Starshine Pretty Cure

All living things possess an Inner Star.

And they all come from one place.

''Via Lactea--the kingdom beyond the stars--to be specific. The source of all light in the universe, the place that all hope is born from. Governed by King Altair and Queen Vega, life fostered peacefully under their rule--but after a time, they began to fear for the safety of their kingdom. If they were attacked, who would protect them? Keeping this in mind, the two created the Pretty Cure, selecting the 12 brightest stars to guard the star system. The 12 Pretty Cure settled on the place known as Earth, feeling it needed the most protection.''

And for a time, all was well.

Except then it wasn't.

''35 years ago, Ophiuchus attacked. Wiping out 11 of the Pretty Cure, only Cure Leo and Usami, one of the mascots, survived--and only because they were forced to flee. In the present day, Cure Leo--Hirui Hidama--has done her best to distance herself from the tragedy, having married and moved away. Having lost her ability to transform due to her guilt, Hirui lives a normal life.''

''But Ophiuchus is rising again. And what happens when it's Hirui's daughter who must rise up and become a Pretty Cure?''

'''Starshine! Pretty ✰ Cure''' is a Pretty Cure fanseries created by riynashay, centering around the western zodiac, stars, and constellations. It can be read on Livejournal and Dreamwidth and updates on Wednesdays.

Pretty Cure:

 * Mei Hidama (C): The main character. The oldest of three siblings, Mei is kind-hearted and friendly--but can snap if pushed too far. As Cure Aries, Mei controls the power of fire.
 * Ushio Hoshizora (C): Mei's best friend. Ushio wears her emotions on her sleeve and is extremely protective of those close to her. As Cure Pisces, she controls the power of water.
 * Sumire Mabataki (C): A shy rich girl who becomes one of Mei and Ushio's friends. Becomes a Pretty Cure when their friendship restores her faith in the world. As Cure Virgo, she controls the power of earth.
 * Ibuki Kousei (C): A transfer student halfway through the series. Her One of the Boys nature directly contrasts her manner of dressing as prettily as she can. As Cure Libra, she controls the power of wind.
 * Hirui Hidama (C): The only Cure of the previous generation alive. The guilt of her teammates' demise haunts her--though she regains her abilities when she comes to terms with it. As Cure Leo, she controls the power of fire.

Allies:

 * U: The orphaned Mentor Mascot. A rather cute, cheerful blue teddy bear. He has mild light-based powers, focused on shielding.

The Serpens:

 * Ophiuchus: The Big Bad, a Creepy Child with equally creepy eyes. Too wounded to leave The Void, the members of the Serpens do her dirty work. But why?
 * Rasalhague: The Kirk of the trio and the Nice Guy. Considers Ophiuchus a little sister.
 * Cebalrai: The Spock of the trio and the seemingly Emotionless Girl. Serves Ophiuchus without question.
 * Marfik: The McCoy of the trio and the Bratty Half Pint. Will do whatever Ophiuchus asks, but seems to have feelings that run a little deeper.

This fanseries contains examples of:

 * Alternate Universe
 * Elsewhere Fic
 * Original Character
 * Ascended Fanon / Canon Immigrant: Nami Mizuno, the former Cure Scorpio that appears in the 4th episode, is a fan created Cure made by a friend of the author's. The author had initially planned to use an entirely different character for Scorpio, but liked it so much she had to use it.
 * By the Power of Grayskull: "Pretty Cure! Wish Upon A Star!"
 * Combined Energy Attack: Starshine Miracle Wish
 * Custom Uniform: Each Cure outfit is subconsciously created by the girls, transforming them into something they'd WANT to wear. Their outfit alters again when they learn how to use their finishers--but that's it. Aries gets some frills and the like, Pisces decides to show a little more skin, Virgo opts for gloves, and Libra immediately changes her cape to a Scarf of Asskicking.
 * Elemental Powers
 * Color Coded Elements: The 12 Cures are divided up into four elements, just like the actual zodiac signs. While each element has a set color (fire = red, water = blue, earth = gold, wind = purple), the individual Cure colors can differ while still staying in the same color type. Hence why Aries is red, but Leo is orange.
 * Personality Powers: Yes and no. Sumire is a rather kind and gentle person, befitting of her nature based powers, and Ibuki flits from thing to thing to resemble her air powers--but Mei is far too even-tempered to "fit" the fire-type personality and the same can be said for Ushio, who is far too Hot Blooded to fit the water-personality.
 * Elevator School: Etoile Academy.
 * Excited Episode Title
 * Excited Show Title: AND Lucky Charms Title.
 * Gratuitous Japanese: But only...
 * Japanese Honorifics
 * Meaningful Name: One of the author's favorite things.
 * On the Next Episode of Catchphrase: "Don't forget to make a wish next time too!"
 * Replaced by "I don't think wishes will help..." for more serious episodes.
 * Orcus On His Throne: Justified. 35 years later and Ophiuchus still hasn't recovered from the zodiac Cures' last gambit.
 * Sick Episode: Ushio has two, being too ill to continue her Cure duties. Ophiuchus essentially has an almost series-wide one.
 * Shout Out
 * Mei references Lil Pri and The Wizard of Oz in episode 1.
 * Mei lists off a cellphone, a handheld computer and a pendant as other henshin items in episode 3.
 * Transformation Trinket: The Star Capsule, an enlarged glass bead bottle with glowing lights inside.
 * Villain Teleportation
 * You Have Failed Me: Averted! Ophiuchus doesn't really seem to mind that the trio fails her, she's only happy that they tried.