...? Haha!
Story notes for "My cousin's a kirin...?" · 8:41pm Jan 9th, 2020
This blog post is story notes for my one-shot "My cousin's a kirin...?" If you haven't checked it out yet, what're you doing here for!? Click the link below! 
The idea for the story came up when I noticed that many members of the apple family are named after apple varieties, such as Granny Smith, Goldie Delicious, and Big Macintosh. However, there is no Apple family member named after the wildly popular Fuji apple. Since "Fuji" is a rather East Asian-sounding name, I came up with the idea that they might be a kirin, since kirin originate from East Asian mythology.
Fuji apples were first grown in the snow country of Japan (Aomori Prefecture). The region is known for its heavy snowfalls and warm summers, ideal for growing apples. The snow becomes so deep that roads do become canyons, as seen here:
Image credit: https://www.boredpanda.com/aomori-japan-snow-wall
"Yukiguni" is Japanese for "snow country." This is where I derived the name "Yukiguni Mountains" from. As a weather nerd, the mechanism for the heavy snowfall (over 300 inches per year) in this part of Japan is absolutely fascinating. Despite temperatures well above freezing in the winter, snowfall levels are more than most American ski towns. The combination of the warm Sea of Japan and cold Siberian air creates a "lake effect" that lasts all winter long.
Natto (mispronounced by Applejack as "neigh-to" in the story) is a popular Japanese breakfast dish made of fermented soybeans. It is very slimy and is known for its strong smell. It is very rich in protein and vitamins, as Autumn Blaze mentioned.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natt%C5%8D
But why make it into a weird marriage proposal prank by Rainbow Dash? Because I was kind of stumped on how to make a satisfying ending for the story. I dunno. Don't ask me why I decided on that plot twist. If you didn't like it, I understand.
