:3
How about story requests?;)

Apologies, I'm not really doing requests right now.

Why?:)

Rakant, I really like how in **“Old Gods and New”** you immediately conjure up that vibrant nighttime atmosphere of Old Ves’Nola the lanterns, the magical lights, the soft singing, and that underlying sense of “something’s about to tip over” on the balconies above while simultaneously narrating the great social tension of the last hundred years: a city almost exploding with growth, migration, and new worldviews, while old families cling to “the old Ves’Nola” and the legacy of a traitorous emperor creeps back through the alleys like a poisoned thread; the rise of the Church of Shivix doesn’t feel like an arbitrary plot trigger, but rather the perfect answer to an existing vacuum, especially because you formulate the sermon so seductively (strength, courage, love) and then cleanly set the break when the older man denounces the whole thing as a cult and the crowd splits, so that you can practically hear the polarization; I also found it compelling how you establish the **Regulators** as a silent, masked benchmark for “this is serious,” and then show the mechanics of city politics in the **Council of Courts** (zones, councilors, coordinator), which immediately gives Ghesh Waterlion, Texli, and Harmle clear roles: Ghesh as an overwhelmed but structured anchor of stability, Texli as a rhetorical missionary who is almost unconsciously already “preaching,” and Harmle as an analytical blade who provides concrete, disturbing evidence with the 70% comparison between Shivix Doctrine and Zar'Margulas' Imperial Heart. The moment spectacularly tips into chaos, and the escalation with the dagger and the Regulator's brutal, legally legitimized retribution is so shocking that it suddenly makes the entire moral question of the city physical; From that point on, I like how you immediately elevate the story about Jacklo and the northern route into a larger mystery (resources, Neiola, strange sightings, magic research), and then mercilessly follow through with the consequences in the montage of the following weeks: riots, displacement, burned fields, slaughtered cattle, empty Outer Zones, hidden shrines, and above all, the final, eerie “horizon hook” with the white halo over Neiola and the alleged giant eye, which raises whether Shivix is ​​just ideology or if there is actually something cosmic/ancient behind it; If I could make a wish, it would be perhaps a little more “camera proximity” to one or two characters (e.g., Ghesh's migraine or Harmle's inner deliberation not just as a sentence, but as a short, sensual reaction), because your setup is so strong that a touch more internal perspective would further increase the emotional stakes. But overall, this is a damn good, well-rounded, suspenseful opening with clear political edge and an excellent horror/myth twist at the end.

Really enjoyed this one , great piece

Thank you. :]

The picture you paint of Old Ves'Nola, with the wary, weary people and the lights on the end of hooked staves, the old architecture stood strong against the assault of tragedy one after another? It reminds me a helluva lot of Bloodbourne, of Old Yharnam. The outsiders coming in with their trauma and their violence, the old standbuys unable to stand by and shun their suffering but afraid of what rot they could bring. This is an intriguing glimpse of a shift in the world that in many ways mirrors the topical issues we're facing now in the world. Immigration, religion used to shield and further political goals...and how fear drives people to make their choices. In this world though, such worship has a tangible effect. It can power gods, create them even and taking up residence in a major city is an obvious method to gain more followers as fast as possible before being forcefully banned. I have a feeling I know why they're drawn to Neiola, as a place of once massive loss and power both. I'm very, very interested to see where this goes next.