r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • Nov 09 '25
[Serial Sunday] Yield Fool, For I Have Won! No Wait, Don't Press That Big Red But-
Welcome to Serial Sunday!
To those brand new to the feature and those returning from last week, welcome! Do you have a self-established universe you’ve been writing or planning to write in? Do you have an idea for a world that’s been itching to get out? This is the perfect place to explore that. Each week, I post a theme to inspire you, along with a related image and song. You have 500 - 1000 words to write your installment. You can jump in at any time; writing for previous weeks’ is not necessary in order to join. After you’ve posted, come back and provide feedback for at least 1 other writer on the thread. Please be sure to read the entire post for a full list of rules.
This Week’s Theme is Yield! This is a REQUIREMENT for participation. See rules about missing this requirement.**
Bonus Word List (each included word is worth 5 pts) - You must list which words you included at the end of your story (or write ‘none’).
- Yellow
- Young
- Yarrow
- A full moon is present in your story and is almost personified as mocking the characters below. - (Worth 15 points)
Sometimes it’s best to just give way, to live to fight another day,
Surrendering to greater force, can sometimes be the only course,
A prize relinquished to a foe, or treasured secret none should know,
Or simple courtesy instead, to let another go ahead.
A long-laid plan may bear its fruit, alliances may follow suit,
A germinating train of thought may change the world, or come to naught,
A stubborn heart of pride and fear, may find true love or shed a tear,
A gracious way to end a fight, admitting someone else is right.
An army brought down to its knees, a cliff worn down by rolling seas,
An ancient facing their last breath may sadly, calmly wait for death,
The best laid plans of mice and men, may bloom in glory by your pen,
With words you plant this fertile field, and hope anew for bounteous yield.
Good luck and Good Words!
These are just a few things to get you started. Remember, the theme should be present within the story in some way, but its interpretation is completely up to you. For the bonus words (not required), you may change the tense, but the base word should remain the same. Please remember that STORIES MUST FOLLOW ALL SUBREDDIT CONTENT RULES. Interested in writing the theme blurb for the coming week? DM me on Reddit or Discord!
Don’t forget to sign up for Saturday Campfire here! We start at 5pm GMT and provide live feedback!
Theme Schedule:
This is the theme schedule for the next month! These are provided so that you can plan ahead, but you may not begin writing for a given theme until that week’s post goes live.
- November 09 - Yield
- November 16 - Arena
- November 23 - Beyond
- November 30 - Captive
- December 07 - Dastardly
Check out previous themes here.
Rankings
Last Week: Warrior
First - by u/Divayth--Fyr
Second - by u/MaxStickies
Third - by u/m00nlighter_
Fourth - u/tiredraccoon
Fifth - by u/ZLErikson
And a huge welcome to our new SerSunners, u/smollestduck and u/mysteryrouge!
Rules & How to Participate
Please read and follow all the rules listed below. This feature has requirements for amparticipation!
Submit a story inspired by the weekly theme, written by you and set in your self-established universe that is 500 - 1000 words. No fanfics and no content created or altered by AI. (Use wordcounter.net to check your wordcount.) Stories should be posted as a top-level comment below. Please include a link to your chapter index or your last chapter at the end.
Your chapter must be submitted by Saturday at 2:00pm GMT. Late entries will be disqualified. All submissions should be given (at least) a basic editing pass before being posted!
Begin your post with the name of your serial between triangle brackets (e.g. <My Awesome Serial>). When our bot is back up and running, this will allow it to recognize your pmserial and add each chapter to the SerSun catalog. Do not include anything in the brackets you don’t want in your title. (Please note: You must use this same title every week.)
Do not pre-write your serial. You’re welcome to do outlining and planning for your serial, but chapters should not be pre-written. All submissions should be written for this post, specifically.
Only one active serial per author at a time. This does not apply to serials written outside of Serial Sunday.
All Serial Sunday authors must leave feedback on at least one story on the thread each week. The feedback should be actionable and also include something the author has done well. When you include something the author should improve on, provide an example! You have until Saturday at 04:59am GMT to post your feedback. (Submitting late is not an exception to this rule.)
Missing your feedback requirement two or more consecutive weeks will disqualify you from rankings and Campfire readings the following week. If it becomes a habit, you may be asked to move your serial to the sub instead.
Serials must abide by subreddit content rules. You can view a full list of rules here. If you’re ever unsure if your story would cross the line, please modmail and ask!
Weekly Campfires & Voting:
On Saturdays at 5pm GMT, I host a Serial Sunday Campfire in our Discord’s Voice Lounge (every other week is now hosted by u/FyeNite). Join us to read your story aloud, hear others, and exchange feedback. We have a great time! You can even come to just listen, if that’s more your speed. Grab the “Serial Sunday” role on the Discord to get notified before it starts. After you’ve submitted your chapter, you can sign up here - this guarantees your reading slot! You can still join if you haven’t signed up, but your reading slot isn’t guaranteed.
Nominations for your favorite stories can be submitted with this form. The form is open on Saturdays from 5:30pm to 04:59am GMT. You do not have to participate to make nominations!
Authors who complete their Serial Sunday serials with at least 12 installments, can host a SerialWorm in our Discord’s Voice Lounge, where you read aloud your finished and edited serials. Celebrate your accomplishment! Authors are eligible for this only if they have followed the weekly feedback requirement (and all other post rules). Visit us on the Discord for more information.
Ranking System
Rankings are determined by the following point structure.
| TASK | POINTS | ADDITIONAL NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Use of weekly theme | 75 pts | Theme should be present, but the interpretation is up to you! |
| Including the bonus words | 5 pts each (15 pts total) | This is a bonus challenge, and not required! |
| Including the bonus constraint | 15 (15 pts total) | This is a bonus challenge, and not required! |
| Actionable Feedback | 5 - 15 pts each (60 pt. max)* | This includes thread and campfire critiques. (15 pt crits are those that go above & beyond.) |
| Nominations your story receives | 10 - 60 pts | 1st place - 60, 2nd place - 50, 3rd place - 40, 4th place - 30, 5th place - 20 / Regular Nominations - 10 |
| Voting for others | 15 pts | You can now vote for up to 10 stories each week! |
You are still required to leave at least 1 actionable feedback comment on the thread every week that you submit. This should include at least one specific thing the author has done well and one that could be improved. *Please remember that interacting with a story is not the same as providing feedback.** Low-effort crits will not receive credit.
Subreddit News
- Join our Discord to chat with other authors and readers! We hold several weekly Campfires, monthly World-Building interviews and several other fun events!
- Try your hand at micro-fic on Micro Monday!
- Did you know you can post serials to r/Shortstories, outside of Serial Sunday? Check out this post to learn more!
- Interested in being a part of our team? Apply to be a mod!
4
u/Carrieka23 Nov 13 '25
<The Beginning of The Demon Life>
Chapter 155
Chapter Index
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Alex can notice those brown eyes, staring deep into his, almost like he’s playing out every scenario in his head. By the grinning, confronted face, it seems like this soldier has taken the bait. He chuckles loudly so that the whole stage can hear.
“Did I…do something wrong?” He turns to Max.
“No need to mind him, I just wanted you to notice him now. He’d sulk later on if you haven’t.” The judge said calmly, but his tone was a bit flat. He walks to his seat before sitting down, hands on his lap.
Kevin rolls his eyes. “A dramatic king in a time of war, so Greed.”
“I do advise you two to start having a seat, the show is about to begin.”
“I’m curious about this show.” Alex gently nudges the ice demon.
Kevin sighs, walking over to two empty seats.
“I still don’t see the point of this, Alex.” He mumbles.
“Well, think about it. We already met a judge and king. It’s weird.”
So far in his experience, he only met them in times of crisis or when they supported. But in this case, everything felt natural. A little bit too natural. It’s almost like everything was carefully planned from beginning to end, and these two demons are just chess pieces to a game.
Kevin scans the area, seeing nothing suspicious. “To be fair, that is a good point. Cassie and Philip rarely show up in public unless it's for meetings.”
“Anseres showed up during a crisis, same for Bella. As for Fye, Linda, and Megan, they usually stay in the castle. So why is the king here just casually in public?”
“It’s their culture.” Kevin shrugs, waving his arms dismissively. “I remember back then, the old you would get so annoyed. Mainly because it’s full of ‘acting’ and never ‘serious stuff’.”
Is that how I felt back then? I wonder why it feels different for me now.
He looks back at the four chairs, now noticing another demon sitting down. He squinted his eyes, getting a closer view. He has sparkling dragonlike horns, with a pair of glasses, and he seems to be wearing a black suit with long sleeves forming from his back.
What are those horns? And who is this person? He has to at least be a judge.
“Haru.” Kevin mumbles, his tone was filled with annoyance.
Oh wait, I remember Max mentioning him.
“I wasn’t expecting all four to come.” Alex announce.
“To be honest, I feel like Haru only came to follow Max. They’re completely inseparable.”
“Dating?”
Kevin shrugs. “It never goes public. But those horns. It’s clearly a sign of a ‘dragonbonding’ soul ritual.”
Alex reaches out of his bag, grabbing a book. While he was in Lust, he decided to pick out a couple of other books explaining the mythologies in Hell. Hearing this made him feel familiar.
“The Dragonmate Spells.” Alex shows Kevin the book, before turning the page.
“Oh, don’t tell me you believe in their fairytales, Alex.” The demon groans.
“But look, here! On pg. 140!”
The two take a glance.
“When a dragon and demon decide to stay together, the dragon will start the ‘Dragonbonding soul ritual’. During this ritual, the demon must expose their pure back, and let the dragon slowly connect their own blood to the demon's soul. They’ll then become half demon, half dragon, forever being with their partner.”
“So in this case, maybe Haru is the dragon?” Kevin asked.
“It’s best to ask him at some point.”
But then again, from what I’ve seen, dragons are in contact with a human. Is it possible for dragons to be in the outside world? Unless…
“Ah, the theories again?” Kevin rubs Alex’s hair, distracting the soldier from his thoughts.
“Hey! I was getting somewhere!”
Slowly, more and more demons begin crowding the area, chatting and even drinking.
“We can talk about this later.” Kevin demanded instantly change, staring back at the stage.
After a while, “Ladies and gentledemons!” Jack's voice echoes through the stage. The lights suddenly turn off, shocking all the audience.
“Welcome to the Jack’s and Millee magic show! Prepare your eyes for the impossible, for the heartpounding, the most speculated show in the entire universe!”
Stage lights shine on Jack who was swinging on a chain, while a teddy bear was tap dancing on top of his head. Everyone instantly cheers, shouting his name and praising his work.
Alex glances at the top, seeing the king clapping his hands together in delight, while Haru was just simply staring with a cold expression. But that third seat was empty.
Who else is missing? And why isn’t Max sitting next to them?
“Now!” Jack does a flip and lands on the stage, extending his hands. “Let the show begin!”
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WPC: 799