#anyway I don’t understand the complaints about not seeing the figure considering prize figures have been like this for decades

[cutiecrates]

Cutie Reviews: Tokyo Treat Jan 18

Hello Cuties! I’m sick but I’m back with my super-behind review!

I’m way behind, I know. Basically what happened was after we had our inspection there is a lot of work we need to have done. That doesn’t reflect too much on the blog and my reviews, but in the middle of continuing our “spring cleaning“ I was trying to write this (and had to restart it three times), losing my patience and not wanting to deal with it, my C-key sticking and being a pain in the butt making it hard to type, having weird continuous headaches and sleeping issues, my cat was away at the vets for a week (he’s doing better now though), and then a few days ago I got hit by illness everyone thinks is the flu....

It’s mainly just affecting my throat and head, but I’m having trouble breathing out of my nose and I have little to no energy. To make things worse my mother somehow got a stomach flu that seems to have evolved into what I have.

Anyway, I’m here, I’m going to continue my attempts at trying to catch up. So enough talk, let’s get on to the fun part!

(A fun preview image for what is inside! Lets a-go!)

Before I get into the review though, here is the list of Lucky Treat items for the month:

   Hokkaido Melon With Mascarpone Cheese Kit Kats    Glico Goddess's Ruby Pocky    Gudetama Blanket    Gudetama Squishy Room Light    Gudetama Five Pocket Clear File    Gudetama Drawer Set with Snacks    Gudetama Stereo Headphones with Egg Case    Nendoroid Fate/Grand Order Joan of Arc Figure    The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Link Plushie    Pokémon Clip Pouch    Pokémon Ditto Pouch    Pokémon Ditto Metal Clip    Pokémon Ditto Stainless Steel Bottle    Pokémon Center Pikachu & Fruits Design Tote Bag    Pokémon Center Original Ditto Dragonite Plushie    Pokémon Game Factory Sleeping Snorlax Hammock Party Game

As for the Contest, the Grand Prize winner could receive a Detective Conan Wallet, a Detective Conan Denim Pen Pouch, and a FREE 3-month TokyoTreat premium subscription. Runner-ups could receive a Detective Conan Handkerchief, and a FREE 1-month TokyoTreat premium subscription!

The fun Slime Jelly is the monthly Premium subscription DIY kit for January, and with it is this equally fun styled Hokkaido Design Coca Cola.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Okay, so it’s just a plain coke in an aluminum or tin bottle （‐＾▽＾‐） but who said that was a bad thing~? Especially when you’re a cola addict like me. I especially like these containers they put them in, you don’t find too many drinks like that around here anymore. It keeps the drink chilled and just looks fun.

Next up is this 5-pack set of Ramune Soda Candy, perfect for sharing with family or friends, or eating yourself if you really like them. These are healthy candies promoting calcium and nutrients you could obtain from vegetables in a grape and orange flavor. They’re also made from non-allergenic ingredients so they’re perfect for anyone and everyone.

If you recognize these, it is because I had a bag of them before in a prior Kawaii Box.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

My middle rank for this candy isn’t because of taste or theme or anything. The flavors are good (a bit acquired though)- and look at the adorable designs! What bugs me is that you only get these in two flavors, so it’s a little boring. I mean I get the idea, you’re meant to share them, and maybe they don’t make other flavors. But considering this took the space of 5 items, it feels like kind of a ripoff?

I don’t know, maybe I’m a little too picky. But imagine if you didn’t like these and you didn’t have the option to share them? How would that make you feel?

Next up are these two equally kawaii, vaguely similar chocolate biscuit/cookie snacks. One being the popular Koala’s March in Kinako flavor, along with the Crunchy Panda Party Pack.

First we’ll take a look at the Kinako Koala’s March. Kinako is “roasted soybean flour“, a popular ingredient that makes up a lot of New Year treats and snacks (it’s also the thing I say squishy smell like a lot of the time).

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

They taste pretty good. I’m not exactly sure how to describe it, but it kinda reminds me of a very light milk coffee. I like Koala’s March because it’s a light, crisp biscuit and the ratio between biscuit and cream is perfectly balanced. Although this particular flavor, I didn’t eat all at once and had no desire to do so.

The Crunchy Panda biscuits are not to be ignored either! They are delicious panda-shaped cookies with a layer of chocolate attached to the top half- each with it’s own unique expression. The packages offer equally cute designs as you an see.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Between the two I definitely prefer these. I really like Koala’s March but the chocolate creaminess and taste is just stronger. The chocolate is a combination of white and milk chocolate (at least it tastes that way), and overall just adorable ♥

I felt it was smart to cover two more creamy items. So first is this Caplico Mini Ice Cream, available in vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate. These ice cream caplico are air popped chocolate stuffed into a delicious wafer/ice cream cone. So far down I was pleasantly surprised to see there was chocolate near the lower half o3o

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

While I love strawberry caplico the most- I like all three flavors of Caplico too! It’s a very light, entirely filled treat, it’s also light, and I can’t stress enough how delicious it is~

Our next item is this Cream Rusk Snack, a super flaky and crisp, toast-like snack made from coating bread in sugar and then baking or frying it (that’s the gist of it anyway). This one is lightly coated in cream on top.

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I’m not a big bread person, but I’ve not met a rusk I didn’t like as of yet :P It’s a flaky bite of sweeteness- but it wasn’t overly sweet or sugary, which was kind of nice when you inhale a lot of sugar prior to it. It is a bit on the dry side though, so I think this would be a great snack with milk or coffee, or maybe tea; it kind of reminds me of a cookie

As a girl who grew up playing video games (especially the Mario series), I was super-excited when I saw this! This Super Mario Chocolate is both a yummy snack and a fun game ♥ It is a sheet chocolate covered in bricks with a character or item in the middle. The chocolate is cut so precisely it easily breaks apart and allows you to “free“ them and admire your efforts before you eat it!

There was 3 “levels“ or “difficulties“ of chocolate you could obtain. For those curious, here is what they are:

Level Mushroom - Mario (the one I got), Mario on Yoshi, Yoshi, and Mario and Luigi.

Level Fire Flower - Mario running and two coins, or Yoshi with a yoshi egg.

Level Star - 2 mystery images. I believe they might have Luigi or Peach or Bowser on them- but don’t quote me on it. If you find out though I’d love for you to leave me a comment~

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

This is a crispy chocolate with a mild- slightly bitter taste. Again, I love sweet things but sometimes I like them a bit “toned down“ too- so I actually really liked this flavor. The chocolate is crisp and easy to snap apart, as I mentioned above, making it a fairly satisfying experience.

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot more candy kits coming out based on video games- and that kind of excites me x3 I hope we’ll see more soon if I don’t get my hands on them first~

Ah gummies, a favorite of mine I wish we’d see more of ♥ First is everyone’s favorite; Hi-Chew Premium in Chardonnay. I don’t really drink, but I believe chardonnay is a wine, so I think this is essentially white grape/white grape wine. Now, Premium Hi-Chew are sort of different from normal Hi-Chew, not just in shape but texture as well. Premium Hi-Chew are round bites with a very thin candy coating.

(and for anyone curious, an entire bag is 140 calories. It’s also made from 90% grape- if I understand the package right.)

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I really really, REALLY like Hi-Chew. So I haven’t found a flavor I didn’t like yet, and this one is no exception ;3 it tastes very good and I love the texture.

Our partner item is the Vitamin C Charge Gummies. Adorable, vibrant yellow lemon-flavored gummies made as a collaborative item between UHA and TBC. It’s an amazing gummy that delivers a great amount of Vitamin C in each bite (I should have eaten this before I got sick >3<), for health and skin beauty by utilizing the natural properties of Vitamin C too!

Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

A gummy that taste looks and looks cute is an instant win. Especially if i can really help your health in some shape or form. I also really like sour candy :P my only complaint is that it’s hard; since my mouth is on the sensitive side. But if you like the taste it isn’t so bad because you can suck on it.

Now, let’s move on to some fun savory snacks! Here we have two light and airy, crisp, corn snacks with completely different textures and flavors. Including Porinki Corn Snack, and Aerial Rich Cheddar Cheese flavor.

Porinki is a brand known for making savory snacks. This corn snack utilizes the natural sweetness found in corn and fuses it with Japanese flavoring to create a yummy and mild deliciousness~ 

Ranking: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

I love corn, I love corn snacks. I loved these- although I can’t say they were my favorite corn snack I’ve had. I loved the texture and shape though!

Aerial meanwhile, is a corn snack with a wavy, layered-sort of shape full of yummy cheese cream and powdered cheese flavoring and then fried.

Ranking: ♥ ♥ ♥ 

They taste good, but they’re not entirely my thing- as much as I love cheese. I do like the light and airy texture though (as I’ve said about almost everything else in this months box), and I like the unique design.

Our last two items- which share nothing in common other than being Dagashi Snacks. First is the Pizza-flavored Umaibo. I haven’t tried it myself but I heard mixed results regarding it, so I was excited regardless.

Ranking: ♥ ♥ ♥ 

It’s not the worst Umaibo I’ve ever tried. It isn’t the best either. It has a sort of... plain pizza dough mixed with light cheese and sauce flavor. It was strange, but I didn’t hate it.

Our final item is the Red Snapper Cracker, based on the nostalgic charm of eating red snapper for New Years, as people believe it shows affluence and power.

I don’t like fish so...

Ranking: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

To my surprise these didn’t taste horrible. The texture leaves a bit to be desired- with a cross between crisp-airiness and a cracker; but just barely.

♥ Cutie Ranking ♥

Quality - 4 out of 5. Last month I didn’t fault them for getting 4-5 of a singular item. But this month I feel like I shouldn’t let them off the hook that easily. Everything was fine and good, no sort of damage or issues.

Content - 4 out of 5. I generally liked everything- but not to the extent that I did in Decembers.

Theme - 3 out of 5. I felt there was a theme here- but I wasn’t sure if it entirely covered the whole box. I did see it in some of the items but not everyone would think “oh that’s a special new years ingredient!“

Total Rank: 11 out of 15 Cuties. Once again we don’t get a cute or fun toy or collectable. Instead we get repeats of two items when we could have gotten like 16 or 17 unique items. I’m not really calling Tokyo Treat out on this though because this could be a make-or-break factor to some, but not a big deal to other people. Like I don’t like the decision, but I love the boxes still, even if I’m unhappy or not satisfied by some items.

♥ Cutie’s Scale of Yummy ♥

1. Super Mario Chocolate - Not only was this my favorite interactive snack, but it was also really cute and fun looking- and it tasted good!

2. Hokkaido Coca Cola - I adore Coke, but I didn’t want to be biased you know? ....At least entirely biased, anyway.

3. Hi-Chew - I loved the elegant bag design and taste.

4. Crunchy Panda - I was won over by the ultra-kawaiiness this snack has. From the actual snack to its unique pakaging. These are a great pick-me-up!

5. Caplico Mini Ice Cream - Sweet and crisp~

6. Koala’s March Kinako -  Like the Ramune Candy, even though I did like these I didn’t chain-eat theme. The tubes design is adorable though~

7. Cream Rusk Snack - It wasn’t so bad- I kind of wish it had been a little bigger.

8. Ramune Soda Candy - They’re good but I never finish a whole pack at once...

9. Vitamin C Gummies - A powerful pucker >3< but still yummy~

10. Corn Snacks - As much as I love corn-flavored snacks, I was not crazy about these.

11. Aerial - I liked their unique design more than the flavor. 

12. Pizza Umaibo - Uhhhhhh.... At least the packaging is cute?

13. Snapper Crackers - I didn’t hate them. I just didn’t have much opinion on them.

That brings us to another review conclusion :3 I hope you enjoyed yourself, maybe learned a little bit or gave this box some thought in trying some day. One of my goals is hoping to help someone decide if they want to try it for themselves~

Next I will be covering the DIY product that came with it. So until then, stay Cute!

[nellie-elizabeth]

Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time (2017 Christmas Special)

Okay! Yeah, I enjoyed that. I wouldn't be me if I didn't have my complaints, and as always, let's start with those.

Cons:

The original Doctor being a sexist old man really did not work for me, and there are a few reasons why. First off, I have no idea if this is true of the original character or not, but even if it was, it doesn't make sense. Time Lords are ancient beings from a society wholly different from earth. Would they really have the same stupid hangups about gender? Specifically considering that Time Lords have malleable genders? But I actually have a bigger problem with this. See, it's not necessarily the worst thing in the world to have a sexist character in the story. But this guy isn't just some random old codger. He's meant to be the Doctor. We're meant to connect to him and sympathize with him. So if he's going around saying sexist stuff, there needs to be a real reason behind it. Oh, hey, I've just thought of a reason - the Doctor, as in, our current Doctor, doesn't want to regenerate, because he's afraid of continuing on, of growing and changing. Maybe seeing this old version of himself, with very backwards ideas about gender, could remind him that change is often a very good thing. That over time, he can learn and grow as a person and be better for it. There! I've just attached a simple, sensible moral to the whole "sexist original Doctor" bit. The problem is, they didn't do that! The sexist comments were just played for a laugh! Pulease.

It was cool to see Nardole and Clara there for a tiny moment at the end of the episode, but these moments were so fleeting that they felt a bit like prizes granted to the Doctor for good behavior. I remember Tennant's farewell tour as the Tenth Doctor had his final moments, where he went around and saw all of his companions one last time before regenerating. You want to know why that worked? Because these companions did not appear magically in front of him and tell him how amazing he was. He went and saw them in their own lives, doing their own thing, living on without him, and he got to see the way that life moves on.

There's one other thing I want to say before I turn to the good stuff, of which there is plenty. There's this philosophy in Moffat-era Doctor Who that I've always strongly disliked, that the Doctor is a special snowflake who is uniquely suited to saving the universe and holding everything together. I always liked the idea of him just being an idiot in a box who is a fundamentally good person at heart, and does what he can to help... but the idea of him being the glue that holds it all together smacks of the strongest hubris to me. I've always hated that idea, so I thought I should bring it up here, as it does get talked about.

Pros:

Let's start with the Christmas Armistice of 1914. I've seen this moment fictionalized a billion times, and it never fails to make me weep. I know it's manipulative, I know it's trying to appeal to some base sentimentality inside of me, but whatever. It works. I loved the idea of this poor captain being pulled away in a fantastical adventure, only to be returned to the spot of his death... and then for a purely human miracle to occur and save his life anyway. Also, nice touch about this guy being related to some of the earlier Doctor's companions. As someone who never watched any of the original run of the show, I can't say that the reference resonated for me personally... but it was a cool moment nevertheless.

Mark Gatiss gave a very fine performance as the Captain. In some ways this was his Doctor Who swan song as well as it was Moffat's, and since I don't hate Gatiss as I do Moffat, it was nice to see him get this final moment to stretch his acting wings. He gave a very understated, simple performance as a man out of his own time, and one who is, quite naturally, scared of dying. I love that in the beginning, he's quite willing to trade his spent life for Bill's, but that later on he admits to real qualms about the end of his life. There isn't room in a single episode, or indeed at all in a show like Doctor Who, to delve deep into the tragedy of the First World War. I like how they suggested the scale of this tragedy by having two soldiers, one British and one German, face each other down, holding their weapons on each other. Both are scared. Neither can understand each other. Neither needs to die, and because of the spontaneous armistice, neither ends up losing their life on that particular night. It's a simple way of evoking a complex situation. Very well done.

This episode didn't have much of a plot, and by that I mean it didn't have an "evil plot" that the Doctor had to overthrow. In fact, when he realizes what the glass figures are doing, he's at a loss - how is he supposed to respond to something benevolent and good that's ultimately doing no harm? I like the idea of memory collection in order to preserve the history of life. I also quite like that this episode didn't explore the negative or scary connotations of such an idea. Sure, things can be taken to extremes and go terribly wrong, but in this particular case, everything is actually okay. The conflict of the episode, instead, is the internal one inside of the Doctor - both the original, and now so many years later, the Twelfth. Neither is ready to move on and regenerate, but both must ultimately make the choice to do so.

Capaldi gave a brilliant final performance. I didn't get weepy in his final moments, but I did feel a strong connection to his parting words. There was something understated and lovely about his final acceptance of the regeneration. He's alone in the TARDIS, and he directs his final remarks to the next version of himself, telling the next Doctor to be kind, to choose love over hate, and all of that kind of stuff. And while these words might seem generic, there is something undeniably Doctor Who-ish about them. I enjoyed the first few chaotic moments of the new Doctor, but I won't discuss that here - we'll have to wait and see how things shake out in the new season before making any real judgment.

I'll miss Bill, and there was a very real part of me that hoped she could somehow return and continue on with the new incarnation of the Doctor. Perhaps her memory-self, or even her actual self traveling around with her immortal girlfriend, can pop back up in a future episode to visit. I like the potential of companions that can come back and say hi. For obvious reasons, a lot of them can't. But Bill? Why not!

I suppose in the end this episode was emotionally poignant, a strong farewell to a beloved Doctor and a good jumping-off point for whatever comes next. I certainly will not miss the corrupting influence of Mr. Moffat, and I'm excited to maybe get back to some of the invigorating feeling of Doctor Who in the early revival days, with a new show-runner at the helm, and a new lead taking us on new adventures!

8/10

[soulephant]

I never thought I’d reach the point where I legitimately want to complain to Intelligent Systems and ask what they think they’re doing to Fire Emblem Heroes but...

Here we are. A player with resources who did spend money in the past and decided it probably wasn’t worth it. A player with all these resources who has reached tier 20 before through hard work but can’t reach it again because IntSys made a completely redundant green that’s so powerful even his biggest, red merge dies in one hit to it.

Speaking frankly, me and IntSys need to talk.

Let me start by saying that many, many of the problems I'm going to touch on relate to and impact the arena. Anything outside of it is fine, the anniversary provided me with over 100 orbs in about a week, infernal is good now that I have the resources to deal with it... But the arena. Oooh boy.

As I said in the survey, the scoring in the arena (which IntSys tries to sell as being competitive, mind you) stops having anything to do with skill starting from tier 19. I've had to do massive finetuning with merges and spend feathers on one level of one skill just to get into tier 20 somewhere in January! Even before that, I've known success with less resources than the kind of people that populate tier 20. Being matched with teams that are as beefy or beefier I can understand. But then also being scored based on the power of your team regardless of how you used it? For example, flatout scoring higher with the decidedly easier to use Hector than any mage with a raventome? Scoring higher because you have disposable heroes to merge? It doesn't make a lick of sense, and robs me (and probably several other players with me) of any due sense of accomplishment. I have proven I belong in tier 20 once before. But at the same time, I figured it was fine since it could apparently be done... Until the latest new heroes came along.

Before that though, let me highlight an unhealthy tendency as far as development of Fire Emblem Heroes goes. You see, Intelligent Systems rarely outright fixes anything related to game balance at all. Trenches, they kept cavaliers in check, true. I initially applauded the weapon refinery due to the selection of refinable things. But let me tell you a bit of a story: While rolling for regular Ike, I got Ryoma. He did fine, despite an unfavorable bane. But then sword users got faster and bulkier. Most importantly, the first Choose Your Legends really did a number on distant countering weapon users. One of the first CYL units is Brave Lyn. She's on a horse, has quite the stats despite being a ranged cavalier and, most importantly, has a skill that neuters distant counterers. And then Intelligent Systems gave that for free! There goes one of my strongest units. The money I spent earlier in the game? Effectively up in flames! In general their tendency to powercreep makes investment earlier in the game mostly pointless. If I didn't get the Nowi I did as first 5 star hero, I could have stopped playing already because I'd have been unable to check Brave Lyn. They still get my money every now and again because I lucked out.

Did I mention it impacts the arena? Which is by far the most consistent source of feathers, and later also refining stones and sacred coins that are likewise used to build units? Basically, anything that makes the arena a nightmare negatively impacts the ability to keep playing the game and not lose interest. Especially with the powercreep making it necessary to build new things (even though most units just come with perfect skills nowadays but that’s neither here or there).

Anyway, that's one example of fixing a problem by introducing another problem. Now for the main problem: The new Hector. Quite frankly: What the fuck was Intelligent Systems thinking?!

For a start, he barely has anything to do with Valentines whatsoever. Couldn't they come up with something? Even before Awakening and Fates, there were plenty of other options! But no, instead IntSys has to powercreep again! And this is of the kind I didn't even think was possible!

He's pretty much straightup stronger than regular Hector. He loses speed and HP but they barely mattered on him anyway. Mind, Hector was already one of the strongest units in the game! Doesn’t IntSys do research? Then how does one miss the fact that Hector was that strong and has actually survived powercreep to boot?! That has to be the most common knowledge!

Second, they literally had another opportunity to powercreep Hector. It was called Choose Your Legends 2. Instead it's in a valentines banner Hector has nothing to do with! I don’t like valentines but if you’re going to release a banner for it, do it right!

But the following has to be the absolute worst: Just as Hector was one of the strongest units, his Armads was one of the best legendary weapons. And it somehow needed an upgrade to a slaying weapon with wrath built in... and then be given to the new strongest unit in the game to make him busted! Yes, I said busted! I bloody well mean it! Let me tell you of the straw that broke the camels back: Today I faced a “valentines” Hector in the arena with vantage, bonfire and I don't even remember what else. I had a red who was my biggest merge outright: Masked Marth. After a few turns of combat, I had the Hector in wrath and vantage range, and to my horror... He would oneshot my Masked Marth even at full health! They have made a green that doesn't give a single fuck about reds! That destroys my best unit that is both red and able to get me in tier 20! And mind, I have paid money! Three or four games worth on money on just one game! How does IntSys think less wealthy/more wise players are supposed to deal with their developmental mistake?!

And the worst thing is... they are probably planning to make the Armads upgradable into that thing, giving regular Hector access to it... And a lot of people have regular Hector! They have probably ruined the arena for several people, including at least one that has resources! Good job there! I have to wonder who they were even catering to: People who somehow can't win with the former best unit in the game? That’s a lack of skill, not imbalance! What problem were they even solving? Reds can beat Hector? It's called the weapon triangle, or at least based on it! It’s in the franchise this game is supposed to celebrate in the first place!

So as much as I hate to do this, I'm going to have to make a demand of IntSys: Start nerfing things, starting with Berserk Armads.

Yes, I said nerfing! Not what they are usually doing! Making a separate upgrade to armorslaying weapons because they fucked up with them before? No. Making the slaying edge because the killing edge was a tad weak? NO. Making separate Brazen skills because they overestimated Defiant skills? NO! Making Brave Lyn what she is because of distant countering swordsmen? NO! Adding Zelgius because the Black Knight apparently wasn't strong enough?! NO! This time, actual nerfs are in order! Think about what unbeatable red they would have to make because they thought that Hector was a good idea! They would be reading similar complaints time and time again, and they could be losing profit because guess what? Most people eventually stop paying or even playing if you keep making their most prized units irrelevant!

If I indeed complain to IntSys (and admittedly be more polite about it), I hope they consider what they’re doing. But there’s another Hector still coming. One that is probably similar bullcrud. I don’t mind him but not like this, when he becomes synonymous with nonsense, developmental mistakes and fun-sucking! I mean it’s fine right? People have money to burn so they get a brainless gamewinner to be “skilled” with in a gacha game.

Seriously.

[daily-vantas]

Ok I cant be the only one searching every corner off of tumblr just to see the signless act as a dad figure for kankri And karkat either as homestuck or humanstuck?(literally all the ancestors being parents but mostly searching the vantas dad)

((Aaaaabsolutely NOT, my friend 😄 I think about this ALL THE TIME))

“I know you took my game, Kankri! Just admit it already!”

“I have done no such thing!”

Karkat repeated back in a mocking voice, “I did no such thing, nyeh nyeh!” Then, he added: “If you wanted to play it, all you had to do was ask, jerk!”

Amolprem Vantas watched, chin in hand, as his two sons argued in front of his desk in his study over the state of Karkat’s game, and whether or not Kankri was concealing it maliciously. An expression of haggard patience and pure, unfiltered suffering streaked his features, but he listened to the situation anyway. Even though he had work to do, and a 9 AM court session in the morning.

Kankri, ever with a syntax which far exceeded a normal 10-year-old’s, crossed his arms and flashed his brother a scowl. “I have taken nothing, I told you! Perhaps your friend Sollux took it and you simply don’t remember lending it to him. Isn’t he always playing your games?”

“Sollux hates this game, he wouldn’t touch it!” Karkat growled. “But you sure kept asking about it!”

“That was forever ago!” Kankri replied. (Forever, in Vantas Boys terminology, was anything longer than a week.) “You told me I couldn’t borrow it, so I moved on! Very simple!”

“Yeah, well it’s not in my room, so where is it?” Karkat demanded.

“It’s not in my room, either, and you are being very rude!”

Karkat, starting to get shrill, cried back: “You’re rude!!” (He didn’t have much of anything else to say. Petty shots fired it is, then, thought his father.)

Theoretically, the boys were supposed to be in bed, but clearly that wasn’t going to happen until this little spat was resolved. So far, what Amolprem gathered was Karkat got a wild hair up his ass when he noticed one of his prized DS games was missing - so he decided he would stroll into Kankri’s room while he was trying to sleep and wake him up for an impromptu interrogation. Which had now carried over into his study. Mainly because Kankri was already cranky in the mornings when he woke up - same as his brother - but being interrupted in sleep? That made it five times worse.

So Kankri came in with a complaint about losing sleep, and Karkat followed him with a complaint about a missing game.

Amolprem rubbed his hand down over his face and released a long sigh. Kankri shot back a verbal remark after Karkat’s most recent comment, which got his brother started, which got him getting loud. And, of course, Kankri - who rarely ever raised his voice - ended up following him, vexed into a state by the other’s behavior. He cut them both off with a single firm statement:

“Alright, enough, please.”

They stopped, though Kankri still nudged at his brother’s shoulder and Karkat pushed him back for the offense as they looked at their dad. Kankri gasped for the trouble and pointed to him, shooting Amolprem a pleading expression. “Father!” He whined. (Karkat just rolled his eyes.)

Amolprem threaded his fingers together atop his papers and leaned forward a bit. The leather of his years-old desk chair creaked as he got comfortable. “Now.” He said, “Karkat, you say that your game is missing, and you believe that Kankri took it?”

Karkat was immediately put out by this response. This meant their father was going to treat the situation like one of his court assignments, which was his least favorite thing in the world. He already got enough of this from Terezi at school. “Yeah, obviously.” He grunted.

“And what evidence do you have to support this claim?”

“He has nothing, is what he has!” Kankri exclaimed.

Amolprem gently lifted a hand and cut his older son off when he tried to keep going. “Let him speak,” he said. “Karkat?”

Though he already had an idea of what might have happened, given the dark circles under Karkat’s eyes. He had a possible theory, but it was best to work the boys up to it first.

Karkat grumbled, clearly feeling bitter still, but he eventually replied. “Because Kankri’s a big jerk and -”

“Karkat. No ad hominem statements.”

“Mmmmmph!” Karkat clenched his teeth, but rephrased. “Because,” he sighed, “It’s not anywhere in my room, and Kankri was asking about it before, and we had a fight the other day and now my game is gone!”

“What, so you think I took it out of pure spite?” Kankri demanded, looking greatly offended.

“No, I think you took it ‘cause you just love me so much.”

Kankri squawked and started up again, but Amolprem stopped him before it could get out of hand. “Alright, alright, let’s not get on with the arguments again.” He regarded his younger son. “Karkat, I hear what you are saying, and I understand why you feel the way that you do.”

“So -”

“However,” he continued, before Karkat could jump in, “I have another very important question. Kankri, did the two of you search your room to locate this game?”

“Of course.” Said Kankri, arms crossed, stifling a yawn.

“Did you check everywhere?”

“Yes, father.” Kankri grumbled, “I practically turned my whole room around for him because he bugged me until I got up, and he still wasn’t convinced. We didn’t find anything.”

Amolprem regarded them both and said in a calm voice: “Then, Karkat, it would appear your evidence is circumstantial.”

Karkat flailed his arms. “What does that even mean!”

“It means you don’t have anything, you butt.” Kankri snipped.

“If you have no direct proof that Kankri took your game - such as finding it in his room - then your claims are not as strong as they could be.”

“But I know he took it!”

“Are you sure?” Amolprem challenged. The collected calm of his voice didn’t change.

“Yes!!”

“Alright. Let’s think about what happened today.” He said, and asked Karkat, “When is the last time you remember having your game?”

Karkat thought about it, eventually replying with: “I had it when we were visiting Grandma the other day.”

Ohoh, thought his father. That was two days ago. “And you didn’t play it any other time between then and now?”

Gradually, Karkat began to calm down. It was slow going, but he could see it in the way the boy’s posture started to slouch. “No, ‘cause I was playing with Sollux and Terezi yesterday and today we had projects. But I wanted to play it a little before going to bed! That’s why I was looking for it.”

“So, the game was not discovered in either your room or your brother’s room. Is this correct?”

“I don’t have it.” Kankri repeated, antsy for a conclusion.

“Karkat?” Amolpremprompted, again lifting his hand to tell Kankri to wait.

Karkat pursed his lips, then shook his head.

“Where else might it be that you can think of?”

Frustrated, Karkat replied, “I don’t know. If I knew then I obviously wouldn’t be looking for it!”

“Let’s start from the top.” Amolpremsaid, lifting his hands (still linked together at the fingers) under his chin, and resting them there. “When you last had your game at Grandma’s, you were playing it on your DS, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you stop playing it before you left the house?”

Karkat thought about it a moment. Then, “I guess maybe I switched it out for another one?”

“You guess?”

Karkat sighed, and thought harder, yawning in the process. “...Yeah. I switched it for something else.”

“What did you do with it when you were done?”

“Well, I thought I put it away, but it wasn’t in my holder. Or my backpack.”

Kankri rolled his eyes while Amolpremcontinued. “Why don’t you go through what happened after you stopped playing your game, Karkat? Step-by-step.”

Amolpremcould see the little gears turning in his son’s head as he considered. Karkat counted on his fingers and started muttering to himself, while his older brother waited impatiently for the results. Finally, after some time, something dawned on Karkat. He froze. His entire face soured, and his dark-brown complexion stained a deep scarlet across his cheeks.

“...I think I left it at Grandma’s.” He finally muttered.

“Seriously?” Kankri grumbled. Karkat shrank where he stood, and tried to pull his shirt up to cover his head. “You woke me up because you thought I took your stupid game and you left it at Grandma Porrim’s?”

Karkat whined, utterly embarrassed. “Leave me alone!”

Amolpreminhaled slowly through his nose, then sighed again. “Karkat, do you have something to say to your brother?”

“Yeah.” Karkat said, words now muffled into his shirt. He refused to show his face. To his credit, he was immediately apologetic. “Sorry I thought you took my game, Kankri.”

Kankri scowled. He looked at his father, and Amolpremonly stared back, expectant. Kankri sighed. “...I accept your apology,” he said. “Although you really do need to keep better track of your things, Karkat. If you would stop being so forgetful, this just wouldn’t happen.”

Karkat responded by growling and trying to hide deeper in his shirt, while Amolprem’s tone finally changed, becoming more firm. “Kankri, that was mean. We don’t allow that kind of behavior in this house, you know that.”

“But he -”

“You are allowed to be upset with your brother for interrupting your sleep and mistreating you, but blaming Karkat for something he cannot control helps nothing. He’s had trouble sleeping the past few nights, and you know very well what that does to him after a time.”

Kankri stopped talking, cheeks puffing out in frustration.

“It doesn’t excuse how he treated you.” Amolprem clarified, “But I will not allow you to accost him about his memory in that way. Is that clear?”

There was a beat of hesitance, but then: “...Yes.” Kankri sighed, “I take it back, Karkat. And I still accept your apology.”

Karkat finally peeked out under the collar of his shirt. Only his eyes and his wavy mop of black hair were visible. He glared at his older brother. “Jerk.”

Kankri made a noise of complaint. “I said I take it back!”

“Yeah, but you still said it, you jerk.” Karkat tugged his shirt down a little more. “Except I kind of woke you up and made you go through all your drawers for my game, so I guess we’re even.”

He was pretty sure that wasn’t how it worked, but Amolpremwasn’t about to step in with the nuances of the conclusion, so long as the two boys would eventually come to terms with what happened. At least they weren’t screaming at each other now. By the time they got home from school tomorrow, they may even be on good footing again. One could only hope.

He pushed his hair back out of his face, rubbed at his eyes, and settled back in his chair. “Karkat, I will call Grandma Porrim and ask her to look for your game. Now, if you two have nothing else to discuss and we are relatively forgiven, it’s well past your bedtime.”

“Ugh.” Kankri started for the door, scratching an itch on his shoulder. “Thank goodness. I’m going back to bed.”

Karkat stayed behind a bit longer than his brother, regarding Amolpremwith a hesitant stare as he fidgeted. Amolpremarched an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“...I’m sorry I bothered you while you were working.”

Amolpremgave his son a gentle smile. “You didn’t bother me, Karkat. Everything will be fine. I just want you two to try and get along for at least the next few days, do you hear?”

Karkat grumbled a bit. “Yeah, I guess we’ll try.”

“Good. Now go back to bed, and try to get some sleep.”

Karkat shuffled away with a nod, dreading sleep though he was, muttering a goodnight under his breath as he left Amolprem’s study. Left alone again, Amolpremslouched down low in his chair and sighed again, covering his face with his hands. He grabbed the mug of coffee he had sitting on a coaster nearby, drank it, then got back to work.

It occurred to him, in a belated train of thought a couple of hours later, that his job would be so much easier if all conflicts could be resolved as easily as this Missing Game Incident.

[asriels]

I don't know if you're still in the hp fandom (let's be real tho, once ur in there's no getting out!) But what are your head canons on Ron as a dad, I always imagined him as a stay-at-home dad :)

Ron Weasley is a good father. That’s the first thing to say.You wouldn’t necessarily think it if you could spy inside his house but he is.He’s a good father. Anybody could tell you that.

When kids come into the shop, Ron knows exactly how to behave.He’s the fun dad-figure, naturally paternal, the one who’ll encourage you injust the right amount of mischief and then sweep you up and cuddle you until it’sbetter when you get hurt enough to cry.

He’s all big-displays-of-affection andwearing-emotions-on-sleeves. He doesn’t do well with rational, logicaldiscussions about feelings. He couldn’t dissect his children’s emotions downfor you. He couldn’t chart the best way to deal with them over coming days.What he can do, though, is comfort—oh, he does comfort so well. Steaming mugs of hot chocolateand a listening ear for as long as you need it. Big hugs, woolly dad sweaters,the circle of protective arms to let you know you’re safe and loved. So very,very loved.

The problem is that his children don’t want that.

Rose is a grown-up at three years old, plagued by visionsshe won’t admit to and clinging so hard to the cold logic she prizes in hermother. She doesn’t know what to do with a father like Ron, who always says thewrong thing in his ferocious desire to be there for his daughter and who can’twrite love sonnets but who knows exactly when and why his wife needs herfavourite meal cooked at the end of a long day. Rose doesn’t want hugs. Rose wantsto understand feelings and rationalise every reaction she comes across. Hugsdon’t help her do that.

Hugo shrinks from exuberant displays of affection, slidesaway from hugs and shivers when you touch him for too long. He stares owl-likeat his father when Ron tries to sit down and have a hearty conversation aboutthe day. He flinches away from casual arms-around-shoulders. Ron tries so hardto remember but this is his son, andhe can’t shake the instinct to wrap him away from the world.

So Ron Weasley is agood dad, but he’s not the dad best suited to his children.

It’s when his marriage breaks up, ironically, that he getsto be the dad he’s always tried so hard to be. The daughter he never knew aboutturns up on his doorstep one afternoon. All Ron can think as she walks into thekitchen is how like Rose she looks. They could be twins.

“I’m Lo,” the girl says, staring Hermione down. “Leonora. I’msixteen. My mum says your husband is my father.” Her accusing finger finds Ron, shrinkingand desolate in the corner.

Ron doesn’t have to be as quick as Hermione to get the mathsdone. He remembers the night with Daphne Greengrass clear as a bell—the sickshame that followed like an Unforgiveable Curse to the gut.

“You’d kicked me out,” he says after Hermione has banishedLo and Rose and Hugo to the front room and put a muffling charm on the kitchen.“You said you wanted a divorce. I was drunk, Hermione, I was drunkand sad and stupid. I was twenty-two years old and I thought you never wantedto see me again.”

Hermione throws a glass at his face. “I was depressed!” Hervoice is nails on a blackboard. “Rose was three months old, she wasn’t sleepingever, I had post-partum depression, you knew—you knew! You knew I didn’t mean it.”

Ron spreads his hands. Helpless. “I thought you did. Thattime, I really thought you did.”

Twenty minutes later he’s standing in the front garden witha suitcase in one hand and his unexpected daughter by his side. Rose and Hugoare watching from the front window, their expressions so guarded. He wants toprise them open and beg them to forgive him.

“Mum has a spare room,” says Lo, picking at her fingernails.“If you want.”

Ron turns to her. So like Rose—but those eyes. Dark as abroken promise.

“Better not,” he says, and lifts one shoulder in an awkwardshrug. “It’s been years.”

“Sixteen,” agrees Lo. Then she smiles, and it’s like sunbreaking through clouds. Ron can’t believe how much it makes her look like him.

He goes to Percy’s, because Percy won’t tell if he’s askednot to, and his daughters are too wrapped up in themselves to pay any attentionat all.

Over the next month, Ron gets divorce papers and a new houseand no word from Rose or Hugo at all. He writes them a letter and blurs half ofit with tears.

Lo plucks it off a side table when she’s round one day. Shekeeps coming back and Ron hasn’t figured out what to do about it. He isn’t surehe wants to do anything, truth be told. The fact of another daughter is like amiracle he feels too slow to appreciate.

“You sound desperate,” says Lo, and scrumples the letter upbefore he can stop her. “Don’t be desperate. It was sixteen years ago and she’dkicked you out. You don’t owe anybody any apologies.”

Ron finds himself coming over dadly before he can help it. “What—yes,Lo, I do. I did a terrible thing.”

“You were on a break.”

“We were married. We—listen, I’d made a promise. Acommitment. And I broke that. I had a newborn daughter and I left Hermione todeal with her and her depression all by herself.”

Lo kicks her feet up onto the sofa and gives him a wide-eyedstare. “She kicked you out.”

“She was ill.”

“Not your responsibility.”

“I love her,” says Ron, knocking her feet down. “She was mywife. Of course she was my responsibility.”

It occurs to Ron, as he stares his new daughter down, thatmaybe she’s been taught very different ideas about responsibility.

“You don’t have to carry other people.” Lo’s voice is bored.She’s already done with the argument. “Let ‘em go if they’re dragging you down.”

Ron sits down across from her and reaches for her knee. Heshakes it gently. “You can’t always do that, Lo. Sometimes you have to stick itout.”

It isn’t until later until he realises that’s the first timethey’ve touched.

She doesn’t brush his hand away. She lets it rest there,considering. When she doesn’t argue back he takes it as a victory.

More wins come slow and sure. She comes to him to tell himthat she’s got all her OWLs, except from Herbology because, come on, plants areboring, and anyway who wants to concentrate on plants when Professor Longbottomhas got his sleeves rolled up and those lovely forearms on show and—

“Merlin, Lo, shut up,” says Ron, and reaches to cover hermouth with his hand. “Neville is one of my bestfriends. He’s old enough to be your father!”

Lo pulls his hand away. “I have absent daddy issues,” shereplies, truculent. “My psychiatrist says I need a positive male role model inmy life.”

“You’ve got one now,” Ron says. “Tell me what you got inCare Of.”

Rose got all Os, obviously. Hugo’s on track for the same.Ron is fiercely, achingly proud of them, but then he’s listened to themdebating new technological leaps and decades-old case law and impossiblephilosophy for years. Everyone in the family expected the Os.

There’s something about Lo’s face when she shows him thesingle O in Transfiguration that lights something up inside Ron. The quiet,secret pride on her face. The irreverent delight when she admits that she waspredicted As if she was lucky.

It feels harder won, somehow. More precious.

During the Christmas holidays she comes to him in a flurryof indignant tears with a suitcase in either hand.

“Mum’s pissing me right off,” she growls when he opens thefront door, her eyes raw and red. “She’s being a real bitch.”

“Don’t talk about your mother like that,” says Ron, andsteps back to let her in. He might have been avoiding Daphne since their single, horrifically awkward conversation three days after Lo blew his world apart, but he’s still not letting that slide easily. “And watch your language.”

“Leave me alone.” Lo lets her suitcases fall from her handin the hall and then sits down right there and bursts into fresh tears. “Hernew boyfriend doesn’t like me. Thinks I’m spoilt. Keeps trying to make me goback to school for the holidays.”

Ron is down on his knees and gathering her up in his armsbefore he knows it.

“Stay here, then,” he finds himself saying later over hotchocolate. “I’ve—um, there’s a bedroom for you. If you want it.”

She goes pink behind the mug. “Really?”

“Really. One for Rose and Hugo too. Just, you know, in case.”

Lo’s hand creeps across the table and squeezes his. “Just incase.”

The amazing thing is that Rose comes. Right after the mostawkward Christmas dinner of all time at the Burrow, she comes over. She’s notsurprised to find Lo sprawled on the sofa playing Xbox.

"We’ve been texting,” she admits to Ron when they’re alone inthe kitchen. “I, um—just wanted to check on you. Make sure you’re not starvingto death.”

“I seem to remember doing all the cooking, young lady.” He’steasing, mostly. He still can’t believe she’s come.

Rose stays for tea. She sits and has an actual, civil conversationwith Lo. Ron has the sneaking suspicion that they rather like each other. Fromthe back, they’re impossibly alike. He watches them in the sitting room,playing Xbox in companionable silence. Occasionally Rose turns and laughs atwhat Lo is saying and it isn’t until Lo does it back that the spell ofsimilarity breaks.

Rose has always had Hermione’s smile.

Weeks roll on. Lo goes back to school but she calls him moreand more and more. Her mother is taking holiday after holiday, chasing lovearound the world.

For the first time in his life, Ron has someone to utiliseall that crashing comfort and affection on. He goes up to Hogwarts and takes Loout for lunch to distract her. He tries to visit Hugo at the same time but hisclosed-off son is more closed-off than ever.

It’s Lo that bridges that gap. She marches right out of theSlytherin common room, up to Ravenclaw and drags Hugo out by the ear for a walkone weekend. Hugo sulks the whole way to and from Hogsmeade, but the next timehe pitches up without complaint.

It’s funny. Ron never thought an illegitimate daughter wouldbe the thing that brought him closer to Rose and Hugo.

It doesn’t stay too acrimonious between him and Hermione.She reaches back at last. When she says she’d be willing to give it another go,Ron’s astonished to find himself saying no.

“I think I’m better,” he admits to her, head hanging. “Ilove you. I always will. But I think this is better for us both. Honestly, I’vebeen flailing behind you and the kids for years. Since they were born, it feelslike. You discuss Quantum Mechanics over breakfast and all I’ve got to talkabout is Quidditch. It just—I think this is the right thing for all of us.”

Lo moves in with him when she graduates. She doesn’t reallysay she’s doing it, it’s just that one day Ron realises she’s taking up threewardrobes and his porch is full of Jimmy Choos and two thirds of the stuff inthe house belongs to her.

Because he’s a good dad, he nags her constantly aboutgetting a job and moving out. Also because he’s a good dad, he secretly hopesshe’ll stay with him just a little while longer yet.

And when Rose decides to move in for a year or so, justwhile she’s got a job close by…well, that’s fine by him too.