So I went back to check when the last CR meme for them was, and it was like... right after mistletoe and Intensity realizing who the king in the puzzle was
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.
no subject
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??
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