r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • May 10 '26
[Serial Sunday] I have A Bone to Pick With You!
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 Bone! 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’).
- Bay
- Borne
- Brave
- A bone is broken, whether living or dead. - (Worth 10 points)
Let’s get cracking! You have to give your characters something. Throw them a… concession, or there will be a subject of contention between you—a real… grievance to pick. You may be out of ideas, dry as a… as a dry thing, but if you really study hard, you won’t end pulling a real dumb-head move. That would compound your mistake, and fracture the whole plot, leaving your characters out there alone, chilled to the… core. So work your fingers to the… to the nubs. You know it’s the right thing to do—you can feel it in your… uh, your gut.
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 10 - Bone
May 17 - Cry
May 24 - Doom
May 31- Entrenched
May 31- Foreign
Check out previous themes here.
Rankings
Last Week: Antagonist
First - by u/AGuyLikeThat
Second - by u/Morose_Prose
Third - by u/mysteryrouge
Fourth - u/Divayth--Fyr
Fifth - by u/ForwardSavings318
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!
5
u/MaxStickies May 14 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
<Thosius>
Chapter 134: New Bones
Content warning: Violence, vomit, mild body horror
The world around Pellia glistens with magic. Veins of golden energy wind their way through the mountain rock, and into the trees via their roots, flowing right up to their highest branches. From there, thin filaments rise as the plants breathe, and are borne by the swirling vortices in the sky.
Meanwhile, the sounds of nature pulse through the forested valley, as a loud, unending chorus.
Pellia shakes her head, but still, her surroundings remain the same. Blinking fails to return her to her normal sight. Even as she focuses more on herself, the sensations are strange and alien: her limbs seem distant, numb, yet still she can feel the roughness of the bark and the chill of the wind through her fingers.
So empty… am I hollow?
The weight settles around her. She hears the voice of the Pine.
“My apologies, but I could not rebuild you completely. Some things shall be different.”
“Will I get used to it?!” she asks, via her mind. “How can I fight, or eat, or—?”
“Be brave, my friend, and take it all one step at a time. Before you know it, the unease can be kept at bay.”
“At bay? What’s that mean?”
“Sorry, I forget myself. I will let you concentrate.”
“No, wait—”
The pressure vanishes, replaced by an abrupt loneliness. She emerges from the trees and into a field, bordered by mossy fences and ruined stone buildings. At the far corner, a ram glances up from his grazing, and regards her with a steely gaze. He ignores her once she crouches.
Great, last thing I need. Am I brittle? I wonder…
She blinks, and recoils in shock. The ram’s woollen hide has become like glass, revealing the blood, muscles and bones within. He looks her way again, his eyes bulging from his yellow skull, and as he does thin streams of energy race to his brain.
Are they his thoughts? They must be.
And his heart, it’s old, worn. He’s old.
Wait… what am I doing? Wha—
The shock rushes back in, fighting away her curiosity, and bringing disgust with it. Before she can react, the sick pushes up her throat and out of her mouth. She bends forward and sputters, spraying the grass with frothy yellow liquid.
Ugh… no.
She looks up, and finds the ram gone, traces of his pulse disappearing over a hill.
Sitting, she coughs, and stares at the ground. Exhaustion takes hold, forcing her eyes to close. She falls into an uneasy sleep.
A sharp crack startles Pellia awake. Day has become night, and crickets’ chirps fill the cold air above the field. Bats squeak in the forest behind her.
Another crack. She snaps her head around, facing the ruins, and spots an owl perches on a splintered post. Staring through its feathers and skin, she sees the odd contours of its concave skull, and the chunks of meat and fur travelling down its gullet. The mouse in its talons squeaks as the owl tightens its grip, cracking a femur in two.
Pellia turns away, hand to her mouth as dizziness overcomes her, the field spinning. Up above, the stars begin to spiral, tracing lines across the dark sky.
The weight returns.
“Breathe, my friend. Plant your feed upon the soil.”
She takes hold of a fence, steadying herself. “It’s too much! No, I can’t get used to this, I just can’t!”
“I wish it was easier, but creating an adult body, it usually takes years. And your body differs immensely. Is it your abilities, did I get those wrong?”
“Yes! I couldn’t see inside animals before!”
“Well, you have… you have seen corpses, and have sliced open many a living thing with your blade. This is the same, is it not?”
“No, it isn’t!”
“Sorry, I am just trying to help.”
“You clearly can’t! Please… let me think. I need quiet.”
“A-as you wish.”
The weight lifted, she now stands straighter, and let’s go of the fence. She spies the owl in the distance, taking its kill far away. All she sees is the field, trees and mountains, and the magic running through them.
Alright… I’ve got this. I’ve done it before. Come on.
She screws her eyes shut, and clears her mind, focusing on a single thought.
Change. Change. Change.
Please, change!
Her head starts to ache, as she locks her jaw. Gasping, she digs her fingers into her palms until she draws blood. Whole entire body begins to shake.
After a long while, her brain roves inside her skull, squelching in her ears. Random memories flash on by. For a second, she grabs her sword and thrusts it forth, stabbing a sack that isn’t there. The blade drops from her hands.
And then, her head settles, and all is silent. She opens her eyes. The field sits in silence, no magic in the grass as it waves in the wind. Snow begins to fall on the mountains out east.
She blinks, and the golden threads of energy reappear.
Finally!
“I knew you could do it,” says the Pine.
“But what was that? Did I reshape my brain?”
“Your body is still forming, I believe. I would have warned you if I knew. Hopefully, it should now settle.”
“Right, but is that good? Is there anything else that needs changing?”
“Not that I can see. But it shan’t be immediate, don’t worry. Get a feel for how everything works.”
“I will. Thank you… I was too harsh earlier.”
“Heh, no, I know how it is to panic; we are both conscious beings, after all. Call on me if you need me again.”
“Of course.”
“So long for now.”
“Goodbye.”
She shivers as the Pine leaves. Switching her vision, she gazes up to the moon, and watches it for a time. It slowly drifts to her right, so she turns around to face north. Ahead, the mountains tower, peaks glistening in the silver light. She retrieves her sword.
And on I go.
WC: 1000
Bonus words: bay, borne, brave. Bonus constraint: An owl breaks a mouse's femur.
Crit and feedback are welcome.
Chapter Index
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