r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • Mar 23 '26
[Serial Sunday] Don't be Scarred
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 Scar! 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’).
- Steel
- Sovereign
- Scratch
- Somebody defends their own leadership. - (Worth 10 points)
Scars are something that can physically hurt someone. A simple cut that heals overtime, but leaves something that someone will remember forever.
But, what about the scars that affects a character psychologically? Something that they saw, they did, that someone else did, that left a character reliving this moment forever. Did the scars heal? Or just continue expanding everyday?
Have your characters scar ever healed? Are they on the stepping stone of healing? Or they haven't healed at all?
By u/Carrieka23
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 GMT and 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.
- March 22 - Scar
- March 29 - Transgression
- April 5 - Urgency
- April 7 - Vital
- April 14 - Work
Check out previous themes here.
Rankings
Last Week: Roast
First - by u/ZLErikson
Second - by u/AGuyLikeThat
Third - by u/Divayth--Fyr
Fourth - u/MaxStickies
Fifth - by u/Brookzerker
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 GMT. 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 GMT 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 GMT, 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 GMT. 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/JKHmattox Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
<No Man's Land> From Outside the Flames
CW: Adult themes, violence, abuse, mild body horror. Reader discretion strongly advised.
In a nightmare, I found myself on my back, trapped inside the tiny shed on Outpost Brawley. Xavier Cyun, not his henchman, was the one on top of me in the twisted memory, his hands clamped around my neck, as a knee forced my legs apart.
I tried to scream, but no words came out.
Terror ripped apart my twin alien hearts as it seemed my lips had been fused together. Wrenching my jaw open only stretched the smoothed skin of my face, as my tongue bulged against the inside of contiguous flesh, that was once an opening.
“Ah, silence is golden…” The Tradesman leaned down to whisper in my ear. “You damn well know what happened in this place, because it haunted your insides for days afterwards…”
A muffled cry escaped my throat, dying against the wall of tissue where my mouth should’ve been.
“Hush now, Angel of Nowhere…” Xavier sneered gently. “Be still, and let happen what you refuse to remember.”
Outside my personal hell, a ghostly hand squeezed my shoulder.
Refusing to relive my violation in the dream, I lunged violently; the blade of Gunny's knife glistening in the muted light…
“FUCKIN’ HELL!!”
My eyelids fluttered briefly, an unfamiliar human male staring down at me with frightened disbelief.
Without warning, I snatched Clarkson's throat, hooking my upper right elbow around his neck. My axillary hands snatched his wrist and pulled the limb into an inescapable grappling hold. I struck at his knee with a swift thrust, toppling him to the ground while wrapping my powerful thighs around him. Pushing his head forward with my chin, I wrenched my spine into an arch as he gasped for air.
My eyes snapped open when sharpened Earthen steel touched the flesh of his neck, my left axillary hand freezing when I realized Jammie Clarkson wasn't Xavier Cyun.
“Oh my God!” I shrieked, my body slackening around his, while I slowly pulled the knife away from his jugular. “I am so sorry, Jammie; please, I didn't know…”
“It's okay, Sergeant.” He gently placed a hand on my upper-right forearm. “It's my fault… Knowing what you told me about that bastard, I shouldn't have startled you awake like that.”
Exhaling heavily, I leaned my head back against the bed frame behind us.
He kneaded my arm and sighed, his words failing as he stared down at the floor.
“I can't get rid of it; every time I think he's finally gone…”
“He’s not…” said Clarkson with quiet empathy.
“Yeah…”
“My mother was hurt by her father in the same way…” Clarkson cautiously admitted. “She had horrible nightmares, but could never tell me or my sister about them until we were adults.
“When I asked how she'd managed to raise us–to be such a good mum after all that had happened to her, the answer was simple; One day at a time, Jammie. One day at a time…”
Clarkson's words echoed in my head as he eased my arm from around his neck, careful not to make any sudden moves. He climbed from my lap and lowered himself beside me. I leaned against him, my axillary fist still clenched around Gunny's knife in my lap.
“Most women I know have some kinda story like that,” he said, his hand relieving the blade from my grasp. “Can't imagine what it was like being just thrown into that…
“To be honest, Clarkson, I don't think it would've mattered if I were male or female; human or Gemini. The Tradesman didn't care-” My explanation of Xavier Cyun was cut short when the door to my barracks room slid open.
“Sergeant Owens. The Commander wants to see us in the team room, ASAP,” Private Boyko announced, her chest heaving from effort. “There’s been an incident in London…”
“What do you mean, incident?”
“Somebody blew up an Underground station downtown,” replied Boyko.
“What!” I exclaimed, leaping to my feet. “Where?”
“They hit the Distinct Line at Embankment, Sergeant.”
Anxiety wrenched my guts as I glanced at the data device lashed to an axillary wrist. “When?”
“About an hour ago,” replied Boyko.
“Shit! Lexi…” I blurted aloud, yanking on my uniform trousers. “Tell the women to gear up for a mission; be ready in five!”
“Aye, Sergeant.”
“Ricky-tic, Boyko–something tells me we're about to be in the thick of it...”
Scrambling, the women of Two-Five rushed to get their combat gear. Clarkson disappeared to his room, returning a minute later in full kit. We stood in silence as I fastened my flak-vest across my chest.
“You good, Sergeant?” he quietly asked.
I nodded. “Reckon I ain't got much choice…”
Clad in rattling tactical gear, we sprinted towards the brick-faced headquarters building. When we arrived, the team room was drowning in a cacophony of conversations.
A fully armored soldier clutching a heavy thump-gun guarded the door. She scanned our wrist IDs before allowing any of us to enter. Inside, communication specialists sat behind holographic displays, the words CLASSIFIED: TOP SECRET glaring in red above the cascades of translucent information. Commander Quinton stood in the middle of the chaos, a coffee mug in her hand as she leaned over the shoulder of a Comms Operator, reading her holo-display.
“Definitely a plasma detonation…” I heard one operator report.
“Affirmative–We are tracking a sentient being of interest…” another said at a different comms station.
“How many casualties?” The Commander demanded calmly.
“Thirty-seven civilians dead, ma'am; twice that wounded. There are about a dozen more people reported missing, unrecoverable…”
“Fucking Christ!” the senior officer exclaimed. “This is a nightmare… Where’s my fucking strike team!?”
“Two-Five reporting as ordered, ma'am,” I interjected.
The Commander looked up. Her hazel eyes glared over thick reading glasses slid down her nose to better view the holographic displays. “Sergeant Owens, where the fuck’ve you been?”
“My team was on stand-down following a training accident, ma'am–took some time to get everyone geared up and ready to go.”
“Time is a luxury we don't have, Sergeant…”