Remember Ame Ichoji the theater department star from Iriomote high? She has friends, as befits a non-mean-doe queen bee. More theater department mammals, who form a wonderful circle of friends. This is "the girls" she is often out with. Well... It's socially nuanced.
Left to right we start with Kirana Badak, a woolly Sumatran dwarf rhinoceros. The stage manager. Everything in the universe of performance is under her puff-blocked direction. She is not quite dour but she has a serious streak a mile wide, that comes of understanding the stakes. She also has some small insecurities, being so short and chunky. Not that her friends get on her about it, she just has high standards for herself. She laments ever finding a good woman to settle down with. Though her friends note that even as a soft inter (She seeks something pachyderm, like another rhino or an elephant) she seems to want a rich, jet-setting adventurer. She admits it's too aspirational, but she can dream.
In the middle, the gentlest of giants. Sumbadra Belang the Sumatran tiger is essentially a mouse trapped in a tiger's body. Exceptionally sweet, extremely gentle, her voice tend to come in three modes: mumble, whisper, and mumble-whisper. She's the biggest but only has confidence when her friends are there for her, her own height and natural power making her uncomfortable. She's an actress, and a very good one. If she can lose herself in a role it all melts away. She can be vicious, by accident. In staged fight scenes she can forget her own strength and is very hard on props. Kirana often makes jokes that the woman that she wants needs to have a brother for Sumbadra, being an Outsider who had a massive thing for elephants.
Lastly, one of the girls... who isn't. Kiwano Mbembe, a mongoose. He's the most flamboyant and theatrical non-actor ever, being prop master and head of props and scenery matters. Why the getup? He was an orphan, raised by hyenas in the area where Iriomote is, a hyena family with strong ties to the place. He took naturally to the typical hyena style of sweet, cute, feminine-read males and ran with it far and fast. He is gloriously and flamboyantly gay, needing very little reason to go over the top. He'd be a cheerleader if the school had them, but he does his best during school spirit events and carnivals. He's a new addition to the group, Ame figuring he was a good fit, as he really does consider himself one of "the girls". He's not trans, he just fits better in an environment with very few hyenas. He also doesn't step on anyone's toes. He's a Zero, a non-judgmental term for someone who is species-straight. He wants to find a handsome, hunky mongoose boy and settle down to running a household like his parents are training him to.
This is their usual "walking around" clothes. Their personalities are reflected in the attire. Kirana is loose but practical in a polo and skirt with knife pleats. Classic and classy. Sumbadra is loosely conservative, with her button-up with shirt pleats, and old fashioned puffed sleeves, plus a straight skirt that's quite long. Kiwano just goes right for it, pretty and exciting. Spaghetti strap midriff top (It's almost certainly not supposed to be, but being so long and stretched out, rather than buy a mustelid top he bought one for, probably, a rabbit and it just gets pulled up like that) and a swishy skirt with box pleats that help it move and flutter. And of course, a flamboyant pose, all Yatta and vaguely Sailor Moon.
capt_hairball
