what

“Hellll yeah!! What, you never saw the TV series?! They don’t got that over here? Man!”

“Anyway… YEAH! But I don’t chase any ol’ storms, kid… TORNADOES! That’s my real goal!”

“But… There ain’t too many tornadoes in Japan…and they’re ever harder ta predict… So lately I kinda gotta settle fer typhoons…”

When she trailed off it was time for the boy to introduce himself. It only just then occurred to Yona how long they’d been talking and having such a good time like they were friends…when she didn’t even know his name. Rover, huh…? Like a dog?

Before her thoughts could whiz about any more, Rover caught her attention with a dramatic display…to the accompaniment of falling candy.

“Pffft… HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Yona clutched her stomach and nearly doubled over laughing. An overreaction, maybe, but something about the timing pushed it out of amusement and into hilarity. She was calming down and wiping away a couple of traces of tears when Rover began talking about his talent.

“Whaaat?! Are you serious? You mean like Legoland?!”

Yona had never actually been to Legoland, but she had seen pictures! That had to count for something.

“That’s way cool! That’s way way way way cool! You must be—!”

She suddenly cut herself off. He mentioned becoming bored easily, but he loved doing something that took a lot of time and focus… That sounded familiar… too familiar even. 

Suddenly Yona looked… a little shy. She clutched one of her arms and looked down at the ground before sheepishly looking up at Rover. Just as soon as her posture slumped she straightened up again, but now she looked much more calm than before.

“What, really? Your parents actually let you go out and chase tornadoes? Dude, my mom’s probably worried sick about me not checkin’ in now — I mean, for good reason, keheh — I once got my leg water-clogged and some stranger had to piggy back me home when they found me in the morning. But, dude! Dude, you should totally take me along one day, yeah? Typhoons or hurricanes or tornadoes — we can put a bag over my leg, it’ll be great!”

A ramble, quick with his words and fuelled by Yona’s excitement. What a neat chick! He’d definitely have to keep in touch with her after they get back to the school. 

But.. but then, just like that, something stopped. Her shoulder’s slumped and her eyes lowered to the ground — it was like someone had just switched off her light. Rover’s own expression seemed to mirror hers, fading slowly away and replacing with knit eyebrows and a slight frown.

“Patience? Nah, uh..”

It sounded like she were... saying it took a lot of work to do what he loved or something, right? Battle through all the challenges, but it was all worth it in the end! 

But that wasn’t really... 

“Nnn.. It’s kinda like... s’long as I’m really interested in something I can do this cool, like... I dunno how to describe it.. focus but, more focus. Hyper-focus! So I can get reeeally into it and spend a bunch of hours going at it with no problem, y‘know? Eller i det mindste noget lignende. I wouldn’t really say I’m patient, though, that’s.. maaaybe a bit too far. You should see me with school work, keheh.” 

And speaking of school work... Rover reached towards her umbrella, hand stopping a few inches away. 

He felt her gaze on him but didn’t move a muscle aside from slowly running the pad of his thumb down the zipper of the case. Eye contact was rather off-putting, Eizō had always found, and he could hear her just fine without looking at her.

Eizō couldn’t say that what she was saying was wrong either.

“I had no intention of reporting you from the start, trust me. It’s less that it’s none of my business and more like I don’t really care.”

Well, at least he was admitting to the fact that he was completely and utterly passive about the entire situation. If anything, perhaps he had been a little curious about whether his inkling about whether or not there was thievery occurring was correct, and now that he confirmed as much, he was back to his default state of… not caring. The keychains weren’t his, anyway. None of the stuff in this store was —

— Wait a minute, what was she implying — ?

“…I already have a bad enough reputation for nothing, I’d rather not give it any leverage, if only to keep the other students from picking fights with me.”

If he got paid every time some cocky kid looking to gain some street cred waltzed up to him, thinking he was some kind of renowned delinquent, Eizō Shiozawa would be a very rich high schooler. However, he didn’t get paid — never would — and having to shoo off said kids was… rather annoying.

“Why would I go to the trouble of stealing something that I can easily pay for anyway? ‘Seems like more trouble than it’s worth.”

Arachinda’s eyes wandered away from their little coner breifly, to the front counter where a single store employee was stationed. While they were busying their hands with some work, she noticed their eyes always moving back to them. Watching. 

Expected, but meant they probably had little time before the employee walked over, pretending to be staking shelves. She let her eyes return to the stranger. 

“You sound like you’re implying we’d get caught — I don’t get caught.”

She paused, blinked, and gave him a slanted glance. 

“Not unless I want to, anyway.” 

Her next action was slow, enough so the boy could probably just move and she’d be left with her hand hovering awkwardly in the air. She reached out and tugged the pencil case from his hand, inching it out of his grip until all the weight fell into her palm. 

“You’re indifferent about it either way, aren’t you? So long as it’s less trouble.”

With as much cool as she had when taking her little keychains, Arachnida pulled open his sweater with her index finger, dropped the pencil case in the jacket’s inside pocket. 

If he hadn’t peered down the aisle in mild curiosity, he wouldn’t have noticed the only other person in here beside himself — he hadn’t even heard anyone else — and his expression remained, predictably, unchanged as he apparently became the sole witness to a thief’s activities.

Well, he assumed they were a thief. There was no other reason for someone to be acting so suspiciously in a store unless they were stealing or otherwise up to no good.

Running a single fingertip over the raised letters on a nonspecific rubber bracelet as he shuffled down the passageway to approach the individual, he scanned his eyes over the pencil cases — that’s what he’d been looking for, how convenient! —  before lightly tugging one in a solid teal color down from its hook to inspect it more closely.

“…You probably shoulda’ checked that there wasn’t anyone else around before you did that.”

The performer didn’t move when the boy approached — didn’t even look up immediately, actually. She hummed softly, loud enough that he’d be able to hear and know she’d heard him. Black claws reached out and selected a dark purple beer bottle opener, and she stared at it before curling her fingers around it.

“Did you know—”

Her voice was low, just above a murmur. About as dull as his. After the words left her lips she turned her head, sweeping her gaze over to him. Without looking away, she slid the small metal tool into the back pocket of her jeans. 

“—bystanders are less likely to stop a crime when they’re the only people as witness? It’s something like the Bystander Effect, only instead of assuming someone else will be the tattle-tale, they figure it’s none of their business.”

“No one got hurt”, “It wasn’t that bad of a crime”, “I don’t want to deal with what it might get myself into.”

She listed them off slowly, dragging her gaze to the pencil case he’d selected. Jeez, Arachnida, this wasn’t the sweetest of first conversations. 

“This school is rich and busy enough not to be concerned with a few keychains going missing anyway.”

Magenta hues trailed from his item back to him. Her head tipped. 

“Or pencil cases.” 

“Thirty-what?”

Yona listened to his whole list of things he wanted to give away and then snorted.

“Pfft, Didja hear what I said?! I said…I DON’ MIND GIVIN’ IT AWAY! Now if yer jus’ gonna borrow my phone that’s coo—”

When her eyes opened they happened to lock onto the kaleidoscope and she recalled what he said just a few moments ago.

“H-Hol’ on… What was thatcha said? Eitch…pee…”

“NAWWW are you goin’ to Hope’s Peak Academy? A kid like you’s in high school?!”

“Well guess what, son… SO AM I! Hey, that means ya live in the dorms, right?! I can jus’ walk ya back! Carry my umbrella, i don’ mind gettin’ rained on. I jus’ took it to see better.”

And what about grocery shopping? Seems she had forgotten about that entirely. But what she hadn’t forgotten—indeed, what suddenly occurred to her—was that they were complete strangers and she could be lying and just be some weirdo dragging this poor little boy off somewhere.

“Oh, right, uh…”

Yona fished around in her pocket for her wallet and after searching through it a bit she pulled out an ID card… which was actually her Hope’s Peak Academy-issued electronic student handbook. The screen came to life and showed Yona’s own face and information. She stuffed her wallet back in her pocket and held out her handbook for the boy to see.

He nodded quickly, eagerly, along to her mention of the dorms. Lucky.. x2! What were the chances two Hope’s Peak students would meet on some rainy night in front of a store? Fate, perhaps, or the work of some... other forces.

“Dude, you’re a life-saver! I dunno what I’d do if I had to sit around here for another hour — I don’t really get cold but imagine how boring it’d be just sittin’ around. I mean, I’ve got a bunch of stuff in my backpack for situations like this, but still.”

He spoke while she dug through her pocket, watched as she pulled out her wallet and flashed an ID. Yona introduced herself and Rover leaned in close to inspect the card, humming thoughtfully. After a few beats, he gave a curt nod and leaned back. 

“Yep, keheh, that looks like the real deal alright. Your title kinda sounds like something out a movie. D’you, like, actually chase storms?” 

“And I’d dig through my bag to find mine but I don’t keep it in a neat little wallet or nothin’, s’just kind of... somewhere. Around. But the name’s Rover—”

A dramatic pause. He straightened his back and turned his head to the side slightly, enough so he could look at her from the corner of his eyes. He dropped his hood, lowered his voice. 

“—Red Rover.”

He held the pose for a few extra seconds, then relaxed after a few snickers slipped out. 

“Y-Yeah so uh… Yer okay…? For real?”

“Heh! That’s good!”

“Wait so you were sayin’ uh… Yer leg… it ain’t, uh…waterproofed? Is that it?”

“Ha ha…! Sorry that happened to ya.”

She sure didn’t sound sorry.

“But yeah! Storms can start like…WHA-BAM! Ya should’ve looked at the forecast and y’would’ve known you’d get caught unprepared, silly kid!”

She playfully reached out and shook his shoulder, lightheartedly emphasizing her point.

Yet, something about the stranger’s smile was contagious for the young builder. He grew excited instead, as if he were feeding off her enthusiasm and booming voice. He started bouncing on his feet, looking like he might bolt off at any given second. 

“Dude, really? Sweet!”

Lucky!

“Uh, hm, a phone is probably the best option, but that means I gotta admit to, like, being stranded to more than one person. Think I could borrow your umbrella for a bit? Or, uh, I guess maybe just. Take it. I’ve got ‘bout 200 yen and 30-øre if you want that, an’, uh—” 

What did he have that he didn’t mind giving away? 

Yona’s lip briefly jutted out in a pout, but soon her face turned back to its previous comfortable, pleased expression. Even if it might’ve seemed ironic, it was hard for Yona to stay down in this kind of weather. The clouds were dark and the rain was pouring hard. Maybe there would be thunder and lightning?! …Eh, probably not. But she could hold out hope. She had a tiny cheap plastic umbrella with her just for visibility’s sake, besides that she didn’t seem to mind at all that the rain was soaking into her tights. Yona kicked at the puddles forming in the cement with her boots, preoccupied with the splashes they made when a loud voice called out to her.

“Huh?!”

She looked up and found somebody in a bright blue hoodie huddled beneath a shelter next to a closed up store. Walking closer, it seemed like it was some little kid. That was weird…what did they need help with?! It wasn’t like they were the Wicked Witch of the West or anything, it was just some rai—

Yona froze a few feet away from the kid. Her eyes widened at the sight of his prosthetic leg and soon they lingered on the part of his sleeve that was tied where an arm should be. What had this child been through…?! Wait, more importantly, maybe this situation was way more serious than she thought.

Perhaps it was the green color scheme she had going, or the fact the thick curls tied up on the top of her head looked remarkably like broccoli, but Rover was getting a real maple tree vibe coming from her. He tipped his head as she approached, watching her hair bounce along with her movement. 

(Fear not Yona, this was a compliment — trees were in Rover’s top ten Things That Are Cool list.) 

“Break? Uh, don’t think so, no.”

To test, or maybe just assure the stranger, he jumped. Up and down and then to his left and right, did a little jig to the music blasting from headphones, and when it seemed that he, in fact, was not broken, stopped and gave her a thumbs up. 

“Nah — I managed to find shelter before the rain could damage anythin’. Super lucky ‘cause it was like, y’know, when it just kind of starts drizzlin’ and then BAM, suddenly it’s raining buckets. Had to sprint to the nearest store front with a lil roof. I mean, you probably saw the whole rain thing if you were out but—” 

He cut himself off, frowned. This had absolutely nothing to do with anything. Nice. The builder flashed her a sheepish smile, then returned to the problem at hand.

yoooo guess who’s feeling mushy today

shsltechnicalsupport : Alexis, you are one of my best friends in this community, and I am so glad I started talking to you instead of letting my shyness keep me from saying anything. You have more OCs than I have followers (tbh you may have more OCs than Jesus has followers) but I always love to hear about them because you put so much creativity into every single one. Thank you for always being supportive, for being funny and for watching Footloose because I wouldn’t shut up about it. I love you a lot and I hope that you get all the wonderful things you deserve in life!

shslregulars : MY PARTNER IN MIDWESTERN COLLEGE SUFFERING and more importantly, a lovely sweet human who listens to me ramble at weird hours. I’ve told you about how much I admire your skill at making characters who feel like they could be real people, but follow forevers are about being extra sappy so I think it bears repeating. In a community where I think the instinct is often to go straight to 11 on a scale of 1 to 10, I really love how you’re able to create distinct characters who have realistic issues that still affect them in big ways. You’re also funny as hell. I enjoy talking to you so much!

maricolousmaiden : I don’t even know if you check this blog anymore, but you are a big cheesehead. There. I said it. Talking to you helps me develop my OCs and generally enhances my life in a lot of ways. I feel like we’re so gushy with each other so frequently that there’s very little I can say in public you haven’t already heard, so…I hope you’re having a great day! 

shslfollowingblog : Shout! Thank you so much for being my knowledgeable friend during DA4, for watching Korra with me and for generally being a wonderful presence in my life. I can always count on you to be either the voice of reason or someone who links the grownup chat to something completely horrifying. Also: we need to talk more about That Thing we discussed the other day.

shslalias : EVERYTHING I WROTE IN THAT OPINION MEME STILL APPLIES. You are incredibly talented and incredibly kind. I’m very fortunate to know someone like you!

shslcopsandrobbers : THESE ARE GETTING SHORTER AS I GO BUT you are a continuing inspiration to me! Your art is great, your OCs are wonderfully distinct and I’m so excited to see your talents develop further! You have been a positive presence in this community from day one, and I really hope you know how many people here love you.

erinarukami : Holy shit, right? You’re the first friend I made in Dangan Ronpa fandom, and I’m so glad to see you around and roleplaying again. You’ve been a wonderful friend to me. I hope you and your pups are all doing well! (Side note: Ace Attorney was trending today and all I could think of was…my husband…Larry Butz.)

shslgossipcolumnist : SHINY I ALMOST FORGOT YOU. But! You’re the best. I love how different your OCs are from one another, and I love chatting with you when we get the chance. Noriko Suzuki is my new daughter. (This is non-negotiable, sorry.)

MORE COOL PEOPLE WHO I DON’T REALLY TALK TO ONE-ON-ONE BUT WHO ARE NEVERTHELESS AMAZING!

shslclubhostess shslepicmemes gomibabies shsl-bad-decisions hanabirako hpa-classj shsl-psychopomp shsl-trashchildren shslbeepboop 

AAAAND PEOPLE I’D LOVE TO GET TO KNOW BETTER

½ = How the character feels about people taller or shorter than them

± = The character and what they think about math

† = How the character feels about murder

@ = How the character appears online

¥ = How the character handles money or spends it

° = The character’s temperature preferences 

æ = The character and languages (Known or Want to Learn)

↔ = The character’s ability to read directions

♥ = Character’s preference for relationships (sexuality, type of person, etc.)

zzz= What time the character enjoys sleep or being awake

☂ = Weather the character enjoys

♪ = What music the character likes

( =①ω①=) = What animals the character likes and if they have a pet/pets

(・∀・ ) = The character’s emotional state most of the time

☆～（ゝ。∂）= How the character greets people

⊙﹏☉ = What flusters the character

(≧∇≦) = What makes the character happy

(/□＼*)・゜ = What makes the character blush

(;╹⌓╹) = What scares the character

（；へ：） = What makes the character cry

(´ q ` ” ) = The character’s “guilty” pleasure

（・□・；） = What makes the character uncomfortable

(*^◇^)_旦 = What the character likes to eat and drink

｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡ = What makes the character laugh

(´；Д；｀) = What worries the character

(⑅ ‘﹃’ ) = What the character daydreams or thinks about

Barely Methodical Troupe - Bromance - new trailer

National Centre for Circus Arts graduates BMT filmed by graduate Remy Archer. Get tickets for their forthcoming UK tour right here

Cut for length cause wow I’m sappy.