THUNDER NOISE

🌹: Who fell harder & who fell first?

Snakemaaaaan. I think it was very much a big "love at first sight" moment to a comical degree. He just saw Toadman and his perfect-ness and thought "Oh my god, I love him."

But Toadman is quick to call him out on that shit. Toad is very much of the stance of "Dude, you don't even know me. You can't say you love me, you don't even know what that means, do you?"

I like the journey of their relationship a lot, because Snakeman comes in waaaaaay too hot and idealistic. Toadman is a realist and he's not going to settle for some swooning idiot who doesn't know anything about him just claim that he loves him or that they should be together. Toadman wants to be seen, truly seen, in a relationship. Which means that Snakeman has to really learn about Toad, spend time with him, properly romance him, do all the things that make him feel heard and pampered. I think the one-sidedness of it is very endearing and the way it eventually blooms to be reciprocal is very cute!

🌸: What nickname do they have for each other that would mortify them if others heard?

Snake is deeply honored by any petname that Toad gives him. He has not one ounce of shame in his entire frame. You cannot make him feel bad about any nickname he gets because his precious Toadie gave it to him and that means the entire world.

Meanwhile, Toadman really hated "Toadie" for a bit. It made him think of toady, like a sycophant. Which is nuts, coming from Snake, who comes off as really sycophantic towards Toad! But eventually Toad realized that no, Snake isn't trying to flatter, he genuinely means every word of praise he says, and that he just thinks it sounds cute. Toad comes around to Snake calling him that in due time.

(if u dont ship that then erm. other iron leaguer ship maybe)

Oh yes, absolutely! I love Magnum and Arm, fuck yes!

31: What can be considered the worst thing they have done to each other?

In Arm's opinion, the worst thing Magnum has ever done was leave.

For years, she thought Frontier abandoned Dark Prince without a word on purpose. She found her own meaning in this where he could not provide any: obviously, he never cared about me, he never cared about his team, and his ideals were a bunch of sanctimonious shit that never held water. A lot of who she became after he left was started with the bitter rage and grief she felt in losing him and what she thought that meant.

Of course, like, it helped a lot to learn that none of that was true. Magnum leaving was not his choice at all. He cared so much about everyone. His values in regards to fair play were ones that he was willing to die for. It helps the wound, but there's still that stain on her heart. She carries the emotional pain even if she knows now that the stories she concocted weren't ultimately rooted in reality. And she thinks back with a bit of regret on how cruel that heartache made her.

But at the same time, she fully recognizes that "Damn, he really didn't mean to just up and disappear. Fucked, innit?"

Meanwhile, Magnum, being ever the optimist who always will look for the best in his fellow robot (and doubly moreso for a lover)... Magnum I think is like "Oh, there is no worst thing she's done, every relationship has its ups and downs, and everything she ever did, she did to make sense of the moment in time that she was in".

Me, as a bystander, will say I loooooooove making their reunion more messy than it was in the canon. Like of course, it is inherently interesting that Gold Arm is so willing and ready to accept the truth about Magnum Ace/Silver Frontier as soon as she connects the dots and puts it together. I think that speaks a lot to her character. BUT SOMETIIIIIIMES I LIKE A LITTLE MELODRAMAAAAAAAAA TOOOOOOOOOO so I like reimagining the immediately-pre-Forced-Retirement-Arc conversation going a lot differently. I want Arm to demand more of an explanation out of Magnum. I want her to throw things and yell and scream and accuse him of things. I want Magnum to have to defend himself, but also want to comfort her because yeeeaaaah it's a lot to throw at somebody that your ex didn't just ditch you but got drafted into a secret intergalactic war.

But when I do stuff like that, uh, obviously the worst things Gold Arm did in the relationship are shit like "throwing objects at Magnum and not in a sports way" and "probably trying to slap or claw his face".