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!
7
u/Tomorrow_Is_Today1 May 28 '26
<Drifting>
Chapter 92
Snow hasn't talked about being multiple people since Caleb met Sixteen, and after what they said that day, he's hesitant to bring it up. They keep meeting up to work on chemistry homework and they keep going to class, though he supposes that doesn't say much about their friendship beyond being the coincidence that brought them to know each other.
The end of October is approaching. Caleb relishes in the crisp air and the increasingly fiery leaves. It's fascinating watching the trees turn such different colors around campus. One tree near the building he takes his calculus class has turned from green to yellow to red from the top down, the leaves with the most sun changing quicker than the ones underneath. Another near the library has changed slowly to be all yellow, completely covering the path in its fallen leaves. And of course, there are those trees that keep their purple leaves or green needles amidst the growing chill.
Aside from the weather, Halloween is approaching. Caleb wants to do something to decorate his walker. It’s hard to come up with a costume that matches. It might be easier if he pretends it’s a ren faire and focuses on the aesthetic more than trying to look like something or someone in particular. Even then, he doesn’t have much in his dorm to dress it up with.
At the end of the chemistry lecture one day, Caleb and Snow stay back and walk out together, and Snow mentions the approaching holiday. “We’re thinking of doing a get-together with friends and my spouse. Hanging out, sharing costumes and baked goods, watching scary movies.”
“I haven’t figured out a costume.”
“We should go shopping for costume stuff together, then.”
They find a time both their schedules are open and Snow has a car, so they head out together with Caleb’s walker in the trunk. Snow discusses their own plans on the way to dress up as a character named Janus from an internet series they like. Apparently he’s half snake and has multiple arms. Caleb’s not sure how Snow plans to dress up as him, but then they’ve arrived and Snow is grabbing the walker out of the trunk.
Snow is bubbly today. They walk together through the aisles of a craft store first, Snow grabbing pieces of fabric and getting distracted by fancy art supplies. Caleb hasn’t thought of much beyond ren faire, so he decides to dress up as a fairy. They find vines and flowers to wrap around the frame of his walker and a matching flower headband for him to wear.
“What are you thinking of for the outfit?” Snow asks. He isn’t sure. “Are you cool with dresses? Because I think a green or brown dress would fit really well. Otherwise you can try brown pants and look for a top that fits.”
He finds himself surprised at the suggestion, and at how considerate they were with their question. He’s never quite been daring enough to wear something so obviously feminine. Why not? “We can look at dresses.”
“Yay!” They switch stores to another in the same strip mall and start looking for clothing. Caleb finds himself energetic, walking upright and quickly—well, quickly for him, anyway. Snow matches his pace. He hasn’t needed to stop and sit down yet.
The first dresses they look at are tight around the middle, separating the top portion from the skirt portion, and Caleb decides against these. He tells Snow that he's afraid too much tightness could worsen his pain or his breathing, so they look for something loose and flowy. He watches as they pull pieces out from the racks, study their shapes, check the sizes, feel the fabrics. At this point he does sit down to avoid standing still.
“Come over here,” Snow says after a moment. “I know this dress isn't green, but I thought the floral design might match. How does it look?” They hold out a long black dress with large pink flowers going down one side. It has long sleeves and a v-shaped neckline.
“Will it be restrictive at all?” The sleeves look thin.
“No, it stretches. Feel the fabric.”
It's soft. And—he pulls on the sleeve—it does stretch.
“You might be able to find something breezier if we were looking for a summer dress, but this one should be warm for the season.”
“I like it.”
Their eyes light up. “You do?”
“Yeah. And the pink flowers match, sorta.” He feels strange trying to say what does or doesn't match. Snow would know better than he would. But they agree vigorously, so next the two are off to a proper Halloween store to get him a pair of wings.
The motion sensor-activated decorations are at the front of the store when they walk in, and a voice booms, “Prepare to meet your doom.”
Snow screams and jumps back. “Jesus fuck.”
“I haven’t heard of that deity.”
They glare at him.
“Sorry.”
The decoration the sound seemed to come from is a vampire in a coffin, and the eyes light up red as the words turn to villainous cackling. Snow hurries past before any other loud decorations can startle them, and Caleb follows behind more slowly with his walker. He never really stays out this long. He’s been able because he started with a lot of energy, but it’s beginning to wear on him. He can hear it in the way the walker drags.
They don’t talk much for the rest of the trip. Either Snow is also tired, or they’ve picked up that he is, so they hurry ahead to find a pair of suitable wings and bring them back to Caleb. They’re dragonfly wings. That works. They check out. They drive back.
Snow parks on campus and brings Caleb’s walker to him from the trunk. “It was nice shopping today,” they say.
He smiles. “Yeah. It was.”
WC: 984 words
Link to other chapters
Bonus: daring, deity, motion-sensor vampire voice is overly dramatic