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Diabolical Plots

14 free-to-read stories indexed on Quasar

DP FICTION #132A: “We Grow in the Light” by Riley Neither

Diabolical Plots Diabolical Plots 2026

Content note (click for details) oppression of marginalized groups, references to self-harm edited by David Steffen The antler people are exceedingly rare, but I’ve made sure my daughter knows about them. Not just as myth or stereotype, but as people like...

Contemporary FantasyTrans IdentityHopeful

Content warnings 1

self-harm

DP FICTION #132B: “The History of Coming Out To Your Parents Any% Speedrunning” by Jubilee Finnegan

Diabolical Plots Diabolical Plots 2026

Content note (click for details) Homophobia, transphobia edited by Hal Y. Zhang On October 19th, 2019, Stonewall Productions released Coming Out to Your Parents on PC and PlayStation 4. While it was the studio’s first major title, it took the gaming...

MetafictionalTrans IdentityEpistolary Adjacent

Content warnings 2

transphobiaviolence

DP FICTION #133A: “Jefferson Dines Alone” by S.L. Harris

Diabolical Plots Diabolical Plots 2026

edited by Ziv Wities Here is Jefferson, talking to himself again. It has happened increasingly of late. The pantograph in the study summarizes his monologue endlessly, and the shelves fill with more and more of less and less. In the great and...

MetafictionalArtificial IntelligencePhilosophical

Content warnings 1

slavery

DP FICTION #133B: “Well Tester” by E.M. Faulds

Diabolical Plots Diabolical Plots 2026

Content note (click for details) Depictions of illness and vomiting, religious themes edited by Amanda Helms Sara collapsed into the folding chair in the rhomboid of shade by the camper pod, stared out at Terga’s vast red plains and tried to remember the...

Social SFMortalityBleak

Content warnings 2

deathillness-and-pandemic

DP FICTION #134A: “The House Knows” by Meghan Arcuri

Diabolical Plots Diabolical Plots 2026

Content note (click for details) Implied sexual assault of a teen, death of an animal edited by Hal Y. Zhang I toss the keys on the green Formica counter. I always aim for the same spot: that ugly, little brown ring—bubbled up and cracking—where Bill had...

Psychological HorrorAbuseUnreliable Narrator

Content warnings 3

abuseanimal-harmchild-abuse

DP FICTION #134B: “Davy Jones, Lobsterman” by Daire McNally

Diabolical Plots Diabolical Plots 2026

Content note (click for details) Drowning (non-graphic); brief use of homophobic language. edited by Ziv Wities The waves crested with foam as thick as fish eggs. Jim Walsh would have paid good money to stay indoors that evening with his feet up, tea in...

Mythic FictionMortalityWhimsical

DP FICTION #135A: “Dourglamis” by Derek Wagner

Diabolical Plots Diabolical Plots 2026

Content note (click for details) This story contains references to mass atrocities. edited by Amanda Helms Dourglamis. The largest castle I’d seen in the flesh. Barreling towards me, it was also clearly the fastest. Great granite legs churned beneath its...

Social SatireHubrisSardonic

Content warnings 2

body-horrorcannibalism

DP FICTION #135B: “Afterimage” by Anna Zumbro

Diabolical Plots Diabolical Plots 2026

edited by David Steffen The bay air felt strange on Domenico’s skin. He’d been here every evening for weeks, but this was the first time in a while — years, really — that he’d taken his body with him. He’d forgotten the kiss of breeze on flesh. The rental...

Near FutureFamilyTender

Content warnings 1

death-of-a-loved-one

DP FICTION #136A: “The Sharp Cry of the Winterlarks” by Arden Baker

Diabolical Plots Diabolical Plots 2026

Content note (click for details) Animal cruelty. edited by David Steffen Do not scream, my friend. Hold it back. Good—I know it hurts, trust me I do, but this is one of the most important things you will ever do in your life. Hold fast, now. Keep your...

Secondary World FantasyPolitical ResistanceSecond Person

Content warnings 3

body-horrorgoreviolence

DP FICTION #136B: “The Monster’s Wife” by Stewart Moore

Diabolical Plots Diabolical Plots 2026

Content note (click for details) Threatened harm to women and children; non-graphic mentions of death by drowning; poverty edited by Ziv Wities The monster came out perfectly. The head of an ass. A human left arm, delicate in comparison to the elephant’s...

Mythic FictionFaithHistorical Europe

Content warnings 1

death-of-a-loved-one

DP FICTION #137A: “The Last Optician” by Ann Calandro

Diabolical Plots Diabolical Plots 2026

edited by Amanda Helms He’s the last independent optician working in my zone. Two or three years ago, there was a second one, but she worked part time and by appointment only. Who could make appointments for the future even then? The last optician doesn’t...

DystopiaCorporate PowerNostalgic

DP FICTION #137B: “Euthanasia Influx” by Rowan Hill

Diabolical Plots Diabolical Plots 2026

edited by Ziv Wities Content note (click for details) Body horror; extended description of assisted suicide with dubious consent The attractive blonde technician responsible for your death smiles lovingly, and a smooth plastic pen slides into your gnarled...

Climate FictionFamilyPost Apocalyptic

Content warnings 3

body-horrordeathsexual-content

DP FICTION #138B: “We Burst Across the Theoretical Gore” by Sara S. Messenger and Simo Srinivas

Diabolical Plots Diabolical Plots 2026

Content note (click for details) Graphic depictions of violence, violence against animals edited by David Steffen We are killers in search of new hunting grounds. We fear only starvation and others of our kind. We are wolfish comrades, strong in our...

SlipstreamFamilyVisceral

Content warnings 3

animal-harmdeathgore

DP FICTION #139A: “Everyone Wants to be a Part of Sasha” by J.N. Bilse

Diabolical Plots Diabolical Plots 2026

Content note (click for details) body horror edited by David Steffen Everyone wants to be a part of Sasha. It’s the greatest thing ever and will basically make you a legend at school and completely change your life. People still talk about Jessica B, who...