Writing For Dummies

Summary: Tsukasa gathers your favorite characters from Shugo Chara to teach all of the young people how to write Shugo Chara Fanfiction. (A Guide to Writing Shugo Chara Fanfiction.)

Chapter Two: Getting to Know the Characters with Rima

...Turn it over here. No, here.

Ugh, morons.

Oh, hi. I'm Rima, but you probably already knew that.

I'm here-unfortunately-to teach you about the characters of Shugo Chara, because you people obviously learned nothing from watching the anime.

Yeah, you can brag all you want that you've watched Episode...

"Sixty-two?"

Thank you. You can brag that you've watched Episode Sixty-two nine times, but you probably still won't be able to write the characters right.

Wait a second...sixty-two? Isn't that the episode where Nagihiko-?

"No time! Just continue!"

Excuses, excuses. I'll get you later, Kairi.

So as I was saying...what was I saying?

Oh, right. The characters.

Since I'm feeling generous today, I'll personally tell you in detail about each character that you might possibly write about. Hopefully, this helps you keep them in-character.

First, me.

For all these idiotic authors out there who make me blush or act girlie and stupid in those pathetic little Rimahiko stories, STOP. I don't, nor will I ever, blush around that extremely feminine boy. Mashiro Rima doesn't blush. Period.

"Then how come earlier in the Royal Garden-?"

Kairi, why are you even talking?

...

That's what I thought.

I love comedy and KusuKusu (NOT Nagihiko; got it Rimahiko fans?), and I do hate it when my parents fight. Kudos to the people who did those things right.

Nagihiko and I don't have a "love-hate relationship" as everyone says. We're not even in a relationship! We're-dare I say it?-friends. Don't take that the wrong way! "Friends" does not mean we're in love or whatever.

But now that I've officially said that to the people, you will all twist my words.

Good going, Rima.

Now for the most part, you people do a decent job of writing my character.

And now, for some practice to see if you know me. Kairi?

"Rima goes trick-or-treating."

What do you guys think? Is that in-character or out-of-character?

If you guessed "out-of-character," you can give yourself a pat on the back or something. That's more of a "Yaya" thing. The only reason I would ever go trick-or-treating is because Yaya dragged me along against my will.

"Rima goes to the mall to buy the new gag manga."

I don't think you guys should even have problems with that one. It's definitely in-character. There's actually a funny story about that.

Too bad we don't have any time. Kairi, the last one?

"Rima flirts with Nagihiko."

Is that in-character or out-of-character? I'll give you some time to think. Think really, really hard.

And I mean, REALLY hard.

...The correct answer is OUT-OF-CHARACTER. You can dream, or wish, or fantasize, (I guess that's the same as dreaming) but I would never, ever flirt with him. Never. Ever.

"That's so mean, Rima-chan."

Why, Fate? Why are you so cruel?

"Hi, everyone!" the feminine boy waved idiotically.

Please welcome the not-at-all attractive, extremely girlie "boy," Nagihiko...

What's with all of this loud applause? You guys were just waiting for this, weren't you? You know what? Since the almighty Nagihiko is here, I might as well go home.

Whisper, whisper, whisper.

What do you mean I have to do this chapter with him?

"You heard Tsukasa, Rima-chan," he smiled innocently. "So let's continue on!"

My life is over.

"Dramatic, much?"

Shut it, you.

"But-!"

Next, we'll talk about Yaya.

"That's easy."

Yaya is basically fifty percent sugar, twenty percent cuteness, twenty percent perkiness, ten percent bunnies, and ten percent immaturity.

"Rima-chan, your math is wrong."

...What?

"That's one hundred and ten percent." he smirked. Why the heck is he looking so much like Ikuto?

And Tsukasa, why is he here anyway? No one interrupted Yaya's chapter!

What do you mean, "The fans demand it!"?

"It means that a lot of people support Rimahiko."

Thank you, Doctor Duh.

"Tsukasa said to keep going! We're short on time as it is."

Alright, alright; back to Yaya.

She's rarely ever sad, but I think that's because she came from rainbows.

"Rainbows?"

Quiet. And she has a tendency to glomp people. Those people or things are mainly: Kukai, Amu, me, and bunnies. But don't get me wrong; she glomps everybody. Yaya doesn't act her age; she acts her shoe size.

"Don't you think you should tell the people her shoe size?"

Oh, right. She wears size four-and-a-half.

"Small."

Explains a lot, right? I think everybody gets the gist of Yaya. She's a pretty easy character to write. Now next is-

"Amu-chan?"

You seem excited and eager.

"Me? No, not really."

Sure, sure. Next is Amu.

She's basically like any other heroine. Amu has a cool-and-spicy outer character.

"On the inside, she's a total spaz."

Especially around Ikuto. So for those Amuto writers, remember that. She doesn't flirt with him back. He says something, and then she starts blushing like a freakin' chibi tomato. Then a few minutes later, she starts screaming at him.

"But around Tadase, she's really shy and kind of nervous."

Yeah. Personally, I don't think they have very much chemistry together.

"Uh-oh; don't offend the Tadamu fans, Rima-chan."

And what could they do to me?

"You don't know. They're FANS. Correction: fangirls."

I'll just send you after them.

"And what is that supposed to imply?" Insert creepy "Ikuto" smirk.

Nothing, nothing.

Now, Amu is really into clothes and fashion. She's always best-dressed.

"Do you remember the fashion show with Yua like a year ago?"

Why are you bringing up random stuff?

"I'm on this person's blog and they made a poll."

And?

"It was about the best-dressed in that episode."

When does this story get interesting?

"Well, I won. Doesn't that say something?"

Huh, really? How odd.

"How is that odd?"

Just odd because you're not the best and you're never dressed well.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that..."

Wow, we're getting sidetracked.

"Look at the ratings, Kairi-kun! Rima-chan and Nagi really brought back that teenage audience!"

We can hear you!

Nagihiko laughed, "Wow."

Anyways, where were we?

"I think we're pretty much finished with Amu."

Right. She's a spazzy fashionista with a cool-and-spicy outer character. Ikuto is the only one who can turn her into a tomato. She's very heroine-like, meaning she likes solving problems and being the peacemaker.

"You should all be getting Amu right, too."

Clearly, they're not actually watching the anime. It explains the terrible Amuto stories.

"True."

Next is-

"Souma-kun," Nagihiko pointed at the next name on my paper.

Ah, Kukai. He's second on my "Hate List."

"Who's first?"

It's not obvious?

"How hurtful, Rima-chan."

Ignoring.

Kukai is your basic jock. He mainly plays soccer, but occasionally basketball, I think.

"Yeah, that's right."

He's dating Ikuto's little sister, Utau.

"Oh, yeah. That was really surprising."

It was. Poor Yaya, though, 'cause she-

Ahem, what was I saying?

"Not sure."

Put a cork in it.

Kukai acts like everyone's big brother, since he's older and the ex-Jack's chair in the Guardians.

"Remember when we arm-wrestled?"

I remember. You lost. Ha.

"I think he was cheating."

Sure, he was. Whatever helps you sleep at night.

He's always grinning idiotically and apparently, he has a ton of free time. He visited the Royal Garden a lot back when we were in elementary.

"Wasn't it the 'Upperclassman-With-All-The-Free-Time-To-Hang-Out'? Or something along those lines?"

If I say yes, will you stop talking?

"Probably not." he smiled.

Oh, I forgot to mention that he has an obsession with noodles. Ramen noodles, specifically.

"Yep."

The thing I think most people overlook when they write stories centered on Kukai is that he has four brothers.

"Kaidou, Shuusui, Unkai, and Rento."

I think those are their names. Kaidou is the oldest, and he's really buff and scary.

"He's not scary, just...forceful."

Whatever you say.

Shuusui is like a genius. He's amazingly smart, and last I heard, he was studying to be a doctor.

Unkai is the most like Kukai. Enough said.

"Unkai is extremely lazy and laid-back."

I thought I said, "Enough said."?

Now, Rento is so much like Tadase, it's scary. So you probably have a good picture of what he's like.

"Rento just really cares about his looks more than anything."

Exactly. Now, let's do two examples to see if you guys get what Kukai's like. Nagihiko, you read the examples.

"Sure. First one: Kukai is late to school."

The answer better pop right in your head for that one; he's been late to school eight times already. Has he gotten in trouble yet?

"I don't think so."

Of course not. Next one?

"The second one: Kukai gets jealous when the girl he cares about is with other guys."

That might be a little hard for some people, so I'll tell you guys the answer. That's out-of-character. If you think that he gets jealous when Utau hangs out with other guys, he doesn't. If in your Kukamu story, you make Kukai jealous of Amu and Ikuto, that's incorrect.

Kukai is the definition of easygoing.

"And Rima is the definition of uptight."

I am not uptight!

"You sure about that?"

I'm not even going to waste my energy on you.

"So you say..."

Tsukasa, can I please go home?

"Don't you still have to do Ikuto, Utau, Tadase, Kairi, and Nagihiko-kun?"

Ugh.

"Here, Rima-chan." he handed my list.

Thanks, I guess.

Okay, let's get all of the easy people out of the way first.

"Like Hotori-kun?"

Exactly.

Tadase is the kind of person who's nice to everyone and has to do the "right thing." He has quite a large amount of fangirls because he's known for his princely appearance.

"Tadase is a bit feminine, however."

Should you really be the one to say that?

Nagihiko frowned at me, feigning hurt. "It hurts, Rima-chan. Right here." he pointed to his heart.

Well, boo-hoo for you.

"You're so mean to me, Rima-chan."

Geez, you're so out of character today. Are you chara-changed with Rhythm?

The girly-boy blinked a few times then stared at me. "What'd you say, Rima-chan?"

I nodded. Yup, chara-change with Rhythm.

He groaned, slapping his forehead. "Again? I've told him to stop doing that without my permission! He's so reckless."

There's Nagihiko! Say hi to the fans.

"Hi?" he looked at the camera uncertainly.

Continuing on with Tadase...

He's extremely polite and popular with not only girls, but moms as well.

"My mom keeps telling me that I should act more like him." Nagihiko cracked a smile.

If you can't see, I'm rolling my eyes. Why should you be even more feminism?

"Are you saying that Tadase is girlier than me?"

By a small fraction, yes.

"...I have nothing to say to that."

Yeah, okay. Tadase also has a way with getting what he wants by using his sparkle attack. But out of all the ex-guardians and current guardians, it's the weakest.

"Whose sparkle attack is the strongest then?"

Well, Amu and Yaya's are well up there.

"Oh, I've seen Amu's."

But I think that my sparkle attack is far more superior.

"You have a sparkle attack?" his eyes widened.

Yeah, but you're never gonna see it.

"Why not?"

I only use it on worthy people.

"Oh, thanks."

Yes. Next is Kairi.

"That's another easy one."

Kairi is extremely smart and studious. He's serious about academics and can find out information about any topic easily.

"Like Easter?"

Right. Kairi is very shy around girls, though. He's kind of awkward when it comes to love and all thing related to love.

"Isn't he dating Yaya-chan?"

Uh, no. At least, I'm pretty sure...KAIRI!

"Y-Yes?"

Are you dating Yaya?

"N-No! W-What makes you think-?"

Does that answer your question?

"Oh, yeah."

Kairi is every teacher's dream. He always manages to get straight A's.

"Unlike you, Rima-chan!"

...Are you chara-changed with Rhythm again?

"Nope." he smiled.

Please let this be over soon...

"Then move on to Utau or something."

Fine, fine. Utau is what everyone's talking about right now in Japan. She's HUGE. When I say huge, I mean like she's well-known, not huge as in fat.

"I don't think Utau could ever be fat."

Utau is very competitive, especially with Kukai. She eats giant bowls of ramen every day, but how can she be as thin as a stick?

"Does she do sports?"

...That's like asking Yaya what book she last read.

"Oh, sorry."

Utau is very headstrong and a bit stubborn.

"That's probably why she and Amu clash so much."

They're both stubborn bulls.

"...I got a weird image of-"

Don't say anything.

Utau cares a lot about her loved ones, like Ikuto. She's extremely protective of him, even going as far as saying that she knew Amu couldn't "handle it."

"I remember that. Amu-chan probably blushed at least thirteen different shades of red."

Really? I counted twelve.

Stop sidetracking me!

"Hey, you're the one responding to me."

...Quiet.

Utau's songs come from her heart and she loves her fans. She's an all-around nice person, but don't let her get involved in your love life. Utau is the queen of meddling.

"Like last week, Utau and Yaya worked together to set me and Rima-chan up at the amusement park."

Yeah, let's not talk about that, okay?

"Whatever you say, Rima-chan."

The last thing you should know about her is that she definitely wears the pants in her relationship with Kukai. She's running the show there.

"I don't usually see any stories with an out-of-character Utau."

Same here, so you guys must be doing something right.

"Ikuto?"

Finally, we're almost done. How long has it been?

Kairi?

"About an hour."

"Time flies when you're having fun!"

No, time does not fly. It never flies.

"Uptight much?"

...Self-control, Rima.

"Loosen up a little! Just keep it cool!"

Rhythm.

Anyways, Ikuto is probably one of the most complex characters. You guys probably think he's so easy to write. He's just a perveted cat who messes with Amu.

Yes and no.

There's more to his personality besides Amu and dirty thoughts. I've gathered a lot of information from Ikuto.

Besides loving to tease Amu relentlessly and having catlike instincts, Ikuto is the most protective person ever.

When he was still in Easter, he distanced himself from Utau, Amu, and Tadase by being cold and acting like the bad guy. The reason he did that was so they didn't get hurt trying to help him. He's really selfless.

Wow, I can't believe I'm saying nice things about Ikuto.

"Why don't you ever say nice things to me, Rima-chan?"

(Ignoring Nagihiko.) He's also really...driven. Once he sets out to do something, he'll keep working at it until it's accomplished.

Random Fact Number One: Ikuto likes chocolate. Apparently, he's too good for vanilla.

Note: I'm reading off of what Utau told me.

Random Fact Number Two: Ikuto doesn't wear shorts. It can be two billion degrees outside and he'll still wear jeans.

Random Fact Number Three: He eats taiyaki from the tail first, like a cat.

Random Fact Number Four: Ikuto never shows sadness. The last time he cried was when he was...what, eight years old?

Random Fact Number Five: Ikuto is smart in school, getting into honors classes and having a GPA (grade point average) of 4.6.

"Someone's a smarty-pants."

Shut up, you.

Okay, we're done, so-

"Have you forgotten one of the most important characters, Rima-chan?"

Tsukasa, I've named everyone.

"Everyone except for me, Rima-chan. I thought we were friends!"

Can't I just die now?

No? No?

"I'm waiting, Rima-chan." he smirked.

Grrr.

"I think Tsukasa wants you to make it honest. He said that the more honest it is, the quicker he'll allow you to return home."

Honest? Really?

Oh, fine.

Nagihiko is a purple-haired crossdresser. He's also known as Nadeshiko, former Queen in the Guardians. Nagihiko practices dance, and thus travels to Europe every other year. He has no siblings, but many friends. Strangely, he's popular.

He plays a lot of different sports, mainly basketball.

"Am I good at it?"

I don't know.

"Well, you have to tell everyone, Rima-chan."

...He's good at basketball.

"Why, thank you, Rima-chan."

You're stinkin' welcome.

Nagihiko does well in his studies, and is often too serious about life. That's where his chara, Rhythm, comes in. Deep down inside is a devious flirt.

"Me? Flirt?"

Oh, don't lie.

Speaking of lying, Nagihiko does that quite frequently.

"No, I don't!"

He hasn't even told Amu or Yaya that he's Nadeshiko. Wimp.

"I think Amu-chan still needs me."

You can make up pathetic excuses all you want.

"Tell the viewers how Nagihiko is perfect!"

Okay, I think Tsukasa has a screw a little too loose because Nagihiko isn't perfect.

"Aren't I?"

No.

"Well, he's good at sports and school. He's nice and friendly. He can dance, act, and sing."

He can't sing, Kairi.

"He's tall and rich. And he can cook, right?"

Well, those things don't matter.

"You didn't like those cream puffs, Rima-chan? I thought they were delicious."

They were mediocre.

"Even though we made them together?"

We did not make them together. Did not. Make. Them. Together.

"I can't believe you don't remember, Rima-chan."

"Oh, and a lot of girls find him...attractive?"

I'm not part of that minority.

"You mean majority?"

Nope.

"You know you don't mean that, Rima-chan."

I know I do. I'm going home now.

"Oh, let me walk you home then!"

Leave me alone, Crossdresser.

"My heart hurts."

My head hurts from your mouth opening and closing.

...Kairi? Are you following us?

"Tsukasa thought it would be good for the Bonus Features on the DVD!"

Bonus Features? DVD?

"Yes, because-no, Mashiro-san, don't touch tha-!"

***PLEASE READ! READ THIS NIFTY THING DOWN HERE CALLED AN AUTHOR'S NOTE! ;D

Whew, and done! :) Wow, this chapter is like 3,000 words. I wanted to get this one up as soon as possible for all of you. I'm glad so many of you guys enjoy this! :D

What chapter would be complete with both Rima and Nagihiko in it? ;) Don't worry Nagihiko-lovers, Nagihiko will have his own chapter later on.

I looked over this myself,-three times, actually-but if there are any mistakes, please point them out. Also, I apologize if you find Rima or Nagihiko out of character; I would hate to write them out of character in the chapter where it's all about staying IN-CHARACTER. xD Keep in mind that Nagihiko is in all out playboy-Rhythm mode a couple times throughout the chapter.

What else...

OH, YEAH!

I want YOU guys to decide who should be hosting the next chapter. Instead of giving you choices, I'll leave it open-ended. You can even pick some of the Shugo Charas! I'll write whatever character you guys want me to. Side-characters are allowed too, like Yua, or something. :)

Happy Voting!

-Sky

OH!