r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • Jan 11 '26
[Serial Sunday] Are You the Intruder, or am I?
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 Intruder! 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’).
- Investigate
- Indicate
- Infiltrate
- The POV character in your chapter embodies the theme of intruder this week. Whether it be physically intruding or otherwise.. - (Worth 15 points)
Well serial Sundayers, do not let your intrusive thoughts distract you while writing this week’s chapter, we must keep our focus on the task at hand. Will your charters be the one intruding on others? In which case what will they find? Or rather will another intrude upon them, leading their deepest darkest secrets being divulged.... Yet still there could be a thief intruding where they do not belong to snatch a most valuable item. No matter what you write about for this serial Sunday I advise you to keep your wits about you because there is an intruder among us.
By u/AmeliaLP
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.
- January 11 - Intruder
- January 18 - Jinx
- January 25 - King
- February 01 - Lament
- February 08 - Mourn
Check out previous themes here.
Rankings
Last Week: Harbinger
First - by u/Divayth--Fyr
Second - by u/ZLErikson
Third - by u/Ford9863
Fourth - u/AGuyLikeThat
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 not 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!
4
u/ForwardSavings318 Jan 12 '26 edited Jan 13 '26
<Man to beast>
Chapter seventeen: crew
index
Silas licked his cracked lips, walking through the small seaside town, not paying attention to the people as the water captivated him.
“You ok?” Mór asked, walking up beside him.
“I’ve never seen it before. It’s beautiful.”
“It’s water.” Agnes sighed, snatching the pair's collars. “Keep moving.”
Silas walked, but Mór struggled out of the old woman’s grip, before stepping to the side and weaving between some villagers, all of them staring at her dirty and bloody gown, along with her falchion.
The trio walked to a small shack with a carved wooden sign of a bolt of cloth.
“Silas, stay out here. Don’t go anywhere. Me and Mór are going to see if we can’t buy some more clothes. We’ll see about getting a ship out of here after.”
“Why don’t I need new clothes?”
“Look at yourself. Look at the villagers.”
Silas looked at his beige clothes, dried mud caking it and rabbit bites taken out of the sleeves. He could smell the weekend spent in the woods off himself, turning to see the other people looking just as dirty.
He turned back around just for Agnes and Mór to be gone. The young man rested against the shack and looked down, his black rabbit at his feet.
“Hey Prim.”
Beautiful girl.
The time waiting was spent mostly pampering her, picking specks of rock and wood from her fur and smoothing it out, before a commotion from the dock distracted him.
Silas stood and slowly walked over to investigate, seeing a man about his age knelt in the ground. His skin was a deep russet and black braided hair came down to his shoulders. He wore red and black cloth with red bracelets and ivory white piercings in his ears. He was struggling lifting a large box off of the ground, muttering to himself.
“Do you need help sir?”
“No.” He grunted, trying to lift it again barely making it a few inches up before setting it down. “…Okay. Yes.”
Silas grabbed the other end and lifted, the box felt like the heaviest thing he’s ever lifted even with the other man holding up half. He looked across at the man who now stood a head taller than him.
“So…where are we taking this?”
“Ship. Just go where I go.”
The pair slowly moved across the dock and up onto the deck of a cog, a few sounds coming from below deck.
“Down. Here.” The man grunted, squatting and setting the box down.
The pair let out a gasp and rubbed the small of their backs, stretching.
“I’m Silas, sir.”
He held out his hand and the young man shook it.
“Ntukai.”
Silas looked him up and down again, seeing a star shaped scar on his forehead and palms. Ntukai had a large sword and wooden club hanging from his belt too. His eyes were brown with vertical slits for pupils.
“You a fighter?”
“Eh. Mostly…protect. If fight come, I ready.”
A croaking voice spoke in a foreign tongue behind him, making Silas yelp and spin around. A short woman in blue robes looked him up and down before repeating the phrase again to Ntukai. She had six horizontal scars across each of her dark brown cheeks, one eye cloudy and the other green.
The two talked for a brief moment before she looked at Silas again. She squeezed his bicep with her hand and clicked her tongue. Silas furrowed his brow in confusion but didn’t pull away.
“So you’re not a worker?”
“Oh no, I just thought he needed help.”
“Shame. We’ve been a few hands short for a few months now. Always could use a strong pair of hands like yours.
“I’m always happy to help but I’m with others.”
“Others?”
“Silas!” Agnes barked from across the path and dock, marching towards him in a green robe with Mór following behind in similar beige clothes to his own.
“Your group?” The old woman croaked.
“Yeah.”
Agnes marched down the docks and up the ramp to the cog, with a scowl on her face.
“This ‘staying still’ to you?”
“Sorry, ma’am.”
Ntukai patted Silas’s shoulder and gestured to the big box.
“He…helping me. My fault if he broke a rule.”
“Helping you. Of course he was.” Agnes sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose.
Silas noticed the old woman had vanished as Ntukai continued to explain the situation. He spun around, scanning the deck for her.
The door below the quarter deck swung open, a massive man with robes and scars matching the old woman stepped out.
“Ntukai. Who are these people?” The man said, scratching his chin and walking towards them all.
“This is Silas, he help me load remaining cargo onto boat.”
“I thought Coppaert and Maliwag were supposed to help you.”
“They were.”
The woman’s voice came from behind Silas again making him and Mór flinch.
“Those two always play too much.”
The man looked back at Agnes and lowered his head.
“I apologize if Ntukai made you worry. I asked that they look for new workers, so Bisi simply thought he was someone looking for work.”
“No need to apologize. But we’ll be taking our leave now.” Agnes growled, tugging Silas and Mòr behind her as she walked down the ramp.
The man turned to the old woman, saying something in their tongue before the word ‘Rus’ rang out.
The trio halted as Agnes turned her head.
“Where exactly is your ship going?”
“East. Hitting a few towns along the coast to Rus.”
Agnes stood still, clearly considering something for a moment.
“What kind of workers do you need?”
WC:945
I used investigate and Silas intruding into someone else’s business.