#pikario

PRECUREEE redraw :3c been a while since ive drawn this group yk! (og art is below aswell :D)

shifting into Defense Lawyer Mode for this post. i know people like to claim that "rio got his waffles criticized once and went evil because of it" but i don't think that's actually the case. although the paris timeline is unfortunately a bit spotty, i think what we do see is enough to conclude that ciel's and rio's fallout occurred over an extended period of time.

the length of time that kirarin and pikario were at jean-pierre's is unknown, thanks to this spotty timeline, but i don't think it's unreasonable to assume that they were there for quite some time. seeing as how human forms for fairies are, in-universe, apparently so difficult to achieve that the only older fairy we see with one is the elder himself, it's very likely that it did take a while for kirarin to get hers (and given her prodigy status, she still probably took a lot less time than most.). i don't think it took years, since she & pikario don't seem to be noticeably younger in the flashback where they meet jean-pierre for the first time. so i think it's probably a period of at least a few months, likely a bit longer.

within this timeframe, another thing occurs: pikario stops working on his sweets at jean-pierre's place, and starts using the attic instead. and i think there is a reasonable explanation for why this started happening: jean-pierre.

the series makes it very clear that jean-pierre is the sort of person who is brutally honest and blunt, and can come off as incredibly uncaring (even if he doesn't always mean to be). he's also obsessed with sweets and sweets alone. in the movie, he's criticizing ciel for not being up to his standards. ciel, the prodigy. and if ciel wasn't good enough for him... then it probably wasn't great for pikario, who was beginning to lag behind.

so pikario's struggling, and instead of receiving actual help (because jean-pierre seems to have left them to their own devices most of the time. tbh i don't think he actually taught them a lot) he's just getting lots and lots of criticisms from a man who's supposed to be his teacher. that's very discouraging to anyone, but it's even worse for pikario, who seems to have been a more quiet and sensitive kid pre-noir trauma. and yes, kirarin's probably getting criticized too, but she's still doing better than him which lessens the hurt. and she's also clearly improving, while pikario is starting to struggle with making even simple sweets.

(yes i know that part of rio's problem was that he wasn't making his sweets with other people in mind. We Will Get To That.)

and so, perhaps, he decides he's better off working by himself in the attic. maybe things will turn out better that way, and jean-pierre won't be around to criticize him. but kirarin continues to go to jean-pierre's to train. this is the beginning of the rift that forms between them. pikario is isolated and alone. kirarin is at jean-pierre's and not around as much. meanwhile, kirarin has begun to pick up some of jean-pierre's mannerisms. and not his good ones, either. she's becoming more and more obsessed with the idea of becoming the best, becoming a precure, and doing nothing but working at becoming the best. she's also picking up his habit of being brutally honest.

over the course of the next few months, pikario is isolated and not having a great time mentally because his sweets aren't getting any better. meanwhile, kirarin's are. kirarin is also becoming a lot more insensitive, and focusing on only herself and her wants and needs just like jean-pierre is. the distance continues to grow between them, which makes the issues worse.

and one day, pikario tries making waffles. they're not great. but then his sister comes home. except she's not a fairy anymore. she's a human. and now some of his worst fears are coming to life, because they'd always said that they would become precure together but here's kirarin, now human, now closer than him to achieving that dream on her own (and who seems to be indicating that she will).

and she notices the waffles. and she tries one. and pikario is anxious, but also hopeful, because his sister had always liked his waffles in the past, hadn't she? after all, they're his specialty. if he can't make waffles, then what can he make?

and then kirarin tells him that his waffles, his specialty, aren't good enough. and then she immediately leaves to continue training her skills to become a precure. this is one of pikario's lowest moments. it's a confirmation of his worst fears. he's not good enough for his sister, he's lagging behind, he'll never achieve his dream.

but here's the important thing: pikario doesn't join noir the night his sister becomes human. i think a lot of people assume that (including me, originally, when i first watched episode 22!) because their backstory episode skips immediately to that night in the alleyway.

but in episode 41, we're shown a flashback image of a human ciel and a fairy rio. and ciel is shown to be working on sweets at jean-pierre's in this flashback, meaning that some time has passed since she criticized her brother's waffles.

there was time in between ciel becoming human and pikario joining noir. enough time for ciel to likely continue her insensitive behavior, and for pikario to continue to spiral further and further into desperation. and that brings us to the alleyway where he met noir.

and after all that, after months of feeling isolated and miserable and not good enough, i don't think it's a surprise he said yes.

i also said i'd address the kirakiraru thing. and i'd like to say that i think his kirakiraru issue was a self-fulfilling prophecy. how is he supposed to have better kirakiraru if he's locked in a system that dooms him to failure? because pikario is shown to be working hard. he's not really slacking off in any of the flashbacks (aside from the movie one of him sleeping while kirarin works but that's one time and i don't think a single instance should put him at fault). he's just not doing it the right way, apparently, but how is he supposed to realize he should be making his sweets with other people in mind or simply for the love of doing it when he's isolated from everyone and isn't in a very healthy mindset? the way it works, he was doomed from the start. he wasn't making sweets "properly", which caused them to turn out lackluster, which made him upset, so he tries again, except because he's trying to fix the problem but doesn't know the solution they turn out the same way, he gets upset again, rinse and repeat.