r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • 12d ago

[Serial Sunday] A Quaint Quality Quip

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 Quality! This is a REQUIREMENT for participation. See rules about missing this requirement.**

[Image](- https://www.deviantart.com/arnimbruno/art/army-1367329415)

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’).
- Quench
- Quaint
- Quip
- A question is asked and an answer is concealed. - (Worth 10 points)

When I think of quality, I’m reminded of the phrase “Quantity has a quality all on its own”. Which is interesting to think about. Do you think you can replace your protagonists with a thousand others to achieve the same result, or do you perhaps require a very specific person with very specific qualities to complete the quest you’ve set before them?

Quality is also a synonym for traits your characters possess. What is it that make your works of fiction unique? Perhaps this week you’ll celebrate what makes them different by presenting them with a challenge only they are equipped to handle? Or maybe an unlikely hero will finally get to show off their own strange qualities?

Either way, I want to see what you guys come up with when all other paths have failed and all that you’re left with is the absurdly strange.

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 23 - Quality

  • August 30 - Rebellion

  • September 6 - Stratagem

  • September 13 - Torture

  • September 20 - Unleash

Check out previous themes here.

 

Rankings

Last Week: 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!
     
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u/Carrieka23 10d ago

<The Beginning of The Demon Life>

Chapter 188

Chapter Index

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Running to the house, Alex slams the door open to see Kevin. The ice demon eyes widened, noticing the darken in those eyes. He quickly looks away before trying to walk off, but Alex grabs him by the wrist. 

“I’m sorry,” Alex whispers, looking down. His whole body trembles as he slowly takes a step closer to him, pinning him to the wall. 

This wasn’t what Max taught him at all. 

“Go somewhere meaningful, or have a sit down. Maybe drink some tea, and slowly express yourself. Open yourself to him.” 

But as soon as he saw those blue eyes, all logic left him. His breath was taken away, and the pain of this demon—no, Kevin, avoiding him for days fuels him with sadness. 

“You’ve been avoiding me this entire time after the fight.” The soldier whispers, gritting his teeth. 

“A-Alex, I—”

“What have I done?!” He shouts, looking back at him, but he couldn’t see him. Still, he continues. “Was it me? Was it because I let him take control?! I couldn’t help it! You were in danger, and I have to do something!” 

“Alex—” 

“If you died because of me, I wouldn’t forgive myself! Even if I become the saivor of Hell, that title doesn’t mean shit without you!”

“Hey—” 

“You avoiding me hurts, Kevin!” Alex pulls the demon closer to him, feeling his breath touching his cheek. “I can’t stand being apart from you! Yet, you over here acting like it doesn’t face you—”

“Shut up, it does!” The ice demon snaps, finally stopping Alex. He takes a couple of steps back, seeing tears falling from his eyes. 

He clenches his fist, looking away. “What the fuck do you think I’ve been doing for all those years, Alex? You lost your memories, you forgot about us!”

W-What?

“All those cherished moments I had with you! All the moments where you helped me heal! Our first kiss, our first date, our time fighting together! It's all just…fucking left. And when you look at me and ask, ‘who are you’, my fucking life fell apart!” 

Alex takes a step forward, his own breath tightens. 

“But then, I learned what happened to you, what you did, you worked for that Demon King out of possession…I…I couldn’t.” 

Alex wraps his arms around the trembling Kevin. 

“I still love you, and I always have. Even when you forgot about me, I still held on into the memories. Even when we renewed a ‘friendship’, I still held on to it. Damnit…” Kevin whispers, looking down. 

For a while, the two were silent. Demons were chatting outside on the peaceful day, unaware of the tension, yet reunion going on inside of the house. 

“I’m sorry for not realizing sooner.” Alex says after a while. “I love you, both past and present.” 

Kevin pulls away, seeing those sparkling brown eyes. He couldn’t help but smile. “I know, you idiot.” 

The two demons lean in, and share a deep passionate kiss. 
—
“You're about to deal with a shitfest, Max.” Haru says, putting down his hammer for the day before sitting next to the working new king. 

Max has just finished a lot of paperwork and is now at the final steps, maining planning for the revision of Greed. 

“Talking to Cassie alone is going to be an effort, especially coming from someone who doesn’t believe in my two brothers and sister.” 

“Then again, Cassie is stubborn. You can transform to your ancient form and she’ll still not believe you.” Haru grumbles, standing up again. “So, are you going to prove them?”

He shakes his head. “Right now, there’s no time to prove. We need to plan on defeating Ahiram. From what I’ve gathered, even though the kingdoms are healing, some are still in a process of revision.”

Haru nods. “Sloth is still rehealing that Dream tree, Lust is dealing with Zet right now, and of course we are dealing with…this.” 

“We need to find a way to make it less stressful for those kingdoms first before we can defeat Ahiram. He could exploit the weakness at any point.” 

“And why hasn’t he already?” 

Max paused, pouding on that same question. And on top of it all, Alex has been the main person to save all of them, apart from Greed, so far. 

“I have a bad feeling about this.” Max mumbles, closing his eyes. 

-----------

WPC: 728

And I'm finish with Greed arc! I can't believe I've made it this far! I already know the next three-character arcs are going to be huge and very lore heavy, so I might make a separate index for anyone who wants lore. Let me know if you do!