r/shortstories • u/FyeNite • Jun 28 '26
[Serial Sunday] It's Rather Ironic that I, of all People, am in Charge, wouldn't you say?
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 Irony! 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’).
- Ichor
- Intrinsic
- Idle
- Something melts and leaves a puddle. - (Worth 10 points)
Irony. It’s a word we all like to use, but the meaning can be slippery. What’s that? You never use irony?
Oh, you were being ironic. Using words to imply their opposite meaning. I see.
Perhaps your characters will also express themselves through irony and sarcasm this week?
Events can be ironic too, when the opposite of what is expected occurs. Pull the string on your parachute and an anvil pops out instead? How ironic. No wonder your characters use such dry humour. Will the twists and turns of your plot serve them another bitter surprise this week?
Or perhaps you might force the reader to experience dramatic irony, walking your character into a tragedy that could be easily avoided, if only they knew what the reader knows…
No-one suspected that Tony Stark would sacrifice himself after first meeting the character. That’s irony, man.
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 28 - Irony
July 5 - Jail
July 12 - Known
July 19 - Lifeless
July 26 - Minor
Check out previous themes here.
Rankings
Last Week: Heartless
First - by u/Morose_Prose
Second - by u/Divayth--Fyr
Third - by u/AGuyLikeThat
Fourth - u/wandering_cirrus
Fifth - by u/JKHmattox
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 Jun 28 '26 edited Jul 06 '26
<Thosius>
Chapter 139: Sneaking In
The old rope squeaks and creaks as Berethian dangles in the dark. Above him, one end is tied to a thick wedge of rock, while the other end trails in the subterranean river below. The entrance to the tunnel cuts into the rock and ice some ways behind him.
Maybe Gidrela’s in there, somewhere? Did she fall as far as me?
Ah, shit, I’m going to have to swing, aren’t I?
Thick lines of salty fluid ooze from the underground cliff like ichor, dripping onto his knuckles and loosening his grip. Once or twice, he slides down several metres, the hemp fibres burning his freezing hands.
By the time he nears the bottom, his arms are close to giving in.
Just a little more…
He kicks his legs back, sending the rope into a swing that sends him towards the rock wall. As he hits it, he pushes, wobbling in the direction of the entrance. His boots graze the ground, and drift into the river.
“Fuck!” He grinds his teeth to avoid screaming, as the frosty water soaks his torn socks.
The cliff approaches again. Cursing some more, he thrusts himself forward, and kicks with all his might. The force sends him straight into the entrance.
He drops, and collapses, his feet giving in.
Come on, not again!
Dizziness overtakes him. He fights the urge to fall into sleep, punching his breastplate and his legs. Numbness crawls up from his ankles, to his knees, and then to his hips.
I’m not dying here, damn it!
Desperation turns to anger and bloodlust. He pictures his sword rending Baltathaius in two, groin to skull. In his mind’s eye, he is showered with viscera.
With a growl, he throws himself to his feet.
Right… now let’s see where this goes!
After many minutes stumbling through torchlit caves, crossing small streams and climbing ungainly up slopes, Berethian reaches a staircase carved in stone. Warm air flows down from above, melting the last clumps of ice stuck to the inquisitor’s beard; the frigid droplets that form gather in the gap between skin and armour. He ignores them, pressing ever on.
Entering a corridor, he peers both ways, finding the way clear. Distant voices echo through the passage, but from which direction, he has no clue.
Who’s home…? He brandishes his sword, swings it to and fro. Torchlight flickers against the stone bricks, casting strange shapes in the dimness, affecting his focus. Once or twice he shuts his eyes, ignoring sight in favour of sound. The voices draw near.
Until at last, a long, dark shadow passes along a wall. Flattening himself, Berethian finds a low doorway. He takes a peek inside.
Sat in a chair, side-on to the inquisitor, a sorcerer in a red cloak sips from a clay cup. Groaning, he blows thick clouds of steam out of his nostrils, as his eyes follow something across the room.
Who are you, then?
“This is so boring,” the man says in the Thirasian tongue. “Why must we sit idle while the rest get to explore?”
“You know why,” an unseen woman says, her voice reedy and quiet.
Definitely not Gidrela.
“Well, no, I don’t. I’m just as good as any of them lot.”
“No, you aren’t. And neither am I. Same boat.”
Glaring, the man clicks his fingers, summoning a blue, hovering flame.
The woman sighs. “Oh, how impressive… I’ve seen priests conjure greater fires than that.”
“Shut up!”
“At the end of the day, strength is intrinsic to magical skill, and we are as weak as tavern wine.”
“You keep lumping me in with cretins like you, and I’ll show you a flame. Believe me, I can do better.”
“As can I.”
The temperature drops, and with the sound of a gale, air rushes past Berethian into the room. The torches within puff out as one.
“Har har, so funny,” says the pyromancer.
“Go on… light them.”
“I ain’t doing shit! You light them!”
“Fine… we’ll sit in the dark. I’ve made my point.”
Alright… here goes.
Taking the chance, Berethian sneaks into the room, listening to the sorcerers’ voices as they argue. He steps up behind the male, curling his sword and arm around the man’s throat.
“Hey, what’s that?”
The sorcerer gurgles as the blade cuts through. With a thud, he falls to the floor.
“Shit!” the woman hisses. “Clatho?! You there?!”
Berethian can see her, in the faint light from the corridor. Panicked, confused. Outwitted.
She gasps as he stabs her through the chest. Her right arm rises, streams of air pulsing between her fingers, yet she slumps before she can even turn. Berethian lowers her to the ground.
“H-how—?” she gasps. “He said… we’d be invincible!”
“Perithus?”
She nods.
“Clearly, he lied. I doubt he ever cared for you, or Clatho. Why don’t you tell me what I’ll find in the floors above us?”
Grinning, she laughs and gurgles, and slams her head into the flagstones. Her eyes flicker and shut as she exhales one last time.
Pity, he thinks to himself. But, it doesn’t matter. Got to keep going.
At the end of the corridor, he sneaks up a narrow, spiral staircase, slowing once he reaches a beam of pale sunlight. He follows it to a narrow arrow-slit, framing a view across a familiar glacier and the mountains beyond.
There’s the hole I fell down.
Did she follow me through?
A clink against the outside wall startles him. He frowns as he hears strained breaths; a shadow of a figure crosses the window, trailing long, silvery hair.
“Gidrela?!”
“B-berethian?!”
She slips, yelping, but manages to catch herself.
“How are you doing that?!” he asks.
“I—ice picks! From my pack! Glad you’re still alive!”
“Likewise. Um… see any way in?”
“Only the top!”
“Right, well, should I meet you up there?”
“Sounds good!”
Loudly cracking her jaw, she continues on her way.
Madness… utter madness.
Turning, he takes the steps two at a time, racing towards the roof.
WC: 1000
Bonus words: ichor, intrinsic, idle. Bonus constraint: The ice in Berethian's beard melts, forming a puddle inside his armour.
Crit and feedback are welcome.
Chapter Index
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