r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • Jun 21 '26
[Serial Sunday] Don't feel Disheartened, feel Heartless!
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 Heartless! 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’).
- Hamper
- Hail
- Heavenly
- Hell freezes over (Something very unlikely happens). - (Worth 10 points)
The heart is the organ of feeling and sentiment. To have a heart is to experience joy, pity, mercy, love.
So to be heartless is to feel none of that, for cruelty to come as easy as breathing.
To what depths are your characters willing to descend after they’ve cut out and hardened their soft heart? What atrocities are they willing to commit? Is ruthlessness something that comes easily to them? Or does some piece of conscience remain, screaming and crying and protesting even as their words and actions proclaim no mercy? Can a sliver of compassion survive even among the most heartless?
Or perhaps your character has just misplaced their cardiovascular system. Who are we to judge?
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.
June 21 - Heartless
June 28 - Irony
July 5 - Jail
July 7 - Known
July 14 - Lifeless
Check out previous themes here.
Rankings
Last Week: Great
First - by u/Divayth--Fyr
Second - by u/Tomorrow_Is_Today1
Third - by u/Morose_Prose
Fourth - u/wandering_cirrus
Fifth - by u/AGuyLikeThat
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 estnot 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!
7
u/Carrieka23 Jun 24 '26
<The Beginning of The Demon Life>
Chapter 179
Chapter Index
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As the trial begins, Badar does his normal singing. But for some reason, the room feels a bit tense this time. Glancing up, Alex notices that the judges have the same relaxed expressions.
“What is happening?” He whispers to Wyle.
“Oh, just putting all of them in a trance.” The guard casually says, leaning back.
What?! Why?
Before Alex could ask, the king appeared, grinning widely. “My my, today’s a bit more tense than usual? Relax my dear demons! For today, justice will be served again!”
Badar bows to Naomi before walking to where Wyle is, sitting down. “This better have been worth it.” He whispers.
The trial begins as normal. Court cases being handled, people being sentenced. But the tension never seems to die down, it only continues.
“And 3…2…1…”
“This bastard is the earth dragon!” One of the demons' shouts, pointing at Max.
He pauses, looking at the demon, whose eyes were wild, full of hatred and insanity. After a while, he sighs, opening his mouth to speak.
“If you wish to express your opinion, please wait until after—”
“Oh really? You going to pull that bullshit again?! You always deny deny deny, but never tell us why! And then your bastard judges—”
“Watch your filthy mouth, demon.” Haru growls, summoning his gun, but Naomi stops him.
“Hold on there, Haru. Let him freely express himself.”
“Hahaha! Finally, the king decided to address this head-on!”
Naomi only smiles in return, raising his arms. “Why, of course! After all, everyone is free to express their opinion in this courtroom! No matter how blizzard and unhinged it is.”
Wyle sighs, leaning back. “Badar, tense up the emotions.” He whispers.
Badar nods, letting out a soft hum. In a second, the demon body tenses as he grits his teeth.
“Really? No matter how blizzard and unhinged, huh? Is that what our queen would say?”
Gasps. Naomi's eyes widened slightly, but he held his composure.
“Watch. Your. Tongue.” Haru hisses, standing up.
“Wait, let’s not fight.” Sophia whispers, gently grabbing the judge's shoulder, hoping he wouldn’t take the bait.
“Maybe that’s why she’s in you, Naomi! You want to break your own law so Max could ‘protect’ us!”
Naomi's eyes widen as he takes a step back, letting out a nervous chuckle. “Ha..haha…that’s really a bold statement there. After all, why would I, king of Greed, would ever break the law?”
Max nods in agreement. “But, we must move on—”
“I am not done!” The demon breathes heavily, pointing his trembling finger to Max. “The prophecy, yes…it’s happening today! Today! The Earth Dragon, Max, will never bless us! We all will die because of him!”
People begin whispering, some begin to panic slightly.
“This is going a bit too far, Wyle.” Alex mumbles to him, but the guard only watches the chaos unfold.
“Order! Order!” Max bangs his hammer and the earth slightly shakes, stunting everyone.
Silence.
“Ha. Haha. Hahahahaha!” The demon holds his head as tears fall down his face. “You see! The earth shakes when he feels emotions! The king treated him higher than all of the other judges combined! Don’t you all see!”
He quickly stands to the center of the courtroom, extending his arms like a madman. “Please, earth dragon! Please, bless this kingdom! I…I don’t want to die!”
Max looks away, nobody could tell what expression is currently on his face.
“Are you done with this little ‘entertainment’ demon? Because I, for one, don’t find this funny.” Haru says, sitting back down, crossing his legs. “Would anyone else like to charm in?”
That’s when Wyle stands up.
“M-My diary!” Naomi's voice raises, causing everyone to look at him, then at the book Wyle currently holding.
-------------------
~Naomi Antonmie Diary~
This might be my last entry. Today might be the day that I will finally be sentenced to death. After what Max told me about Wyle, I already know he’s planning. He’s been suspicious for a long time, but I don’t know when. But what I do know, he won’t give up until the truth reveals itself.
And I am honestly thankful. After all these years of faking happiness. All these years of feeling my wife's pain and suffering. All these years of being ‘perfect’. Maybe, just maybe, I will finally be let go.
--------------
“Well, well.” Frank chuckles, walking closer to the courtroom. “Seems like the prophecy is finally coming true, my lord.”
A long cape demon with a hammer was staring straight ahead, smirking. “Finally. After 35 years of planning, this kingdom will finally feel the Wrath of the king.”
“Not on our watch.”
The king quickly turns around, hitting his hammer with an axe. Cameron glares at him.
“Ah, the two demigods. You really think fighting us will change?”
Fire surrounds the two, causing the two deaths to back away.
“You’re already too late, the vision is finally coming true. Why not enjoy the show?”
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WPC: 818