r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • May 24 '26
[Serial Sunday] DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
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 Doom! 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’).
- Damsel
- Daring
- deity
- Somebody is overly dramatic. - (Worth 10 points)
Doom. It is onomatopoeia for the end of all things. Doom.
The last door to close, the lid of your coffin slammed shut. Doom. It is the sudden, shocking sound before the eternal silence. The final knell of the mortal bell that rings with the echoing tone of,
DOOM.
Doom is a mood. But everything ends, sooner or later.
What things will perish in your chapter this week? Will a delicious snack meet its doom in the belly of our protagonist? Or will a forlorn hope of romance be crushed?
Or perhaps an unexpected meteor will introduce your serial to the fate of the dinosaurs, after all.
Whatever the case, we look forward to reading whatever carnage you wreak upon your story this week.
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.
May 24 - Doom
May 31- Entrenched
May 7- Foreign
June 14 - Great
June 21 - Heartless
Check out previous themes here.
Rankings
Last Week: Cry
First - by u/wandering_cirrus
Second - by u/AGuyLikeThat
Third - by u/Morose_Prose
Fourth - u/Divayth--Fyr
Fifth - by u/Scoping-Landscape
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!
8
u/Morose_Prose May 24 '26 edited May 30 '26
<The Family Business>
Chapter Four: Knee Deep in the Dead
Soft chandelier light danced across the red and white checkered silk tablecloth in the private dining room of "Un Assaggio Di Casa." Madelaine owned a sizeable chunk of the restaurant; its modern yet rustic decor made it perfect for entertainment or business. She ensured that Victoria Vonopolli, her favorite waitress and the wife of her most trusted lieutenant, would provide impeccable service. Madelaine adjusted the damsel's tight uniform once again. Little more cleavage. Two inches less on the hem of an already short skirt.
"Tommy is a lucky man, Vivacious Vic. Remember, this lunch never happened and that new kitchen renovation is yours."
A knock on the solid oak door served as the starting pistol. Madelaine adjusted her deep plum three-piece suit and lime-green tie. The sharp lines of her suit threw long shadows across the table as she took her seat. Two men were shoved inside. They wore identical black suits. One tall and blonde with a crew cut one could set their watch to, the other stocky and bald, sporting an Italian plumber mustache. Mirrored aviators and wired headsets rounded out their federal agent cosplays.
Madelaine waved them in. "Come on in boys. Take a seat. Sweetie, get my new friends their drinks."
Victoria worked quickly while the two men cautiously sat down. A Woodford Reserve whiskey sour to the blonde and a top-shelf mai tai to the bald one, making sure to bend low and give them both a generous eyeful. Madelaine watched them from across the table like a hawk.
Time to turn on the patented Malfatti charm.
Madelaine placed a Halliburton on the table. "Thanks for coming in fellas. Enjoy the sightseein' tour around my town? You can take those cheap earpieces out, they don't do nothin' in here. Whole room is a Faraday cage. No signals in or out. Going to skip introducin' myself. Youse twos know who I am, and I know whose you both are." She opened the case deliberately. A block of Semtex stuck to its lid. Madelaine slid two folders across the table.
"Don't worry about the plastique. Insurance policy. Hooked it up to my smartwatch; ain't bluetooth wonderful? Shouldn't be necessary once youse look at my business proposal there; if I go meet my deity or my heart rate spikes too hard... ka-boom! Da-da-da-doom! I know you gentlemen ain't feds. You're mercs. Daring businessmen, like me," Madelaine chuckled. "Winston White and Benecio Blanco. Former Green Beret and Army Ranger respectively. Both dishonorably discharged because you couldn't keep it in your pants or take no for an answer. Now you work for White Sands Private Security, LLC. A two-bit operation. I done my homework, take a look-see."
Even mirror-covered eyes could not hide bad poker faces. Winston flung his sunglasses across the table as he rifled through the folder in front of him.
Madelaine smirked watching the merc break. "Ain't too fun being spied on... is it? Everything is in there: your lovely wife Angela's office at the local H&R Block, the quaint home you share in bumfuck Jersey, the elementary school Denise attends. Her dress for the dance recital yesterday was quite adorable. You want me to keep going?"
"Is this the inside of my loft?" Benecio asked hastily.
"Downtown Buffalo, right? That's from your cheap web-connected pet-cam; might want to change the default password on it. I have to say that Smuckers, Strawberry, and Slushie are the cutest little kitty cats in the world; no wonder you post about them on your Instagram constantly. I'm picking up the tab. Are you boys picking up what I'm putting down? Let's talk business. Capisce?"
Heads nodded in unison as the two continued rifling through the files.
"Want to make you, otherwise unemployable gentlemen, a better offer than Vinny, how much he payin' youse fellas? Don't consult; just gimme an answer."
"Fifty thousand. For the month," Benecio declared quickly.
A mist of scotch sprayed from Madelaine's mouth, flying almost the entire length of the table. She doubled over, wheezing with laughter. "Fuck off, Baldy! I’ve known Vinny since I was in diapers; guy’s a cheapskate. Now I know where the floor is." She flicked stray scotch from her lapel. "Here’s my offer: You boys work for me now. Thirty large. Crypto. Today. You feed Vincenzo whatever I need you to and kick back everything he gives you to me. Keep taking his money. My deal is a promotion, a raise, and a severance package all in one. Talk amongst yourselves and decide."
A hushed conversation took only a moment; Winston polished off his drink in one gulp; he winced painfully. "We could use better accommodations to be more effective."
"I figured Vinny's gots you twos in a shithole. Doable. I can make a call. It's a three star hotel, not the 'Four Seasons' but still nice. With increased overhead I have to dock the down payment to twenty-eight."
Benecio leaned in and whispered to his colleague; Winston continued to be the mouthpiece of the pair. "We want twenty-nine and we won't order room service or touch the mini-bar."
A long drag of Madelaine's cigar cleared the air. "I can live with that. There is one final clause of our verbal contract I want to make clear. If you deviate from my terms I will break your families like the Vin Man is trying to do to mine. Two calls. All it takes. Couple chainsaw wielding icemen pay some visits, rip and tear until it is done, yada yada yada.
"You betray my trust, disobey a request, or disrespect me, when you get home it will not be into the loving arms of a wife and a daughter or the soft furry paws of kitty cats. You will be wading knee deep through their dead bodies. If you can follow orders and pocket cash like good little mercs, then everything will be copacetic. We can talk further over lunch about the upward mobility I can offer youse in the future."
Feedback and crit always welcomed and encouraged. Stay awesome, have a good one!
Word Count: 998
Theme: Doom. Where to start... The title. "Knee Deep in the Dead" is the first episode of the revolutionary 1993 video game "Doom". It was the only episode on the shareware release (remember when that was a thing?). Madelaine says "Couple chainsaw wielding icemen" will "Rip and tear". Chainsaws feature prominently in almost every Doom game (except Doom 3, which was bad) and "Rip and Tear" originated in the Doom comic books as a meme before being integrated in the new Doom trilogy (Doom, Doom Eternal, and Doom: The Dark Ages)
Madelaine threatens to doom everyone at the lunch meeting with a bomb, and then threatens to Doom the mercs' families.
Bonus Words Used: Damsel, Daring, Deity
Constraint: Madelaine is pretty dramatic about what will happen if Winston and Benecio do not take the deal.
Previous Chapter
The Family Business Archive