2022-09-10: DecuFes: The GUTS Crossdressing and Cosplay Pageant!

• Log: 2022-09-10 DecuFes: The GUTS Crossdressing and Cosplay Pageant!
• Cast: Sheryl Nome, Suzaku Kururugi, Cornelia li Britannia, Milly Ashford, Rin Starking, Emilia Eschonbach, Mana, Kallen Kozuki, Ranka Lee, Rikka Takarada, Yuta Hibiki, Leina Ashta, Nunnally Lamperouge, Gemini Sunrise, Ouka Nagisa, Kaworu Nagisa
• Where: Ashford Academy grounds, Nagoya, Japan (Area 11)
• OOC - IC Date: September 10, 0096 (2022)
• Summary: Ashford Academy puts on its four annual crossdressing and cosplay pageant--now open to the public as a GUTS Deculture Festival event for the first time!

---

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        There's an air of excitement on the grounds of Ashford Academy, and no wonder, with its annual Crossdressing Pageant now open to the whole world for the first time ever. A momentous event on multiple levels; after all, not only is the Sheryl Nome going to be one of the judges, she's even giving an opening performance. The stage is already prepared, with extra light apparatuses set up earlier on the edges by Sheryl's crew. The curtains are closed at the moment, but as the twinkling sounds of the opening bars of Universal Bunny play, they slowly part. Smoke drifts out from the center of the stage as the lights flare on and project the images of spinning clockwork cogs. Sheryl croons a rising note, then LEAPS out of the fog to slide to the edge of the stage with a sharp, "Woah!!"
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lti81EcR5k (Universal Bunny)
        
        At her sides, projections of rotund plushie-like bunnies leap out in sync with her--white on her right, black on her left. Likewise, thick splatters of hot pink splash across the stage, then slowly pool and spill down its sides. Sheryl herself wears a cosplay school uniform of no school that actually exists. Her strawberry blonde curls are tied up in two high pigtails with a pair of bunny clips, the right one a sweet-faced white bunny, the left a wickedly grinning black bunny. She wears a high-necked black top with a white interior, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, the buttons undone enough to show off her red-and-black bra and plenty of cleavage. A black choker hugs her neck while a red bow adorns her left breast, and a loose black-and-white tie hangs from her neck. Her top mostly covers a bloodred mini-skirt, and her calves are tied up with high-heeled black boots laced in red, leaving plenty of bare leg to admire in between.
        
        Truly, it's a cosplay to inspire the attractive force of despair.
        
        Sheryl twists and shimmies to the music, her strange plush back-up dancers shimmying with her. She spins to bare her back to the audience, then glances over her shoulder and raises a hand with three fingers, then two, then one as she counts down:
        "Three, two, one!"
        
        Twirling her arm around, she flips on both feet to face the audience. She reaches out, one hand, then the other, then points them up at the sides of her head as if to form bunny ears. She turns to one side and bows, and the black plush bunny shoves the white plush into the background and dances its way into the foreground, in front of and to one side of Sheryl. The white plush spins back and slumps, seeming to sulk, while Sheryl mimes putting on blush on one cheek, then the other, legs spread far; then she extends her scarlet-painted nails and flicks out her fingers as she steps forward, ankles crossing. As a winged gold heart, the symbol of the Galactic Fairy, blows from them out into the crowd, the black plush bunny mimics her dance moves...
        "I am an invincible black bunny
        "A trap that bites into you and won't let go
        "I'll apply my rouge, get my enamel crusher,
        "And take over your forehead! Ahh ahhh ahhhhh..."
        
        ...until the white plush bunny flings itself into the foreground, sending the black plush spiraling into the curve of the clockwork cogs and sending it into the back. Delicately, the white plush pirouettes and takes up the fore at Sheryl's side. Smiling prettily, Sheryl pays them no mind as she drapes her arms upwards, hands high over her head. She shimmies around to present her back to the audience, one hand at her backside and gesturing, mimicking both a rabbit tail and a come-hither. As she turns again to bow, she mimes drinking up a spoonful of something, then tosses it away with disinterest and sways away. The white plush mimicks her dance moves the whole while.
        "I am a frail white bunny
        "A flighty thing that pleads with upturned eyes
        "I got a spoon full of sweet, melty love!
        "But I've grown bored of this strawberry star..."
        
        The clockwork cogs both giveth and taketh away, meanwhile, and the black plush bunny revolves back to the foreground. It clashes with the white plush, but the white refuses to give up the stage again. They part momentarily as Sheryl steps forward between them, clutching her shoulders and then pulling them apart to form a heart with her hands over her chest. Behind her, though, the two bunnies push and shove and bounce off each other until Sheryl leans forward with one hand up next to her mouth to whisper-sing her last line:
        "My greenhorn heart will paint the dawn blood red
        "If you suddenly embrace me from behind
        "The smiling angel is, just kidding, a demon."
        
        At the double-beat, the black and white plush bunnies spring forward to either side of Sheryl, and now all three dance in sync as golden fireworks flare up from the ring of lights. Sheryl spreads her arms wide, shaking back and forth before bringing her fingertips together and spreading them out to form a golden floating image of the number 1000%. She reaches down and caresses her curves with the backs of her hands until they're high over her head, then turns to one side and pumps her elbows sharply back.
        "You're so simple I see clean through you, 1000%!
        "What's ambiguous is the limit, 1000%!
        "Irrational on the reverse...
        "I show you my all and give you a reason to love!!"
        
        Sheryl steps backwards as she sways her arms back and forth over her head with an uncharacteristic languidness. She soon brings them down over her head to make bunny ears again, while in front of her, the black and white plush bunnies clash--merge momentarily in an image of a single bunny, half white, half black, which hovers in the air until Sheryl steps forward through it with confident strides and dashes into shimmering motes of light and darkness.
        "The effective temperature is rising, 1000%!
        "I'm both defiant and sensitive, 1000%!
        "For our private game, let's love each other
        "As we gamble on the fate of the universe...!"
        
        As the instrumentals shift into a harder, heavier beat, Sheryl slowly circles the stage, leaning forward as she crosses her legs with each stop like a cross between a runway model and a tiger on the hunt. She spirals in to the beat until she reaches the center, where she lifts her arms bunny ear-like and snaps them to one side, then brings them together to reach out to the audience as if in perverse supplication.
        "Black or white? Chaos and rapture
        "Dark or light? Conflict and embrace
        "Truth or doubt? Groundless delusions whirl around you good
        "Yeah, you're just about to get chained up, toyed with, and fall apart
        "Heaven or Hell? Karma spins in circles
        "Whatever path you try to guide me onto, we'll have a stormy rendezvooooous!"
        
        The instrumentals shift into the twinkling opening motif of the song, and Sheryl draws her arms back. Though she'd been wearing a hidden headset microphone for her song, she now brings out her iconic gold microphone and speaks into it as the melody slowly fades on repeat. The lighting, too, phases out of her performance lighting into standard pageant lighting.
        
        "Welcome, one and all, to the first public Ashford Academy Crossdressing Pageant! A local legend of an event, it's now open to everyone to enjoy--and for students from all across the Gathering to Unite Transnational Schools to participate in. I, Sheryl Nome, am proud to both introduce the event and help judge these daring teens alongside Viceroy Cornelia li Britannia and former three-time pageant winner Milly Ashford. Who'll be crowned winner and take home the top prize? Our Master of Ceremonies, Sir Suzaku Kururugi, is about to introduce our brilliant contestants, so don't you dare look away! <3"
        
        With that, Sheryl blows a kiss to the audience, then tucks her microphone back where it came. Steps backwards and to one side to cede the stage and eventually descend to head over to the judges's table, she smiles and claps, turning her gaze to the aforementioned MC. And as the spotlight turns to him...

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

There are times when you absolutely must get into the spirit of the event, and any event for which Milly Ashford is responsible falls invariably into that category. Suzaku Kururugi takes the stage wearing a green-and-white midriff-baring sailor fuku with matching green ankle-length boots; the outfit is simple and fairly restrained, probably being sourced relatively abruptly from the costumes available to one of the school's many clubs. A golden-yellow star-laden headband rests across his head, and the lighting he's given -- far more subdued than Sheryl's for sure -- is just pronounced enough to give it a moment's sparkle. He is nothing if not reflective of the sort of enthusiasm Milly brings to her events, and has none of the characteristic jitters that might be expected of someone ill at ease with with crossdressing or public appearances.

He must be wearing a microphone clipped close to his collar, because he's not carrying a hand mic when he starts to speak, "Thank you, Miss Nome, for the wonderful opening performance and introduction! Before we move on to contestant introduction, it's my honor to provide a quick primer for those of you who may be new to attending Ashford Academy's Crossdressing Pageant. The contest will take place in three stages:"

Holding up fingers as he counts illustratively, he continues, "The first round will be dedicated to crossdressing, the second to a talent exhibition, and the third to cosplay. Contestants will provide a brief explanation of what they brought to the stage and why, and in the case of round two give a quick show of their skills! Each round will also be accompanied by a question from our Judges to our contestants, so be ready for anything!"

"To our contestants," Suzaku partway turns, angling his head to suggest looking back-stage but not ACTUALLY doing so. "Good luck, and remember-- be GUTS-y!"

The Master of Ceremonies winks to the audience and concludes, "Now, it's time to hear from our Judges and get started! Please give your warmest welcome to Viceroy Cornelia li Britannia!"

With that Suzaku retreats from center stage to one side of the stage, what little lighting that was on him dimming and then going out.

<Pose Tracker> Cornelia li Britannia has posed.

Cornelia li Britannia was not supposed to be here.

The original judge in mind for this... event... had been Euphemia. This is something Euphemia would appreciate. Something that wouldn't take away from Euphemia's valuable time to partake in. Something that wouldn't induce the beginning strains of a headache as Euphemia witnessed a gaggle of frolicking plushies dancing on a stage.

But Euphemia couldn't make it. She's sick, so she claims. And Cornelia has a well-documented inability to resist a request from her little sister, no matter how embarrassing it may end up being.

And so here is Cornelia li Britannia, Second Princess of the Britannian Union, Viceroy of Area 11, respected and venerated commander of His Majesty's forces, staring at the concert before her with an expression best described as 'awkwardly stiff,' like some foul beast had petrified the violet-haired princess in the middle of being unsure whether to be entertained or mortified and instead ended up frozen betwixt in a way that can at least passably be written off as the princess' vaunted stoicism. At the least, she's managed to keep any kind of flush from her cheeks.

Her right, purple brow twitches mildly around the time the bunnies merge into a black and white ultra-bunny at the height of Sheryl Nome's song and the corners of her purple-painted lips tremble.

"This is ludicrous," she mumbles beneath her breath.

Euphemia lied about her well-being just to force her into this frivolity. Cornelia knows it. She -knows- in her -heart-.

And there will be a reckoning...!

For now, Cornelia judiciously reminds herself to quell her judgment for the sake of the sister she is representing (who has clearly damned her to this fate intentionally and maliciously); situated already at the judge's table, Cornelia is dressed in a sleeveless red doublet with white riding pants, knee-high red boots and red opera gloves -- the crisp, knightly look of the princess completed with a white and strikingly violet capelet draped over her left arm.

For the most part, the viceroy has kept to herself at the judge's table since her arrival, flanked by two of the Glaston Knights. Perhaps just a sign of the violet-haired woman's notorious aloofness.

It's only marred, briefly, as those intensely indigo eyes turn to regard one of her other judges: Milly Ashford. Ashford.

A frown tugs on violet lips from a source hard to place. Those lips part--

'Please give your warmest welcome to Viceroy Cornelia li Britannia!'

Her attention tears back away. Cornelia takes a deep breath... and rises onto her feet.

"... Greetings, to all you--" she only pauses briefly "--bright and promising students who have gathered here today. I... It is my honor to be here, and to see with my own eyes the mettle of our contestants." She does not smile. But she at least manages:

"Make sure to do our great Federation proud."

With that, she places one gloved hand on the judge's table. Her indigo eyes narrow. She steels herself. Her question...

"My question to these contestants, as they begin their first round of competitions...

                "Why have you chosen to participate in this pageant?"

It's probably an easier question. But the sharpness of her stare says Cornelia refuses to accept easy answers.

She just...

... needs to know.

why anyone would

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Already seated at the judges' table when Sheryl arrives at it is, of course, GUTS Event Planner and Ashford Academy Student Council President Milly Ashford, who has shown up in...

... what, for her, is kind of both cosplay and crossdressing: a samurai's armor. It's a full suit, and more importantly, it's actual functional armor rather than just cosplay prop stuff. (A bit of a splurge -- but not at her expense. Milly is great at extracting things from marriage interviews.) She wears her hair up today, of course -- though still with a few locks hanging down along the right side of her face.

The Sheryl Nome performance alone is worth the price of admission. Milly's a little surprised at the small number of participants in the actual pageant portion -- then again, two outfits and a talent is a bit of a hurdle, so she gets it. She sits a little bit forward (this thing is actually kind of uncomfortable...!) and turns her gaze to Suzaku, giving him a smile. He's a good master of ceremonies, though Milly does lament a little bit that he's not particularly putting himself out there. ... then again, he's also utterly natural in the outfit, so she's not going to press. Lady Ashford is utterly confident that Suzaku, in this moment, is choosing to live his best life.

Milly doesn't want to upstage the actual performers, though, and Cornelia has first question. Still -- she does have some duties as nominal leader of GUTS. "Just a friendly reminder, by the way, folks, since our Viceroy wasn't privy to this part: The overall top three finishers of this event will receive a 100%, 50%, or 25% bonus to the budget of the club of their choice!"

Milly keeps Budget Allocation Events semi-quiet and doesn't always announce which events will offer these sorts of prizes until the moment of truth. After all, someone motivated solely by the club budget isn't likely to put on a stellar performance -- but it serves as a great whip for those who may be on the fence.

Settling back into her seat, Milly gets ready to watch everyone.

---

(Elsewhere, Euphemia li Britannia rolls over onto her side in bed, letting out a miserable groan as she pours broth down her gullet. She sniffles. It's probably cute to someone.)

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"Thank you, Viceroy, President," Suzaku says as the floor is temporarily surrendered back to him. He flashes a smile back towards Milly, plenty oblivious to the fact that he's not centering himself quite as much as she hoped.

He clears his throat and says, "Our first contestant brings us a look straight from your favorite dramatic romance stories! Please give a hearty welcome to RIN STARKING as your handsome but downcast next door neighbor!"

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

"Sigh," says RIN STARKING in the backstage room, tugging down on the high-seated tank top that is currently compressing her chest significantly. "The things I do for the club."

And for pride. The dressing space has a helpful screen, though -- and she can hear the sound quite well. As she slides into the rest of her outfit, one pants leg at a time, she watches.

She straightens up at the presentation of the Viceroy. "Jeez," Rin muses. "They really went all out." Her face colors slightly. Her lips purse as she starts to fasten up buttons. "Oh come on," she mutters to herself, "Don't be intimidated by public speaking skills, God."

                        ON * STAGE!

Striding forwards into the sundrenched weather is a round-hipped young man with wavy red hair, worn down to the shoulder and a rakish little smile. A pair of black rectangular-framed glasses sit on his nose. The outfit...?

Up top it's something like a military surplus waistcoat from a Britannian forces uniform cut and style that was retired about eight years ago. (Some things don't change.) The slightly frilled shoulder epaulettes are stock, but the entire forest-green jacket has been distressed artfully around the lower reaches of the coat. Underneath this is an untucked white dress shirt, dark slacks with a garter-brace around the right thigh with steel rings, embroidered motorcycle gloves, and a cross-belt brace over hip and waist with a clasp on the right side.

It rattles as Rin walks forwards.

"Yo," Rin says in a somewhat plainer and deeper voice. She raises up one gloved hand and raises index and middle fingers up to her lips. They rest against the unpainted yet pouty flesh and then come down to point sideways at the judges.

A clean sweep...!

"So I put this outfit together based on a sort of ideal image I've had running through my imagination, like a fiery blaze. Someone who's like... the kind of guy who's brooding, harsh, actually a little bit shy... Some kind of person who could move into the estate next door and try to make it pay while struggling to reconcile with the pain of his life and overcome a wounded past!" Did she double cosplay someone? Yeah, she absolutely did.

Rin folds her hands behind her head as she walks around, her stance somewhat more spread-legged than is typical. Probably too much so.

A question comes.

"Oh, that's super easy!" Rin answers brightly -- before pausing and raising an index finger. Her head lowers for a moment.

Then it comes back up. "I guess I just got a competitive heart, alright?! Tch!" Her head turns away.

Then back. "Your highness," she adds, in her normal voice.

"Moments like this are the time when you can shine the brightest," Rin continues, sliding her hands into her pockets and shifting as if she's leaning against something that isn't there. Her eyes shut and her lips quirk back into a sort of irritated scowl at nothing in particular. "The moments when the eyes of the world are on you. Some people can't hack it. I can! So I'm the one who's gotta be up here, you understand?!"

"Your highness," Rin concludes in her normal voice.

With this she pivots around, actually executing a full 270-degree turn to face the judges and bringing her foot down with a slam, her head tilting back!

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"Our second contestant," Suzaku speaks up as Rin exits the stage, clapping her off as she goes, "Is inspired by the knightly orders of our past. Sallying forth to join us today, but not to tilt at windmills, please prepare your tokens of appreciation -- but don't throw them at the stage! -- for the chivalrous Emilia Eschonbach!"

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

In the leadup to the event, Emilia has been nervous. She was up late in the clubroom on Thursday night, putting the final touches on her outfits. Friday, she went to bed early- Rosalie had firmly warned her about the dangers of going on stage ill-rested, and Emmy took it to heart.

Since students started showing up backstage, she has been helping with make-up, and indeed providing a significant portion of it. While selections of the Fantasy Seduction Club's make up dresser are available, Emilia's own makeup case is multi-tiered and needs wheels to move. It's also open to anyone who wants to raid it, apart from two smaller boxes that have been sealed.

She's helping out, wearing a light smock over her outfit to make sure nothing stains, up until a minute before her cue, where she hands over to another volunteer and gets ready to walk on, pulling a black mask over her face.


-

Emilia walks out onto stage, doing her best to carry herself strongly. Her strides are swift, but determined. She wears an all black outfit- black riding boots, black leather trousers, a black shirt with puffy sleeves and a slightly open chest- the binder underneath matches her skin colour well, but it can only do so much. She has black leather gloves, a black cape and wears a bullwhip, a pistol, and a rapier.

On her face is a black domino mask that causes her emerald green eyes to stand out, and a black hat with gold embellishments. Her hip length purple hair is in a ponytail, but the lightly floofy nature of her hair means it isn't hanging straight.

As she reaches the end of the 'runway', she flares her cape with her left hand, and uses the right to draw her rapier, enacting a fencing salute, and some swift dramatic slashes, before settling on a final pose, cape covering her left side and sword held pointing down and to the side. Her control is good, but her movements demonstrate that while she is used to wielding a sword, she's used to a heavier blade- and not particularly skilled with it.


She doesn't speak until she has to, when the time to explain her costume comes up. Her voice is initially quiet, even with the provided microphone.

"G-G-G-good a-afternoon." It's clear to see the nerves are getting to Emilia. A Princess, her favourite Idol and Milly staring her down are intense. For a second it looks like she might wilt under their gaze.


"A-a-as said before, um, m-my costume is b-b-based on. F-folk heroes f-from the Pendragon a-area. I, um, I w-wanted" Her voice starts to falter entirely. She takes a deep breath. "I w-wanted to ch-choose an outfit that, um that w-would." Emilia can feel herself crumbling. This is going disastrously.

"Th-that w-was s-s-s-something. I'm. N-not." She finishes weakly. Better to have a bad explanation than miss a component completely.

Then comes the question, and Emilia tries not to gulp into the microphone.

"Y-y-yes, Your Highness." Another deep breath. She didn't have time to prepare. "Um, wh-when I first came to. Ashford. S-s-someone made an effort. To make me feel w-welcome." Her voice seems to be coming back now. "She told me. She was looking for an outfit to stuff me into for it." A smile crosses her face. "It was the f-first time. Someone tried. S-s-so. I st-stuffed myself. Into an outfit f-for it. L-l-l-like honoring a promise."

It's at that moment she realizes how publicly she shared what to her is a very personal story. To the 2nd Princess. And an Audience. And Sheryl Nome. She can feel herself turning red, so she swiftly sheathes her sword- with a surprising flourish- bows, and turns on her heel and walks off backstage.

She immediately moves to get herself ready for round two, before digging into helping with makeup. She is unusually quiet, even for her.

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

There's a few moments where Emilia is speaking that Suzaku is actually glancing to one side questioningly as if to ask if he should intervene. He doesn't, though-- and she gets off the stage alright. Then, he spots something that causes his smile to widen visibly.

He beckons towards somebody off-stage and then exclaims, "Bringing a rough-and-tumble look that could put the fear of god in middle schoolers or invite an exasperated sigh from superheroes everywhere, offer your fiercest greetings to Kallen Stadtfeld as the first of three punks, and our third contestant!"

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

When Emilia gets backstage, Rin has already shucked off most of her outfit. She tugs the compression top off with an imperious motion and a groan of relief. "That was super touching," Rin tells Emilia. "Was that the President? Because that sounded like you were talking abotu the President."

<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.

Mana has been invisible (and is remaining invisible) the entire time, because she has hidden herself in a changing area with the curtains drawn. She has not shown herself in quite some time, but the occasional sounds suggest she's doing... something in there.

"What about the president?" she says, slightly muffled.
Ranka Lee teleports in.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Backstage, as the festivities are spinning up to begin... Kallen is not preparing. No, she's been prepared for some time already, as a matter of fact, and waiting in her prep room to avoid anyone else catching a glimpse ahead of time. Only a select few people really know all the details. People who needed to know, or people she trusts with her life. Like the one who did her makeup tonight. Instead, she's getting herself fired up for what's to come, as she listens to Sheryl's introduction of the event. Remembering everything that concert gave her back then. Remembering the flame it lit under her to address her own passion. And how that led her to some unexpected places.

Onto the arena of costumed warfare, steps not quiet, reserved, sickly Kallen Stadtfeld, regardless of what her intro card might say. Today, her competitive soul has been ignited. Today at least, the crimson devil Kallen Kozuki has shown herself at Ashford! Thankfully nobody she's ever fought knows what she looks like in the Guren to call her out on it. Thankfully CORNELIA has never seen her face, or heard her voice really. All that aside, the person on stage's sole resemblence to her usual self at Ashford, is the bright red hair. Distinctive enough yes, but it seems the makeup team has worked a small miracle, turning the shy Kallen into a force of nature that radiates 'danger'. The binders in particular are working wonders for her costume, as she's gone for an iconic Japanese style, with the black gakuran's top half completely open, presenting a 'bare-chested' male figure that's been dotted with fake bruises over her shockingly toned and athletic figure. It's not perfect, but as she stares out into the audience and throws out a few aggressive strikes she's well-familiar with, there's no doubt a few hearts that skip a beat. The deeper than normal tone she's taken to her voice might just do the same, with its own particular allure. "So, this is Ashford. I'll be takin' over these halls soon, count on it."

Her hair has been spiked back... not into its normal look, but sweeping and back-pointed with a bandana tied around her forehead, and a singular, shimmering black earring on her left side. Her expression is angry... People who are in the know could easily expect her to start an anti-britannian riot, or jump onto the judges' table to strangle Cornelia. But that never happens. Despite what feels like intense murderous intent rampaging off her in every direction. There were two reasons she joined, but her friends know she's here to support them as well. For the judges... she channels a little bit of Zero, as her open jacket billows behind her from an abrupt gust of wind and she points out toward everybody watching her, with her head tilted back to show them the fire in her eyes. "I'm here... to destroy everyone's way of looking at me. I'm pretty competitive myself, turns out. So... I'll be stealing every heart in the audience tonight!" That's a bit exaggerated, but a declaration that's a little overblown is exactly what's needed to catch the attention of the judges AND the audience. Arrogance at 1000%.

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Emilia removes her black shirt back stage, and hangs it back on the rack, and removes her own binder and slips her bra back on- quickly enough that she doesn't bother going to the changing the room. The Fantasy Seduction Club does help do away with certain compunctions. She pulls her makeup smock back on after that- only for Rin to ask a very dangerous question.

        "I. Th-th-th-that is. U-um. I. I-I-I have to g-go-go ch-check on the v-v-v-volunteers! S-s-s-sorry!" The shade of pink on Emilia's face probably answers Rin's question.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Ranka gasps at Kallen's costume, GASSSPPPPP, having just come down from the emotional high of Sheryl's performance (SWOON) Rin's outfit (Whoa!) and Emilia's presentation (You go girl! Super touching!)

"Is that really Kallen?" She whispers to herself, "That's not the vibe I..." Ranka rubs a cheek, "... expected, after Emilia's birthday party."

She definitely applauds for her after the fact.

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

While Kallen is on, Suzaku ducks completely off-stage a moment to get somebody to check in on Emilia, even though that's pretty much already happening. He's pretty quick about it, but he makes certain that she at least gets a bottled water delivered to her. Thankfully, he is nothing if not swift.

"Our fourth contestant hails from the seas; whether the ones nearer to home or the sea of stars you'll have to find out from her! Throw a salute for Pageant Admiral Rikka Takarada," Suzaku says, surprisingly unwinded. He even offers a joking salute of his own which is very much more a thing of movies and media than it is a proper salute. And he'd know, so it's definitely on purpose!

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

The DecuFes Crossdressing and Cosplay Pageant... it's finally here. Rikka would be lying if she said felt ready for this. It's funny - she can face down a kaiju in a mobile suit and experience great personal danger to herself, but this is the kind of thing that makes her wonder if she's going to survive.

The watchful, judging eyes of a crowd... They might be more dangerous than any kaiju.

Rikka takes a moment to breathe in and out and steel herself, to get her in the right mood for the role she's presenting. But when Suzaku announces her as 'Pageant Admiral Rikka Takarada'... well, it's very hard to maintain her composure, but she manages.

After taking a moment to wish everyone else luck Rikka strides out onto the stage. She walks, back straight up - given what she's wearing, it wouldn't do to show any lack of confidence.

It had taken some time for Rikka to decide what kind of outfit to go with, but eventually she found one that resonated with her - an admiral's uniform and hat. The military blazer she chose along with its matching slacks, gloves, and shoes, are all stark white. Golden buttons trail down the middle of her blazer, with a similarly-golden aiguilette connecting the button second from the top to her epaulettes and crossing around to her back from there. The gold and white contrast well with her pitch black hair. She had considered tying it back, but decided that it helped bring the rest out of the outfit together.

Completing the look is the (prop) saber carried in one hand at her side, still in its black leather scabbard, with a red tassel wrapped around the golden guard.

Just wearing the outfit isn't enough, though. It's important to explain why she went the way she did, as well. It's... somewhat of a personal decision, but Rikka knows that everyone here has and will give their own reasons for what they've chosen - and some of them are likely no less personal. And so, standing at the front of the stage, Rikka places her saber in front of her. She stands the tip on the stage while resting her hands on the top of the guard to keep the weapon balance. In this pose, she cuts a dramatic, imposing figure as she stares out over the crowd, standing tall and confident, with her expression stern but kind.

"For this round, I decided to go with an admiral's uniform. I thought it fit my build pretty well, and the colors suited me nicely. But more than... I chose it for what it represents." Rikka starts. She pauses for a moment before continuing. "An admiral is a leader - a commander. They direct the fleet. They guide the ships. They might have people they answer to, but for their fleet, they're in control."

She takes a moment to scan the crowd, faces familiar and unfamiliar lit by the light of the sun. Many of these people don't know her. Many of them might not even remember anything else about her after this.

"I chose this outfit as a metaphor for how I want to live my life going forward. I'm in control of my own life. My thoughts and feelings... they're mine. They're my fleet. They may have been given to me, like an admiral doesn't build each and every ship under his command, but each one is still precious to me - and each one is mine to direct. I don't really see myself as a leader, but that's the kind of energy I want to exhibit." Rikka concludes. ...She'd practiced this speech for a while. Going over and over it in her head, adjusting the phrasing little by little to get it just right. Maybe it's a bit of a stretch, but metaphor is always going to be a little touch-and-go. The true meaning of her words will probably go over the head of much of the audience here... but it's still important to her to have said them.

And of course, the judges have a question for each round. Rikka studies Cornelia consideringly for a moment. What made her choose to join this pageant... Rikka has to think about that for a moment. Normally, she wouldn't put herself in front of a crowd like this. But, she did have a reason for it.

"I chose to join this pageant because I felt like it would be a good opportunity to experiment. To discover something new for myself, that I can call my own. I kind of stick to one usual style... and it's nice, I like it, but it's time for me to branch out. And a part of that is getting comfortable with other styles. Thankfully, everyone here has been a big help in coaching me and helping me figure everything out." Rikka explains. "And if it means having fun with everyone in the process, that's even better."

Out of things to say, Rikka raises her sword from the stage and, with a quick flourish, returns it to her side before lowering into a formal bow.

"Thank you." She says, before turning to return backstage.

...This is where her steel starts to leave her, once she's no longer visisble out front, and she has to take a second to sit down somewhere and catch her breath.

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

"There," Kaworu states with a quiet but pleased smile. He leans back from Yuta, legs folded as he sets down the mascara brush and holds up a hand mirror to him. "What do you think?"

Yuta opens his eyes carefully. Kaworu had applied so many powders and products and pencils to his face, he was worried he'd ruin everything if he moved too fast. But, once he gets a look at himself in the mirror, his mouth falls open softly. "That's really me..?" Yuta's skin has been smoothed out with foundation, and it nearly glows from Kaworu's masterful application of highlighter. Blue eyes are lined with a classy mixture of light eyeshadow and winged eyeliner, making Yuta appear more mature. Something about the sight makes his heart race. "Kaworu, you're amazing!"

Kaworu's smile warms as it broadens. "Thank you. And thank you for having faith in me. I was honored when I was asked to lend my help to this event, so I wanted to make the most of the chance." He sets the mirror down and begins re-organizing the brushes, swapping out colors, and cleaning up the few spills. He'd brought his own make-up, but Emilia's kits are expansive and invaluable, and he isn't shy about making use of them too. "Now go on, Yuta. Your audience awaits. I'll be back here, getting ready for your next stage."

"Right!" Yuta says, standing at once. He hurries over to the side of the stage, managing to catch Rikka's performance. He offers her a high-five as she comes backstage once more. "You were great out there! I'm so impressed!"

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

First off, Leina snaps a picture of Rikka for Akane, "That'll be useful..." She says to herself with a smile.

Second off she puts the dang phone away and starts clapping her heart out, as says quietly to herself. "I'd say you were real successful, good for you Rikka."

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

The next name on the list isn't a surprise to Suzaku, but he does have to hide a certain amount of disquiet about it-- and he does a good job about that. He positions himself beside the ascent ramp again and exclaims, "Our fifth contestant is a member of Ashford Academy's student council! Believe it or not she's the one with the real power to apply the brakes when things get crazy. Everybody welcome Nunnally Lamperouge!"

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Oh! Universal Bunny! From behind the stage, Nunnally bounces back and forth, cheerfully listening to the music. She loves this song...!! She smiles, brightly, to the nerves backstage, and assures her fellow contestants: "Oh, I just know you'll all be amazing out there!" Nunnally believes in you! No pressure.

        (She makes sure to add, personally, to Emilia, when she hurries off to get ready for the second round: "You were great!" She is mum about the potential crimes of the President, as, perhaps, well-fits a member of the Student Council.)

        When she's announced by dear Suzaku, Nunnally wheels herself out, a hand on the orb she uses to direct her chair. She is dressed in an open red-and-black jacket which ends at the waist, flat black turtleneck beneath; the cargo pants she's wearing are too long on her legs, so someone (named Kaworu!) has rolled up the hems at the end for her, creating a certain bottom-heavy sort of look. Her long, light brown hair has been tied up in buns to either side of her face, and the hair which remains fans out only to her shoulders, bangs a picture-frame for her cheeks.

        Proudly, she declares: "My name is Nunnally Lamperouge, and today, I'm dressed... as a normal boy! Heheh!" She pauses, and adds, in her very best (well, at least she's trying) deep voice: "It's totally radical, dude!" In her normal voice, she adds: "That's basically how boys talk, right..?" It isn't how Suzaku or Lelouch normally talk, and it's not even really how Rivalz talks... so could Nunnally... be teasing them?! Perish the thought.

        Of course...

        That 'normal boy' outfit she's wearing...

        ... it's just one of Lelouch's, isn't it..?

        But, the Judge's question...

        Nunnally's head inclines, just so, towards Viceroy Cornelia. Her eyes are -- eternally, tragically, gently as an execution -- closed, but she seems to know where to turn her face to speak to her, anyway. Her expression softens; it is at once something very simple, and very, very complicated. "Ah..." Struck by royalty, perhaps. The Lamperouges certainly aren't, so perhaps she's never met a Princess before.

        (Her big sister, Cornelia... oh, her heart aches. Oh, she misses her. Misses them --)

        And she smiles, because all she has ever been able to give is a smile. She feels from her tone that Cornelia won't accept an easy answer, but Nunnally accepts that, about her. Her big, tough big sister, who cares about Euphemia so much... the least she can do is try to explain everything.

        "I don't have a lot of confidence to do things like explore haunted houses or go to amusement parks," Nunnally explains, from where she's sitting. "I know everyone would help me if I asked... but sometimes I feel like it's easier for me not to get involved. Because, I... um, I don't want to cause trouble." The potential of lack of access is something which weighs heavy on her; Nunnally is someone deeply preoccupied with how much her existence asks of the people around her. Even if maybe it would have been fine -- maybe it would have been difficult. Maybe she would have been difficult.

        She worries about things like that, and then she swallows the worries up, all into her belly, through her blood to her bones.

        "And... I guess sometimes it's safer, too," she adds, carefully, delicately, and her attention is all on Cornelia, even if she's surely talking to all the judges. (Does she understand? Does she understand it's safer this way? No matter how she feels...) With an enthusiastic smile, she goes on: "But... I thought if I could do at least do this, I could prove to myself that I'm brave enough to join in, too..!"

        She giggles, and adds: "And it's fun to dress up as a boy!" Nunnally doesn't typically dress like this, does she..?

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Milly's usually flawless composure is... not failing, but it is cracking just a tiny bit. There's a big smile on her face that persists through several more competitors -- even as she makes scoring notes.

It's a good thing her makeup is a little aggressive today. Any real blush is buried under layers of synthetic not-blushing. ... It kind of sucks that to maintain objectivity as a judge she's got to score that one low.

She's still paying attention, of course. Being where you are is important, and she has a job to do, as the event persists! ... But she's definitely thinking about something else in the back of her mind.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Meeting her backstage is Yuta. Rikka actually pauses as she catches sight of him. She's really impressed - she seems to recall Kaworu was helping him, and he did an incredible job.

"Thanks." She replies, managing a small smile. "Good luck out there, okay?"

She's sure he'll do okay, though.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Ranka's hands clasp together as Nunnally goes on stage, she just thinks of what she saw that day. Thinks of how well she's doing right now...

... then starts clapping herself when it's over.

"Honestly she's braver than I am. I could never do that..."

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"Next up is contestant number six," Suzaku exclaims, waving Yuta up towards the stage. He makes a point of seeing Nunnally OFF the stage as well, giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder in passing as he does so. Though he doesn't say anything, there's a definite sense of deliberate but sincere reassurance. "Dressed in blue and gold with a characteristically chinese cut of dress and what appears to be an exceptional make-up job is Yuta Hibiki!"

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

"Yuta, always walk with confidence! No matter what you wear, or where you are, remember you're a hero of Tsutsujidai!"

Gridman made it sound so easy! For a moment, Yuta wonders if the Giant of Light could change his appearance, turning his armor into a flowing gown or a twirl-worthy skirt. Shaking his head, he pats his cheeks softly. It wasn't the time to think about that kind of thing!

Time to go. Yuta steps out onto the stage. The click-click of kitten heels can be heard, and more softly, the sound of silk against stockings. The sunlight brings a gleam to the bright blue shoes Yuta wears, glinting off two golden charms danging from just above his heels. Dark stockings hide the pale skin of his legs, turning them into an expanse of perfect shimmering black.

Yuta focuses. Each step is right in front of the last one, like a cat, making his hips swing just a bit. He does his best to keep an intense, glamourous look on his face -- or at least, as close an approximation as he can. The beautiful women he'd watched videos of made it look so easy! Feeling the silky material of his outfit brush against his hips made it easier to get in the proper headspace. Yuta's wearing a cheongsam, a wonderfully short one. Brilliant blue silk has been woven together to form the garment, laying on Yuta's body perfectly, barely reaching the midpoint of his thighs.

The long lines of his torso look exquisite, playfully covered in a golden floral pattern. A slit reveals just a hint of his right upper thigh, the fabric hemmed in the same shining metallic gold as the pattern on his dress. Faux-confident steps become all the more genuine as Yuta gets closer to the front of the stage. This was fun..! Yuta poses, leaning forward slightly with both hands on his hips, emphasizing the shortness of his cheongsam. Tiny golden bows meet hold the fabric together at Yuta's sleeves, collar, and hip slit, adding a hint of innocent sweetness to the daring dress.

Straightening once more, Yuta turns on his heel, showing off his back to the judges. One hand is outstretched to the side as he looks back over his shoulder. His hands and wrists are encased in dark gloves, a perfect match to his stockings. Silk-covered hands come up to tousle his red hair, letting the short locks play around his fingertips. Large buns sit on either side of his head, just above his iconic hair points. Fabric of an identical blue to his dress covers the hairbuns, a lovely pop of color against his red hair. A delicate bit of golden string holds the buns together, dangling down in a carefully-tied bow.

Yuta turns back around. With a wink to the judges, Yuta juts one hip out and raises his arms high above his head, framing his face. His makeup in this round is fresh and youthful. Kaworu didn't go too extreme on anything, just a bit of blush, a hint of sparkle, and some black eyeliner at the corners of Yuta's blue eyes to make them appear bigger. Baby pink lipstick is applied perfectly, completing the look.

As his arms come back down, Yuta places his fingers on the blue fabric covering his hair buns. With a bright smile, Yuta pulls the little golden ties, and the fabric loosens and falls away. Lustrous red hair cascades down. It falls easily around Yuta's shoulders, gentle waves forming as it settles, easily reaching down to his hips. Golden streaks appear here and there, interspersed in the length of scarlet. With a laugh of delight, Yuta holds his arms out and spins, letting his hair flare out around him.

Once he comes to a halt once more, Yuta leans forward in a soft bow. "Thank you," he says, smiling to the judges. "I chose to participate today to honor some friends who couldn't be here. They were really excited to enter and compete today, but," Yuta pauses, his eyes flickering down for just a moment. "They couldn't make it. I hope to honor their feelings by competing in their place!" He takes a quick, steadying breath, then goes on. "Cheongsam traditionally represent heroic rebellion. I chose it to symbolize our fight to protect Tsutsujidai." Yuta smoothes a hand down his dress. "The blue is my wish to see a clear summer sky with all my friends by my side. The gold is for my hope of our victory. Thank you, again!"

<Pose Tracker> Cornelia li Britannia has posed.

For the most part, Cornelia is unreadable during each contestant's presentation. The intensity of her stare and the obvious judgment behind it might not help people's confidence -- and maybe that's the point.

But then...

'Everybody welcome Nunnally Lamperouge!'

Indigo eyes widen.

It's a look of pure, unhindered surprise that Cornelia strives to hide almost immediately, her gloved hands rising to cover the lower half of her face in a cupping grip and her gaze narrowing to slivers in a tell of overcompensation. Nunnally. Nunnally. -Nunnally-.

Memories swim back, unbidden. Terrible memories. Blood. Death.

                Failure.

Nunnally. No. Nunnally is dead. Lelouch is dead. The war stole them from her, one last spit in her eye before it was all said and done.

Gloved fingers tremble in their interlaced cradle. She turns her head up, and that unfocused gaze attempts to focus on the smiling girl speaking. She can't hear anything. She doesn't hear her answer. It can't be Nunnally. How many Nunnallys are there in Britannia? ... in Area 11...?

No. She refuses to believe it.

Disquieted, Cornelia watches, clarity coming as '... I guess sometimes it's safer, too,' reaches her ears. She says nothing. If she looks paler, it's nothing.

She simply and immediately buries herself in her score card as if it could somehow provide answers to her drowning thoughts are grasping for.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Milly watches Yuta approach. Her jaw briefly drops, and she blinks a few times. After a moment, she brings the pen she'd been using to take notes to her lips, absently tonguing at it.

Mmm. Well. Easy choice.

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

Leina snaps a picture of Yuta, thinking to herself that he pulls off that Cheongsam better than she would. Which isn't saying much in a sense, given that she'd never wear one...

... though her expression grows somber as he speaks of the friends that couldn't be here. The way he expresses it is vague, but she knows the truth. She claps slowly... and offers this exhalation of breath as she thinks about who's responsible for that.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        There's always pros and cons to where you go in a competition like this. When you're among the first on stage, you get it over with quickly, so you don't have nerves messing you up until it's your turn to go; when you're among the last, you can watch others' performances and the judges' reactions and adjust accordingly.
        
        For right this second, Sheryl strides over to the judges' table to join Milly and Cornelia, a certain plush carried under one arm; she leans forward to wink at Milly. Cornelia gets a mischievous grin. Then she leans back in her chair and plonks her folded, booted legs on the table, radiating IDGAF energy along with her smirk.
        
        The plush under her arm? It's not one of those bunnies, though its style is similar. Its right half is white while its left half is black, with a rotund belly and stubby arms and legs; its white side has a serene, fuzzy sort of expression, while the black half grins mercilessly with an unnerving, spiky red eye.
        
        It's also not a bunny at all. It's a bear. What's up with that?
        
        All the same, as Jeryl Enomeshima watches the contestants present, she drops the bear plus at her side and takes out her phone, an enigmatic taiyaki-looking thing with high user overhead, to punch in her notes in between presentations. Occasionally, she leans over to Cornelia and Milly to whisper her impressions and discuss, but she keeps a pretty good poker smile on throughout the round, all told.
        
        It only dims when Cornelia has an abrupt, almost violent reaction to Nunnally, Sheryl blinking in surprise as she looks over at her clapping a hand to her mouth and goes pale. Nunnally's outfit is so simplistic, her charm so innocent--what reason would there be to react like that?
        
        It's something to wonder about, but not to linger on. Sheryl reasserts her own judge's mask and focuses back on the performance in time for Yuta to take the stage. Oh, she'll be taking plenty of notes there.

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"We don't actually have three punks coming up here on stage," Suzaku Kururugi says, re-crossing the stage to the entry side, "but we do have one more of the traditional punk trio coming up to join us! Start drawing up battle lines between the toughest two in school-- and welcome Gemini Sunrise, unofficial rival to contestant number three!"

<Pose Tracker> Gemini Sunrise has posed.

Gemini fans herself a bit as she waits backstage. Remember what Miss Ratchet said, stage fright is normal! Doesn't make it any less frightenin', though...And everyone else's costumes are real good! She slaps both of her cheeks to get her back to her senses! You listen! You are a member of an all-woman theatre troupe! Crossdressing is what you do! Get it together! Nodding to herself, she hears her name called and makes her way out.

Gemini walks out onto the stage, trying her best to give her stride a sense of swagger. draped over her shoulders is a long, gakuran-style jacket with an unusually high collar, tied together at the neck with its sleeves trailing behind her. Under the jacket is a red tank top, with the wrappings of her chest binder just barely visible under it. Her uniform pants are frayed at the ankles, and on her feet are a pair of geta, which she is seeming to have some trouble walking in. Finishing off the ensemble are a hat with the back torn off, allowing her untied hair to flow past it, and a wooden sword, with the kanji for "Mifune-Ryu" burned onto it, slung on her shoulder. She chews on a sprig of grass as she makes it to the center of the stage.

"Oi oi oi! Majifuzakenna yo!" As Gemini squats down in the center of the stage, her voice sounds much deeper than usual. Gemini herself was surprised at this range. It was almost as if she was a different person! "I run the gangs 'round these parts, so don't you mess with me."

She stands back up and giggles, returning to her normal voice for just a second. "Somethin' about this costume just kinda sang to me, y'know? I feel like a dashin' ronin in some samurai movie, takin' on all comers! It's how I aim to be in life, fightin' against anything that crosses my path to happiness!" She pulls the wooden sword off her shoulders and gives it a twirl, slashing it down in the air!

"As for why I'm here? Guess I'm just a natural-born performer! Kinda my job, after all. I'm always lookin' to practice my craft, and why not have a little fun doin' it as well?" She quickly reverts back to the bancho voice. "But make no bones about it, I'm the one comin' out on top, y'hear?"

With that statement of intent, she slings the sword back over her shoulder and walks off.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

Rin glances at the departing Emilia with confusion. "Huh," she says.

Fortunately she is already decent by the time Yuta comes backstage again. "Zhuhe ni!" Rin calls. "Can you zip up the back here for me rq?" Yes, she says RQ.

<Pose Tracker> Ouka Nagisa has posed.

    The Deculture Festival is something which, by and large, Ouka has been unable to participate in. Well... perhaps it would be farier to back up and say that it's not something she has much interest in participating in to begin with. So far the only part she has taken part in was a GUTS-sanctioned trip to FumoLand... and even then that was largely because Dr. Cero, after noticing how she had been keeping around and hiding an RX-78-2 plushie (and helping keeping its existence from the knowledge of certain malefactors), that there would be the sort of boardwalk games where she win prizes like plushies and so forth.

    Admittedly, in hindsight... winning a four-and-a-half-foot tall plushie of Bonta-kun was probably not her wisest decision. A tiny RX-78-2 plushie can be hidden. The Bonta-kun could not.

    Regardless she has been put through further encouragement to participate. At first she wasn't entirely sure how to take Crossdressing and Cosplay Pageant. The explanation that 'Cosplay' stood for 'Costume Play' didn't help her much either. Eventually it was explained to her that the event was just a largely tongue-in-cheek affair where various participants had been encouraged to practice their disguise skills - whether to present convincingly as the other gender, or as a particular ficitional character.

    This, at least, Ouka could understand.

    And while she had no interest in participating on stage, she at least decided to get into the spirit of the event 'crossdress' herself. She is a skilled disguise artist herself after all. Part of her skillset demands it.

    (Ouka is not a spy, though sometimes she does do spying... and assassinating)

    The outfit she arrives is pretty simple and unassuming. She has binded her chest, and over that she has worn a black top. On top of that she wears a dark blue pilot's jacket with its collar raised to help hide the feminine lines of her chin and neck. Her hair is pulled back into a ponytail, but the hair on her forehead has been toussled a bit to hide the golden circlet she normally wears. And while she still wears makeup... it instead has been applied try and help masculinize her face rather than to accentuate her feminine features.

A pair of loose dark green cargo pants and leather combat boots complete the book - the former to help hide her hips, and the latter to disguise the diminuitive size of her feet. All in all, besides her height, it's a pretty convincing job. But again she's not here to participate. Nor is she even here on time. She meanders her way into the crowd watching the show shortly after the music number was completed, and watches the ongoing events with her hands in her jacket pockets and a neutral expression on her face.

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"Our next contestant brings an outfit from the days of growing frontiers," Suzaku declares, beckoning for Mana to come on-stage. Simultaneously a stagehand passes him a note. He takes it to hand but ignores it until he's done speaking. "Whether she's an outlaw, a lawman, or something inbetween I couldn't say. But I think we can be sure that she's wearing a big iron at her hip. Take your hats off for contestant number eight, Mana!"

<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.

BACKSTAGE

Mana is not good with clothes.

Well, sort of. She's good with *her* sorts of clothes, which come in exactly one sort: things she's comfortable in (both physically and mentally). They show a fair amount of skin (which Mana doesn't mind), they're comfortable, and - in the case of the pants, if not the tops - they're entirely practical. Who doesn't like cargo pants every day? She doesn't have to think about them, they don't require a whole lot of time to get dressed up in; as long as she gets the sizes more or less right she's good to go.

This is a costume, and she is not good at it. She has spent the entire setup time, and most of the time that people were on stage, closed in a changing room. Binders perplex her, the buttons on the shirt aren't actually buttons but some kind of weird press clasp that she keeps accidentally popping open, and worst of all, her hair is refusing to behave itself. She took it out of its braids, but nothing - absolutely nothing - will make that ahoge go down. She eventually gives up and just shoves it under the hat.

NOW

When called, Mana practically bounds out from where she was hiding backstage.

Mana is wearing decidedly Western gear. The primary articles are a long-sleeved shirt in a faded yellow above copper-riveted black trousers. The shirt is decorated with black piping along the front of the shoulders that forms a slightly abstract pattern of arcs and curves, and more piping follows the line of the buttons. It is also mostly covered by a long, loose-fitting (but historically accurate!) duster coat that doubles as a second layer of figure-obscuration, worn half-open to show the shirt and its decorations; Mana (at 5'7 plus boots) is tall enough to pull off a coat like that.

Over the trousers are a pair of chaps with slightly fringed outer edges, along with very obvious cowboy boots (no spurs). There's even a holster, though it is currently empty. The whole thing is topped off with a kerchief at the neck, brightly coloured in green and yellow, and a Stetson hat. Because you gotta have a Stetson hat. It's a tall hat, not quite a ten-gallon but working that way, which is letting it do double duty in tucking most of her hair up under it. Her red bangs are visible, but not the shoulder-length flow, nor the thin braids that usually dangle down even further than that.

Mana appears to have watched a movie because that's how she walks after the first burst of energy - straight out of the films rather than reality, with a bit of a swagger. It's *very* movie. She heads up to the front of the stage and then, apparently remembering what she decided to say, says just one word:

"Howdy." Her accent for that is horrible. She is from Chicago. (What was Chicago before Operation Stardust.)

She adjusts her hat before she explains further. "I chose this one because I'm from Britannia," Mana says. "I know it's not real popular in Britannia anymore, but I had old movies to look at, and you still see it on Texas Colony. And... I like the coat, and the energy." She spins, letting the lower length fan out a little from her body. "Honestly, there's nothing more complicated than that. Sometimes an outfit is just an outfit!" Mana is not always great at expressing herself.

Mana comes to a stop. Lacking an actual gun in her holster, she attempts finger-guns. "Why'd I join? Well... I haven't been to a real school since I was about ten, I thought this was one of the things you were supposed to do at one? Festivals and things?" Her brow furrows as if she hadn't really thought about that before. "Plus, I love trying new things, and it looked like fun to compete. And win. Don't worry, you'll see the rest of it!" She grins, with the finger-guns again.

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Yuta presses his back against a wall backstage, grinning. This was really going better than he could've hoped for! Rin's call grabs his attention, and he looks around for a moment. Is she talking to him?

"Oh, yeah, sure!"

He doesn't quite realize what he's agreed to until he's standing behind Rin, facing the reality of touching a girl's back. This was more daunting than any performance..! With very, very careful fingers, he takes the zipper and pulls it slowly up, careful not to even brush Rin's skin.

"T--that should do it! Good luck out there!"

<Pose Tracker> Gemini Sunrise has posed.

Gemini notices Mana's cowboy outfit and hesitates, memories of her first few days in Neo-America flashing through her mind.

"Look at that girl!" "Wow, a real country hick!" "How could she even afford to be here?" "Is she illegal?" "Where's the vittles, cowgirl?!"

"Hmm..."

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"Our last contestant," Suzaku begins, before being passed a sheaf of paper by a stage-hand and glancing back-stage quizzically. "... Has a temperature of 40c and has had to cancel. Sorry about that, folks! Please wish our absent contestant a quick recovery. That brings round one to a conclusion; as a reminder, the SECOND ROUND is the talent portion of the contest! The contestants will have five minutes to explain and showcase their skill of choice. For long-form skills, they may be permitted to bring pre-made crafts onto the stage."

"Before we move on," he accepts another sheaf of paper, "the scores for the current round. In first we have Yuta Hibiki; second, Kallen Stadtfeld; third, Gemini Sunrise; fourth, Rin Starking; fifth, Nunnally Lamperouge; sixth, Rikka Takarada; seventh, Mana; and last but not least, Emilia Eschonbach!"

"And now it's time to hear from our Judges again for round two's question. Madame President," Suzaku gestures grandly towards Milly, "if you would be so kind!"

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        ~Meanwhile, backstage...~
        
        "Good work out there," Kaworu tells Nunnally when she returns to the backstage, having crossed paths with her a little earlier when he helped her out with the hems of her cargo pants. "Are you pleased with how you did?"
        
        He turns a smile Rikka's way too as she comes back in time for Yuta to go out. "You presented a fine face to the world, Rikka," he tells her. "Do you hope she was watching, too?"
        
        The scores are announced for the first round. Kaworu listens, chuckles a little to himself, and turns back to the make-up table to prepare Yuta for his next Look.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

"Thanks, buddy~" Rin tells Yuta afterwards. After this she gets her hair more or less in order while awaiting the announcement--

--

"Hm," Rin says, the light gleaming off her glasses.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Milly's thoughts are still just a bit elsewhere as she realizes that it's time for her to kick off the second question -- and the second segment. She takes a moment to straighten herself out a little bit -- no sense in looking like she's preoccupied at a time like this! -- and smiles pleasantly.

"So for our next section... besides your talent performance, I've got another question for you! We've already gone over why you're participating at all, but what I want to know is:"

"Why do you want to WIN? I'm not looking for the same answer as before. Are you hoping to bring attention to something? Do you want your club to look good? Are you just really into club funding~?"

Settling into her seat, she notes, "If you don't have a burning will to win, I don't think your talent section'll hit right. So," a knowing glance to Sheryl, "give me everything you've got!"

She glances to Cornelia after taking a moment to review the scores. ... This could be an interesting conversation later. Even Milly is a little bit off-kilter at the sheer force of personality -- and force of will -- seated next to her... that is presently circling around a secret Milly herself knows well.

<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.

In the back room, Mana makes a face, having ditched her outfit as fast as physically possible. "I knew I wasn't that good at it, but that bad...? Did it look bad? Be honest!"

<Pose Tracker> Gemini Sunrise has posed.

"You looked great, Mana! Take it from a real cowgirl!"

<Pose Tracker> Cornelia li Britannia has posed.

There's no post-judgment commentary nor even criticism from Cornelia; she waves off any attempt irritably, before leaning forward into her seat, eyes cast downward. For the moment, her fellow judges are sadly afterthoughts in the peripherals of her attention -- though she does spare a brief, especially sharp look Milly's way as she feels those eyes on her.

-Ashford-.

It helps, at least, to mask the lingering trouble there as she loses herself in thought attempting to brush off persistent, annoying doubts that she can't help but perceive as weakness.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

There's brief, quiet applause for Yuta as he returns from the front stage.

"Great job out there, Hibiki - you really knocked 'em dead." Rikka replies. She's proud of him of him for doing so well... and apparently the judges agree, because he's in first! "Wow, congrats."

She's impressed!

She looks toward Kaworu, then, as he comments on her performance.

"Thanks... I did my best, anyway." She replies, and then pauses for a moment before nodding. "...Yeah. I do."

She doesn't know how likely that is... but she hopes there's a chance. She could dwell on it a bit more... but, the talent round is starting soon, so she stands up to go get ready.

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

After helping Rin, Yuta hurries back to Kaworu. This next makeup look is the most complex of the lot, so they needed every spare second!

When he hears that he's in first place, Yuta ducks his head shyly, a pleased flush on his cheeks. "Thank you for your support." He mumbles, to no one in particular.

<Pose Tracker> Ouka Nagisa has posed.

    The news that the last contestant won't be able to participate does strike Ouka a bit odd. True, that is a high grade fever... but if the mission demands it she could fight her way through it. Especially if what was demanded was just for her to cross a stage.

    "I guess it's different for them." She muses to herself under her breath. Her normally mature alto tone pitched down to give her a convincing tenor. She watches the stage with interest. As someone who has routinely been asked to demonstrate her own talents, whether it be on foot or in a machine, she wonders just what sort of talents civilians routinely compete with.

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Cornelia is upset. Nunnally can't see her expression, but she feels quite sure she is. It was a surprise to Nunnally to find her here, too, but...

        Even though it's a difficult situation, she's really glad to know Cornelia is okay. Not -- not right now, maybe, but -- she's whole, she's surviving, she's doing well for herself. It's worth something. It's worth... being here, even if her big brother might be worried about it later.

        Nunnally smiles to Cornelia, all she has to offer. She smiles to Suzaku, too, with gratitude as she feels his reassurance through his palm.

        Her fingers tremble, backstage. "I don't want to take my costume off yet," she requests of Kaworu, as he helps her with her preparations, though it's a little more complicated than that. "Sorry, I'm just a little nervous... but I did my best!" She brightens, as she lands on that point. "I think... I'm glad I decided to enter today," she gives voice to it, and it becomes real, like a rabbit all velveteen; her optimism is difficult to shake.

        And though she's sunny to everyone, she's sure to emphasise, to Mana: "You were really, really good! I'm glad you're here, too!" Here at school? Here participating in a festival? Take your pick.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Sheryl maintains her enigmatic, smug smile throughout the announcement of the first round's results, and she outright grins at Milly's comment after she presents her question. However, as Cornelia lets herself continue to be distracted by something, Sheryl gives her a slight frown and a searching look. She reviews everyone's individual scoring, and... the mystery only deepens.
        
        Milly might have decided that this is a conversation for later. However, far be it for Sheryl to not follow up with her whims, and there's still a few moments before the talent segment starts. So, she leans forward close to Cornelia and whispers something to her.

        Long distance to Cornelia li Britannia: Sheryl Nome (IC) Sheryl whispers, "Hey. What's your deal with that girl Nunnally?"

        From afar, Cornelia li Britannia (IC) Cornelia whispers, harshly, "There -is- no deal. And if there were, I would not discuss it with some stranger to my affairs."

        Long distance to Cornelia li Britannia: Sheryl Nome (IC) Sheryl whispers, unfazed, "Then try to make it less obvious, Princess Cornelia. No offense, but it's written all over your face where everyone can see."

        From afar to Sheryl Nome: Cornelia li Britannia (IC) Cornelia only offers a withering glare, but no more words, before she draws up once more as if refocusing in the wake of those words. Maybe it's a tiny concession of a point from someone too prideful to concede anything.

        Long distance to Cornelia li Britannia: Sheryl Nome (IC) Sheryl accepts that glare and gifts Cornelia back a bright smile. Uncrossing and re-crossing her legs under the table, she too focuses back on the contestants and leaves it at that.

</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.

"Well, thanks," Mana says, brightly - she's easy to cheer up apparently. "Me too! I'm way more excited about the next round, anyway. I came prepared, the box is mine. Just don't ask what's in it! ...for a few minutes."

'The box' is closer to a crate. Mana would need both hands to carry it around.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

"Yeah, you looked awesome," says Rin to Mana as she gets upwards and adjusts her outfit into proper alignment. "If I had to comment anything, it'd be to kinda... You can be fake but you have to be CERTAIN! That's the best advice I can give ya."

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"First up in the talent competition is Rin Starking," Suzaku Kururugi announces, immediately after the judges wrap up their commentary-- or lack thereof, in some cases. He restrains himself from casting worried glances towards the Viceroy, or towards Nunnally. "Who is bringing to the talent show her special skill of 'stylishly slaying apples'. Seems our mysterious neighbor has a way with food, too!"

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

Rin Starking walks onto stage in a plain golden sundress with a frill at the hem and some lace around the collar. "So I know with all my attitude I don't really come off as it," Rin says, reaching into the pocket of the dress and bringing out a clasp knife, "but I'm just a country girl at heart."

She reaches into the other pocket and brings out a fat golden-blonde apple, almost spherical.

Rin slips the knife into a space near the top of the apple and begins to turn it.

"I learned how to do this, sitting up on the veranda and watching all the trees as it got nice and dark... the air full of the sweet smell of fruit and the mountain breeze starting to turn as the sun set..." The apple's peel begins to fall out behind her and by gum it is coming out in a neat long piece, as thin as a small ribbon.

Round and round the apple goes.

When the question comes, Rin glances up for a moment, before tossing her hair back. (It doesn't go that far. She's pinned it back up, though she hasn't had time to do the braid wrap again.) "Miss President...! You know full well why~."

"But I guess it won't hurt to say it again," Rin continues, "now that I'm up here on stage." She keeps her eyes on the apple. "I just want to make sure that --"

Cut, cut, cut.

"Nah," Rin says.

Cut cut cut cut cut cut cut cut.

"The truth is, while I do hope it'll help out my club... I guess I'm just a competitive girl, at heart. I'm hoping I can win in a game where the rules aren't obvious and I'm just doing it as I go. The only strategy I can rely on is myself! ... Or something like that, right?? Anywayyyy--"

Cut cut cut cut cut cut cut - twist - and Rin holds up a three-meter-long ribbon made of a single apple's skin, the other holding the peeled apple in its juicy goodness. The wind stirs the ribbon. "Tada~!"

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"Next up," Suzaku calls, remaining a little subdued for this one, "Emilia Eschonbach with Kallen Stadtfeld assisting with a make-up demonstration. Please welcome Miss Eschonbach back to the stage, and special thanks to Miss Stadtfeld for helping!"

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        After her own disastrous first round showing, and the strong showings of the others, Emilia is feeling a little low. Of course she is. Her smock is back on, and she's been helping out and trying to get the colour out of her face. She wanted the pageant to be a success, for all the work everyone had put in.

"Th-there's still. T-two rounds, r-remember?" She looks to Mana, trying to be encouraging. "It's a t-tough contest. But w-we can still ch-change our places." She's saying that as much to herself as Mana. She needs to steady herself.

But the time came for her to move to the stage- with her volunteer. She hands another smock to Kallen to protect her outfit. "Th-th-thanks." She whispers, as she gets ready to walk on stage.

The stage has been set up with a chair (for Kallen), a mirror with lights, and a camera to record and project what she's doing.

"Um, I-I'll be d-demonstrating make-up technique and q-q-quickly a-adapting the look. Kallen h-has volunteered for m-me to do th-the majority of the m-makeup for her n-next round costume." She seems much more confident with Kallen there.

"If you d-d-don't mind, I'd. Like to continue as I w-w-work."

She looks to Kallen and waits for the five minute timer to start.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Kallen is quick to take the smock and slip into it. Emmy's less than upscale mood hasn't gone unnoticed of course, and while she's putting on the protective addition, she squeezes one of the lilac-haired girl's hands. "You've got this. Just breathe in and let it come to you. Naturally."

Knowing the chair is for her makes it simple. She slides into it, making certain nobody can see anything about her costume right now. Is it the one she was wearing before, or a new one...? Only Emmy is allowed to know that answer right now. She wants to keep a certain mystery about it. And besides, right now is *Emmy's* time to shine. So she'll become the perfect canvas for this remarkable artist's work.

She offers another nod when Emmy looks her way. And a look of absolute trust and confidence.

<Pose Tracker> Cornelia li Britannia has posed.

From the judges table, Sheryl leans towards Cornelia, whispering to her.

A small exchange seems to take place in the moments before Rin's introduction that does not necessarily look pleasant.

In the aftermath, Cornelia is frowning in irritation. However, the fog plaguing her thoughts seems to have been wiped away by it, at least for now: that unyielding stoicism returns to her as she leans forward in her seat, posture once more impeccable and expression once more severe. Whether it's a mask or the truth, well...

At least she's focused, now.

And resolving herself, on matters of a most immediate future.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Speak for yourself, Cornelia! Sheryl ends the conversation with a bright and pleasant smile, uncrossing and recrossing her legs under the table as she leans forward to pay attention to the talent segment. In an in-between moment when she notices the camera's on her, she winks and blows the green light a kiss. Everything's just fine here~. Now on with the show!

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

The squeeze of her hand helps settle her- and then she cuts the seal on the makeup box and gets to work.

"I d-don't have m-many skills that h-have a v-visual component." Emmy says, using a mic as she swiftly and deftly removes the eyeliner, eyeshadow, all the parts that are going to fail to complement the look Kallen's going for. "S-so, g-give the t-time constraints, I n-need to keep as much as I can," she explains what she's doing, before going to replace the removed foundation.

She goes back to earlier thoughts. "M-M-Managing spreadsheets d-d-doesn't work for that. But K-Kallen suggested m-makeup and offered to be my d-d-emonstration. S-so I'm doing that b-because.. She h-had confidence in me. And I d-don't want to let her down."

Milly's question comes out, and Emmy uses the time doing makeup to find an answer. Does she even want to win? She does but it's not her whole goal. But a fake reason isn't enough for Milly. It never is.

She continues to explain, stammering as she does, as Kallen's face changes from a thug to someone more dignified. She indicates Kallen to the mirror, for her feedback.

Finally, she comes to a decision. "M-My Grandfather had me learn m-m-make up, and how to d-dress from a y-young age." She tries, but the anger in her voice and heart is audible, if just. "S-So I want to win to show that I have t-taken these lessons to h-heart and have ch-chosen to use them for myself. For what *I* w-w-want."

This is, for Emilia, risky. Someone is doubtless reporting to her Grandfather's people here. This sort of coded defiance is a risk. For those not in the know though, is that a strong enough reason?

She stands back, with one second on the timer, to show Kallen. She looks like a different person, somehow. She resembles the punk she was- but with a different countenance, a different persona. She gives a smile to Kallen, and steps off stage to give Kallen her talent space.

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

Just behind the curtain, stagehands are wheeling something into place while Emilia's demonstration is ongoing. It's subtle, and only those behind stage are liable to notice it too directly, but it's there. After Emilia wraps up, Suzaku says, "An interesting contrast with her previous entry, Miss Stadtfeld will be up next with a piano performance."

The stage curtains restract a little ways to reveal the piano that's been set up for her usage.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

In the aftermath of the showcase, she's been shrouded in darkness through creative lighting effect. Something to obscure all but her face. This was one of her odd personal requests, to keep the focus on the performance and to maintain a certain degree of mystery about everything, save for what the audience sees during Emmy's part of this. Though she does have to wait for a moment, before she can settle in at a piano that's been wheeled out between acts from the Academy Music Room. She begins quickly without words, to not waste anyone's time... fingers dancing through the somber tune of the Moonlight Sonata. She'd considered an upbeat piece. Something hopeful and triumphant... But quickly discarded those options as she was developing the 'story' of her performance. No... as a piece expressing the fighter's regrets and sorrows, to show a more vulnerable side in what he believes is a moment of isolation, that was perfect for this. Then she'd considered some other pieces with a similar feeling... but when practicing at home, this was the one that called out to her, of everything she tested. Not the most complex by far, of the ones she was judging, but the one that resonated in the moment.

Her breathing becomes more uneven as she continues to play, coming out in halting gasps now and then, to accompany the tears falling from her eyes. REAL tears even, from calling upon the same sorrowful memories Sheryl had helped her unleash from their prison some months before, to infuse her performance with a piece of her own heart and soul. And as her performance comes to a close, she'll finally speak once more. Her voice cracks at first, filled with all too genuine pain. "T-to your question... the reason I seek to win. I want to leave a beacon for everyone in the years to come." She regains composure at this point, finding her resolve again, and a vocal tone that's, while similar to the first event, also subtly different. More gentle, and... perhaps noble. Refined in a sense, while clinging to the hints of danger. "I know people have struggles they try to keep to themselves. Maybe feel they can't talk to anyone about it. Some people throw themselves at each one to defeat it. Others, maybe feel like it's impossible. An unsurmountable climb perhaps, or a fortress they can't breach. I want to motivate the people who haven't found their courage, to take a risk on pushing forward! To become the strongest versions of themselves. To drag themselves out of stagnancy and overcome every wall in their way! Whether it's self-imposed. Whether it's the shackles of a pointless tradition. Whether it's the chains another person sought to wrap around them! Whatever might be dragging them down... All of you can shatter them, so embrace the strength inside you! "

Milly's own advice to people, sent out to thousands today, her included... even if not quite intentionally. In its own way, a call for revolution, hidden in plain sight. Words that scream out for progress and strength. This same message is one of the better parts of Britannia's ideology, but without the filter of conquest and overt superiority.

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"Our next performance is also musical in nature," Suzaku announces, beckoning Rikka back onto stage. He flashes her a smile and a knowing nod; this is the sort of thing that was common in his household. "Please welcome back Miss Takarada, who will be singing a traditional Japanese song for us."

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        ~Meanwhile, backstage...~
        
        Considering how complex Yuta's make-up needs to be for his next appearance, it would be understandable if Kaworu had to focus on just him. He doesn't. In between having him clean his face, drying it, establishing a new foundation, and layering the colors therein, he assists Nunnally with her preparations for her next go. He notes her trembling fingers and says nothing about them.
        
        "I'm glad for you," he tells her warmly. "I'm glad I came here to help today, myself. May we both continue to do our best."
        
        To Rikka, he gives a knowing look and a nod of understanding. There's no need to say anything there. Perhaps, if Akane isn't watching now, she could be sent a recording later.
        
        Besides--he'd like her to see his work on Yuta, too. With precise, confident strokes of pencils and brushes, he continues to paint the Tsutsujidai's face into a masterpiece. Whether it's as good as Emilia's work with Kallen will be for the judges to decide... though it's probably not fair to compare in the first place, all considering. He hopes for his own sake that he can see a recording of her work later. He quite admires her skills.
        
        "Good luck," he murmurs to Yuta once he's done. "I have faith in you."

<Pose Tracker> Ouka Nagisa has posed.

    Oddly enough... the talent that Rin chose is one that's particularly striking for Ouka. It wasn't too long ago that she was... well, she wasn't taught persay how to peel an apple. More like she had it impressed upon her. But still, the knowledge she was given to allow her to comfort Liam that day, after Anti had put him in the hospital, allows her to appreciate the talent on display.

    Make-up too is one of those areas with which Ouka has some skill. She used it to help masculinize her features tonight, after all, and she uses it regularly as part of grooming routine. It's something that was impressed upon her as well. And when Emilia talks of how she was made to learn it by her grandfather, but decides to use the knowledge for herself... there is an odd feeling in her chest. She doesn't understand why, but those words resonate within her.

    "That is a brave girl." She observes. Perhaps far braver than she will ever be herself.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

Rin returns backstage and lets out a flouncing sigh as if of doom. Then she takes a bite out of the peeled apple (waste not, want not).

After watching the room for several long seconds, she starts to shed the sundress to put on something more complicated. The first step involves redoing her hair. She hums along with Kallen's distant piano performance-- though she seems to have the time signature wrong.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Ranka watches the apple go round and round from the 'country girl' entranced by the narrative. When Rin finishes, she actually starts clapping a bit too quickly, maybe drawing a few eyes and shrinks in her seat.

She watches the makeup tutorial with wide eyes, watching Emilia work at transforming Kallen. It's like watching a professional at work in a video, or Kaworu. She genuinely didn't know how she was going to look after he worked on her, then afterwards-! Her whole vibe is different. When Emilia says she wants to use those talents for herself, she claps with a sincere fervor for her. Will it be enough to impress the judges? It doesn't matter in the end! She was brave enough just showing up and being a part of this, she's so proud of her.

The exchange between Sheryl and Cornelia draws an eye, even if she can't hear a single word of it. Sheryl of course comes out of it smiling, a consummate professional...

However Kallen starts playing at the piano, and Ranka just marvels at her grasp of it, hands over her heart as the tears start to fall...

-=-=-

... this causes quite another reaction to someone else in the room. Leina Ashta was calm until that exact moment - as she gets up out of her seat, and slowly, begs pardon of the people in her aisle, as she moves to leave the room...

... after all, Kallen says it herself soon enough. There are struggles some people keep to themselves.

-=-=-

Ranka applauds so earnestly after Kallen's speech.

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Yuta holds still as Kaworu works. He's sad he misses a few of the talents, but hopefully there'll be a recording! All the same, he claps when he hears the audience do so, trying to be supportive. As Kaworu finishes, Yuta looks at himself in the mirror. He stares, turning his face this way and that, watching the shimmering eyeliner dance across his eyelids.

In a moment of affection, Yuta reaches out and takes Kaworu's hand, squeezing it. "Thank you. I'll do my best!"

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

A talent showcase round... This may be the round that Rikka was dreading the most, and took the longest for her to decide on. She's not really sure she has anything that could be considered a talent... not one she can do on a stage, anyway. What's she going to do? Drag a rusty old appliance on stage and refurbish it in front of the audience? She doesn't think she can accomplish that in five minutes. Demonstrate first aid on a dummy? ...That one could have worked, maybe, but eventually she decided to go with something else - she's been taking classes, but that isn't exactly a skill she wants to use unless he needs it, even for a pageant. And so, Rikka steps out on stage once more. She's back in her Tsutsujidai school uniform(or at least her take on it). It feels a little appropriate, going into this, and she wants the focus to be on her voice.

"So, as you just heard, today I'm going to sing for you. Singing is a hobby I enjoy, and something I always find myself doing without even realising it." Rikka explains. "The song I'll be singing today is called 'Believe'. It's a traditional song, often sung for graduations, so I'm sure some of you have heard it countless times... but, it's one of my favorites and the words really speak to me. It's a song about love, about standing by one another even in the hardest of times... and moving forward, into the future." Rikka explains. She looks toward the backstage, then. "Can you start the music?"

She waits a few seconds for the accompaniment to pick up and begins to sing.

It's clear that Rikka doesn't have much experience singing on her own in front of a crowd, outside of the practice round, and that she hasn't had any particular vocal training. Still, she has a nice voice and her earnest feelings come through in her singing. Eventually the song draws to a close, coming in just under the five minute time limit. And with that, Rikka bows.

"...Thank you, everyone, for listening." She says. ...And now, it's time to address the question from Milly.

Why does she want to win this... Rikka has to think about that for a moment. Why does she want to win this? In the end, it was never really about winning. Not that she wasn't trying her best, but she had really only entered it for the sake of participating, and for the reasons she'd outlined before.

"I think it'd be nice to be able take a win back home." Rikka answers with a nod. "I don't want to let down everyone who helped me out with my outfits, either. So for them, I'm doing my best."

It isn't a very ambitious answer, especially following Kallen's impassioned speech. But, it's her answer, and that's what's important.

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"Our next talent exhibition happens to contain another example of a traditionally Japanese art," Suzaku says, gesturing Nunnally back up on stage, "Please welcome back Miss Nunnally Lamperouge, who will be demonstrating the folding of paper cranes for us."

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

It takes her a while, but Leina does return, still taking slow... deep breaths.

She doesn't immediately return to her seat though. Instead she stays near the back, and records what she can of what's left of Rikka's song.

She doesn't have the most incredible vocal talents, but she enjoys how earnest her effort was.

As Rikka returns to the back she might see Leina offering her a thumbs up and a wink from the back before she returns to her seat.

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

Nunnally can hear Yuta's makeup being carefully applied, and she tilts her head to him, and helps him keep still by giving him verbal descriptions of the talents he's missing. Little lines like, "Emilia is doing makeup... she's very talented!" And, of course, she claps, when Emilia comes backstage again. Unobtrusively, of course. There's a show going on out there. "You're a star!" The others are all stars as well, of course, but she's particularly proud of Emilia's performance for some reason. Though, she does ask Rin, hearing that apple CHOMP: "Is it good?"

        (Her fingers twitch, on the armrest of her wheelchair, with old memories of keys as Kallen plays the piano. Strangely, this doesn't affect her wheelchair's operation at all. She doesn't recognise Rikka's song quite as intuitively, but... it's still nice!)

        When it comes time for Nunnally to take the stage again, she's still dressed as a totally normal boy (read: Lelouch). They're very comfortable clothes. She's fine, don't worry about it.

        Lelouch will probably get his jacket back after this.

        Probably.

        It's fine, he won't even miss it! He's preoccupied!

        With a little help, she sits on the stage, a simple table with a pile of colourful cardboard beside her wheelchair. "Hello, everyone!" She greets them, again, sunny as ever. "Today, I want to show you my talent, too!" She bows, hands all bundled in her lap, before she feels for the edge of the table -- there, the top -- and with delicate movements, she finds the stack of cardboard without sending it all flying.

        She takes one of those sheets -- a cheerful, happy pink -- and smiles, to the noises she can hear. "In Japan, they say that if you fold one thousand paper cranes, you get to make a wish! Sayoko told me it's because the mystical crane lives for a thousand years, so you fold one crane for every year it's alive. I haven't folded a thousand yet, and I don't think I can here... but I'm really trying to fold a thousand within a year!" She pauses, and adds, quite serious: "You need to fold all thousand cranes in a year, or else you have to start over. I care about my wish very much, so I'm always working hard."

        This is, of course, quite a credible and enthusiastic approach to Japanese culture for a Britannian like herself -- but Nunnally doesn't seem at all bothered. She beams, as she says: "So, I'm going to show you all how I fold paper cranes! It's, ahh... origami!" Her handling of the Japanese word is a little clumsy, but quite genuine.

        Her hands feel the edges of the paper; her fingerpads trail over it, to check it's uncreased and new. (One side is a little more textured than the other -- she can't tell which side is coloured, after all.) Carefully, she folds it once, diagonally; she feels the middle of the paper for the crease, makes sure it falls properly lengthwise, and turns the paper over. Once she's sure of herself, she flips it over, and folds the paper horizontally instead. Again, she checks her her crease --

        It continues that way, with Nunnally's hands acting as her eyes as she moves with surprising deftness through the corners and folds of the paper crane. She approaches it differently to most people, certainly -- she spends more time checking and double-checking her work, with careful trailing fingers -- but she's not that much slower, which suggests that she's been folding quite a few cranes already.

        Finally she pulls out the long head and tail of the crane, folds its wings down, pulls them out -- and she lays it in her cupped hands, holding the pink crane out for everyone to, "See? I'm one crane closer to my wish! Thank you for being here with me as I show you this, everyone!"

        She all but sparkles to Milly, in the wake of her question. "Because... I'm the dark horse!!" She giggles, hands curling up to cradle that crane by her neck. "It would be pretty strange for a normal girl like me to win a pageant, right? That's exactly why! I'm my own person, capable of making my own decisions... and I decided I'm a contender, too!" Normally, she would be supporting everyone else getting up here, but today...!!

        "That's why I want to win!" She declares, fiercely, with a big smile. "Though, everyone's doing their best today... so if someone else won, I wouldn't be unhappy."

        She'll need some help to collect her props; she can feel out the cardboard and put it in her lap to wheel off, but someone else will have to fetch the little table. That's okay, though. She's got plenty of help here.

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"Please welcome back Yuta Hibiki," Suzaku announces, gesturing for the next contestant to join the stage and then poking his head back-stage to beckon somebody else forward, "who will be putting on an acrobatic dance routine!" Punctuating this are some stagehands who bring out some fairly basic gym mats and other assorted safety tools for specifically that sort of situation. Some are probably also cleaning up props from previous acts; the piano, Nunnally's table.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka pauses for a moment, heading back stage. Wait... there in the crowd, but not quite in a seat yet, isn't that a familiar face? Rikka squints, briefly and, sure enough - Leina's out there! She wasn't expecting to see her, but... it's nice to know she has some friends in the audience. Rikka offers her a smile and a wave before disappearing once more backstage.

She has her final round to prepare for, after all... though not before settling in to watch Yuta's performance.

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Scintillating red light dances across every surface. Yuta waits backstage, hands nervously picking at the sequins that adorn his outfit. If you could call it an outfit, really -- there's still a hint of a blush beneath his makeup because of how little clothing he has on. Tight spandex shorts cling to his hips, reaching down to an inch above his knees. A skirt-like train of fabric hangs down from his waist, short at the front and long in back. Both the pants and the train are a dazzling red, but the material seems to be made more of sequins than fabric. Almost lighter than air, it floats behind Yuta as he stands to walk on the stage.

Bare feet tap against the polished wood. Yuta walks to the center of the stage and bows politely. Marusan had worked so hard to help Yuta with his routine. The hours they'd spent practicing were all going to pay off, now!

Bubbly pop music begins to play. As the first notes float through the auditorium, Yuta takes a step to the front and side. His knees bend and he leaps, legs separating into a full split, arms rising above his head. "Don't try to make yourself remember, darling..." The singer croons, his voice electronically enhanced. Train floating behind him, Yuta lands, flashing a smile to the judges.

There's barely time for him to take a breath before he's breaking into a run. A few steps, and Yuta launches himself into the air. His back is to the judges this time, showing off bare musculature. Bright red hair grazes the floor of the stage as Yuta flips. For a moment, he hangs in the air, his legs making a perfectly horizontal line. "Don't look for me; I'm just a story you've been told..."

Hardly a sound can be heard as he lands. Yuta knows this song by heart. Each breath is in harmony with the music. With an extreme bend of his waist, he plants one hand onto the ground, letting it take his full weight. The one-handed handstand is held for a few beats, then he allows himself to fall forward, rolling gracefully to the ground. "Is it selfish that I'm happy as we pass the setting sun?" The singer asks, and Yuta closes his eyes. This close to the front of the stage, Kaworu's makeup skills are on full display. Velvety red eyeshadow covers his eyelids; topped by complimentary, graceful lines of glittering gold and scarlet.

Yuta catches himself on his hands, pressing low, as if he was doing a push-up. With enough force to lift him into the air, he pushes off his hands, landing back on his feet. Twin wristbands cover Yuta's forearms, covered with the same shimmering sequins as his train. They were a little itchy, but Leina said that was normal for stage costumes. The effect is worth it, though, complementing his wiry form. "...all the vines that keep you tethered in your room."

Akane. It was as though this part of the song was speaking his feelings to her, everything he couldn't say. Yuta's body moves into the next piece of choreography, though his mind stays on Akane. It affects his performance, softening his movements, brining a wistful expression to his face. The next few moves come quickly. A pirouette, with one leg trailing behind him at an angle. One step forward, and a backflip, legs apart in midair. Practically glittering with runaway sequins and a thin sheen of sweat, Yuta's body is radiant in the bright light of the sun.

"Well, someday both of us are leaving here..." They would. Someday, he'd free Akane of her fears. They'd leave Tsutsujidai together!

The music slows. Yuta's movements match it. "Will you meet me in the daylight, like we did before?" A gentle plie, and he leaps, spinning in midair. His half-skirt trails his movements, making Yuta appear all the more graceful. This is when every moment matters the most. The song is building to the finale, and Yuta has to make sure he has the energy to finish strong. Breathing in, he takes a step back, raising one hand up in an inviting motion. "I told you to forget me, but you stayed by my side when I said..."

This is it. Music swelling, Yuta steps to the side, cartwheeling into into another backflip. "So let's pretend a little longer!" Exhiliration crosses his face as he's in the air. This was so much more exciting than he'd expected! "And when we're gone, oh, oh-oh..." His body flows from acrobatic move to graceful pirouette, not slowing for an instant. Yuta whirls across the full length of the stage and back, stopping in the exact middle.

Yuta stills. The music pauses, just for a heartbeat, just long enough for him to step forward one last time. He moves into a standing pirouette. Twirling once, twice... His hands rise above his head, fingers pulling something out from beneath his wristbands. Yuta's hands momentarily curl into fists, then open wide, coming down from above his head to extend even with his shoulders. Brilliant red glitter trails after them, turning the light around Yuta into a thousand falling stars. One final pirouette, surrounding himself in shimmering starlight. The moment hangs in the air for a few heartbeats.

"Everything goes on."

Sparkles cascade down on Yuta as he moves into a bow.

Yuta takes a soft breath in. Time to give his answer. It was hard to be open about brazenly chasing victory! "I want to win." He says, a statement, as he catches his breath. After a moment, he goes on. "I want to win to have a wonderful memory. To prove to myself I can do more than fight. And, because this is so fun!" A breathless, exhilirated laugh. He doesn't have as much to say as many of the others -- his performance will have to speak for itself. "Thank you." Yuta kneels carefully and scoops the glitter into his hands, managing to collect most of it. He bows once more and leaves the stage.

<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.

Mana has switched to sitting next to her crate. She refuses to sit on it and has shooed off two people who tried.

"I really liked the paper," she says, to Nunnaly. Then admits: "I know a lot about, you know, putting things together, but I never really figured out origami. It doesn't *have* any parts."

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

Speaking of acts that require safety equipment, as soon as Yuta wraps up, the stagehands are bringing some barriers on-stage to generally set up a reasonable area for Gemini to do her thing in. Suzaku calls, "Returning to the stage with a particularly novel exhibition is Gemini Sunrise, who will be demonstrating her trick shooting skills!"

<Pose Tracker> Gemini Sunrise has posed.

The talent round...if Gemini couldn't entertain a crowd, she'd be in real dire straits back home! Third place...not bad, but she's gotta make up the difference. You can do it, Gemini! Let's go!

Gemini has returned to her usual Texas-flavored getup as several stagehands set up a row of bottles. "Howdy, y'all! Hope yer havin' a good time so far. As some of you may or may not know, I grew up out in the Texas Colony, and one thing everyone up there knows..."

Quick as a flash, she pulls out a pistol and shoots the five bottles behind her, one after another, within the span of 5 seconds. "...is how to shoot a gun!"

What follows is a dazzling display of gunmanship, as more bottles are thrown and shot, with Gemini darting all across the stage to hit them with immaculate accuracy. Of course, she said she learned this on the colony (which was mostly true), but it also did take a lot of coaching from Rikitta.

As she shoots, she twirls her gun on her finger, tossing it up in the air and catching it between shots, one time straight up, one time behind her back, and even with a backflip! Certainly, the strenuous activity wasn't feeling the best for Gemini after last night's altercation in Paris, but she had to grit her teeth and push through it.

For the finale, a large balloon is tossed directly above Gemini, her last shot popping it and releasing a shower of confetti on top of her!

"I'm gonna win this 'cuz my friends back in Neo-America will never forgive me if I don't! I'm only partly kiddin', but my friends helped me through a lot, and taught me everythin' I know about performance. I wanna bring pride to the name of the Little Lip Revue!" Twirling her gun with a little juggle, she tosses it up, lets it land directly in her holdster, bows, and makes her exit.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Kallen is, temporarily, wearing a dark cloak backstage. She's not taking any chances about the impact of bringing it all together. She's also pulled up a seat with some of the other contestants, and is rehydrating after that... emotionally taxing showcase. "We've got no shortage of bravery out here tonight either. Takes a lot to be getting out there on stage."

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Nunnally's efforts are truly appreciated. Yuta gives her a smile -- then remembers, and says aloud: "Thank you, Nunnally. You're a lifesaver. I've been really amazed so far!"

Yuta looks awestruck as Rikka sings. She's so beautiful... her hair glistening in the sunlight, her voice so clear! He almost misses the cue to take the stage for his turn.

Once he's finished, he finds Rikka as quickly as he can, backstage. Despite being covered in sweat and sparkles, Yuta reaches out to hug Rikka enthusiastically! It only lasts a moment, before he steps back. "You're amazing, Rikka. You're the very best of everyone!"

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"And bringing up the back end of the talent section of the show is Mana, with a demonstration of marvelous mechanical ability!" Suzaku caps off the talent re-introductions enthusiastically, folding back the sheaf of paper that he's currently working with.

<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.

Mana returns to the stage. She's changed back into a more usual outfit for her: cargo pants, hip-riding belt pack, a low-cut, short top with decorative rings holding the shoulder straps on and a bit of frill from where it's drawn in under her bust. She is also carrying a large crate in front of her, which she sets down with a thump.

"For my talent," Mana says, "they wouldn't let me bring an entire Mobile Suit, which is silly if you asked me, if there's not enough room we could go down to a parking lot or something. But it's all right, because I brought something else instead."

She does mean a petit mobile suit, right? ...right?

Popping the case open, Mana lifts out a machine about three feet across, less than that high, with three rotors in a triangular configuration. The 'front' one is lower than the other two, and it supports a central body with a single arm. It gets flipped over so that Mana can make a few adjustments to it, then righted, set down on the ground gently.

"I made this from scratch!" Mana practically beams as she pulls out a complex-looking control. The rotors spin up, and the whole thing lifts up into the air, bobbing gently before zipping towards the crowd. The single arm retracts into the body as the drone begins to take aerial video. It hovers near random people (and other competitors). "About three quarters of it is salvaged material. I couldn't salvage some parts of it, like the rotors, and I did the programming and design for the remote myself so that's not salvage, either. There's a lot of scrap around if you know where to look. I can pop it open and show people the parts - you can see where some of them came from if you know how."

A minute or so of that, and the drone bobs in place while Mana pulls something else out from the case: a frisbee, which she tosses. Apparently on automatic, the drone cants sharply left, reaches out with its arm and catches it - but it doesn't really have the elbows to throw it back, so it descends toward the judges, holding out the arm as if to offer it the disc. (If one of them tosses it, it will try to field it.)

There's also the question to ask while she's demonstrating.

"Well, if I'm entering," Mana says, "of course I want to win! Who wouldn't?" While she's talking, the drone returns to her; she retrieves the disc and gestures. A student she drafted comes out with a box containing a half dozen donuts, and Mana starts working the controls again. "I'm not in many clubs so that's not why, though if you could convince them to let me back into the shop that'd be great. Or sign me up for another mechanical club? Honestly, I wanted to show them a bit that I belong there - I'm better than anyone else they have in Jindai's shop."

The drone flies over and very carefully picks one up. It shuttles it over to Sheryl, on the judges' stand under Mana's fine control - impressively, without squishing or otherwise damaging it. It's an impressive ability to control the grip and movement while carrying something fragile, which is indeed what Mana is trying to show off as part of the show. Mana repeats the process with three more, for Milly, Suzaku, and Cornelia, before the drone returns to hovering near her shoulder. The boy with the donuts walks off. (It's okay, he's getting paid: the remaining two donuts are his.)

"But I mean, I wouldn't have entered if I didn't think I could, and while Vultures know I'm a good mechanic, I never get to show off here since I got banned from shop at Jindai for 'making a mess' and 'bringing weapons in'. It wasn't even a working weapon! I really love machines - the feel of taking them apart, putting them together, seeing how they work. And salvaging - finding parts other people left behind, turning them into something new or making them right again. It's like a treasure hunt, but you get to play with the treasures afterwords. Ah, I'm excited~!"

Mana breathes out, a puff of air making her ahoge drift slightly. "But, I guess, that's it!" Mana steers the drone back around in front so she can catch it. This causes it to shut down as she begins to pack it into its carrying crate, which takes pretty much the whole time remaining for her. "I'm going to have this thing around the rest of the night, though, so if anyone else wants to see..."

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka watches as Yuta performs his routine in an eye-catching outfit. She's kind of impressed - she didn't realise he had it in him. She watches his perform, his movements in step with the music. Both his movements and the tune he chose... they feel very pointful.

And when Yuta returns from the stage, he moves in for a quick hug. She wasn't quite expecting it, but she doesn't mind, either - offering him a smile when he pulls back.

"Thanks, but... me, really? What about you? That was just... I don't even have the words, it was incredible. I didn't realise you could move like that." Rikka replies with a shake of her head. She watches him for a moment, then. "...That song you chose... I'm sure your feelings will get through."

<Pose Tracker> Leina Ashta has posed.

Leina records Yuta's routine. She'd seen some of the choreography practice, but seeing it all tied together in such a dazzling performance, is something else. "Wow, Ramo? You're a miracle worker."

She managed so much with him in such a short time!

She immediately starts uploading that video to her and gives him a standing ovation herself afterwards.

Gemini's shooting routine afterwards...

... she records that one for Sayla.

"... I'm definitely going to have to check ticket prices for her Revue..."

Leina you literally could just ask Sayla for the money for that any time. (She won't though, because that's how she is.)

<Pose Tracker> Ouka Nagisa has posed.

    'In Japan, they say that if you fold one thousand paper cranes, you get to make a wish!'

It's a preposterous claim on the face of it, Ouka thinks to herself from behind her neutral expression. Still... there is a part of her heart that wishes it were true. Both for the 'dark horse' girl in her wheelchair, and for herself. Were there a way that she could be given a wish, something to ask for no matter how big or small, well... that might be enough.

In truth the musical and acrobatic performances are the ones understands least. At least Gemini displayed some impressive skill with a firearm. Make-up, too, is a useful talent.

    '... to have a wonderful memory. To prove to myself I can do more than fight.'

    Where his talent failed to touch her heart, the words did. Ouka's gaze lowers from the stage to the floor before her as she considers. She was wondering what the point of all this was, after all. This wasn't a showcase to prove yourself before potential sponsors or buyers... it was about creating memories for yourself? Is this ... how you create special memories?

    Her gaze is suddenly drawn by the drone, the demonstration by the last contestant, which she had nearly missed in the midst of her contemplation. Another impressive deplay of talent, and one to which Ouka can relate. Mechanical repair skills are important after all - and she has had such imprinted on her.

    But as her golden eyes stare at the drone before it is caught by its creator, the Boosted Child wonders if maybe that part doesn't matter so much. Maybe it's just nice... that they seem to be having fun, even with something so pointless?

<Pose Tracker> Kaworu Nagisa has posed.

        ~Meanwhile, backstage...~
        
        Kaworu holds Yuta's hand back, this time letting his smile say everything for him. When he leaves, he watches him go. ...for the most part. His eyes flick downwards when Nunnally's fingers twitch... but he refrains from commenting.
        
        That's not the only thing the young pilot is enjoying tonight. Even backstage, he can hear Kallen's rendition of the First Movement, and after his glance at Nunnally, he shuts his eyes to take the performance in. "How wonderful...!" he breathes, savoring the sheer raw emotion.
        
        Rikka's song is stirring as well--perhaps amateurish in technical skill, but no less a stirring performance. By the time the two return, he stands up to greet them with a crooked smile.
        
        "You both did splendidly," he tells them sincerely. "I quite enjoyed listening to each of you." He chuckles a bit at Kallen's comment on bravery. "Yes. Everyone's had so much heart."
        
        When Yuta goes on for his dance performance, Kaworu watches from the sidelines. He wasn't able to do so for Nunnally, sadly, but this...
        
        They truly are all so passionate, aren't they?
        
        Satisfied, he returns backstage to prepare for the last round.

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Leina gets a specific, bright smile aimed her way. She made it! It was so exciting to have someone in the crowd cheering for them! Yuta blushes at Rikka's praise, his smile earnest and a little wobbly. Rikka really liked it..! Everything was worthwhile!

He leans in to whisper. "Gridman does so many flips and spins when he fights, I've got all the muscle memory from it!" Leaning back, he says in a normal voice, Marusan is a miracle worker. She spent so much time with me. Leina helped, too!"

"You noticed?" Yuta asks, about the song choice. "Thank you. I hope she will, too. Everyone's here to help her, she just has to take the first step."

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka returns Kaworu's smile.

"Thanks... I'm glad everyone liked it. Everyone's performances really have been great." She replies, then turns her attention back to Yuta as he shares a secret with her. Muscle memory from Gridman...

"I didn't think about that... But it was up to you to figure out how to use it, so it's still pretty impressive." She whispers back, and then continues in a normal tone. "Wow, really? I'm glad they were able to help you out - I'm sure they must be proud."

And as for his song choice... she nods.

"I did. And... you're right. We just have to be there for her when she's ready." She agrees.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

"I believe in you!" says Rin from behind her little divider. There seems to be faint light coming from there, along with a noise of zipping and a peculiar porcelain chime.

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"That brings us to the end of the talent portion of the show. As a reminder, the third and final round is the COSPLAY portion of the pageant, which we will be moving on to just as soon as this round's scores are in!" Suzaku exclaims, striding back to center stage as the remnants of the talent portion's props and tools are removed from the stage and shuffled well out of sight. "Please give all of our contestants a round of applause for their demonstrations!"

Once the area has quieted down again, he says, "For those of you who might not be familiar, the cosplay portion involves the donning of costumes in the image of characters from various forms of media. You'll probably see some familiar faces out there in just a few minutes! Look forward to it."

This time the stagehand comes at the foot of the stage, and Suzaku crouches down to take the slip of paper indicating the current scores from them. He straightens back up and smiles, reading off the list, "For the TALENT portion of the competition, we have: In first, Gemini Sunrise; in second, Kallen Stadtfeld; in third, Yuta Hibiki; fourth, Mana; fifth, Emilia Eschonbach; sixth, Nunnally Lamperouge; seventh, Rin Starking; eighth, Rikka Takarada. OVERALL standings are Yuta Hibiki, Kallen Stadtfeld and Gemini Sunrise tied, Rin Starking and Nunnally Lamperouge tied, Mana, Rikka Takarada, and Emilia Eschonbach."

"Once more, we return to our Judges. Miss Sheryl Nome, if you'd do the honors," he calls, making a sweeping gesture to Sheryl as he had for Milly.

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Behind the backstage curtains, Nunnally listens, carefully, to Yuta's performance. She can't peek out to see his movements -- that experience is denied her; don't think she can't enjoy his talents, regardless. Her head tilts to one side, as she follows the sound of bare feet on wood, at first slow and then fast; the impacts, the lack of impact...

        She smiles, in Mana's direction. "Thank you," she says, sunnily. "It's okay... it's pretty tough at first! I messed up a lot of paper before Sayoko taught me how to do it properly. But it's rewarding, too."

        Her head dips, with careful attention, as she hears Gemini's gunshots. She keeps smiling. She pays attention to Mana's display, too, listening to the whine of the engines.

        It's better, she decides, with deliberate care, that they're showing off their skills as a sport to impress people.

        "You all did so well," she encourages her fellows, with a bright smile. "Now, I'd better get ready...!"

        She has another costume to put on, after all--!

<Pose Tracker> Gemini Sunrise has posed.

Alright! Tied for second! That's more like it! Gemini pumps at the air before realizing that she needs to get into her very large costume for the next round and rushes to her dressing area!

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Electronics and mechanical things are not really Sheryl's wheelhouse, despite her semi-recent determination to learn how to fly a variable fighter. Still, there's something about Mana's unbridled enthusiasm about this machine, and machinery in general, that she built that's quite charming. When the drone comes in to hand her a donut with delicate care, as much as any human being could muster, her expression is one of delight.
        
        "Oh, how sweet!" she tells the drone with a broad smile, accepting the sweet on a napkin. She'd split it to share with her fellow judges, but apparently there's donuts enough for everyone, including Suzaku. Instead, she flashes a smirk. "I could just take you apart~!"
        
        In-character joking aside, she'll take off a piece to pop it into her mouth now, but leaves the rest for later. It is, after all, about to be her turn to present a question for the final round.
        
        So when it is time, Sheryl stands--not just to her feet, not just on her chair, but on the table itself, viciously kicking the bear plush out of the way without giving it so much as a glance as she smiles brilliantly out at Suzaku, the contestants, and the audience at large.
        
        "I just love how much of yourselves you've poured into your talents!" Sheryl (Jeryl) gushes, clasping her hands to her cheeks as she splays out her long-nailed fingers. "It's a real shame to have to rank anyone, as it makes it look like the lower ranks sucked when that's not true at all. Puhuhu, but there's still hope left for the final round--so maybe you'll put that despair to good use while you've still got the chance~?"
        
        She steps backwards, falling off the table onto her seat. While it's a hard landing, she lands on the dot, legs folded, arms crossed, not showing any injury on that aggressively bright smile. "That's why I want to know this: you've all shown how much you're doing this for you. But the deepest despair and the brightest hope all come from your bonds with someone else." She waggles a finger and winks. "Tell me! Who are you most hoping to impress by doing all this? Names! I want names, people~!"
        
        It's a good thing Sheryl isn't competing, because she is super high school-level committed to this bit.

<Pose Tracker> Ouka Nagisa has posed.

    When advised to do so, Ouka does applaud. It's another thing that she knows she is supposed to do though she doesn't entirely understand why. Something about showing approval or validation? She has often been on the receiving end of applause herself but never felt much from it. The demonstration she was engaged in was the point. The rewards (or more accurately the lack of punishment) was the point. The applause seemed ancilliary at best... but, well, when in Rome.

    Speaking of being in Rome next up in the competition is that part which she understands least. Cosplay - or Costume Play, as she understands it. She naturally gets the concept of dressing up as someone else. Such as a high ranking officer to gain access to sensitive areas, or a low level grunt to make yourself below notice.

    The notion of dressing up like some fictional character though? That seems... absurd at best.

    Still, at this point she is more inclined to have an open mind, and further inclined forward into her own seat. She wants to see. She wants to experience. She wants to understand... as best as she possibly can.

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Third place! Yuta catches his breath, nodding to himself. In the final round, he'll have to do even better. "Great work, everyone!" He says to his other competitors. "I've never heard that legend before, Nunnally. I'd love to try for my own wish someday.

Finding Mana, Yuta gives her a smile. "That was incredible! You're so gifted. I'd love to see what you and Rikka could do together -- she's great at fixing stuff up, too." Yuta glances back to Rikka with a grin. "I'm in awe of your ability." Next is Gemini. "Congratulations! Your abilities are next-level. I've never even held a gun before." He smiles. "You deserved first place for sure."

Next comes Kallen. "Your music left me in awe. I could feel how much it means to you -- and the audience could too, I'm sure of it. You're amazing." Finally, Emilia! Yuta approaches her gently, trying not to make her nervous. "Your makeup skills are amazing. You completely changed the way Kallen looked -- like she was a whole different person! I'm proud to share the stage with you, Emilia."

<Pose Tracker> Cornelia li Britannia has posed.

If nothing else, there are certain things that Cornelia can fall back on to anchor herself when she feels that self-perceived weakness creeping up on her.

She might not be a natural presence at a showy event like this and she might still be grappling with certain, circling revelations, and she MAY be wondering why on god's earth the Ashfords reward so much budget to clubs and activities (a small part of her is still trying to wrestle with how the club budget reward actually maths out in a sane way), but...

She is -very- good at assessing others.

So she loses herself in that rigidly-structured task, setting aside the - in her mind - more pressing concerns if only because of the challenge to her ego and pride. She watches with very little shift in her demeanor, carrying that poker face like a well-worn bulwark she has tempered rigorously over time. Any reactions are that much more noticeable, no matter how minute: the slightest, pensive squint at Kallen's tears and that answer that hews towards certain Britannian philosophies while skirting about them. The way her brows lift fractionally at the technical achievement of Mana's scrap-forged drone. The subtle note of a veteran's appreciation for Gemini's marksmanship.

The ghost of a frown that lingers just slightly overlong on purple lips as Nunnally speaks of 'Japan.'

Indigo eyes downcast towards her scorecard. The Viceroy, this time, does not hesitate, does not dwell. Her scores are rarely generous. But they are at least consistent.

It's only afterward, when the scores are tallied, that Cornelia leans back, her arms folding over her abdomen. This is just in time for Sheryl to be called -- and demonstrate her own showmanship by getting up on the entirety of the table and kicking her bear like she was a goalie with a football. Cornelia blinks. Cornelia frowns. Cornelia looks sidelong at the grandstanding (literally) Nome with the furrow of her brows. She hates grandstanding.

And yet --

That question causes her to pause. And, for a moment, Cornelia looks genuinely intrigued. Maybe a little impressed. -Who- are they doing this for?

Cornelia mulls this over for a moment.

And despite herself, she manages the sliver of an amused smile.

"Not bad," she says, before speaking up to address the contestants directly. "I suggest you take Ms. Nome's question seriously. I will not abide any thoughtless responses." Cornelia: Always pleasant.

...

SIDE NOTE: At some point, Cornelia, without looking up, picks up that drone-delivered donut in front of her, breaks it in half, and offers the two halves to Claudio and Bart Darlton behind her. Both take the Gift of Donut without a word.

The deserve it. Look how long they've just been standing there, in the background.

<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.

"Thanks! Your dance was good too - I only saw about half of it since I went back to make sure the donuts were ready, but I really liked what I saw. - She is? Really?" Mana trails her voice off as she considers Rikka in a new light. She apparently had no idea.

"We'll have to talk later," Mana raises her voice so that Rikka can hear it. "Count on it!"

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"Thank you very much!" Suzaku directs towards Mana, poking his head behind the curtains more than a little distractedly. He indicates the donut if there's any confusion; but he doesn't have the time to linger. There won't be any immediate eating since he needs to go mic-live again in just a second. He holds onto the donut though; it can't be too much of a nuisance, can it?

His microphone coming back online, he announces with a playful pump of his free fist, "It's time for the final round! Contestants, remember: Be! GUTS-y! And without further delay welcome back Rin Starking as Red Jade Pearl from YuanShen Strike!" Suzaku actually does elaborate a bit of the backstory that Rin offered up; not enough to start a timer, but enough to actually show he paid attention to the notes he was given.

There's not enough time for all of it though, and quickly enough the stage fully belongs to Rin.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Milly seems to be trying very hard to maintain impartiality -- and since a lot of these people are her friends and a roughly equal number aren't, that takes a fair amount of brainwidth. She chews at her pen for an entirely different reason, now -- she's legitimately struggling to feel great about some of these rankings!

Still -- the show goes on. And when Sheryl demands names -- that gets her to sit bolt upright... and slowly she goes from slightly wide-eyed genuine Milly back to slightly fox-faced, cat's-smile Milly.

"Mmm, now things are really heating up," she says, settling down again... and taking a bite of her donut. "Mmm. Good."

She glances to Suzaku, favoring him in particular with that smile for juuuust a moment.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

"I don't think I'm quite on her level..." Rikka admits, as Yuta says that she and Mana should work together on something something. She nods, when Mana asks comments on Yuta saying she's great at fixing stuff up. "Yeah... my family run a junk shop, so we get a lot of old, beaten-up goods that we fix up and make usable again. So, I've picked up a few things. If you ever find yourself in Tsutsujidai, check out the Junk Shop Aya - I bet it'd be a treasure trove for someone like you."

She pauses, then, hearing the announcement of the next round starting.

"...Oh, shoot, I still need to get ready - I'll be right back!" Rikka says, hurrying off.

<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.

"I'd love that! I'm a Vulture - I mean, I was a Vulture. I still do it but not as much. That's someone who picks through old scrap and battlefields for parts. Maybe I could find something in there... or bring something in for you." Mana is excited. More than before.

A pause. "Oh yeah! I need to get dressed too, this'll take as long as first round. Maybe longer." What is she WEARING in there? It's a mystery... for now.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

"That's interesting," Rin remarks as Suzaku's voice echoes into the backstage and the standings are brought up. "I came in the middle of the pack but then I'm tied for second with Nunnalittles out there... We're all in a much tighter situation than I would have thought. The scoring must be fierce... maybe there's dissention in the judges."

"Then again," Rin muses as she steps out from behind the divider, pausing to adjust a headpiece, "That could just mean that there's a gap here. There's not enough information here to derive a real tight value... I could be tied with her because we're just a whisker behind the top, or because we're both just not as far back."

BUT THEN:

Rin Starking promenades onto stage.

No: Not Rin Starking. Another different hairstyle, this one wrapped up for the most part and pierced with a black lacquered hairstick, golden flower-like ornaments arrayed on the left side. The core of the dress is red with gold. The shape suggests a cheongsam with trailing wide sleeves in black (also with gold accents), but the red fabric spreads out like a flowering tulip past the hips and leaves the legs bare, all the way down to ruby slippers.

Rin is also clearly cosplaying as the Ultra Rare outfit edition of Shuukou, the Red Jade Pearl. There are a few little accents on the outfit that make this clear, such as a costume-jewel anklet on her right ankle and the decoration on the black gloves, but the biggest sign of this is that everywhere there is gold, it is heavily threaded with golden *sequins*, making her sparkle violently in the late-summer sunlight.

Rin takes careful steps that are intended to make the outfit drift, across the stage, twirl to spread the skirts, move towards the center. She does a mediocre pass of her hands which pulls something out of one glove, and with an excessive little twist, brings out a metal straw, which she twirls thoughtfully with one hand.

"I chose Shuukou because her story was what really hooked me into YuanShen," Rin says. "She was wise, cunning... and honestly kind of shady. Someone who you couldn't trust. But when she was faced with injustice and a real threat -- not to herself, but to others -- she would throw away her entire life's work, just to save strangers."

"And," Rin confides, "she's like me. She loves a good game.~" She crosses her arms and raises up the straw to tap her lower lip. "She loves it so much she had to invent one of her own. Ah--!"

When a question comes--

"H-huh? What do you mean?" Rin says, seeming obscurely shocked. She smiles, straightening up, as if to regain poise she didn't realize she'd just lost. "I'm not trying to impress anyone at all! Geez! Why--"

It's no good, Rin realizes. She stares at Sheryl Nome, which is a pretty common outcome of events, and then turns her gaze outwards towards the rest of the group before them.

I haven't determined the score parameters at all!
For all I know the Galactic Fairy is the decisive vote!
I'm tied for 'second' -- but how far back is that?! I have to make a strategic play for something or --
-- or I just had fun --
-- it's meaningless!
-- But she wants a NAME! In front of EVERYONE!

Who's my 'best move', Rin thinks. And while all of this is happening internally...

She twirls around, wrapping her arms around herself. The dress leaves her upper back bare but there is still an abundance of sequins there.

If I name anyone here -- but who? Lelouch isn't bad. I could embarrass Samantha-- no, she'd just grimace. Nina Einstein? Zeveles mentioned her but -- no, she'd loathe me, she's that kind of a person. Wait.

"Do you want to know the truth?" Rin says.

I don't have to put it in a good way, do I? Facing away from the group, Rin's glasses gleam. That's right: I can use this school pageant for revenge for grandmother, can't I?

"The truth isn't very nice... heh... I suppose I'm revealing the venom within my fangs. There's a man out there... an old, ugly man... who broke my grandmother's heart! I know he's alive... but I have to think of all of YOUR safety -- I can't simply call out such a wicked name." Is this roleplaying?

"I'll whisper it on the wind --" And Rin's lips move. Seems to be five syllables. The third and fourth repeat.

Rin's head tilts back.

Okay, Rin thinks: Some of this has to be theater. Close strong.

"Uuhuhuhuh," Rin begins to laugh, before it gets longer and deeper. "Uwaeeahaaahaaahahahahaahhahaha--"

A twirl that makes the sequins on those xtralong sleeves sparkle. "EEIYAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!" Her back arches, eyes turned up to the sky, arms spread out full -- and then she sweeps the right one up to hide her face and hastens off stage.

IN THE AUDIENCE:

"Well, we're ****ed," says SAMANTHA CROWLEY, whose 'conceal that she has a home-produced chelsea cut' wig is sitting a little askew. She fixes it. "RIP."

"It was a satisfying sort of laugh," LOUIS LIONCOURT muses. "Was that in the EX story? I haven't gotten that one unlocked yet... spoilers are a spot unchivalrous..."

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

Before the next announcement, Suzaku takes note of the fact that he's getting fox-faced cat-smiles from Milly. He tilts his head to the side questioningly, but doesn't vocalize whatever he's wondering about the look.

"Our next contestant will be bringing to the stage a 'universal cosplay'," Suzaku exclaims, wiping away his questioning look and replacing it with a more theatrically curious one. "I don't know what to expect from that but I'm sure it'll be impressive after that display of make-up work! Come on back up, Miss Emilia!"

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

Emilia seems kind of surprised by Nunnally's praise. "Th-thank you" She says. "It's b-been r-really nice to s-see you take part." Emmy seems a little exhausted already, and there's still one round to go. And for her, it's the big one. "K-Kaworu and y-you have both d-done good work, Mr Hibiki." She pauses. Wait, is THIS the Yuta Sheryl needled Rikka about at the dinner. Oh. "You r-really wore those outfits well."

She starts with readying her hair, and once she's done there's the click as the back of her brush slides open to reveal a mirror. She wants to talk more to the other contestants, but she's already somewhat overwhelmed. She has to focus down now maybe she can talk after. But she needs to save her words Talking is hard and she has one more to go.



Before Emilia walks on the stage, the lights dim, and then switch to purple, and Universal Bunny starts playing again- an instrumental, though. And Emilia walks on dressed as the White Bunny from the stage- it's a solid recreation and looks handmade rather than bought. There are some oddities, though, The White Rabbit's boots, if you look closely, have a seam up the side, and something is off about several items.The Bunny's fascinator isn't quite to scale, and the ribbon cape is a touch smaller than it should be. She hasn't gnome with a wig either, keeping her natural hair.

She pauses three quarters down the runway to stop, do a quick turn to show the whole costume- honestly she looks quite comfortable and at ease, and very much the cute innocent bunny.

And then there's a blast of fog and confetti, and the lighting changes. In that fog she moves quickly- she undoes her belt and flips the tunic inside out, turning it into to a black and wine coloured cape that gathers the ribbon. She grabs the seams on the boots and pulls, the white rabbit's boots become black with a purple trim at the top. Underneath reveals the black outfit of the Black Rabbit (and a lot of skin), As She rolls down the sleeves and tucks the belt into the back of her cape. As a final touch, she pulls the flowing black fascinator out of the white rabbit's puff. The ultimate differences are a lack of garter belts and riding crop, and her mother's gold locket replacing the Black Rabbit's.

She walks to the end of the stage, and strikes a very definitely 'Sheryl' pose. She is actually going for it- but something about it doesn't quite fit her. It's not that Emilia can't be sexy, she very clearly can, but something in her character isn't suited to this.

She finally speaks. "I-I started w-working on this outfit almost immediately after seeing Miss Nome in concert." She is careful not to say which one. "That concert.. m-meant a lot to me. I started l-learning to sew i-in part for th-this. A-and I w-wanted to ch-challenge myself. S-see if I c-could r-recreate those outfits." She's trying her damnedest not to shake, admitting this here. "I m-made some compromises so I t Tried to capture the sp-spirit wh-where I could. But Sheryl's m-music is r-really important to me. So I w-wanted t-to do something of h-hers, even b-before I found out she was j-judging."

And then she pauses to answer Sheryl's question, and she grabs the cape and flips it back to the white bunny tunic, but doesn't change anything else. She's in an in-between state now- and her natural hair fits a midpoint between White Rabbit and black rabbit. She takes a deep breath. She knew who she was doing this for from the word go, It couldn't be anyone else.

"M-Milly Ashford." She says it quietly, but the microphone picks it up. "N-Not as a j-judge. J-J-Just as a-as"

And then her mouth freezes up. Her ability to speak goes missing entirely. That was a push too far. Wordlessly, the little gray rabbit gives a low curtsey, and does her best to simply walk back stage.

She takes a water bottle and tries to find a corner to sit in where she won't be noticed. She's supposed to be good at not being noticed.

She has to put all her remaining energy into not crying at this point.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Well! There went the cat smile. Milly finds herself in a position that she hasn't been in years:

Tongue-tied. She opens her mouth to say something to Emilia -- to try to find some way to acknowledge that without compromising her impartiality, to --

Milly remains completely stunned as Emilia retreats at speed. Her eyes track along with her retreat, though, as she gropes for something smart to say.

Even Milly has a limit to how much she can play off as funsies. (It wouldn't be right, after all, to play this off as funsies.)

... She'll have to address that later, though. She can at least hold it together for the duration of the event. (She wouldn't accept anything less from herself.)

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"Continuing her trend of bringing us powerful contrasts between and within her performances," Suzaku begins, casting a glance down towards his list. "Kallen Stadtfeld will be re-joining us with a particularly INFLAMMATORY cosplay!" He doesn't name the cosplay in this case, because he's QUITE certain that Kallen is going to make her point just fine, with or without explicit elaboration.

<Pose Tracker> Cornelia li Britannia has posed.

Cornelia looks sidelong at Milly.

She doesn't say a single word.

She just arches a brow. A single, itty bitty arch.

Just. So.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

Rin sweeps backwards, slumping down. She doesn't bother to change clothes, perhaps having worn her 'change clothes' action trigger out with doing it three times in like twenty minutes. "It's all on you, Hibiki, Takarada," she says with a sequined gesture --

Which freezes for a moment at what Suzaku says, for unclear reasons.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        It's honestly touching to Sheryl to hear Emilia admit to how much her music means to her, to the point that she learned how to sew just so she could cosplay her look for, wholly coincidentally, the very song she performed for this pageant. It does give her pause, though, as she squeezes her taiyaki phone--even if it's a coincidence, how to judge something like this fairly?
        
        Of course, then Emilia names her name, and it's one they all know well. Almost in sync with Cornelia, Sheryl too looks sidelong at Milly. The faintest of smiles at the corner of her mouth, she leans her head on one hand, as if to silently bid her to say something.
        
        Whether she does or not is up to Milly, of course. Even Sheryl feels bad for Emilia at this point, and while it's convenient to push that feeling off by focusing on someone else, she's not quite the character she's pretending to be right now, so she's not going to push.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

The final stage. The final rise of the curtain. A change is in order. Having called upon everyone to embrace their own strengths before, she'll now embody them as she flings off her obscuring cloak with an exaggerated motion. A march of black leather and cloth takes the stage. Between rounds, her hair has been settled. Brought down to billow and floof out around her face, and with some extra highlighting to give it a vaguely flame-like look and the proper neon green tinting. She felt she couldn't do this with a wig and still be true to herself, so this was her compromise. Her new outfit has a few hints of the previous costume remaining, as a link between them. The bandana now tied around one arm. The same earring that she's worn then. Clad head to toe in black leather, accented with the frills and cravat of nobility. A pair of biker's gloves over her hands, open on the backs. Enough belts cross over her legs and torso that's it's easy to lose count of them. There is one wrinkle in her story of course. This being cosplay, she still has to do something like the actual character. Before she takes it along to her own part, to move along the story she'd gotten far too invested in. Thankfully, she knows a quote that works perfectly. "We can hear them all. We hear the cries of their anguish, helpless against you. I'll blaze hotter and brighter, to save them!" And then, hidden pyrotechnics in the outfit ignite, surrounding her arm in flames of neon pink and green for a moment. How? Some particularly dedicated geniuses helped her put that part together, and ensure the outfit itself would survive the stunt.

And the final details are something not normally present in the original design, but she'd added it herself with some help from a talented seamstress. Personal touches to add her flair to the outfit, and for that idea that really just ran away with her. A capelet made to compliment the black leather by accenting it with traces of gold and violet, adorned with a heraldry of her own creation. Showing the flames of a person's soul bursting forth... there's an oddly lotus-like design to the flame though. She hasn't intended it at the time, and yet she can't help finding it perfect... And last, but not least, her own personal fencing blade, brought from home and held strapped to her left hip. No need to draw it, instead she casts out a sly, heartbreaking wink to the audience. "You've all been magnificent tonight, really. But as we're coming to the end of the show, it's about time you're all swept off your feet, and into my arms~." Where all this raw confidence in her voice has come from... who can really say? Inwardly, it's been a rough test of her own ability to follow through. To present these sides of herself for everyone to see. To even partially reconcile that they are, in fact, all parts of her. Even if she's not yet ready to reach out and grasp that truth in full.

"I suppose I've answered a part of this question already, in a sense. But if you'd like specifics... I want to leave an unforgettable impression upon my fellow members of the Ashford Student Council. To the people who helped me be on this stage today, able to express the shape of my own heart. Milly Ashford herself. Emmy. Ranka Lee." As she lists off names, unafraid of what it will mean to be public with her bonds to these people, her eyes turn to stare the final judge squarely in the face. Meeting her with burning confidence, respect, and inspiration. "And finally, you Sheryl Nome. Who provided the initial spark to set my soul ablaze, when I was struggling with myself."

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"Next up," Suzaku proceeds down his list, "is Miss Rikka Takarada donning the finale outfit of her character, Serena Alcione from 'Truthseeker Serena'! I understand we have cosplay-slash-formalwear to look forward to here. Come on out and join us, Miss Takarada!"

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

Rin has her forehead against the screen during the back half of Kallen's speech. "Is Stadtfeld trying to seduce the judges????"

("Why didn't I think of that--!!")

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

The crossdressing round had taken a while for Rikka to decide on an outfit. For the cosplay round, however, she already knew what she wanted... it was just a matter of working up the courage to do. But, she did and so, Rikka steps out onto the stage.

Her outfit is a formal dress like for a party, predominantly light blue but with waves of sea green and white throughout to bring to mind the colors of the ocean - a comparison made even stronger with the design of her skirt(a little higher on the left than on the right for some fashionable asymmetry), featuring layers of white ruffles with a design reminiscent of rolling ocean foam. Similar designs can be found around the hems of her sleeves. Accompanying this is a pair of sapphire-blue heels... and, the concealed holster of a prop gun around her right thigh. Similarly, within her left sleeve is the sheath for a concealed knife. Both are made a little more evident to avoid actually hiding them, while still being a subtle addition to the costume.

Her hair is pulled back and tied up, kept in place with a handband with a design resembling sweeping, elegant fins on either side. Eagle-eyed viewers will be able to recognize that the fin on the right ear is designed to hold a concealed listening device, though as it is only a prop it doesn't actually work.

As she moves out onto the stage, Rikka makes sure to do a few quick swishes and spins to get the fabric of her skirt moving. The motions really help sell the ocean-inspired design. Rikka briefly wonders how many people in the audience will recognize where her particular outfit comes from, and whether or not she should be worried about what they'll think. But she's already out on stage, so she might as well get on with it.

"So... this outfit comes from an anime called Truthseeker Serena - about a detective who, in the course of one of her investigations, uncovers a dark secret and is forced to go on the run to escape the organization looking to silence her, while in the process trying to uncover evidence to reveal them to the world. I don't want to give away everything, but along the way she uncovers deep-reaching secrets about herself, too, and is forced to determine what that means for her and completely re-evaluate herself and what that means for her as a person. I really admire her character - a cool, strong detective... but kind and pretty, too." Rikka explains, and then hesitates a little before continuing. "I used to just think it made for an interesting story... but lately, her journey has really started to resonate with me and I find myself identifying with it more and more. I've gone through something like that too, recently."

She pauses for a moment, and then continues.

"This outfit in particular comes from one of my favorite episodes, where Serena sneaks into a high society party in order to connect with a contact who has information about the organization she's investigating - and has a fateful encounter with her rival in the process. I've always loved the design, so it was great to get a chance to put it together and wear it for myself. I really have to give credit to the support team who's been helping everyone out - I wouldn't have been able to figure out how to make everything go together on the own. The design is meant to invoke the sight of the sea, which Serena has a strong connection to. It leads to a very interesting situation where - actually, that'd probably be a spoiler..." Rikka replies. ...Those who've actually watched the show might have an idea of why it's her favorite episode, beyond what she's said. During her investigation, Serena is surprised by the sudden appearance of her rival, a cyborg woman working for the enemy organization, and the two of them share a dance together in order to maintain their individual covers in a scene with a lot of tension, in many senses of the word, and encouraged a fanbase that was already rooting for them to get together.

But she doesn't address that - instead, she performs a few brief moves. Some swishes and spins, her hands held out as if dancing with an invisible partner - graceful and elegant, but with a style that's evidently carefully guarded, and ready to defend herself - no movement leaving her hands far from the gun at her leg or the knife in her sleeve. Practiced moves, no doubt, inspired by those performed by the character.

But then, of course, there's the question. Who does she most want to impress by doing this...? Of course it would be Sheryl of all people asking that question. There is, of course, one person in particular she wouldn't mind impressing... But she's not going to admit that straight out in front of a crowd, even if a few people in attendance here already know because Sheryl is a terrifyingly powerful person. But with the pointed way in which she asked it, she's not going to be able to get away with an answer like she gave in the last two rounds.

"I want to impress my friends and family. The ones in attendance, and the ones still back home in Tsutsujidai who couldn't make it today. I want to show them how far I've come. I've grown a lot as a person." Rikka says, her voice firm and confident. "So, Hass, Namiko, mama..."

There's a moment of meaningful hesitation. Just enough to provide some plausible deniability, to those who don't already know.

"...Akane. If you're watching this somehow, well... here I am. This is all for you." Rikka concludes and, with one final bow, heads backstage once more.

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

Once again, Nunnally's presence seems to prompt a little bit more proactivity from Suzaku in attending to the entry area. He meanders over in that direction and sneaks a glance in, grinning as he does so. "I'm sure plenty of you will recognize this one. Please welcome back Nunnally Lamperouge as Bonta-Kun! Fumo!"

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        With special care from Suzaku, onto the stage wheels...

        "Fumo! Furufumo! Ru! Fumofu~!"

        Nunnally has kept her hair in buns, curled circular to either side of her face, but now the true wicked intelligence of the hairstyle reveals itself -- her hair was styled as ears, all along! In a cheerful green bowler hat, with a yellow ribbon about it, and a red bow-tie about her neck...! Her normal boy outfit has been replaced with a yellow gown, all spotted brown, and it's instantly clear:

        This is Bontally-kun.

        She raises her hands -- the long, spotted sleeves of her gown ending in lighter yellow mittens -- and opines "Fumo! Fumo! Fumofu!" Because, of course, Bontally-kun has a much more limited vocabulary than Nunnally. Her cheer and excitement shine through the words, though, as she sways from side to side in her seat, waving her nubbly little mitten-hands about. She beams, brightly, to the crowd. "Ru! Fumo! Fu!"

        Something as cute as this couldn't possibly hide any danger whatsoever!

        She giggles, at Sheryl's question. "It's me, Nunnally! I'm not really Bonta-kun!" She assures her, cheerfully, which also establishes that the act is over. "And the person I most want to impress... is my big brother, Lelouch! Unfortunately, he couldn't be here today, but I really want him to be proud of me when he hears I did all this..!!" She smiles, warmly, to the crowd -- seems to direct her attention right at Suzaku, for a moment, though her eyes remain closed. "But that doesn't mean I don't want to impress the people running this event, either. I hope I made a really good impression! If I can make you smile... if I could do that, I'd be really happy."

        Nunnally claps her mittens together, and declares: "Thank you for watching me today, everyone! I'm so glad you're all here..!" And the warmth which pours from her is entirely genuine, even as she exits the stage.

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"It's time for contestant number six to re-join us," Suzaku calls, striding back to the side of the stage and making a 'come here' towards someone out of sight. "Welcome back Yuta Hibiki as Magical Princess Natural Lychee!"

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Pink. White. Blue. And of course, plenty of red.

This outfit is the cheeriest of all Yuta's choices. Everywhere you look, there's a star-point hem, or a bright yellow ribbon. After his intense training regimine with Leina, this outfit feels every bit as comfortable as his school uniform. Red ballet shoes match the exact hue of Yuta's long red hair, pulled back into a bouncy ponytail for this round. His lashes are decadently long, dusted with rhinestones, complementing the glittery pink eyeshadow on his eyelids. The gemstones are placed artistically at the corners of his eyes, as though Yuta was wearing winged eyeliner made purely out of the sparkly stones. Sunlight glints and glimmers off their mutli-faceted surfaces.

Yuta hopes to embody the essence of a magical girl. Empowering, protective, confident! In a way, it was no different from transforming into Gridman. Cheery, cute steps lead Yuta into the center of the stage. He pauses, waving to the crowd as though he's just seen them, a bright smile on his face. Yuta twirls, showing off his outfit. A blue skirt with seven star-points is tied around his waist with a bright white ribbon, the ends capped in a sunny yellow. The skirt swirls out as Yuta spins.

Finishing his walk to the front of the stage, Yuta takes a breath. Time for all his practice to pay off! Yuta winks with his left eye, bringing his right leg up close to his body. He pivots in place, almost a full pirouette, showing the ballet shoes off. With a confident grin, he leans forward slightly. Yuta's hand comes up next to his face, his pointer finger and pinkie outstretched, almost the sign for "I love you" in American Sign Language. His left hand comes down to rest by his right thigh, clenched into a soft fist. Both are covered by silky white gloves, reaching up to his mid-forearm.

"Magical Princess - Natural Lychee!"

Yes! He'd totally nailed it. After holding the pose for a moment more, Yuta lowers his foot and stands normally once more. As he straightens up, his top is on full display. It's a sailor blouse, white with puffed sleeves and pink ribbons. The center of the shirt is left open, showing off more of the blue material from Yuta's skirt. His collar is in the shape of a star, just beneath a blue ribbon secured tightly around his neck. In the center of his chest rests a green gemstone. Sayla and Leina had given Yuta so much to make this costume happen. He has to do his best, to honor their efforts!

With a flourish, Yuta pulls a star-rod from a hidden compartment in his waist ribbon. He lifts it up above his head triumphantly. With the press of a hidden button, the green gemstone in his wand, and the gemstone on his chest, both light up. The effect is impressive, even in the daylight, green light shining out over the crowd for a few seconds. With one more grin and wink, Yuta holds the star-rod down at his waist. His demeanor changes a bit, softening, as he prepares to speak.

"I chose to dress as Princess Natural Lychee to explore the theme of women's empowerment through pop culture." The answer felt a little stuffy, so with a gentle smile, he adds: "Everyone should have the ability to discover who they really are. Magical girls are able to transform into their ideal selves with magic, but I hope every one of us can find the way to our true selves, no matter how long the path may be!" Yuta raises his wand again, striking a pose.

"To answer your question... There's someone at home I care about a lot. We're not on the best of terms right now." Yuta admits, his eyebrows drawing together softly. Should he reveal her name? He's already thrown caution to the wind this much... Yuta steels himself, standing up a little straighter. "Rikka and I are both here for her. Akane Shinjo. She thinks I'm..." What was the right word? Malfunctioning? "...acting in a way I shouldn't. Entering a pageant like this is something she'd never expect from me! But I'm happy like this." Yuta does a little twirl, smiling bright. "I want to prove to her that I'm worthy of making my own decisions, and living a happy life that I choose for myself. All of us are." Yuta bows, blushing softly. "Thank you, everyone, for supporting us all!"

<Pose Tracker> Cornelia li Britannia has posed.

'Tsutsujidai.' It's not the first nor the last time Cornelia's heard the name, and it inspires a frown of thought on Cornelia's part.

It's a pensiveness that lingers, until --

'Fumo! Furufumo! Ru! Fumofu~!'

Her life gets Furu Metal Fumofu'd.

"... What on earth...?"

Cornelia just stares, blank-faced at the sight before her. Does she know what a Bonta-kun is? No; she hasn't known what -any- of these things are. And yet, all she can do is just stare blankly as Nunnally is wheeled out in all her mittened glory and proceeds to Fumo out a fumliloquy.

Several long seconds of silence pass by.

"snrt"

And she just barely lifts a hand to conceal a sudden snort of pure amusement before it can completely destroy her image for a -second time today-.

It's a warm feeling; a grin lingers on her lips, hidden from view. This is... it has to be...

'And the person I most want to impress... is my big brother, Lelouch!'

... something she can't deny anymore. Can she?

"..."

The grin fades from her lips by the time her gloved hand falls against the judge's tabletop. Her gaze is on Nunnally in those moments; it's barely noticeable, the way her brow has softened.

Alive. Alive. Then why--

Nunnally's words linger in her ears. 'If I can make you smile...'

That smile was there. It was. Even if it is long gone now, by the time her hands reach for her scoreboard, even if her thoughts start to burn with angrier things.

It was.

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"Lucky number seven," Suzaku looks especially amused at this one, "will be returning to the stage as somebody sure to be very pop-u-lar! Welcome back Gemini Sunrise as the Good Witch of the North; I just wish we had a bubble for her to ride in on."

<Pose Tracker> Gemini Sunrise has posed.

Gemini's final costume sees her approaching the stage in a large light blue dress, covered in ruffles and glitter, carrying a scepter and wearing a tiara both resembling crystal snowflakes. Her hair, done in tight curls, bobs slightly as she steps to the center. This was certainly a change from her first round outfit. Truly, even the junior members of the Little Lip Revue were quite powerful. "Are y'all good witches or bad witches?" She giggles and waves the scepter around, allowing it and herself to sparkle in the sun.

"Gonna be honest, I jus' really like the Wizard of Oz! They call it America's first home-grown fairy tale, an' it's beloved even on Neo-America! Galinda's so glamorous and popular an' everyone loves her! And that's how I'm gonna be one day! An' yeah, I know 'bout act 2, but I couldn't get any green face paint, soooo~"

"As for who I wanna impress...I can't really say any names. Well, this is gonna sound a bit embarrassin', but...I ain't never really had friends my own age before. I was mostly alone on the Texas Colony, and I can't relate to a lotta folks on Neo-America. Even my co-workers are mostly adults. That's why I'm at Jindai, an' that's why I'm up here today! I wanna show all of y'all just how amazin' I can be!" At this confession, her cheeks turn as rosy as her locks. "I know it's a bit silly, but I jus' wanted to thank y'all for givin' me the chance!"

Now completely embarrassed, Gemini rushes off the stage with a squeal.

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"Last but most ASSUREDLY not least we have a mystery cosplay by Miss Mana," Suzaku says, folding up his list and handing it off to somebody at the edge of the stage. He's left holding only the donut that had been passed out by drone. "Larger-than-life and a real blast from the past, I'm told this is one everyone will recognize once they lay eyes on it. Without further delay, come on out!"

<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.

Nothing appears to happen as first as Mana is called, but then all of a sudden the low fog machines she set up ahead of time all trigger, sending waves of billowing fog across the stage. It's hard to see through it clearly as a chunky silhouette stomps out from backstage, yellow eyes glowing, a brighter point of light lower down that lifts up, pointing toward the audience -

*byuum*

The distinctive sound of an older beam weapon firing erupts (though not as loud as, at this distance, the real deal would be) and a pink-white beam visibly crosses the stage as the rifle in the figure's hand fires. The beam fades out once it's past the fog, though - it's nothing but a light show laser.

The fog machines were only set up for one sustained blast of mist and it starts to dissipate almost immediately in the open space, only shrouding the legs of the robot that is now on the stage. And it is a robot, a very distinctive one: white legs, yellow sections on top of white hips, red soles and waist, blue chest with yellow vents... shield in one hand, beam rifle with yellow scope in the other, it's a machine which anyone with even a cursory knowledge of history has seen. It's certainly been on enough television over the ages.

The RX-78-2 'Gundam'.

"The Gundam is really important to me!" Mana's voice is a little muffled from coming out through a helmet, but it's loud enough - she's good at projecting. "It's the time when mobile weapons went from little stumpy things - nothing against wanzers and older Valkyries, they're cute in their own ways too - to the majesty of the mobile suit, the ~Gundam~." o/` The musical tone in her voice is entirely audible. "It's what inspired me to learn about mobile suit repair. The first time I saw it, I just knew I had to work on it! Or its descendants, since it's a little older now, the design happily retired with a lot of descendant units..."

"And I wanted to get the look *just right*, and this was the best opportunity I'd ever had!" Mana, cheerful still, turns slightly to show off the silhouette of the Gundam (accurate) and the paneling detail (also accurate, and time-consuming). "It's the father of modern mobile suits. It's a paragon of design and engineering. It deserves it! I've been working on this for *ages* and this just gave me the last push to finish. And yeah, okay, it's not fictional, and we're all very glad about that," maybe, "but it's pretty old... I've only seen the original on television, in shows about the One Year War, or in books."

"I don't usually talk about where I came from but I'm from what they call the 'Britannian breadbasket', which is still kind of a mess." Mana falls quiet for a moment. The helmet hides any expressions she might be having. "Anyway, my parents aren't alive either and I lived on my own." She's, what, sixteen? "I saw a lot of robots," she says, frankly, "both ones that really existed and ones that didn't, and the Gundam was my favourite. That and Mazinger Z. It inspired me to keep going and be a mechanic, like I said before. And look at me now!"

And who is she doing this for? "I'm doing this for myself, really," Mana says, after a pause. "I really wanted to make a perfect Gundam, the very best Gundam, and I didn't really think about anyone else in particular. Unless any of you like Gundams nearly as much as me! Then... you! It's for everyone who loves Gundams. I hope you all can come to love them! Ah, Gundamie~" She clasps her hands together up high, which would look more normal if it wasn't a Gundam doing it.

Someone who knows Mana better than the average waves at her from offstage; Mana, wearing a vision range-restricting helmet, does not see. She thinks about this a moment longer, and then says, "Oh, wait. Is this a dating thing? Because I don't really do the dating thing, or at least I haven't - "

The person waves again, more urgently. This time Mana sees it. "Oh! I guess I'm out of time," she says, brightly. "Then my answer is that this one is for all the Gundam fans out there!" She waves again, this time with the shield hand, and begins to clonk her way off-stage.

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

Once the last cosplayer is off the stage and a reasonable amount of clean-up is done on what props and set-up need to be broken down from the cosplay section, Suzaku Kururugi resumes front-and-center stage and smiles at the audience. "That concludes the third event, which brings the main event into wind down! A wonderful display of creativity and passions from all of you! Before we announce the winners of both the cosplay round and the contest overall, we'll be hearing commentary from our judges. All contestants will shortly report back to the stage for the awards ceremony; please send them your affection and thanks for being here with us tonight!"

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Milly finally recovers fully from her earlier shock and manages to make her way back to a performance level she can be satisfied with, which is great, because it's just in time for her to render some comments on the situation as a whole.

"We've had a few competitive events at DecuFes so far," Milly starts. "Plus a few student-initiated competitions to boot! But this really brought out the best in everyone. After our impromptu curry cook-off turned into 'good time had by all,' I had a talk with Takarada about that."

It takes a moment for her to find the words for what she's trying to say. "The stakes were pretty high here -- even higher than everyone knew at the start. And that brought out a lot of the very boldest things any of you could say or do." She rolls up the paper she'd been taking notes on and brandishes it like a blade -- a perfect fit for her samurai's armor. "Sparing each other's feelings isn't very GUTSy. You're not gonna improve if someone just says everyone did a great job. Takarada wanted comments on her recipe -- and she didn't get 'em because people were trying to spare her, Chidori, and Nagisa's feelings." With a sparkle in her eye, she notes, "I gave them afterward. That's why I'm President."

She's meandering a bit... but she gets back to it. "For those of you on top this year -- you've got a memory you're gonna carry with you, if you're third years! If you're first or second years -- that's a target on your back, so you better hustle. And for those of you who came up shorter than you'd like..."

Milly grins. "Well. You've got something to shoot for in the next thing you do. You'd better demand better from yourself, because the world's gonna demand better from you -- and it's gonna sneak right up on you when you're not expecting it."

Playfully, she finishes, "You're not all winners. That's the fun part~."

Milly cedes the floor to the other judges.

<Pose Tracker> Cornelia li Britannia has posed.

Cornelia recognizes Magical Girl Lychee. It was one of many shows she secretly watched behind her stewards' back when she was very young.

She recognizes the Gundam, and the soldier in her marvels at the design. A pinnacle of Mobile Suit technology that revolutionized everything that came before, so painstakingly remade like a tiny testament to its greatness.

She can't enjoy either of them.

Red gloves press to the judges table firmly as the final scores are delivered. Cornelia li Britannia rises to her feet. Her gaze is as unyielding as the cliffside. She does not look at either of her fellow judges.

But Cornelia is a princess of Britannia. Even if she is not the statesman Schneizel is, or possesses the sheer warmth of her sister, she knows how to put her best face forward. She knows how to speak strongly.

Purple lips part.

"My role here was a substitute for the Sub-Viceroy; it is not normally my place to oversee competitions such as these. But..."

Her fingers curl, unnoticed, at her sides.

"... I am very pleased that I did, and had opportunity to witness many things I never thought I might in my time here in Area 11."

They relax, subtly.

"Some of you have shown me a commitment to your crafts. Others have demonstrated an unflagging confidence. ... Others still have shown me a boldness I may have never expected. To those who have won, you have earned your laurels. Savor them. Those who have not... there is always opportunity to seize victory." Those indigo eyes narrow. "Achievement through relentless competition is the cornerstone of our society."

It is, she knows. Forever and always. "Thank you, for allowing me this remarkable opportunity."

And so, she cedes the floor. And she waits, until all is said and done. Until the crowds begin, until the announcements are made. And then she speaks to the judge beside her. Her voice is low, below the sounds of the crowds. Tight. Carefully restrained. What she has to say is utterly clipped.

"We will speak, Lady Ashford."

And it does not brook debate.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        As everyone displays their cosplay, with or without an act to go with it, Sheryl watches and occasionally giggles. There's a lot of production quality here, and some people really nailed it in her view. Why, even the old stoneheart Princess over there is even giggling a bit!
        
        Very curious indeed.
        
        It might be barely noticeable, that softening of her brow, but Sheryl is looking right at her from right next to her and specifically looking for some kind of change. She doesn't know what it's about, but...
        
        "Hmmmm," she murmurs to no one in particular, probably. "Well, she really was quite cute, so it's all right this time."
        
        If her comment is just loud enough for Cornelia to hear, well, surely that was entirely unintended.
        
        All the same, once everyone has had their showing, it's time to tabulate the scores. Sheryl's been keeping notes and numbers this entire time, and she adjusts several based on how they compared with each other as well as how they stood on their own. Soon, she has a verdict, as do her fellow judges.
        
        But first, her commentary. Sheryl isn't shy about sharing her opinion, and she stands up--normally this time, now that they're coming in towards a wrap and she needs to speak as a judge--but she at least holds her arms akimbo as she does.
        
        "Milly and the Viceroy already talked about the competition, and very eloquently at that, so I'm going to invert expectations and talk about the fun," she states. "On that mark, I have to say, I had a lot of fun tonight watching everyone up on stage! All of you had a lot of passion--if not for this competition, if not for someone else, not to name any names, then for something--and there was something each of you shone at. This might not have been a professional production, but I sure appreciated all the love." She laughs and jokes, "Not to mention all the name-drops!"
        
        She winks as she raises a playful finger next to her cheek, but she soon curbs her playfulness. Just a bit. "Seriously, though, the GUTS initiative really was well-named. I'm proud to have been a part of it, and I'm proud of all of our contestants for taking part too! But more importantly than that, whether you won or not today, you had the will to get up on that stage. That's your most important first step: you won't win if you don't take a risk. So keep getting up on that stage--on your stage, whatever that may be--and never stop striving to be the best!"
        
        With that, she sits, folding her legs once more as she awaits the announcement of the final judgment.

<Pose Tracker> Suzaku Kururugi has posed.

"For the cosplay round, we have in first place: Yuta Hibiki! Tied for second are Kallen Stadtfeld and Nunnally Lamperouge; next is a tie between Rin Starking and Mana, and yet another tie between Rikka Takarada and Emilia Eschonbach. Lastly we have Gemini Sunrise," Suzaku announces, as the Judge's commentary winds down. He accepts the last sheet of paper indicating the final tally and carries on: "The winners of the Ashford Academy Crossdressing Pageant are:"

"In first place, Yuta Hibiki!"

"In second, Kallen Stadtfeld!"

"In third, Gemini Sunrise!"

"Honorable mentions go to Nunnally Lamperouge, Rin Starking, Mana, Rikka Takarada, and Emilia Eschonbach. If I could get one last, big round of applause for our contestants--" He hardly has to ask. It's been a good show! "-- That will mark the end of the show. Thank you all for coming, and remember: Stay GUTS-y! Be sure not to miss out on some of the great food trucks and stalls we've got, folks!"

With that, Suzaku Kururugi finally cuts his microphone and the stage enters the break-down process. He glances out towards Cornelia and Milly, weighing something in his mind. Going over directly... probably wouldn't help. It's not really his place to go interject between two Britannian nobles. Taking a bite of his donut (finally), he makes his way towards where Nunnally is and simply mills about for a while.

She can probably feel the anxiety rolling off of him. But eventually he finishes his donut, pulls out his phone, and scrolls through his contacts, teetering on the brink of a decision. But that's a story for another night...

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Milly realizes that something that almost certainly requires her grandfather's intervention to at least some degree is happening. Her life is getting astronomically more complicated by the second tonight.

Regardless: the Viceroy is talking to her and that's a situation with very few options. "Understood," she replies, whisper-quiet.

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Yuta stands next to Rikka on stage, trying to appear calm and collected. He's still in his magical girl outfit. The fun of contests is doing your best, of course... but he really wants to win, all the same!

The butterflies in his stomach vanish all at once when his name is called. First place! Yuta's starstruck, his blue eyes wide and his smile even wider. He steps forward and bows deeply to the judges. "Thank you for believing in me." Then he turns and bows to his competitors, smiling all the while. "Thank you for sharing the stage with me! You all were incredible, I'm proud just to be in the same category as you."

Glancing off to the side, Yuta hopes to make eye contact with Kaworu. If he does, he gives the other young man a thrilled grin. What a day..!

This has been the best day of my life, Yuta thinks, his heart alight with joy.

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Nunnally has made things more complicated. Even so, she wheels out to the stage one final time, with big smiles for everyone and anyone. She cheers on the winners, clapping animatedly -- "Kallen, you're amazing!" is definitely one of the phrases out of her mouth, amidst all the praise she has for them.

        She gets an honourable mention...! Isn't that great?!

        Once the pronouncements are over, she wheels off to the side, so she's out of the way. She reaches up, and feels about to place a hand on Suzaku's arm, smiling up to him. "You were great out there, too," she tells him, smiling.

        "I'm sure everything will be okay... everyone had so much fun, today."

        Seems like Nunnally's optimism is difficult to shake, but maybe she can offer some comfort, anyway.

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Backstage, Emmy hasn't calmed down per say, but she has settled. She's flipped the boots back to white on the Rabbit costume, but is otherwise changed nothing. She'll go back out, she'll get throgh the end, she'll accept last place- she's getting nowhere near the top 3, and honestly the cap between here and Rikka of 7 points is not one she can meaningfully close.) Then she'll graciously nod her goodbyes and go back to the student council room and hope no one notices her for a while. It'll be fine.

        'And yeah, okay, it's not fictional, and we're all very glad about that,' Mana's words hit a nerve, and Emmy collapses back in on herself. In the corner, where she thinks no one is looking, she digs out the locket around her neck, and opens it. She looks at the picture inside. At her mother, with the man whose hair she shares, that she never had a chance to meet. She closes it, and slips it back in. "...Not. All of us." She says, to no one.

        The Grey Rabbit is on stage with everyone else, giving a very practiced false calm. She can stand up here a little longer, with everyone staring. Just a little longer. Milly speaks, but Emmy's not in a position to let them sink in. The world already expects more of her than she's got to give, and has taken it regardless. She stands on stage the requisite amount of time, smiles her maid cafe smile, applauds the champions and then ducks backstage to pack up. As soon as her personal items and her makeup are away, she entrusts Kaworu with her makeup kit (with a tacit 'take any you like'), she takes her things and slips out the back. She messages Kallen with a 'Congratulations. Have fun.' She had enjoyed herself, until it all became too much.

        She'll be found curled up on the couch in the Student Council room- with Milly occupied and the rest of the student council sick, in the event, or studiously avoiding work, it's a safe place to be left alone.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka watches Yuta's performance as Magical Princess Natural Lychee. It isn't what she expected from him, but he really pulls the outfit off well. Not just the outfit, but the moves - and the special effects to go with them. And then there's his speech... both on why he chose the outfit, and about who he's doing this for. Naturally, it's all worthy of applause, and when he returns backstage, he gets a smile.

"That was great, Yuta." Rikka compliments. Would this help her to see...? She hopes it would.

The next few acts go through, and then, it's time for the judging... Rikka returns to stage once more - this time along with everyone else.

Milly brings up the talk they had, and her feelings on that matter still remains the same. She nods along, and listens too as Cornelia comments on everyone's performance, and Sheryl on their passion.

Finally, it's time for the judging! The results of the cosplay round are about as she expected, and the final results...

She's fine with her placing - as she said, she did this for herself and the people she cares about. No - what she is, is happy for Yuta, who she gives a big round of applause to - and Kallen, and Gemini, too, not to mention everyone.

"I knew you could do it, Hibiki. I'm proud of you!" Rikka says, pleased. "You definitely deserved this."

He really does - he puts so much of himself out into the world, risks so much, and only a few people even know it. She's glad he can appreciate and be recognized for something for himself, something he can be proud of.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

There is beauty and majesty in what's happening. The Gundam costume impresses Rin; silently she cheers Nunnally's efforts. She admires Gemini's showcraft; she wonders at the depths of talent coming out of the kids from, what, Tsutsujidai? The weird place? Up in the PLANTs?

Maybe I should go there, Rin thinks, not of Tsutsujidai.

Sitting there in her sparkling costume of a person who doesn't exist and never has, Rin takes a deep breath and then walks out, going back out onto the stage. She twirls the metal straw in her fingers. There's something nervous about it.

Thoughts; doubts.

Milly speaks. She speaks in a way that seems almost *orthodox* to Rin, who always has time to savor the nuance of what people are saying. Something about the curry thing? Rin wonders. They're not all winners.

The Viceroy speaks. She's there. She's so close! Towering and perfect. She seems tired, Rin thinks. What if -- but what would it do? Nothing. Nothing at all.

Sheryl Nome speaks. She glances to the side at the compliment of their passion. At this point her arms fold and she lets out a little bit of a huff.

Suzaku reports the rankings. First place -- yup, Rin thinks. This Yuta kid is a pageant winning machine. What's his trick? Was he in kiddie events? Just natural luck? Rin looks at him, and she gives a thumbs up and a wink moments later. After this comes a third-place tie, and at that point Rin looks off into the distance --

Louis has raised his bottle of iced tea in recognition. Samantha is making an obscene gesture with both hands. Rin's face flattens.

And then the finale...!

Yup.

"Eeieiiiaahahahahahahaha!!" Rin stage-laughs again, clapping vigorously! With a sweeping bow she says, "Thank you all so much~!"

"Hey, let me get some pictures with everyone, huh?" Rin asks the other costumed people as she sweeps down the stage. Louis has his phone camera already out. There is a brief interruption when Rin and Sam stare at each other--

"Way to lose," says Sam, punching Rin in the arm.
"Moral victory," says Rin, punching Sam in the arm.
"More like o-" says Sam, interrupted by a punch in the arm. "Tch. Whatever."

After a brief round of photography, they head indoors.

"It wasn't a bad experience... but boy, even for a cosplay event it was *tense*."

"What could have been tense about that?" asks Louis, before getting punched in both arms simultaneously.