#quests of yore

[grimmooree]

Thank you for finding these!

Quests of Yore Fonts! 🖋

This is so cool, Quest Masters!

I didn't think I'd ever find it but I was able to track down the exact fonts that are used in the text of the IRL QOY book!

There are two different font styles for the headers and the descriptions so here they are if you're interested!

I know I might want to use these one way or another...

[pinkestmenace]

Edit: Expanded reference sheet

WOOOO! Done just in time! @kirbyoctournament

Name: Olympea, the Pummeling Peacekeeper

Gender: She-himbo, She/Her

Age: Never ask a woman her age! (She's an adult.)

Occupation: Warrior/Hero of Yore

Species: Puffball/Starborn/Star Child/whatever the Kirby species is called.

Uh-oh, due to a temporal anomaly the Hero of Yore Olympea suddenly finds herself transported alive and well from Ancient Halcandra to the Kirby OC tournament! She doesn't know what's going on, but she'll roll with the punches and treat it like a fun dream vacation of sorts. She does like meeting all sorts of new people and trying new foods, weapons and technology. She'll have so many stories to tell her friends when she returns! It's probably for the best if she doesn't learn what disaster befell the four heroes in the regular timeline, though...

Some ground rules, just in case:

I would love seeing people's OC's interact with her! Asking Olympea questions is okay, but this is not an ask blog/rp blog and I'm not looking for extended roleplay. I may not answer your question. If I see potential for an interesting interaction I may draw it, but I can't promise anything. (Keep in mind if I don't respond right away -> 1: I'm timid and get anxious easily. 2: I may not have figured out that part of her story/the history of Ancient Halcandra yet. 3: The answer would have contained a spoiler for my fics. 4: I'm very slow at drawing.)

I'm joining this tournament for fun, so thank you for understanding!

Propaganda and Answered Asks:

Arrival

Found cupcake!

Ask (Giant upcake): quanblovk

Ask (Kettlebell): graycoin

Ask (Pet rock): anonymous

Ask (Punching): anonymous

Bonus: Punch!

Ask (Green bean): maybeher0

Ask (Fic canonicity): anonymous

Propaganda/gift art for my competitor: zeros-witness and Rimuri

Ask (Unexpected cursed hands): morp

Off to the loser's bracket

'Tis pride month! Thou knowest what that meaneth.

Bonus: Rock Rider Olympea

Weatherproof outfits

Grillmeisters

Ask (The Gospel Of The Lamp™): the-chaos-axolotl

So Moth It Be

Olympea's Space Gauntlet

Ask (Grip strength): cauli-flawa

Wanya-fication

Noddyfication

Ask game: Graycoin 💫🥘☀️🐛

Ask game: Anonymous ⚔️🧋⚙️

Ask game: Anonymous 🥀 (Asks about Soul forms so CW: discussion of body horror and death!)

Propaganda/gift art for my competitors: Inufaiya and Cauliarty

Star Allies icon

Bonus: Keigo's P.E.T.R.O.C.K. interface

Fake Dream Buffet Costume

Paper Mario style emulation

Starstruck 🤝 Olympea

Expression Practice

Mirror counterpart Olivia

Halloween Outfits (Olympea & Olivia)

===Post Kirby OC tournament===

Masquerade Outfits (Olympea & Olivia)

Christmas Confusion (Olympea & Olivia)

Shell-shot (Featuring Sir Uther...kinda.)

New Apron, forging a poffertjespan

Blizzard Hammer

Overview:

While she's not very big, intellectual or attuned to magic, she is unbeatably chipper and physically strong. She loves fighting and gleefully uses a variety of lovely accessories/weapons like a giant club, enchanted glaive, magitech gauntlets, etc. Her left glove allows her to access a dimensional storage. Teases hard, punches even harder. Actually quite feminine when off the clock. Loves magitech gadgets a lot. Doesn't think science or magic is better, because their society needs both. She's definitely not insecure about her height. She'd also never conjure a giant squeaky hammer to bop you over the head if you call her short.

Likes: Vegetables, Nectar, Trying new foods, The colour green, Flowers, Butterflies and moths, Pretty/cool/badass women, Her club, Brass knuckles, Tinkering, New gadgets, Teasing her friends, Seeing a certain winged magenta knight open up and feel genuine joy

Dislikes: Being mistaken for a child, Being called stupid, Stuck-up people, Seeing her friends being hurt, Strangers flicking her antennae, How much dust and scales her wings leave behind

Abilities: Able to fly. Very physically strong. Innately has access to Suplex and Hammer, but mainly uses her trusty club. Her boots and gauntlets let her emulate elements of Hi-jump, Laser and Mecha. (The boosted jump, laser finger guns and palm blasts, respectively.)

Weaknesses: Can't fly quickly. Stubby little arms limit her great strength with little reach. Distractable and a little naive. Can't resist eating strange and exotic snacks no matter the source. Seeing cute girls (she HAS to show off).

Fighting Style:

Her gauntlets are good for punching and the palms can release blasts of energy as well. They're mainly so she can hold large weapons well, since her actual hands aren't very big.

Her moth wings aren't very big either, so while she can normally fly and can still break her fall when she's armoured, she prefers to zip around close to the ground. It's often faster and easier to run and jump when she's fighting. Especially when she's wielding her heavy club. Her boots help her boost and maneuver quickly.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that because she prefers close range combat and isn't proficient with magic she can't attack at a distance. Her gauntlets possess finger laser guns and she can use her left glove (which she also wears under her gauntlet) to access her weapon hoard at all times. Who knows what else she keeps in there?

Even her civilian outfit isn't harmless. She still has access to her innate Suplex and Hammer abilities, after all. And those shoes have steel toes! Of course, the platform heels are just to keep her delicate wings from scraping across the ground when folded. No other reasons. (Like being taller.)

Design Thoughts:

Olympea is the first of the Heroes of Yore who came to me. I was thinking about how to describe the Heroes of Yore and knew I wanted at least one to be a woman. Suddenly her name resounded through my head! Then I just started associating. Olympea sounds like Olympics, so she must be strong. Pea calls to mind small, round and green, so what if she's (mostly) the same species as Galacta Knight? Peas are famous for research on genetics and alleles, so what if she was born, not formed like him? Maybe she doesn't have a lot of magical affinity. Then she needs weapons. Pea, peace, pea shooters, peas in a pod, peacemaker, pea-smacker. Let's give her a hammer, no, a club! She's strong, so what if she packs a punch? How about some gauntlets for punching? She can have a gun, wait, let's put the gun (pea shooter!) in her gauntlet's finger! She needs storage for her weapon hoard (girl needs to accessorise!) so what if her enchanted gauntlets let her access dimensional storage (peas in a pod)? Hmmm, does she have wings? There's a bug called a pea moth, so she has moth wings now. Her ponytail is twisted like a dried pea pod and not-so-coincidentally looks a bit like a cocoon when down and a boxing glove while up in a bun.

I maaay have gone completely overboard with the whole pea thing, but such is life. Although there is a bit of Hammer Lord in there as well. She doesn't hate magic, she just doesn't have a lot of affinity for it. She does enjoy tinkering and building weapons. This is how she ended up relying mostly on technology instead of magic.

She's not a knight and has no mask, because while many people depict all adult puffballs as masked knights (probably influenced by the Star Warriors from the K:RBAY anime) I personally don't think this has to be universal for their kind. How sad it would be if all they were destined for was fighting! ...And then I made her a warrior anyway. Oh well.

[zzcorpserosezz]

Today marks four years since the release of ONWARD, a wonderful Pixar film.

I discovered the film two years ago, and from the first time I saw it to this day, it continues to excite me. ONWARD, for me, is a work of art and I highly recommend it to everyone. It's one of my favorite films; emotional, fun, with wonderful effects and designs, and it's message is very profound.

I am so grateful to all the people behind ONWARD for creating it. And also because they gave us one of the BEST characters, Barley. I love that boy with all my heart.

Happy 4th anniversary, ONWARD.

@pixar

[innytoes]

Inny's Blorbo Poll

Rules: Post a poll with 5 favourite characters and let others decide which is their favourite. Choose one of these random favourite characters of mine.

Tagged by @merihn, thank you! Some of these are more obscure than others but like, these are the ones my brain was like: yes this one.

Tagging: @hawkguyhasstarbucks, @kamapon, @daintyduck99 and @1mnobodywhoareyou

[welcometoteyvat]

read baizhu’s stories. he wins for most balanced character of all time

[keigologies]

everyone prepping for the fontaine drop meanwhile i'm trotting around inazuma and giggling when i see thoma like i'm not stuck on the signora fight and have perpetually uncompleted quests in liyue LMFAO

[grimmtells]

✦ King Photron and the Firefolk (TBA) |​| Grimmverse Heroes of Yore (TBA) ✦

✦ Born of 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧's craftsmanship, 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐚 was destined to be wielded by a now long-gone hero of legend. However, when presented with the blade, the hero humbly declined in favour it of his own. Deeply affronted by this rejection, the blade swore that none but the One truly worthy would ever command its power." For countless aeons, warriors and knights of all creeds have sought to wield the legendary blade, yet its judgement remained merciless and unyielding. Fierce thunder struck down the insolents, scorning their pitiful attempts. One day, the terrible 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐞 stole 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐚 from its creator. Many times, he wielded his dark powers in attempt subdued the blade, and many times he failed, as it stood firm against his spells. Frustrated, the dark lord had countless monsters wield it, but each attempt ended in failure as the blade refused to yield. Furious and unwilling to let the fabled blade be used against him, 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐞 concealed 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐚 atop a treacherous mountain, surrounded by legions of demon beasts to guard it. The blade might have remained lost for eternity had it not been for a valiant group of soldiers longing for freedom, scaled the mountain and fought valiantly to claim it. At the peak, two reached 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐚’s hilt, but only one was deemed worthy — 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. Since that fateful day, the blade has remained unwaveringly loyal to his champion, accompanying the knight in his quest. As of today, he resides on Popstar alongside 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 and their two trusted acolytes, 𝐒𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 and 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞 ."

✦ 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 ✦ ────────

✦ Voice Claim | Thunder bringer, Lighting Yielder. ✦ Likes | Chivalry, Bravery, Fighting prowess, Apples & Gem apples ✦ Dislikes | Cowardice, Entitlement to his power, Weakness

✦ 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 ✦ ───────────

• Galaxia was forged to maintain peace across the galaxy through its power. Yet, after isolating himself for so long awaiting a worthy warrior, he grew distant and cold, now struggling to fully comprehend emotions and conflicts that don’t arise from war. • He's excessively stoic, expressing little emotion himself. He always keeps a level-tone when talking. • Galaxia is very matter-of-fact oriented and doesn't do well with humour. He will often almost always misunderstand jokes, idioms and figures of speech due to taking them too literally. • Galaxia is blunt and honest to a fault. Practically insensitive, even. He will say whatever's on his mind, even if it might bother someone. If it does bother, you can be certain he will probably not apologise for it. He never even says anything to be mean specifically, he just says what he considers to be truth. • Unfortunately, he is also very, very, terribly judgemental. • Galaxia is actually temperamental and prideful. However, he tries his utmost best to repress his anger. If anything, he would rather avoid getting enraged, as it greatly blinds his mind. • While most of this makes him sound like a complete jerk which he is, to be fair, he remains on the side of Good. He may have trouble showing it, he does care about the people around him. They are those he yielded his power to a worthy warrior for. He may not be the most agreeable man, but he only wants the best for others, for his duty is to keep them safe.

✦ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞 ✦ ────────

✦ "𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐚, 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐢𝐫 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐚 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭." • Galaxia is channeled through his wielder's willpower. His wielder’s boundless willpower serves as a limitless source of power to tap into, in this state, Galaxia can fight independently. • When summoned, he should remain in close proximity to Meta Knight, acting both as shield and ally. It takes energy from the both of them for him to stray away. If Meta Knight is incapacitated in any way, Galaxia cannot manifest. This is intentional and by design, as Photron created the blade to depend on its wielder. • Galaxia’s true weakness is his soul, as the blade itself is impervious to harm as the blade itself was forged from Photron's divine gold, imbued with his celestial power. Only its creator holds the power to melt the blade. • Galaxia wields the elements of Light, Thunder, and Fire, reflecting the powers of his creator. His light-based abilities include (but not limited to) summoning radiant blades and a shields of light. With Thunder, he can call down lightning strikes, summon thunder spears, and unleash storms, especially when driven by rage. Fire is his most volatile power, allowing him to burn searingly hot, making him nigh untouchable, while his hair can set ablaze entirely, especially when fueled by rage as well. • Naturally, these abilities take a significant toll on Meta Knight as well. Since many of them can be accessed without summoning the Avatar, he calls upon Galaxia’s full form only when necessary.

✦ 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 ────────────

✦ 𝐇𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧 ✦ ─────

✦ 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 ✦ ───────────────

• He is gigantic and towers over everybody in Dreamland. • Galaxia was finalized and born on February 6th (02/06). • The height of the avatar is variable. Galaxia very explicitely CHOOSES to be as tall as he is. • Galaxia doesn't need to eat, but for some reason, he has taken a peculiar liking to apples and apple treats of any kind. Especially gem apples from Cappy Town's plaza tree. • He tends to call Meta Knight : "Chosen", "Champion", "Wielder". If not any of these, it's always Sir Meta Knight in full. • It's very subtle, but his ponytail is the most expressive part of him. He has a lot of control over it currently, but it vaguely moves depending on his mood. It puffs up if angry, droops if saddened, the tip at the end can perk up if his interest is piqued, things like that. • He greatly disapproves of Meta Knight's excessively sweet tooth and reminds him to not eat too many sweets and desserts every opportunity he gets. • The life and consciousness he was gifted have given him a sense of Identity, hence why his avatar looks and sounds the way it does. He presents himself as a masculine figure with a male voice, because such is the way he feels comfortable with, although he couldn't tell you why.

[grimmooree]

Barley Lightfoot from Disney-Pixar Onward sketch board pt. 8

Barley Lightfoot on different clothing!

Letterman Jacket Look:

Barley Lightfoot steps out in his signature letterman jacket, complete with personalized patches that speak volumes about his personality and passion. From dragons to dice, each patch represents a piece of his story—one that’s full of adventure, imagination, and a little bit of quirky charm. This jacket isn’t just a piece of clothing; it’s a reflection of his creative spirit and his unyielding love for all things heroic. Who says you can't wear your heart (and your hobbies) on your sleeve?

Quest of Yore T-shirt Layered Look:

Barley Lightfoot embraces the perfect blend of casual and cool with his layered look: a long-sleeve shirt underneath a ‘Quest of Yore’ tee, a nod to his favorite game and the epic worlds it brings to life. Whether he's navigating a dungeon or exploring the streets of New Mushroomton, Barley’s outfit keeps him ready for action. The graphic tee isn’t just a piece of merchandise; it’s a declaration of his love for epic quests, mythical creatures, and the kind of adventures only someone with a heart full of imagination can truly appreciate. Comfort, style, and a touch of heroism—all in one look.

Phoenix Hoodie Vibe:

Barley’s rocking a sleek black hoodie with a bold phoenix print, reminding everyone that he’s not just about quick thinking and bravery—he’s about rising to the occasion, no matter the challenge. The phoenix, a symbol of rebirth and resilience, couldn’t be a better fit for someone who’s always willing to leap into the unknown, face his fears, and come out stronger on the other side. With this hoodie, Barley is ready to take on whatever comes his way, proving that no matter how tough things get, he’s always ready to rise from the ashes and keep pushing forward.

[lilyandthegenshinbrainrot]

i DO think it's very funny that the more we travel,,, these new gods certainly have a lot of confidence in their ability to protect themselves against Celestia !! and yet there's certainly a lot of forbidden knowledge and divine,, retribution of the past gods leftover in their lands !!

the closest thing in Liyue and Mond to these are the Chi of Yore quest about the old serpent and,,, perhaps the Wind and Time temples ??

It's almost funny !!

Mond's people literally go "we are not keeping any of that shit around!!" and Mond's archon is like "Okay, you are dead now! Time to join the winds <3"

and so there is no ghosts or any of that

Liyue's people is like. we have distinguished and obvious people in charge of handling the dead and the past remnants of the gods from before.

"Those are our exorcists <3 and ofc there is the Vigilant Yaksha who is very intentional in making sure the nation is safe :)"

Everyone else ?

No, they are all very much still reeling and grieving and carrying their dead with them, the ghosts of Inazuma and the entire mental state of their archon, the withering/forbidden knowledge and Khaenri'ah idealization of Sumeru, the corrupted waters + primordial sea of Fontaine,,, they are stuck and unable to move on, and in Natlan it's something that they carry for generations and generations until someone ruins the reputation. We don't know enough to say if that's,,, good but. what the hell guys, I know you're fucking with some dangerous things.

Their confidence alone will not save their nations in the end.

[aaronsrpgs]

A new episode of RTFM! @maxwellander and I continue our quest to find the cure for "D&D Brain." This time, our delicious medicine is Dream Askew/Dream Apart by Avery Alder and Benjamin Rosenbaum.

[welshoot]

Genshin Impact Timeline: Analysis and Theory (Part 3.2 The Archon War- Liyue and Inazuma)

[Ancient History]  [Mythic Period] [Archon War-Mondstadt] [Archon War-Liyue & Inazuma] [Archon War-Sumeru & Fontaine]

This is the second part of the third section of my theoretical timeline for Genshin Impact Lore. I will possibly add to this as updates with new information or information that corrects past misunderstandings crop up. I put the rest under-the-cut because it gets rather lengthy. Also this is all theoretical from the process of analysis. I used the game itself and the Genshin Impact wiki to help me along. There are definite spoilers below for pretty much all of the Genshin Impact storyline so please beware!

Liyue

A little bit before the Archon War really took place in Liyue, Morax befriended Guizhong, the goddess of dust, who moved her people to the north of the place he’d raised Mt. Tianheng [World Quest: Treasure Lost, Treasure Found]. At some point her, Morax, and Marchosius came to rule the Guili Assembly together [Book: Stone Tablet Compilations Volume 1 and Event information] . We know that they stood together, along with the adepti, to protect the Guili Assembly, and that Guizhong died there. Very little is actually known about how Guizhong’s death actually occurred, however it seems that Morax heard her final words and that by the time all of the adepti got there it was too late to save her and the Yaksha contained the energy expelled by her death [World Quest: Treasure Lost, Treasure Found and Event Quest]. Note, while it has been implied the Morax reached the place before her death, whether he arrived before, with, or after the adepti is unclear [Weapon: Memory of Dust]. Furthermore, we know that the battle that Guizhong died during was particularly brutal with the descriptive statement, “black dust choked the heavens and thousands of rocks splintered” being provided [World Quest: Treasure Lost, Treasure Found]. Admittedly, it is possible that said description is about the fallout following Guizhong’s death, though it is implied that the yaksha contained the energy expelled by her death making this a dubious theory at best [The Exquisite Night Chimes Lantern Rite: A Single Harmony for an Irreplaceable Soul].  After Guizhong’s death, a massive flood swept through both Dihua Marsh and the Guili Plains that destroyed the Guili Assembly, causing Morax to led the the people from Guili plains to what is now Liyue Harbor [Viewpoint: Ruins of Guili, Book: Stone Tablet Compilations Volume 1]. We also know that it was approximately 3,700 years ago that the adept forged a contract with Morax to protect Liyue which seems to have occurred just after Guizhong’s death and possibly during the formation of Liyue Harbor [Liyue Archon questline].  At some point after this, Morax fought and defeated a god in Chenyu Vale in a particularly bloody battle. During this fight Fujin and the Herblord defected to Morax’s side, with the Herblord falling in battle and Fujin losing much of her power [World Quest: Chenyu’s Blessings of Sunken Jade]. Morax also fought numerous battles against monsters and other gods, including Osial, the Chi of Yore, Baqiu, Orobashi, and Xiao’s old master to defend his people during this time, while Marchiosus ended up sacrificing his power to prevent calamities and plagues caused by the war. Meanwhile Havria, the Salt Goddess, attempted to avoid the war and ended up getting killed by her people who realized she would not stand and fight [Zhongli 1st Story Quest]. Her death, however, created a backlash of power that turned those around her to salt. Those who survived mostly went to settle in Liyue harbor with Morax’s people. 

It is unfortunately unclear exactly when Morax claimed the throne of the Geo archon, though it is possible that he became the last god standing and won de facto. Similarly it is unclear exactly when Morax fought against Azdaha where it was before, during, or after the archon war.

Inazuma

Very little is known about the archon war in Inazuma and there is virtually no time line present. The Inazuman archipelago was united under the rule of Makoto, with Ei serving as her ‘kagemusha’ [Inazuma Archon Quest]. During this time the Orobashi was defeated (presumably by Morax whom the Orobashi knew as Deus Auri), fled to Enkanomiya, and then brought the people up to the surface of Watatsumi island [Weapon: Oathsworn Eye]. The people of Watatsumi island seem to have lived peacefully within the nation of Inazuma up until the time that the Orobashi rebelled against the shogun for largely unclear reasons [Book: Sanganomiya Chronicles]. Notably, this implies that Makoto became the archon of Inazuma before the archon war actually ended. This interesting in that it is not a situation where Makoto was the last archon standing, and thus de facto won the gnosis, but seems to be more of situation where whoever was handing out gnoses recognized that Makoto had been largely accepted as the leader of Inazuma and either agreed with this decision, or choose Makoto for the position of archon themselves.

[zzcorpserosezz]

La verdad, no sé cómo no lo había pensado antes, hmpf

[lightfoot-bros]

Is Barley capable of being a leader in anything?

Definitely a leader at Quests of Yore because Barley has the wit and skills to guide those whom listen.

[justamessedupdisneyprincess]

🗡️ 💙ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BARLEY LIGHTFOOT💙🗡️

These are just my personal HCs. This is just a huge list or rather my personal wiki ALL about Barley. This list will have four different categories, the basics (birthday/sexuality etc), preferences (what he likes/dislikes), facts (random short facts about him), relationships (facts about his relationships with his friends and family) and history (facts about his childhood and high school years).

💙BASICS💙

He was born on the 3rd of August 2001

He is pansexual 🩷💛💙

He is neurodivergent

He is an extrovert

Dream job

His dream job would to become like a mercenary and go on many quests. Since that isn’t likely though he may become a mechanic.

Hobbies

His hobbies include: playing Quests of Yore, playing RPG video games, drawing (he is a traditional artist), writing (mostly poetry and songs but he has written some adventurous stories as well), playing guitar and writing his own songs, exploring and travelling in Guinevere, cosplay, LARPing, making and painting QOY figurines and miniatures to add to his games, fixing up broken things.

Talents

He is very good at drawing and painting traditionally but is hopeless with digital art, he can be a great actor as well, he is a surprisingly good cook as he did used to cook sometimes when Laurel was super busy or tired, he is a master of improvising and can work well with nothing but scrap.

Fears

He doesn’t fear much but he is afraid of the hospital, gelatinous cubes, and losing loved ones.

🥰Preferences😒

Loved food and drinks

He is a huge fan of junk food especially and he does also enjoy a lot of dairy. He loves a nice hearty meal. Some of his favourites meals are pizza (especially BBQ and ones with plenty of meaty toppings), burgers, burritos, nachos, pretty much anything with lots of cheese, roast meats and pies.

He enjoys some sweets too! He is nuts about chocolate and anything that is very chocolatey. He is also a big fan of doughnuts and pastries. He likes to drink soda and energy drinks. Overall his preferred diet may not look the healthiest.

His ultimate favourites are pizza, chocolate cake, fries covered in cheese, any sort of cheesy crisps like cheese puffs, any sort of cheesy snacks in general, fried griffin wings, roast ham, mountain doom drinks, Coca Cola and chocolate milkshakes.

Disliked/hated food and drinks

He is not a fan of anything that tastes bitter. He loved pretty much all chips and crisps but he isn’t a big fan of the ones that are vinegar flavoured. He dislikes most vegetables.

He especially hates meals that are nothing but vegetables, a warrior needs his protein he says! As for drinks he isn’t a huge fan of tea. He dislikes the taste of green tea.

Music

Barley LOVES rock and heavy metal! Electric guitar solos are his favourite. His loves a good rock opera as well.

Barley isn’t a fan of most pop songs. Occasionally he might find one he doesn’t mind though. He hates a song that is slow and quiet though. He NEEDS something he can bang his head to or play air guitar to.

Movies/shows

Barley of course loves ANY sort of adventure movie or series that has to do with olden days. He would be way into LOTR/Hobbit for example. He enjoys a lot of action but he does also secretly enjoy some romance because he is a softie (he won’t admit it though.).

He isn’t too fussy with genres but he isn’t a fan of anything that feels too sad. Because of that he may not be into post apocalyptic series (although he does enjoy the concepts of post apocalyptic) because he feels too bad for any of the characters that die. He can actually get shockingly emotional. He also doesn’t like ones that feel too slow, if not much is happening for a long while he gets bored easily, “where is the action?” He would say.

Books

Any classic old fairy tale or legend that was written back in the olden days. He likes stories about adventure but he doesn’t read much as he tends to be too busy with his other hobbies. He reads literally every QOY book or comic he can get his hands on though and always finds a way to make time for them! He also enjoys books that talk about history.

As for disliked books he doesn’t really have any so to say, he only focuses on the genres above and hasn’t tried any other. He thinks about trying out some more comics and even some manga someday though.

Style/clothes/furnishings

Barley obviously loves to rock an outfit that says “metal”. If a shirt has a print of a weapon or skull there is a high chance Barley will wear it. He isn’t too sure of wearing anything that might look a bit too cutesy though. He wants to look cool! The clothes he wears also has to be comfortable, he will never wear anything that isn’t.

He loves clothing and furniture with either a rocker’s vibe to it or something that looks old fashioned and mystical. He is not too fussed about colours but he does prefer darker colours over pastels, such as a dark blue, deep red or black. He loves to collect any old amour or weapons! He has grown quite the collection.

Barley is not a fan of a modern look or anything that is minimalist. One reason he dislikes a modern architecture is because it makes him feel like the world is drifting further and further away from its humble beginnings and as for minimalist he just finds it boring.

Activities

Barley loves all of his hobbies mentioned above but as for things he does not like to do, that would have to be a lot of chores. While he does love to draw and work on things to add to his game he actually isn’t into a lot of craft related activities. He enjoys colouring or things that are on paper but he doesn’t have the patience to sit still and knit or cross stitch. He is usually the type who is down for anything but he doesn’t do well in things that feel a bit too quiet, like yoga and meditation for example. He loves video games but he actually isn’t really into most cozy games as he personally gets bored from time to time, he loves the thrill of an adventure both in real life and in games! He isn’t a huge sports fan but he does enjoy playing some sport games from time to time, however he HATES fishing because he gets very impatient and bored.

📚Facts📚

Barley is a heavy sleeper, he can sleep through a hurricane! He also tends to be a night owl and can sleep in late at times. It is hard to wake him up!

As mentioned he loves to collect old amour and weapons, he has a huge collection now and he constantly wonders what adventures these old relics went on. He admires each and every one of them, even if some of them may be very rusty. He even gives them names just like he did with Guinevere!

He has an iron stomach, in both the sense he can handle gore and gross stuff shockingly well and he can eat slightly spoiled food or eat extreme amounts and be perfectly fine. Although he did have a few moments where he over did it. (It was mentioned in one of the Disney apps where he ate five buckets of fries and it didn’t end well). Regarding handling gross things or gore he can watch the most insane stuff, he can watch someone during an operation while snacking on cheese puffs just fine.

He actually secretly has a huge soft spot for animals, kids and cute things.

Barley doesn’t do a lot to take care of himself, he may avoid a shower every once in a while so he can focus on questing. On an average he showers once a day but it is not uncommon for him to miss just one day. This was implied in the movie as well.

Barley can sleep in his clothes just fine, he has even done that a few times if it’s been a long day.

Barley is a huge hugger and he gives the best hugs as well!

He may seem silly most of the time but he can be mature in other ways. While he seems impatient when it comes to what he is doing as of now he is very patient when it comes to others. Because of this he makes a great and understanding friend! He also tends to be very understanding and he never judges.

He has no fear of bugs, he just casually picks them up and lets them outside if they’re in the house. He has even held some huge spiders which always freaks out his family.

He isn’t the athletic type but he likes to go on walks, he takes his time and enjoys the scenery though, it’s not for exercise personally. He loves to explore new areas! He is very curious of the world around him and is thrilled to discover something new.

He actually knows how to play a lot of instruments and has studied music. He can read music notes as well.

When visiting a theme park he enjoys the extreme rides like roller coasters.

He is a huge fan of puns!

He loves riddles as well and likes to solve them and ask them. Although sometimes if you get it wrong multiple times he may drop a hint or two…usually in the form of ANOTHER riddle.

He is not only passionate about the past and preserving historical structures and relics, he often collects any litter he finds to help keep the streets clean enough. This is tied to his passion about the past as well, to keep the old kingdom clean of modern garbage. Sometimes he may find ways to repurpose the things he finds and has made some…bizarre things.

It’s not uncommon for Barley to help himself to a midnight snack. Depending on his mood sometimes he will snack on left overs from dinner or he might even make himself an ice cream sandwich.

He also has weird food habits. Some joke that he eats like a pregnant person at times! He gets cravings of things and they form into some bizarre combinations! He once made himself some toast and smothered it with ice cream for one example.

Barley is a big stress eater. He doesn’t normally get stressed though. (It was kind of implied in the movie when he tore through a bag of cheese puffs and went to get another snack when he got angry at Ian).

Barley is usually calm and cool but when he gets super angry he might punch at a few walls or posts. He has bruised his knuckles a few times when things got really rough.

Barley is the worst at lying, doesn’t matter what lie it is, what the circumstances are or who he may be lying too, he is just awful at it. (Was kind of implied in the movie as well at the beginning with Colt LOL)

Barley sometimes sings in the shower.

He has lots and lots of journals that are filled with his art, ideas and literature. He has so many scattered around him room and he probably has enough to make his own library. Sometimes he might just sit and doodle completely random things.

He is great at most mechanics related stuff but he struggles to understand a lot of computer related stuff.

Barley talks to himself when he gets nervous or impatient. So much so it can be like he has a conversation with himself at some stages.

He usually says whatever pops into his head. So sometimes he can be a little blunt and say things at a bad time. He rarely says things that are offensive though because he has a genuine and kind heart. The worst he may say is if someone is boring or a total buzzkill. (Usually towards Colt).

Barley will go out of his way to help a stranger in need. Like helping old people cross the road for example. If he sees a baby or kid crying he would usually try to make funny faces to make them laugh or cheer them up.

Barley has a FREAKISHLY good memory.

Barley may seem confident most of the time but if he gets a crush on someone he can actually be pretty shy about it to begin with. Basically he is all like: 😳🥺👉👈

🫂Relationships🫂

Ian

He obviously loves Ian a whole lot! They were very close when they were younger but when Ian went through puberty he sort of drifted from him for a moment before their big adventure took place. When his father died Barley was grieving heavily and Ian’s arrival helped him a whole lot! He is grateful to have him in his life and it’s all just one of the many reasons he loves him.

He feels a strong need to protect him no matter what! During school he would often go and check on Ian to make sure he was alright. When Barley graduated he has tried to sneak back into school just to make sure Ian was alright. This was also because Barley did have to deal with a few Aholes so he wanted to make sure Ian was ok. This of course embarrassed Ian greatly and a small argument did break out where Ian told him not to baby him anymore.

When Ian got his first facial hair Barley almost cried because his baby brother was growing up. He truely is like a brother AND father figure to him. It used to embarrass Ian as well because he made a huge deal out of it! “Did ya hear that? His little voice is breaking” “ugh….”

Barley has tried to play a few pranks on Ian before, usually by hiding behind a door and jumping out to scare him! It works every time. Although his main intention is to train him to be more alert and to have fun while doing it. It’s part of him lightly shaping him into being a warrior. He has gotten into trouble when Ian complained to Laurel though when his pranks went a bit too far, (not harmful at all! Just annoying and startling.).

When they were kids they played a lot! We have seen them go swimming, bike riding and play pillow fights! They often used to make their own pillow forts and watch tv together while snuggled up inside. Barley tried to play swords with Ian using sticks but Laurel quickly banned them from playing that game in fear of them accidentally hurting one another.

Barley actually used to get lots of nightmares about losing his dad when he was little and sometimes he has nightmares about his mother and Ian getting sick the same way Wilden was. He always goes into Ian’s room and watches him sleep for a while to make sure he is ok.

Laurel

Laurel loves Barley but is often frustrated with his recklessness, habits and the immature side of him. She can be strict with him but it is ultimately out of love, like “Look for a job!”, “Clean your room!”, etc.

Even though Barley is an adult she will still ground him sometimes. She says she has that power for as long as he lives under her roof. There have been a few times where poor Barley had his Quests of Yore campaign closed down earlier and she hides the box away somewhere for a while. A lot of Barley’s Quests of Yore friends think she is pretty scary.

It was hard losing her husband but it was also hard being a single mother. Because she had to work so hard it wasn’t uncommon for her to get home late from work. When Barley got a little older he used to help cook dinner when she got very tired of busy. Although he did used to make a huge mess of the kitchen, still Laurel couldn’t complain if it meant she didn’t have to worry about dinner so much. Barley is weirdly mature in some ways and immature in other ways.

Barley wasn’t able to spend lots and lots of time with his mother during childhood since she had to work twice as hard as a single parent. It is also part of why Barley was extra close with Ian because he was always there to play with.

When Laurel got stressed Barley used to try and cheer her up by telling jokes or making funny faces to try to make her laugh. It worked almost every time!

Colt

They aren’t exactly on the best of terms. Colt does care for Barley though since he is his stepson but Barley still cannot see him as his dad. For a while he felt angry because he saw him as a cheap replacement and had trouble understanding why Laurel suddenly wanted to start seeing someone else after so long. That feeling faded over time but he still isn’t fond of Colt.

Laurel and Colt met when Barley got arrested for one of his protests. He was completely baffled when his mother and the police officer started dating! After all he was like an enemy to him!

Colt tends to scold Barley a fair bit but he does still try to make an effort. Usually they still don’t see eye to eye though.

Barley was worried about Laurel getting her heart broken so he broke into Colt’s office at one stage to snoop through all of his stuff to find any sort of evidence. He found nothing that could prove he had any ill intentions though.

Sometimes Colt will start talking about something and it would be hard to make him stop. He hits Barley with a whole lot of “When I was your age” stories that tend to be very boring and they are often tied to some even more boring lecture as well.

Colt wants to be a good enough stepfather but has no idea how. He once asked Barley if he was interested in anyone and needed advice about that sort of stuff or if he had any questions. It was the hardest Barley has ever cringed in his WHOLE life!

Barley will sometimes stick his tongue at Colt when he or Laurel are not looking.

Manticore (Corey)

Barley is a HUGE fan of her and looks up to her a whole lot. He tends to be a big fanboy when it comes to her.

He sees her the way many others see celebrities and was actually a bit nervous when first getting to know his idol. He is always respectful around her but the first few months…perhaps even years…he has been a bit over the top. He would kneel before her constantly and always talk so formally even though they are technically friends now. Corey feels like she should tell him to just act natural but has no idea how too.

Barley frequently asks her to share some of her stories, as politely as possible of course. When she speaks he always watches her with a sparkle in his eyes, like an excited kid.

Barley usually says how she is like the coolest person in the world. Ian being in close second (which Ian always denies).

Barley did actually go to her tavern when he was only five years old. Laurel had an important meeting and lunch was being held there but she couldn’t find any babysitters at the time so she took her kids along. She had to do this more than once. Ian has no memory of being there but Barley absorbed every moment of it! The tavern was actually different back then, it looked more like how it did by the end of the movie but empty and worn down. Barley ended up wondering off for a moment and examined some of her old weapons and treasures. The manticore finds him and tells him a few stories about her adventures as he looked through her stuff. She seemed sad as no one else seemed interested anymore but was thrilled to see Barley showing interest and had to share her tales. Barley asked many questions about her old stuff and she was overjoyed to tell him everything! This is where his love for history and adventure began to grow. Laurel panicked when she realised Barley wondered off and Corey happily led him back to his mother who scolded him for wondering. The memory is a bit hazy now but Barley still holds onto that. Since it has been many years though Corey didn’t remember Laurel at all and she was just another customer at the time, since Barley grew up it was hard to recognise him. At some stage when Barley got a bit more comfortable around his hero he did tell her about it and asked if she remembered, this jogged her memory and her, Laurel and Barley had a good laugh over it whilst Ian stood there clueless as he was far too young to remember much about that day.

He felt sick when he saw the dramatic changes to her tavern halfway into the movie, with the gift shop and games and such. He felt as if his childhood was ruined in some ways! He hid it pretty well though. In the end he actually helped her come up with the idea of sharing her stories with her customers as an attraction like how we see in the end of the movie.

Shrub Rosehammer (a friend of his that was briefly mentioned in the movie and some books)

Shrub is a troll friend of his who is briefly mentioned. They both love quests of yore and play it together.

They met in kindergarten and had been good friends since. Barley was alone after just recently losing his dad. Most of the other kids ignored him as he sat alone but Shrub was concerned and asked if he wanted to play. Barley was a bit taken aback at first as he was still grieving but he was also surprised how someone at his school actually said something to him. Because of that he took the offer and they played during lunch break and their friendship grew from there.

Barley is like the wild card of the duo. Wild Shrub can get into mischief on rare occasions but he still isn’t nearly as chaotic as Barley and does try to avoid breaking some rules. He was what Barley would call a lawful good.

When Barley got himself into trouble Shrub would just chuckle a little, not in a mean spirited way but because he knew what was coming. Barley is so unpredictable that he has become predictable.

Barley is a lot more passionate and will go on rants about how old facilities of their ancient past are being torn down. Shrub just listens and lets him blow off steam. He would say “I agree that it sucks, but there’s nothing we could do.”. He didn’t really help Barley with that stuff in the sense of joining in on the protest. BUT he was somewhat supportive in the sense he would be like “Yeah that’s sucks. Hey man, did you wanna grab something to eat? I’m sure a doughnut or something will make you feel better.”

🏫History🏫

Childhood

Barley has an old teddy bear his father gave him before he died. It’s his most treasured possession and he still sleeps with it to this very day.

Barley would have had a lonely childhood if it wasn’t for Ian and a few friends he did have in school. He would sometimes feel upset about his father and felt robbed of his parents but just having Ian helped a whole lot.

He had to be independent pretty quickly. Laurel would often call for babysitters when needed but there have been a few times when they couldn’t get one and Barley had to take charge. Laurel was very stern about the rules of safety and repeated them to Barley literally thousands of times each and every time she goes out. She wanted to imprint them into his brain. Ironically though they were put into Ian’s head and he was often the one who reminded Barley not to do certain things.

Barley used to injure himself CONSTANTLY as a kid. He still does to this day but not nearly as much.

Barley was a super hyper kid who just wanted to play ALL the time, Laurel used to wonder how he never seems to get tired. Usually he would be bouncing around and then all of a sudden he will crash and fall into a deep sleep. There were no in between moments back then, his energy levels were just like a switch!

When Barley was little he wanted to be a knight but got his dreams crushed quickly by a teacher who told him there are no knights anymore.

High school years

Barley actually used to get bad pimples around the age of 13 to 16.

He had been picked on a little bit in school but it was nothing ever TOO extreme, mostly some name calling here and there. Although he still did get his feelings hurt from time to time. He used to do what he can to stand up for others who were being picked on. On rare occasions he did end up in a few fist fights against bullies.

Barley is incredibly intelligent! Although he struggles in subjects he has little to no interest in. His best subject was obviously history!

He used to struggle with chemistry, which he had insisted was just updated potion brewing…he used to get quite experimental with that sort of stuff and it usually would not go too well. He would also often complain about the “unnecessary modern equipment” that just felt like it made things far more complicated than need be.

Barley used to try and explore every single inch of the school to try to find any hidden secrets, it did used to be an ancient castle after all. He would make note of anything he felt was interesting or perhaps even a potential key to a hidden chamber.

Barley would sneak lots and lots of snacks into school. He always had lots of gum and it used to drive some of the teachers crazy!

💙thanks so much for reading! I plan to do other characters in the future as well! At some stage. This took so long to make.💙

[lilounettekitty]

Elizabeth Finley Sparks AKA Lizzie is a delinquent 19 years old indigo ancient elf (an old species of elf with a tail). She can control magic without the use of a wizard staff and to say the spell out loud, she can passed it to someone but they have to hold her hand and she can transform a curse in a gem (the more powerful the curse is, the more rare the gem will be)

She’s pan and genderqueer and goes with any pronouns

Lizzie had grown up in the snobby side of the Trollando town with her older brother Theo (Theodore Lincey Sparks) and her half younger brother Louis (Lewrence Benson Sparks before moving away to New Mushroomton City with her brothers. Lizzie is 10 years younger than Theo and she’s 4 years older that Louis

She had become a delinquent due to very bad frequentation that started when she was 12 but she’s a very good worker and an amazing artist to the New Mushroomton City’s Museum

She severely allergic to most the medication and snake meat. When she accidentally inhale any type of drugs (cigarettes, etc) she will throw up blood due to fragile lungs

Lizzie and Barley shared the same deep passion for history and Quest Of Yore

She love Barley’s jacket (the one seen in the movie) and Barley’s Quest Of Yore blanket, spending time with Barley, drawing, 80’s rock and disco music, her bag* and being at the museum

She hate when someone change all the time the pronouns that they use to describe her (she snapped when that happened), when someone say mean things to a person she care about, when someone mess with her old television recorder and when one of her DVD, Blu-ray disc or vinyl is scratched

She’s terrified of dragons (it’s due to trauma) and something bad happening to someone she cares about

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 243

Episode: Yes! Precure 5 Go Go! 44 - “Deliver Them! Everyone's Presents!" Date watched: 10 June 2024 Original air date: 21 December 2008 Screenshots Precure Metamorphose Gallery 1  Gallery 2 | Sky Rose Translate Gallery Project info and master list of posts

"He does exist!"

"They do exist!"

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! (ignore that it’s the middle of June when this comes out [I am not changing that line, that’s how long I’ve been working on this]) Yes, it’s Christmas in the world of Precure 5, and historically, that means drama! So put on your Santa suit and rev up the reindeer, we’re going delivering!

The Plot

‘Twas the day before Christmas, when all through Natts House Everybody was stirring and bustling about; They all, except Nuts, dressed in fine Santa wear In hopes that their customers soon would be there;

Then Mailpo cried out, and with a sense of dread Nozomi looked up as bags fell on her head Her friends showed concern as she stood up from the rubble  But Mailpo cried out that they aren't out of trouble When out from the fairy, there emerged such a list Of which Kurumi and Karen gathered the gist

Away to Eternal the plot then did shift Mucardia realized something was amiss Much about Syrup, Anacondy was hiding  Then the snake found the bug, chastised him for prying And warned him that not even he will get mercy If once again she finds his results unsavory. Mucardia absconds, but Anacondy’s lips purse She knows the director, and she must move first

Back with the girls, the truth comes to face  The bags contain toys and the list contains names The girls must play Santa within their fair town And deliver the gifts to children up and down So into three groups they split to fulfill their objective North, east, and south, going in every directive Now Nozomi, with Rin-chan! Urara with Syrup! Fly Komachi with Karen, and away right this instant! To the houses they run! To apartments they trawl! Now dash away, dash away, dash away all!

While the heroines scurry hither and yore Milk, Nuts, and Coco all tend to the store The Natts House is full with countless patrons And the Palmier trio try their best to placate them During their scuttle, ‘twas a strange figure Whom Urara and Syrup found in their vigor With his pants crimson red, and his beard snowy white, And his stature quite portly, he’s truly the sight Of the man called St. Nicholas, so the audience knows But to the ensemble this remains to be shown.

The man collapses with a fever quite high So Syrup brings him to the shop on the fly While Karen attends him, Urara proceeds To continue her task on this strange Christmas Eve

The red man awakes in the back of the store Declaring that he must return to his chore For he too delivers parcels around And needs to get his quest back off the ground But his sleigh he still needs to perform his task (Somehow the staff don’t find this an unusual ask) So out to the streets Syrup quickly makes To find the man’s sleigh, whatever it takes

Syrup scours the town, leaving no stone unturned While no sleigh is found, a bug makes him squirm Mucardia shows up and taunts the young man Whose past holds a secret that’s the crux of this plan Anacondy keeps this secret close to her chest So Mucardia wants to make Syrup confess In order to weasel his way next to the boss Because Anacondy, you see, is hiding their loss

As he torments the boy, the heroes hit the scene Mucardia scoffs and prepares to make them scream He summons a sleigh he’s been planning to store (The very same sleigh the old man is looking for) Then a large Hoshiina the sleigh manifests So the girls must transform to see it suppressed

They clash and they duel against this most fearsome opponent While Mucardia still interrogates for his missing component As is often the case, the fight is a distraction As Eternal’s most loyal tries to force recollection The Pretty Cure punch and they kick and they mug Trying to get to Syrup to give him a hug The monster simply gets in the way So Milky Rose leaps in and enters the fray

WIth a powerful kick, she topples the foe And the Precures cause Mucardia much woe He pleads with Syrup to try to remember Why he came to Eternal before being a courier But Cure Dream says to let him stay fogged For at the Cure Rose Garden his memory will be jogged Mucardia sics the Hoshiina upon his opponent But a Rainbow Rose Explosion destroys it in a moment

With much frustration, the villain departs And Syrup gives Nozomi his sincere regards At Eternal HQ, disinterested in the loss Anacondy ponders a letter meant for her boss She’s kept stashed away inside of her desk With the seal of a rose suggesting the rest

Back at Natts House, night has now arrived And everyone has gathered around outside To reunite the old man with his possessions And see him off on his annual obsession He explains how he fell and lost his apparel And this left him stranded and sick and in peril

But thanks to the generosity of all around He was able to recover, safe and sound So it’s to his deliveries he must return And inside everyone’s heads, the wheels begin to turn A man dressed in red with a beard snowy white With presents to spare and a sleigh that takes flight?

Nuts offers his coat to protect from the cold And everyone observes that he looks quite bold Nozomi remarks that he has Santa’s visage Causing Rin to explain that yes, that’s who he was

As they all finally realize and see their guest off Nozomi remembers a task she forgot In all the commotion, no cake was acquired But Mailpo points to a gift that Santa retired It turns out to be just the cake they wanted And they all thanked the man as he departed

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight— “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

The Analysis

So, quick recap in non-poem form in case it was hard to follow, here’s the gist: Santa was delivering gifts when Mucardia attacked him with the intent of adding the sleigh to Eternal’s collection. He fell from the sky, lost his coat and hat, and became ill from the cold, so his strong feelings of wanting the gifts connected with Mailpo, who brought the gifts and the list to the team. They take up the task of delivering his gifts and in the process find Santa, looking sick and out of sorts. They don’t immediately recognize him, but they tend to him and he has a talk with Syrup and regains his motivation. Mucardia, who was snooping in Anacondy’s desk, learns that Syrup has visited Eternal before becoming a courier and Anacondy is hiding something from the director, so he tries to interrogate the boy to find out why, but Syrup can’t remember his past before the girls dispatch the villain. At the end, Anaconda ponders the letter and decides she needs to take action herself because the Director is drifting too far away from her in his obsession with Flora. The team returns Santa’s sleigh and bags of presents and they watch him depart on his deliveries and then they finally realize that this fat old man with a long white beard dressed all in red with a flying sleigh is, in fact, the real Santa.

What I Liked

Aside from digging into the depths of Syrup’s memories and Anacondy’s manipulation, it is actually a fairly light episode, compared to the last two Christmas episodes, and some of the ones that will follow. I enjoyed seeing the girls playing Santa for a day, that led to some fun scenarios, and there’s some good gags that come out of it too:

It was funny how civilians repeatedly pointed out that it’s the middle of the day on Christmas Eve when the girls show up in Santa outfits delivering presents. (also, let’s be real, if some random person came to your front door on Christmas Eve with a present claiming it was on behalf of Santa, you would be at least a little suspicious)

Komachi gets really into the part of Santa, stroking her imaginary beard at one point.

Nuts weaseling out of putting on his Santa outfit by always finding a distraction is amusing, and then at the end he just gives it to the real Santa. That was cute.

Speaking of which, I appreciate that, while it’s immediately obvious to the audience that this old man is probably literally Santa, it takes the characters a long time to put the pieces together, and he doesn’t come out and say it either.

Also also….. Santa is real in this universe. The concept of Santa has remained unspoken in the franchise prior to this, and suddenly he’s here. It’s kind of amazing. To date there are only two shows that explicitly show Santa (the other being HUGtto), and a few others put spins on him like Maho Girls saying “it’s actually wizards” and Star Twinkle saying “it’s actually a race of aliens.” See my Christmas Episode post for more on that.

Kurumi makes a good coordinator for the group, and we also see Karen’s medical studies in practice as she nurses the man who is definitely not Santa. (As I’ve said before, she is 15-16 years old and still in middle school, she, hasn’t started any formal medical training or internship, so she’s just applying basic first aid, but it’s a nice gesture).

What I Didn’t Like

The art style is just a bit… off, this episode. The art director was Iijima Shuichi, who I have called out before. (GG33, GG25, GG17, GG09, GG02). His faces can be really weird. In some places I think it kind of works, but it’s more miss than hit. (I've hit the image limit on this post so skim the gallery)

Despite all the buildup, it’s still not spelled out just what Syrup’s past is. He has a revelation but it’s only half a reveal. The full truth is yet to come to light.

Miscellaneous

So this episode is a little more fresh in my mind than the rest of the series, since I last watched it 5 years ago for my Christmas episode retrospective. I mostly remembered it in comparison to the Christmas episodes that sandwich it: Yes! Precure 5, and Fresh Precure. Both of those are pretty heavy, down to earth episodes, compared to the lighter tone of this episode, and so it entrenched itself as less…. Significant, for lack of a better word. But seeing it in the context of the show, it’s more heavy than I realized or remembered.

It’s revealed that Anacondy actually intercepted a letter from Flora meant for the Director, and hid it, which could have dramatically altered their relationship and prevented the show from happening. We know that she has an obsession with the Director, possibly she’s even in love with him, and hates that he’s so obsessed with Flora. She has been trying for years to steer him away from that obsession, to no avail, and this shows just how far she’s gone. It’s dubious what this has to do with Syrup’s latent memories, although that mystery will be addressed soon enough. His big reveal is that he went to Eternal before officially becoming a courier, in order to deliver said letter (which Anacondy then stole).

Conclusion

This was a really fun and enjoyable Christmas episode, and sets the stage for the endgame of the series. It blended fun hijinks and gags with a feel-good story about Santa and some drama about Syrup’s past. Next time, it’s the beginning of the end. Look forward to it!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 1 kettei!