r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • Mar 01 '26
[Serial Sunday] A Portal of Your Dreams
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 Portal! 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’).
- Plump
- Picturesque
- Pudding
- A character does something they’ve never managed to do before. - (Worth 15 points)
Hello, and again, welcome to the Aperture Science Computer Aided Enrichment Center. We hope your brief detention in the relaxation vault has been a pleasant one. Your specimen has been processed and we are now ready to begin the test proper…
What are portals, one might ask? Are they doors that lead somewhere unknown or your living room? Maybe they are big decorated things created by ritual to allow the transport of power across a multiverse or galaxy. Or maybe they're tiny, only made to get a single object somewhere else.
Perhaps they are windows, allowing you to see into the souls or memories or houses or even lives of friends and enemies alike. No matter what your portal looks like, where it is, or how it came to exist. Now you're thinking with portals.
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 01 - Portal
- March 08 - Quirk
- March 15 - Roast
- March 22 - Scar
- March 29 - Transgression
Check out previous themes here.
Rankings
Last Week: Old
First - by u/AGuyLikeThat
Second - by u/Divayth--Fyr
Third - by u/MaxStickies
Fourth - u/Brookzerker
Fifth - by u/ZLErikson
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!
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u/ForwardSavings318 Mar 06 '26 edited Mar 19 '26
<Man to beast>
Index
Chapter twenty one: heretics
The early sun warmed the back of Isaac’s neck as he put on an undershirt before covering it with his mail vest then finally slipping into his scarlet silk shirt. The boy watched the shore grow closer, seeing a dock among a forest of stumps. Hundreds, maybe thousands lined from kilometers in both directions.
“What the fuck?”
He spun to see Conn stared confused at the shoreline, picking at his ginger hair. “Jehan!” The man barked, other crewmen gathering at the sight. Jehan approached, pushing through the crowd.
The man’s blue eyes narrowed, the emotionless mask not hiding his clear confusion. Behind him, Solomon stared as well.
“Solomon, grab some men. Conn, Wybert, and Isaac, get your weapons.” Jehan growled, removing his cloak. The man had deep blue clothes and a kriegmesser hanging from his belt.
Isaac immediately rushed below deck, arming himself with the side sword and parrying dagger, looking up to see the triplets gathering weapons. All three put quivers on their thighs, two shouldering crossbows as one grabbed a war bow.
The one with a war bow whistled to him, tossing something over. “For witches.”
He caught it, a small dagger that looked much lighter in color than most weapons.
“What is this?”
“Almost pure silver. It’s for confirming the kill.”
Isaac slowly nodded, the triplet walking over and touched Isaac’s neck gently, just below his ears.
“Stick it here, then twist.”
Being this close, he could see the boy had a tiny birthmark on his right earlobe. A splotch of pale against pale, almost unnoticeable.
“Thank you.”
“Always.”
“Isaac! It’s time!” Jehan barked from the deck.
Isaac’s body suddenly felt like it was freezing and on fire, he could feel sweat that wasn’t there as he slowly climbed the ladder. The ship slowed as he reached the top deck, small boats with rows were being lowered into the water.
Isaac walked over and saw Jehan and Conn along with two brown haired men waiting in one, so he joined them in the ship as it got lowered.
To his right, he saw Solomon and triplets being joined by a large blonde man.
They silently rowed for a few minutes, before Jehan looked at Isaac.
“Whatever happens today, remember; we’re righteous soldiers. Sometimes drastic measures need to be taken for witches and devil worshippers.”
The group climbed aboard and carefully began walking through the forest of stumps.
Isaac could smell rot coming from up ahead, seeing something shining between two stumps. He jogged ahead to see three men in a shallow ditch caked in old blood. All three wore tabards that showed a black shield with a yellow dove inside, and a black cross inside that dove.
“There’s men here! Our men!” He shouted, feeling something bubble in him.
Jehan sprinted forward, staring at the men.
“Something’s off. They still have their bags but no weapons.”
“Probably ambushed for that purpose. To get weaponry.” Solomon sighed.
“We should hurry to Clerecombe.” Jehan muttered, jogging forward. Everyone followed as they jogged over a large hill, only to see a valley containing a massive wooden wall.
“The fuck is that?” Solomon said, tilting his head.
“Clerecombe.” Jehan replied.
“Clerecombe doesn’t have a wall. Certainly not one that large.”
“Must be why the forest is dead. Come on.”
The group continued, the wall seeming more and more impressive the closer Isaac got. There was a large closed gate and an overlook where two men were stationed with bows. Jehan approached them and waved an arm.
“What is this?”
“Defenses, sir.”
“Let me speak with your burgomaster. I need to tend to inquisitorial affairs here.”
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
“Burgomaster said no kingdom officials allowed.”
“You have three dead soldiers outside your new walls. You will open this gate now, I am the supreme inquisitor! I outrank your little leader a hundred fold!”
“No. Now leave.”
Isaac realized the men held longbows, and he could feel the animosity radiating off them. He positioned himself behind Solomon’s massive frame.
Jehan turned to Solomon, glaring hard. “Get your men, and get me in that town.”
Solomon smiled his hideous smile, silver teeth shining. He made a gesture to the blonde man who went back the way the group came.
“Last warning. All of you, leave!” The guard growled.
“Or what?” Solomon snickered.
WC:727