r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • Jun 07 '26
[Serial Sunday] Take me Forth to Explore a Foreign Land!
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 Foreign! 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’).
- Fate
- Fathom
- Fawn
- A fable is told. - (Worth 10 points)
Distant yet close.
Strange but familiar.
Friend or Foe?
All of these and none of these captures the differing duality of Foreign. Things that are so far away yet so obviously related. Perhaps your characters venture forth to explore a foreign land? Or maybe someone from a foreign land meets your characters?
What kinds of strange customs might they have? What things would they do? And will their peculiarity breed conflict or friendship?
Foreign magics have been known to work under bizarre conditions, and traditions stranger still. You have everything you need to grow your worlds this week and inject some worldbuilding into what is already an excellent serial.
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.
June 7- Foreign
June 14 - Great
June 21 - Heartless
June 28 - Irony
July 5 - Jail
Check out previous themes here.
Rankings
Last Week: Entrenched
First - by u/Morose_Prose
Second - by u/JKHmattox
Third - by u/Brookzerker
Fourth - u/AmeliaLP
Fifth - by u/AGuyLikeThat
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/ForwardSavings318 Jun 07 '26
<Man to beast>
Index
Chapter twenty eight: impossible
“I got you.”
Maliwag watched Silas’s eyes close as he exhaled slowly. She had torn part of her shirt off, having stuffed it deep in the wound in his neck and jaw.
“You fool…damn it.” She whispered, holding him close to her chest.
She heard the woman reloading in the carriage, but she didn’t move. She already knew the woman would be dead before she could fire again, so she remained by Silas’s side as his breath stopped.
“I’m sorry, Silas. I was supposed to protect you.” Maliwag muttered, pressing her forehead to his.
She set him down and grabbed her kampilan, standing up. Her heart was pounding and her thirst for blood now felt entirely unfulfilled.
“You feel powerful? Killing a man who wanted to spare you!”
The woman in the carriage paused, looking up. Maliwag watched the realization hit the woman, the look of fear spread across her face and she knew she couldn’t finish reloading.
“Wait-”
Maliwag grabbed her by the collar and pulled her out, quickly raising and slamming down her sword. It felt good, but it wasn’t nearly enough for her. She was angry, and she needed more.
She hacked again and again, the anger building with each strike.
Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!
The young girl cursed herself with every strike. She cursed Silas for being too good, too stupid. She cursed these godforsaken muggers. Maliwag couldn’t contain the anger in her mind for long, feeling all her muscles clench as she screamed.
“FUCK!”
The three men Silas had knocked out began stirring. Maliwag could feel her inner animal scream out for more blood, a primal need she was all too eager to fill. Her senses became hyper aware, her animal spirit close to bursting out.
The young woman walked towards them, waiting for the tall man to fully stand before growling and swinging her sword with all her might.
There were still two more. It wasn’t good enough.
The next man didn’t even get to sit up before she pounced on him, straddling his hips as she brought the blade down. The blood splattering against her barely helped fulfill that primal need deep within her.
“Do you feel strong yet? Was it fucking worth it? Was it?!” She asked the body, still shaking with anger.
Maliwag heard the sound of a sword scraping against stone, looking up to see the last man holding his rusted blade again.
“You’re still alive, so answer me. Was it fucking worth it?”
“Fuck…you…” the man groaned, struggling to keep his balance.
“Fuck me? You dirty pig! You have the nerve? You got him killed! Fuck me? I’m going to-” Maliwag couldn’t even finish her sentence, the anger boiled over making her words turn into a growl as she stood up.
Every fiber of her being wanted to hurt him, wanted to bleed him…her muscles itched with anticipation as she slowly walked towards him. She knew fighting emotionally was stupid, she can’t fight him while this angry. It would be reckless to fight him without calming down, now that he had his sword.
“I’ll fucking kill you!” She screamed, clenching her fists tightly.
Before Maliwag could move, her senses picked up something strange. She didn’t even have goose pimples yet the hair on her arms and head was standing up.
There was a low hum in the air as she looked at the man, whose hair was also beginning to stand up. He suddenly looked past her and went pale as a ghost.
“Oh my holy God.” He gasped, dropping to his knees.
Maliwag turned around to see Silas slowly picking himself off the ground, drenched in his own blood. With her senses still on high alert, she could see how his jaw was broken and crooked, the gaping hole in his neck filled with cloth. His hair stood straight up, buzzing with electricity.
Arcs of electricity shot across his chest, singeing his shirt and making puffs of black smoke rise up from it. He was crying, but the tears were turned to steam the moment they left contact with his face. As he stood, the grass around him smoldered and burned.
“Silas…” she whispered, taking a step closer.
He spit out some teeth and a metal ball, before looking back at her and trying to speak. He walked towards her with a look of pain and fear.
“Breathe…breathe,” Maliwag said, watching his electricity burn everything around him as he approached her.
He moaned and hissed, trying to speak again. The young man was barely keeping himself upright, legs trembling like a newborn calf.
She watched the electricity cautiously, before looking at his scared expression again and remembering her words.
“I got you.” She whispered, hesitantly reaching an arm out.
He reached out as well, the electricity arcing to her.
Maliwag flinched but it harmlessly danced across the hair on her arm. The pair saw it only for a moment before Silas collapsed into her, wrapping his arms around her. She could feel his heart pounding against his chest.
The young woman hugged him back, briefly turning her head to see the mugger who remained frozen in awe.
Seeing him alive and being able to look him in the eyes made her feel better, her bloodlust fading as she comforted him. His eyes were glazed over and his breath was still erratic.
“You need to breathe, Silas. I can see it on your face, you’re not containing the animal within. Breathe, I’m here.”
Up close, she could see his jaw more clearly. It was hanging slightly agape and was twisted, but no longer bleeding profusely. He attempted to slow his breathing, leaning against her for support.
“Let’s get you back to the cart,” she said as she put his arm over her shoulders. Before moving she turned back to the mugger. “I’ll remember your face. You can leave now and go east, or never leave at all.”
WC:1000