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#i can’t remember if the midotaka one has already been posted on tumblr but i liked it so i wanted to post it again
mibuchis · 3 years
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a collection of completely unrelated knb drawings from april-july of 2020 (except the midotaka one, it's from september of 2019)
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courtingstars · 4 years
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Notes for The Road Before Us (MidoTaka)
So… Wow. I kind of can’t believe this is the last chapter. And I have to say, this one was a ride—or at least it was for me to write, anyway. //laughs Which seems appropriate, given the overall themes. And it also feels appropriate to be posting it on New Year’s Eve, given what the story ended up being about.
I knew this chapter would be the longest, once I realized some of the things I wanted to include in it. And that hopefully it would include pretty much everything I love the most about MidoTaka, and also about KnB in general. I don’t know how well I pulled that off, but I definitely got emotional writing it. <3
As a matter of fact, the first fic I ever wrote for KnB was a MidoTaka fic! (It’s here on my Tumblr, but I never even posted it to Ao3.) I haven’t written nearly as much about them as I have for some other pairings. Still, I kind of feel like I got my start in the fandom with MidoTaka, and I have a LOT of feelings about them, for all kinds of reasons. So I really, really loved getting to write a chapter about these two, being super amazing partners and also really super in love, and hopefully it shows. <3
I do have some of my usual notes this time around, mostly a few cultural things. (And also some random flailing, about FINALLY getting to write about certain things I’ve had swirling around in my head for a long time. XD) I might write a different post later about this fic overall, and how it turned into something I honestly wasn’t expecting… But for now, let’s get on with the MidoTaka goodness!
(Cut for rambling about things like family headcanons, a few Japanese winter foods, lucky pencils, Takao’s nerdy card hobby, and the symbolism of five yen coins…)
Family Headcanons
This isn’t really a proper note, just some goofy flailing because I FINALLY GOT TO WRITE ABOUT MIDORIMA AND TAKAO’S FAMILIES, HURRAY. I’m also so unbelievably happy that there was a cameo with Midorima’s little sister! I love her so much, especially that she likes nail art. (I have a pointless headcanon that Midorima borrows nail files from her. xD) I’m also overjoyed that I FINALLY got to mention that I headcanon Midorima’s mother as being a surgeon, and his father as a scientist. Because super-successful overachieving green family, that’s why? //laughs
(In case it wasn’t obvious already, I am way, WAY too into family headcanons… There’s probably nothing I love more than coming up with what a character’s family might be like, and how they fit into their family dynamic. To the point that I have a TON of ideas about all of the GoM’s families, some of which I hinted at throughout this story… Because apparently I can’t help myself anymore. XD)
The Rear Car
This is also not a proper note in any way, but… I’m just so happy that the rear car is in this! XDD I hinted at a few personal headcanons about it in the chapter, including that they don’t use it regularly by their third year in high school. But it just seemed like it couldn’t be a MidoTaka fic without it, so I’m overjoyed that I was able to come up with a way to work it into a holiday fic…
… And because I’m a nerd, I love it even more because it just fits the “Sleigh Ride” theme SO PERFECTLY. XD It’s been a while, but I think that was even how I decided on the carol for the fic in the first place? Like, “OMG maybe Takao could decorate the rear car and they could ride around in it and it would be sort of like the song and that way the last chapter actually fits the most and IT’S PERFECT?!” Ah, the things I get excited about as a nerdy writer. //laughs
Hot Water Bottle Covers
… I’m not really sure if I should even make this a note, honestly. XD But I happened to get the idea for the cutesy hot water bottle covers that look like animals while I was doing a search for the Japanese word for hot water bottle. Which is yutanpo (ゆたんぽ), if anyone was curious!
Oden and Oshiruko
And now about the meal… Oden is a type of stew that is super popular in Japan in the wintertime, so it’s one of the foods that tends to be culturally associated with the season. There are a lot of different ingredients that can be in it, some of which can be pretty unfamiliar to people who aren’t from Japan. You can learn more about some of them in articles like this one. And yes, you can totally buy oden in a convenience store! (Which are everywhere in Japan and called ‘konbini’ for short.)
As for shiruko (or more formally, oshiruko!), this is the Japanese version of red bean soup. It’s prepared a few different ways, and the recipe varies by region. KnB fans will probably know it best as what Midorima is always drinking out of a can. XD So no surprise that it popped up in this chapter, really!
Yushima Tenmagu
This is just a quick mention about the lucky pencils Midorima gives Takao… As Midorima said, these came from a shrine called Yushima Tenmagu, which is pretty famous as a place for Japanese students to buy good luck charms to pass their exams. (Also if I remember correctly, Midorima has this running gag throughout some of the series extras about trying to figure out how to get better scores on his exams, and even about a lucky pencil? So it just seemed to fit. //laughs)
Magic the Gathering, Apparently
… Okay so first of all, I know literally nothing about Magic the Gathering. So if you happen to be an MtG fan and I screwed something up, I’m very sorry. //laughs
In any case, it’s a longtime headcanon of mine that Takao plays MtG. Since of course it’s one of the most famous trading card games in the world, and it’s still popular in Japan and played in the gaming communities there. And as Takao fans out there will know, his canon hobby is collecting trading cards, which he specifically shops for at a pretty famous Tokyo shopping center called Nakano Broadway. (All of which got a mention in this chapter!)
Also, if you’re wondering how long I’ve had the MtG headcanon specifically… Well, here’s a quote from my fic The Fast Train to Kyoto, where Akashi and Furihata run into Takao while shopping at Nakano Broadway:
“Why do you like to come here, if I may ask?” Akashi said.
“Oh, right. You guys gotta see this.” Takao started to rummage through one of his shopping bags. “I’m a loser for trading cards. Magic, mostly—play a lot of Magic.”
… Because the point guards in KnB are all huge nerds in my mind, and I WILL STAND BY THAT THEORY FOREVER. XD
(And no, I honestly had no idea that I would ever reuse that particular headcanon, especially in a holiday story? But it’s me, and I can’t seem to stop connecting all these totally unnecessary details, even in my fluff fanfics, so… I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. //laughs)
The Symbolism of Five Yen Coins
Okay, I have to admit really love this one, because of course I just sort of stumbled onto the idea by “accident.” //laughs So a few weeks back, I was trying to figure out what lucky item would work for Takao’s gift in the story. The real-life Oha-Asa has listed coins as a lucky item for multiple astrological signs over the years, so I was playing around with that idea… And that was when I learned about the symbolism of the five yen piece in Japanese currency. At which point I completely geeked out, and decided on the spot that I just HAD to use it.
So a five yen coin is pronounced “go-en” in Japanese. Which also sounds like another word that basically means a bond or connection, and has connotations of fate as well. For this reason, there are a lot of superstitions around five yen coins—it’s often used at shrines to pray, for example—and it’s basically connected to the idea of meeting people and making connections in a fortunate or “destined” way. Which just seems so fitting for Midorima and Takao, and how they met and later became partners! And also how I see all the relationships in KnB in general. <3
For an explanation from a Japanese person about some of the symbolism behind the five yen piece, I really recommend this article here! And Wikipedia also mentions some ways that the five yen piece is used culturally.
Well, that’s it for now! I might end up editing this a bit at some point, since I’m writing it in a hurry to post it on New Year’s. But I really wanted to get the final chapter up as soon as I could, so people could read the completed fic if they wanted.
Well, thank you all so much for indulging me in my holiday fic mood this year! Happy New Year, and I hope you all have an amazing 2020 ahead. I know I definitely have a lot of goals and things I’m thinking about and hoping for, and I might talk more about that soon. (As well as try to catch up on some messages and other to-do’s I’ve been horribly neglecting.) But for now, it just feels right to finally be able to complete this story, which ended up meaning way, way more to me than I ever expected it to. (Like KnB and these precious rainbow basketball kids in general, really. <3)
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