🎄Choose!🎄 Poll Results

The festive season has arrived in Seleota, and while it may not snow on Teranium, there are still plenty of holiday parties and yearly traditions to be enjoyed.

It's a rare, chilly evening, and you've decided to head out and do some Christmas gift shopping for the crew, but you don't want to brave the crowds of Nos Vega alone.

Who do you take along with you, and why? 🎁

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47% of you chose June & Lizzie 💚🦎

The best thing about navigating the streets of Nos Vega with a 6'4" gunman at your side is that the crowds are all too eager to clear a path for the mercenary, leaving you with prime access to all the best stores and stalls around the Christmas market. Despite what you know about June, you've learned he has a certain reputation around these parts.

While he admits he isn't the best at picking out gifts, June offers to carry all the shopping while Lizzie happily perches on your shoulder as you go from store to stall, picking up free samples and giving him little pieces to nibble on (Lizzie, not June).

And, oh... Can lizards eat cherries? And cheese? Surely pretzels must be okay... And gingerbread too... Right? Probably best to just stick with the cherries. In fact, the crew would enjoy some hampers filled with festive food.

After you've returned to the ship and unloaded all the gifts, June surprises you with a gift of his own — a snow globe you had gushed over in one of the stores that he had secretly purchased while you were distracted.

If June is your LI:
You've caught him smiling at you when he thinks you're not looking more than a few times this evening, though every time he'll turn away with a blush, and actively deny it.

Eventually, he admits that this is the first Christmas he's ever spent with a partner, and he's simply taking the time to enjoy the little things. How you clasp his hand so tightly as you lead him through the crowds, how your face lights up when you find a gift you know someone will love, how kind and gentle you are with Lizzie (and how you spoil him even more than June does). He can't imagine a Christmas more perfect than this.

On the way back to the ship, he stops you suddenly and tells you to look up. You do so, noticing that a sprig of mistletoe hangs above you, and when you look at June again, he leans in and kisses you.

28% of you chose Alisa & Zane 🧡🖤

At first you're skeptical about heading into town with the Cursans, but not wanting to risk ruining the surprise if any of the crew go with you, you decide to take Alisa and Zane up on their offer to escort you to the Christmas market.

You quickly discover that Alisa is strangely good at picking out presents for anyone and everyone, even the people she hardly knows, while Zane isn't good for much other than carrying bags and threatening anyone who gets too close (though you've assured him more than once that not every person on the planet is a pickpocket, do you think he listens?)

With Alisa zooming through the shops and stalls, you end up finished with the shopping much earlier than anticipated, and Zane suggests the three of you find something to do that isn't so "family friendly and squeaky clean".

After a night of dancing, a confrontation with some angry Arcnos' in one of the clubs (Zane started it), and one too many Christmas-themed cocktails (or mocktails), you drag yourselves back to your ships to sleep off all those "Elf on the Shelf" shooters and the migraine you can feel quickly coming on.

If you don't already have an LI and are up for a bit of fun...
You don't know what happened, exactly, but in between all of those 'Mistletoe Mimosas' and 'Candy Cane Cosmos', you know that something sure happened. Why else would your half-asleep brain be showing you flashes of Zane's hands all over you while dancing, and Alisa's lips finding yours, tasting like peppermint and sugar...

And... Oh, gods, this ship is not the Andromeda Six. And that copper head of hair in bed next to you is all too familiar, as well as the tanned, muscled arm draped across your waist...

Merry Christmas to you, I guess.

25% of you chose Ayame & Ryona 💜💙

If there's anyone who can handle the chaos of gift shopping around the busiest time of the year, it's Ayame and Ryona, as you wisely know. The three of you head off to the Christmas market together, Aya leading the way and declaring that she knows all the best stores to shop at, and thanks to being friendly with most of the shopkeepers, all the best discounts.

Ryona thoughtfully assists you with picking out gifts for the rest of the crew, assuring you she'll be happy to help you wrap them all, while Aya throws in a few playful options here and there, and in the end you've got a good stash of both practical and silly present options.

Assuring the shopkeepers you'll be sending a few of Oppo's junkers to pick up your (rather ridiculous amount of) shopping in the morning, you take advantage of the cold weather and find a stall where you pick up some hot chocolates topped with whipped cream. You add a spoonful of chocolate flakes on top of yours, while Ryona opts for a peppermint swirl, and Ayame decides on a generous helping of both.

The three of you spend the rest of the evening together chatting, drinking, and enjoying each other's company.

If Ayame is your LI:
For weeks now Aya has been gushing to you about her love for Christmas and all the festivities, and while out shopping you've helped her pick out a few new decorations for the ship, and have generally just been entertained by her enthusiasm.

You've had no shortage of present ideas, with her excitedly showing you a variety of things that catch her eye around the shops and stalls. You've stealthily asked Ryona to head back and purchase a few of the items on your behalf, while you distract Aya with looking at the Christmas lights that are hanging throughout the streets and alleyways.

After you've returned to the ship, Aya makes you try some of the chocolates she's picked up, which you realize after eating way too many are filled with a pretty strong liqueur, and the two of you end up giggling (yes, giggling, much to the Captain's annoyance) the rest of the night away, light-headed, but happy.

If Ryona is your LI:
While Ayame flits from place to place, you and Ryona prefer to take things slow, holding hands as you walk past the shops, and point out any beautiful displays, or interesting stalls that you pass by.

Ryona doesn't show too much interest in material items, but you manage at one point to catch her smiling at some delicate, silver earrings that look like tiny snowflakes, and you secretly add them to your pile of gifts while Aya dutifully distracts her.

Somehow, the two of you manage to lose track of Aya on the way back to the ship, but you don't mind, knowing she's probably off somewhere having fun. As the streets become quieter further from town, you walk in silence, hand in hand, happy to find a bit of peace after all that chaos.