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cinderella-ish · 20 hours

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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!

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cinderella-ish · 22 hours

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Ever since they changed "Fruits Basket" to be a synonym of the manga tag, I've been annoyed that I can't see all the Fruits Basket works on the same page. Unless I'm missing some secret option...

Multishipper problems I guess?

#fruits basket #furuba #fruba #ao3 #poll #tumblr polls #my polls #by cinderella-ish

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cinderella-ish · 2 days

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6, 10 & 14 for the Fruits Basket asks?

Oh, yayyy! Thank you for this ask! (ask game here)

6. This is a tough question, since the characters are the best part! I think, if I had to pick, I was most indifferent to Rin at first, but she's obviously grown on me quite a bit. I never disliked her as a person, to be clear, I just didn't find her that interesting as a character and I didn't really "get" her. She just seemed kind of skittish and tragic. But writing her, even a little bit, has helped me understand and appreciate her and how complex her personality is.

10. Agh, also a tough one! I'm not sure I'm articulating this the way I'd usually state a theme, but the fact that Tohru needed the Sohmas (and Arisa and Saki) just as much as they all needed her is one of my favorite parts of the story, and I think, combined with the story it's telling about the bonds becoming a curse, there's some thematic resonance there.

14. I really just love how layered it is, and how it soothes my heart (even if it is always after breaking it). There's just so much richness, I don't think I'll ever finish absorbing all it has to say. And specifically, I love the symmetry in the storytelling. I love how it makes us question the things it tells us by showing us two sides to every coin. People need unconditional love (what Yuki, Kisa, Kyo, and others all needed from Tohru), but that unconditional love can also turn toxic (see Akito/the god and the bonds). "You cried for me" can be sweet and hopeful (Hatori with Mayu or even Momiji with Tohru in "Ask Him For Me") or sinister, as with Ren and Akira. The dualities are everywhere.

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cinderella-ish · 2 days

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Hm, for question #18, let’s do Yuki! 🩵

Ooh, ok! (Again, for this ask game!)

So, between the time the curse ends and they all graduate, I think Yuki would come out of his shell more and more and drop some of his princely act to the point where some of the fan club girls are like "we were really fawning over that?!" By the time he gets to college, he's completely done pretending, and the friends he makes in his undergrad all like his weird self. He still has some classmates who are aware of how handsome he is, but he doesn't have nearly the mystique he did back in high school, and everyone knows he's actually kind of a disaster (and his girlfriend is a bit scary) so no one harasses him.

I like to think Yuki and Kakeru went to the same university (seems likely they went to Kyoto U). I think Machi joined them, too, once she graduated a year later. I think he and Machi got married the day she turned 20, and she got pregnant with Mutsuki during her final year of university, even though they used contraception. Yuki became a stay-at-home parent once Machi was ready to start working, and eventually they moved back to Tokyo largely so they could split childcare costs/responsibilities with Kakeru and Ayame, and so Yuki could go back to work.

I think Yuki would've continued to grow closer with Ayame through the years, and would've stayed close with Haru and Kakeru forever. I also think Yuki and Kyo would've eventually grown to be actual friends, though neither of them would admit that for literal decades. When Yuki and Machi start visiting Tohru and Kyo together (instead of Yuki going alone), Kyo and Machi end up hanging out while Yuki and Tohru have time to catch up, and they end up pretty good friends. I don't think Yuki would've stayed particularly close to any of the other Sohmas, though he makes his appearances at holidays and family events after Mutsuki is born and befriends all his cousins.

(I also believe Kyo was Yuki's first love.)

I've seen a bunch of different theories for what Yuki does for work. He's obviously very good in school, and I personally see him building upon what he got out of student council. His arc, to me, always seemed to push him further away from the Sohmas as time went on, so I actually really like the idea of him having a job that required occasional international travel. I could see him as a diplomat, since he was quite good at working with a variety of challenging personalities and I think he'd be able to navigate delicate situations quite well.

I think he would start a little indoor herb garden in college, even though he never learned how to cook so he'd never actually use the herbs in a culinary context. Kakeru would tease him about it every time he'd come over, and would then use the herbs to cook something. Machi would help him keep it up once she joined him. I think she'd know some basics of cooking, but they'd basically live on takeout and convenience store meals (and Machi wouldn't even trust Yuki to microwave them at first!). I think Mutsuki would eventually be his gardening partner, and he'd have a vegetable patch once they moved back to Tokyo.

By the time Mutsuki can walk, I think Yuki and Machi would be resigned to keeping a neater living space, but he'd find all sorts of ways to keep it from being too "perfect" as an expression of love to her. I think they'd hire cleaning staff but Yuki would either give detailed instructions on how to keep things just messy enough for Machi, or he'd come home early on the days they clean to mess things up before she got home.

I think, as a parent, it's clear Yuki and Machi are very loving. I think they'd both take a lot of joy in experiencing Mutsuki's childhood with him, since they both kind of lost out on their own childhoods, and they'd encourage his creativity, sometimes to their own chagrin. Yuki would be kind of amused by all the mischief Mutsuki gets up to, though he'd still try and redirect Mutsuki's energy when necessary. I see them practicing a very gentle positive discipline style. I think he and Machi would be a pretty balanced parenting team, and they'd just want Mutsuki to have the freedom neither one of them had as a kid, as well as an abundance of love.

I think Yuki would have a relationship with his mother after high school, but it would be on his terms or not at all. I got the sense that he had hope for their relationship after her last appearance in canon, so I think he'd want to give her a chance to be in his life. I think it would be tough, but he'd also be patient because of the way his relationship with Ayame changed. I think their biggest hurdles would be related to his marriage to Machi and to Mutsuki's upbringing. If his mother was able to respect his decisions and not try to control him (or Mutsuki), then I think they'd continue to have a relationship, even if it's not particularly close or warm. Part of me hopes she'd eventually be able to apologize for selling him when he was a child.

I think Yuki would be Hajime's favorite uncle, and the two of them would take breaks from family events together a lot when Hajime was growing up (Hajime because he'd need a nap, and Yuki because he can only deal with so much of his family).

As a husband, I think Yuki would get gifts for Machi fairly often. I think he'd tease her all the time, and their (rare) arguments would usually end in laughter. If he proposed with a ring, I think he'd get Machi something like this. I think they'd continue to be a bit oblivious about PDA and

NSFW headcanons below the cut!

I think both Yuki and Machi would both turn to sex for comfort, on both hard days and good days. I don't think they'd often communicate verbally about sex, but they'd have a really good intuition about each other's needs and desires.

I think Machi would panic if she felt she was expected to "perform" during sex, while Yuki would love knowing he made her feel good. So, I can't see Machi riding him or giving head, for example, while I imagine Yuki would go down on her as often as possible and love figuring out what she likes. I think they'd use each other's names a ton during sex, and their first few times would be a bit rushed and frantic but they'd eventually settle into their own style (with lots of teasing from Yuki). I can see him regularly getting her all worked up only to make her wait a little longer, smirking the whole time.

I see Machi as a bit of a pillow princess and Yuki as a bit of a service top (oof, there are a bunch of contradicting definitions of this, but here, I'm using "top" to mean "the person performing the act on their partner" and "service top" to mean "topping in a way that prioritizes the bottom's pleasure."). I think they would occasionally have one of two very, very light Dom/sub dynamics. When Machi is the Dom, I can see the dynamic being very straightforward where she tells Yuki what she wants and he gladly provides. When Yuki is the Dom, I can see a bit of a brat/tamer dynamic developing, with lots of teasing from Yuki, of course (I'm currently writing a chapter of like the flowers and the bees where they begin to explore this dynamic - it'll be chapter 4 when I post it!). I don't think either of them would be at all aware that they're engaging in light BDSM, and they wouldn't really have words for it, but it'd come to them pretty naturally because it's basically already their dynamic from outside the bedroom.

So... those are my headcanons for Yuki! Thank you again for asking! 😁

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cinderella-ish · 6 days

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4, 9 & 18 for the fruba questions! 🧡💗🩵

Oh, I was so excited to get this in my inbox!!! (numbers are from this ask game)

4. I probably relate to either Yuki or Momiji the most. I go back and forth on them depending on the day. I think Yuki is how I see my inner self and/or my professional self, while Momiji is how people tend to see me and/or how I am in my personal life. (Stereotype achieved: real-life sunshine character with angsty internal landscape) (Also yes I am an enneagram 1 and I see Yuki and Momiji as 4 and 7 respectively why do you ask?)

9. Ok, this was hard until I remembered the name of this blog. 😅 There are so many top tier episodes to love, but It's Cinderella-ish just might be the pinnacle of achievement in television. I have a couple of analysis posts planned just for that episode!

18. Which character(s) would you like me to do?

Ahhh I am seriously so happy you submitted this!!! Thank you!!!

#fruits basket #furuba #fruba #my asks #oops i almost tagged this “my ass”#yuki sohma #momiji sohma #cinderella-ish

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cinderella-ish · 7 days

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Pleeeease I wanna talk about my favorite show so bad!!!! Send me asks!

🐀🍙 fruits basket asks 🍙🐈

how were you introduced to the series?

favorite character?

least favorite character?

character you relate to most?

do you relate to the character with your zodiac animal?

character that you disliked/were indifferent towards, but grew on you?

character that you think needs more love?

favorite manga chapter?

favorite episode?

favorite theme in the story?

favorite canon ship?

favorite non-canon ship?

favorite friendship/non-romantic relationship?

what do you love most about the series?

which character do you think you’d most likely be friends with?

which character would you not get along with (or, wouldn’t get along with you)?

song that reminds you of the series (or character of your choosing)?

any headcanons for [character]?

any favorite fanworks (fanart, fanfic, etc.)?

any hot takes (about a character, the series in general, the fandom, etc.)?

#fruits basket #furuba #fruba #ask game #meme #an attempt at humor was made #seriously though this would make my day #self reblog

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cinderella-ish · 10 days

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This was like... my second ever post on tumblr. No one asked, lol. Maybe this time? (Please ask!)

🐀🍙 fruits basket asks 🍙🐈

how were you introduced to the series?

favorite character?

least favorite character?

character you relate to most?

do you relate to the character with your zodiac animal?

character that you disliked/were indifferent towards, but grew on you?

character that you think needs more love?

favorite manga chapter?

favorite episode?

favorite theme in the story?

favorite canon ship?

favorite non-canon ship?

favorite friendship/non-romantic relationship?

what do you love most about the series?

which character do you think you’d most likely be friends with?

which character would you not get along with (or, wouldn’t get along with you)?

song that reminds you of the series (or character of your choosing)?

any headcanons for [character]?

any favorite fanworks (fanart, fanfic, etc.)?

any hot takes (about a character, the series in general, the fandom, etc.)?

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cinderella-ish · 12 days

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(source)

Unsplash - photography, illustration, & art

Pixabay - same as unsplash

Pexels - stock photos and videos

Getty Images - photography & illustration

Veceezy - vectors and clipart

Gumroad - photoshop brushes (and more)

StockSnap.io - stock photos

Canva - needs login but has lots of templates

Library of Congress - historical posters and photos

NASA - you guessed it

Creative Commons - all kinds of stuff, homie

Even Adobe has some free images

There are so many ways to make moodboards, bookcovers, and icons without plagiarizing! As artists, authors, and other creatives, we need to be especially careful not to use someone else’s work and pass it off as our own.

Please add on if you know any more resources for free images <3

#not fruits basket #creative commons #stock photos #free stock photos #don't steal images #art resources #tools #suzie queue

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cinderella-ish · 12 days

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Fruits Basket | Furuba by Natsuki Takaya – Chapter 133

#fruits basket #furuba #fruba #kyo sohma #tohru honda #mayuko shiraki #kyoru #kyo x tohru #hiroshi #yusuke #hiroshi and yusuke #mangacap #manga panel #suzie queue

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cinderella-ish · 12 days

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Highlights from the conference room where they nominated contenders for Word of the Year 2023:

• They put Skibidi Toilet on the projector to explain what “skibidi” means.

• Baby Gronk was mentioned.

• We discussed the Rizzler.

• “Cunty” was nominated.

• “Enshittification” was suggested for EVERY category.

• “Blue Check” (like from Twitter) was briefly defined as “Someone who will not Shut The Fuck Up”

• The person writing notes briefly defined babygirl as “referencing [The Speaker]”. He is now being called babygirl in the linguist groupchats.

• MULTIPLE people raised their hand to say “I cannot stress this enough: ‘Babygirl’ refers to a GROWN MAN”

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cinderella-ish · 12 days

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I love your take on Kyoru's intimacy. I've just returned to the fandom after a few years away and I share a lot of the same HCs. I was wondering if you had any fic recs for them (any rating will do, I'm not looking for anything specific) since I seem to be having trouble finding post-canon stuff that I like.

hi ahhh ty for your kind words!! and yes i definitely have some post-canon kyoru fic recs :’))

year of the cat by anonymous post-canon AU where the curse doesn’t break but kyo isn’t locked up either, and kyo and tohru still can’t get their shit together. this fic owns my entire ass and i think about it multiple times per week. pining but... really really sexy pining. holy mother of god. mature.

remedies for when you’re feeling weak by chicanerywrites kyo and tohru exploring physical intimacy. god. this fic is just beautiful. some of my favorite kyoru scenes of all time are from this fic tbh. also like... the smut is very grounded in reality, which is nice lol. explicit.

so quite a new thing & ‘cause i’m lovesick by @thewinterose tohru pining + sexual awakening, followed by kyo and tohru figuring out sex once they’re together. miss tay knows i’m a hoe for this fic but i really can’t get enough of it. tender and sweet and funny and ah. holds a very special place in my heart. explicit (must be logged in on AO3 to read btw!). (honorable mention: put your lips on my skin and you might ignite it)

i know i’ve kissed you before, but i didn’t do it right by @yunsoh kyo and tohru living in the mountains together, working through Feelings. abby (aka the yukeru queen) has some of the most poetic, gorgeous prose i’ve ever read. you just can feel everything so clearly as you read this fic, and it’s so heartfelt. teen.

box lunch by @floraltohru ever read that last scene at the grave and thought... was that... a proposal? well kyo has that exact same question. and he has an existential crisis about it. very cute in a subtle yet really emotionally affecting way. i love anna she gets it. general. (honorable mention: vigilante)

seeing red by @yukisohmasmokesweed tohru remembers something... you’ll have to click to find out what... this fic makes me scream. i love sophie. she did what no one else would do for the clowns. please just read it you will scream. mature.

water cycles by akaparalian kyo introspection, post-curse. god, this one just absolutely socks me in the chest. really encapsulates what makes post-canon fic so fascinating and emotional, and the kyoru is so lovely and tender. teen.

first, second, third by @siralicehufflepuff kyo and tohru in the days following the curse breaking. awkward teens, new relationship, kissing, etc. just really sweet and very them!! teen.

all tomorrows appear in a blink by @palamig kyo and tohru cuddling post-curse, and kyo’s anxieties about it. god this is just... AH it’s lovely. so so tender, and the prose is so real and beautiful. also playful kyoru rights. teen.

settle down with me by @furubaish super fluffy kyoru, post-curse... reading this feels like wrapping up in a warm blanket. light and easy and so sweet. teen.

my heart on your sleeve by miss-coverly post-curse. in which stealing your boyfriend’s clothing is an art, and tohru honda has perfected it. teen.

not even the rain has such small hands by miss-coverly post-curse. kyo finds out that the rain still gets to him, and tohru takes care of him on a reluctant sick day. general.

#fruits basket #furuba #fruba #tohru honda #kyo sohma #fanfic #ao3 #fanfic recommendation #kyoru #kyo x tohru #suzie queue

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cinderella-ish · 12 days

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