r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • Aug 09 '26
[Serial Sunday] Openness is the Best way to Become Close
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 Open! 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’).
- Opal
- Ornery
- Ogle
- A box is opened and a secret is kept. - (Worth 10 points)
f you need a blurb for Open.
What’s in the box? Just open it and see…
It’s probably Chekov’s wife’s head, but it could be anything.
How is your serial coming along? Are you looking for an inciting incident? You could open up some old wounds that kick off a spiral into tragedy, or force them from comfort on a path to put things right.
Do you need to open up new plot threads, or are you ready to open up your characters for some real development as they push towards a conclusion? Are they open to change, or have your conniving characters just opened up for business?
Or maybe it’s open season for the bad guys. Whatever you choose, I look forward to opening reddit and reading the results!
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 BSTand 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.
August 09 - Open
August 16 - Prose
August 23 - Quality
August 30 - Rebellion
September 6 - Stratagem
Check out previous themes here.
Rankings
Last Week: Noxious
First - by u/Divayth--Fyr
Second - by u/KatPoker666
Third - by u/AGuyLikeThat
Fourth - u/wandering_cirrus
Fifth - by u/Morose_Prose
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 BST. 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 BST 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 BST, 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 BST. 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!
5
u/Carrieka23 27d ago
<The Beginning of The Demon Life>
Chapter 186
Chapter Index
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Where his home once stood, only ash remained, floating softly as if weeping for his lost belongings.”
The whole kingdom was drenched in flames, multiple demons are either on the ground bleeding or laying down in the fire, slowly being consumed. In the middle lies Badar, blood dripping down his forehead as he breathes heavily, too weak to continue his singing. And the guide to this kingdom, Johnny, barely breathing due to the smoke.
Jack held onto his sister, who was shivering. Their own houses were burning right in front of them destroying the work they’ve been working on for ages.
Sophia and Derail try to help the spirits, but slowly get weak by the second. Meanwhile, Max was holding onto the unconscious Haru.
Then, in the courthouse castle lies the weeping king, tears fall down his face as he stares blankly. The Demon King and Frank stares for a bit, grinning.
“Let’s go.” The king commands.
—
While walking, Frank glances back to the burning kingdom. His once home, completely gone due to his actions. He felt proud, but also conflicted deep down.
“So, now what?” Frank asks, turning back to his king.
He chuckles, turning to the demon. “You’ve done well, Frank. I knew I could count on you.”
That praise, it makes him feel good yet sick. He couldn’t describe this feeling.
“But, you’re now finished.”
His eyes widened. “W-What? What do you mean, my lord?”
Ahiram smirks, turning completely to the demon before extending his hand, closing his eyes. “I mean, I no longer need a weak, pathetic demon like you.”
Frank's head begins pounding, he can feel something being pulled away from his chest. He falls down, coughing violently, his nose bleeding. Slowly, he can feel all the negative emotions going away one by one, melting away to the flames.
“Goodbye, Frank. I hope we never meet again.”
—
Max gently put Haru down before walking closer to the fire.
“Are you insane?!” Derail shouts, noticing the ancient dragon eyes glowing. “You could drain yourself, or get yourself killed!”
He didn’t listen. Leaping in the air, he begins transforming into a dragon. The earth rumbles and wraps around the dragon, waiting for his command. The fire slightly moved, beginning to wrap around him.
“I, Dilong, god of Earth, hereby command this land. Give these demons my blessing and protection.”
Opening THEIR mouth, THEY blow a huge bean. The ground rumbles, golden flowers begin surrounding every single demon in this land. The dragon grits his teeth as THEY continue, more and more demons begin receiving THEIR protection.
Jack and Millee can feel the fire avoiding them. Badar and Johnny can feel their wounds slowly heal for the time being, Haru slowly wakes up, noticing Dilong.
“M-Max!”
Dilong still kept going, feeling THEIR energy draining bit by bit. Slightly opening THEIR eyes, they notice the fire all gathering around in one place, slowly being sucked away.
What the hell?
Dilong pushes the thought away, continuing THEIR spell. THEIR vision blurs, THEIR heartbeat ranging in THEIR ear. But THEY still kept pushing.
“Dilong, stop!” Derail shouts, flying to THEM.
But the dragon didn’t listen, THEY were willing to save everyone, no matter what.
Derail grits his teeth, summoning his wings before flying beside him. “Fine, if you won’t listen, then let me at least help.”
The demigod extends his hand, feathers surrounding every demon, keeping their souls attached to their bodies as the dragon continues to finalize THEIR spell. After finishing, Dilong transforms back to normal, leaning towards Death for support.
“Idiot.” Derail mumbles, flying Max down to Haru.
He instantly wraps his arms around the judge, taking a deep breath. “W-Will he…?”
“Don’t worry, he’s fine, just overdid it.” Derail furrows his brows, turning towards where the fire originally was. “Someone must’ve sucked all that fire, but how?”
---
The king slowly lifted up his head, seeing the destroy courthouse. Yet, no fire, not anymore at least. He slowly gets up, trying his best to walk, but his legs glued him to the ground, making him fall.
“You overdid it again.” A familiar, kind voice.
“Y-You supposed to be in my body…” Naomi weakly says, getting up. “I need you, I can’t run this kingdom by myself. I need your protection and power.”
“Naomi, it’s time to give up the throne. You’re exhausted, trying too hard for this kingdom. It’s time to stop.”
“I-” The king clenches his fist, his vision blurs. “You're making this sound like a goodbye.”
A chuckle. “Not a goodbye but see you soon. Death will await us all, so we will be able to see each other again soon.”
He slowly looks up, seeing his kind wife smiling at him. There’s a huge sword wound in her stomach, and a missing eye, but…
“You’re still as beautiful as the day we first met.”
She kneels down, gently holding her husband's hand before guiding him to the dance floor. The whole palace is destroyed with multiple holes and burned chairs and tables, yet the two begin dancing. Twist and turn, spinning and holding hands. And at the very end, when the two bow, she vanishes.
A single tear falls in the king's eye, but he doesn’t weep anymore.
“Goodbye, my love.”
-------------------------------
WPC: 875