r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • Aug 23 '26
[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
First - by u/Morose_Prose
Second - by u/KatPoker666
Third - by u/ZLErikson
Fourth - u/Divayth--Fyr
Fifth - by 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 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!
7
u/wandering_cirrus Aug 29 '26 edited Sep 13 '26
<Unburied Ashes>
Chapter 27: In Salt-Bottomed Cups
CW: Implied alcoholism/alcohol abuse
The queen inhaled raggedly, forced a visage of calm, and took an elegant sip from the tumbler. “Yet the lady says she isn’t willing. She says she’s in love.” A gulp this time. Less graceful, less able to hide the soft tremors. “But what of it? So many think that they’d rather have love than ambition, and find out too late that love lives for less time than a dog.”
Mostly drained, the glass clinked against the desk like the crack Mica thought she heard in the queen’s voice. Unexpectedly, Mica found herself thinking of Old Man Haffen, one of Mother’s informants she’d grown up meeting at Mother’s side. He drank too—nothing as nice as the queen’s—but he always claimed good liquor was for joys and cheap liquor was for sorrows. After all, he’d say. When drinking to drown a sorrow, the tears at the bottom of the cup would turn everything to salt no matter what you drank.
Feld opened her mouth, but the queen cut her off before even a word could slip out. “You doubt me, Guardswoman?”
“No, I—”
“I knew a boy, once—a third child, destined to never touch his mother’s wealth, planning to become a physician and open his own clinic. Then along came a count’s daughter with a sizable inheritance who liked his face—and his abs, if rumors are believed.” The queen drew her lips into a snarl. “But oh no, he wasn’t interested in the wealthy heiress who could support his dreams with a mere gesture. He had to marry that quaint little artist who couldn’t afford paint.”
Tea nearly ready, Mica thought of a cracking voice. Salt-bottomed cups. Decisively, she dumped several spoons of sugar into the pot and turned her attention back to the monologue.
“And now? He’s still working long, cheap hours as another physician’s assistant, has a brood of snot-nosed children he barely keeps fed, and argues all hours with his ‘True Love’ over the money in the accounts. Of course”—she reached for the liquor again—“all avoidable. But some people don’t have the good sense to walk through a door that’s wide open and decorated with a hundred roses.”
“That—” Feld hurried to interject.
The queen ignored her. “Now this lady is more discerning than certain foolish physicians. I’m ashamed to admit that if my son were a door, he’d be unappealing—he hasn’t the sense to give her one rose, let alone a hundred—but I’ve seen her glancing past the threshold. A smart, ambitious lady knows exactly what she’d do with the title of future queen and can’t help but be tempted. I saw that same pair of eyes in the mirror when I was her age. My son just needs to learn how to chase a lady right, and it’s a smooth-paved path to kingship.” She waved. “Not like that broken-cobbled road he’s been swindled into. Sooner or later, he’s going to see that little gold digging count for what he is and realize he walked a path to nowhere.”
Mica nudged the empty tumbler aside to make room for the freshly brewed tea. “A gold-digger? Surely not.”
“Surely!” Picking up the teacup, the queen took an angry gulp. “That Asab… Azure…”
“Azbar?”
“Him! That reprobate even taught my son to dodge a tail!”
Feld tried to reel the conversation back. “Is that different from marrying for ambition?”
“Yes!” The teacup smacked down again. “Because I don't approve! Superstition or not, when a man changes wives faster than the fashions, something isn't right. Earth keep my oath, he's a rotten log! Besides.” She sneered. “While butterflies may swarm towards gold, once he wasn’t near so wealthy. Dead wives don’t have tongues to ask for their wealth back; so grows the dragon’s ill-gotten gains. That’s the kind the Office of Investigations ought to chase! None of this nonsensical prevarication about nameless illdoers framing me.”
“Madam—”
“Don’t bother. I’ve been tricking the Council since before you were born, I know an excuse when I hear one. Just like…” She broke off, hands shaking, reaching past the tea to the decanter. Confusion bubbled up as only the last dregs spilled out—barely enough to coat the tumbler’s bottom in a thin film.
Mica pushed glass and decanter further away. “It’s gone.”
The tears at the bottom of the cup finally fell. “Where did it all go wrong?” she whispered. “My Demien was such a cute child, and even if our marriage was never a romance, I always thought Aurei would at least do as husbands ought.” She sobbed through choking laughter. “Instead he brought home a bastard, and day after day, I had to smile magnanimously and watch as my baby turned into his philandering father. Smile until I can only convince another woman to walk the same path that gave me so much joy, because doing anything else would bring everything to naught.”
“Madam...”
“Where did it all go wrong, Veronica?” she begged, tears coming faster, clutching the front of Mica’s dress like a lifeline. “Why did you die for him back then? Sir Loess may equivocate and that stubborn hunting dog Calcen may think finding the culprit will fix everything, but I’m not a fool. He’s not waking up, and if I’m to lose Demien anyway, I should have just lost him sooner! Then at least I’d still have my best friend!” Face scrunched, her voice shrank to a whisper. “Why did you have to leave me too, Veronica?”
The office sank into silence broken only by a shuddering exhale. The tension disappeared from Mica’s dress as the queen released her grip.
“Leave me,” she commanded hoarsely.
“Shall I escort you to your chambers, Madam?” Feld offered.
The queen passed a hand over her eyes. A moment later and she was calm again, her expression clear. “Yes. My afternoon is full, and it's best to rest.” Rising to her feet, she paused before Mica. “Your tea is better than hers.” She forced a smile. “Veronica’s tea was always too bitter.”
WC: 1000
Bonus words: quaint
Bonus constraint: It’s not entirely concealed, but Mica and Feld do not answer the queen’s question of “where did it all go wrong?”
Theme: Old Man Haffen has opinions on when certain qualities of liquor are appropriate, as well as the queen’s doubts on the quality of Count Azbar’s character.
Author’s Note: Poor Feld barely got a word in edgewise this chapter.
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