like that and we’re back to the status quo. The end!

I honestly didn’t know what to expect watching this week-by-week. What I was given was not bad. Yes, there’s going to be some fan-service when you have a character like Minami. Hell, there was an episode where she was talking to Tsubasa on the phone while naked in the bathtub. Girl’s a freak! I guess what I got from this is that we all need a close-knit group of friends that’ll be there to encourage you.

And that Hokkaido girls are super adorable!

Hence the title of the anime.

If you want a short, fluffy high school story, give this a try. Crunchyroll has every episode available.

[maria-eve-falcon]

Fruits basket isn't a love story, it's a life story.

[fluffygreenkoala]

Anyone else that ships Momiji and Hana or is it just me? With the fact they are a good example of Opposites attract and we also don't see either of their spouses in FB Another, the possibilities are endless.

But anyway, I love them; I mean, look at them 😍💛🖤

[hello-there-nice-to-meet-you]

Yay!

[teganberry]

Fruits Basket - A New Year

Super excited to share my pieces for @kyoruzine The leftover store is open right now so head over to their tumblr, click on the store link and pick up some KyoRu goodies!

[therealkagurasohma]

Dear show that destroyed me, my entire being, and my ability to ever be happy again,

screw you.

screw you for making me sob at 2 am, and laugh until tears were running down my face and I felt like I couldn't breathe.

screw you for making me fall in love with your amazing and complex and broken and beautiful and hilarious and scarred and lovable characters.

screw you for creating rin and yuki soma and not letting me be able to hold them or touch them or tell them it's going to be ok.

screw you for kyoru, the obsession that lives and breathes in my heart and makes me scream into my pillow with happiness, and raised my standards to the sky so that I will never be able to date someone in my life.

screw you for the emotions you made my stone cold, dead heart feel.

screw you for introducing me to arisa and tohru and saki, knowing I will NEVER be able to experience the kind of love they have. knowing a tiny (large) piece of my heart will always belong to them, and nobody else.

screw you for making me actually like – no, LOVE – Mondays. I didn't think it was actually possible.

screw you for bringing to life another world that I will spend the rest of my life yearning to be apart of so much, to the point where sometimes it will feel like I can hardly breathe, and nothing else is good enough.

screw you for always living in my head.

screw you for being there when I needed you.

screw you for being a shoulder to cry on.

screw you for being there.

[cinderella-ish]

5, 8 through 13, and 18 + 20 for the Furuba asks!

Woohoo! Thank you for sending this! (ask game here)

5. not at all! I was born in the year of the horse, so maybe that's part of why I felt such a disconnect with Rin at first.

8. I have to go with Chapter 88 (the Cinderella-ish play)! I know I already gave the corresponding episode as my favorite, but it's just SO GOOD! It's hilarious and heartbreaking and has beautiful character moments for much of the main cast. It's almost a credo statement for the series. And Hiroshi's brilliant narration is the cherry on top!

Question 9 answered here | Question 10 answered here

11. Yuchi is my OTP ❤️

12. The fabulous Yukeru writers on Ao3 have me shipping them. Same for the YukiKyo (? what's their ship name?) writers. And I've really come to love some of the rarepairs I'm writing for my longfic Bloom Within Us. I'll put them under a cut down below for those curious.

13. Ooh, this is such a good question! Right now, I think my answer would be Momiji & Kyo because of the series I just finished writing. I have a soft spot for Yuki & Kakeru, of course, and Yuki & Haru, as well as Tohru & Arisa & Saki. I also really enjoy Kyo's sibling-esque dynamic with Arisa.

18. Ok, to combine 18 and 20, here are two hot takes that sort of deal with character headcanons. Let me know if you want to hear headcanons for someone else, or more fleshed out hc for these characters.

I think my hottest take is that Tohru needed Kyo more than he needed her. I don't think she had anyone she let her walls down for beyond him; not even her best friends. Kyo at least had Kazuma, and he was pretty candid with Momiji, too. Tohru regularly refused to let people take care of her (except for Kyo), and she would've been trapped in her grief & unable to move forward without him. Kyo would've struggled, and he may not have survived, but while they both would've had friends, he would've at least had a loving parent who would've done anything for him.

While Bloom Within Us ultimately has a positive outcome for Kyo after Tohru dies, I've been thinking about writing a sort of companion piece where Kyo dies and Tohru has to grieve him. I believe that would be a much sadder story, especially with the timing related to her processing her grief for her mother and choosing to move forward with Kyo. We saw in the hospital arc how hard of a time she was having just thinking he rejected her. She'd also struggle with how the other cursed Sohmas - some of her dearest friends - treated/viewed him, and that might create a rift between her and her new found family. If he disappeared, I just don't think she'd be able to cope.

It's also probably a hot take that Shigure only gets as much hate as he does because a) people take aspects of the manga seriously that Takaya never intended us to take seriously (like his "high school girls" song. Creepy, yes, but that's a Takaya problem, not a Shigure problem.) and b) he's so full of self-loathing that he says he's not "kind" and "the worst kind of man" and people take him seriously for some reason. If you actually look at his "unkind" actions, they consist of a) speaking honestly and directly to Akito without first fawning over her, b) actually trying to break the curse (sure, he and Hatori and others refer to it as "using" Tohru, but the way he was "using" her was to try and help the younger Zodiacs form strong bonds outside the curse and to house a lonely, homeless teen), and c) sometimes asking insensitive questions or speaking uncomfortable truths. And yes, he was cold to Mayu, and yes, he slept with Ren (which is maybe the most bananas thing that happens in Furuba), and yes, he fucks with people for his entertainment (especially Mitsuru and Mayu, though, again, Takaya signals we're not supposed to take that seriously). But then we see him trying to cheer Hatori up by bringing him to the lake house, or giving Kyo guidance (and a place to live) from the day he appears, or removing Yuki from Akito's abuse, or using his cunning to get Tohru to relax and have fun, or at least stop stressing so much.

I truly think his speech about kindness came from self-hatred and not from some deeply-held belief about the meaninglessness of things like kindness. I think his speech about being the worst kind of man was again from self-loathing and not something he was proud of. And when he provoked Tohru about Kyo, I also think that was borne of his self-loathing and guilt over how the Zodiac viewed the cat.

Anyway, I know you aren't a Shigure hater, so this probably isn't terribly controversial to you. 😅

Oh, also, I read Arisa as straight. She totally gives me queer vibes, but the fact that she likes Kureno because he reminds her of Tohru, yet she doesn't like Tohru that way... I see that as confirming her straightness, tbh. (I still love AUs where she and Saki are together! They're cute!)

Rarepairs in Bloom Within Us below the cut! (These could be read as answers to 18/20, too!)

Yusuke and Kagura get together in chapter 32, and Hiroshi and Momiji finally get together in chapter 67. In Bloom Within Us, mourners sort of converge around Kyo due to his closeness to Tohru and help him through his initial grieving period. This leads to a situation where Kyo kind of slowly becomes the center of the Sohma family, hosting regular group dinners at the dojo and becoming close (to a degree) with all the formerly cursed Sohmas. Since he always was close with Momiji and Kagura, it made sense to me that he might connect them with Hiroshi and Yusuke. I don't give Yusuke and Kagura a lot of focus, but Hiroshi is basically the second protagonist of my story, and the relationship between him and Momiji (and Hiroshi's development to be ready for a relationship with Momiji) is one of the most important subplots. I've really grown to love them, and might write some more content with them just because I adore them so much. (And Yusuke and Kagura are cute together! But I'm not really interested in exploring them any more.)

I haven't written the chapter where Kyo and Saki get together, but yeah, Kyo ends up with Saki.

I always read Saki as having repressed romantic feelings for Tohru. Due to her extreme loyalty and her powerful wave-reading abilities, I think she'd catch Tohru's message to Kyo (to keep moving forward) and ensure she passed it on first opportunity, thus saving his life. And I think Kyo, with his people skills and unfortunate familiarity with grief, would be the one to figure out how Saki felt about Tohru.

In my story, Kyo has to first decide to live. Once he truly does that, he starts pursuing a future as a karate instructor, realizes blaming himself for everything only hurts the people who care about him, and finally decides to allow himself to fall in love again. He's already in love with Saki by this point, and has been for a while, but he's a dumbass about love and it takes him a while longer to realize how he feels, and even longer to decide to do anything about it.

I think it's possible to read Kyo and Saki as having sexual tension in canon. That plus them playing the prince and Cinderella in Cinderella-ish makes them a fun couple to explore.

Anyway, I think there's a strong case these couples would get together in a universe where Tohru dies, but not in any other universe.

Thank you for asking! This was fun!