Set your story in a world where love is prohibited.

Posted in Short Story on Feb 14, 2025

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✍️ 84 stories

“Stop Being So Lovey-dovey” by Daniel Rogers

Submitted to Contest #290

Love can't be stopped. However, Wormtail, the head Warden of Hell's first circle, swore he would.A committee of demons assigned with a unique task anxiously waited in Wormtail's hottest conference room. The luxurious temperature, usually not felt above the fourth circle, reminded them of their exile to Hell's Siberia. Each one failed in previous assignments so horrendously that the big guy himself threw their butts all the way to the first circle – the coldest and most dreaded for demons.The door swung violently open, and they all jumped as ...

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“The Ashen Accord” by Kaylee Ellison

Submitted to Contest #290

Love is a plague. A sickness. A violent, clawing hunger that once turned the world into ash.That’s what they teach us.And I believe them. Because I have seen the ruins.The Old Cities stand like broken ribs against the sky, jagged and hollow, choked with vines and dust. Shadows prowl those streets, but they are not ghosts. Ghosts are memories. Shadows are what’s left when something is scraped clean.They tell us the cure was simple: cut out the infection at its root.No bonds. No devotion. No “I miss you” or “I need you” or “stay.” No hands bru...

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“The Kiss Collector” by Jim LaFleur

Submitted to Contest #290

The shutter clicked with the finality of a judge’s gavel. Elias Ward lowered his camera, its lens still focused on the couple through the crack in the door. Their silhouettes merged in the amber glow of a forbidden lamp, lips meeting in defiance of everything sacred in their sterile world. He counted the seconds—one, two, three—letting them savor their last moment of intimacy. The door yielded to his touch with a whisper. “Department of Emotional Regulation,” he announced, voice carrying the practiced chill of winter frost. The couple jerked...

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“The Other Side” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #290

I made sure the bottles were set properly, chose two ounces, and pushed the cold green button. A momentary pause led to the whir as the bottles filled simultaneously in the mechanical arms. The babies quieted down as they began to nurse. A quick look around assured me that the operation was running smoothly, so I switched off the light and left the feeding room. I had to get my monthly injection and then I was done for the day. Hunger pains began creeping in, and I thought of the frozen dinners piled in the freezer. ...

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“Love In Hibernation” by Max Wightwick

Submitted to Contest #290

Articles of manifold topics were written in the newspaper. Most detailed the progress of society in Letum, championing how high humans had been rapt. “We have travelled,” stated a renowned scientist, “far from the primitive eras before us. Dissociated ourselves from the rudiments of friendship, religion, sympathy, empathy, family, and other inherent flaws besides. What we have built, instead, is a system of efficiency.” Maesus winced at having read such casuistry. Science, he believed, had segregated all from the most basic human...

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“Out of Bounds” by Audrey Elizabeth

Submitted to Contest #290

The first thing they told me before I crossed the border was not to get attached.Not to the people, not to the streets. Not to anything on the other side of the barrier. Approach with caution.“You’re an observer,” Professor Barrow said. “You are here to study, to report. Not to interact.”I nodded like I understood.But I didn’t.-The train ride down from Division A to Division G takes exactly three hours and twenty two minutes. The smog sweeps in and the temperature drops by ten degrees. The skyline shrinks to flat, colorless buildings with so...

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“To Love a Spartan” by Keshav Mathur

Submitted to Contest #290

"Men of Sparta, hear me."Under the unrelenting midday sun, rows of Spartan warriors stood at attention, their sweat-soaked tunics clinging to bodies honed by relentless training. The courtyard smelled of iron and dust, a testament to ceaseless drills. But on this day, their sharpened spears rested at their feet, for there would be no drills.General Lysandros surveyed them with a steady gaze. His armor gleamed in the golden light, crested helmet tucked under his arm. Behind him, three women in flowing crimson-and-gold veils stood in silence, ...

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“The Love Virus 2.0” by Tom Fisher

Submitted to Contest #290

Love was a Virus.An insidious disease that nearly wiped out everything 136 years ago.Scientists tried to contain its spread, bombing cities in desperation—but it was too late.3.8 billion men dead in weeks—Wiped from history.The women were silent carriers. Immune. Unaffected. The perfect vectors. By the time the truth was known, it was already over.10,000 men banded together in secret.They had no choice.They imprisoned as many women as they could, cautiously taking samples—preserving their DNA.Killing any men who didn’t agree.Branding them tr...

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“Seeing Red” by Joe Smallwood

Submitted to Contest #290

I was just getting off the elevator when it spoke to me. “Going down!” it said. Which was fine, except I wanted to get off, and the doors wouldn’t open. I laughed. What a silly predicament—alone in a talking elevator, the doors don’t open.So I used that telephone thingy, and no one answered. I had always wondered if someone would answer that huge thing hanging there with enough plastic to kill several fish. When something isn’t used much, does no one check it?Where’s the tag they hang from fire extinguishers that tells you when they were las...

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“Destined To Love - Fated To Lose” by Olivia G

Submitted to Contest #290

The hall is cold and silent, broken only by the soft rustle of white robes and the echo of footsteps on stone. Rows of faces veiled in white stand shoulder to shoulder, each gaze locked on the raised platform at the front of The Center. At the platform’s center stands our leader, Evelyn, cloaked in pale blue. Her distant, unfeeling eyes sweep across the crowd as she stands above the council of twelve elders—the only visible faces in the hollow room. The deep lines etched into her pale face bear the weight of her years as she offers the crowd...

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“Blue Eyes in A World of Gray” by Annsley Smoak

Submitted to Contest #290

Jacen walked along the sidewalk with the same unhurried tread as always. What was there to hurry for? The Ministry was not going to reward him for arriving early, would not give him an extra point or two on the Social Score monitor that was pinned over his heart. Even the Superintendent would not notice if he were early. The Ministry doors unlocked at eight o’clock sharp every morning, and no attention was paid to those who arrived before the clock struck that exact time. The Superintendent would only take notice if he was late – well, he wo...

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“Love Lost” by Jack Kimball

Submitted to Contest #290

McKenzie’s eyes were sunken, shadows of exhaustion. His hands twitched where they gripped the table. Sweat streamed down his face, stinging his eyes. After three days of interrogation, he searched his mind and flung open door after door, only to find them all empty. Opposite him, a hulking man directed a spotlight (Thegor was his name). He rasped, “We’re running out of time. We can still help each other.” The man was deformed. His back revealed a grotesque formation of vertebrae creeping up his neck.After noticing McKenzie’s taking in his ve...

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“Loveless” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #290

The year was 2044, and the new world leader, President Darius Porter, had issued a new law stating that the act of love, in any way, shape, or form, would be considered a criminal offense with a punishment of imprisonment or death. It was rumored that President Porter, who was married for twenty-five years had lost his wife to another man, or woman. The details were still unclear. This law against love was said to be his vengeful way o...

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“Begging the Heavens” by K.C. Terra

Submitted to Contest #290

Malachi stood at the precipice of the mortal world, his presence both commanding and otherworldly. The night was thick with the scent of burning wood and distant echoes of chaos. Haniel’s handiwork, no doubt. He had been sent to apprehend the demon for disrupting the balance, for spreading discord among humans. But when Malachi found him, he was nothing like the bloodthirsty fiends he had battled before.Haniel stood like a figure carved from dusk itself, his tall frame radiating an aura of quiet power. His eyes, a piercing golden hue, gleame...

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“Forbidden ” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #290

Having a long weekend, Adrian drove his college sweetheart, Evelyn, up to meet his parents. It was time. Paradise, his hometown, occupied a hidden valley about two hours from the city. Unsullied by modern life, the town lived up to its name.Adrian’s mother told him she would make his favorite dish for dinner.Wanting to beat traffic, they left early in his pick-up truck.About an hour into the drive, Evelyn pulled an apple from her purse and took a bite.Adrian asked, “What’s that?”“An apple. Want one?” “No, no, no… throw it away.”“Why? They’re...

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Set your story in a world where love is prohibited.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 84 stories

“Stop Being So Lovey-dovey” by Daniel Rogers

“The Ashen Accord” by Kaylee Ellison

“The Kiss Collector” by Jim LaFleur

“The Other Side” by Hannah Lynn

“Love In Hibernation” by Max Wightwick

“Out of Bounds” by Audrey Elizabeth

“To Love a Spartan” by Keshav Mathur

“The Love Virus 2.0” by Tom Fisher

“Seeing Red” by Joe Smallwood

“Destined To Love - Fated To Lose” by Olivia G

“Blue Eyes in A World of Gray” by Annsley Smoak

“Love Lost” by Jack Kimball

“Loveless” by Greg Gillis

“Begging the Heavens” by K.C. Terra

“Forbidden ” by John K Adams

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story about love without ever using the word “love.”

Write about two characters who meet and/or fall in love in a bookshop, café, or at a wedding.

Your character comes across a stray (dog, cat, human — any kind of animal!). What happens next?

Center your story around a first or last kiss.

Contest #290

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

444

Contest entries

155

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: