2022-08-27: DecuFes: Glittering Summer!

• Log: Glittering Summer (^ω^)ノ
• Cast: Sheryl Nome, Ranka Lee, Yuta Hibiki, Mana, Alto Saotome, Sho Muramoto, Brera Sterne, Milly Ashford, Emilia Eschonbach, Rin Starking, Rikka Takarada, Kallen Kozuki
• Where: Macross Frontier Fleet's Island-3
• OOC - IC Date: August 27, 0096
• Summary: The GUTS Deculture Festival kicks off with a glittering summer on Frontier Island-3's perfect sunny beaches!

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<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Despite the rampage of the mysterious draconic kaiju last night, the start of the GUTS Deculture Festival is still on. Why wouldn't it be? There was only a hole almost ripped in reality, but nothing on the beach, including the stage, was ruined. When it was suggested to Sheryl that she cancel her appearance after being taken so ill by those events, she insisted that the show must go on.
        
        The DecuFest might be a student celebration, but Sheryl Nome is still a professional.
        
        So while it took some hard work and speed to get everything finished on time, there is nonetheless a polished and painted wooden stage built upon the soft white sand of a reserved beach on Frontier's Island-3. The sea is a perfect bright blue and the waves are just right, lapping on the manufactured shore. Colored fairy lights are strung up around and down the beach, demarking the parts that have been cordoned off for the event, ready to softly light up both her performance and the night once the sun ("sun") sets later on that evening. Beach umbrellas, beach chairs, and beach balls are set up throughout the shore, though folks are free to bring their own, along with several nets for beach volleyball; swimsuits and towels, they'll have to bring on their own, though.
        
        However, there are free refreshments, both in coolers set up along the shore and in wooden verandas set up just off the sand. The verandas include foot-type refreshments, and there are strongly-worded signs that insist one not litter and use the various trash recepticles for their intended purpose. There's all kind of canned and bottled drinks--nothing alcoholic, of course--and food includes grilled rice balls, hot dogs, shaved ice, and other things easy to carry around. The food stations also distribute hand sanitizer and generic sunscreen for free, and sell Nome Pure Shield sunscreen at a special student discount.
        
        Sheryl herself is set up on the stage, doing some last-second sound checks of the speakers while a live band preps their instruments. Her strawberry blonde curls are fastened in a high ponytail, save for a couple of thick tendrils that wave down to frame her face; blue heart-shaped sunglasses rest over her eyes while a dark rose headband rests over her bangs, and hibiscus ornaments tie in there and throughout her hair. She's clad in a ruffled pink spaghetti-strap bikini with golden jewelry around her neck and on her arms, including her iconic crystal drop earring. A bright blue crystal hangs from the string between her breasts; a dark pink belt decorated with flowers caps her bottom; and a lengthy, dark rose ribbon is tied around her left thigh. It's very similar to the bikini she wears in the Pure Shield commercials, but with even more glitz for the stage. While she doesn't carry her usual microphone, it's set up on a microphone pole at the center of the stage, waiting for her lips to return to it.
        
        Once everything is perfect, Sheryl fulfills her microphone's wish and strides to the center of the stage. She smiles brilliantly out at the audience and waves with both hands out to everyone. "Hi~! How're you doing out there, Mihoshi Academy and guests? Thanks for coming here with me to kick off the start of the first ever GUTS Deculture Festival! I'm excited to have a good time today and for the rest of the events until it wraps up mid-September!
        
        "You know, as the Galactic Fairy, up until I enrolled here, I was always too busy training my voice and my body to have a normal school life. So it really does excite me to have gotten to take part on this with the rest of you," she continues. "Special thanks go out to Milly Ashford and her student council team from Ashford Academy for coming up with the idea and organizing it across so many different schools." Winking, she points a painted fingernail out at Milly--and her friends, if they're next to her--wherever she is in the crowd. "Without them, none of this would be happening, and we wouldn't be here having such a great time!
        
        "But you don't want me going on and on about that. You just want to get to the swimming, the partying--and, of course, the music." Sheryl waggles a finger next to her face as she leans over juuuust a bit. "So...
        
        "LISTEN TO MY SONG!"
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIGsRz20bG0 (Glittering Summer (^ω^)ノ)
        
        The stage lights focus in on her as the band kicks up a robust, enthusiastic song, the melody bright and bubbly. While the fairy lights blink on and off to the rhythm, someone from off-stage tosses Sheryl a beach ball, and she catches and carries it in one hand as she waves her other hand high over her head. Beaming in joy, she tosses the beach ball up and bops it out into the crowd. She plays volleyball with a couple more incoming beach balls, then takes off her shades with a wink and throws them off into the crowd for someone to catch and treasure for the rest of their lives.
        
        Swaying back and forth, Sheryl spins in a circle, arms outspread as if to take in all the light in the world. She reaches up, then brings a finger down to waggle it as she winks and sets her other hand on her hip. She shimmies back and forth, then leans forward and blows the audience a kiss--that forms an actual heart that bubbles out towards some lucky person. This is a live performance, but that doesn't mean there won't be any special effects.
        "This will be the best day ever
        "Leave the outcome up to me, and I'll bring you along too
        "Into a richly colored stress-free space!"
        
        Turning in profile and pushing her hips back and forth, Sheryl reaches up, then faces the audience as she bounces from side to side. She spins, pumping her arms, and winks to the audience as she steps one leg front and back. Raising her arms, she sweeps them forward and draws them back, then bops her head to one side as she winks again.
        "An unstoppable, extreme love story is carrying on
        "I'm the form of your muse, so with your cool, calm gaze
        "Come down to me, and hurry!"
        
        Bringing a hand up to her headband, she forms the V-sign with her fingers, then sweeps her arms around to encompass the stage as she kicks one leg back behind her. She stretches out her hands and jazzes them back and forth over each other, then sweeps them around in a circle and flicks her fingers in and out from her palm as she bops her legs to the beat.
        "When the season's seductive, we got a glittering summer
        "A bright and shiny remarkable summer
        "When our eyes meet and we blink nonstop
        "Get ready; look, the curtain is going to rise!"
        
        Again she V-signs over her face, but this time she shimmies down as she bends her knees. When she rises, she leans over and swirls her palms next to her considerable chest. Resting a hand on her hip again, she waves a finger and turns to one side as she bows, then swings her arms and hips. She points out into the crowd with both hands, crosses her wrists, and sweeps one to her hip as the other rises to point up into the artificial sky.
        "I'll pretend to be pure for the glittering summer
        "My slim curves will turn you on this summer
        "Your heart will pound like it did in your dreams
        "Get ready to head for an unmapped promised land~"
        
        Bopping one last incoming beach ball away, Sheryl twirls a hand, sets them both on her hips, and winks as she tilts her head to one side, smiling vibrantly. As she twirls around the microphone stand, she faces the other side of the centrally-located stage, switching up the views of her hips that the audience gets to see, and begins the dance routine again.
        "I want a streamlined future pop
        "So give me an unprecedented prologue
        "I predict we're in store for an outrageous platinum
        
        "I'm dreaming; I feel maximum joy, it takes me high
        "My muse is going to break into a run
        "I'm going to bare it all in private
        "So get excited, and hurry!"
        
        Twirling in place, Sheryl shakes her hips and steps out, crossing her legs as she now faces another direction for the chorus and resumes her choreography.
        "When the season's seductive, we got a glittering summer
        "A bright and shiny remarkable summer
        "The news about us is so obvious
        "Get ready; look, the cosmos is whirling!
        
        "With my cute hips, I'll set a cold-shoulder summer
        "Without hesitation, I'll set a lovey-dovey summer
        "The sudden developments will make your eyes spin
        "Get ready to head for an unmapped promised land!"
        
        The instrumental sets in, giving Sheryl a chance to focus on bouncing across the stage. Though her sandals are heeled, her footwork is remarkably deft, and she never misses a step. She twirls back in to the microphone, grabs it close, and winks out to the stage. "Hey, guys~! You culturing?!" When she gets a roar of assent back, she pumps a fist into the air. "Yeah!!" And then she trails her painted nails up and down the stand as she sings anew:
        "Fall into a seductive love this glittering summer...!
        "After all, it's a momentary, contrary summer...!"
        
        Bringing her V-sign fingers up to her face again, Sheryl breaks into the final round of the chorus. For all the energy she's poured into this performance so far, she's still going strong, and she shines bright under the lights as she does the last round of her choreography, swaying and spinning and whirling her palms next to her chest. Deculture!!
        "When the season's seductive, we got a glittering summer
        "A bright and shiny remarkable summer
        "When our eyes meet and we blink nonstop
        "Get ready; look, the curtain is going to rise
        
        "I'll pretend to be pure for the glittering summer
        "My slim curves will turn you on this summer
        "Your heart will pound like it did in your dreams
        "Get ready to head for an unmapped promised land
        
        "Your heart will pound like it did in your dreams
        "Get ready to head for an unmapped promised laaaand~"
        
        The first ever (and possibly only) GUTS Deculture Festival is officially open!

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Ranka ripped off the gauze and bandaid on her arm when she returned and tossed it into the trash can with an exaggerated noise. "Haa-!" The price of invoking Ozma Lee to take care of a problem was high, but the medical exam and temporary quarantine is over. Fortunately it was a voluntary quarantine, since Ozma doesn't have the actual authority to force that. However, she did it anyway just to avoid the trouble that would follow.

She's relieved to be back, Ranka's wearing a pink floral bikini, with a light green oversized shirt she's wearing open as a coverup. She's got on a beach hat with a pink band, and a matching ribbon in her hair.

During the setup stages, she gave Sheryl a small wave on stage. She works on some shaved ice while waiting for it to begin, but the moment the concert starts, she dumps what little remains in a waste receptacle.

Just seeing Sheryl step up to the mic causes her heart to skip a beat. Ranka calls out 'We're great!!!' and 'Thank YOU Sheryl!' in time with the cheers of the crowd. Before her hands clasp together in anticipation. The song begins so vibrantly, and Ranka's already bouncing along with it. "Ahhhh~ Sheryl's in top form today!" She was worried after... everything before, but she shouldn't have bothered, after all, Sheryl had gone through much worse and still sang her heart out! She's a professional!

Ranka claps along in time with the rhythm of the song, watching Sheryl shimmy, and shake with great delight as she bounces back the beach balls as part of the choreography of the song. The lyrics just drawing her further, and further in, as if under Sheryl's spell

'Hey, guys~! You culturing?!'

"YEAH!!!"

Ranka feels herself falling into a seductive - shiny - remarkable - glittering summer... as the GUTS Deculture festival begins!

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Yuta watches Sheryl dance and sing, starstruck. It's all more than a little overstimulating, the lights, the music, the crowd! It's more than Yuta's experienced so far. He stands in the middle of the crowd, mouth open. It's almost enough to make him forget why he came here... but not quite!

"Yeah!" Yuta shouts, when Sheryl asks if he's culturing. What is culturing..? It doesn't matter, Sheryl makes it sound like something wonderful!

Once the song wraps up, Yuta turns to Rikka, eyes alight with excitement. Shouting to be heard over the crowd, he asks, "Wow! That was so great, right?" Bouncing on his heels slightly, he gives her a grin. "Let's find a spot to sit! We can swim, if you want, or I can get us some food! Or we can walk around, or listen to her sing more -- anything! Anything you want, Rikka!" Yuta beams.

He's brought almost all the remaining money his parents left him. This night was going to be fantastic, no matter what. "They've got, uh -- sunscreen! Too!" Yuta laughs. "Everything is so exciting, I don't know where to start!"

For once, the young man isn't dressed in his school uniform. Grey swim trunks with red stripes cover his legs, with a casual shirt on top. It seems to vaguely suggest something sporty, but it's unclear. Ever present are his wristband and red sneakers. It's not a spectacular outfit, but it's the clear he's done his best. It's not every day you go on your first da--

One of Sheryl's beach balls comes hurtling toward the pair, and Yuta reacts instinctively, punching it up and away from them both. It goes shooting off into the crowd, spinning wildly -- perhaps he used a bit too much force...

At the very back of the event area, an enormous man sits, his eyes fixed on Rikka and Yuta. He settles back in his chair as the beach ball hurtles away harmlessly. "They're fine." He murmurs to himself. A mask covers half his face, and he's dressed pretty strangely, wearing a decorated suit. After what happened at NERV HQ, there was no way the kids were going out without a protector. Max had drawn the short straw, and so here he sits, staying out of sight of the children on their date. He'd stay far in the background here unless anything dangerous happened.

<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.

It may be a surprise that Mana, transfer student at Jindai High School, actually showed up.

In a year that did not include Sousuke Sagara, she would have won a poll for 'weirdest transfer student'. In a year that *does* include Sousuke, she's a distant second, but that doesn't mean she's normal. She doesn't exactly have a lot of local friends yet, probably because she's better with machinery than social skills. She was banned from Jindai's shop class already when she tried to use it as her workshop.

But she is here, either because she decided to be or because someone told her to please, get out and get some air.

Mana has chosen to wear her usual low-cut, cutoff top with a bit of ruffle around the lower hem (it's halfway to a bikini anyway), but she has traded her metal-plated stomping boots for sandals and her cargo pants for denim shorts and a hip-riding pouch. She still has the kerchief, though... and the magnifier she pushes into doing double duty as a hairband. She also brought a gym bag, because it has her towel in it and you can't stop her.

Judging by the way it goes thump whenever she puts it down, it has a lot more in it than the towel.

Mana spent her first few minutes obtaining as much free sunscreen as they would give her. Part of this is her packrat tendency - and indeed some 'spares' went right into her bag - but an equally important part is that, as a pale redhead, she desperately needed some. She's done with that by the time the song starts, and now, slightly shiny, she calls back near the apex of the song:

"WHAT'S CULTURING?"

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        After the setup yesterday, the subsequent attack, then the rush to get everything finished on time, Alto is exhausted. Which is why he's currently lying back on a beach chair beneath an umbrella, wearing just some swimming trunks. It's been quite a while since he's had a chance to just lie around and do nothing. Even with school out, work keeps him busy.

        'Work' proceeds to get on stage, the songstress's voice echoing out from the speakers. Alto turns his head to watch. It's definitely impressive that Sheryl is so willing to go ahead with her part of this event after yesterday. Hell, it's a small wonder it wasn't called off. Whether by the organizers or Frontier's officials. But for whatever reason, Sheryl in once more on stage and singing.

        However as Alto listens and the song goes on, some small puzzlement creeps onto his face. He begins to wonder if perhaps Sheryl is still feeling the aftermath of yesterday. As her singing doesn't feel quite as impactful as it has in the past. Although watching her and the crowd, there doesn't seem to be anything standing out as to why. She seems to be doing just fine. And of course the audience is as wild as ever.

        Alto shrugs, it's probably him. He goes back to relaxing.

<Pose Tracker> Sho Muramoto has posed.

Sho Muramoto had been occasionally absent from Ashford, but he wasn't about to miss a chance to just relax. To not worry about anything else. That and he had never really been off of Earth like this.

That had lead to a few things, certainly, but now he was here. And showing that despite not being an athlete, he at least kept in seriously great shape. There's really no hiding that when he's in a pair of black swim shorts and an open button up white shirt over that. His short hair bounced a bit as he bobbed to the music once it started.

While not really under Sheryl's sway to the music, he was at least very much appreciative of it even while dancing solo.

The only regret he had was that he felt a bit odd not having his usual student uniform nor some other things with him. Just slightly. He was mostly over that after the first hour or two, though, and was just watching occasionally in case there was a school bully or trouble that he could help with.

The teen's definitely got a smile and enjoying himself. The shout of 'What's Culturing' actually gives him pause and a look over as if to see who's not keeping up on trends with a small covered laugh.

<Pose Tracker> Brera Sterne has posed.

Brera's gaze is particularly attentive and intense today. He does not keep to backstage either, stalking through the crowd as he remains on the look out for anything strange. But often, he looks back up at Sheryl, for any anomalies in her voice, in her dance, in any of her mannerisms. Would she dare let an iota of an irregularity slip? If he has learned one thing, it is that Sheryl has an unyielding devotion to her craft.

He is not so attuned to certain unspoken things as someone like, say, Alto could be.

Such an effort of security would be one thing if Brera blended in with the student crowd. He looks about the right age for it, but entirely the wrong demeanor: glowering and pacing like a zoo animal without enrichment, responding to none of Sheryl's performance questions, and completely unseduced by summer or any of its supposed glitter.

He spots Ranka in the crowd, jumping, cheering, enjoying herself. He does not know if he is relieved or irritated. He's supposed to be neither.

Brera glares up at the stage in deep contemplation. Everyone is enjoying themselves, despite everything. The power of song... It's a strange idea.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Other than the events that Milly specifically has to coordinate on-site... Milly's part in Hard Work and GUTS is at last over, and she gets to actually appreciate the gently-extended slice of forever-adolescence she's enjoying. One more kick-down-the-road for marriage and the Ashford name, at least. Even if it's going to end... it's not bad.

Milly's appreciation of things like this, however, is not quite the raucous, roaring noise of the crowd; she's off to one side a little ways, cupping her right elbow in her left hand and tapping at her cheek with her right hand with a content -- and a little playful -- smile on her face.

"I was kind of worried this wasn't going to go off, after yesterday," Milly murmurs, "but it seems like we've got a good thing going." She looks to Mana, thinking about how to explain this -- and settles for, "It's kind of a Zentradi thing -- you hear it on the Macross Fleets too! The word kinda snuck into everything!"

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        TWO DAYS AGO

        Finally, months of work were coming to a head. It had been a lot of late nights- particularly for Emilia- but now it was all about to kick off. She was anxious, excited and nervous all at once. It was going to be an event alright, and a special Sheryl concert for GUTS to start off everything was a treat for sure. She had almost finished packing her things-

        And then one of her phones rang. And it wasn't the one Milly gave her. She felt her heart drop as she picked up.

        NOW

        It turns out, not even that call was a dampener on Emmy's spirits, at least during the song. Emmy is as close to a theoretical front row center- and her friends- as she can be. What is unusual is is what she's wearing: A black bikini in a pseudo-sling style, with with three pieces of fabric drawn towards the center and linked with a gold ring as well as a pair of expensive designer sunglasses that are sharper than her usual look. The look is extremely tailored and close clinging, and gives the impression of expensive. Her lavender hair is in a high ponytail, with a black scrunchie(!?). It's very much a 'sexy' look and there is a certain... bounce with Emmy's movements with the song.

        "Y-YEAH!!" She shouts back, when asked if she is culturing- roughly in time with Ranka. She has a little waterproof bag with her phones, a bottle of Nome Pure Shield, and a water bottle hanging from her shoulder. Right now, she's able to enjoy herself. This summer isn't just glittering... it's the brightest she's ever had.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

"It feels so decadent to fly into space to go to the beach!" Rin Starking says, hands on her hips not terribly far relative to Milly Ashford. "I can't believe I really got all the way out here! Thank you, miss president~~!"

"WHOOOOO!" Rin shouts when they get a shoutout. She begins bouncing up and down as Sheryl "God Damned" Nome begins to sing a song *just for them*.

SUIT CHECK: Rin is in a peekaboo cut-out one piece in a metallic bronze; the top is tied over the right shoulder alone if with a thick one-strap design, the central cutout leaving the space just below the ribcage fetchingly bare while contouring hips! Her hair remains tied up tight, though. While she has a ditty bag, it is sitting under a beach umbrella with the two representatives of the Virtual Geography Club:

LOUIS LIONCOURT, played by Adam Driver. He looks soulfully towards the simulated horizon and sighs.
SAM CROWLEY, played by Tank Girl with no tattoos, who is ignoring everything to be on a mobile gaming platform device.

Rin is engaging in a vigorous jumping dance-participation, with the occasional 'whoo!' along the way.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka wasn't going to turn down a chance to see Sheryl live and in person. The problem is... there's only so many times she can do that on her own before it starts to feel a little... sad. It's definitely the kind of thing that's best enjoyed with others - but even now that Tsutsujidai is in a bit more of a physical space, a part of her is a little worried about the idea of asking Hass and Namiko to leave it. She was surprised, though, when Yuta asked her to come with him. She never really took him for a Sheryl fan... Utsumi, maybe, but Yuta?

But of course, she agreed. It's a good opportunity for a pleasant outing between friends.

Everyone's gathered around the stage, and Rikka watches it attentively as Sheryl strides up to the microphone.

...As always, Sheryl puts on an incredible performance. And of course when someone Sheryl calls out to the crowd she joins in with the shout of agreement - and the cheers, once the song concludes!

"Right? Sheryl's always just so, so..." Rikka says, trying to find the words. "Well, you saw her. I don't think I'll ever get tired of her shows."

They're here at the beach, so she's dressed for the beach - in a white bikini with blue straps, black bikini bottoms, and her ever-present orange scrunchy, decorated with a bird in flight, is presently being used to tie up her hair.

Yuta asks what she wants to do, and Rikka takes a moment to think about it.

"I could really go for a drink right now, actually. They should probably have some tea or something..." Rikka replies, consideringly. Anything, as long as it isn't carbonated. "What about you, what do you want to - whoa!"

She is surprised as a beach ball comes flying their way... and then watches as Yuta just punches it away! She can't help but laugh a little, at that.

"Wow. It's all been paying off, huh?" She asks, then pauses, consideringly. "Come to think of it... with everything that's been happening, we haven't really had a whole lot of chances to hang out as friends, have we, Hibiki?"

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Hurricane Milly has been quite busy of late. One of her infinite tasks? Making damn sure the Ashford girls had proper, fashionable swimwear. And so, it's no surprise there's a mildly sulky Kallen, briefly building a minor crowd of her own thanks to her two-piece black swimsuit and an orange vest-like addition to accent it. It's certainly less flashy then Sheryl, and probably less than some others as well. But it still has its own sort of charm, and is perfect for showing off. Though it may be confusing to some, to actually see the remarkably athletic shape Kallen is in... and a small, lingering scar or two she's done her level best to conceal with applications of certain makeups. Honestly she'd forgotten about the remnants of what that Angel did to her, up until she had to put this on and it was too late to back out. She's also found a pair of sunglasses, which are resting up in her hair. Sticking by her closest friends was an obvious choice... She wouldn't dare voice it, but she's desperately needed their presence today, for reasons most couldn't dare fathom.

Regardless of the mood she had been in, all that sulking can't hold up in the face of Sheryl's enthusiasm and raw, unfiltered might. She's quickly cheering for the singer she rapidly became a huge fan of, though the idol's pointing hand no doubt caught her just before that. When she was still pouting and looking vaguely annoyed.

By the time people are talking and a question about Culturing reaches her ears, she's humming to herself, pretty well relaxed with a chilly drink in her hand. "With all the work we put in together, thanks to you Milly? There's not a force in the galaxy that could stop the Festival now." Perhaps she overestimates people. Or maybe she's just got a better understanding of everyone's will than she usually suggests. It doesn't take too much longer for her to get into the swing of some relaxed, casual dancing herself. To find herself under the sway of the summer's drum.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Caught up in her performance as she is, Sheryl isn't going to answer Mana's shouted question of what culturing is. Fortunately, Milly's there to explain it as an offshoot of 'deculture.' As her song wraps up, she waves again to the crowds and blows them a kiss. "Love you guys~! Now let's enjoy a few Macross summer classics!"
        
        From there, she launches into a bouncy rendition of Lynn Minmay's Sunset Beach; after that, it's a soulful version of Fire Bomber's Remember 16; and finally, a rhythmic but intense vocalization of Sharon Apple's Idol Talk. While it's only a few songs, after that, Sheryl's performance is over. She's here as a professional, but once she's off the stage, she'll be here as a student. So, with a final blown kiss and wave to the crowds, Sheryl takes down her golden microphone from the stand and steps down from the stage to join in on the festivities for herself while the band continues playing instrumentals.
        
        Since there is still a crowd, Sheryl can't show off her fatigue. All the same, she's glad that she can just relax and have fun going forward. If Alto noticed that her performance lacked force compared to usual, it wasn't due to her state of mind, but the state of her body after yesterday's attack. She genuinely was excited for today, though, and the power of her enthusiasm as well as her professional pride carried her, so even that much could get written off as one's imagination--as Alto already did.
        
        Of course, just walking off the stage after performing on it means that Sheryl immediately gets swarmed by fans. This has its pluses: someone who caught her shades gushes about how lucky they are, while about a dozen others eagerly offer her cold drinks. She smiles for all of them and plucks a frosty bottled water out of someone's hands.
        
        "Thanks!" she chirps. Cracking it open, she drains about half of it, pours the rest over her head, then screws the cap back on and hands the empty bottle back to the one who gave it to her.
        
        But that's as much fan service as she's willing to do right now, so as the others continue to crowd her, Sheryl scans the sands for Brera--catches his eye--and waves him over. His scowling should be enough to scatter the crowds to a more manageable level and let her party at her own pace (no knives though, Brera (SHE SAID NO)). People who personally know her will have a chance to approach now too.

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Rikka looks amazing. This is the same suit she'd wore to the river adventure, but seeing it here, without their class? With all the glitz and glamour... It's a totally different experience. Yuta thinks she shines even brighter than Sheryl. For a moment, he daydreams of Rikka on stage, dancing and swaying.

A dreamy smile crosses Yuta's face, and he almost misses Rikka's reply. "Oh, um -- y--yeah! I guess my reflexes must have improved, from everything!" He nods, still smiling. "I don't think we've really hung out since I woke up, you know? But all that changes tonight. We've got a great show, and plenty of time!"

As Sheryl continues to sing, Yuta decides to dance a little. It's clear he doesn't know what he's doing, but he's flexible and strong. Yuta throws in some of Gridman's moves from combat -- flips and acrobatic leaps. He doesn't embarrass himself, even if some of his moves are a little unconventional!

Once the performance ends, Yuta looks to Rikka, an exhilirated look on his face. Concerts were great! "I'll go find something for both of us! As for me.. I'd like to swim a little! I've never seen the ocean before. Not that I can remember, anyway." He glances out toward the water. Even if it's a space ocean, it still counts. "I'll be right back!" With one last smile for Rikka, Yuta races off, jogging up to the nearest cooler. Rummaging through for a while, he retrieves a tea for Rikka, and some soda for himself. Yuta's surprised to see nothing actually costs money -- he was looking forward to buying Rikka something nice. The only thing that seems to be for sale is the special Sheryl Nome sunscreen. Do girls like sunscreen? He picks up a bottle, looking it over. It was pretty cute, right..?

Yuta purchases one, and walks back to find Rikka, drinks and sunscreen in hand. "Here we go! I found some tea, and this is for you!" Happily, he hands over the Pure Sunscreen. "It looked cute. I know you like Sheryl Nome a lot."

Cracking open his own soda, Yuta glances around. "It looks like there's chairs and things, if you want to sit down while you drink. Or -- it looks like Sheryl is in the crowd now, if you wanted to talk to her! I bet we could get close enough."

<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.

Mana considers Milly's response for about two seconds.

"Oh. Still kind of weird," she eventually decides is the appropriate answer, both because she's pretty sure she shouldn't interrupt the music to ask any other questions, and because she has never been to a Macross fleet before and they had to be different somehow. Actually, she's never been off Earth before at all, and she wouldn't have been *now* if it wasn't for...

Well. All of this.

Yuka's dancing draws her attention as much as Sheryl's; he gets a very long look once he breaks out a flip, and she shifts her weight and her stance, looking like *she's* going to do a flip -

Mana gets about halfway through the flip and lands on her back with a thump and a spray of sand in all directions, because she is not an acrobat of any sort. "Ow," she says, though with more cheer than actual pain; she does a sit-up and rubs at the back of her head, then picks herself the rest of the way up as the music finally ends.

<Pose Tracker> Sho Muramoto has posed.

Sho Muramoto did have one moment during the whole show that he wasn't sure what happened. And that he had somehow ended up catching a pair of shades. He eyes them, thinking maybe something was missed or someone tossed them by accident.

At least until he realizes that somehow he caught Sheryl's shades.

That has the teen facepalming for a moment as he waits during the follw up songs.

Not an overgrown fan like some, he plans to at least return them and when she does come off the stage and into the crowd, he makes his way over to approach.

At least it should be Sheryl's shades. How they got that far into the crowd, who knows? He was not near the front.

That's when he sees the failed flip and heads over that way to make sure. "Hey, you okay? Nice try, by the way."

Sho hesistates a moment, seeming to consider before he comments, "You need to tuck or swing your legs as soon as possible to get at least on your front."

He looks over where Sheryl is, then to Mana. "Want to return something to Sheryl?" He holds up the sunglasses he caught.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Ranka glides over to Emilia at one point, and sorta nudges her with a shoulder and a smile. She's a bit surprised by her swimsuit, it's so bold! But surprised in a good way!

"How are you liking Frontier so far?" She asks between songs, as she bets it's an entirely different kind of experience from her compared to Zeon.

She's still cheering during all of the Macross Summer Classics. She recognizes all of them of course, including Sharon Apple.

Once the performance is over though, she nudges Emilia with a smile and says, "Come on. Once the rush is over there's someone I want you to meet... then I bet Sheryl will be able to make some time for us."

Hopping ahead of her and pivoting, she then grabs Emilia's hand and pulls her along assuming she's willing to be. She doesn't pull her into the line of fire, as she knows crowds are rough for her, instead of waiting on the fringes, and then once the crowd is more dispersed.

Once the crowd is dispersed without the use of knives, she heads up to Brera, "Hey Brera! Emilia, this is Brera, he's Sheryl's bodyguard." She then leans over and tells her more quietly, "He's nice."

If only Ranka knew that she was missing the qualifier of 'to me' at the end of that declaration.

She leans to the side and waves to Sheryl too while mouthing: 'Deculture!!! You were incredible!!!<3<3<3'

Somehow despite only mouthing it subvocally the exclamation marks and hearts still carry.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Milly was wearing her uniform jacket over what was clearly almost nothing -- but with the concert over, she's decided that the pretense of having places to be is a little much even for her, and promptly tosses it off, revealing a bright red bikini as the music finishes.

She casually makes her way over to Sheryl after a few moments, looking very satisfied. "Thanks for this! I know getting all this set up was a lot of heavy lifting, but this is a great contribution to the Deculture Festival from GUTS. This kind of thing does a great job of justifying the initiative overall... I think people will be a lot more motivated to keep it going after I graduate after something like that."

She looks back toward the students -- some of them are really going for it on the dancing, it seems! Her gaze tracks toward Emilia, too... she notices the outfit, which doesn't quite seem to suit, but... she's clearly having fun, at least.

(Something to follow up on later, though, when it'll put her less on the spot.)

<Pose Tracker> Brera Sterne has posed.

It only takes one gesture from Sheryl for Brera to storm his way toward her. It's not a run, but it's not without urgency, each step decisive and pointed and Brera lacking any of the social consciousness to be slightly worried about shoving past anyone who refuses to get out of his way.

He is also handy for giving intimidating looks to anyone who gets close thereafter, although Brera's gotten better at following Sheryl's lead. Unfortunately, Sheryl does not want to repel all fan contact...

It would be so much easier if she did.

"...Your song reached a lot of people today," Brera notes in an unusual offer of commentary. Or praise? It's hard to say with the lack of emotion on Brera's face.

Brera says nothing else on the matter, going quiet so Sheryl can field her fans instead. Of which there are entirely too many. (Brera is an all right bodyguard, but would not make a good manager.)

Ranka is one, though. Brera's features subtly light with life. "Ranka." He looks from her to Emilia and back again, taking an extra moment to realize there is some sort of social ritual taking place. He looks back at Emilia again, directly, gaze unyielding. He does not offer greeting, because Ranka already gave it for him.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

"Yeah, it's still going for a while yet. Might as well take advantage of it while we can." Rikka agrees with a nod.

Sheryl continues to sing, and Rikka listens! She... doesn't dance, though. Instead she watches Yuta do it - and Mana too, when she joins in. She offers both of them some applause, then looks toward Yuta.

"Yeah, swimming would be nice - no point in going to the beach if we're not going to do a little swimming..." She replies. "I haven't been to the ocean, either, actually... This is the closest I've been."

Yuta goes off to buy drinks, so Rikka takes a moment to step over to Mana, offering her a hand up.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asks. She didn't sound hurt, but she might as well check on her.

It's about that time that Yuta returns with some tea - and some sunscreen? Rikka's familiar with Pure Shield - she's actually bought some for herself before because advertising works, especially when it's advertised that way.

"Thanks!" She says, accepting the tea, and as for the sunscreen... "Oh, thanks, you didn't have to do that... How much was it? I can pay you back later."

It must have cost a lot... at least for Yuta. She can't recall if he actually gets paid in any way... It is a little nice that he thought of her, though.

"Sitting down would be nice." She agrees, and then pauses. Talking to Sheryl... "...Oh, god, that's so tempting. But..."

She frowns, thinking.

"It kind of looks like she's just trying to enjoy herself right now, she probably doesn't want to be crowded by fans... I wouldn't want to hassle her." Rikka decides, with a shake of her head. The last thing she wants is to make Sheryl think she's just another weird fan...

<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.

Mana doesn't bother to dust her legs off when she stands up, which means there is now sand stuck to her legs. Every so often, she scrapes at the back of one of her legs with the opposite foot to knock some off, but it's extremely inefficient. And does nothing for the sand that's higher up. She picks up her bag again from where she'd put it down. "I'm fine," she assures Rikka. "That didn't really hurt, I've fallen from way higher up and landed on way harder things."

"But... landing on my front would be worse," Mana says, matter-of-factly, to Sho. "Trust me on that!" She eyeballs the shades when they're offered to her. "Why, don't you want to?" she asks, before she simply tries to grab the sunglasses out of Sho's hands (unless he stops her; she isn't very insistent about it) and march toward Sheryl and her group. With or without the others.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Kallen does get an aside from Milly. "I don't know about that," Milly points out. "It actually takes a lot of work behind the scenes to keep something like this going. When you've got this many organizations involved, you've got some advantages, but the wrong thing at the wrong time can make the whole thing crash if you aren't careful about it."

That's something Milly's thinking a lot about, too, lately.

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        The nudge surprises Emmy, but it's a sign of how far she's come that she barely flinches- or at least a sign of how comfortable she is with Ranka. "I l-like it... I've never been a-anywhere so n-nice." Britannia is significantly blasted wasteland at this point. If she had met Ranka before Milly, she would have taken that offer in a heartbeart.

        Still, Emmy is easy to be lead, letting Ranka take her hand. "O-okay!" It's hard not to get caught up in the green haired girl's enthusiasm, and Emmy's certainly not fighting against that feeling. The longer she can enjoy this.

        Brera, though, is intimidating. He reminds Emmy of Sousuke but there's more of an... air of menace that Sousuke lacks. But menace is normal for bodyguards, isn't it? It certainly was for Grandfather's people. "U-um... H-Hello. Nice to m-meet you." It is impossible to curtsey in a swimsuit like this, so she gives a little wave.

        Her eyes shift briefly to Ranka, then back to Brera. This is nice?

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

When the song reaches an end, Rin, who is now appropriately heated up, wipes off her forehead and exhales with force. She smiles at Kallen without words, wide and broad. She is perhaps about to say something when - paff! - there goes Mana in the corner, splashing sand outwards onto her leg.

"You know," Rin says, walking towards Mana, "there's a trick to that, though I don't know if I'd wanna try it *here*... the gravity's not quite - oh! Are you from the other colonies? Maybe that threw ya."

Rin does not immediately demonstrate the trick. Instead she goes to the cooler. The first thing she fishes out is a bottle of cola, which she opens and immediately drains. Not quite 'oh, she chugged the entire thing,' but it is clear that she is striving to *finish it off* ASAP rather than savor the flavor at length. Maybe she knows when it gets warm it tastes like malted battery acid? Hard to say!

After a breath of relief, Rin walks over a bit to toss the beverage bottle into the recycling can. Turning back around she scores *two* waters, one of which she opens and sips, splashing some of it onto her tight bound hairstyle and shaking it vigorously as it saturates the fibers. "Fuuuuhhh," she exhales, before--

The set's ending?

They're near the stage. In Rin's sight people are starting to move as if drawn by magnets. Her head turns up slightly. Yes: that's genuinely, authentically "the" Sheryl Nome. Here at their festival. Is she also a student? Rin can't recall. But she dives for it. Ducking low as others surge, Rin is able to pop upwards in the midest of the group with only moderate amounts of jostling ('hey!' someone says as they end up elbowing her in the rib against their will, but Rin bears with it).

Rin is among those proffering a bottle of cold water -- the one she had been planning to drink afterwards, or possibly just keep around herself for ice refreshingalong the way -- but! SECRET STRATEGY --

is this really a strategy or is she just being rude on an advanced private-school level

-- the bottle is TWISTED forwards, held between index and middle finger. And - yes - YES! Rin's eyes widen behind the light-filled lenses of her glasses. 'Thanks!' says the star. And she hands the bottle back.

Rin looks at the plastic bottle, dumbfounded. The look of a dog who had, at last, caught the car. (The person who she jostled tentatively reaches for it, which does make Rin straighten up and pull it in close to her body.) "... It worked??" Rin says, modestly dumbfounded. She remains standing basically there, gazing at the empty water bottle in modest wonder and/or cola-induced brain freeze, even after the knot of others disappear. This leaves her surprisingly close to Ranka and Emilia, when all is said and done.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        As exhausting as yesterday and today have been, it's always energizing to see her fans enjoying her performances. Sheryl in particular enjoyed that one boy doing actual flips while he was dancing. Too bad about that other girl who tried and ate sand, but it doesn't look like she got hurt. Though... next to that boy... isn't that Rikka Takarada?
        
        Hm.
        
        For now, she grins as Rin gawks when she hands back the empty water bottle and marvels that it worked. "You should be grateful. I hardly ever do this kind of service for my fans," she informs her with a wink.
        
        Then she catches sight of Ranka mouthing her delight over her performance. From this range, there's no point in shouting back to her, so instead she gives her a wink and a V-sign. Brera's at her side the next instant, though, dispersing the crowd around her, so Ranka and Emilia will both have a chance to come by to say hello more directly.
        
        Much like Milly, who tosses off her jacket and strolls on over. Sheryl faces her with a smile just as satisfied as Milly's own. "You're welcome! I meant it when I said I was excited for the chance, you know. We aren't going to be teenagers forever. And it'll be one for the history books!" She gives Milly a curious look as she talks about keeping it going. "Oh? Did you want this to be your legacy or something?"
        
        She brightens when Brera comments on her song and smiles at him. "Of course! I'm not going to let some random kaiju attack ruin what we all worked so hard on!" she declares, forgetting that she explicitly asked Grace to not have Brera be present to bodyguard her yesterday during the set-up for today's event. But then, she seriously wasn't expecting a random kaiju attack.
        
        Mana meanwhile approaches with her sunglasses in tow--but she isn't here yet. Brera might have something to say or do about it once she is, though. Not to mention, with him on the job, Alto can continue relaxing in his beach chair for now.

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Yuta blushes at the applause, laughing and giving a little bow. "I guess Tsutsujidai doesn't exactly have any oceans. It's so different from the river, isn't it? I didn't think it would be! But it's so big, and loud. But gentle, at the same time?" He laughs again. "That doesn't make any sense. But I know it's something I want to experience, especially with you here."

"O--oh, um!" Yuta waves a hand, when Rikka asks about the sunscreen. "It's a gift! You don't need to worry about it."

Glancing from Sheryl's image on the sunscreen to the real thing, he tilts his head. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind. Otherwise, she would've gone backstage, right? Maybe meeting fans is rewarding, or something. But if you're sure!"

If Rikka doesn't change her mind on saying hello to Sheryl, Yuta will lead the way to a nearby bench. He seems to fidget, then sits closer than normal to Rikka -- not close enough for their legs to be touching, of course. Even Gridman doesn't have that much courage.

"I'm surprised so many people showed up." Yuta takes a drink of his soda, looking ahead to the ocean. "I never knew there were so many students. I guess it's normal Sheryl would bring such a big crowd though!"

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

With the music dying down, and everyone beginning to break into their groups, Kallen finds herself less than certain of where she ought to be. Rather, who she wants to spend the evening hanging out with. Thankfully, there aren't any impending disasters, so she has time. Before anything else, Milly says something she can't possibly argue with, and she nods in the blonde's direction before they both opt to do their own things for a while. "I think that speaks volumes about your considerable talent." She didn't at all mean for the tone of it to sound suggestive... and yet given the sort of mood a Sheryl Concert, even a small one, sets up... some things are unavoidable. And the realization of that accident makes her slightly red-faced, though not enough to be obvious.

She's definitely not doing any more contemplating while on her feet though. No, she's going back to her umbrella... after tossing a beach ball away that had landed squarely in the middle of her chair. She can be a little passive right this second. Especially given some of the OTHER work she's had to be aggressive on, in the midst of packing her schedule as full as humanly possible.

She's going to enjoy this festival to its fullest with her friends... And there's a thought she never saw herself having, even six months ago. But she doesn't regret it for a second. They've all made her more than she was. She throws out a wave in Rin's direction. She remembers the girl perfectly well from the incident at the Pizza establishment. And of course the occasional meeting to organize funding and activities.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

"I'm glad! If we get time I should show you around later!"

That was then though, and now is BRERA, who is staring at Emilia, then gets called back by Sheryl.

Ranka smiles at Sheryl's wink and V. Ranka looks sideways at her, then whispers, "He's on the clock. He takes his job very seriously. But promise, he's always been nice."

'to me'

Ranka has a bit of a blind spot when it comes to such things. She still thinks that Alto and Brera get along???

Ranka scoots herself and presumably Emilia up though. Though she doesn't interrupt, looking at Milly as Sheryl asks if her work at GUTS is intended to be her Legacy.

It's only once there's a break in the conversation that she inserts, "Hey Sheryl! Today was great! I especially liked your cover of Idol Talk."

She'd heard her talk about how a random Kaiju attack wouldn't ruin things, and so she actually asks, "Was everything alright here after I left with..." Ranka actually sighs lightly, as her tone changes, "...my brother?"

She had to make a deal with him to get back today in time for this after she came up clean on exams, otherwise he would have probably kept her under evaluation and quarantine for another day or two.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

"Nope. Even before... everything." Rikka replies. If Tsutsujidai were a normal city, maybe making a trip to see the ocean would have been possible... but it wasn't. She nods, then. "No, I get what you mean. It kind of has a different energy to it."

Yuta says it's a gift and she doesn't need to worry about it... so she nods, and holds onto it. She realises that she probably should've brought a bag or something with her... She'll worry about that later.

As for going to talk to Sheryl... Rikka thinks about it some more, and then nods.

"Yeah, I'm sure. But... thanks." She replies. This probably won't be the last such event... maybe she'll still get a chance to talk with her sometime. She did enter that contest...

Yuta leads the way to a bench and Rikka takes a seat, pausing to watch Yuta seem to have to take a moment to think about it before sitting down.

She opens up her tea, then taking a drink as she considers his words.

"GUTS covers a lot of different schools, so it makes sense... It really kind of puts things into perspective though, huh? Just how many people this sort of thing means a lot to." She replies. "It's been a rough year for everyone, I bet... even people who don't have to regularly fight kaiju. It's nice to see everyone just... relax, and not worry for a while."

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

IN THE FACE OF SHERYL NOME:

"Bwh," Rin answers Sheryl. "Yes ma'am!!"

NOW:

Rin comes out of her trancelike state staring at an empty water bottle that has now become a minor artifact of fame, when someone waves at her. She looks up and drifts towards Kallen, raising the empty bottle and waving it at her in a semaphore.

Trundling over, Rin says to Kallen, "Stadtfeld, I've just had a close encounter with something approaching a minor divinity in this fallen world of Treortica, and I don't know how to handle it. Did you eat? I want to eat. Eat something with me, would you? I can -- no, this is free."

"She's shorter than me," Rin tells Kallen. "That's messing with my head. Can you tell anything about how tall people are from the media...??"

<Pose Tracker> Brera Sterne has posed.

Sorry, Emilia. Brera does not even realize he's being rude.

Brera's gaze gravitates toward Rin, who is now where with Ranka and Emilia like she belongs to the group. That seems to be how it works, so he glances to Ranka again with a small tilt of his head.

But his gaze snaps abruptly to Mana as she approaches with sunglasses, his eyes glowing briefly as if he had every piece of Sheryl's belongings stored in a database and an automatic radar designed to track him.

You can't prove that he doesn't.

He moves to intercept, holding out his hand. "I will return those to Sheryl Nome."

But Ranka mentions something about her brother, and Brera almost in-perceptively blanks out, only difficult to notice because his face is habitually blank when he's not furrowing his brow at all the things he's learning he does not like. It's an opportunity to try and sneak past him before he can grab anyway. (He can't use knives today -- or most days, SHERYL -- so doing this won't result in an Incident.)

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Sheryl asks if she wants GUTS to be her legacy, and Milly realizes she's been caught, a bit; she doesn't mind that, though. "Mmhm. Normally I don't think I'd be worrying about it so much, but as a super-senior it feels a little different," she says. "After blowing my final exams on purpose I feel like... I need to be here for some reason besides killing time, and if I can help set something up on this scale, that's a pretty good one."

It sounds like she might have a little more to say, but Kallen 'accidentally' throws something capital-f Flirty her way and she decides to focus on that instead. "Your talents are pretty considerable in their own right, even if they're not quite as impressive as the rest of the girls on the Student Council," she points out, taking the double entendre and running with them. "Maybe they need a little hands-on attention~"

Milly takes a few steps toward Kallen, but outside of her fortress, she's not... quite bold enough. (Now, if this were Ashford, things might go a little differently.) That moves her closer to Ranka, too -- who she gives a small wave. "Oh, it's good to see you again," she says. "Have you been doing well since Emilia's birthday party?"

<Pose Tracker> Sho Muramoto has posed.

Sho gives a shrug, "Nah. I'm good." Then the glasses are snatched and he blinks as he follows after to make sure said sunglasses get returned to Sheryl.

And they meet Brera the bodyguard.

That has Sho blinking a few times, looking at Brera, then around. Then at Brera again. "Aren't you a bit young to be the bodyguard for this?"

Sho's just staring at Brera before he looks to Sheryl and the others, giving a small wave in case they remember him. Maybe. Last meeting was kinda brief, after all.

<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.

"No, I'm from Britannia," Mana says to Rin as she walks, unknowing of what that response might be. "But I go to school in Jindai these days. It's my first time on one of these things. Do you think they do tours?"

She really wants to see how this place fits together. She doesn't even *just* mean the engines or the Valkyries, either; she's never seen a Zentredi living space before.

"But do you think it would work in lower gravity? Huh, maybe... but maybe I'd just trip." Now Mana is spending her time thinking about that, leaving Rin behind as she approaches Sheryl -

- no, Brera, who intercepts her. Mana looks him up and down thoughtfully for a moment, which is coincidentally long enough for him to (from her perspective) get distracted by something. She simply steps past him, because Mana pays no attention to things like 'personal boundaries' or 'subtle hints that she isn't wanted'.

"Hey!" she repeats, louder, to get Sheryl's attention. She wiggles the sunglasses at her. "Do you want these back?"

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Sheryl giggles at Rin and lets her go. She loves it when her fans are adorable.
        
        Speaking of:
        
        "As if I'm ever anything less?" Sheryl playfully boasts at Ranka, resting her hands on her hips as she puffs up her considerable chest. "I'm glad for your good taste, though!" She leans in, raising a hand to hide her mouth. "I know Idol Talk isn't really a summer classic, per se--Sharon Apple defies that kind of easy categorization--but if I was going to be doing covers, I just had to sneak one of her songs in there." A wink, and then she pulls away.
        
        Her smile turns sympathetic when Ranka brings up her brother, though. "We managed to pull everything together at the last second, but we definitely missed you," she replies. Sympathy shifts to concern. "Speaking of, are you feeling all right? You were a wreck yesterday." It might be a pointless question--she sure looks fine now--but, well... Sheryl knows she's putting on at least a bit of a front, so it might be the same for Ranka, too.
        
        Not looking at Brera, she doesn't see the way he blanks out at the same talk of Ranka's brother; she only looks over when he fails to actually stop Mana from approaching with her shades, just standing there for a moment while Mana steps around him. "Brera? Are you all right?" she wonders, looking up at him.
        
        But then Mana calls for her attention and asks if she wants the sunglasses back. Sheryl blinks. Then she smiles. "No, you can keep them. I didn't figure I'd get them back after I threw them into the crowd, so it's no big deal. Sweet of you to ask, though," she replies, hand on her hip again. Somewhere at Mana's back, Sho waves to her and the others; Sheryl sadly doesn't recognize him, but she gives him a friendly wave back anyway.
        
        She looks over at Milly then, nodding as she admits her intentions. "You sure did a good job. Even if there isn't another Deculture Festival, they'll definitely remember this one," she replies, smiling. That smile grows into a knowing grin as Milly and Kallen flirt with each other. How cute~!

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Yuta nods. "She does seem pretty busy. I'm sure she's grateful you came, anyway! Sheryl looks like a nice person."

Is this the moment you put your arm around the girl? Or try to hold hands? Yuta frantically tries to remember the advice from the webpage he'd found. Yuta takes a deep breath and manages to look at Rikka. She was even more beautiful close up..! Her skin is so clear, and her eyes are so bright... Pink and blue together. Surely no one else anywhere in the Earthsphere had a combination of colors like that!

His worries are swept away by the thoughts, and Yuta instead takes another drink of his soda. Affectionate things can come later. For now... it's nice just to be able to talk together. "You're right. With all the conflict in the world... And especially for most people, who can't do anything to change it. It must be hard to have to watch and just hope for the best."

This line of thinking brings Yuta's thoughts back to their own, quickly approaching festival event. Would Akane really go through with it? Would their plan to stop her succeed? Yuta fusses with his wristband for a moment. But Rikka is right. This isn't a moment he wants to poison with worry for tomorrow.

Carefully timing the drinks he takes of his own soda to the drinks Rikka takes of her tea, Yuta waits until they've both finished. All the while, he works up his courage. A mental version of Gridman gives him a determined glance. "Yuta, whatever enemy you face, you must do it with courage!" Yeah, that's what he would say, if he were here.

After toeing off his prized sneakers, he looks up to his companion. "Come on, Rikka, let's swim!" Yuta says, brightly. He grabs Rikka's hand -- too shy to interlock fingers, though -- and begins running toward the waves. If she pulls back, he will of course let go -- but otherwise, they're going right into the water!

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        "I-I'd like that, i-if we can. I have t-to p-play it safe right now." Emilia lets the reason why hang in the air. She doesn't want to invoke his existence here. "I-I see... Th-that makes sense, I s-suppose." Then again... she still has to talk about Grace.

        As she is scooted up, Emmy is still a bit nervous about Sheryl. Is she supposed to mention the headphones? No, she was being incognito, that would be weird right. "The c-c-concert was incredible! Th-thank you f-for performing for us!" She's come a long way from the girl who couldn't talk at a signing.

        Milly, Rin and Kallen all come into range too. But when she hears what Kallen says to Milly, and what Milly says back, Emmy blushes too. A number of complicated feelings all come into play at once, and Ranka has a front row seat for what flies into Emmy's head.

        Mention of her birthday reminds her of something. She needs to get pictures for the journal. Which means... "U-Um, c-c-c-c-could we... Um. Could we-" And then the idea stops in her head, hearing about Ranka being a wreck, and Emmy turns concerned to her friend, waiting to hear the answer.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Milly shooting back with the kinds of commentary that she's mostly steered away from with Kallen, has her a perfectly shining red, sputtering, and looking for an escape. Not because of disinterest or any such, but... Similar to Milly, she's just not nearly that bold in these circumstances. Unlike a battlefield or a competition, she has only her own fantastical imaginings for any form of guidance in dealing with it.

Thankfully Rin is more than able to provide the crimson-haired girl with a window to leap from. "How tall...? No, no usually they use camera tricks and editing on that sort of thing. To project a specific image. But yes, let's eat. I think a calming bite would be a GREAT idea! And you can explain further at the same time."

This won't save Kallen forever, but it prolongs things For Now.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Ranka nods at Emilia, with a sense of resolve in her eyes about playing it safe earlier.

Milly's question causes a smile, "I have! I've just been working a lot. I actually have a commercial jingle out now at the Cosmos Family Mart!" Ranka laughs and rubs the back of her head, "You may have seen some on the way in." It's just a chain of convenience stores, but it still feels like a big step for her.

"Don't worry though. I've had Elmo clear my schedule for the Deculture festival so I'll be ready for my own performance at Ashford! Nothing could keep me away!"

As everyone from Ashford comes into play all at once. Ranka blinks as she feels a certain mixture of complicated feelings emanate at once. And she gives Emilia a curious look, when Sheryl asks.

Ranka unfortunately misses how the comment on her brother caused Brera to blank out. He's difficult to read for her. She feels things from him certainly, when his intent is upon her, however they're muted, subdued.

And thus she's chatting with Sheryl in this moment, unaware of how she's caused a crisis with him, "I think it was a fine choice! I know her music is controversial these days, but it always spoke to me. I still have all her albums at home."

Sheryl then asks an important question, and Ranka looks at Sheryl, then Emilia, they might find her drooping a bit before kind of perking back up, like she bounced back instantly, "I'm good now. Promise. I just needed some rest after that Kaiju attack."

She holds up a finger as if to ask Emilia to give her one moment, then she does walk up to Sheryl, stands on her tip toes and whispers by her ear as she explains, "Whenever I'm close to Yuliana- I feel sick. Like part of me is missing. I don't know why - that creepy necklace made things worse in a... different way? As soon as Alto got her away from me, and you put the necklace in your purse, I was much better."

Sheryl's the only one she's told about this part of her of her own accord, rather than someone just realizing it on their own. So she's the only one she can really tell about this right now.

Coming down off her toes, she looks Brera's way in surprise as Sheryl asks if he's alright, wondering what she's missing here, as she gives him a worried look, "Brera?"

Nevertheless, after a few moments of watching him, waiting to see if she's alright, she heads back to Emilia's way, "Sorry for the wait-! What were you asking Emilia?"

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

"Yeah... she's great." Rikka replies with a nod. "She's always been so... friendly, and approachable, when I've met her? Like if you didn't know who she was and you ran into her on the street, you could just have a friendly chat... But she has this fire, too, this strength of character, that really makes you admire her."

...She realises she's gushing a little, so she stops herself short, instead looking at Yuta. Her eyebrow raises a little as she catches him watching her.

"...Something up?" She asks.

Eventually, they both finish their drinks and... it's time to go swimming! Rikka stands up. Yuta takes her hand and starts to run. She lets herself go along with it, and... then dives right in! She surfaces, a moment later.

"...This water is really nice. The river was kind of cold, but this is pleasantly warm..." Rikka replies, then considers. "...Though I guess they probably engineered it that way, huh? They probably set it to be the perfect swimming temperature..."

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

"She's about this tall," Rin says, putting a hand next to herself that comes to about her ear height. "I thought she'd be two meters at least." Rin, at 5'8", is On The Tall End, if hardly outside of the range present at a school full of well-fed Britannians.

FOOD: Rin casts around momentarily, but it seems that they were too slow to obtain a slice of some sort of local pizza. Instead, Rin finds a selection of freshly-ish grilled sausages in a bun. Rin picks out a pretty big one and stuffs it tight, slathering it with a sauce and some relish before juggling around the water bottles in her hand, resting them on the back of her neck for the sake of absorbing their cool weather.

Holding up the hot dog, Rin tells Kallen, "I think I'm recovering. Sheesh, though. It's funny, isn't it? She looked right at me and it was like pow! Electric shock!" Rin takes a leisurely bite out of the delicious treat then, eyes closing for a moment.

One eye peeks open. Rin swallows the bite. "Oh hey," Rin says to Kallen, "that's Ranka, the rising star. Did you hear that song that's been floating around? I was talking to her the other day about this while I was showing her around while everything was getting set up!" Well, that's how Rin remembers it, anyway.

Ranka is talking to Emilia, so Rin takes another bite of her hot dog. As she does this, she shifts her hand with the two water bottles round, resting them at her hip, the full and the empty alike. Her eyes track for a moment towards Rikka and Yuta, moving towards the water. "Are those guys from Mihoshi?" Rin asks the adjacent Ashfordians. As she does, the hot dog is swept around to indicate Mana, accomplished by pointing with the unbitten end of the wiener. "I know she said she was from Jundai. Jindai, over in Japan, I mean."

<Pose Tracker> Brera Sterne has posed.

Sho asks if Brera is a little young and gets a blink back. "No."

He definitely is.

Mana moves past him, and he does not stop her the way he should -- or would, ordinarily. He turns around, belated and stalled like a computer with a lagging signal. Before he can say, or do, anything, Sheryl is asking after him, and already handling the sunglasses situation, which does not require any violence. (It wasn't ever going to...!) This means he also leaves Sho alone, glancing back at him wordlessly, but offering no other resistance.

It also means Brera has yet to answer Sheryl. His lips part slighty, but there's no words coming out.

Not even, quite, when Ranka asks. It takes a few more moments still.

"... I am unharmed."

His blankness becomes concerned, the words of her and Sheryl's exchange catching up to him.

"I... I am glad to see you are as well."

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

"Oooh, that's a big step up -- you're doing a really good job," Milly says. Sure, a commercial jingle may sound comparatively small, but Milly has an appreciation for the boring kinds of work you do with each successive step up. She wouldn't have the skills she's used for years as Student Council President if she hadn't first honed them in the Fantasy Seduction Club. And now she's gotten quite good at it.

She lets Kallen squirm out of her (metaphorical) grasp. For now. She's having a nice conversation! "I'd hate for it to be a one-and-done," Milly says, with a little bit of a pout to Sheryl. "Though that's fine if we just move on to different big events. I think this is a really good way to ease people back into school, though. Low commitment, excuses to travel..."

That reminds her that she needs to do a little more work on maintaining the visa situation... a problem for a later, less beswimsuited Milly, but something she needs to address nevertheless.

"I know I've -- oh! Tsutsujidai," Milly notes for Rin. "The..." She pinches the bridge of her nose before saying, "... well, it looked like it was in Nouvelle Tokyo at first and then it turned out to be an independent colony near the PLANTs, which..." She cannot make sense of how Rivalz accidentally got to the PLANTs geographically, but she has decided it is not her problem and strictly speaking Rin's question has already been answered.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

"That's messed up," Rin says, about the news of Where Tsutsujidai Turned Out To Actually Be.

She takes another bite of the (tragically unspecial) dog.

<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.

Mana looks at Sheryl. Just *looks*. It's kind of rude.

"He told me you wanted them back, but all right," she eventually says - and then puts the sunglasses on. It's probably a little gauche to steal Sheryl's style, and honestly they don't suit Mana all that much, but it's better than carrying them around all day *and* they mean that she's no longer squinting in the sun, so it ends up being a win-win situation.

(It does not occur to her to thank Sho for giving them to her. Sorry, Sho.)

She strolls away as if she hadn't just spoken to the most famous person here. Originally, Mana had planned to get something to eat, but she caught out of the corner of her eye someone pointing. Someone pointing in *her direction*. Someone who she walked away from not that long ago.

Which is why she's now walking in Rin's direction with a curious expression on her face. "Yeah?"

<Pose Tracker> Sho Muramoto has posed.

The flat 'No' has Sho looking at Brera again. And then shrugging before he looks to Mana.

"I never said that, actually." He says to her.

Then he resumes looking at Brera for a minute before he looks to Mana and gives a small shrug. The awkwardness is something there.

Then he moves away and sighs, rubbing the back of his head. Awkwardness settling in a bit. Social situations like this he's definitely not used to. And it's starting to kick in now. Concerts are fun, but he's not sure waht else to do since he's solo and hasn't been at school enough. He does recognize a few here and there, but that was because of different trouble type of things at the time.
BBSYS: Post 209, 'NOTICE: Algernon Incident on Orbit Base' has been published to NERV by Guy Shishioh.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Sheryl grins as Emilia at last scoots up to greet her. She doesn't mention the headphones from the birthday party, but that was a private thing, so it's just fine. Maybe they'll get a chance to speak more quietly about it another time. "You're very welcome!" She looks her up and down, then smirks playfully. "Nice swimsuit, by the way. Very daring--very sexy." She leans in to purr, "It's a good look for you, Emilia~."
        
        Ranka mentions she has all of Sharon Apple's albums at home. "Me too," Sheryl whispers as if it's a secret. It's really not. Ranka already knows from Sheryl's interviews that Sharon Apple was a big influence on her--hell, it's obvious just by looking at the holograms she uses for her performances.
        
        She nods as Ranka insists that she's all right, but when she comes in closer to whisper her own actual secret, she leans in to listen, then nods soberly. "I noticed," she murmurs back. Then she smiles. "Well, as long as you're fine now, that's great!"
        
        She laughs at Milly's pouting. "Oh, but isn't there some charm in a unique event? It makes the memories that much more special!" She shrugs, though. "But I get what you mean. No one wants to be a one-hit wonder. And I completely agree about it being a great way to ease back into school." She spent quite a bit of the first semester busy with her tour, after all.
        
        Mana meanwhile stares at her and claims someone told her she wanted them back. Sheryl shoots her a confused look. "Hm? Who did?" But then she waves a dismissive hand. "Never mind, it doesn't really matter." She can respect Mana's total lack of being affected by her presence, but she does have a vibe of just not knowing who she is in the first place, so Sheryl simply lets her go on her way.
        
        Brera claims he's unharmed. Sheryl gives him a wry look as she leans her weight on one leg. She doesn't tell him that wasn't what she meant, though. This is just how he is. His comment to Ranka gets a sly smirk, though. "Hmmm... Maybe you'd like to get something to drink with Ranka, then? Make sure she's hydrated and healthy~?" she suggests. She looks over at the water as Yuta and Rikka jump in to start swimming. "As for me, I'm going to go follow their lead. Be back later~!"
        
        Raising her hand over her head, she waves enthusiastically over at Alto. "Yoohoo! Altoooo! Stop lounging around and come swim with me~!" she calls. Whether he responds to her or not, Sheryl bounces over to the shore and starts splashing in the waves, giggling in delight at the pleasantly warm spray.

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

"I didn't know you'd met her before, Rikka. That's so cool!" Yuta doesn't know much about singers, but even he knows Sheryl Nome is a big deal.

Yuta is thrilled Rikka comes along with him. It's so exciting to be holding her hand -- and he laughs with excitement as she dives into the waves. He's a bit more clumsy, wading in on foot.

"You're right! It feels really great. I wonder if there's fish or anything in here?" Yuta ducks under the water, glancing around. There don't seem to be any fish at this shallow depth. That's a little obvious, Yuta!

Well. Now that they're in the water, what are they supposed to do? Yuta doesn't really know how to swim, but he's seen others doing it, so he tries to mimic their actions. It's nice, feeling the water hold his weight. Yuta takes to the movements of swimming easily. There's a beachball floating out in the water, and he swims out to grab it, tossing it to Rikka.

"Catch!" He calls, smiling. This feels right, playing with this soft, floaty ball. That's what it's here for, so this must be the correct way to play at the beach. As Sheryl comes closer, Yuta blinks, then swims close to Rikka. "Hey, look who's coming over! Maybe now's your chance!"

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Ranka reassures her, and Emmy accepts it for now, with a nod. She wants to see Ranka's performance, too. But the moment as Ranka steps over does mean something else- she notices Brera seemingly stop for a moment. She may not have Ranka's abilities, but she is very aware of the sudden microscopic changes in posture in... certain people.

        A survival instinct.

        Sheryl Nome complimenting her on her swimsuit does put her completely off balance, expecially talk of it being sexy. "Th-th-th-th-thanks!" She stammers out after a few stunned moments of silence and turning beet red. The whole thing does not so much derail he train of thought, but pick it up like a Kaiju and use it to wail on Ultraman for a while. So when Ranka asks her what she wanted, it takes Emmy's brain a good ten seconds to whir up again.

        "O-oh...I was thinking it- it would be good to get a ph-photo. O-o-of everyone. On th-the edge of the water, m-maybe." She pauses. "N-not too deep, th-though."

        Emmy looks down quietly. "I d-don't kn-know how to swim, b-but it should be f-fine on the edge, r-right? B-but it'd be g-good for the sc-school newsletters and GUTS p-page!" Yes she is definitely justifying 'she wants a photo with Sheryl' now, but shhh.

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Ahhhhhh, so peaceful.

        'Altoooo!'

        So much for that. Alto sits up and looks in the direction from where he's called. Seeing Sheryl urging him to go swimming with her, he briefly considers simply ignoring her. But then realizes if he did that, he'd probably never hear the end of it later.

        "Finnnnnnnne."

        He gets up, stretching for a moment before casually walking over into the water in Sheryl's direction. It's not often he gets to the beach, but he does his fair share of swimming in pools. It's a good means of exercise. So enter the water is not exactly a novel experience for him.

        Watching Sheryl start to splash around though, he sees an opportunity for a bit of a jab saying with a smirk, "Aren't you a bit old to be playing in the waves?" Alto gets a spray of water in the face for his efforts. He doesn't look thrilled. But doesn't budge.

        He gets another one. His mouth twitches.

        Finally, "That's it!" He splashes back.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Kallen herself is just an inch shorter than Rin, so she's not unfamiliar with height being... odd, at times. "Some people do also give off that feeling. The larger than life presence. Milly has the same kind of thing going for her." As do other figures she can think of. Like how Zero presents himself. Though standing atop tall buildings and stages helps too.

Kallen picks up a few convenient food choices that won't be especially messy for herself. Truthfully, the way Rin is going about this is a bit funny to her. She's very much lively. "Oh, I'm familiar. When I went to one of her concerts a few months back..." She can't quite finish the thought. So she takes another approach. "It was eye-opening, about... many things." Understatement of the decade right there.

Then Ranka is pointed out to her. "Oh, yeah. Ranka's a sweet girl. Her heart's too pure for this world, honestly, and I'm looking forward to seeing her rise to stardom." Something she's worried about, truthfully. That so much kindness might get Ranka hurt, one way or another.

Rin starts asking where people are from, and that's something much easier to talk about. Though Milly covers it for her. Still, she can offer answers about anyone else. "It's a little messed up, but it does explain why they were confused at first as to how anyone even found out about their school. I've got a list somewhere, of who all from which GUTS schools have been working in an official capacity. And a short list of other names offered to help out in emergencies. It's been helpful in keeping everyone's efforts and plans straightened out, plus who's footing which travel bills. Though... that part is more Emmy's area of specialty. I'm mostly just a liason, making the visits between schools and keeping on top of who could use extra sets of hands." She's definitely underselling the work she threw herself into for the sake of helping out. But it's to give more credit to Milly and Emmy and everyone else, so surely that's fine, right?

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Ranka's hair leaps a bit as Sheryl compliments Emilia, actually blushing at HOW Sheryl compliments her, as Ranka looks down at her swimsuit, then back up.

Ranka looks at Brera like she's not sure whether she's still worried, despite him saying he's unharmed. However, as he stammers out that he's glad she's well...

... something about that resonates with her, in a way deeper than surface level, in a way she can't even consciously understand. Ranka beams at him the biggest, toothiest smile, her canines actually prominent out of her mouth in a cute display. It just makes her happy to know he was worried about her, even as she utters at him with a certain sincerity, "I'm sorry if I worried you." And she is sorry, she's just also... happy he's worried. "I promise I'll be more careful."

Sheryl's tease though causes her to blink, as she looks suddenly back and forth between her and Brera, "W-Wait what!?"

As Sheryl capitalizes on that opportunity to call Alto to come swim with her. And Ranka flushes a bit red, as she's not OBLIVIOUS to what she thinks Sheryl is doing here.

And how she's being opportunistic with Alto Two fingers poke together. "Um. Well, Brera, I wouldn't say no to a drink - if you think it wouldn't be too much trouble, given your job with, Sheryl."

Flustered, she's happy for the distraction from Milly, actually seeming more confident than shy on this point, "Thanks! It feels like my hard work is paying off - I'll get there, one step at a time!"

When Milly notes to Rin where Tsutsujidai was, Ranka looks abstracted, "I was there when... everything changed, and got stuck there for a while." A beat, "That was a really weird two days."

(It's fortunate she doesn't hear Kallen's praise to Rin because if she did she'd probably get so embarrassed.)

It feels like she's sorted out what she felt from Emilia enough to realize... something, and thus when Emilia suggests a picture, "Sure! That's a great idea Emilia!" She taps her chin, "We may have to think about how to arrange it a little." She has some ideas for how to arrange it.

Ranka cants her head, "Maybe we take it down there." As she cants it right in the direction, of where Sheryl and Alto are having a water fight. Because she's not going to let her win so easily.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

"Oh hey," Rin says to Mana. "I'm from Britannia too, though like I was born in Taiwan and everything. Where are you from?" It's a big place, isn't it. She bites into her hot dog afterwards, which is diminishing rapidly.

Rin pauses, though, because she can see Sheryl Nome again. She's just... THERE, standing AROUND. With them. Talking, like a normal person, even if she has that subtle perfection around herself. A revelation. Perhaps it's a lie, perhaps it's just the benefit of professional makeup as opposed to 'uh, I watched a video on how to do something cool with lip liner.'

"Oho," Rin tells Kallen. "So it sounds like you know her already. Be honest with me, Stadtfeld... are you her assistant? Did you smuggle her recordings onto campus?" Rin reaches down towards where she's been one-hand-holding two water bottles and opens the empty one before raising up the hot dog to take that last big bite of the end piece.

Rin looks smug at Kallen, before looking at Emilia and giving her a thumbs up with her newly-freed hand. After this, and with a momentary internal rumination on the question of Tsutsujidai, Rin raises up her hand to take a drink.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

"Yeah, I got to go backstage at one of her concerts... I asked her to sign a poster." Rikka replies. Said poster is still proudly displayed in her room, along with all her other wall decorations.

She notices the way Yuta just wades in and watches him for a moment to make sure he's good - but thankfully, he seems okay.

"Fish? ...Maybe not, if people are supposed to swim in here..." Rikka considers. Not that she'd mind if there were fish.

Yuta has found a beach ball, and he tosses it over to her! Rikka catches it... and then watches as Yuta approaches her, pointing out that Sheryl has entered the water as well. Rikka freezes for a moment, then looks her way.

...It's fine. She was nervous about it before, but... the water is everyone's space, they should all be able to have a good time together.

"I wonder who that boy is...? They look like they're having a good time together." Rikka considers as an aside to Yuta, then looks down at the beach ball in her hands, then back up to Sheryl. And then, she decides...!

"Sheryl!" Rikka calls out, briefly showing off the beach ball. And, if Sheryl seems receptive to it... she serves it right over to her and her friends!

<Pose Tracker> Brera Sterne has posed.

Brera helplessly watches Sheryl frolic off toward the water, calling for Alto. He shares a look with Alto that is, for one beautiful moment of unification, not trying to will misfortune upon him. It is the likes Alto may have never seen from Brera's eyes: sympathy.

A flash, and it's gone.

Now he has a problem to deal with that somehow manages to be more difficult to analyze and address than the idol know as Sheryl Nome -- who is a terrifyingly close second, because her request was one Brera understands to be a 'favor' to him. But... why would she draw such a conclusion? Sheryl is not the world's most pragmatic being. Brera decides not to worry about it.

He looks down at Ranka. "Then I will get you a drink." Pause. He glances to Emilia, who he does not know well enough to recognize her behavior is normal. What he recognizes is an overlap in symptoms with heat exhaustion. "...Perhaps your friend would benefit from one as well."

The talk of a photo has Brera bemused all over again. And Ranka looking down at the shore...

Brera squints.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Though Milly's a cool customer and doesn't overtly react save giving Kallen a slightly playful grin, she actually finds the idea that she's a larger-than-life presence pretty flattering. It makes her answer to Sheryl even more confident in turn. "I think we'll figure out something different to do each year, maybe. But... I guess that's more of a concern for the first- and second-years hear than the rest of us."

You can't actually make people preserve things. You can only give them something and show them why you value it, one supposes.

When Ranka mentions she was there when everything changed, Milly raises an eyebrow. "Oh -- that makes some of the specific offices I got bounced around to dealing with passport assistance make... a lot more sense, actually." ... Next time she might leave that one to Grace -- or at least reach out for a little extra help. That was a mess.

<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.

"Not really anywhere," is Mana's first answer, before she adds, "It's near where Chicago used to be, I guess! I don't think about it much."

'Chicago', of course, hasn't really existed in years.

"Who're you? I'm Mana!" She clearly does not recognize Rin, which is not terribly unexpected - the whole point of GUTS is to meet people, after all. And Mana, at least, has traditionally skipped social events that she hasn't actively been dragged to.

Her gaze slips to the others Rin is talking to as well - Kallen, Emilia. She doesn't recognize them either. Without thinking about it, while she's waiting for a response, she scratches her back, trying to dislodge some of the sand she fell in earlier. She volunteers, "You want a photograph? I think I have a camera in here." She hefts her bag. "Let me just take a look..."

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        "Hmmm... I guess so," Sheryl muses at Milly thoughtfully. She is herself, after all, a second-year. Whether the Deculture Festival happens again does happen again next year depends a lot on her grade, doesn't it?
        
        Something to consider.
        
        As for looking perfect despite just being Out There and Hanging Around, Sheryl definitely has some high-quality waterproof make-up professionally applied. It's a natural look, but 'the natural look' is not actually the look of someone without any make-up at all. So, yes, it does make sense that she vibes as Subtly Perfect.
        
        But 'perfect' isn't the same as 'mature.' "Who's too old?!" Sheryl demands of Alto, though her anger is little more than a playful facade. This doesn't stop her from leaning over and heaving two handfuls of water in his face--and, when he just stands there and looks grumpy about it, she splashes him again.
        
        That gets him going, and he splashes her back. "Eek! Aaaahh hahahaha! Now who's too old to play in the waves?!" she demands cheerfully, splashing with the energy of enthusiasm, borrowed from her future self. (It's fine, she'll just go to bed early tonight when the fatigue hits.) "Take this! And that! And some of that, too~!"
        
        Someone calls her name. She looks over to see Rikka with the beach ball, and smiles broadly. She waves a hand over her head to her and Yuta. "Over here~!" she calls. Rikka serves--Sheryl clasps her hands together--and she bounces it up, then smacks it back... not at Rikka, but at Yuta, the backflip boy!
        
        (She's absolutely assuming Alto is going to play beachball with them too. Why wouldn't he?)

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

Yuta grins. "You're a real fan, then! I bet everyone here would be so jealous if they knew." Yuta wobbles a bit as a wave washes against him, but he doesn't fall, thankfully. "I didn't expect the waves to be so strong, even when the ocean looks still!"

He looks toward Sheryl with Rikka, waving in a friendly way. "Hi!" He calls. Sheryl seems much more normal now that she was here playing in the water with them. Briefly, he wonders if Sheryl counts as a song spirit, like Nidaime's mother. With a voice like that, she had to be some kind of magic, right..?

"We should play some of Sheryl's music for Nidaime sometime." Yuta says, smiling to himself. "I've never seen that boy before. Maybe they're a couple?" Rikka tosses the ball, and Yuta raises his hand for a high-five. "Ooh, good throw!"

Yuta walks closer to Rikka, standing next to her in the water. This feels like the moment to make his move. "Rikka, I'm really glad you came with me. This has been so fun!" He softly reaches for her hand beneath the water, brushing his pinky with hers. It's a fairly obvious hint -- the website he'd read was very big on making sure things were consensual. 'If the girl likes you too, she'll grab your hand after you brush her pinky.' It had promised.

Unfortunately -- Sheryl catches the ball, and sends it soaring back to them. "Oh--!" Yuta can't resist. Nothing could be more sacred than the obligation to keep the ball in the air, after all. Pulling his hand away from Rikka's, Yuta prepares to hit it back.

"Hey, heads up!" Yuta calls to the boy next to Sheryl, then sends the beach ball sailing toward him!

<Pose Tracker> Sho Muramoto has posed.

The talk of getting a photo that he overhears has Sho approaching. He comments towards Emilia, "It's a good idea. You'd just have to get everyone for it. And you need a camera. Anyone have one? I'd be happy to get one for you."

Hey, it's something that Sho can do! And he loves the arts a bit.

That, and he was just a bit shy about it.

Once he realizes who he's talking to and what they are wearing, though, his face turns a bit red. "Um... sorry. I overhead about the picture and well... couldn't help it?"

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Kallen definitely isn't Ranka's Secret Assistant. "Nothing so salacious I'm afraid. We're just friends, mostly thanks to Emmy. That's one of this program's less spoken goals after all, getting people out of their comfort zones to make connections they wouldn't have otherwise."

Of course, she's have wound up a friend even without GUTS, but that doesn't need to be said. Neither does that she HAS been doing some smuggling work back and forth. Occasionally using the trips to help coordinate Black Knights business and set up meetings beyond the Occupied Borders.

Steadily, this photo plan is inching toward fruition, and... she feels pretty good about that. But in the meantime. "I didn't have a chance to review too much, but do you have any events or presentations you've been working on for this festival? I'm... I think there'll be some shocking surprises coming down the pipeline." She also wasn't allowed to look at a couple of the lists, due to being signed up as a competitor in a few particular events. So she might be fishing to see who could possibly be up against her in a few of them.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

"Oh, the homeland," Rin answers Mana, "cool. Well, not cool, I hear it's rough there..."

Rin attempts to drink from the bottle of water but it's empty. She puts the cap back on and opens it again because she's focusing on something else. Only later will she realize what she has done. The other bottle is fine and has water in it, though she says, "I'm Rin Starking! I'm from Ashford, but my *house* is in Toyama up in Area 11."

Gulp, gulp. "Ahhh~ Refreshing..."

To Kallen, Rin answers, a little coyly, "We'd be opening the gates to a new pit and its boundaries... ...That's what the server was for gonna be for," Rin adds, this mostly to Milly. "And I can't believe you're just talking to Sheryl Nome like she's just someone you know! Are you in a secret league or something?"

As Rin drifts with the flow, towards the inevitable fate of Photography, she says to Ranka, "What happened? Were you *in* the place when the like... space event happened or something? I heard it just kind of dropped stealth or something, but you know how it is when you're reading news articles, they say it all like you already know everything and just talk about the implications with the PLANT council and how this might could possibly be the end of the trans-rural agrarian shortage if present trends continue and stuff."

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        "You started it!" Very mature response, Alto.

        Thankfully the Great Splash War of 0096 comes to end as a stalemate as instead there is a giant orb of death heading their way. Otherwise known as a beachball.

        Alto watches Sheryl send it flying back towards the group that launched it. It's not the first time he's silently mused about Sheryl's athleticism. Of course, he's well aware of how much energy is demanded from the stage.

        'Hey, head's up!'

        Apparently too busy watching Sheryl, Alto doesn't realize the beachball was coming back his way until the last moments! Suddenly facing the prospect of dropping the ball, both figuratively and literally, Alto has no choice. He dives, arms outstretched! The ball bounces of them! And Alto goes face first into the water.

        Thankfully the aim is good, the ball heading back in Rikka's direction.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

"It's not that impressive, I bet..." Rikka replies humbly, and then chuckles a little. "Be careful! They have lifeguards on duty, so if it gets to be too strong, feel free to call out for help."

As for Nidaime.

"I know she's heard some of it... she was at the concert in Tsutsujidai." Rikka replies. "She'd probably enjoy it, but it might be a little... ah, risque, for someone her age...? But then again, she is..."

...A kaiju. But she's not going to say that out loud.

But right now... 'Over here', Sheryl calls, and Rikka serves it over! She feels... proud of herself, for that - and return's Yuta's high-five. She looks toward him, and offers him a smile.

"Yeah, this has been fun. Thanks for inviting me along!" Rikka replies. Yuta then reaches for her hand, but then, horror of horrors... the unthinkable happens.

Yuta reaches for her hand... but she doesn't grab his return, instead her hand moves away as she feels something brush against it. For what it's worth, she doesn't seem upset, or even bothered by it... it's purely a reflexive movement, like she didn't even notice it.

...This may not be any easier on poor Yuta!

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, depending, there's a convenient distraction - Sheryl catches the ball and hits it back to Yuta, who hits it to Alto... he doesn't seem to have been expecting it, and has to make a sudden dive for it!

"Oh, nice catch!" Rikka comments, impressed by his moves... before serving it right back to Sheryl!

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

"Maybe!" Milly answers, taking Rin's question with a playful expression. "Wouldn't it be interesting if we were? You can definitely see the two of us being in on a big conspiracy, right?" If there's more confirmation in one way or another on that, she's not giving it.

"It sounds like one of the girls from Jindai has a camera," she asides to Sho; she can tell Emilia is about at the People Limit if not past it, and decides to give her a convenient out. "Let me see what I can do about a photographer, though -- Sheryl!" she calls. "Do you have someone who can take a picture for us? Event staff or something?" She wants to ask if Brera can do it, but he's a little on the... unapproachable-directly side, which makes him a good bodyguard but a difficult person to ask directly.

Turning back to Sho, Milly leans forward, deciding to see how he reacts to a somewhat more aggressive eyeful. "That ought to get things moving." A firm nod seals the deal.

<Pose Tracker> Mana has posed.

Mana keeps banging around in her bag. Out comes a towel, and underneath it is a collection of things: Mana's pants (she can't wear the shorts all the time), what appears to be a tool belt with a collection of wrenches, screwdrivers, and other metallic bits, some other things in cases, a slightly battered water bottle, some other odds and ends, not all of which she probably wants to show everybody.

Eventually she fishes out a case. Tossing the towel back on top of the bag, she zips it back up and opens the case, pulling out a surprisingly nice electronic camera except for the part that it looks a little mismatched; part of the frame doesn't look like the rest of it. But it seems functional enough, judging by the way Mana treats it.

"I don't spend a whole lot of time in Area 11," Mana says, while she's doing this. "I guess it's rough there too. I didn't mind living there! But I don't spend as much time there these days, unless I want to go digging." She doesn't quite say 'Vulture' but, well. Click-click, goes the camera as she turns it on. She looks up, then, eyes glittering behind Sheryl's sunglasses. Her sunglasses, now. "What's this about a conspiracy?"

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        "And you didn't stop it, did you?" Sheryl half-counters, half-taunts Alto. Not that she minds it. She ran into the water because she wanted to get wet. Getting splashed with water this pleasant, while she's got waterproof make-up on, hardly bothers her.
        
        As for her athleticism, being an idol is hard work. She has a daily exercise regiment for cardio and flexibility--and of course endurance. Dancing on stage for hours on end and looking good the whole time is a marathon in its own right. She breaks out laughing as Alto dives for the ball--successfully sending it back, but also sending him into the water. As the ball goes over to Rikka, she sloshes over to help him up, but the ball comes back over her way, and she's obliged to bounce it back.
        
        As she hits it to Yuta, though, Milly calls her name, and she turns to hear her request. "Oh, a picture? Just ask Brera! Tell him I said so!" she calls back, hands cupped over her mouth. She turns back to the game of beachball--Alto may have already picked himself up by now, but if he hasn't, she offers him a hand.
        
        It'll be a while yet before any photo-taking can be had, so Sheryl opts to keep playing with Alto, Yuta, and Rikka for a while longer. Once it's time, though, and everyone gets called over to the shore for a photograph, Sheryl acquiesces easily enough. Ranka insists on trios, even: Ranka-Alto-Sheryl, Milly-Emilia-Kallen... no doubt there are other trios, but who exactly forms up with whom is up to the rest, if there even are more trios besides those two.
        
        Afterwards, there's plenty of beach party left. Sheryl will go to get a late lunch and another drink for herself, dragging Alto along if he lets her (and perhaps joined by Brera and Ranka too). After that, she sunbathes for a while as she enjoys the band's instrumental music, and after that she goes for more swimming and chatting with her friends and schoolmates, and more and more until the artificial sun starts to set...
        
        As its light shimmers on the lapping waves, Sheryl reflects with contentment that it really has been a glittering summer.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Starking has posed.

"Mm," Rin says, about the Area 11 Situation. "Well, I don't know everything since we're kind of out in the sticks... my old man runs an apple orchard, he did apple breeding even when he was younger, before the One Year War, so..."

How threatening can apple breeding be? "I mean, we've never really had trouble."

That's not a happy thought. Rin finishes off her full water bottle as she side-eyes Milly, with a dubious suspicion that is like fifty percent feigned and the remainder... well... WELL...

COULD they be in league?

COULD there be a league of beautiful girls conspiring to do-- what??

Rin then looks down at the two bottles of water she's been holding in her hand.

Rin clasps a hand to her mouth suddenly. Her pupils narrow to tiny points as she stares at that second-hand water bottle. A memory film runs through her head, faintly sepia tinged. The entire sequence, in Rin's slightly peculiar internal perception of time, but --

Externally, she's staring at an empty water bottle. She separates one from the other, the second one being thrown towards a nearby open bucket for recycling, and says in a strangled tone, "I have to put this back--!!"

PLACED. ("Are you dying?" asks Sam Crowley, looking up from her game for a moment.)

Running back towards the photograph space, Rin seems obscurely shellshocked and will freely take any position stated, although that thunderstruck look doesn't leave her eyes throughout the entire photo-taking session. (Though, with only a little prompting, she will position herself with Kallen and Emilia at some point.. but for the big formation, she stands where told.)

<Pose Tracker> Yuta Hibiki has posed.

"You know, the other day I met this girl in the Junk Shop? She apparently grew up with Nidaime, for eight years. Then Nidaime vanished, and later, turned up in Tsutsujidai. So she's got to be way older than we thought!" Yuta shrugs. "I don't know if that makes the music appropiate or anything, but... Her sister asked me to talk to you about getting Nidaime in school. I wasn't sure if Nidaime would go for it, so I told her we could try a pretend school day -- we could all take turns teaching a subject, or being classmates." Yuta smiles hopefully. "It sounds fun, right?"

Yuta's heart sinks. He tries to rationalize Rikka's hand moving away. Maybe she thought it was a fish, or she was worried about the beach ball..? But, the website had promised. Did that mean Rikka really wasn't interested?

Lost in thought, the next wave takes Yuta's feet from under him. He stumbles into the water. "Ack--!" At the same moment, poor Alto goes down in service of keeping the ball in the air. Yuta can't help but laugh, standing up again. "Hey, you alright there? That looked kinda painful!"

Even if Rikka didn't want to hold hands, they were still having a fun time. The concert was great, and the ocean was warm and fun... There was no reason to feel too down about it. Not in this moment, anyway! With a bit of a wobbly smile, Yuta cheers on Rikka's next serve.

This time, it doesn't quite look like Alto is ready to catch, so Yuta sends the ball back to Rikka gently. "Do you want to be in the picture? It looks fun to me!"

If Rikka agrees, Yuta wades out of the water, ready to help Rikka if she stumbles. They may not have a trio to stand in, but he makes sure Rikka gets a spot nearby Sheryl! Putting his arm around her shoulders, Yuta poses, smiling brightly. He makes sure to keep it a friendly gesture -- he would've done the same thing with Utsumi, if he were here, really.

For a first summer, this one has been pretty great. Certainly not what he expected, but -- maybe that makes it all the better.

In the distance, Max watches with a smile of his own, under his mask. "Hang in there, Yuta."

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

"Oh yeah?" Rikka replies, curious, as Yuta mentions meeting someone who grew up with Nidaime. Eight years... "Hm, maybe..."

She considers, then listens as Yuta brings up a suggestion he made.

"Oh, that does sound fun. Yeah, that'd be great - I'm sure she'd love it, too." Rikka replies.

Rikka continues on, unaware of any promises a website might have made... Instead, she watches in surprise as Yuta is nearly bowled over by a wave. He takes it in good stride, though, so Rikka laughs along with him - stopping only to catch Sheryl's serve and keep the chain going!

Any trepidation she might have had has gone, and so too are any barriers - they're just a group of teenagers having fun.

And then, there's a call to gather for a group photo.

"Oh, yeah, that'd be great. Let's do it!" She agrees with a smile and a nod. She follows Yuta out of the water... and silently thanks him for saving her a space near Sheryl. But when they group up, she'll gladly invite along anyone who seems left out to join her and Yuta's group - offering the camera a bright smile as she stands there alongside her friend.

Moments like this are perfect to be preserved in time - the kind of moment that makes everything feel worth it.