Tanagura app
OOC INFO
_NAME: Lorie
_PLURK:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
nolno
_AGE: 36
_CURRENT/PAST CHARACTERS: past character - Renzo Shima (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pinkexorcist)
IC INFO
_CHARACTER'S NAME: Shintarou Midorima
_CANON: Kuroko no Basuke or Kuroko's Basketball
_CANON POINT: end of the regular series to avoid the unfortunate hair of the Extra Game continuation series
_CHARACTER'S (ACTUAL) AGE: 16
_CHARACTER'S (APPARENT) AGE: same, except he does have one of those "how in the world is this person 16?" athletic anime bodies
_CHARACTER'S HAIR COLOR: green
_TANAGURA (elite) OR MIDAS (mongrel)?: Tanagura
_HOUSING PREFERENCE: no preference
_HISTORY: profile on the fandom wiki
_ABILITIES: While Kuroko no Basuke's games toy with the limits of believable basketball feats and add effects like eye lightning, he doesn't really have any supernatural or superhuman abilities or skills. He's just very good at basketball. His specialty is three-point shots. The only advantage this would offer him in everyday life is that he's athletic and in good physical condition.
_PERSONALITY: In the world of manga and anime, if you've seen one guy who coldly pushes up his glasses while treating the rest of the characters on-screen to a "better than you" stare, you've seen them all. Yet in Midorima's first appearance in the series there is just as much ridiculousness as icy glare. He's riding in the back of a rickshaw pedaled by Takao, saying it's the lucky day for his sign, and winning games of rock, paper, scissors at every stop light to secure his right to a free ride. Moments like this make it easy to see why other characters outright call Midorima a weirdo.
That isn't to say that he doesn't have a cold demeanor. He is quiet and doesn't go out of his way to interact with others. When he does interact with them, he is likely to be calling someone an idiot and looking down on him. His quickness to get frustrated with others shows that cold doesn't always mean calm, though. In the scene where members of various teams gather at an okonomiyaki restaurant, when Takao flips his food onto Midorima's head, he immediately drags him outside to beat him up. At the same time, he isn't completely unsocial. Flashbacks to their middle school days show Midorima playing shogi with Akashi and conversing normally with him. He's just never going to be the life of the party.
If he isn't getting frustrated with them and letting them know how stupid they are, his interest in the zodiac is one of the first things others might notice about him, simply because it causes him to carry around his lucky item each day, regardless of how crazy he may look carrying a tanuki statue or a cactus in daily life. Or maybe they notice it when he informs them of their horoscope for the day and whether they are fated to have good fortune or if he's the only lucky one. Although he doesn't give it as much focus as daily horoscopes, he also believes in blood type personality profiles, mentioning that he's not compatible with Kuroko because they're blood type B and A.
This is only likely to be someone's first impression if he's met off the court. As a member of the Generation of Miracles, a group of five players (plus a "phantom" sixth member) who rose to prominence in middle school with a level of skill that can only be found once a generation, Midorima is a genius-level basketball player. Long-range shots are his specialty. Despite being a first-year student, he is the star of the Shuutoku High basketball team. Because of this, his captain and teammates allow him three selfish requests each day, such as being the only one who gets the ball during a quarter. That he is someone who would make these kinds of requests to the point that a limit would be imposed reveals other facets of his personality beyond selfishness: Midorima is confident and proud enough to believe that things should be done his way.
This pride comes with high standards and further confidence in upholding them. In a flashback, he tells Murasakibara not to walk while eating because it's bad manners, and it comes up that they clash a lot because Midorima wants everything done properly and Murasakibara is too casual. It's likely no surprise that he sets the bar highest in matters of basketball. He doesn't like Hanamiya Makoto and his dirty style of play. He disapproves of their middle school bets to see who could score the most points in a game. He's dismissive of the practice match between Kaijou and Seirin because he feels that kind of dunking match doesn't leave anything to fate; in his opinion, a shot scored from farther away is more worthy. He recognizes Kuroko's strength but thinks less of him for going to Seirin because it isn't a school with a top team. During the height of their Teiko Middle School power, he keeps practicing, even after Akashi tells them they don't need to come to practice if they don't want to. He also expresses displeasure with Murasakibara and Aomine for not showing up. The downside to these standards is that they can result in a haughty attitude as if he is above the lowly people who don't meet them.
Then again, most anyone will seem lowly compared to the higher power on which he relies. His motto is "Man proposes, God disposes." He believes in fate, but nothing is left to chance. Midorima is meticulous and exacting to the point of compulsion. Before the first game with Seirin, he goes over everything he's done to ensure his success. This includes not missing a shot in the previous game, practicing hard during training, taking care of his nails, noting that Cancer's daily horoscope is the best, having the day's lucky item in his possession, and lacing his shoes starting from the right. Another ritual he engages in is taping the fingers of his left hand to keep them in perfect condition for his left-handed shots. He believes that he must do everything possible to prepare and do his best and then fate will take care of the rest. In games, the end result is making seemingly impossible three-point shots from great distances and walking away without watching the ball go in; he's that secure in his preparation and abilities.
The characters who watch each match from the sidelines and comment on the action serve a narrative purpose, but Midorima's powers of observation go beyond that. He is able to read a situation or a person and come to correct conclusions about a potential problem. When their teams end up at the same inn for training camp, in challenging Kagami to a one-on-one, he helps him figure out that he needs to work on other aerial skills besides just jumping high. Talking with Takao afterwards, it's clear that he had a good sense of Kagami's weakness. During the second Shuutoku/Seirin game, while other Shuutoku players are saying that Kuroko's misdirection won't work anymore when he comes out late in the game, Midorima instantly knows that he must have something planned. In a middle school flashback, he recognizes when Aomine has become so strong that it's affecting his enjoyment of the game. However, his ability to read a person doesn't just apply to basketball. Watching Akashi's eyes suddenly go cold during a few conversations, he's the first person to realize the dual nature of their middle school team captain. Of course, while he has a knack for knowing exactly what advice or assistance to offer to a fellow basketball player, he rarely offers it in a straightforward manner.
Even in other situations, Midorima goes to great lengths to hide that he cares. He tells his teammates he isn't coming to the Seirin/Touou game but shows up anyway wearing sunglasses as a disguise and when the game is over makes a point of saying he can't believe he was so bored he watched the entire match. The fact remains that he does care, though. Following this same match, he expresses concern over Kuroko's state of mind after the loss.
His begrudging concern isn't perfect. The more bright and cheerful a person is, the more reluctant he appears to be to engage. After Shuutoku first loses to Seirin, he won't talk to Momoi on the phone, but he does respond to Aomine. Kise sends him a message wishing him good luck before a game, and he responds, "Die". Takao seems to be an exception. They're always together, regardless of Midorima's frustration with his light-hearted attitude and his insistence on calling him Shin-chan.
During the Seirin/Shuutoku rematch, Takao offers a straightforward assessment of how others see Midorima. He says the team members don't particularly like him and "he's always floating alone" while he practices his shots without speaking. Despite the fact that he's an "irritating bastard", they "can't bring [themselves] to hate him." Most importantly, he notices that he's started smiling when they play basketball together.
That isn't all there is to be said about how Midorima relates to Takao, though, and their strange companionship is arguably his most important relationship outside of the Generation of Miracles. A flashback chapter reveals that they both stay after for extra practice, and Takao admits that he started doing it because he lost to him in middle school. However, his thoughts of beating him for revenge have changed to getting him to notice him. That work ethic and determination may be what help him win Midorima over.
Over the course of the series, the largest shift in Midorima's personality and how he relates to others occurs in his attitude toward teamwork. During the flashback chapters to their days at Teiko Middle School, the more skilled and powerful the Generation of Miracles become, the more they fall apart as a team. The end result is a team of super-skilled players with an "every man for himself" attitude. When they step out on to the court, they're only doing what they can to score points by themselves.
In the first game against Seirin, Midorima moves beyond his old attitude and passes the ball instead of taking a shot himself, showing a willingness to rely on his teammates. Another turning point comes in the game against Razukan, when he takes offense at Mibuchi saying that he's the only player who isn't a hindrance. He thinks back to how hard he's worked with Takao and how much the older teammates have put into the game, and he's inspired to keep going in a disheartening situation by his teammates. He and Takao employ a play that relies on Takao's skill at passing and his shooting. It's such an impressive combined effort that it earns them the title of Shuutoku's light and shadow, the ultimate sign of his willingness to rely on someone besides himself during a game.
Takao isn't the only person to notice the change in Midorima. While watching the game together, Momoi comments on it, and Kise says that "he made us change", referring to Kuroko. He is yet another person who finally understands Kuroko's style of basketball and realizes it's not weak to rely on others.
Unfortunately, the shift isn't enough to keep him from one more negative change. Losing is a new experience that is far from enjoyable. After the first loss, Aomine says he sounds depressed. After the second loss, Midorima cries and says it's frustrating. But there are no signs that he intends to give up or regress back to old ways. Between the first and second games, his teamwork increases, and one of the final panels of the series shows a photograph of the Generation of Miracles gathered for a social game of basketball. It seems likely that he will only grow to new heights of playing cooperatively and enjoying basketball – an approach Kuroko would appreciate.
_ITEMS: He'll be wearing his basketball uniform and warm-ups and carrying his bag with a change of clothes (his school uniform), a roll of athletic tape for his fingers, and his lucky item from his last day at home (which I will say was a teapot)
WRITING SAMPLES
_GEN SAMPLE: TDM post with gen and network threads
_SMUT SAMPLE: meme thread - full thread if you want context or where the smut starts
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MY CHARACTER IS THE FOLLOWING:
_SENTIENT: yes
_MENTALLY ADULT: yes
_CAPABLE OF CONSENT: yes
_CAPABLE OF SEXUAL AROUSAL: yes
_NAME: Lorie
_PLURK:
_AGE: 36
_CURRENT/PAST CHARACTERS: past character - Renzo Shima (
pinkexorcist)IC INFO
_CHARACTER'S NAME: Shintarou Midorima
_CANON: Kuroko no Basuke or Kuroko's Basketball
_CANON POINT: end of the regular series to avoid the unfortunate hair of the Extra Game continuation series
_CHARACTER'S (ACTUAL) AGE: 16
_CHARACTER'S (APPARENT) AGE: same, except he does have one of those "how in the world is this person 16?" athletic anime bodies
_CHARACTER'S HAIR COLOR: green
_TANAGURA (elite) OR MIDAS (mongrel)?: Tanagura
_HOUSING PREFERENCE: no preference
_HISTORY: profile on the fandom wiki
_ABILITIES: While Kuroko no Basuke's games toy with the limits of believable basketball feats and add effects like eye lightning, he doesn't really have any supernatural or superhuman abilities or skills. He's just very good at basketball. His specialty is three-point shots. The only advantage this would offer him in everyday life is that he's athletic and in good physical condition.
_PERSONALITY: In the world of manga and anime, if you've seen one guy who coldly pushes up his glasses while treating the rest of the characters on-screen to a "better than you" stare, you've seen them all. Yet in Midorima's first appearance in the series there is just as much ridiculousness as icy glare. He's riding in the back of a rickshaw pedaled by Takao, saying it's the lucky day for his sign, and winning games of rock, paper, scissors at every stop light to secure his right to a free ride. Moments like this make it easy to see why other characters outright call Midorima a weirdo.
That isn't to say that he doesn't have a cold demeanor. He is quiet and doesn't go out of his way to interact with others. When he does interact with them, he is likely to be calling someone an idiot and looking down on him. His quickness to get frustrated with others shows that cold doesn't always mean calm, though. In the scene where members of various teams gather at an okonomiyaki restaurant, when Takao flips his food onto Midorima's head, he immediately drags him outside to beat him up. At the same time, he isn't completely unsocial. Flashbacks to their middle school days show Midorima playing shogi with Akashi and conversing normally with him. He's just never going to be the life of the party.
If he isn't getting frustrated with them and letting them know how stupid they are, his interest in the zodiac is one of the first things others might notice about him, simply because it causes him to carry around his lucky item each day, regardless of how crazy he may look carrying a tanuki statue or a cactus in daily life. Or maybe they notice it when he informs them of their horoscope for the day and whether they are fated to have good fortune or if he's the only lucky one. Although he doesn't give it as much focus as daily horoscopes, he also believes in blood type personality profiles, mentioning that he's not compatible with Kuroko because they're blood type B and A.
This is only likely to be someone's first impression if he's met off the court. As a member of the Generation of Miracles, a group of five players (plus a "phantom" sixth member) who rose to prominence in middle school with a level of skill that can only be found once a generation, Midorima is a genius-level basketball player. Long-range shots are his specialty. Despite being a first-year student, he is the star of the Shuutoku High basketball team. Because of this, his captain and teammates allow him three selfish requests each day, such as being the only one who gets the ball during a quarter. That he is someone who would make these kinds of requests to the point that a limit would be imposed reveals other facets of his personality beyond selfishness: Midorima is confident and proud enough to believe that things should be done his way.
This pride comes with high standards and further confidence in upholding them. In a flashback, he tells Murasakibara not to walk while eating because it's bad manners, and it comes up that they clash a lot because Midorima wants everything done properly and Murasakibara is too casual. It's likely no surprise that he sets the bar highest in matters of basketball. He doesn't like Hanamiya Makoto and his dirty style of play. He disapproves of their middle school bets to see who could score the most points in a game. He's dismissive of the practice match between Kaijou and Seirin because he feels that kind of dunking match doesn't leave anything to fate; in his opinion, a shot scored from farther away is more worthy. He recognizes Kuroko's strength but thinks less of him for going to Seirin because it isn't a school with a top team. During the height of their Teiko Middle School power, he keeps practicing, even after Akashi tells them they don't need to come to practice if they don't want to. He also expresses displeasure with Murasakibara and Aomine for not showing up. The downside to these standards is that they can result in a haughty attitude as if he is above the lowly people who don't meet them.
Then again, most anyone will seem lowly compared to the higher power on which he relies. His motto is "Man proposes, God disposes." He believes in fate, but nothing is left to chance. Midorima is meticulous and exacting to the point of compulsion. Before the first game with Seirin, he goes over everything he's done to ensure his success. This includes not missing a shot in the previous game, practicing hard during training, taking care of his nails, noting that Cancer's daily horoscope is the best, having the day's lucky item in his possession, and lacing his shoes starting from the right. Another ritual he engages in is taping the fingers of his left hand to keep them in perfect condition for his left-handed shots. He believes that he must do everything possible to prepare and do his best and then fate will take care of the rest. In games, the end result is making seemingly impossible three-point shots from great distances and walking away without watching the ball go in; he's that secure in his preparation and abilities.
The characters who watch each match from the sidelines and comment on the action serve a narrative purpose, but Midorima's powers of observation go beyond that. He is able to read a situation or a person and come to correct conclusions about a potential problem. When their teams end up at the same inn for training camp, in challenging Kagami to a one-on-one, he helps him figure out that he needs to work on other aerial skills besides just jumping high. Talking with Takao afterwards, it's clear that he had a good sense of Kagami's weakness. During the second Shuutoku/Seirin game, while other Shuutoku players are saying that Kuroko's misdirection won't work anymore when he comes out late in the game, Midorima instantly knows that he must have something planned. In a middle school flashback, he recognizes when Aomine has become so strong that it's affecting his enjoyment of the game. However, his ability to read a person doesn't just apply to basketball. Watching Akashi's eyes suddenly go cold during a few conversations, he's the first person to realize the dual nature of their middle school team captain. Of course, while he has a knack for knowing exactly what advice or assistance to offer to a fellow basketball player, he rarely offers it in a straightforward manner.
Even in other situations, Midorima goes to great lengths to hide that he cares. He tells his teammates he isn't coming to the Seirin/Touou game but shows up anyway wearing sunglasses as a disguise and when the game is over makes a point of saying he can't believe he was so bored he watched the entire match. The fact remains that he does care, though. Following this same match, he expresses concern over Kuroko's state of mind after the loss.
His begrudging concern isn't perfect. The more bright and cheerful a person is, the more reluctant he appears to be to engage. After Shuutoku first loses to Seirin, he won't talk to Momoi on the phone, but he does respond to Aomine. Kise sends him a message wishing him good luck before a game, and he responds, "Die". Takao seems to be an exception. They're always together, regardless of Midorima's frustration with his light-hearted attitude and his insistence on calling him Shin-chan.
During the Seirin/Shuutoku rematch, Takao offers a straightforward assessment of how others see Midorima. He says the team members don't particularly like him and "he's always floating alone" while he practices his shots without speaking. Despite the fact that he's an "irritating bastard", they "can't bring [themselves] to hate him." Most importantly, he notices that he's started smiling when they play basketball together.
That isn't all there is to be said about how Midorima relates to Takao, though, and their strange companionship is arguably his most important relationship outside of the Generation of Miracles. A flashback chapter reveals that they both stay after for extra practice, and Takao admits that he started doing it because he lost to him in middle school. However, his thoughts of beating him for revenge have changed to getting him to notice him. That work ethic and determination may be what help him win Midorima over.
Over the course of the series, the largest shift in Midorima's personality and how he relates to others occurs in his attitude toward teamwork. During the flashback chapters to their days at Teiko Middle School, the more skilled and powerful the Generation of Miracles become, the more they fall apart as a team. The end result is a team of super-skilled players with an "every man for himself" attitude. When they step out on to the court, they're only doing what they can to score points by themselves.
In the first game against Seirin, Midorima moves beyond his old attitude and passes the ball instead of taking a shot himself, showing a willingness to rely on his teammates. Another turning point comes in the game against Razukan, when he takes offense at Mibuchi saying that he's the only player who isn't a hindrance. He thinks back to how hard he's worked with Takao and how much the older teammates have put into the game, and he's inspired to keep going in a disheartening situation by his teammates. He and Takao employ a play that relies on Takao's skill at passing and his shooting. It's such an impressive combined effort that it earns them the title of Shuutoku's light and shadow, the ultimate sign of his willingness to rely on someone besides himself during a game.
Takao isn't the only person to notice the change in Midorima. While watching the game together, Momoi comments on it, and Kise says that "he made us change", referring to Kuroko. He is yet another person who finally understands Kuroko's style of basketball and realizes it's not weak to rely on others.
Unfortunately, the shift isn't enough to keep him from one more negative change. Losing is a new experience that is far from enjoyable. After the first loss, Aomine says he sounds depressed. After the second loss, Midorima cries and says it's frustrating. But there are no signs that he intends to give up or regress back to old ways. Between the first and second games, his teamwork increases, and one of the final panels of the series shows a photograph of the Generation of Miracles gathered for a social game of basketball. It seems likely that he will only grow to new heights of playing cooperatively and enjoying basketball – an approach Kuroko would appreciate.
_ITEMS: He'll be wearing his basketball uniform and warm-ups and carrying his bag with a change of clothes (his school uniform), a roll of athletic tape for his fingers, and his lucky item from his last day at home (which I will say was a teapot)
WRITING SAMPLES
_GEN SAMPLE: TDM post with gen and network threads
_SMUT SAMPLE: meme thread - full thread if you want context or where the smut starts
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MY CHARACTER IS THE FOLLOWING:
_SENTIENT: yes
_MENTALLY ADULT: yes
_CAPABLE OF CONSENT: yes
_CAPABLE OF SEXUAL AROUSAL: yes
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