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the-sage-libriomancer · 6 months

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Shigure's relationship with Kyo drives me crazy. he doesn't hate Kyo in the slightest - in fact, he pities Kyo, and not in the condescending "oh you poor little boy, cursed to be a horrible, disgusting monster" sort of way that everyone else does. Shigure pities Kyo for the reason he should be pitied: he's just a kid caught up in a system so inhumane it can't possibly be survived without some seriously unhealthy coping mechanisms.

and it drives me crazy because - listen, Shigure is the only zodiac member who's emotionally aware enough to see the other zodiac members as exactly what they are. he knows Yuki is a severely traumatized kid who projects all of his self-hatred on a single convenient target. he knows Akito is really a scared little girl with a raging god complex (literally) and no concept of a healthy relationship. and he knows Kyo is a regular-ass human being who doesn't deserve to be locked up for the rest of his life just because some arbitrary system says so. he KNOWS it's stupid. he KNOWS it's ridiculous and unfair. and he has to share a house with Kyo knowing that Kyo is living with a sword over his head, hating himself and hating others in perfect tandem because he has no other way of coping with the insane amounts of negativity he's had to deal with his entire life.

but the thing about Shigure is that he KNOWS all of this, and the same time he doesn't really CARE. he feels sorry for Kyo, but an apathetic sort of pity, a disinterested "this is how it is. such a shame." sort of pity. in some ways he's worse than the other zodiacs because he DOES see Kyo as a person, someone he likes being around even, but he still considers Kyo below his attention because all his focus is on Akito and breaking the curse. and sure, once the curse is broken Kyo will theoretically be set free with the rest of them, but that's more of a coincidental side effect than anything. despite being in a much more dangerous and precarious mental space AND comfortably in Shigure's reach, Kyo is about as much a priority for Shigure as Ritsu or Momiji.

and it drives me CRAZY because i think Shigure does start actively caring about Kyo as the series goes on, but it's hard to tell when that happens and to what extent. when Kazuma told Shigure he planned to reveal Kyo's true form and Shigure said he was going too far - whose sake was it for? was Shigure trying to protect Kyo, who would be hideously traumatized/emotionally scarred by such a cruel betrayal? was he trying to protect Kyo and Tohru's relationship, which was still formulating and might, under such severe testing, ultimately end up damaged beyond repair? was he only trying to protect Tohru, who wasn't ready to be burdened by such a horrible aspect of the curse so soon, or perhaps simply didn't deserve it? or was it all for the sake of himself, trying to protect his still-forming plans of using Tohru's positive effect on the Sohmas to break the curse?

Shigure cares about Kyo, but they're not close and Kyo clearly isn't a priority. he treats Kyo like a person - offering him genuine advice, teasing him like he teases anyone else, even speaking up on his behalf once or twice - and yet he's too entrenched in the long game to spare much active interest in Kyo. for a very long time, he doesn't care about Kyo the way he cares about Yuki or Tohru, and it's never made clear when exactly that changed. and the thing that gets me about this whole situation is that right from the start, Shigure is in a position where he can meet Kyo at his level - as equals, just one human being to another - but he doesn't, because Shigure is a chessmaster, Shigure is someone who observes and calculates, Shigure never steps in unless one of his chess pieces makes a wrong move and he absolutely has to.

it drives me crazy. Shigure drives me crazy. this series drives me so so crazy.

#i think my point here was “shigure sees kyo as an actual human being but still treats him badly”#which is kind of the point of shigure - it's why he's such a gray character #he plays with people's lives like they're toys #but this post actually originated from the realization that shigure doesn't hate kyo in the slightest #(honestly i don't think the majority of the zodiac actually *dislikes* kyo. i think they're just too used to dehumanizing him)#and i was like “okay. so how *does* shigure view kyo?”#and then i thought about it more and went progressively more insane #tbf i think shigure knew he was being immoral in the way he treated kyo #he's incredibly self-aware and knows exactly what he's doing #he just chooses to do it anyway. that's why he calls himself “despicable”#i think the fact that kyo clearly suspects shigure has something more going on under the surface probably didn't help either #it's a very interesting sort of complex #anyway. them #fruits basket #shigure sohma #kyo sohma #analysis #edited for your convenience #(<-capitalized all the names bc it was driving me up the wall)

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kammieceleek · 3 years

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Cat's Bride Chapter 2

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32313736/chapters/80148451

***

Two days.

It had been two days since Tohru woke up in the world of Zodiac Lover, and she was still trying to adjust. Hamasaki, the head maid of Dog's House, was firm in running a tight ship. This meant that Tohru and the other two maids of the house, Arisa and Saki, had to keep everything cleaned and ready for guests at any moment. Tohru had yet to meet any of the characters from the game that she remembered, but she chalked that up to the fact that she wasn't the player character. The player character was the one meant to meet and befriend these characters.

Last time I checked, I barely even qualify as a background character. I'm just an extra set dressing to make the house feel more alive.

Today, in particular, she'd been assigned to clean the hallway near where their guest was staying. Hamasaki had assigned it to her because of how well she'd been doing the past couple days. Tohru had accepted the assignment without hesitation, knowing that a refusal wouldn't make sense.

She wondered what the prince character was really like. All she knew about him was that he was handsome and sensitive and things like that. He was supposedly the best character in the game, though she'd heard debates on the matter.

I'll just lay low until I figure out what that voice meant by 'save him'.

She was so focused on her own thoughts that she didn't notice a loose floorboard and tripped over it, the bucket of soapy water flying out of her hands as she fell forward. Before she hit the ground, a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her to an upright position.

"Are you all right?" asked her rescuer. She blinked in surprise.

No way.

This was Yuki, the prince of the game. The one all the girls in her class had been utterly obsessed with. His hair was a silvery gray, his eyes a matching shade and his face delicate. Feminine. She could definitely see the appeal… and he'd just kept her from hitting the floor.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" she blurted, yanking her arm away. "I should've been watching where my feet were going! I'm sorry to have bothered you!"

"I'm not bothered at all." His eyes went to the loose floorboard. "That should be fixed before someone gets seriously hurt."

"Yes, I'll be sure to let Miss Hamasaki know." Tohru bowed politely. "Thank you for helping me. I should clean up this mess."

She went to run back down the hallway.

"Wait." She turned to face him. "What's your name?"

"Tohru. Tohru Honda."

"Well, Miss Honda, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"The same to you." She bowed again and took off to go get supplies to clean up the bucket of soapy water that had soaked the floor before it set in.

Oh my gosh, that was so embarrassing! I hope he doesn't tell Miss Hamasaki what happened.

She managed to find a mop and rushed back to the hallway, taking care to avoid the loose floorboard that had tripped her up as she began to soak up the water. Oh, she'd definitely have to get that floorboard fixed before someone else tripped on it. And of course she'd been the one to trip over it, given how clumsy she tended to be.

"Do you need some help?" asked a voice. She looked up to see Yuki standing over her and she yelped in surprise, nearly throwing the soaked rag into the air.

"Oh, no, of course not! This is my job! I can't possibly make you do this kind of work!"

"I want to help you," he told her, crouching beside her and taking another dry cloth to the puddle.

"I-I mean, if you want to, I won't stop you. B-but this really is my job."

"If Miss Hamasaki makes things difficult for you, let me know. I'll be sure to set the record straight."

He gave her what she could only internally describe as a princely smile.

I definitely see the appeal of someone like him!

Yuki let out a sigh as he arrived in the dining room.

"What's wrong?" Shigure asked, looking up from the papers he was rifling through.

"Nothing. Just…"

He thought back to the maid who'd apologized so profusely and tried to deny him helping her.

"People are strange."

"Which people?"

"That maid. Miss Honda."

Shigure set down the papers and smirked. Yuki caught the meaning immediately and rolled his eyes in response.

"Not in that way. She's just… not like any of the other maids I've ever met here at the estate."

"I picked her because she was a hard worker. And she's so adorable!"

"Please don't."

"Um… excuse me?"

They both looked up to see Tohru standing in the doorway carrying a tray of food.

"Your dinner," she stated, setting it down.

"Thank you, Miss Honda," Yuki told her.

"It was my pleasure." She smiled in such a warm way that Yuki hadn't seen on another person's face for a long time. Shigure took notice.

"Miss Honda, thank you for all your hard work."

"I-it's not just me!" she insisted. "I-I mean, there's Uo-chan and Hana-chan and Miss Hamasaki, too!"

"Ah, but none of them are quite as adorable as you are."

Tohru's face turned pink and Yuki let out a frustrated groan.

"Please, Miss Honda, you may return to your duties," he insisted. "Do it now, before this gets worse."

"Y-yes, sir." She bowed and dashed out of the room. Shigure pouted at his younger cousin.

"Come on, Yuki, why'd you have to spoil my fun?"

"Because she's my age, you idiot. You shouldn't be flirting with girls my age."

"I wasn't flirting. I was simply stating the obvious. Are you saying you don't find Miss Honda adorable?"

Yuki choked on the tea he'd started sipping.

"That's not the point!"

"I think it is."

The younger Soma let out a sigh and turned his attention to the food. He had overheard Miss Hamasaki telling Tohru it was her job to cook, so all of this had been done by her. He'd noticed it had a tendency to be better some days than on others, and he wondered if those days were Tohru's doing.

One bite all but confirmed his suspicions.

As night fell, Tohru found it difficult to sleep.

She slid out of bed and quietly walked out of the house, feeling a need to walk around. Maybe that would help her feel tired enough to drift off. Plus, she'd spent most of her time in the house since she'd been here. This was her chance to explore a bit without anyone stopping her.

As she walked, she took notice of landmarks so she wouldn't get lost. She wondered how many Somas lived around the estate, and where the rest of the ones who were routes in the game were. She didn't know much about the others due to them not being quite as popular with the people around her as Yuki and Shigure.

Before too long, she'd wandered down a trail and found a small building. It looked like some kind of dilapidated cottage, and like it should've been locked. But it wasn't. The lock had snapped off. Part of her was begging to go back to the house, but another part was saying to open the door and go in. She listened to the latter.

It opened with a quiet creak and revealed a set of stairs leading to a dimly-lit dungeon of some kind. She descended the stairs, taking in her surroundings until she saw there was only one cell in the prison. It was more of a cage, about the same size as her bedroom in her previous life (that is to say, not very big), and at first glance it appeared to be empty.

She nearly slipped on the bottom step and yelped, catching herself on the railing. Quickly she clapped a hand over her mouth. But then she saw someone stirring in the cage. They'd sat upright upon hearing her yelp.

"Who's there?" called a young man's voice. He had a tinge of panic to his tone. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I'm sorry!" she squeaked. "I didn't mean to disturb you!"

The person in the cage turned to face her and she grabbed a lamp off the wall, holding it up to see that it was a young man about her age. His hair was a coppery-orange, his eyes a dull amber. Like he'd lost his will to live and fight while inside the cage. He was also incredibly handsome. Tohru felt her heart skip a beat at the sight of him, and he stared at her. A bit of light came back into those eyes before he tore his gaze away.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm… Tohru Honda. Who are you?"

He curled into a ball, refusing to look at her. The broken way he sat made her heart hurt.

"You have to have a name. What am I going to call you?"

"…Monster."

"Y-your name is Monster?"

"No. But it's what everyone calls me."

She racked her brain, trying to remember if there had been any character like that in the game. None came to mind, but this was still confusing. Why was he called that? He didn't seem like a monster.

"I don't think I will. Doesn't anyone call you your actual name?"

"…someone used to. But he isn't allowed to see me anymore." He glanced up. "Does anyone know you're down here?"

"Not… really? I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk and I found this place."

He blinked.

"You… randomly found the Cat's Room?"

"The Cat's Room?" She tilted her head.

"Never mind."

"Well, I'll come see you again sometime, if that's okay."

"I don't care if you do. Do what you want."

"All right, then. I'll see you soon." She turned to leave.

"…Kyo."

"Hm?" She turned to face him and he was avoiding her gaze.

"My real name. It's Kyo Soma."

"All right then… Kyo."

She put the lamp back and walked up the stairs carefully, closing the door and rushing back the way she'd came. It didn't take long for her to reach the house again—the Dog's House, as Hamasaki had called it—and she found her way up to her bed. She should've found it harder to sleep after something like that, but she closed her eyes and drifted off soon enough.

"Tohru."

A woman with orange hair stood before her, a woman Tohru knew all too well.

"Mom? Is that you?"

Kyoko Honda was wearing clothes that Tohru had never seen her in before—clothing that seemed to be from the same era Tohru was currently in. Her mother approached with a smile and Tohru ran towards her, throwing her arms around the woman who'd been dead for so long.

"My baby girl. You've gotten so much older…"

"Is Dad here, too?"

"Not yet. It's just me."

Tohru's eyes went over her mother's hair. Suddenly she thought of Kyo in the Cat's Room, his hair being the same shade.

"He needs you, you know."

"Who?"

"You'll know. If I tell you, it won't happen right."

"It's Kyo, right? He needs me because he's locked up?"

"…yes. It's him. And not just because he's locked up."

"Do you know why I was brought here? Instead of dying?"

"Dying?" Kyoko's eyes widened.

"I was hit by a car. Then I woke up here. I'm not unhappy being here instead of…"

Kyoko stroked her hair gently.

"My sweet girl… you've been through so much."

"And it's about to get worse."

There was another person there now, a woman with shoulder-length reddish-brown hair. Her voice was familiar, just clearer and brighter than Tohru remembered. This was the person who'd talked to her before.

"Tohru Honda." The woman nodded. "I chose you for a reason."

"Why? Can you explain any of it?"

"I will. Once things play out as they're meant to, I'll explain everything in the waking world. You won't see me until then."

"W-wait!"

Tohru gasped as she sat up in bed. Arisa had been prodding her.

"You were talking in your sleep," the blonde told her bluntly. "Everything okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Uo-chan." She gasped again, panicking as she threw off the covers. "Oh my gosh, am I late?"

"No, you're fine. If anything, you're up early. You woke me up with your muttering."

"I'm so sorry…"

"Eh, had to get up sooner or later. I can't be mad at you." She glanced at Tohru's nightclothes. "Did you go for a walk or something? Your dress is all muddy."

"Yeah, I had trouble sleeping."

"Just be careful where you go, okay? Hamasaki told me there's a few places you don't want to wander into by accident. Like this weird little cottage that's way out of the way—it's dangerous."

Tohru swallowed. She didn't dare tell Arisa about Kyo, or that she'd gone to the cottage.

Kyo needed her.

And she'd find out why as soon as she helped him.

#kyoru fanfic #fruits basket #fruba #kyo soma #kyo x tohru #tohru honda #yuki souma #shigure sohma

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onceandfuturekitty · 5 years

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Meditation on Hatori, Snow, and Dark Backgrounds in Fruits Basket: Part 2

Part 1 < Previous Part | Next Part >

Like before, Fruits Basket angst below the cut. Unlike the previous part, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS AS WELL below the cut for anime-onlys and people who haven’t read volumes 5 or 10 of the manga yet.

From last time, we know that snow set against a dark background signals Hatori/Kana angst and pain.

Here’s another example I found of Hatori’s thoughts on the situation with Kana, from volume 5 chapter 26. This lines up with season 1 episode 15 of the 2019 anime reboot, where Hatori likewise says that he doesn’t want to see Kana again, but that he simply wants (and prays for) her to be happy. (This man is SO SELFLESS, WHY??! ;_; T__T)

However, his reasoning for why he doesn’t want to see her again is also important, and does not quite line up with the anime reboot version. I know some people thought the anime explained this better, but I think the version in the manga ties way better to later events. We learn that Kana’s heart would grow ill (and that the ill condition of Kana’s heart is linked to our danger sign of white-snow-on-a-black-background), and that, similar to a sickness, that illness would spread. Stay tuned for why that’s relevant.

In the meantime, Ayame comments in the same chapter that Hatori seems to be the only one left behind, taking on all of the pain from Hatori and Kana’s ~break-up.

But Hatori’s not the only one left behind….

That’s right, my friends!

I GET TO FANGIRL ABOUT MAYU-CHAN-SENSEI THIS TIME!!!! and talk about the angst in her life. But also fangirl about my fave!!

Actually, in an interesting sort of irony compared to the scene in manga chapter 26, Shigure tells Mayuko in manga chapter 56 a) that she’s the only one left behind (of her, Kana, and Hatori) and b) that Hatori’s dating again—two intentional, calculated lies—but in doing so, really emphasizes some of her most positive qualities: her loyalty, determination, selflessness, and strength.

(Also interesting: Ayame lied unintentionally in chapter 26 by speaking a bit flamboyantly, aggressively, and perhaps carelessly [it makes me a bit sad because, come on Ayame, you and Mayu-kun are friends!! She’s the one who accidentally let slip about parent-teacher conferences, so you must talk to each other at least sometimes!], whereas Shigure lied deliberately in chapter 56, but did so very calmly and intentionally.)

But getting back to my main point, like Hatori, Mayu also feels pained at the thought of Hatori and Kana’s suffering and unhappiness: in addition to her thoughts three pictures above (”If there was a way to bring back the happiness between you two, then without a doubt, I would have tried my best…to find it,” emphases added.),

she starts crying after it hits her how happy Hatori and Kana used to be but now Kana’s forgotten it all.

Moreover…

(on top of the reminder that she just wants Kana, her best friend, to be happy,) YES, MAYU’S MEMORIES ARE ALSO OVERLAID WITH SNOW SET ON A DARK BACKGROUND. UH-OH.

Like, I love hate love how Takaya-sensei doesn’t even have to put words in that middle panel. You just know what happened off-screen at that point, between the right and left panels O.O and it wasn’t good….

On a very temporarily more optimistic note, I’m really happy that Mayu convinced Shigure to sneak her in so that she could visit her (probably really isolated and lonely and also DEVASTATINGLY guilty-feeling) best friend!! So devoted ;_;

Though, that contrast between the Kana of the right panel and the Kana of the left panel…yikes ://// It’s very clear that she’s not doing so well. (random side note: I wanna know who put the flowers next to Kana!! Was it Hatori? Aghhhhh that’s so cute and sweet but also painful)

Speaking of not doing so well…

…remember ^this?

Guess who else gets depicted with that kind of snow.

Yep, that’s right. Kana also gets shown with the fairy light-like kind of snow set against a gray background. But here, the snow looks much less like nice fairy lights.

No, here, it looks like Kana’s infected.

Kana’s covered with circular dots that look similar to chicken pox, her speech bubbles have irregular shapes, she’s looking at her hand like “How could my hand have done such a thing?” (as if she’s the one responsible for Hatori’s eye injury), her face is shadowed, she keeps breaking off her speech and repeating words…

As Hatori put it in chapter 12: “It was the curse.”

It’s a very interesting way of depicting the effects of the curse and who’s gotten infected by this particular manifestation of it. In the above picture, we see that Kana continues to be infected by it.

But we see that Mayu, too, gets transferred some of that hurt and pain (right hand panels—and why wouldn’t she? Her best friend is miserable, and she doesn’t know how to fix that, and she just wanted her to be happy, but that’s not happening), and that the effects in fact expand to take on their surroundings as well, despite their being inside a building.

Hmmmm. Let’s look back at Hatori’s thoughts from the first picture: “Regret and self-pity won’t leave, slowly spreading bigger, like a stain[...]it would tire Kana’s heart,” (emphases added).

That is exactly what is happening above.

And that is why I think the manga version did it better, and why I really admire Hatori-san’s ability to read situations and people. (He can see through many of Shigure’s shenanigans, he advises Ayame on how to get through to Yuki but also to be patient, he brilliantly and succinctly explains what the heck was up with Hiro acting like an irritating bratty punk to Tohru, and so on and so forth.)

Connecting back to my original conception of those circles set against gray backgrounds as snow, perhaps what Hatori thought about being willing to be surrounded by snow for the rest of his life makes more sense now. He doesn’t want anyone else to be turned into snow or be frozen by surrounding snow like he is/has been. But if Kana’s condition had continued deteriorating, like it was above, he would not have been able to stop that freezing infection from continuing to spread. (I can see why he decided to erase her memories of him. Even though that thought really hurts.)

And geez, how sadly ironically fitting that the snow take on an illness-type quality, when both Hatori and Kana, probably the two main victims of it in the manga, are in the medical field. As Hatori’s character description in the Tokyopop manga translations reads: “The only thing he can’t cure is his broken heart.” (Ow. Whyyyyy.)

This reminds me of another Tumblr post someone made about how the Sohma curse negatively affected so many people’s lives, not just those of the Sohma’s, and these pictures (the one above and the one below) give some of the best proof of that.

Snow. Taking over almost everything.

What struck me most about this page is how the snow wasn’t just in the center dark black panel, but how it was dotted all over the right-hand lighter background panels as well, showing how the curse and the resultant unhappiness of Kana and Hatori have infected and affected others’ lives as well. Mayu and Shigure are suffering, too—they want their best friends to be happy, which evidently isn’t happening at this point. Memory-Shigure even looks mildly concerned for Mayu in the bottom-most panel on the right, which is when you know things are really bad.

However, the left-hand panel is brighter again. The memory erasure’s happened, then. And as present-day Shigure helpfully reminds Mayu later in chapter 56, the temporary fix [for Kana at least] gets a more permanent one now that she’s married to someone who definitively is not Hatori.

Shigure then tells Mayu that Hatori’s also moved on and healed—which, though it’s not true, does encourage her to reflect upon what she wants (not someone else—herself, being selfish for once; huh, it’s like a meaner version of when Kyo told Tohru it was fine for her to be selfish every once in a while too), and seems to help her decide that, yes, she does want to search for her own happiness now, and no, it won’t be with Shigure or out of loneliness this time.

(Mayu, you’re so strong. You go, girl.)

Actually, the scenes with Mayu and Kana and the infectious snow/sign of curse-unhappiness were the reasons why I wanted to make this series of posts in the first place. I noticed after like my tenth reread of chapters 56 and 57 how similar some of those scenes were to those in chapters 10 and 12…and the rest, my friends, is history. xD If this wasn’t too angsty for you, there’ll be more next time (and probably the time after that, too)!

Finally, I was floored by the sheer amount of Mayu love and support for my previous long photo-prolific Mayu post, so I decided to make another plz-just-help-Mayu+others-already meta analysis post. xDD Thank you all for your support. *bows* Hope to see you for part 3 as well! (That part should probably hopefully have more Hatori in it as well....Mayu kinda took over this one, but I’m totally fine with that! ^-^)

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