#sohma akito

[owarinaki]

Kyo & Tohru & Yuki- Fruits Basket Manga Illustration arts part II

Part 1 // Part2 // Part3

Anime S1 // S2 // S3 Final

[triptychgrip]

Fruits Basket and the temptation to individualize systemic abuse

I certainly wouldn't be the first or last person to think about this, but one thing that I think happens open with Fruits Basket -- or any other piece of media that focuses on generational trauma/systemic abuse -- is that it becomes really easy to focus on an individual perpetrator and to desire for that person to atone for their harm -- in this case, that would be Akito Sohma -- while failing to consider reparations for an abusive system in totality (the Sohma estate and the generations that came before the current zodiac spirits).

And, of course, by focusing so much on the former as opposed to the latter, we often forget that individual perpetrators of abuse are often themselves victims in the system as a whole. NOTE: this does not mean that individuals don't deserve to be held accountable, merely that in the focus on individual accountability, a lot gets left on the table and a lot of nuance gets lost in the shuffle.

The tendency to individualize when it comes to harm is understandable given what we know about human nature; it's much easier to wrap our brains around the concrete in the form of a single emotionally or physically abusive person, rather than to think of an entire system that enables abusive power dynamics to flourish over long periods of time. The latter is so weighty, and if we're talking about pragmatism, reparations offered from a single person are much easier to conceptualize than reparations from the many people who uphold a corrupt system (who are usually indoctrinated from birth to do so).

Spoilers ahead!

We get the sense fairly early on in the manga/anime that the Sohma family is a very powerful one in Japan. As we get further and further into the story, Tohru learns that various people on the "inside" have been responsible for keeping the secret of the zodiac curse (and for allowing the current zodiac spirits to believe that their fate is inevitable). The curse is truly a shackle, and by the point the story begins, it's clear that all of the current spirits -- perhaps with the exception of Shigure who even admits that the curse doesn't really affect him -- feel the heavy weight of its binding.

We learn that Hatori is the only current zodiac member to possess memory suppression, but it's also true that his father once had this ability, and that it was on behalf of Akito and his father that Hatori learned and employed this power (suppressing Kana's memories, Yuki's friends' memories, etc). However, unless I've overlooked something, we never learn Hatori's father's name, or learn about his backstory. Similarly, there are a number of "insider" maids -- some part of the "Ren" faction, and some part of the "Akito" faction -- that we see throughout the story, but we don't know any of their names either, or their backstories. And yet, these maids are a huge part of what enables the corrupt system to flourish (and to a lesser extent, what keeps the power struggle between Ren and Akito going).

I actually find it a little astounding how little focus there is on the maids, considering that 1) they know about the curse, and 2) they are not part of the zodiac, which means they could theoretically defy Akito without enduring emotional or physical turmoil (unlike the zodiac spirits themselves). And honestly, it would have been entirely plausible for them -- at least, in the most practical sense -- to defy her, as we know that Akito is rather frail. Sure, we see her be physically violent at many times throughout the story, but it's a little silly to think that she would be able to hold her own against one or more of them if they teamed up together.

A question that I find myself returning to again and again is: what incentive do the maids have to uphold the corrupt system they are part of?

Does it truly come down to their being raised with a certain set of values, and a disposition to not go against the status quo? Given what we know about Akito, it's not as if we're led to believe that she treats any of them particularly well. So does their loyalty to the idea of the curse come down to having a proximity to power? Even power in the form of a person who is clearly very fickle, prone to tantrums, and generally speaking, emotionally unwell due to severe loneliness and fears of abandonment (note: this description could apply to both Ren and Akito)? Is the prospect of being a mouthpiece for the head(s) of the family really so appealing?

I obviously don't have answers to these questions, but they still inform my thoughts around how dangerous it is to think of Akito as the lynchpin of everything, particularly when it's clear that she has been so incredibly damaged by the family, both in terms of being told that she is "special" from such a young age -- thereby basically ensuring that she has a life of loneliness due to her being put on a pedestal -- and by way of the more obvious point in being raised as a male, counter to her own desires.

Honestly, the first time that I saw the below manga panel, I broke down.

I think it was my first time truly seeing Akito as the scared little girl that she really is...I mean look at her face. She looks like a wailing baby, so utterly helpless.

She is a victim of toxic abuse, and don't get me wrong: she absolutely perpetrated horrific emotional and physical abuse that she deserves to be accountable for.

But, I really wish we had seen more follow-up to the point of reparations...and not only for the individual zodiac spirits. Perhaps this starts with some decent therapy...and to that point, how would that even work? Wouldn't most therapists just generally not believe in a zodiac curse in the first place? -- but some acknowledgment that all of them, even Akito, were caught up in a world that stripped them of their own agency all due to indoctrination that began long before any of them were even born.

[eurydicees]

[aishiteru-kenshin]

Fruits Basket | フルーツバスケット| Flower-Viewing

[matt0044]

You think Tohru had a mythic status among the Sohma family estate beyond the Zodiac?

Like stories of the inner family leading more fulfilling lives thanks to this Honda outsider, one who even Akito was touched by. Like they tell a troubled family member that it "looks like you need to meet Honda" or "Her smile can heal even the most wounded of souls" or "She choose the Cat above all other out of love."

All the while, Tohru is tripping over her own feet and spilling mop bucket water at work to her dismay.

[solunstell]

Akito Sohma, Fruits Basket, 9-25-24

[anaharaeicons]

Fruits Basket Icons II

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

Morally Questionable Anime Milfs Side B Round 2 Match 8

Propaganda:

Akito -

"As the product of a toxic and abusive upbringing, Akito sure does a lot of fucked up shit and inflicts a lot of trauma on the other members of her clan. However, in the sequel series, she is shown to have made an effort to grow past that and atone, breaking the cycle of abuse by being a warm and loving mother to her own son, Shiki. Maybe it's controversial, but I do find her very attractive, and a super interesting character."

Lee Sookyung -

"She… goes to great lengths to protect her child. She goes to prison to protect him!!! And later in the apocalypse, she risks the entire group she was leading in an effort to save her son's life! But she also gives him the silent treatment for like 20 years and also kills him to try to save his life (dw abt it). Her love is pretty ruthless - all action and self-sacrifice, but no emotional comforting, no vulnerability. She's willing to make herself into a villain to protect what matters the most, but when she finally tries to say sorry and I love you, it's too little too late. In the end, her son doesn't even hear the truth from her own mouth (which he wanted more than anything). As for her milfness, need i say anything?? She's an incredible badass, wears a cool mask for a bit, is all mysterious yet wolrd weary, a certified eyebags-and-cigarette type of mom!! Mother is motheringggggg."

[schrodingers-romy]

Me @ Akito Sohma

[anonomouswriter-blr]

Female Akito X Male Reader: Pretty Girl

If you couldn't tell already, this is a very quick one-shot based on the two prompts above. Sorry the images are so big; I don't know how to make them smaller. But any tips on how to do that are appreciated.

347 words.

Story begins under the cut.

     It was a beautiful spring day and Y/n didn't have a clue of what to do with it. A visit to his girlfriend might be nice. He never did anything anyway. Paying a quick "Hello" to Hatori, he went to Akito's room only to find it empty with the back door open. Y/n stepped outside to see Akito peacefully reading a book under a tree: A book that, if he wasn't mistaken, Y/n had lent her.

     Y/n quietly walked over to his girlfriend with his own book in his bag. He kissed Akito on the cheek then sat down beside her. The sunlight was warm and the light breeze was relaxing. All the pair needed was the beautiful weather and the comforting presence of each other.

     Y/n wanted to focus on what he was supposed to be reading, but he couldn't help but get distracted by how cute Akito's facial expressions were. Sometimes her eyebrows would twitch together in annoyance or a confused surprise, then they would relax and her lips would release a breath of relief. How could Y/n help but smile?

     Akito's eyes flicked to her boyfriend for a fraction of a second before she spoke. "What are you staring at?"

     "You. Pretty girl,"

     "Shut up. Stare at something else,"

     "I don't want to stare at something else. I was to stare at the beam of beauty reading next to me,"

     "I said shut up. Stare at… stare at the flowers there. They're beautiful,"

     "Not like you," Akito rolled her eyes and went back to her book, trying ignore Y/n's gaze. Y/n spoke again. "Hey, you wanna see something beautiful?"

     Akito rolled her eyes. "Fine," With a cheeky smile Y/n pulled a small mirror out of his bag and faced it at Akito. Akito blushed a shade of rouge and turned away, trying to cover the blush with her hand. She spoke again quietly "I wish you would stop sometimes…"

     "Only when you stop being so irresponsibly adorable," Akito only blushed harder.

     "I'm gonna hit you,"

________________

Posted 17.Sunday.March.2024 17.32 (5:32 pm)

[fiirekat]

Akito Sohma! 🌺🖤

[owarinaki]

Fruits Basket Manga Illustration arts part VI END

Part 1 // Part2 // Part3

Anime S1 // S2 // S3 Final

[triptychgrip]

Fanfic Rec: What if we'd seen Akito in therapy, post-curse break?

For the second time in just a week, Fruits Basket fanfic has utterly ruined me, in the very best way. For the Fruits Basket Monday prompt 'What If', I wanted to share a rec for the amazing story 'I can barely breathe' by @renywrites, which is a masterful 15K story that details the messiness and loneliness marking Akito's journey of atonement and healing after the zodiac curse break.

Note: in this fic, Akito uses they/them pronouns, which is what I'll be using as well, out of respect for the author's vision

Akito is obviously a very, very polarizing character in the fandom, and I'll be honest that they are not someone that I usually seek out reading material for. But as I detailed in my post on the dangers of individualizing systemic abuse, healing for the Sohmas doesn't begin and end with Akito, because they, too, are a victim in the multi-generational cycle of trauma that has plagued the Sohma family. Given the vastness of this cycle and the many people that enabled it to continue over time, I've always wished we could have seen more content in the manga (and more explicitly in Fruits Basket Another) that touches directly on what the challenges would have been when the various members of the Sohma family have to pick up the pieces of their lives after the curse breaks.

'I can barely breathe' does this so poignantly by focusing on Akito and Shigure, in particular. Below is an excerpt of one of my favorite parts, from chapter 2. I hope you'll give it a chance!

----

Akito starts to panic once the sun begins to set. They’d gone through their entire “toolbox”, as Itsuki would call it. They’d done every distraction in the book to take their mind off of it, and after all of that, they still hadn’t heard anything.

They consider calling Hatori to see if he’d heard anything, but if Shigure truly was mad at them and they pulled strings through Hatori to get him home, he'd be furious. Besides, Hatori would definitely chew him out for blocking them.

But the later it gets, the more Akito’s worry turns to anxiety, and anxiety turns to panic. They start to think about what he’d said the night before. Had he really gone home with a stranger?

The thought alone makes them ill, makes their heart race and palms sweat. He’d slept with their mother to get back at them, once upon a time. That thought doesn’t help any, and their imagination runs wild.

Akito lays in bed, mind racing through all the possibilities. What if he had gone home with a girl? What if he preferred that over coming home to Akito? And if that was the case, was she something better?

(Of course. Everyone was better than Akito.)

Was she pretty? Akito thinks of long, silky hair, and curves that could never be mistaken for a man’s body. They curl tighter into themself, burying their face in the pillow, hiding from the thought of Shigure undressing said curves.

(Their mother looked like a proper woman. Shigure had once said, in a fit of cruelty, that their mother looked like everything Akito could never be. Beautiful, tall, curvy. Akito had always wondered if he wished they looked different. If he wished they could be beautiful, too.)

Once the thoughts start they don’t stop. Soon Akito is stuck in a whirlpool, convinced that he had left for good, that they were now truly all alone. The bed becomes too confining, and they find themself on the bathroom floor, fighting to breathe, the tile cold against their skin.

They wanted it to stop. They didn’t want to feel this way anymore! Itsuki had said it would get better, but when? When would they feel better? When would they be good enough? When would their efforts to be a better person pay off?

Yuki had been right. Shigure deserved so much better. Everyone did, really. Akito tangles a hand in their hair, holding hard and hiccupping. They weren’t god anymore. They weren’t anything anymore. When had they become so small? Had they ever been big in the first place?

[eurydicees]

one day you'll be more than i ever was (fruits basket genfic, 16657 words)

Shiki and Akito, doing as best they can in a world that doesn't always want them. Or, three times that Akito, Shigure, and Shiki talk about the Zodiac Curse and all that came with it. (Can be read as a standalone.)

so i'm normal about akito post-canon. don't look at me like that.

[aishiteru-kenshin]

Fruits Basket | フルーツバスケット

[matt0044]

A legit exchange between Tohru and Akito during her hospital visit.

Akito: *holding back a tantrum* “I’m sorry. I got angry. It’s something I’m working on.”

Tohru: *smiling unconditionally* Ooooo, really?

Akito *holding less back* Yes! Now would you please- *takes deep breath and forces a smile* Yes.

Meanwhile, Yuki and Kyo are deliberating over a potential shared hallucination. Shigure can only enjoy the show. XD