No one mentioned saving the world at freshman orientation, but you still can't decide if the worst part of college is the essays or the demons.
—Synopsis
Keeper of the Sun and Moon is an Interactive Fiction trilogy written by Brynn Chernosky and hosted by Choice of Games under the label Hosted Games.
The game begins when the player character crashes into a young cambion on her way to school and ends up a freshman at Magi Academy, a supernatural university. Between shaky supernatural politics, cover-ups and conspiracies, and someone stealing the celestial artifacts, all is not well for the protagonist. And they still have homework to do.
The first book, Keeper of the Sun and Moon is available here
; the second book, Keeper of the Day and Night is available here.
Keeper of the Sun and Moon contains examples of:
- Academy of Adventure: Welcome to Magi Academy, where hidden conspiracies abound and monster attacks occur every month like clockwork. This is lampshaded repeatedly and loudly by the MC and their suitemates (who are often the target of said monster attacks), as well as many of the adults they interact with (who are quick to assure the MC that, despite all appearances, dangerous monster attacks aren't actually a timetabled part of the curriculum.)
- Adults Are Useless: They're mainly occupied with being responsible for multiple security breaches, being utterly being useless when faced with a possessed college student or causing many of said security breaches in order to manipulate the MC. The protagonist can lampshade this multiple times in book 2.
- Another Side, Another Story: It is impossible to get the full story of the Delacroix Massacre in a single playthrough. Depending on who you chose as your parents, you will see a different side. For example, if you choose the path where your mother raised you, you eventually learn that your mom's best friend is complicit in the events that led to the massacre. If you choose the path where your father raised you, you learn that the aforementioned Best Friend from the other path is your mom and was a rather manipulative woman overall.
- Back from the Dead: As revealed in Katia’s route, all of the nymphs are this.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Leon and Astrid's rivalry can develop in this direction, should the MC wish it.
- Bilingual Bonus: In book two, French-speaking readers can have playful banter with Seraphina and Gisela, and Spanish-speaking readers can experience further heartache on Kol’s route.
- Bio-Augmentation: Drakaina were created in this manner.
- Boy Meets Ghoul: Occurs if the Player Character romances Seraphina or Katia, as both died and were brought back to life as part of the process of becoming nymphs.
- Broken Angel: Supernaturals who don't die after developing Magical Overuse Syndrome become this, as the condition affects their physical health, mental state and their ability to use magic.
- Brick Joke: In book one, the MC can ask “Yakov Vasilyev, if that is your real name, do you swear to tell the truth?” and he'll answer no. In book two, the MC learns it is not his real name.
- Chekhov's Exhibit: The nymph artifact replica at the museum. It’s not a replica.
- The Commies Made Me Do It: Kol helps Reyna capture the MC because his siblings are in danger.
- Conflicting Loyalty:
- Leon is loyal both to his fellow Nephilim and his suitemates. Interests don't always align.
- Kol is torn between protecting his siblings and his suitemates.
- Cool Sword: A human MC gets one of these in book 2. It can change between keychain, dagger, and sword form, and has magic fire, ice, or lightning powers.
- Cool Teacher: Professor Kerr is one in-universe. He's kind and well-liked by many of the students.
- The Chosen Many: The Keepers.
- Cryptic Conversation: The fortune teller at the carnival has one of these with the MC.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Most of the main characters have one of these, which is explored on their route in book two.
- Darker and Edgier: The final book, Keeper of Life and Death, raises the stakes compared to the previous books. To hammer the point in, there are only one returning sliding stat from the previous books: Kindness vs Cruelty. There is only one other sliding stat which is Sanity. And the MC's sanity is very heavily tested by the book's events.
- Date Peepers: The MC and Thalia can spy on one of Kol and Renatus' dates in book two, after Thalia becomes convinced that the latter is up to no good.
- Death by Origin Story: Leon’s mother, both of Kol’s parents, Cyrus and Cressida’s mother, and Seraphina’s entire family.
- Disappeared Dad: Or Missing Mom. Depending on the choices, the MC can have one or both of these.
- Dream Walker: A magician MC can learn to do this in book one, and can potentially scare off someone doing the same thing to one of their suitemates.
- In book two, the 'Brant Delacroix' that the MC has been having dream conversations with is eventually revealled to be Tremblay infiltrating the M Cs dreams under a heavy glamor.
- Emotionless Girl: Seraphina shows very little emotion, and when she does, it's subtle.Astrid: Seraphina, how do I say this—?Seraphina: —That I'm failing to act with the required emotions to pass as normal? *pause* Ah, I apologize.Astrid: I was going to say you were being a heartless bitch but that too, yeah.
- Everyone Is Bi: All of the love interests, as is typical of this genre.
- If you were raised by your father, he was definitely in love with your mother (though that becomes a bit muddled with the reveal that she was a manipulative empath who magically caused people to desire her), but partway into the story he tells you he is dating a man (who happens to be your grump of a teacher Professor Ebner.)
- Fantastic Foxes: Kitsune MC meets one in Solanaceae Forest.
- Fantastic Racism: Between the Nephilim and the Cambion factions, due to them being descendants of the ever feuding angels and demons. Leon and Astrid show immediate dislike for one another.
- Other magi tend to look down on Drakania, due to the species as a whole originating from Bio-Augmentation involving dragons (who used to be revered as deities)
- Fantasy Gun Control Played with. The MC is able to use a gun several times, but in book two if they’re offered a permanent weapon, they’re not allowed to pick a firearm because of their poor aim.
- Fantasy Kitchen Sink: Characters range from nephilim to sirens to elementals.
- Find the Cure!: Kol is attacked in hospital by an assassin in book two, which causes his condition to take a rapid nosedive. The MC and the suitemates have to race against the clock to brew him a cure.
- The Anti-Magic potion being developed by Practical Magic Industries promises to be a massive breakthrough in the treatment of Magic Overuse Syndrome. If the MC is dating Altair, he'll reveal that the main reason he's so invested in the project despite all its risk is because it will be beneficial to the MC in the future.
- Foreign Queasine: The MC is understandably grossed out by some of the food considered normal by Magi, such as tentacle casserole and mermaid eggs.
- Genetic Engineering Is the New Nuke: The Constellation Project is designed to create keepers.
- Genre Savvy: Many characters reference tropes common to urban fantasy and other media, and start to anticipate attacks whenever there’s an event to attend. This doesn’t help them.
- Glamour Failure: Happens in book two during the MC's final conversation with dream!Brant, where a sufficiently intelligent MC can realize that Brant's normally hazel eyes are suddenly blue...and are the exact same shade as Professor Tremblay's.
- Interclass Friendship/Uptown Girl: Seraphina, Astrid, Altair, Leon, Cressida, and Cyrus are all well-off. Any romance/friendship between them and the MC is this.
- Interspecies Romance: Can easily occur between the MC and their love interest. The MC is also a product of this no matter what their family background is.
- It Has Been an Honor: In book 2, the MC can say this word for word to one of their friends just before they head off to confront the Frostbite Operatives who have kidnapped them.
- Job Title: The MC is the titular Keeper.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Can be achieved by using control magic, though it's highly illegal to perform it in all contexts but upholding The Masquerade. The MC's dose of this not taking is what alerts everyone to the fact that they're much more magical than they appear to be.
- Altair's Dark Secret is that he compelled Astrid to forget the memoires of her year at Solanaceae in the wake of her suicide attempt.
- Like Brother and Sister: Kol and Thalia's friendship.
- Living Memory: The memory hall on Nymph Isle contains these. The MC also communicates with the memory of Brant Delacroix during the solstice.
- Mama Bear: Ariana/Isabella can save the MC from a werewolf at the start of book two.
- The Masquerade: Astrid originally takes the MC to have their memories erased to uphold it.
- Massive Numbered Siblings: Thalia is one of 13 sisters.
- Muggle–Mage Romance: If the MC is a human and embarks on a romance. Several of these matchups occurred as part of the Constellation Project, one of which produced the MC.
- Naïve Newcomer: The MC is brand-new to magic.
- Noodle Incident: There are several of these, thanks to truth or dare games played by the main characters.
- Nonstandard Game Over: If a magi MC decides to wander off into Solanceae Forest during Ebner's exam, they can be killed, earning the achievement You Were Warned. If a resistant MC chooses to leave NMC despite all the warnings, they'll be killed, earning the achievement Running Won't Save You.
- Only Sane Man: Invoked in a possible conversation with Kol.MC: Do you understand your job obligations as your suite's resident Only Sane Man?Kol: I fully understand that I am required to act as the ignored yet sole logical force within our dorm and will attempt to prevent our suitemates from killing each other.
- Police Are Useless: What spurs the MC and their suitemates to hunt down Reyna in the climax of book one: the police are powerless to stop the latter from rampaging through NMC, while the group has in the possession both a Keeper and the three Celestial Artifacts.
- Psychic Powers: Seraphina is a telepath, Katia is a clairvoyant and Gisela is a psychometrist.
- Punch-Clock Villain: Played seriously and lampshaded by the MC when they see a man who kidnapped and mind controlled them while he’s out with his family, all of whom are cheerful and perfectly pleasant. The man doesn’t even recognize the MC, since they were clearly just a job to him.
- Purely Aesthetic Gender: The MC's gender doesn't change anything except for their pronouns and whether Leon or Astrid is their roommate.
- Ritual Magic: One of the subjects being taught in New Magi Academy.
- Side Bet: The other suitemates have a betting pool for when Astrid and Leon will get together.
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: If Astrid and Leon get together they wind up doing this at the end of book two, to Thalia's delight.
- Species Loyalty: Expected and encouraged among the nephilim.
- If the MC is a nephilim, the faction will test their loyalty.
- There Are No Therapists: Subverted in book two when the MC sees a supernatural therapist.
- Training the Gift of Magic: The reason why the students attend New Magi Academy. The MC is pretty much press ganged into attending under the justification that letting them run around with untrained magical ability is a disaster waiting to happen.
- True Companions: The MC and their suitemates can become this by the end of the book.
- Under the Mistletoe: In book two, this happens to the MC and their love interest, and possibly to Astrid and Leon.
- Vagueness Is Coming: The gist of the warnings that dream Brant Delacroix gives the MC in book two. Since that particular Brant later turns out to be a dream infiltrating Tremblay, the vagueness was delibrate in order to unsettle the MC.
- Wizarding School: Magi Academy and Solanaceae College.
