The Ballad of the Young Gods is a dark academia interactive fiction story, with dark fantasy and psychological thriller themes. Some of the romances also contain tropes and storylines which may be disturbing to some readers.
It is based on media like “Ninth House” by Leigh Bardugo, “The Secret History” by Donna Tart, “Masters of Death” by Olivie Blake, and SYFY’s “Deadly Class”.
It is rated 18+ for depictions of swearing, sexual themes, violence, and death.
Getting into an Ivy League school is a dream that thousands of American students nurse from a young age. Luckily for you, that dream is your reality. Four years of continuous hard work and pressure have made you a proud freshman at Yale University. And as if that wasn’t enough, you have been handpicked to attend Rathore College, whose selection process is revered across all the nation’s top educational institutions. But you should’ve known this stroke of luck came with a catch.
Yale is a crucible of power, where secret societies wield arcane magic and the dead are far from silent. The illustrious House of Styx wants you and this is a situation that not even your money can get you out of.
They are powerful, elite, and most of all, controlling beyond recognition. They are also the heart of the eight secret societies that attach themselves to Yale. From the White House to Hollywood’s most acclaimed stars, their influence reaches farther than anyone can dare to imagine.
A sinister conspiracy brews under Styx’s watchful gaze, one that threatens to unravel the fragile balance between the living and the dead. But in a graveyard of secrets, you and your accomplices are the ones with the shovels. You’re now in a world where the past is never truly dead, and the lines between life and death blur with each passing day.
But some secrets are better left buried, and some prophecies are destined to drag you to hell.
As the heir to the Lacroix fortune, C is every bit as arrogant as their bloodline demands them to be. Even after the messy divorce of their parents which further led to their disownment by their father, Alain Lacroix, they refuse to give up on their dignity. They’ve vowed to destroy him one day and take what’s rightful theirs, brick by brick. The world bent to C’s whims, what money couldn't buy them, those pale green eyes probably did.
There is nothing that they can’t have, especially if they set their mind to that. That is until you came along and stayed one step ahead of them every time in everything that mattered. It wasn’t just the fortune or the legacy at stake; it was the bruising of their pride, the constant reminder that someone—anyone—could outmaneuver them. But beneath the layers of resentment and anger, there’s something more—something darker, even more dangerous.
An obsession takes root, one that blurs the line between hatred and fascination. And they vow to spend their whole life despising you for everything.
Romance trope: Enemies / Academic Rivals to Lovers.
Raised under the oppressive influence of a rigid, fire-and-brimstone faith in a Danish Catholic orphanage, they were taught to see demons in every shadow and sin in every touch. Forever haunted by the visions provided by a wrathful God they can neither fully grasp their mind around nor escape from, their only reprieve came on the day they got adopted at the age of six and diagnosed with schizophrenia. But the truth of their ‘psychosis’ may be far more sinister than any medical diagnosis could account for.
As the tides become even stormier and their medications become ineffective when they arrive at Yale, all V can do is hold on to the last threads of control over their lives. Your first meeting almost makes them teeter over the edge.
Now that they’re your roommate, they’re bound to you by fate or folly, but whether they’ll be a stable ally remains to be seen.
Romance trope: Roommate Romance.
Wilhelm Johann Ostendorf / Wilhelmine Johanna Ostendorf (M/F)
Exhausted. Abandoned. Lost.
What does the world think of you when you’re a product of brilliance and neglect at the same time? With an Oscar-winning filmmaker for a father and a mother ensconced on the American board of directors at the Louvre, their pedigree is undeniable, yet it is a legacy more hollow than it appears. While their parents sculpted their careers into masterpieces and amassed accolades, they left W to be raised by their paternal aunt and uncle. A sizeable trust fund and periodic checks served as their parents’ only gestures of care, a shallow substitute for the love and attention their only child so desperately craved.
The only times they had felt more than someone who was deeply unlovable were the summers you spent on rusty swingsets and fast bicycles with training wheels. But the swingsets have long been dismantled, and the bicycles have been traded for cars.
The only questions remain—are you the same kid who saw them, really saw them, beyond the reality of being unwanted and the suffocating looks filled with pity that came with their name? Or will this reunion only serve to confirm their deepest fear—that they are, and always have been, truly alone?
Romance trope: Forgotten Childhood Friends to Lovers.
Dumitru Constantin Diaconu / Dumitra Constantina Diaconu (M/F)
Charismatic. Reckless. Guarded.
D’s name is the one that comes up in almost every conversation about Yale’s wildest parties. A natural-born rockstar charmer with a magnetic presence, they effortlessly draw people into their orbit, collecting hearts and bodies with the ease of someone who’s always been in the center of the gold rush. Despite the countless admirers and the trail of broken hearts left in their wake, you’ll always find them with a Marlboro between their lips and a new person in their arms to warm their bed at night. Their smile is a promise, and their laughter a siren call. In the haze of flashing lights and the thrum of bass that pulses through the walls, they are a heartbreaker in every sense of the word.
Feelings are a complication they don’t allow, a line they never cross. They’ve perfected the art of detachment, of keeping their connections strictly no-strings, because to let someone in would be to risk the vulnerability they’ve long since sworn off.
Will you be the only person they'd let peel back the barbed wire surrounding their heart? Or will you be left with nothing but the faint scent of cinnamon and a tale that wasn't meant to be?
Romance trope: Friends with Benefits / Sex First, Feelings Later. [You will only be able to unlock their romance route through a hookup.]
Maxwell Edmund Whitlock-Singh / Maxine Edythe Whitlock-Singh (M/F)
Duty-bound. Noble. Untouchable.
Politeness and decorum are second nature to M. They are the embodiment of manners, a living testament to the art of subtlety in a world where spectacle often trumps substance. They are the sort of person who commands attention without seeking it, a product of both royal blood and rigorous self-discipline. Dubbed the “Paragon of Styx,” M is a modern Plato, someone who finds as much solace in philosophical debates as in the classical texts they’ve devoured in multiple languages. As the second-born child of the Crown Princess of Wales, they have always understood that their life would be one of service with every action scrutinized, and every word weighed.
Their intellect is vast, but it is their passion for the esoteric that sets them apart. For all their convictions, there is a restlessness within M that even they cannot fully articulate. It is the paradox of their existence—a life of privilege that feels at times like a gilded cage, a role that demands both reverence and obedience. Indeed, heavy is the head that wears the crown.
Will you make them realize that life is more than duties and expectations? Or will you become yet another figure in the background, another reminder of the golden cage they were born into?
Romance trope: Forbidden Royal Romance / Secret Relationship.
Step into the shadows as the wealthy heir apparent to a billion-dollar industry who is just starting at Yale University as a freshman.
Be a part of Yale’s most enigmatic secret society, the House of Styx.
Fully customize your character including: pronouns, gender, physical appearance, personality, sexuality, and more.
Romance 1 out of 5 love interests (all of them are gender-selectable).
Study forbidden knowledge, practice dark magic, and try not to fail at your actual coursework.
Test your mind, body, and soul in rituals that blur the line between reality and nightmare.
Learn about the secrets that your mother took to her grave. Is she really the same woman you remember so fondly from your childhood?
Will you rise to navigate the sinister plans brewing under the nose of the House? Or will your actions drag you and your companions to the fiery depths of Hell.
Only one Asian character in the entire book so far and you decided to make them full of harmful stereotypes. Did you ever even consulted with any Asian person before this?
huh? genuinely what harmful stereotypes did i play on with M? what in the world are you referring to?
If you’ve listened to olivia’s new album yet, thoughts? (If you have, tell me why honeybee and begged gives me D vibes, u + me = <3 gives me mc to M vibes, purple gives me W vibes, and what’s wrong with me gives me C vibes)
hell yes! the album was a rollercoaster and even the supposedly happy songs had an undertone of sadness ngl. i’d arrange the songs for the ROs like this:
I don't care what anyone says, I love my grown ass tsundere husband Cédric and I hope he gets worse
it’s not like romanced C wants to spend their whole life with MC or anything hmph 😤 don’t get the wrong idea 🫵🏻 it’s not like they’d do anything for you or whatever 🙄
With the story being set in university and themes of dark romance, I was kinda hoping there to be some sort of student-professor romance route 😅
the thought did cross my mind and M was the more likely candidate for that, but i really don’t feel good about the power imbalance between a student and a professor. i can maybe not side-eye it as much if it was a TA + a student or maybe a professor + a PhD student, but that’s still on thin ice.
honestly though, i could’ve probably used the dynamics as some sort of critique but considering what i have in store for one of the ROs, i’d rather not romanticise it at all 😬
uh so, my savings are practically drained and the healthcare system is fucking me up without lube. i will need to take a week or so out of writing because the situation is pretty dire at the moment with my lungs.
if anyone would like to help me with any paypal donations, it’ll be greatly appreciated. even so much as a dollar could be a big help. as my thanks, no matter what ends up happening with my health issues, i’ll be making my upcoming exclusive patreon content free for a month.
i’d appreciate some signal boosts too, no worries if you can’t donate since i know times are hard. thank y’all for always supporting me, i’ll have an update ready if anything changes.
i’ve been writing like crazy these past few weeks and i literally go to sleep thinking about the future dialogues. every single time someone catches me talking to myself as i play out different characters, the closer i get to being locked up in a padded white cell.
my insanity aside, i’ve finished the heart events for both C and M, so there’s just three more to go. i’d expected for the chapter to be shorter than how it’s turning out but i guess that’s what i get for getting too involved in the conversations between MC and their chosen RO. i’m listening to random radio stations as i write and idk why it helps me focus these days.
the word count (and other information) so far is:
i have no idea what the final result will be, but i hope to finish everything this month so the release will be this summer.
anyways, that’s all i have for y’all today. make sure to eat, stay hydrated and touch grass or i hope you get sleep paralysis tonight.
The Hanahaki Disease is an illness born from unrequited love, where the patient’s throat will fill up with flower, they will then proceed to throw, and cough up the petals, (sometimes even the flowers).
Wilhelm Ostendorf from The Ballad of the Young Gods by @childrenofcain-if
i’m around 55-60% done with chapter five and my back is protesting like crazy. i’m almost done with C’s heart event and then i have the rest of the RO’s to get to. after all that, there is also a big scene where i’ll probably add the final lock for your chosen love interest.
i love having a character-driven story because i’m personally far more interested in fleshing out the characters more so y’all can connect to them. i want to squeeze in more moments like that before shit goes down. initially, i had planned a trilogy but i guess this will be more of a duology now if i don’t end book one on a cliffhanger 🤔 either way, i have a clear vision of how the finale should go and i want the relationships and characters to be pretty understandable before then.
anyways, that’s all i have for y’all today. make sure to eat, stay hydrated and touch grass or i hope you’ll get electrocuted—non-fatally, but still—soon.
here’s a sneak peek of C’s heart event (i love hateful yearning):
one night i was bored! in! bed! 😒 and stalked 👩💻 you 🫵 on the internet 🤖 its 🕯️🕯️🕯️feminine iintuitionn 🕯️🕯️🕯️ cuz i always had a vision 💭 of us 🧍♀️standing🧍♂️like 👯♂️ this 🙈 all pressed up in the bathroom line 🤭 u looking like an angel 😇 on the walls of versailles 🥀 the most alive ive ever beennnn!!! 😃 but kiss 💋 me 🫢 and i might. drop. dead.
