Part 1: V-Day

There is goon participation in this chapter!



The first thing we need to do on starting a new game is choose our protagonist's sex/presentation: male or female. This has no bearing on gameplay other than dialogue changing slightly to account for our body. There is no option to choose our pronouns or a nonbinary protagonist, and the game's text sadly doesn't account for this possibility. Ultimately, we can date anyone we want: the game doesn't lock us out of a romantic interest just because of our sex.

The first vote that was considered was whether we play as a male- or female-presenting protagonist and what our pronouns were. Our protagonist was voted to be a female-presenting character with she/her pronouns.

The game's introduction is spoken. Click here to listen!





"They had arrived two days prior in the skies above central Africa; visible to the naked eye, and we still weren't ready for it."

"They didn't attack with conventional weapons – the largest two ships each had a superweapon that could upset Earth's atmosphere. Within the first day of their arrival, unprecedented weather phenomena struck out all over the globe."

"Water evaporated from the oceans and was brought down as raging hurricanes in the middle of sprawling deserts. Tsunamis sank whole islands. Swaths of continents baked to nothing, while others froze solid."

"We could have mounted a defense against a conventional assault, but the very Earth – our home, our cradle – was turned against us. What chance did we have when the ground beneath our feet could split apart and devour us at any moment?"

"Our enemies made no attempts to communicate. They rarely invaded with ground troops. To this day, we still don't know what they wanted."

"We had taken to calling them the 'Riklid.'"



"Mars had been colonized for close to one-hundred years by then, and it didn't fare any better."

"All the work that we had put into terraforming the red planet was upended over the course of a few weeks. The greater lakes that we had managed to cultivate and the forests we had planted – all of it was in jeopardy."

"Just as we were finally beginning to explore the deeper reaches of our universe, some of us were beginning to really believe that humanity's final chapter was being written. Our defences could hardly even breach our own skies – what chance did we have?"



"But we had one defence that the Riklid perhaps didn't anticipate – the Moon. The pearl in Earth's night sky. It had no atmosphere for the Riklid to manipulate."

"All of our hopes and efforts rested on the colonies that we had established on the Moon. Compared to the combined resources of Earth and Mars, it wasn't much... but that was all we had."

"It may have been just one little celestial satellite orbiting the Big Blue Marble, but we were going to prove that it wasn't the size of the dog in the fight – it was the size of the fight in the dog."

"After all, all of humanity depended on it."

"At four-fourteen P.M. UTC, on June twentieth, Twenty-Three-Twenty-Three, we made a decisive retaliation."



"We had destroyed one of their motherships – and with it, one of their superweapons."

"From that point forward, the Riklid couldn't pin down both the Earth and Mars at the same time. The tide of the war had irreversibly changed. With our societies on the Moon maintaining their defences, we could finally begin to regroup and push the Riklid back."

"It took thirteen years. Thirteen harrowing years where our Earth and our very homes were toxic to us. Thirteen years where we questioned our odds of survival because of the Riklid."

"And on that day, we had proven the indomitability of the human spirit."

"Although, we did have some help."



"This is Ezra Foy."

"For the last thirteen years, every human, alien ally, and human-built robot was involved in the war somehow. From the moment you could walk, you were taught where to hide if the Riklid warships appeared in the sky."

"Ezra is no different. She has been studying to be a robotics engineer: designing and manufacturing the next generation of robotic soldiers to take the fight to the Riklid."

"In fact, the last exams are only a few weeks away..."

Before we continue, I want to make a note about the introduction. I like the idea of the Riklid being an alien race capable of using a planet's own atmosphere against its denizens. I don't know if the writer was making a commentary or allegory about climate change with the Riklid, but the idea of humanity choking on its own waste is given an interesting twist here. I wonder if Earth is even worth inhabiting now?



: And since there is no pilot, the androids no longer need to be personalized to each soldier, meaning they can be mass-produced. Taking the androids into account, this improvement alone will increase conscription rate by over twelve-hundred percent.

: It's projected that these androids will eventually replace our human soldiers entirely by the year Twenty-Three-Thirty-Five.

: Further–

*The sound of a buzzer plays.*



There's news! Everyone, turn to your class projectors!



*The sound of a roaring, cheering crowd.*

: I repeat, the alpha mothership has been destroyed!



"Less than twenty-four hours later, the remaining Riklid cruisers, warships, and fighters retreated back into the darkness of space."

"And after thirteen years of torment, uncertainty, low morale, wondering if there's a point to fighting back – the war was won. It was over."

"The Riklid War, as the thirteen years had been called, was officially decided in Earth's favour on June twenty-third, Twenty-Three-Twenty-Three."

"All exams were cancelled and grades at the time were considered final. The students were given their extended summer leave a week early and encouraged to celebrate."

"And as was tradition for concluding a hard-fought war with an evil superpower in a victory for the Good Guys, there was revelry to be had."

The Riklid must have scarpered off fast beyond any readout abilities, because calling it a win seems a bit premature. Or maybe everyone just needed a goddamn break from the war, like the Christmas truce in World War One. Maybe the Riklid are just an amoral (or bizarrely moral?) force that doesn't seem to bother with reinforcements. Only two superweapons for... however many planets humanity had settled by then?

Starcohol

Oh, and before I forget: I ripped and named the soundtrack for this LP myself. There is no official soundtrack for this game as far as I'm aware, and Lunatic Moon never mentioned what the track titles are.



: And I haven't stopped smiling since yesterday.

: But... all I can think about is –





Carla's line is spoken.

: Oh, whoops, would you look at that! Don't mind the empty bottles on the table; I, uh... I don't know how those got there.



*The beer bottle slides across the screen to the other corner.*

: Cheers!

: Cheers!

: So, Ezra! I can't help but notice you've been sitting here by yourself for far too long while everyone else is pairing up.

: When are you going to stop sitting on your ass and make a move on someone already?

: Carla Vaughn, why, I never! What would your mother think with the language coming out of your mouth?

: My mom's single; I sort of doubt she's doing anything other than exactly what we're doing and what we're trying to do!

: That said, let's immediately change the subject away from my mom hooking up with strangers during our carousing. Let's talk about literally anything else.

: Nine out of ten people in this room are going to score tonight.

: Is your mom here?

Nice one. Shame this game doesn't have that option.

: Shutting your mouth might be a good move right now, Ezra.

: Anyway, it's our job to make sure that we're not in the ten percent that strikes out. The odds are in our favour! But it's not going to happen if you just sit there and drink alone.

: Well, then, if we're 'not pretending' anymore, then...

: Carla? I have to come clean with you.

: The truth is, ever since... uh... three... beers ago, I've been madly in beer-goggles with you. I can't stand holding it in anymore, and I don't care who knows it!

: Hey, everyone! I'm madly in beer-goggles with Carla Vaughn!

*The crowd cheers.*

: Hear, hear!

: Hahahaha!

: Well, if that's the attitude we're having with each other, then I have a confession to make, too.



: Would you... be my plan B for tonight?

: Excuse you!

: Hey, take it as a compliment! You should see who I have lined up as my plan C. And I'm going to need some thicker beer-goggles of my own before I seriously consider plan D!

: Give it to me straight, Carla. Do I at least measure up to plan A?

: I'll tell you when I meet them!

: ...



: No, no, of course not. It's just...

: I guess I'm still just trying to... wind down from it all, you know? Thirteen years of wondering–



: I guess... but I was thinking more about–

: What comes next, right?

: ... Yeah.

: I think that's been on everyone's minds. Hell, it's clearly been on mine.

: But like I said: that's the point of this party. It's as much a celebration of our victory as it is an opportunity to not worry about our future for one night.

: After worrying about what tomorrow might bring for the last thirteen years, I think we've earned ourselves at least one night to not give a damn, don't you?

: ...

: You're right, Carla. We've been spending so long protecting ourselves today so we can do it again tomorrow.

: Tonight's the first night in a long, long time that I can afford to put it off and have future Ezra worry about it.



: Talking about making problems for our future selves to deal with: hurry and chug that bottle so I can get you another one!

: Cheers, Carla.

: Cheers, Ezra.

I like how Carla and Ezra interact with each other. Ezra would be the responsible superego-angel on your shoulder, while Carla is the id-devil, but together they make a sweet pair.

*Time passes...*



: But I don't want to get so drunk that I come off as a total fool. An imbecile. A buffoon. One that is so sloshed as to only get up to the typical chicanery of... someone that's more drunk than I am.

: I can't feel the bottom half of my face.



: I'm at the point where, if I want to not come off as a drunken idiot to anyone that's feeling nice enough to give me the time of day, I should probably stop.

: I am not sober. But I'm also sober enough to have that sort of judgment.

: How about you? Has plan D moved himself up a slot or two?

: I actually haven't seen him for, like, an hour and a half by now.

: Ah, which means that the guy that you put fourth on your ladder managed to bat a home run before either of us did.



: One that lasts ninety minutes? Hot damn, could you imagine? You're not supposed to bring the beers into the washroom!

: In any case.

: Wanna hop to the next bar over? I'm done feeling this one out.

: You think plan A isn't going to show up here?

: Well, you know what they say: if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself.



: Whatever, it does now. I'm down to beat it if you are.

: I could take that alley-oop, but it'd be too easy, you know?

: Hah, imagine you're playing a game of basketball, and your teammate sets you up for the world's easiest dunk, but you just drop the ball to your side and you say 'nah, I didn't feel like it. I need something more challenging than that.'

: Hah!

: Yeah, let's get going.

Mind Your Poise (Carla's Theme)



: Can you remember the last time the energy was this... tangible?

: Not recently, and not over something positive. It's like I'm in a whole other world.

: Maybe it is. We've all been given a new lease on life, Ezra. It's been thirteen years, and if we can't go back to the world we had before... well, at least, we can make a better one tomorrow.

: ...

: Hey, Carla. What's the first thing you're going to do?



: I meant after that.



: I don't know, and personally, right this red-hot minute, I don't care. I don't want to think about the future, no matter how bright and colourful and full of unicorns it might be. I want to focus on the here and now.

: And you should too! Get your head out of those clouds right now, missy! You're too drunk to be putting stock into what you're going to do with your life anyway.

: Yeah, you're right.

: I know I'm right.

: I'm gonna keep doing it, though.

: I know you are. You're not sober enough to listen to the voice of 'party hard now, damn the consequences for later' reason.

: 'Reason,' you call it.

: It's a type of reason! It's just not a good one.

The British id-devil is right. If I were in Ezra's shoes, or anyone else's in this... planet (?) I'd be celebrating too. It reminds me of when I was in Rio de Janeiro when Brazil won the World Cup in 2002. That was a party that went hard that night.

: So, what're you feeling? We got Dragonsbreath; My Aunt's Hidden Stash; The Gnawty Beaver; there's that new bar-and-grill that opened recently, The Draft Bastard...

: Don't go to Aunt's Hidden Stash.







: And summer vacation is starting early, too; it might be a dry summer this year.

: Not unless your own stash is well-stocked. And you show restraint.

: Hah! Good luck convincing anyone to show anything resembling restraint this month!

: If history is anything to go by, roughly nine months from now, we're going to be knee-deep in babies. Humans are historically very bad at keeping to themselves in the face of victory.

: Ghians are a likewise storied kind. A worldwide success story like this one always leads to... 'excess' later.

: I'm Carla, and this is Ezra. And you?

: Isol. I study war rations and nutrition.

Here is the best damn character in the game and I will not hear anyone say otherwise. Obviously here as xeno-furry bait, and having snaketits is just cheating, but don't lie, you'd romance her too.



: I imagine they would! My mom is a soldier on the front lines; I bet the first thing she'd like to eat when she gets back is a fat, juicy burger.

: Actually – I just realized... she ought to be coming home soon, now that the war is over. Damn, I gotta get ready for that.

: Do you intend to do that tonight?

: She's had a bad habit of not thinking in the here-and-now for tonight. Even after I got half a dozen beers into her.

: I can't say I don't understand. It's hard to not dwell on the outlooks ahead. Hell, it's hard to relax at all.

: Especially now that the taps are starting to run dry!

: Yes, alcohol would certainly assist with that.

: Or sex. That would work too.

: Well, if it's not going to be one, then it's going to be the other.



: Let's just say that we're all warm-blooded where it counts, Isol.

: And what are you two? Are you with each other, or are you 'on the hunt', as it were?

: Dunno yet. We're each other's plan B. We're still feeling the night out, and seeing how it goes; if either of us can find someone else.

: Ah, you are... 'on each other's wings', as the Earthlings would say it?

: We are each other's wingwoman, yes.



: And just what are you implying, Isol?

: Look, we're all clearly sloshed. We don't need to try any harder than we need to. Why don't we three just cut to the end?

Damn, she moves fast! I don't know that I'd have the courage to just walk up to anyone and say "let's you and me get to bed," even if there was an all-out citywide celebration!



: Is that an issue?

: Far from it. I'm randy and I'm a sucker for a bit of mystery.

: What do you think, Ezra? Ever had a threeway with a Ghian before?

: ... If I'm honest, this hit kind of quickly.

: That's just a part of the fun! We're all horny and drunk and excited. Tonight's the perfect night for doing something a little crazy!

: Let's just head back to my place and we'll see where the night takes us. I got a couple extra beers in my fridge if any of us need any extra loosening up.

: Not that that's a concern.

: Jumping straight into a threeway with Carla and Isol? I mean, Carla, sure, but I've only known Isol for a few minutes, and, I don't know, maybe the alcohol would affect my performance...?



Who'd pick the second option on their first runthrough, honestly?

* * *

Goon participation!

This chapter has two votes I'd kindly like your opinions on.

First, we need to choose Ezra's sex, and optionally, any pronouns, non-cis labels or gender identity-related matters. (Note: this was already chosen, the chapter's been updated to reflect this.)

Second, what do we do with Carla and Isol? Do we take the threesome or pass on it? Don't worry, I'll remind you that the game does not portray any sex scenes or pornographic images.