Good job Riot, you made daughter cry

This is my daughter Michelle. She is 18 months old

I have been playing League of Legends for about 2.5 years (since around jinx launch) and it’s been my main gaming obsession since a bit before Michelle was born. In fact I got my first and only leaverbuster warning when I AFK’d at the start of a match when my wife’s water broke.

I have tried to share my love for this game with my daughter her whole life. When she was little (1-3 months) I would jungle with her in my arms. That Amumu doll in the picture was made by my wife, because Amumu is my favorite champion. I gave it to Michelle when she was only a month old. She likes it a lot and is super cute carrying it around the house saying, “Amumuuu!”

Well today we were watching her favorite youtube video together, the 2015 URF login theme (because of the bubbles), when she started to say “Amumu.” So I decided to show her this video

League of Legends Music: The Curse of the Sad Mummy

We were having fun, watching and saying the things she recognizes, like tree, boat, moon, flower, and bird. Then we hit the 3 minute mark. You know, when Amumu loses it. Go back and watch it.

I’ll wait.

When Amumu started his despair-fueled rampage Michelle started to cry (tears and all) and pointed at the screen saying, ”Amumu! Amumu!” It was not an “I’m scared” cry but a worried cry. A ”why are you hitting my puppy?” kind of cry. This came out of left field because she had seen this video before and never had this reaction. What changed in the last two months since she saw it? A young innocent sense of empathy had developed. The Amumu on the screen, the Amumu doll in her room, and the Amumu in her heart had become one, and something bad was happening to him!

It took my wife and I a little while to calm her down. We got her her Amumu doll from her room and proved that he was ok. We rewound the video and replayed the happy parts in the forest and the lake and stopped when he got to the town. She’s fine now, but I don't dare show her that video again.

Which is sad because it was my favorite League music video. It stars my favorite champion and so wonderfully captures his character and his struggles. That sense of childlike smallness, his desire for companionship, and his overwhelming sadness, which causes him to lash out--further driving others away. This video highlights the highly relatable elements of Amumu that make him so beloved.

So good job Riot. Your video so aptly conveyed Amumu's despair that it made a little girl cry. But just so you know, Amumu has a friend. And she is a year and a half old.