through the course of the series Tohru has had to face many unpleasant revelations about the Sohmas, unconsciously establishing a pattern until you get to the end where she has to face the biggest and most horrible revelations of all. And it kinda sneaks up on you. ...and yet, when you think about it, the dark underbelly has always been beneath the happy surface, so is it really a surprise?

No, it really isn't in some ways, and yet in others it is. Throughout the show the darkness is eluded to and yet it's so contrasted with Tohru's absurdly unrealistic (and yet thoroughly adorable) optimism that you almost forget that it's there at times until at the end you're just hit with it and I think perhaps you're hit with it harder because of how it effects Tohru.

That and the fact that everyone needs series hugs. But that's the trouble--- we want to hug them, but we can't! Oh, tis terrible sad.

Word. I don't know how many times I wanted to give every single one of them a hug! Yuki? Kyo!? I'm just like come here you two adorable things I'm going to hug you and if you turn into a cat and rat on me, so be it! Speaking of, at the end where she goes and hugs Kyo and she's all carrying him back in cat form just made me melt.

By the way, I love your background image. Adore it.