2024-01-17: Frail Blossoms, Not Yet In Bloom
- Log: 2024-01-17 Frail Blossoms, Not Yet In Bloom
- Cast: Rin Naujakaite, Sheryl Nome
- Where: Cherry Blossom Parks, somewhere in Japan
- OOC - IC Date: Sometime in March 0099 UC (OOC: January 17, 2023)
- Summary: Rin and Sheryl run into each other while enjoying sakura season, and talk about their plans for the future.
<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.
Despite the great changes in the world and beyond it - for does the world not encompass many planets and colonies and fleets? - life continues on. Earth's natural cycles rise and fall, and one of the areas most favored for natural scenery is in Japan.
The Japanese archipelago, we might say; because the nation present there is under some dispute.
EVEN SO -
Yoyogi Park
> ok i'm in position
> near the thai stall
> it's the one with the big red poop on top
Indeed, there is a Thai food stall in the pop-up space in the entrance where food trucks and short-duration cookatoriums are grudgingly tolerated for the sake of Festivity. The cherry blossoms are *just* beginning to peek out - the true optimal viewing won't be for a few days yet - but this is definitely the calm before the storm. Of political upheaval - hopefully nothing worse. But for now:
Rin Naujakaite is there.
Rin's hair has been brushed and bound back in a simple red ponytail, long enough to hang partway down her back. No glasses. She has a thin gray trainer-style jacket against the springtime breeze (it can get a little chilly in the shade), and a familiar T-shirt advertising PITFORGE, everyone's favorite incredibly nerd-ass dwarf-themed voxel-based construction game. Below them is high-waisted blue jeans, athletic shoes, and a shoulder bag to carry bits and bobs. The bag seems fairly full.
One thing that is new is the gold-on-blue square cross logo brooch worn on the left side. It's tilted slightly - more of an X than a +.
Rin is also on her phone.
> i think it's supposed to be like some building?
It does indeed look like a sideways red chili... or a... well...
> if you sneak up on me i'll pay for dango :o
> :o :O :O :O:O:O:O
It might help, Rin, if you looked up from your phone.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Being a mega-popular superstar exempts one from real-world concerns to a certain extent. When the OCU and OAC finish officially seceding from the Federation, Sheryl Nome will still be able to travel relatively freely between them, because she's Sheryl Nome. At one point in her life, that would've been enough. But now...
Well, now Sheryl has enough perspective to be able to think of people other than herself. Because of that, she's taken a day to come to Japan and enjoy the cherry blossoms before traffic picks up--and then locks down. Grace is in the area, posing as a normal tourist as she sits on a nearby bench and "reads" (actually monitors the area via her wireless connections); Brera is also in the area, skulking around to keep an eye on Sheryl as her bodyguard, but otherwise keeping out of immediate sight to avoid bringing undue attention. Sheryl herself is in a pale pink babydoll dress, sunhat on her long tresses, dark shades over her eyes, legs caressed in pantyhose, purse slung on one arm, and heels clicking on the gravel pathway that winds through Yoyogi Park.
Strictly speaking, the shades are clipped to the chest of her dress so Sheryl can take in the sight of the first petals of spring unhindered. But when she arrived, and when she leaves later, they'll be over her eyes.
She sighs a little to herself. It isn't the same without company either way. And her thoughts are of course on a man with blue hair, and a woman with green...
Alto already graduated last year. This year, she and Ranka will be graduating too. Without school as an excuse to bring them together--after all, graduation is only days away at best--will they be able to spend as much time together?
Some nearby motion catches her eye. There aren't a lot of people in Yoyogi Park right now, but it's not empty either. Sheryl blinks as she realizes the woman texting on her phone is someone she knows. Her outfit is pretty casual, and she's got a big bag and a brooch on, and, again, she's absorbed in her phone. In other words, she's totally distracted. A cat-like smile curls up her lips. Rin seems distracted. Mischief rears its adorable head in the soul of Sheryl Nome, and she starts softening her footfalls as she walks past--walks off the path onto the grass, where her heels won't betray her--doubles back--and-----
"Boo!!" Sheryl roars, shoving Rin playfully from behind, before breaking into jubilant laughter. Not gay laughter, though, because that would be bi erasure. "Did I scare you~?"
<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.
There is a glimpse over Rin's shoulder of some horrible mobile game. They're all basically the same thing, anyway. What this means is that Sheryl approaches from the flank... and...
*push*
"Blryrrrhg!!" Rin says, stumbling forwards a pace and abruptly whirling around fast enough that her ponytail crashes against her shoulder like some sort of red ocean wave breaking against a rock. (Imagine if the ocean was bright red worldwide. Horrible!)
Her expression shifts and she slings the phone into her jacket. "Hayyyyyyy," she over-enunciates, raising her hands to fold them behind her head. "Looks like someone needed dango bad." She's not calling out her name -- but it probably took a little effort.
Rin seems, somehow, simultaneously more frazzled and less than she was under alien suns. "You look great! Does the sun bug you around here? I wondered a little." Her hands stay folded behind her head for a few moments more as she turns her head around, scanning for the optimal dango outlet. (There are like three people selling hanami dango in the area.) Rin is also probably looking for Brera, but more as a 'Okay, he's here' kind of confirmation.
"It's kind of nice, huh? Like just seeing people doing their thing and selling noodles and everything," Rin says, her unfolding hands coming round to fold in front of her loosely. "... it's calming."
"But yeah: What've you been up to?"
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Sneak: success!! Now Sheryl will get some delicious dango. Not that she knew that's what the prize would be, having not been the person Rin was texting, but she'll take it anyway. Rin does whirl around quite fast, but it's all in good fun and there's no problems. Sheryl only smiles brightly, then winks when Rin sees who it is.
"Fancy meeting me here, right~?" she lilts. She tilts her head, blinking once. "What's that about dango?" (Again: not the text recipient.)
She smiles again at the compliment. "I always look great! And that's because I do things like wear sunhats." She tips up the brim with a knowing look. "I of course have Pure Shield on, but you don't keep skin this pristinely alabaster without using every trick you've got. Beauty is a battle, and I always win."
Brera is indeed here. He peeks out from behind a tree just enough for Rin to catch sight and know he's Watching.%
"Yeah, it's a nice spot," she agrees, folding her arms under her chest as she settles her weight on one foot. "I wasn't planning on getting any snacks, but dango does sound tasty." Noodles would be a little too heavy for her right now. For some reason, ever since she collapsed at the expedition fleet's return to Earth, it's been harder for her to keep food down. Her bloodwork came back clean after her recent hospital stay, thank god, but Sheryl kind of suspects she might've picked up something while she was at Gallia IV.
Not that she's mentioned that to anyone, even Grace. One hospital visit is bad enough. She'll power through it just fine, because she's Sheryl Nome.
"Finishing up my flight program. Just a little longer and it's finally graduation," she replies. "It's looking like I'll actually pass this year, too. All the hours I got in back in... well, you know... really helped. Plus, it helps that I opted to go for a regular pilot's license instead of a fighter pilot. The exam for that is way easier."
This might be news, considering that Sheryl started the flight program to become a fighter pilot and take revenge on the Vajra, something that was all over the news at the time. 'The Galactic Fairy supports our soldiers!' and all that.
<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.
Rin slow blinks once.
INTERNAL MENTAL SCAN: Highlight Sheryl. Sidebar about optimal BWH ratio for musical success. Compare to another enigmatic figure - NO MATCH -
External view:
"My wires got crossed," Rin says, tapping her nose. "I was texting with Amies 'cuz I came to Tokyo with her to do some ops stuff," Rin explains, "but she JUST left Yokosuka and I think she has to drop something off at the branch office in Yokohama so if she gets here it'll be in like a million years." A beat. "Or like fifty minutes."
Strangely precise!
"I dunno if you saw her much - short, glasses, she was like the ops queen for the Carriax."
And after that - "Oh, nice!" Rin says. "Wow. Are you still like... going to do military piloting, even if it's not like... combat air? Like transports or bridge work or?"
The line moves on.
"Maybe I should get a piloting license," Rin muses.
She gets out her phone. Thumbtyping goes brrrrtttt:
> how many hours do i need for oac pilot cert?
Rin looks back at Sheryl. "I don't even know how that stuff really gets handled up there. Geez. It's really only been a couple of months, huh? I've just been like... I thought when you go to a job, right, that means you shouldn't have to go to classes any more, because school is a place of work and the business of students is learning! Or some shit."
A beat.
"I have been in so many classes," Rin says, shoulders slouching.
The line isn't exactly slow, so: "Two please," Rin tells the cart operator. Minor dressing later and the festive colorful dango in its springtime hues is surrendered with the kind of smile only a kindly old grandparent or grandparent-adjacent individual can give.
Rin's phone buzzes several times.
> Sure! :)
> lmbgtfy.com>oac air pilot cert+armor endorsement
> That should tell you everything.
> Good news! We have flight logs of your co-operations in Gallia IV, so it's mostly
> A WRITTEN EXAM.
> Sorry, caps! :)
"Anyway, it really shows with your skin," Rin adds. "So it all comes down to sunscreen, huh? I guess UV radiation is radiation, after all..."
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
"Oh, were you? Tell her I said hi," Sheryl replies. She's hardly well-acquainted with Amies, but she at least knows who she is thanks to Sagiri And Pals having been on the same expedition to Gallia IV. Rin's description helps. "One of the VTX girls, right? Sagiri and Rami's crew." (Naturally, it's those two whom Sheryl really remembers.) Fifty minutes is precise, but Sheryl doesn't read anything into it. She said like fifty minutes, and fifty is a round number. It's probably nothing.
"Can you really see me doing something like transport or bridge work?" Sheryl replies with a wry smile. "No, after getting into actual combat at Dakar, I realized it isn't for me. I'll leave the dogfights to Alto and Brera. There are lots of people who can be soldiers and mercenaries." Her gaze steels all the same. "But only I can be Sheryl Nome. I'm going to use my licence to inspire the people who're doing the fighting and make my shows better than ever, both off the battlefield and on it." Her smile sparkles as she flips her hair. "I can't let my guard down with a rival like Ranka around, after all!"
Maybe Rin should get a license too. Sheryl's eyebrows furrow. "You don't already have one? You and your friends were doing a bunch of flying during the expedition."
It doesn't occur to her that a license might not necessarily be good across country lines.
She heaves a theatrical sigh as Rin talks on classes vs. jobs, flipping a hand to one side. "Tell me about it! But it turns out, if you're learning how to do something you've never done before, you still have to go to school for it? Lame!" She winks as she smiles. "Just kidding~. I actually wanted to go to school. I never got the chance growing up." Her smile turns a bit wistful. "It was hard work, and it was a lot of fun. A shame it's already over. I wonder what's going to happen to GUTS..."
Not just now that they're graduating, but also with the Federation crumbling the way it is... not to mention Nagoya being under martial law. That was horrifying to return to, though admittedly it had to stack up to an entire planet getting destroyed. Sheryl imagines Rin has it a lot harder, and indeed, her eyebrows furrow with concern. "Speaking of--how've you been doing? In general, of course, but also with what's going on in Nagoya." She knows that Rin used to be a Black Knight; it must be hard for her.
Still, there is dango, and right here, right now, things are still peaceful. Of course, anything could happen to change that, but that's always been true. Sheryl accepts a tri-colored dango stick and pays with a dazzling smile, both to Rin and the cart operator. (It's valid currency when you're hot.) Rin's phone buzzes a bunch; Sheryl only pays attention if she chooses to read those texts in front of her, in which case her nosiness takes over and she blatantly leans in to read over her shoulder.
"Your skin is your first and foremost treasure! Your hair is an extremely close second," Sheryl says with the air of a woman who knows what she's talking about. "It's not all down to sunscreen, but that's definitely a crucial tool in your arsenal. That's why I designed my own, you know. I needed something that was strong enough for me." She takes a nibble of the first dango. She is sort of taking for granted that Rin is treating her, even though Sheryl could not only buy her own but also buy the cart, the owner, and the entire park, but that's how it is when you're living large.
<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.
Rin scratches her cheek. "Well, I did once watch this show with a teacher kind of lady in charge of a ship back during one of the pre-colonial wars," Rin muses. "You could pull THAT off. You just need the right glasses."
"Mmm, well," Rin says, eyes turning to the side as they move away from people and she speaks quietly: "The Black Knights and the film company weren't picky and Sakurai took a chance on me but I can't count on luck forever am I right?"
GUTS surfaces.
"Oh god," Rin says afterwards. "I never thought of that. Milly was doing so much of that stuff... I think it was really her passion, like people claimed she'd been held back but I'm pretty sure she just kind of stretched out stuff with pre-college but whatev she was like the beating heart of that. I hope she's alright!"
Pause. Why wouldn't she be alright. Rin's brightened by Sheryl's smile. (She also provides some Japanese currency and stuffs the change coins in her pants pocket. Ah, cash.) But then... a question.
"Mm," she says. "Well."
"Most of the time I've been doing the new employee training at VTX," Rin says. "I think officially I'm an AI consultant slash accelerated track employee which unffffortunately doesn't put me in a high salary band but I also get a conapt and stuff so it's fine. It's sort of weird having my own little house, honestly." She twirls the dango stick, which now has a statistically median 2.3 dangos on it.
"It's actually the interim stuff for people they bring on during the year; after graduation and the new fiscal year I have to redo some of it, but I'm gonna be in the technical branch so it shouldn't be too-too bad." After this Rin walks, nowhere in particular - Amies is still like six districts away (OR IS SHE?) and there's no reason to remain Visible for now.
Aiming towards the pathways into Yoyogi Park, Rin continues. "... Louis and Sam are fine. They don't chat back much lately. I think he's going to just skip going into the military, though." Munch. Now it's 2.1 dumplings. "I had my... old roommate come meet me and ride along, when I was taking the train out to here. That was a fricking expedition with the border clampdown. Count Starking like, practically had to write me some shit with a wax seal on it. And it STILL took me seven hours to GET INTO JAPAN."
"Uuuugh."
"Oh yeah," Rin continues, turning her head, "sorry if this is prying, I just had it pop into my head like laterally. Are you doing okay? I know you were still all laid up when we packed off to come back down here..." (Which, true believers, would have probably been like three or four days after getting back!)
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Sheryl smiles mischievously. "Hmmm~... Maybe I'll pick some up. I don't style with glasses a lot, though." But Rin is 100% correct: she would rock it. Sheryl is certain of it.
She does nibble on her dango as she gives the conversational reins to Rin, though. Most of what Sheryl's up to these days is a matter of public record anyway, and Sheryl hasn't had a lot of time or opportunity to talk to her non-Mihoshi schoolmates. GUTSmates? Whichever way. She swallows her bite. "I've completely fallen out of touch with Milly since she graduated. Just been too busy, even on hiatus. Semi-hiatus now, but still. I have no idea what she's even doing right now. I hope she's all right, too."
She nods Rin on as she describes the time she's been having at VTX, having a little house, her paperwork woes, and so on. Truthfully, some of it is over Sheryl's head--having a manager is a godsend, and even moreso when it's someone like Grace--but she nods along regardless as they meander back into Yoyogi Park proper.
"Sounds like you've got a firm hold on things, honestly," she remarks. "I'm impressed. Even if you did luck out a lot, luck's only the first step. You can't make it if you aren't willing to put in the work." Meaning Rin's clearly been putting in a lot of work to take advantage of her good luck.
Sheryl's expression sobers when she mentions how hard it was for her to cross the border, even with the privilege of having noble family. When she compares it to her own situation, it's sobering. How much worse is it for normal people? Or for people getting actively discriminated against? She knew the situation was bad, but seven hours for someone with the connections Rin has... That's absurd.
"It's only going to get worse, huh," she muses aloud, pensive.
But this thought doesn't get a chance to go anywhere, because Rin asks about her, or more specifically, her health. Sheryl blinks, then laughs it off. "Oh, I'm just fine! Grace is such a worrywart--I was fine after a good night's rest," this is an abject lie, "but she just insisted on keeping me in the hospital for way longer than I needed to be. I know it's part of her job, but honestly! Who does she think I am?!"
<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.
'Sounds like you've got a firm hold on things, honestly,' Sheryl says.
Rin's face colors red. "Yeah...?" she says, and it's somewhat smaller.
She finishes off Dango #1.
"I mean I hope not," she continues. "The Count was pretty optimistic but he took the, like, the long view of stuff, and I guess if you work with orchards you kind of have to." A few more long steps.
"Hmmm-- you're the Galactic Fairy, the icon of a trillion hearts?" Rin guesses, with a somewhat more familiar smile. "So she's being extra careful with you. Though, did they give you IV fluids? Because I have to tell you that was really convenient."
ah, strangeness
"It just came to my mind since like. Well." Rin begins her second dumplin'. It lets her think. "... I'm kind of lucky I knew Japanese already, I guess, and I'm using my father's last name and stuff, so I don't like scream 'Brit, Brit' if you just look at me. And I think a lot of the people here, or at least around where I go, aren't... like... they're trying to live their lives. They care, but..."
Silence.
"... Yeah, I was just open with the Count," Rin continues. "Never mind that they executed her. They let her get that far, and one person getting the axe doesn't bring back... God, how many. But like, I just couldn't. If I tried I might succeed but I'd end up a horrible person." Nibble. "... But I guess that was easy for me to say, huh? I already had my escape route planned."
"But what I was trying to say IS it was kind of weird to be like 'yeah my dad was a Coordinator' to this like nurse? Because they have like this -- clinic, hospitalette, thing? At the corp campus? And it was just like 'great! And what's your blood type'. Just, that had been like... OVER me for - ever, and it was just... a box on a form."
More silence.
"Though..."
Rin turns her head. "... You were saying about hair. I was always wearing it all up and tight at school but I don't know, like, what would be good with it? I know wearing it like THIS makes me look like a jock tho." Num.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
"Yeah," Sheryl replies, decisively. Then she smirks and adds in a teasing tone, "Unless you were lying to make yourself sound good?"
It is a tease, because Sheryl sees Rin as a friend and is willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, but it's possible. She doesn't think it's likely, though, based on her experiences with her.
"Hopefully it won't be worse forever! But I mean in the short term," she replies. "It's the now we live in. Fame and popularity come and go with the wind; I don't have an orchard to keep me grounded." A wry smirk goes with her joke.
She shrugs nonchalantly at Rin's suggestion, though a slight upward tug of her lips might betray her true feelings. "Oh, I suppose. Grace is the very best manager there is, so I can't fault her for doing her job perfectly like usual." She doesn't posit the idea that maybe Grace was worried because she cares for her, because Sheryl cares for her too, but it's weird to just say that when she works for you. (And, on the flipside, she doesn't consider the idea that Grace might be using her. It just hasn't ever occurred to her.) The mention of convenience gets a brief, confused look, but Sheryl lets it pass. "No, but they did draw my blood for some tests." Her nose wrinkles. "My least favorite part of hospitals, and there is so much about hospitals to dislike."
She sobers as the conversation continues. Just trying to live their lives, huh. Why get involved in something like a lockdown if you can't do anything about it, right? Is there anything she can do about it? Is there anything she should do about it, or would getting involved just make it worse? Alto proved to her that sometimes you can't just leave it to the professionals, but she's genuinely unsure what good she could do barging into Nagoya. Not to mention that Grace would never agree to it.
But that's one thing, and this is another. "Huh," she utters. "I admit, I can't understand how that must feel." Being a Natural is one of Sheryl's selling points, after all. "But it sounds like it must have been weird. Is it weird in a good way, though? Or a bad way?"
She pauses, this time thoughtfully, as Rin touches on her hair. She takes a small bite of her own dango to give her time to think, then smiles. "Ponytails can be cute if you do them right, but the one you've got? Definitely a jock look," Sheryl teases. "But before I recommend you a new style, how about you let it down and fluff it out a bit so I can see what it's like au naturale?"
<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.
"It's funny, huh," Rin says, tilting her head. "It sounds like Grace... I mean I guess I'm gonna start over, it sounds like... hm."
Processing.
"The way you talk about her it's like you're her full time job but that's not the way I've been hearing manager! She works for you, but I gotta work for someone else!" Rin says, with a grin. "And yeah, that stuff sucks. It's like, shut up, vampires, no I did NOT eat anything for the last six hours."
"... I don't know," Rin says. "Like..."
She looks, now, up towards the sakura blossoms - or rather, their near occasion.
"It felt heroic and everything, you know? Like it's literally the stuff they put in TV shows! A secret real parent! Super powers! Sort of. (I actually got a prescription for glucose stuff now.) But..." Her head tilts downwards. "... I dunno. Maybe the glamour wore off."
"I guess if all it meant is I was able to help with, like," a vague gesture upwards, "THAT, then, like, hey: Maybe that's why it was all there."
At the statement, Rin smirks and then grips her dango stick in her teeth. Reaching behind herself she starts to unwind the scrunchie. Carefully around it she enunciates, "So how do you keep all the glamour up? I bet from yr place on stage its probably totally diffrent!"
After this she shakes it out. BEHOLD (but not in this outfit):
https://i.imgur.com/ofWO6nD.png
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
Rin points out that there's something weird about the way Grace 'works' for Sheryl! But Sheryl only shrugs. "What can I say? You don't get good at anything as good as she is at managing without being willing to commit." She smirks, a touch of wryness in her lips. "I'm not just sitting around looking cute either! Though even if I were, being beautiful is much harder work than the industry would want you to believe--and believe me, the music industry is cutthroat."
She laughs at Rin's vampire joke before giving it an emphatic nod. "You get it!"
As for what Rin goes on to say about being a Coordinator, though... Sheryl still doesn't really understand. It's not like her own rags-to-riches story. The glamour's still alive and well for her, and before Grace found her, she'd never imagined walking the path she does now. Meanwhile, it sounds like Rin... had an ideal in her head, and it failed to live up to what she thought it was.
Maybe it's a little bit the opposite of Sheryl's story. She shakes her head a little. "Are you unhappy about being what you are? If you're not, I think that's what counts. If you're not unhappy, just a little dissatisfied, figure out how to make it work for you."
It might be reductive, but Sheryl is trying to help. She smirks back, then waits as Rin undoes her scrunchie. "A lot of hard work, like I mentioned," she replies. "There's daily skin care, hair care, and exercises, researching trends and figuring out how to pre-empt the next big thing, vocal exercises, dancing, collaborating with music producers and other pros in the field, working out music and lyrics when I'm writing songs for or even with someone else... Moments like this are a literal breath of fresh air. You're right, though--those moments when I'm on stage make it all worth it."
She brightens when Rin shakes out her hair. "Oh, cute! You're like me--you've got a natural wave to your hair. With the right shampoo and bodying conditioner, you could make it look really thick and luxurious. Maybe use a curler to bring out those waves. I'll recommend you some products later to try out if you want, Rin."
<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.
"It's true, you've also got gorgeous and stylish down," Rin muses. As for the Coordinator stuff; she reaches behind herself to run a hand through her hair. "... It's hard to say, you know? I guess it's like..."
"I grew up all of a sudden but I still remember everything else," Rin muses. "It's sort of like I became a new person in my same body and memories."
After this, Sheryl speaks on what goes into being that gorgeous. Daily skin care. Daily hair care. Exercise (that's not that bad.)
TREND RESEARCH.
VOICE WORK EXERCISE.
DANCING.
COLLABORATING WITH MUSICAL PROFESSIONALS! (underlined twice)
Rin blink-blinks several times. Before saying, "Yeah!" as her head nods. "So you think I should just go for loose? I was thinking I should try to do something kind of up, or at least have a plan for when I'm around like, machinery," Rin carries on as she takes a bite out of the dango on the stick. "And yeah, def, please. I'm pretty sure I get this from my dad since all my siblings were just like," Rin makes an up-and-down gesture, "Boom, black hair, or on Gala it was blonde."
"Though," Rin muses, "I do have some distant relatives with fluffy red hair."
Looking back to Sheryl, she asks: "How is Ranka doing, now that I'm thinking of fluffy hair. I just realized I like, lost or hid her phone number or something, or she just didn't give it to me. I know you guys are rivals BUT I am a fan of you BOTH, hardcore. And I mean."
A beat passes.
"You know."
Another beat.
"The whole... thing."
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
"You do get it!" Sheryl says with a laugh. She sobers a bit. "Of course, some of it is me winning the genetic lottery. My mom and grandmom were both dark-skinned, but my dad was so pale you could've used him as a nightlight, and that's how I got this alabaster skin." She stretches out an arm almost languidly to show off what she means. "That's great for my brand, but--" Her smile turns bittersweet. "...Well, it has meant a disconnect from my heritage. Alto said once I could've easily gotten the role of Sara if I'd wanted it, but there's the irony, isn't it? I'm related to her by blood, but I sure as hell don't look like a Pacific islander. Even my fans would've assumed the director was just trying to cast a famous face to boost interest, and who could've blamed them?"
It's a paltry problem in comparison, but maybe that's something they can connect over more. If nothing else, Sheryl can feel the kind of alarm that Rin must've felt when she 'grew up all of a sudden'--it's a little terrifying, the way she describes it--but based on how she describes the rest of her family, maybe they can both better over... not looking like the rest of their family.
Of course, the rest of Sheryl's family is dead, but let's not go into that. She's not trying to one-up Rin here. She just nods in sympathetic understanding.
"Loose is always a good look, but if you want to, you could do a lot with your hair. The length gives you a lot to work with. Like, for example, if you wanted to hold it back a bit but not quite be so stodgy--" Sheryl pops her dango stick in her own mouth, chewing on the dango therein, and circles around Rin. She lifts her hands, but waits until Rin nods her on before she actually picks a couple of long locks on either side of Rin's head, smooths them out, pulls them back, and braids them together. It's a quick movement; Sheryl's played with her own hair a lot in the past.
She giggles as she does, though she doesn't reply until she's done. By now, she's finished her dango and is left with only the skewer. "Ranka's doing great! We're not just rivals, you know. She was laid up in the hospital too for a while--poor girl, they thought she might've caught something from the Vajra when they kidnapped her--but she's been doing a lot of face work with her fans, and I heard she'll be releasing a new single soon. And of course, she's about to go on tour." Her gaze softens. 'The whole thing,' huh. "She's tougher than she used to be. She's doing just fine. But don't take my word for it--"
She produces her taiyaki phone from her cleavage without batting an eyelash, snaps a pic of the back of Rin's head, and then mushes about on the buttonless phone until both photo and phone number bwip up on Rin's phone. She'll be able to both see for herself what Sheryl's quick-and-fast styling looks like--and give Ranka a call or text at her leisure, now that Sheryl's sent her her number. "Why don't you reach out to her yourself? I'm sure she'd like hearing from you. You two got along really well during the expedition, you know?"
<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.
"Woah, really?" Rin says. "You say that but like --"
She looks at Sheryl and sort of spreads her hands. "I can kind of SEE it because I went through Orb a couple of times and a lot of the people with money look a LITTLE bit like you but GEEZ. You're right, but I think that adds to it!"
Rin nods emphatically. "It means you don't look like someone people expect, so you stand out. Boom! You've already won one battle."
Rin tilts her head for a moment at the offer of a styling draft, but she comes to a stop to facilitate. "Sure~" She then holds still other than some minor shifting in the dango and jaw area. She's mostly done with the last dumpling by the time the deed is done, and she says, "Oh awesome-- Yeah, I can understand them doing that, like, it's not nice and I don't want to say it to her cuz it's not her FAULT but yeah you get me."
"Oh!" she says. "Tour! Shit! Where's she going? Is she going to hit Sendai?" Rin slides the last bit of dango off, chewing and swallowing even as she gets photographed by the Taiyakiphone. And at that point she gets Messaged.
"You think so??" Rin says - which was not a squeal but came CLOSER to one, perhaps, than her new, adult dignity would allow her to countenance. She pulls up the phone and checks the photo, poking it to expand in full. "Well I mean I just felt like it was the right thing to do. It was like... uh shit I guess it was less than two years ago and some border guys were hassling her and I just threw my weight around a little."
"Not that it was much but I just, flounce flounce, how DARE you speak that way to someone riding with me, do you know who I AM!?" The Haught level in Rin's voice rises, then collapses, as she grins a little. "She was actually really big at Ashford. ... I guess she probably won't be getting a chance to go back any time soon, huh."
Rin's phone buzzes. She looks down.
Her eyes narrow.
Rin looks back at Sheryl. "You're not wearing a wire for Amies, are you? You have to tell me if you're wearing a wire."
She turns her phone around to show why she's saying this.
> I was talking about the Gallia IV expedition, Rin, and it's the funniest thing! :)
> Lynn Minmay's family came from here originally, you know.
> But I'm getting too excited. Watch this!! :D
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqnAbpQHH7c
"Pffff," Rin half-laughs when the Slogan Words begin to impinge on Ranka's personal space.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
"Hmm, you think so?" Sheryl's smile is pleased. She already knows she's hot, but it's not often she gets told she's hot because she doesn't look like any other white person. To hear that she has some of the features of the Mayan people... It does make her happy to hear that. Even if this conversation isn't quite about that. "You're right! Just one more reason for my runaway success. <3"
Her smile turns wry when Rin admits she can understand why Ranka was put in quarantine for a while. "Yeah... I hate to admit it, but I think it was the right call. I wouldn't say that to her face either, though. If it were me, I still wouldn't want to be in quarantine even if it was the right call. But my bloodwork came back clean, so it's fine."
It's definitely fine. She definitely hasn't had an increasing number of coughing fits or bouts of dizziness or anything like that since then. Sheryl's a hard worker, and so relaxing by lying down and doing nothing is something she doesn't enjoy.
But the topic turns to Ranka's tour, and Sheryl giggles. "Hmmm, I don't know~ Maybe you should ask her and find out?"
A firm nod follows. "I know so! Of course, Ranka's friendly with most people, but she seemed like she trusted you." She tilts her head, blinking wide, when Rin tells her the story of how she and Ranka met. "Oh, really? Ranka's told me about some of her experiences with Britannian border security--" Sheryl frowns, "--but she never named any names. That's just like her, though." She breaks back into a giggle at Rin's theatrics. "Ooh, really? So you were a Prince Charming riding to the rescue! I can see how Ranka would fall for you. <3" She winks. "...Just kidding~."
But... Ranka won't be going back to Ashford anytime soon, huh. "...That goes for all of us," Sheryl says, sobering. She pauses at the incoming text, and at Rin's statement, confusion clouds her blue eyes. "I only wear wires for my concerts," she jokes, but she leans in closer to see what she's talking about. A laugh peals out of her. "What a coincidence! She's really cute in that ad, isn't she? Amies is right, Lynn Minmay's family were the original owners of Nyan-Nyan. It's no wonder they call Ranka a modern-day Minmay.
"Ahh, she's really too cute! I've got that amateur songwriting contest going on myself, but I feel like I've got to step it up or she might just pass me by." Sheryl says this like it's a joke, but she's more than half-serious. "I'll have to talk to Grace about taking on some projects once graduation is officially over. Anyone who wants to unseat me from the top is going to have to sweat for it!"
Sheryl tosses her hair and beams at Rin--but maybe it's the motion; maybe it's something in the still-chilly spring air--but she tilts to one side as the world spins for a heartbeat. She starts to stagger, and in doing so, trips over her heels in a way she never does--
<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.
It's Fine
*
It's All Fine
"Oh yeah, I do have her number now," Rin says with a purse of her lips. Then she reddens again. "Oh god I was NOT, I was like the spoiled countess or something. Gosh." She looks back at her phone. The flush takes a few moments to fade.
"Wow," Rin says. "That's just -- I dunno, I guess it's not actually that long. If they have a whole chain across the Fleets how do you even, like, manage that. It must be crazy. But I guess you could just kind of start from the same place..."
"Oh YEAH I remember that," Rin continues. "I guess I can't tell you much about it or I'd be skewing you but I was thinking I might try to put together some lyrics or something, like, I know some of this stuff since we have to go to music classes every year thanks to Princess Me--"
There's a momentary falter as Sheryl tosses her hair and then seems to tilt. The world is probably spinning for her, but for Rin it's been moving along as it always has -- *slowly*. She watches hair and she sees a wobble and the wobble's becoming terminal and gravity is a cruel mistress
BUT
There isn't a ton that NEEDS doing, is there?
Rin takes a quick step to the side and reaches out with her free hand to clasp Sheryl's arm around the bicep even as the opposite arm sticks out to catch her like a pinball bumper if she's really wobbled. If it's just a little thing it might just seem like an over-alert catch.
Maybe it's not just a little thing.
"Did you break a heel?!" Rin says, already looking back and to the side as if to check. This also helpfully hides the lingering redness on her face, which this isn't helping. "This is like the worst terrain for walking in those," she continues, with less of the usual brass note in her voice.
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
"Whatever! You still used your powers for good and came to her rescue, right?" Sheryl counters. "It doesn't matter if it's as Prince Charming or the spoiled countess!"
How do the Lynns manage such a huge restaurant chain? Sheryl hesitates. She knows a bit about Nyan-Nyan just as a tangential part of Macross music history, but her focus was always on Minmay herself, not her family. She doesn't know what the chain is doing these days, beyond that they're still enjoying success. "No idea," she admits. "But I'm sure you could look it up."
She smiles when Rin admits she's considering entering the contest. Sheryl doesn't have a chance to encourage her not to share for exactly the reason she just said, though, because then she's swooning and falling--
But it's fine, because Rin is right there, and part of being a Coordinator means having extraordinary reflexes. Even Brera would've been hard-pressed to move faster, and he was already moving out of cover to go to her aid.
Of course, this means that Rin has Sheryl in her arms, like she's doing her a Prince Charming. Sheryl clutches her forehead and doesn't answer Rin's question immediately. Her face has gone a little pale, but then, as they said earlier, she's already pretty pale, isn't she? She manages to steady herself with a hand on Rin's shoulder.
"Thanks. God, that was embarrassing," she finally replies. She lifts up her ankle to inspect her shoe. "Luckily not. I think I just misstepped or something," she lies. "Usually I'm a pro in heels, but accidents happen even to the best of us. I'd better be a bit more careful."
"Sheryl," Brera states in his usual flat tone from where he's come to a stop a few feet away.
"I know, I know," she replies, a touch exasperated. She takes a careful step back from Rin and gives her another wry smile, if one a bit more subdued than before. "This was strictly off the record, got it?"
She says it like it's a joke, but it's at least somewhat serious, too.
<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.
Rin's opinion on Chinese restaurant chains is left on the wind.
Because she has a Galactic Fairy in her arms.
Her head turns and she straightens up a little. "Heh," Rin says, disengaging for a moment but staying pretty close. "Yeah, it's crazy trying to walk on gravel in those things. I mean, respect, I bet you've spent more time in heels in a year than I have in my *whole entire life* but--"
Brera's there.
Rin turns her head to look at Brera.
Her expression is unreadable for a second.
And then she shifts herself - not so much stepping AWAY or BACK as a little laterally to a similar outcome - and says, as she looks back up, "Yeah, I'll keep it to myself." She smiles.
"But," Rin adds.
"If you are feeling sick or anything, or if you have like a cherry allergy or something, don't ignore it, alright? Like I said, there's like a trillion people out there counting on you!"
Rin's head turns afterwards. "Wanna sit down?" she says, indicating a bench twenty or so paces away, underneath a particularly handsome tree that is stretching out branches like a hopeful springtide canopy overhead. "If you're not gonna dork out, I want to introduce you to Rancor and Scorn." ("My drone cores," Rin explains to Brera, who probably knows of them, somehow, but may not know their names.) "I have this chonky mom purse because I was carrying the logic cores for them to back up here now that I refactored them..."
And if not spirited away, Sheryl will get exposed to a pixel-graphic interface for some kind of... vaguely bird-shaped blob and its sidekick, a vaguely dog-shaped blob. It seems they're in some sort of huge field with a tesselating pattern of exactly three trees.
But maybe that messiness is the key to life.
(Also it's all in a phone app labelled with a simple yet ominous icon: the Knife emoji on a red background. But it's kind of subtle nestled in between, Jesus, eight mobages. Clearly where the VTX salary will be going...)
<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.
"Yeah, I've been wearing heels for most of my life," Sheryl says with a breezy little laugh. "Grace got me started on them really early so I'd get used to them."
Which, when you consider Sheryl was maybe six or seven years old when they met... But Sheryl doesn't mention that part, so Rin will be unable to consider it.
Rin stares at Brera; Brera stares right back. For all his glam make-up, shiny shades, and extreme plunging cleavage, his poker face is unmatched--even if Rin tries her damnedest.
He doesn't shove her away or anything, at least, so there's that.
"I don't have a cherry allergy, oh my god," Sheryl huffs playfully, rolling her eyes. "But it is a little chilly out, and I didn't bring a windbreaker or anything. I guess I should head back soon. Not right this second, Brera," she adds when he steps closer, giving him his own playful eyeroll.
After all: "Sheryl Nome never dorks out," she declares, winking. "Show me your drone cores."
She walks over with Rin to the bench; Brera follows, taking up a post behind them and keeping a dutiful, wary eye out for the rest of Yoyogi Park. (He may take in the drone core data too. He is a cyborg.) It is, mercifully, empty in the immediate area.
It is a messy interface. Sheryl can't say she can really make heads or tails of it. Brera is another matter... but he doesn't offer any commentary. Sheryl does look and listen when directed, though, because this is something that Rin is passionate about and Sheryl can do at least that much for a friend and fan.
Afterwards, though, Sheryl's taiyaki phone rings--yes, again from her cleavage, which goes out of control for a moment--and she takes it to have Grace letting her know she really ought to head back.
Sheryl rolls her eyes one last time, but gives Rin a smile. "That's Grace the worrywart. But you get it. I can't let down the trillion people counting on me, right?" She winks, then gets to her feet. "It was great seeing you again, Rin. See you later!"
And with that, she waves and starts heading back. Brera accompanies her. If Sheryl leans on him a little for support, neither of them say anything about it.
But at least the budding cherry blossoms are beautiful.
<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.
Rin can, at least, explain the idea: It's a simulated environment so they can move around.
Brera can tell Rin has what amounts to an enterprise-grade server in her purse. Presumably, VTX burned custom silicon for this purpose - which may be why it can fit in there, along with a power pack. This probably cost a lot of money, and is almost surely why she has 'a job' and not 'a letter of reference.' (The drone cores talk to the phone by Neo-Bluetooth. Some things aren't mysterious.)
The explanation stops abruptly when Sheryl suffers a boobquake. Rin does not so much gawk as 'was already leaning over to show phone features' (oh apparently you can FEED THEM... in some way) -- so it fills the field of view.
Afterwards, she stays on the bench. "So long~! If you see Ranka before I do tell her I want a zentran bowl!"
And then, Rin is alone beneath the budding cherry blossoms.