#stardropselection

[celestialexpress]

Swallow the Signs | Stardrop Selection

It’s oddly bittersweet to be able to see everyone’s face here in this unearthly space. Your tenuous existence as someone trapped between life and death will be ending, but it remains that not everyone standing here will be returning to their normal life. This may be the first and last time you will see these faces.

“To be human means to live your life making choices, for better or worse. Are you proud of the choices you have made up until this point? To have made it this far and be standing here today...Was it luck or had this been your fate all along?”

Gio pauses for a moment and closes their eye. Perhaps it’s just your imagination, but over these few weeks, it feels like they have grown to care about you quite a bit.

“Regardless, this is the end. The final choice has been made to decide your fate. The tie has been broken and the score is now four to three.”

Nella slowly adds onto Gio’s statements. She breaks her gaze with all of you and stares up at the sky instead. No matter how many cycles it's been of this repetition, this would never be easy for either of the two. Perhaps that was what made them human once upon a time ago, or perhaps that's what kept them human all the way up until the present.

“....That means it’s Solstice’s win. The mission was a success. That means Ari-- Nooo, I should correct that. Ernest O’Donnell, Theo Tavares, Asher Jameson-Barrera, Anna Hoffman, Daichi Karoshi, Mikio Tatsumi, Emmanuel Utkin, and Mei Liu will have their fates rewritten.”

“Since it is Equinox’s loss, they must stay. Mason Drell, Kaleo Bonnet, Katsuko Ichimei, and Thierry Noel Lenôtre will be facing their deaths.”

“We will be giving you some time to bid your farewells and last wishes to each other. After you are done, everyone will witness the last moments of the four who have be eliminated. That is the price you must pay in order to live. For the rest of your earthly lives, you must carry on the memories of the deceased. Of course, we cannot force you to watch, but do keep in mind that if a certain someone had not been kind enough to spare you, you would have been in their shoes. As their comrades- no, as fellow humans, you must remember that they lived. Like anyone else, they had hopes, dreams, and regrets. They have died, as will you when your time comes. That is the fate of all humans, after all. Don’t forget that.”

“.....Time will loop back to the beginning before these nine weeks started. Aaaall traces and actions that have been made during this duration will be erased. For Solstice, you’ll be able to remember everything. That is the, mm, burden you must bear. As for what you choose to do from that point on, that’ll be up to you to decide. For Equinox, that’ll be... it. You may choose to move on or remain at the Milky Way Station for however long you wish. That too will be up to you to decide.”

The two quiet down for the time being, leaving you all to collect your thoughts.

[celestialexpress]

The Vast Sky | Stardrop Selection

The doors shudder open, and the six are free to leave.

As you wait with bated breath for the results, the railroad lights freeze in their usual signaling. The lights stop chiming, leaving you all in a stifling silence.

The uncomfortable quiet is broken when Gio and Nella take this as their cue to speak. In between their words, you hear... something? It resembles the occasional fracture, as if something fragile was splintering off.

Still, Nella continues without batting an eye to the distraction. Though soft-spoken and hesitant in what she's saying, she doesn't drift off into a slumber.

“This is... it. Before we say the results and allow the winning team to board the train, we’ll announce who is on which team. Mmm... More specifically, it'll be those on Equinox. ... I think.”

Crack. Crack. Crack. 

As your gaze falls over your peers, you can’t help but notice what exactly was making that sound. It’s the masks everyone had been forced to wear from the start of these long nine weeks.

They crumble before your eyes, revealing everyone’s faces and putting them on display for all to see.

“While you were close to figuring it out, you were incorrect on one account. The four Equinox members were as follows: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius.”

Except your own, that is. What expression are you even wearing from this? It’d be up to the others to decide.

[celestialexpress]

Immortality in the Stars | Stardrop Selection

The vote is unanimous, and with this final vote, that would make this the last Stardrop Selection you’ll be participating in. 

For once, Nella seems to be more awake than asleep, as if to take heed of this moment. The usual hazy fog of drowsiness is clear from her eyes, and she gives you all her full attention. Death is never easy, but she refuses to close her eyes to it. It's the least she can do from what little can be done about this. An unsure smile is plastered on Nella's face.

“....That’s your decision then...? I see, I seeee. We’ll continue on then. The team of Sagittarius, Aquarius, Libra, Gemini, Capricorn, and Virgo shall proceed into the train. After that, we’ll have a little discussion before the train leaves this station.”

Inky tendrils creep rather solemnly out the carriage doors. Instead of dragging everyone into its depths, they seem to gently wrap around the wrists of those chosen for the mission. The aim seems to be to gingerly guide them into the train, to allow them to walk on their own two feet for this decision.

[celestialexpress]

Tally

Yes:

Aries

Taurus

Gemini

Cancer

Leo

Virgo

Libra

Scorpio

Sagittarius

Capricorn

Aquarius

Pisces

No:

N/A

Default:

N/A

[celestialexpress]

Arrow to the-- | Stardrop Selection

It was the Milky Way Station again. It was a sight that you’ve all grown accustomed to after closing your eyes every night. The podiums were nothing new either. If anything, this situation was tiring to rinse and repeat over and over, especially with the possibility of death looming over your shoulders, should you make the wrong move.

Nella was there, dozing off as usual. Though, a sense of pity could be seen in her half-lidded eyes.

“Mm... I see, I see. No one has completed any card sets this week, and it seems as though no one wishes to proceed with eliminations for the time being. Then, we’ll cut to the point.”

She takes a moment to mull over the next segment, as if forgetting who was the next to be in charge. Then it came to mind.

“Um... The leader...? Oh, right, that’ll be Sagittarius. It’ll be the same as last week. Six people are needed, and only one failure will determine loss or success for the two teams.”

[celestialexpress]

Scaling Back | Stardrop Selection

Nella lets out a soft yawn, stretching out stiff muscles in her arms, before she announced the results to everyone.

“Weeeell, we have our votes. This team won’t be able to go onto the mission. Usually, we’d have another leader to make a new pick, buuuut we’re all out of time tonight. So, consider this mission a skip. We’ll meet again next week... I think? Don’t forget the scores. It’s... mm.... tied with two wins each.”

Well, this selection sure was a lot to take in. For now, you have a new day to greet, and your next steps await you then.

CHAPTER 9 - WEEK 9 - START!

[celestialexpress]

Games That Never Amount to More Than They’re Meant Will Play Themselves Out | Aquarius | re: Capricorn, Scorpio

Ah. Aquarius’s brows furrowed in concern upon hearing Taurus - Mason? - speak, and he shifts uneasily at his spot. He’d known this one, actually. But to say it aloud...did the other have so little hope, now?

“Mr. Capricorn, if I may.” Aquarius waves a hand to get his attention. “Perhaps you find it suspicious, and justifiably so. Taurus has certainly not done themselves a service in currying favor around here for a myriad of reasons. However, I stumbled upon this card of theirs by accident very early on, and when we discussed it, they said much the same thing. The story they give now has not changed from back then, long before they had time to hide very much themselves. It seems quite the risk to take, to tell such a tale when they knew I had the power to verify it. After all, in our first week here, I hid my cafe from travel listings out of paranoia. If that took up one of our energy points, imagine how much would have to be expended to hide every single thing about a person. Though I...agree that we need to examine Mx. Taurus with scrutiny, perhaps throwing something which brings them such clear stress in their face to suit a narrative that hardly needs this piled on top is unnecessary and unkind. Let’s keep that in mind.”

He’s calm, this time, at least, until Scorpio speaks, and Pisces apologizes. He doesn’t quite know what for. But he’s afraid. Afraid of the implications, and afraid to live 

in a world in which this beautiful, flawed, clever woman no longer lived and breathed. So after a pause, where the others discuss something relevant and practical, Aquarius clears his throat and adjusts his tie as he prepares to speak.

“Scorpio,” Aquarius calls, looking to her from where he stands not far away. His voice is soft, with an undertone of something that’s impossible to place. Something that’s theirs, and only theirs. Sometimes it...really did seem like just the two of them, didn’t it?

“It took dying to find a person who could believe in what’s left of my courage, and for that, I am grateful to this nightmare. I don’t know whether it would be better to die then, not ever having known any of you, or now. What I do know is that the way I feel about her is not tied to any team affiliation. If, indeed, you are Equinox…”

They don’t have eyes here, but it seems he catches hers, either way, and holds that gaze. It’s them, and only them. Aquarius looks at her, and remembers the private smile that’s reserved for him - for only him. The recipes he made her archive, to save somewhere in the days when he thought he’d vanish forever, desperate to not disappear into an easily missed obituary and a tombstone with one lonely visitor. A gesture done for her, and only her. The way her gray eyes soften when he talks at length about flowers and horses and cake and the family he’s always wanted to have.

The family he’d suddenly seen within his grasp, thanks to her.

“Then I will love you for what’s left of my miserable life, and we will be reunited in what follows, no matter how long it takes.”

A promise made to her, and only her. 

[celestialexpress]

Limit Break | Aquarius | re:Capricorn

Time stops, and Aquarius is still.

For all of ten seconds.

No one knows much about Aquarius. No one, that is, but Capricorn. And as Aquarius knows Capricorn is well aware, he has spent his entire life being walked all over, betrayed, used, and pushed around, and he took it all. An utter doormat of a man.

Well, not any more.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Capricorn,” he says, struggling to keep his voice even. “Do you have some sort of as yet unmentioned hearing issue? I ask genuinely, because it should have been made quite clear from my tone in response to this information - information that I was not fully aware of, thank you - that my trust in Miss Scorpio is fraying. You know nothing of the relationship I have with her - are you saying my defense of Libra is also suspect? My defense of Virgo? I defend everyone here, and she and I have grown close through these weeks. If you believe we would need to be on the same team to do so, I’d like to know what close relationships you’ve formed, yourself. Because being protective of a friend, and clearly having difficulty continuing to do so when there’s proof they may not be who you thought, is proof I find highly fragile.”

He grits his teeth and balls his hands into fist, as well, clearly shaking. But when he speaks, it isn’t anger in his voice- it’s hurt. It’s pain.

“How - how dare you….use my trust in you, trust I have consistently placed in your hands, since the very beginning, as evidence that I am your enemy! When I’ve stated multiple times that I don’t care what happens to me as long as she is saved. Why the hell wouldn’t I help you? Have I done something, in the weeks we’ve been here, to give you any sort of notion that I am a conniving snake who’d gladly allow a promise to go broken when there is no reason on god’s green earth for me to do so?”

He’s shaking even more now, the anxiety over confrontation clearly getting to him. Capricorn would likely know why. Capricorn’s seen it before.

“Even now, I would do whatever it took to fulfill our promise. Even with you once again taking your own issues, projecting them onto me, and using me as a scapegoat for the reality you can’t bear facing - that I may simply be just a man who put his trust in someone he considered a friend, and whose trust has consistently been broken. By you.”

He crosses his arms and grips at his suit jacket, trying to be calm.

“ ‘I’m sick of being doubted’, he says? If you’d like to see a person who constantly makes someone feel guilty, who doubts a person who goes to great lengths to prove their trustworthiness, and who treats the people who want to help him and trust him as if they’re snakes trying to bite his head off, I believe Gio may be able to fashion up a mirror for you. You remain on my team suggestion. Take that as you will.”

[celestialexpress]

Sting Like A-- | Stardrop Selection

Sunday. What could potentially be your last day in the Milky Way Station, much less your last day alive, has arrived. Both teams have their scores tied. Only one more victory for either side means death for the other.

Nella is awake this time around. Somewhat. She still nods off here and there in between her sentences, but nevertheless, she’s making the announcement.

“Weeeeell, here we are. No one has completed any card sets this week; however, that still leaves eight people with completed sets. Fortunately or unfortunately, no one has opted to elect anyone. ...I think.”

“So, we’ll be skipping over the elimination process then. That means you’ll have to do your team missions, aaaaand.... oh, that’s right. It’s six people this week. Only one failure is needed for Equinox. Your team leader is Scorpio.”

With that said, Nella cuts herself off for another nap and leaves you all alone to your discussions.

[celestialexpress]

Balancing Act | Nella | ATTN: All

One sheep. Two sheep. Three sheep. Four sheep---

As if on cue, Nella stirs from her slumber.

“Voting time...? Oh, that’s right. You all still need to turn those in. Well, the team selection for this mission is Libra, Gemini, Capricorn, Pisces, Virgo, Aquarius, and Sagittarius. Remember, two fails are required to fail a mission, but for noooow? Let’s focus on the teams. Everyone must vote on whether they want this team for the mission.”

[celestialexpress]

My Lady Has Spoken | Stardrop Selection

The carriage doors slide open and six people emerge.

The flickering railroad lights posted at both ends pause, as if dragging out the results.

One moment.

Another.

And…

A blue signal light flashes on.

“Four successes and two failures. The score is now 3-2, with Team Equinox in the lead. This means that one more win for Team Equinox will end this game. Team Solstice, be extremely cautious of who you choose to place your trust in if you do not wish to see the game end this coming week.”

CHAPTER 7 - WEEK 7 - START!

[celestialexpress]

My Fair Lady | Stardrop Selection

The votes are in. Gio fixes you all with an eye.

“The team of of Virgo, Leo, Aquarius, Aries, Gemini, and Libra, although contested, has enough votes to proceed. Try not to struggle too much on your way out.”

The inky tendrils once again slither out and take ahold of your six companions before dragging them back into the carriage. The doors shut with a slam behind them.

...

All you can do is wait.

[celestialexpress]

Back on Earth | Stardrop Selection

There are a few moments of silence as you wait for six people to make their decisions. You really have no idea what to expect, but no one suddenly drops dead (again), so it’s probably a good sign.

Gio breaks the silence with a firm nod.

“I see. No one has decided to elect another player this week, so we will proceed as usual. This week’s mission will require six participants and your leader will be Virgo. As always, good luck.”

With that, they leave you to your discussion.