Pharaoh ❝gg ez❞ Atem (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
puzzlekeeper) wrote2019-06-22 08:25 pm
puzzlekeeper) wrote2019-06-22 08:25 pm
Question Meme v. 2
10,000 COMMENTS MEANS I'VE RPed TOO MUCH so u know why not talk about that
Ask me questions, I respond and then ask you a question, etc etc we know how the tradition goes
Ask me questions, I respond and then ask you a question, etc etc we know how the tradition goes
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So basically from the beginning (whiiich was I think Maki's late night fever Dissonance post?), King has liked Maki and appreciated her frankness and was never like, turned off by any of these things that she was usually pretty open about being drawbacks of her character/personality. BUT they were always trapped in like, "distantly pleasant but not very personally invested" land, so he also he a very specific view of her back then. One that wasn't super accurate. As she kind of told him a few times!
And honestly he was pretty chill with this? Wedding game was cute and fun and he liked that she was a good sport about it, but he put no real stock in it beyond a cute wife joke every now and then, that kind of thing. He liked Maki and didn't feel like he NEEDED anything more from their relationship, even if he wouldn't have been OPPOSED to it - which is why a loooong while back he offered to lend and ear if she ever needed it, but didn't actually like. Push.
SO ANYWAY SMASHCUT TO MAKI'S LIVE. King sort of hung back initially and observed how people reacted and talked to a few people before finally hunting her down, which I think helped him cool off and gather some perspective. And even though they weren't actually confidants at that point, he felt obligated to talk to her because he felt like he was in a unique position to understand her: his team also failed to protect FIN in that game, even though he wanted to, and then FIN died and he was distressed about it, and they both have the same investment on FIN (obviously). So he was just like "many of these people have valid points but I also suspect they just don't quite get what happened here."
Which is why his approach to her was just like... HEY... YOU GOOD? And he was prepared to be rebuffed or sent away, but she responded well to that approach, and admitted right away that the Live was a bad idea that she regretted, and I think that was the turning point for King in some ways. 1. kind of shifting his perception of her in the sense that it was the first time he REALLY saw some of her character flaws and was actually bothered by them, but 2. where she seemed to open up a little and trust him. King doesn't trust THAT openly or easily, but showing him that kind of vulnerability is an easy way to fast track yourself there.
So yes, despite her Live being bad and dumb and upsetting him in general, their relationship definitely came away better for it, and then naturally King was invested by that point and wanted to help her with the fallout however he could, even if that meant rebound makeouts or whatever! The rebound makeouts were a surprise but he was willing to fall on that sword if that's what Maki needed to not meltdown at the time. He literally just did not read anything more into it than that.
(And kind of as a sidenote about the event that precipitated Maki even wanting to makeout with him to begin with - he has a pretty bad knee-jerk phobia of falling thanks to falling forever through the abyss in The Hunger Games [thank u Intensity], and he's been actively trying to exposure therapy himself into not caring about it anymore because he hates it. So far he's only done this twice: once by leaping off of Intensity's dragon to confirm his trust that Intensity would catch him no matter what, and then again when he trusted Maki to catch him when they leapt off a building. NO ONE HAS THE INFORMATION TO KNOW THIS but that was a very big show of trust for him and she paid it off and nothing bad happened! And he actually had fun! So he relieved/adrenaline junky laughed about it and I guess she found that hot. Good job Maki.)
BUT THEN, OBVIOUSLY, they went on their couch adventure and casually talked about knifeplay (even if he flustered) and then she kissed him again and informed him it was not just because she's using him as a stand-in for Intensity, which YES WAS A SURPRISE TO HIM. Which is why he was stupid about it! And the thing is, he's known Maki for a long time even if they weren't this close until recently, and he knows she's very important to Intensity, so she's always had some importance to him. It's just that now that importance is much more personal and invested, and he frankly would have turned her down if not for that. Because he doesn't really do... totally casual without a lot of personal feelings/investment, because he doesn't find it interesting/fulfilling/worthwhile otherwise. So Maki said it wasn't some official or romantic thing - which he's fine with - but he doesn't consider it utterly devoid of feelings either. Because obviously... there are some feelings there.
So NOW King is mostly just trying to do what he can for Maki when he can - and appreciating that she lets him, nowadays - and occasionally finding himself taken aback when it's reciprocated. Like after the castle game. He honestly didn't expect... anything, really, and half thought he'd just hang out at the park for a while or something, but Maki was VERY firm about bringing him home (even if it meant causing friction between her and her unit! Which he knows is a trauma button for her! Maki!!!!!!) and just went out of her way to make herself available for him for as long as he needed. And it meant a lot to him. A lot a lot. Maybe more than she realizes.
So yeah.
Loev Maki, die for Maki, kill for Maki
this is long and i'm not proof reading it, sorry
REVERSE ME!!!!!!!!
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However! King had done 1) very first conversation, and obviously after her live did 2). Which means she did open up to him! She was extremely low at the time due to the collection of things that lead up to her doing her live, and having Intensity (among... many others) be angry at her and losing his support left her feeling extremely both distressed and alone, so even King just offering to spend some time with her was really important to her. But he also talked through things with her and asked her about her plans, and most importantly when she told him her future house pipe dream and jokingly said he could join, he both made her be honest about how serious an offer it was (not... serious in the sense that this is a thing she actually expected to happen, but serious in the sense that if it did she would genuinely want him there because she likes him) and said he might actually accept the offer. This was really important to her, because it didn't actually have to be serious at all, and so it meant something to her for him to respond that seriously. So he became abruptly way more emotionally important to her after that thread.
Then the very next day she went to talk to him about her talk with Intensity, and he was willing to help her then too. And that's when they jumped off the balcony together. Which again was really important to her, because even if she didn't know anywhere near all the details of it she could tell he was uneasy about it, but he still trusted her with his life. AS AN ASSASSIN THAT'S SUPER MEANINGFUL FOR HER.
And then yeah he adrenaline-junkie laughed after they landed while still holding her hand, and between that and the trust of jumping with her in the first place it was in fact really hot. So then suddenly he was both emotionally important to her and attractive??
So then when they talked and she told him she appreciated everything and he looked surprised, she was still feeling all that, and she really wanted to show that to him, and she had no emotional capacity left for restraint, so she just kissed him. WHICH WENT A LOT BETTER THAN SHE EXPECTED not that she really expected anything. She came away from that knowing 1) maybe King's actually slightly insecure about some things?? 2) King's hot and fun to kiss.
Which is why their conversation about not being an Intensity stand-in went as smoothly at it did. Knowing he was likely to doubt himself she made herself very clear that she liked him! But while Maki also doesn't do totally casual things well, after the last few days she was also pretty confident that they actually had a solid emotional relationship, so she didn't feel like she needed any more assurance on that.So there's no real reason for it to be "dating" or anything. This is her new policy based on the fact that dating has gone badly and not-dating is fine since she knows Intensity cares.
And it appears to be working out with King also?? He's very suddenly become important to her. She can trust him with things like revenge murder plots, she can spend time with him and it's fun, and she feels like he cares about her feelings.
And then the castle game, and King saying he had nowhere to go, and Intensity had already denied to Maki's face that he'd been worried about HSS, so Maki was mad at him and assumed he'd probably deny it to King's face too. So...! There are some points at which Maki draws a hard line on doing what she wants, and she wanted to bring King with her, and she really would have just dealt with whatever ZRAEL had to say about it because no objection they could have to her just cuddling him in her room could possibly be reason enough to leave him with nowhere to go. So apparently this is a thing they do now.
Then there's the fact that Intensity stood them up, though. SHE'S STILL... HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH INTENSITY ABOUT KING, WHICH CONTINUES TO BE VERY ROCKY. So we'll see... how that goes. Intensity appears to be upset King is important to her, and not only does Maki not really understand why, she knows that's not something that's going to change, at this point. Why can't Intensity just acknowledge feelings and be with both of them??? (Because he's like that, she knows that, she is just genuinely not sure how to deal with that in these circumstances.)
What are King's general ZRAEL feelings at this point?
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ON A SCALE FROM TRUSTS MOST TO TRUSTS LEAST:
1. HSS - obviously
2. Pep - obviously
3. FIN - THEY USED TO BE A LOOOOOT LOWER DOWN AND THEN Y'ALL KEPT THROWING YOUR NECKS ON THE LINE and King is honestly, flabbergasted and dying and waiting for the other shoe to drop. But here we are.
4. AlcheME - C is a gremlin but King considers him mostly harmless/maybe stealth well-meaning and the rest of AlcheME are good kids. Does not expect bad shit to come from AlcheME ever, except annoying prank lives.
5. Lilis - Mars stans hard for them and Mars doesn't fucking trust ANYONE, also they just seem like good kids who need a hug...? Harmless. Probably would not hurt HSS.
6. avante - Nemesis probably wouldn't let them stab HSS in the back? They might not necessarily want to anyway? He's not sure but he's definitely pikachu face if they did
6. BE=DE - Trial bros get them but would also bus them as necessary, which is fine because HSS also sometimes busses them as necessary, so y'know...
7. Zrael - he really likes half of Zrael now but if Maki/Req weren't around that day he does fully expect Zrael would kill them without batting an eye lol
8.-.9 TRR/WC - they're about even because he has no real connections to those teams, so it's just like. Shrugs. He doesn't DIStrust them, he just doesn't trust them, because he hasn't seen a reason to yet.
10. sensitIV - UNZIPPING....... BAD
11. Baritones - fuck u
HOW IS ANGEL DOING NOW THAT RED GRADUATED....??
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KING LOVES HURRICANE.... A LOT. BUT ALSO, DOES NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH HURRICANE. Because King talks about feelings as a sign of trust and the fastest way to make Hurricane clam up and shut off trust forever is................. talking about feelings. WEEMP WOMP
He's figured that out by now, at least, so he tries to avoid pressing Hurricane in any of those areas unless he finds it ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to do so (like the last team meeting). But it does mean he feels an emotional distance with Hurricane because that key area of bonding isn't there - it's how he got so close to Hiryuu/D.Va the way he did. And this far along he's kind of resigned himself to the fact that there may be no getting around that, and - has come to terms with it? It's fine as long as both he and Hurricane are comfortable and can be friends either way. It doesn't change how much he cares for Hurricane, and he was 100% not fucking around when he said he'd go to the Casino himself and murder Lilith if she kept him too long, but it does limit how much of himself he feels comfortable giving to Hurricane emotionally when he knows not to expect reciprocation.
So he just tries to stick with the silly/dumb stuff that he knows Hurricane likes, like plotting to bake a "thanks for not getting placed on another team" cake or doing a motorcycle race or what have you. And should really hit him up to do MORE of that stuff, and the only reason he doesn't is because a lot of the fun he has is when he's furious/upset and blowing off steam, which is when he least wants to subject Hurricane to himself, because see above: feelings.
Also from a morality standpoints he knows/fully believes Hurricane is a MUCH better person than him by every metric, and is very conscious of it any time they have to make hard choices. So while Hurricane's stances can sometimes lead to conflict/frustration, at his core King admires him for his ideals even if he knows he's picked the low road for himself. And respects him for it.
BUT HOW DOES HE MAKE YOU HAPPY AND COMFORTABLE, HURRICANE?!?! He doesn't know. Maybe he's not good enough to be the person to figure that out. Fishhands.
Reverse me!!!!
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He has a lot of respect for him. He is smart, and put-together, and brave, and he somehow always seems to know what he's doing? He has a lot of traits that Hurricane appreciates. He wishes he could be more like King, tbh, especially in games, where he strongly believes that King is their backbone.
They're friends, in Hurricane's book, but he would agree that they're not especially close emotionally. Lately, it feels like the only time they see each other is in games and during team meetings that make Hurricane want to crawl under a rock and never come out again. He honestly feels like he has let King down a little on both of those fronts, and the fastest way to get Hurricane to draw into himself is to have him feel like he has let someone down in some way.
He wishes they COULD do more fun things, like dumb motorcycle races, and make that cake for Dva. He still wants to learn hieroglyphics so he can write a dumb sign for his wall. He wants those things a lot. But lately it seems like it's one awful thing after the next, and the only time he sees King is when they are putting out fires from all those awful things.
Answering the bonus question that was touched on but not specifically asked: the very best way to get Hurricane to open up is to share the type of thing you want him to be open with, without any pressure to respond in kind. Then the next time he has a problem similar to the thing that you told him about, he is infinitely more likely to go, "Oh, this person talked to me about xyz problem. It's probably okay to go to them about this problem I'm having." Example: Mori came to him and cried on him about romance problems, once. If Hurricane had a romance problem after that, he absolutely would have gone to Mori with it, because Mori is safe for that, now.
He is extremely self-conscious about letting people down or not being good enough/strong enough/brave enough/smart enough. So in a way, a lot of it is, "If this person worries about this kind of thing, too, they probably won't think less of me if I admit to it." He doesn't parse it in his head exactly like that; it's not that clear-cut. But that's what it boils down to, essentially. This logic has burned him before, pretty hard, but he still tends to veer in that direction.
The other problem he has with emotional honesty is that he frankly doesn't want to talk about bad shit all the time, because they LIVE bad shit all the time. He wants to have times when he doesn't have to deal with that. He hates dealing with that. Why would he invite more of it into his life? But depending on his mood and the circumstances, that can be overcome if the first part is in place.
What is King's dream for HSS as a team?
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King loves and trusts Cobalt so much, but it's like - almost such an understated thing. If you asked him when it started he'd obviously say when they were in Dangerbear together (which feels like centuries ago now), but at the same time he feels like it also snuck up on him in some ways. He's just such a constant, stable, reliable presence that he manages to stealth grab you and not let go.
King kind of realized it in the social bingo game when Cobalt very calmly/trustingly/casually(?) mentioned he's afraid of the dark as his secret. And King was like... oh. And just blurted out that he is too.
FOR THE RECORD HE HAS NOT TOLD A SOUL THAT. NOT EVEN YUGI!!!!!!!
But it just felt so natural to tell Cobalt, because he trusts Cobalt that much, because he cannot imagine a world where Cobalt betrays that trust. And then Cobalt just like... goes on step further and is like "by the way here's a lantern off my own belt that you can carry with you in case you end up in the dark!" after King had like, lol fuckin 500 pretty awful suddenly-in-the-dark experiences in a short period of time.
AND THAT JUST LIKE SUMS UP HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH COBALT DOESN'T IT? Cobalt has just been unfailingly good to him in quiet and unexpected ways, and sometimes he really doesn't feel like he does enough to communicate OR reciprocate that.
It's also why, in castle endgame - when King was super fucked up mentally, emotionally, AND physically, and absolutely FURIOUS with pep in the heat of the moment - he still managed to swallow it back because there was the voice in the back of his head that said "this would be cruel to Cobalt and would do Cobalt dirty and we'd literally rather die." So he was like. No, I'm not talking to you right now. That's why. LITERALLY RATHER DIE THAN BE CRUEL TO COBALT.
And when he stopped by later he mostly felt guilty/tired/apologetic, and everything he told Cobalt was the truth (he understands Pep's position / he knows why they did it and it makes sense to him / it's not his place to tell them how to play and he'll just have to respect their right to choose) and also kind of a sign of how much he respects Cobalt, because it would have been a lot easier to dig into his anger and hurt and just be like "fuck you, don't play in a way that hurts my important person." But he just... can't do that with Cobalt. So.
(That said he is VERY hurt and upset/angry by Pep's play method, irrationally and selfishly, but isn't going to voice that to any of them because points above.)
tl;dr he loves you. He owes you a beer or something probably?
REVERSE ME!!!
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if yugi, update b/c u did him once b4no subject
So... D.Va's arrival was obviously unfortunate in a lot of ways, timing-wise, since King was double amnesiac and didn't really understand shit and could not approach a new teammate the way he would have wanted to (ie, informative and helpful). So he just got competitive and played video games with her, obviously!
But that might now have happened quite the way it did if he DID have his memories and was taking things much more solemnly/seriously, so it was sort of an early bit of bonding/"same hat" that they might not have gotten right out the door otherwise. AND the fact that he was amnesiac at the time means her arrival wasn't overshadowed by Mori's departure for him, nor does he associate her arrival with Mori being taken away. Which is also fortunate.
And then he got his memory back and felt like he could "re-meet" her properly, which he did by.... immediately seeing a memory of her dying, impulse buying a motorcycle to do suicidally dangerous shit with her to make her feel better, nearly die, and then lay in a subway tunnel bonding about death. And like... idk man but that's A Lot. You probably don't walk away from an experience that formative with just a casual relationship with someone? She definitely shot way up in trust that day alone.
But it's one thing to just consider her a confidant/someone similar to him with some shared views and experiences, and another for her to consistently be there for him - which she has been. She's gone above and beyond for him in so many ways, probably more than most other people, even? In ways big and small. Any time he stumbles it seems like she's immediately there, or when he's stressed she can tell and offers to help him blow off steam. They're just very similar and on a wavelength that works for them, and he's hoping he's providing her even a fraction of the support she's providing him, and would basically do anything for her at this point. She's definitely the teammate he feels closest to behind Hiryuu, and she shot up there QUICK.
And ALL OF THAT ABOVE is why he's been okay with the less platonic things - because normally he would shut it down out of disinterest, but he has such an emotional bond with D.Va that kissing kind of feels like an extension of that? They both enjoy it and it makes them happy and he can see how much it makes HER happy, in particular, and he loves that there's something he can do to get that reaction from her.
That said, he's still not sure what went on with D.Va and Yugi that one night, because she couldn't quite articulate to him what she wanted that they didn't already have? He thought he might have gotten the gist, but she was cagey enough about it that he was like ?? hmmm. Especially compared to how confident and decisive she was about the earlier "hey let's be on casual makeout terms" portion. So for now he's just resolved to... continue as they had been before and just seeing what happens and being there for her. Whatever happens happens!! As long she's happy he's happy.
NOW REVERSE ME!!
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i have to agree, that her ill timed arrival helped rather than hurt things, which is definitely what helped get them off to a great start. she hadn't given too much of a fuck about things and had just had one hell of a time playing games with everybody. especially king. and she'll remember whooping his ass until the end of time, because that's probably one of the few times that's going to happen.
but, ok, yes, that. she tries to act like all is well 99% of the time and that memory kind of broke her. she obviously still tried to play it off, but she was kind of... not doing a good job, and the distraction from king helped. she was sad and confused and mad and just... a mess. she regrets almost getting the both of them killed... TWICE... but she needed that, and the conversation they shared in the tunnel was just... it meant a lot. getting to connect with somebody on a level like that isn't something she thought she'd ever get to do. not when she was feeling so fucken hopeless. but she left that wreck feeling a bit... safer? not the best word, but i'm having trouble wordsing. like everything could and would be ok. sure, she's dead, but fuck if she's letting that stop her. king gave her hope, basically!
and that's why she goes out of her way to try to make him happy! because there's nothing that really truly compares to that. so when he's upset or whatever she tries to get in there and turn that shit upsidedown. no. stop feeling bad dammit. not allowed. she sometimes worries she's coming on way too strong ( because she usually is ) but if the end result is a smile of any size then WORTH IT. he means a lot and she wants him to know it... and then things got a bit tricky...
she likes him. a lot. and it's like. fuck. she can't? or maybe she shouldn't. in any case when things finally crossed from let's just make out to oh fuck i have the feels she did kind of go awol. not directly at him, but, yeah, yugi got that. WHOOPS. time to scar an aibou. and then she didn't really even articulate what she wanted to either of them and she kind of locked that up. she doesn't want that stupidity to ruin what they have, so she's going to keep it to herself and maybe things will be ok on their own? or something. but in any case she'll do right by the both of them! because she gets their cute important bond.
so basically you're amazing king! and you're one of the few people she'll legit open up to without, like, holding back any. she likes you a lot, more than she thinks she should at this point, and she's confused and unsure what to do about that, but ready to let it ride and see what happens ♥
Edit: I forgot to ask a question - End game plans, since they kiiiind of touched on it in train cave.
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im going to have to type SO MUCH you owe me BIGTIME!!!!
Okay so, as I recall, the progression after that went > Intensity is emotionally constipated for a while and can't deal > he sort of(?) accidentally confesses(?) to King at Angel's party > sort of dancing around each other for a while so Intensity could sort his shit out?? > accidentally falling into bed a second time > more dancing around, for like, 20 more days?? > dueling officially > like two days later, oh god we shot way past dueling. Where are we now? What's happening. Oh god. Fuck.
And now I think we might be slightly past "Oh god. Fuck." Maybe? King is, anyway.
So backing up to all that, as we'll recall following the Hunger Games and Intensity's general caginess around that time, King was basically convinced Intensity hated him to the point he wanted him to just, not even exist anymore, even if he denied it. Because, /gestures to that MESS. And then Intensity had his personal realizations and his panic meltdown and then accidentally spilled his cards at Angel's party, and King's whole view of Intensity shifted somewhat with that, because something suddenly made sense where before there were only question marks. Even Maki couldn't figure it out when King talked to her about it!! So suddenly he understood - this isn't calculated maliciousness or something. This is Intensity having feelings and dying.
He's pathetic, actually.
^ This was a key turning point for their CR overall. This is when King stopped seeing him as an actual potential threat and more as someone he might be able to trust one day, if they reached an understanding.
In my previous CR meme comment I talked about how King was testing Intensity, how he was worried Intensity will go off the rails and become an overlord and King will have to take him down - and while King will still take him down if necessary, he no longer has any expectation that he'll have to. Intensity is smart and capable but he also panics and tries to run out of his own lab if you thank him for saving your life. And he saves your life in the first place! Then makes you a heated cape to keep you warm! He's FUCKING PATHETIC. King likes him a lot more now that he knows this.
So... they had more interactions that were, if not strictly positive, at least not terrible. And King started to actually see the things that before he only heard about in passing, about what a good person was and how kind/generous he is (where before King had only seen the worst of him, because that's all Intensity showed him, and it just lead to the geometry lady meme when people talked him up.) But then he saw it for himself! It started being DIRECTED AT HIM, even! Intensity kidnapped him after he found out he was dead and tried to bolster him in his... Intensity... way, even if it mostly involved yelling about how King needs to be not dead. But that was all stuff King really needed to hear! And having Intensity say shit like "there's nowhere you're going to go that I can't follow and I'll drag you back no matter what" is like... Intensity doesn't say that unless he means it, and if he means it that is not a casual sentiment. That's very clearly "you're important enough that I will pierce death for you"
So... King was kind of humbled by that, for a while. Utterly taken aback at first, obviously, but that talk was when King was really like - fuck it, I'm going to throw my lots in with him and trust him. He told him he'd help him achieve his endgame goals (as opposed to being in a somewhat uneasy and distant truce before) and had Intensity prove he'd catch King if he fell - literally - and Intensity passed all of it with flying colors. So that was another formative moment. Basically from that point on he was just waiting for Intensity.
And then after the whole Sekhment kerfluffle, Intensity went out of his way to kidnap King and check in with him to see how he was doing and how he handled things, albeit in his very Intensity way, and it reaffirmed what King had picked up from that previous encounter. They were on the same page about revenge and murder! Intensity dunked him in the bay and he tried to drown him for it! He used stupid flashy FIN magic to dry them out so King wouldn't be cold! IT WAS GOOD ALL AROUND. And then they walked into just a fuckin, feelings landmine. Or King did, anyway.
Intensity revealing how distressed he was about King leaving back home was the other formative moment, because even if it happened in the heat of the moment - or rather BECAUSE it did - King knew that was honest vulnerability coming from Intensity, and it's very rare to see that. And it also upset him because... what exactly can he do? This is Intensity expressing distress over things that happened in the past and he can't do anything about - Intensity, who acts like he doesn't even care about all that. WHAT DOES HE DO??
His answer was to basically double down and be as clear as he can about his sentiments to Intensity so that he can't misunderstand anything: King cares for him a lot, so much, TOO MUCH FRANKLY, and if Intensity is going to throw around statements like "you're mine" then King fully expects that to be reciprocated. And after the initial feelings meltdown he thinks they reached that understanding, without even needing to use words or yell or have a whole fight about it. They just kind of... got each other in a key moment. THIS IS BIG, FOR THEM. And was very important to King. It made him hope this isn't all a terrible idea that will end horribly.
And then of course, since then, things have happened like: King demanding to take Intensity home after kissing game and Intensity going along with it without complaint AND not panicking and ditching, but actually being there the next morning; FIN sticking their neck out TWICE to help HSS, at very real detriment to themselves; Intensity getting upset when he died in a game and making him a dumb cute electric cape so that he'll be warm. He's kind of flabbergasted and overwhelmed, in general, and part of him is waiting for Intensity to be like "actually this is a lot of trouble, fuck this," but then he remembers Intensity flying off the handle when King so much as implied Intensity wouldn't obsess over King at all time, so...
Now he's just rolling with it? It seems to be going... okay?? He thinks they may in fact be in a good spot right now (INCREDIBLE)? He is, dare I say it, HAPPY WITH THINGS RIGHT NOW?
That was the timeline blow-by-blow but as for actual Intensity Feelings:
King doesn't throw the l-word around much really and he's not sure if he would or should apply it here, but there's absolutely no denying how important Intensity is to him. When Silence came to HSS and asked point-blank whether King cared about Intensity too, he had no choice but to admit to her (and himself) that Intensity is one of the most important people to him here. At this point, probably about level with Hiryuu, who's only just behind Yugi. So... that's a lot. And it's kind of harrowing, because he's Intensity, and sometimes difficult to deal with, but King can't really pump the brakes on it now. It's much too late for that!! He actively craves Intensity's company, finds it exhilarating every single time, and was not at all lying when he told Intensity he wanted/EXPECTED to be Intensity's Most Important. That's just HOW IT IS, DEAL WITH IT. And getting some kind of affirmation of that definitely secured things.
So... what's past dueling I wonder??
OK REVERSE ME
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First, let's go with parallels/transitions between ygo canon and Imeeji for 100. Early!canon Kaiba sure subscribed 100% to the whole "losing means death" newsletter. And it is only through painstaking patience and tenacity that the main cast (mostly Atem, some Yugi) manage to punt that notion to the curb. Only for the ygo manga to end with Atem's first loss and then well--- dying. And so every DSOD memory fills Intensity with not only an insane amount of grief about losing the only person he ever cared about outside his brother, but also a heaping amount of betrayal in the sense of "you taught me to believe in this shitty ideal and then it immediately failed me." And so with Imeeji being Imeeji and death being what is it here, that ideal has now warped into "I won't let death hurt me or mine." Intensity's adoptive father's teaching (who he doesn't remember) didn't work. And neither did King or Yugi's belief in friendship. But this --- this will work, because the only thing it hedges on is Intensity's denial, his ability to be ridiculous, and his ability to pierce space/time/death. All things that he is very confident about. So Intensity will devote all he has to remind King that he belongs to him and that he won't let death (true death - not fake game/Imeeji death) or King's own ridiculous sense of self-sacrifice touch him ever again. That sense of purpose is very important to Intensity because he is a very goal oriented person. And this is what he feels he can offer King in return for what King offers him. Because King is obviously not looking for a nice, reasonable, emotionally or even affectionately competent person in Intensity. He will never be these things. But protect King from certain aspects of himself - that Intensity can do.
Now onto timeline musing---!
So Hunger Games is where I left off last CR meme, and Intensity had at least come to the slow and sad realization that he couldn't just a) ignore King or b) murder him out of existence (even if he knew he wouldn't stay dead, maybe he could create enough of a gulf between them that they would just avoid each other for the rest of eternity). Nope. So then he and King play a game of cards at Angel's sleepover, Intensity gets riled up, blurts out a bunch of stuff he didn't want to and immediately retreats. Pretty standard Intensity play. And he felt pretty vulnerable around King after that - due to how many weaknesses of his that King knew (though King had reassured Intensity he wouldn't use them maliciously to hurt him) and that King always expected the worst out of him (his absolutely flabbergasted expression when Intensity bandaged up the hand after cutting him in the Social Bingo game). Cool, guess we'll just be rivals instead of Rivals. That's fine. They could still work together decently enough so maybe that would be the extent of it. Intensity may be reckless when it comes to games, but even he wouldn't play a risky move with his current hand against King's. That would be a guaranteed loss.
But then Heart Games happened and something obviously happened between Yugi and King in Nine-Nine's heart. Obviously something to do with his past, and Yugi had already shown Intensity the ceremonial duel. So he shows up later with a half-assed excuse about work and kidnaps King on his dragon. Intensity wasn't exactly sure what he was going for there. But King was obviously distressed which was prime opportunity for Intensity to provoke him. And that lead to some feelings talk, the realization the Intensity wanted King to be alive as a separate feeling of "Kaiba" wanting to bring back "Atem", and then trust falls and falling into bed together again. This time with no game instigating it. And it was nice. And comfortable. And something that Intensity wanted to continue. But still in the hazy shade of "what are we even doing?" Which means Intensity didn't think much about it for the next while as he was dealing with other issues (aka the Rift to Heaven opening).
Fast forward to auction game and King got triple amnesia. What's this? A playing field in Intensity's favor? Well damn, Intensity couldn't let the opportunity pass to fuck with King. King would pay him back with interest when he did get his memories back, so it's fine. It'd all be fine! So he introduces himself under his "real name" (in quotes because due to Trial shenanigans he actually doesn't respond to it) and pretends to be King's awful boyfriend. And it works! He gets to frustrate/fluster the fuck out of King for a bit and then life continues on as normal. King didn't even go for revenge!
Well, not until after the balloon game anyway. And it wasn't really revenge. He just oh so unceremoniously dropped Intensity on his ass and basically said "say that again but to my face this time!". And so Intensity did (in Intensity speak) and then I guess they were dueling! Go them. Back to Rivals with a capital 'R'.
Smash cut to Maki's Live and Intensity wanting to table flip all of his relationships straight out the fucking dorm window. FEELINGS AREN'T WORTH THIS POLITICAL NIGHTMARE. He vowed never to intentionally express another vulnerability again. And in the middle of this temper tantrum, King comes in to rile him up a little - Intensity doesn't really remember too many of the specifics besides "Don't ignore me". Which drove Intensity up a wall. As if he had been able to ignore King since he got here. And he tried so hard, too! He tried really fucking hard to ignore King! He'll show him that he's not ignoring King! So when the Sekhmet fiasco goes down, he is right fucking there to be devil's advocate for King. What was the Penalty Game, King? It better be up to your previous standards or Intensity will be fucking disappointed! But that also quickly devolved into attempts to power-top the other, which led to Intensity losing a game where the loser had to do whatever the winner wanted. Intensity is no stranger to these bets, and also no stranger to losing them. But he has definitely never had the outcome be -- well now his opponent is going to slowly murder him with tenderness and he is not allowed to fight back. And King tripped so many emotional land mines (that even Intensity himself had never acknowledged) that by the end he was exhausted. He has never been so physically or emotionally exhausted in his life. But King is his now(????). And he is King's. At least in some capacity. So now he gets a level-up in Intensity's special brand of fussing.
So, whew, last bullet point - castle building game. Intensity was so proud to see HSS stand up for themselves in the first round and then absolutely devastated to see their position after the second. And while he has been comfortable with just not hitting HSS before, now he knew that if they didn't do anything, they were surely going to die -- possibly horribly! Because with pep!pep! that low, he knew they wouldn't steal. So does he throw away his unit's safety for the selfish reason of he doesn't want to see King self-sacrifice himself into oblivion again? Luckily, FiN (even Erika) supported him and so they pitched in to save HSS. All for naught, though, because they still died. But that is a different moral dilemma. And he really really want to be there for King after it (since Yugi bolted and Intensity knew how it felt when Angel bolted on him) but the combination of having to admit real feelings to King, and then real feelings in front of Maki, and then real feelings by going to the ZRAEL dorm, plus having to make two worry visits (because he sure as fuck wasn't bringing the cape to ZRAEL) was too much for his small Grinch heart, so he backed out like a coward.
Sorry, King. He will still risk his life for you, but openly admitting feelings in public is still not on the table.
Now on to feelings talk.
Each of the "romances" (quoted intentionally) that Intensity has supplements for one of his own deficiencies. Man Eater understands him. Maki softens his rough edges. And Nemesis reminds him that he actually is just a teenage computer nerd (which is also why this is in constant game of straight chicken because Intensity will never acknowledge this about himself). But King -- King makes him a better person. He challenges him to always be at his best and, most importantly, he actually has the toolkit to course-correct Intensity when he's doing something wrong. He doesn't pull his punches - not when he needs to be harsh with Intensity and not when he chooses to be gentle either.
And Intensity really appreciates that - even if the words will never come directly out of his mouth ever as long as both of them shall live.
Intensity is a very cagey and retaliatory person. Expressing vulnerability usually goes hand in hand with him lashing out at the other person. And King has really been one of the people who has received the worst of it, but also is the one who manages to turn it around and successfully get to the underlying reason. He talks more with actions than words - through trustfalls and shutting him up with physical affection. He accepts Intensity's obsession - maybe even finds it endearing (sorry for your bad taste, King). And that is why he lets King touch his neck (an actual physical manifestation of his vulnerabilities) because he knows King won't intentionally hurt him or will hurt him for his own good. Because why would you want to break down your Rival? You want them to be at their best at all times. Otherwise where's the challenge?
Anyway Intensity is pretty fucking comfortable where they are right now and just wants to ride this high until something inevitably comes to break it (as that is the nature of his E-rate luck). The person more invested in something is usually the one at the most risk, and Intensity is at least self-aware enough to know that he is that person in this equation. (Unless King is keeping some card he doesn't know about close to his chest). So he'll accept that much vulnerability if it means this gets to continue. And he'll deal with the fallout if (when) this all goes to hell in a hand basket. Their Rivalry is definitely worth it.
Somewhat related, Intensity is doing his besto to avoid the landmines that is Yugi and King and now Maki and King. Yugi he's accepted as a given. And that is someone he'll have to work around at the very least. But there are things about Yugi that just grate on Intensity, which is why you sometimes have to bus him creatively! Because normal methods aren't going to work. And his little stunt is going to bite him in the ass later probably, so--- Maki, though. He is a little unnerved that King and Maki got together around the same time his relationship with King also strengthened. Is there something going on there he doesn't know about? Paranoia says yes. So right now, he'll just be really snippy and unhelpful regarding that subject until he works it out himself internally.
tl;dr King is Intensity's Rival and he will simultaneously do all he can to ensure his future while also being a grade A asshole about it. And forever bad at tender feelings even though King is so expertly able to wield them against Intensity.
Question. What are King's thoughts on how HSS should play in games now (both his inward thoughts and what he'll advise to the unit if they are different)?
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