Since like… 2013 I think?? I forgot when I started watching Railgun. It was when Railgun S was already airing. My friend had actually recommended the anime to me before that, but I told her it didn’t interest me.
Fun fact, that was probably me denying anything gay. Not that Railgun is specifically gay but it’s pretty not straight okay.
2. whether or not they’ve ever made me cry
Yeah from sheer frustration at all the stupidity she goes through lol. It’s been how many volumes and Mikoto still doesn’t understand magic and the stuff Touma goes through? It’s been how many volumes since Mikoto has worn actual clothes??? KAMACHI PLEASE HAVE MIKOTO AND MISAKI CHANGE INTO ACTUAL CLOTHES THEY ARE IN LONDON IN THE DEAD OF WINTER CAN YOU PLEASE-
3. whether or not i have any merchandise/objects with them
Okay so besides her nendo (where I’ve had her trade outfits with Saber lol), I also have this super cool clearfile celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Railgun manga:
That is definitely Mikoto with her “gal pal” Kuroko. Yep. Totally just gal pals.
4. what about their personality i like
SHE’S SUPER COOL. Besides her tsundereness for Touma, I don’t think there’s any part of her that I don’t like. She’s a tomboy who wears shorts under her skirt (though part of the reason is because she wears kinda childish underwear and she’s a bit embarrassed about that). She kicks ass and has a strong sense of justice. She’s fourteen.
5. what about their backstory makes me emotional
She was barely eight years old when the researchers in Academy City scammed her of her DNA map and made military clones of her. And when they realized they couldn’t clone her potential to reach level 5, they reallocated the clones to a different experiment where they were basically mass murdered for research.
Mikoto doesn’t find out about this until later, but it just really gets me because at the time this literal child just wanted to help other people (suffering from neurological damages like Muscular Dystrophy) but she basically gave the evil people the key to do all their future evil deeds. She didn’t know but it still haunts her to this day.
My poor child.
6. the moment of theirs that made me the saddest
When she was about to give up her own life to stop the Level 6 experiment by letting Accelerator kill her. I hate Touma being a big damn hero, but at that time I was glad for his deus ex machina. Cus otherwise Mikoto would have died for nothing because like the idiot said, “No one would be happy in the end.”
Especially after seeing her side of the Sister’s Arc, we know how hard she tried. In Index it was just Touma meeting Mikoto and stopping her from committing suicide. But in Railgun we see all the shit Mikoto went through- and then all for nothing because she can’t stop it on her own. The fact that this child who was used to being OP (as the third Level 5), did her absolute best, and couldn’t change anything just broke my heart.
I was never a fan of my favorite characters crying, but god did this girl go through hell. I came so damn close to crying.
Nothing tops Euphemia’s death from Code Geass though.
7. the moment of theirs that made me the happiest
ALL OF THEM DON’T MAKE ME PICK. ANY TIME SHE COMES ON THE SCREEN I’M SCREAMING.
I guess just the fact that this girl is so popular that she has her own spinoff series that is equally as popular as the main series.
8. something about them that made me laugh
She’s always calling Touma an idiot and not understanding why he doesn’t ask for help more when she DOES THE EXACT SAME THING HAHAHAHA. SHE’S ALSO A BIG DAMN HERO ALSDKJFDSKLFJ. The irony is funny.
9. my favorite canon outfit of theirs
Hm. This is a tie between her winter school uniform:
Her “infiltration” outfit during Railgun’s Sister Arc:
And her rebooted “infiltration” outfit during the Dream Ranker Arc:
Sorry but I’m not a fan of her summer uniform.
10. my favorite moment with them in canon
I CAN’T PICK. Honestly any moment when her opponents underestimate her because they don’t realize she’s the third Level 5. If I had to pick, I guess maybe during the Dream Ranker Arc when she’s fighting against Seike? Her hat gets knocked off and once recognizing her, Seike stares at Mikoto with an “oh we fucked up” face and gets electrocuted XD
11. my favorite relationship they have with another character
With Kuroko: Kuroko is Mikoto’s OG partner until she started getting involved in things that she’d rather Kuroko not get involved in. But they still work together, like the current Jailbreaker arc where they’re both bleeding and injured wow. They also both have a strong sense of justice, so they’re the perfect crime fighting duo. Even though Kuroko keeps insisting that Mikoto is just a civilian XD
Ngl though… Kuroko is really weird. But only when she’s around Mikoto. She’s actually very level headed and practical when Mikoto isn’t in the vicinity.
With Misaki: Surprisingly they work together; once they’ve gotten past their mutual animosity toward each other. They’ve cooperated together in Railgun first during the Daihasei (a shaky start), a little better during the Dream Ranker Arc, then also analyzing the AAA to break through the Windowless Building in NT19 (or something; I forget). As Junko says, they make the perfect infiltrating duo because Mikoto can hack while Misaki alters human memories.
Misaki hasn’t had a lot of anime screentime yet so no good gifs of her with Mikoto orz
12. what i like about the way the fandom portrays them
Well, she’s certainly well liked so she has a lot of content (canon and fanworks).
13. what i dont like about the way the fandom portrays them
I… don’t feel like fanfics illustrate her full badassery? Idk just my thought. Not that there are very many Toaru fics aside from shipping her with Touma in the first place.
14. what i liked about the way canon portrayed them
Again, she’s popular so she’s relevant even in the Index side of things. And I’m glad the Railgun side story exists to really give Mikoto a chance to shine (without the presence of a certain misfortunate idiot). Also having Mikoto interact with people not Touma.
Her character’s also very complex. It’s often easy to forget that she’s only fourteen and allowed her flaws. But she’s certainly the type that I look for in fictional characters (the talented aces who seem like high class unapproachable ojou-samas but they’re actual stupidly quirky, altruistic, and possesses a strong sense of justice).
15. what i dont like about the way canon portrayed them
I hate how the only way for Mikoto to be relevant in the Index side is if she’s tsundere-ing over Touma. I guess I can only find decent Mikoto characterization in her side story…
The Camera Loves You but that's just a step above EVERYTHING ELSE YOU'VE WRITTEN because I love EVERYTHING YOU WRITE.
:D! Thanks!
What I always learn about the “Which of my stories do you like?” question is that the stories that are the most technically impressive in terms of what they attempt to convey, the themes explored, the narrative pace and tight structuring etc are NEVER the most popular stories. The stories I found the most difficult to write and that I’m most proud of are never the ones people love XD
Like, my favourite Tomb Raider (short) story is 10 Things I Hate About You. It’s a clever narrative idea with converging themes and little stories that knit together for a bigger one. It was hard to write, and I really like what it achieved. BUT NO ONE CARES ABOUT IT WHYYYYY
My most popular stories are the stories that are full of tropes, fluff and sexual tension. Readers like a nice be heaping of feels at about the 2/3rds point, too.
1-15. Tender Mayo. 😘 I gave in. I wanna hear tots.
LOL
1. how long have i known about them
Less than a year. I honestly forgot how I even started watching RS. Maybe when I kept seeing MayaKuro fan art.
2. whether or not they’ve ever made me cry
Groan in embarrassment, yes. Cry? Nah.
3. whether or not i have any merchandise/objects with them
A very dear Mika actually shipped me some RS merch: a Claudine keychain, a Maya keychain, a Claudine sticker, and a Maya sticker. Unfortunately, they’re all at my other house.
4. what about their personality i like
She’s commonly associated with the sin of pride, but she’s not arrogant. She’s aware that she can always improve in some way, and admires those who put in the effort to take on difficult challenges. But she doesn’t compare herself to others either, just noting how she herself can improve. And as someone who can’t help but compare myself to others very often, I find that pretty admirable.
Though this is her anime counterpart. Her stageplay version is... both more prideful and ruthless.
5. what about their backstory makes me emotional
Apparently she was bullied a lot because of her talent. Wtf. I mean teenagers and kids tend to do that, but damn.
OVA 2 gives us: thumb tacks in her shoes, stealing her costumes, and straight up ignoring her (she raises her voice for this last one, so I’m assuming she’s the most upset at this LOL)
Nana even points out that Maya may stand at the center of the stage, but she seems rather lonely.
It’s okay Maya. Now you have 8 other idiots who will continuously give you a run for your money for the lead role XD
6. the moment of theirs that made me the saddest
This isn’t necessarily a sad thing, but sometimes I wonder how Maya felt the moment Karen’s sword cut through her rope. We know when Nana beats her during the loops that she’s shocked. But Maya’s back is toward the audience when Hikari and Karen win. Then the next time we see Maya it’s when she’s comforting Claudine who can’t believe that Maya lost.
So disregarding how she felt toward Claudine, what was Maya thinking at that moment?
7. the moment of theirs that made me the happiest
When she reached out to Kaoruko to leave a few last words before Kaoruko left Seisho (from fighting with Futaba). Maya’s a lone wolf and most of her moments are with Claudine, but then we get these rare instances where she interacts with the other characters and we see she cares about them too. It’s interesting how she thinks of Kaoruko, since it’s obvious she seems some similarities with the Hanayagi heiress. Maya and Kaoruko as a brotp are underrated.
I guess this makes me happy because Maya can have an interaction outside of Claudine.
8. something about them that made me laugh
Every new little detail we’re given of her keeps adding to the fact that this stoic prodigy... is actually a dumbass.
I will never forget “This is potato.” AND SHE SAYS IT WITH SUCH A STRAIGHT FACE.
9. my favorite canon outfit of theirs
Either her Revue outfit (the girls’ skirts are short but damn do they look mighty fine):
Or two of her casual outfits from Re Live:
10. my favorite moment with them in canon
When Mahiru chases Karen around during their Revue and interrupt everyone’s fights and Maya gives this face with Futaba:
Wow it’s not a MayaKuro moment?!
11. my favorite relationship they have with another character
Clau- NOPE. Nana. Nana is the only one of anyone who calls Maya by her first name with a term of endearment. Everyone else calls her “Tendou-san” though Claudine is an outlier who either calls Maya by her full name or some kind of annoyed insult in the anime.
I’m convinced that Maya just let Nana have that privilege because Nana is always making food and at this point we all know how weak Maya is for Nana’s food.
MayaKuro is still my OTP for RS but in terms of brotp (this question doesn’t specify what kind of relationship lmao) I’d say I like what we have with Nana and Maya.
12. what i like about the way the fandom portrays them
Ikemen Maya is good civilization.
13. what i dont like about the way the fandom portrays them
TOO MUCH EMPHASIS ON QUIRKS, NOT ENOUGH ON FLAWS. Though I guess that’s just how most fluff fics (oneshots really) work. And the RS section on AO3 is dead. Fan art doesn’t let me down quite as much.
14. what i liked about the way canon portrayed them
She’s beauty, she’s grace, she’s got everything. Talent, determination, rivalry, skill, responsibility- all of that makes up Tendou Maya. She’s got a few quirks too. Definitely my type.
But we don’t really know much about Maya beyond that. What of her family? How does she cope with this burden and her rather poor socialization experience? So the viewers tend to extrapolate and infer a bit.
There was this general agreement early on that Maya’s parents had dropped this responsibility to be a perfect Tendou on her and therefore Maya had to live with this hardship and suffers from a lack of good familial bonds. I also wrote Maya’s parents to be rather assholes when I first thought of fic ideas for RS.
But as we get more info on her, I think I started to realize that... Maya probably took this responsibility upon herself. She probably saw how perfect her parents were and wanted to be just like them. She says the stage is where she belongs, the only place she belongs, but is that because someone forced her there or is she confining herself? I think it’s more the latter. And that’s a whole ‘nother issue that I wish more fics would address.
15. what i dont like about the way canon portrayed them
Everything that I just said is mostly extrapolation and inference based on what little info we have. The most we get from the anime is that she’s seemingly perfect but has been defeated by Nana (then Hikari and Karen). But that’s more emphasizing the skill of those three rather than Maya’s weaknesses besides the obvious themes of overcoming the Top Star and Takarazuka system.
Basically, I would’ve liked to see more consequences of Maya’s flaws. And maybe finding out that she’s lost to Nana numerous of times. Some people assume Nana tells everyone about her repeats, but I honestly think only Junna knows. What’s the point of telling the others anyway?
In the end, Maya still thinks she only lost the lead role to Hikari this once. But she doesn’t know that she’s lost the Top Star position to Nana so many times that no one could keep count.
I just want Maya to get a rude awakening that “yeah, you’re not so great”
Now that I think about it, of my four main favs right now, only Mikoto has been given the chance to have her flaws bite her in the ass. Maya, Diana, and Rin still retain this image of perfection. They’re still whole, though cracked, while Mikoto has been broken and reshaped a few times already.
See the bad thing about liking a popular character is that there’s too many GIFs to go through now and most of them are shit.
1. how long have i known about them
Since... 2014. Though I didn’t watch Frozen until a year or so after it came out. It was just impossible to avoid seeing her everywhere.
2. whether or not they’ve ever made me cry
Uh... nope.
3. whether or not i have any merchandise/objects with them
Quite a bit actually. I have a (bootleg) Elsa nendo, a big Elsa Pop Figure in her coronation dress, a smaller Elsa Pop in her ice dress, This colorbook image my friend colored and gave to me, a friggin Elsa and Anna bath towel that my old apartmentmate gave me as a Christmas present, and probably other stuff that I can’t remember.
4. what about their personality i like
She genuinely wants to be a good monarch and will do her best for her people. She’s so good even with all of her crippling issues.
5. what about their backstory makes me emotional
The fact that she genuinely felt so bad for hurting Anna that she agreed to the isolation.
6. the moment of theirs that made me the saddest
Every. Single. Time. She freaks out. Poor baby please give her a hug.
7. the moment of theirs that made me the happiest
When she thaws everything at the end of Frozen after Anna comes back to life and she’s looking at her sister with so much happiness and waiting for that big giant hug like yes child you deserve happiness.
8. something about them that made me laugh
I like how she makes some funny faces, especially after all the crap she’s gone through in the first movie and she loosens up.
9. my favorite canon outfit of theirs
If we combine her braid with her coronation outfit it will be A+. But her new outfit in the sequel seems nice.
Cuz yeah, pants.
10. my favorite moment with them in canon
When she fights off the Weselton guards in her ice castle :] She’s scared but she’s badass. Yee.
11. my favorite relationship they have with another character
I guess Anna. There’s a lot of potential for them to rebuild their relationship after thirteen years estranged. Sometimes I forget that they’re younger than me.
And also whatever behind the scenes interaction she has with Kristoff seems interesting. They’re certainly bros after the first movie if Anna’s birthday short was any indication.
12. what i like about the way the fandom portrays them
Cool and capable Elsa is good civilization.
13. what i dont like about the way the fandom portrays them
Let us stop with all the g!ps. Never bring that back please.
14. what i liked about the way canon portrayed them
She’s a very complex character who is obviously crippled by depression and anxiety but is still a very strong and capable woman. The emphasis on her love of family is good.
Honestly, this woman has so many emotions at such a strong level. She’s got so much love for her sister, so much love for her people, but the fear overpowers even that which causes her powers to go haywire. Elsa’s emotional state is really like an avalanche. Not so much that it’s unstable, but that it’s just so potent.
15. what i dont like about the way canon portrayed them
Idk I’m honestly alright with her characterization. But Frozen got so popular that I got really sick of her ice dress.
Also, I am aware that Anna is the main character but Elsa gets most of the publicity. Poor Anna.
I was resisting because I was thinking maybe someone else would like to ask it. BUT THEY SNOOZED AND I WIN. Saving the best for last. Diana Cavendish. 1-15. 😘😘😘
Oh Mika. You poor soul. As much as I’d love to answer this, I don’t feel like doing it twice XD
