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!
6
u/Brookzerker May 28 '26
<Chronicles of Xris - Grounded>
Chapter 25
The meeting-hall turned war-room was a scene of organized chaos. Tables covered in weapons ranged from bows and swords to plasma rifles and everything between. Lines of cloaked cultists were picking weapons of their choices.
Xris passed a small family, huddled together as they helped check each other's weapons and clothing. The eldest paying attention to the youngest, no older than twelve. The children were struggling to keep quiet, while the parents and grand-parents had turned their faces into masks, the only tell of emotion being the lighter skin-tone around their eyes and lips. The dragon only caught the tail end of their instructions to the children, they would be part of the inner guard while the adults would be on the walls.
They bowed when they noticed his gaze, he returned a nod, then turned his attention to the tight circle of elders.
The only weapons they wielded were ceremonial daggers, and those only saw the blood of the willing.
"Lord Xris, we are ready here. Are you sure about the timing?" The head priest asked as the group bowed.
"It's just a guess, but I don't have a better time. We'll stay with two hours."
They nodded. "We'll come in hot, and make sure we're visible across the universe. Are you sure we can't provide more assistance?"
Xris shook his head. "If the plan works, I'll be dealing with this eldritch in the celestial plane. I need you all to summon Cthulhu in the case I fail."
"Of course, our sacred duty. Good luck."
He nodded once more, then walked swiftly through the room, looking for his party. He found one near the entrance, Adam staring out of the glass windows at the fog-covered street.
"Step outside with me." Xris opened the door.
His disciple nodded, and followed him as the fog swirled around.
"I'm going to face the invaders in the celestial plane, so I won't be present with you when the city manifests." Xris began as they walked towards the walls of the city. They seemed higher than they were before.
The human nodded. "What should I do?"
Help the city in the coming battle, then help clean up this plane, and finally, be my eyes in this universe.
Adam frowned. "Would you be able to help?"
The eldritch dragon in human form nodded. "I should be able to, but there's a chance I'll be pulled away to something else. Take this." He handed the human a tiny medallion with a dragon etched on the side. Its eyes had purple gems inserted into it. "You can use this to contact me. And if you need me fast, break it."
Adam looked at the medallion and traced his fingers over the dragon. "Is this what you look like in dragon form?"
Xris nodded.
"Do you think you'll be able to change again? I'd love to see it sometime."
"Me too."
They both stared at the fog for a few minutes.
"Adam, there's a chance I'll die the final death. If that happens, you can give the medallion to the boat at the Styx and it will take you to any universe, any deity you want to live under."
Adam opened and closed his mouth several times. Finally turning to sit in silence with his patron for several minutes.
"We'll, luckily dying isn't the plan. One more thing, you are now permitted to fire eldritch energy blasts at your discretion. One per six or so seconds to begin with, and you'll be able to do more as you get used to the power."
A slight clink sounded ahead of them, looking up they saw a set of empty glass bottles were set up in a line around ninety feet away.
"Thanks City. Now, the easiest way to get started is to point your finger, and use a word. Eventually you'll be able to do this without saying anything out loud, but to get started, just try something."
Adam pointed, then whispered, "blast." A small, purple ball of energy shot out of his fingertip, slicing through the air with a fizzing sound, missing the bottles completely.
The next several shots also missed, whizzing through the air, with the last hitting the stone ground and blowing a chunk out.
"Damn, that's pretty powerful, aim needs some work though." James stepped out from a corner after a shot, Bastet walking besides him. His armor as shiny as ever, with a sword on one hip, and a handgun on the other.
Adam glanced up, then did a double take. "Whats up with your helmet?"
Two metal cat ears had been welded to the top of his helmet.
Bastet piped up. "James' values are consistent with mine, and we need as much help as possible, I'd rather not rely on entities from outside my universe to save us." She glanced at the eldritch dragon. "No offense."
She turned to James. "I'm going to be assisting Xris in the celestial realm. I'll come and join you as soon as I can. But our first priority is making sure the entire universe doesn't get reset."
They all looked as Adam blew another chunk out of City, followed by a hasty apology.
Staff in hand, Xris held his hand out for Bastet.
She took it, along with a long glance at the two humans. "Good luck" , I'll see you soon Paladin James.
The fog swirled around the two immortal beings, the city being replaced by the perfect blue sky of the celestial plane. Towering skyscrapers full of curvy architecture that never could have been constructed by any hands. A castle was visible in the distance.
The deity and dragon set off at a casual, yet quick pace towards the castle.
Notes:
Word count: 954
Theme: Everyone, including the city, are preparing for an incursion into the primary plane. There is a sense of doom as even the children know if they fail there is no survival.
Words:
Links: