Written by cure_shabon at Livejournal, it's one of the first fictional Alternate Continuities for the Pretty Cure franchise, and practically (if not actually) the oldest and longest. It's said to be "aspects of old Pretty Cure series gathered together to form a new one", but still has a fairly large fanbase.
The story goes like this: Many years ago, a great evil struck the Scent Kingdom, a kingdom in an alternate dimension populated by small talking animals. Their last hope was a team of five extraordinarily empowered girls known as Pretty Cure, who easily managed to destroy this great evil and bring peace back to the kingdom.
However, several years later, the organization of Karlix appears, in plans to obtain the Angelic Dandelion and Take Over the World. After Karlix causes havoc in the Scent Kingdom, the current prince and princess are sent to Earth, more specifically to the small town of Oriyama, where they are charged of managing a perfume shop and finding the next generation of Pretty Cure. Within a few chapters or so, they have assembled a complete team:
- Chloe Auriville (Cure Rosa): The Leader of the team and The Protagonist, 14 years old. A gentle and collected cherry-redhead from France, who cares a lot about her family and friends.
- Chiara Auriville (Cure Vanilla): Kid-Appeal Character, 13 years old. The youngest member of the team, and Chloe's cheerful and "just clueless" younger sister.
- Ayameko Mayonaka (Cure Jasmine): The Lancer, 14 years old. A tomboyish girl who is the captain of the school's baseball team. Loves pudding.
- Hanae Mitsukawa (Cure Tangerine): The Smart Gal, 14 years old. A graceful and demure Meganekko who is training to become a ballerina.
- Ikuko Torino (Cure Cardamomo): The Big Gal, 16 years old. The oldest member of the team, and the heiress to a toy store chain. Becomes Hanae's seme, and is quite well-endowed.
- Lavvie and Lotus: Double as Team Pets and Mentors. Scent Kingdom's prince and princess themselves, two skunks who are brother and sister. Lavvie is happy-go-lucky, while Lotus is slightly more down-to-earth.
Later on, two additional characters are introduced to the main cast:
- Ashley McFly (Leather Ashes): A seemingly 14-year-old Dark Magical Girl who works for Karlix (in fact, her mother, Raflesina, is the Big Bad). A flat-chested Little Miss Badass "from America".
- Pittan: The Third Ranger to the mascots. A stubborn and kinda arrogant messenger bird that was sent to grant the Cures their Mid Season Upgrades. Has absolutely no relation to the song "Moji Pittan".
It can be read on the LiveJournal page
and on Fanfiction.net.
This fanfic contains examples of:
- After the End: In episode 48, the Cures encounter a desolated, post-apocalyptic Oriyama after returning from the Scent Kingdom.
- Artistic License – Religion: In episode 37, two of the children Pretty Cure visit while assisting Santa are a pair of Hindu siblings living in India... whom Pretty Cure leave beef skewers for, as the children had been secretly wishing to eat cow.
- Asshole Victim: Ashley's very first on-screen casualty, in her official debut in episode 24, was someone who tried to touch her inappropriately.
- Ballet Episode: "Flying with Broken Wings" centers on a devastating injury Hanae suffers that almost causes her to quit dancing. The rest of the Cures put on a ballet show of their own in a successful attempt to make her feel better.
- Beach Episode: Episode 16 sees both the Pretty Cure and the villains spending a relaxing day at the beach, playing in the ocean and eating ice-cream. Notably, the villains recognize the Pretty Cure but decide to leave them be for the time being, as they want to enjoy their day off.
- Bloodier and Gorier: For the most part, this fic is fairly tame and light hearted...until Episode 48 when Ashley, aka Leather Ashes, eats a corpse. It's depicted in graphic detail.
- Childhood Brain Damage: A running gag is that Chiara was dropped on her head as an infant and that this is the reason for her ditzy nature.
- Christmas Episode: Episode 37, which sees Santa crash-landing in Oriyama and needing Pretty Cure to help deliver presents. Pretty Cure get red and white versions of their Cure outfits trimmed in white fleece, and travel the world leaving presents for children in other countries. The episode also deals with a classmate's little sister wanting "the moon" as a present and the girls wondering how to possible grant this wish. It turns out she meant she wanted a moon-shaped necklace she saw in a jewelry shop.
- Continuity Reboot: Cure Shabon has expressed interest in redoing Perfume Preppy and fixing its mistakes in the form of a new product called Fragrant Pretty Cure. As of now, there isn't any more information than that.
- Cooldown Hug: In episode 41, Cure Rosa, remembering she saw this in a movie once, embraces a rampaging Berserker Ashes, in a scene that closely references a similar gif between Cure Peach and Eas in Anime/Fresh Pretty Cure. It confuses Berserker Ashley enough to stop attacking entirely.
- "Day of the Week" Name: The Akutare brothers, Getsuyo, Kayo and Suiyo, are named after the Japanese words for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (Getsuyoubi, Kayoubi and Suiyoubi).
- Disney Death: Chloe takes an attack meant for Ashley in episode 49, which kills her instantly. A combination of The Power of Friendship and the timely appearance of the Angelic Dandelion brings her back.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Kaori Furuya who has a major role in episode 47 of Pretty Cure Heavy Metal, appears as a member of Oriyama High's dance club with Hanae in episode 50.
- Elemental Powers: The group consists of Heart (Cure Rosa), Sound (Cure Vanilla), Lightning (Cure Jasmine), Air (Cure Tangerine), and Earth (Cure Cardamomo), though this changes a little with the power-up attacks. On the other hand, Dark Magical Girl Leather Ashes uses the elements of Darkness and Blood.
- The Elevator from Ipanema: Subverted and lampshaded. In the sixth episode, there is an elevator moment, in which a bossa nova-ish version of the opening for the first season of Yes! Pretty Cure 5, "Smile Go Go", played instead of the obligatory "Girl from Ipanema". Chiara asks why is it so, and Hakuo responds it was too overused.
- 11th-Hour Superpower: In the final episode, the Angelic Dandelion finally makes its appearance to grant the wish of someone with a pure heart: Ashley. Ashley’s wish for Cure Rosa’s revival also grants the girls their Angelic Dandelion forms and lets Ashley turn into a heroine named Porcelain Petal. This new form is strong enough to destroy Raflesina for good.
- Eye Color Change: Due to the Transformation Sequence: From civilian to Cure form. Chloe: green to pink; Chiara: light blue to hazel; Ayameko: dark blue to purple; Hanae; red to orange; Ikuko: brown to green.
- Gilligan Cut: In episode 44.Pittan: No, no and NO! I am NOT going to school with you guys! I'm staying here and there is nothing you can do to make me change my mind! I'm not going to school, end of story![cut]Pittan: I can't believe that I'm at school.
- Girl Scouts Are Evil: In episode 11, genre savvy villainess Lapinyuu disguises as a girl scout to enter the Auriville residence. It fails miserably.Lapinyuu: Would you like some fresh-baked cookies from Aunt Makoto?s Farm? They come in the flavors of chocolate, strawberry, peach, blueberry, pineapple, passionfruit and Oreos with peanut— (Chloe slams door on her face) —butter.
- Heel–Face Turn:
- In episode 13, Lapinyuu is fired from Karlix for sporting Pretty Cure paraphernalia in Raflesina's presence and desires to join the Cures but is rejected, though by chance she winds up in her first acting job immediately afterward—as Third Ranger to Hearty Pure, Glowy Radiant.
- Karlix’s butler, Tsubo-kun, pulls one in episode 48, after Vanilla gives him puppy eyes and nicely asks him to help them.
- Ashley has one in episode 49, after Pittan reminds her how Chloe repeatedly said there was good in her and that she wanted to be her friend. Realizing that Chloe showed more kindness and affection than Raflesina ever did, she decides to prove Chloe right and join the Cures in challenging her mother.
- High-Class Glass: Classmate Arisa Erisawa wears a monocle over one of her eyes — because she's blind in that eye.
- High-Heel–Face Turn: The only two denizens of Karlix that converted to the good side here were female: Lapinyuu and Ashley.
- Humanity Ensues:
- In episode 44, Pittan gains the ability to become human from Queen Aida, and is absolutely displeased with this, even refusing to go to school with the other girls. He does go anyways.
- In episode 50, Tsubo-kun becomes a human boy as a result of the Angelic Dandelion’s World-Healing Wave.
- Idol Singer:
- Aurora-sensei, the girls' teacher, was one of these when she was younger. She retired to get out of the spotlight and to live an ordinary life.
- One-off character Hyosuke Holic, whom Vanilla is a fan of, appears in one episode to sing and encourage the Pretty Cure.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Ashley had been seen killing someone before, but in episode 48, we see her eating one of the victims.
- Injured Limb Episode:
- Episode 22 sees Lotus accidentally jumping out a window attempting to mimic parkour moves she saw the girls doing, resulting in her injuring her entire body.
- In episode 28, Hanae breaks her leg and has to face the prospect of never dancing again because of it. Her Silver Cure Hummingbird comes to heal it before the end of the episode, something the doctors presumably just chalk up as a miracle.
- Insistent Terminology
- Chiara insists that she is "just in development" every time someone calls her "flat".
- And in episode 15...
Ayameko: IT! WASN'T! A! DATE! Just a stupid fancy dinner! Nothing else! - Interactive Narrator: At several points in the fic, a character will react to someone in the narration, prompting the text to respond back, etc. A good example of this is in episode 49.Narration: [...]following the trail of blood until she reached an elevator and entered it.Cure Vanilla: An alligator?Narration: No, Vanilla, not an alligator. An elevator.Cure Vanilla: "Oh, thanks."
- I Should Write a Book About This: In the final episode, Chloe decides to write about everything that happened.
- Ladies and Germs: When the author is introducing episode 35: "Ladies, gentlemen, and Ryanasaurus...", referring to the author of Pretty Cure Heavy Metal, which is set in the same universe.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: As a result of Karlix’s evil plan of the week, Ikuko and many other Oriyama citizens wake up with full amnesia in episode 35. They get their memories back after the Ylang-Ylang responsible is destroyed.
- Lemony Narrator: The omniscient narrator frequently commentates on the story, leans on the fourth wall, and on occasion even directly interacts with the characters through dialogue. One notable example is whenever the girls transform, the narrator quickly grows bored and simply describes the scene as "lots of sparkles and light," and says they imagine in animation this would become repetitive and boring.
- Make Me Wanna Shout:
- Cure Vanilla's first attack, "Pretty Cure Vanilla Echo", had her scream into a giant yellow megaphone made of light, producing soundwaves that went straight to the enemy, killing it as of episode 5.
-
Word of God describes Cure Tangerine's power-up attack, "Pretty Cure Tangerine Silver Wail", as her screaming out orange soundwaves which do the same thing.
- Missing Mom: Chloe and Chiara lost their mother, Angelique, in a car accident at the beginning of the series. There are periodic moments where they miss her, such as when Chloe finds a locket that once belonged to her, or how in Chloe’s dream of being a pirate it was Angelique’s voice encouraging her to be brave.
- Naked People Are Funny: Pittan is always in the buff when he transforms into a human, leading to much awkwardness in Episode 44.
- New Job Episode: Episode 5 sees Chiara getting a job at a new cosplay cafe that recently opened up, wanting to earn extra pocket money. It turns out to be a creation of Karlix, as their employees are brainwashed by the headbands that are required in their uniforms. Chiara is only spared because she thought the headband was too old-fashioned and didn't put it on.
- Non-Indicative Name: This fic doesn't feature any actual preps.
- Non Sequitur, *Thud*: A Running Gag involves characters cheerfully singing "Smily Lolipopu Land..." when they're dizzy or on the verge of passing out.
- "On the Next Episode of..." Catch-Phrase: "Hanakaeshita anata wo uketemeru!", which is supposed to mean 'Catch you on the rebound!'
- Polly Wants a Microphone: Pittan's fairy form is based on a bird, and he's very talkative.
- Precision F-Strike: Pittan in episode 38."DON'T CALL ME PIT, DAMMIT!"
- Raised by Grandparents: Hanae lost her parents when she was young, her father dying in a forest fire when she was six, and her mother dying of an undisclosed illness soon after. She’s been raised by her maternal grandmother ever since.
- Screaming Birth: The beginning of episode 14 features a fairy giving birth to her son, screaming loud enough to send birds flying in panic.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: In episode 45, a boy named Tsumuji, who is performing a magician act, becomes annoyed when he realizes that the audience isn't even paying attention to him as they're far too busy watching the Cures battling Frencheese.Audience: Ooooh~Tsumuji: (puts hands on hips) Seriously, I haven't done anything yet, and you're already 'oooh'ing? (rips off bowtie and storms off the stage) Screw This I'm Outta Here.
- Ship Tease: In episode 18, it's implied that Lavvie is worried about Chiara, spawning a rather crafty dialogue exchange between him and his sister.Lavvie: We have to finish this quick, Lotus! Otherwise Chia-chan won't be able to fight with the others!Lotus: You like her, don'tcha, desu?Lavvie: * blushes* Of course not, nee-chan! It's just that I'm worried about her and the others!
- Shout-Out:
- Chiara’s hairstyle as Cure Vanilla was meant to resemble Bubbles.
- There is one to the Brazillian edition of American Idol in episodes 31 and 34, particularly to a contestant known as Marcos Paulo. He ended up being eliminated during the Top 6 (such thing did happen to his fanfic counterpart Hyosuke Holic during his second appearance) and never popped up at media again since then, but the author still swoons over him.
- Ayameko nicknaming her guitar "Blue Moon" in episode 45, which also mentions "Second Spin" (Night and Sunday's finishing move) and includes a Ship Tease moment reminiscent of Asa falling onto Yoko in episode 10.
- Show Within a Show:
- Futari wa Hearty Pure. The Cures (and also most people at their school) are big fans of the show, and Lapinyuu becomes part of the cast, playing a Shiny Luminous parody.
- The two shows that helped Chloe and Chiara's father Theodore become a trampoline fetishist, Bounce and Thud, also count.
- Slipknot Ponytail: Cure Rosa deliberately involves this in episodes 10 and 41, loosening her hair ribbon before leaping into battle so her ponytail will come undone.
- Spin Attack: Cure Tangerine's "Pretty Cure Tangerine Whirlwind", her spinning kick in episode 17, and her spinning punch in episode 24.
- Subverted Rhyme Every Occasion: Happened once to Chloe during episode 8. Naturally, she was the Austicles parody.Chloe: Whoa! I look like I took one heck of a sunburn. (twirls about) I mean, I'm cherry-red even when I— (covers mouth in shock) Xi. I was about to rhyme.
- Surprise Santa Encounter: In episode 37, Ikuko finds an unconscious white-haired boy next to her Christmas tree during Christmas Eve night. It turns out to be Santa Claus, who needs the girls' help in delivering presents while he repairs his sleigh.
- Sweet Polly Oliver: Sasaki, when she was in the basketball team masquerading as her brother.
- Theme Naming: A motif of scents stretches itself through the Cures and the mascots (Lavvie is short for lavender, and Pittan's name is supposed to be derivated from the Brazillian name of the Eugenia uniflora). Even Raflesina and the monsters fall under this.
- Trademark Favorite Food:
- Ayameko has such an obsession with pudding.
- Pittan and his butterscotch.
- Transformation Sequence: Averted; the space normally used for describing the transformation are filled with random comments by the Lemony Narrator, usually about "sparkly stuff". In episode 12, there is a little quote by the narrator during that part which reasons that.)First, it's repetitive and boring if you read the series everyday; second, it's a matter of letting you guys imagine how they would be like; and third, I don't have the time to do it.
- Two-Teacher School: Averted; Oriyama Junior High has a set of different classes, with one teacher for each class, plus a school nurse and a PE teacher.
- Verbal Tic:
- Lotus tends to finish her sentences in "desu".
- In episode 18, when Chiara was fused with Sophie the puppy, she ended her phrases with "-da wan".
- In episode 20, as a mermaid, Hanae ended her sentences with "pichi"; this suffix comes from "pichi pichi", the onomatopoeia of a fish blowing bubbles.
- Tsubo-kun (the Karlix denizens' butler) adds "-iran".
- Where the Hell Is Springfield?: The fanfic takes place in the fictional town of Oriyama, which neighbours the equally fictional town of Tsukimiya. Add another equally fictional town, Isuten, and you have the Tri-Cities. Now, about where they're located, the author is still unsure.
- Whole-Plot Reference: The fic is a rather unlikely example, as every so often it parodies episodes from actual TV shows instead of the usual things. To list what the author referenced so far: The Backyardigans, The Powerpuff Girls, Code Lyoko (three times so far!), and even Power Rangers: Dino Thunder. Make that of what you will.
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: "Karlix" is actually just the word "garlic" (or even the plural "garlics") with this invoked.
