Write a story about a character who acts like they ‘don’t have feelings’ — except they’re just putting up a facade.

Posted in Character on Nov 11, 2022

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✍️ 45 stories

“Palace At The Edge Of The World” by T.K. Taylor

Submitted to Contest #172

They say that if you walked to the edge of the world you’d find not a precipice, but a palace. The palace is said to stretch on for miles - expansive and pristine, but far from extravagant. Bright light seems never to touch this place, but neither does darkness. It exists in a space of perfect balance. The axis of good and evil, morning and night, love and despair. Those that return carry back tales of a brother and a sister. Two quiet souls who look neither beautiful nor grotesque. They glide along the empty paths, unaware or uncari...

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“Hollow” by Liam Strittmatter

Submitted to Contest #172

I do not understand the emotions of people. I simply cannot understand the concept of feeling. I know that something is fundamentally wrong with me. I am not normal, or whatever society defines 'normal' as. I can speak to you, yes. I can laugh, I can cry, I can be angry. But I am simply not there. I do not see the need to form relationships with others. I have no need for physical affection, nor does it feel good to receive it. In fact, I dislike being touched. People tell me they love my smile and I let them because it is what m...

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“You Broke Me.” by Kelli McAleenan

Submitted to Contest #172

It was a Tuesday. I can remember it so clearly. It is impossible to forget the day you feel your heart crack in half; that splitting, piercing, breathtaking pain that holds onto you, and you feel like it will never let go. I fill my head with thoughts that take over me until I find it hard to pull air into my lungs; until sleep is just something I should do, but won’t. How could I not have seen it? How could I have let you slip away? I never took the chance to make sure you were okay, to gather you up like string and tie your tho...

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“It Will Shatter” by Sarah Deisel

Submitted to Contest #172

Calli spent her high school life getting hurt, so she decided to spend her university life getting misunderstood. It took a persistent few to break down the wall she had put up and see what lie beneath. When Rita met Calli, she thought the other girl to be cold and emotionless. She thought that way for a while. They met on their first day of university, both starting off their degree in Engineering. Rita had seen this small girl sitting alone in the corner while everyone else mingled and her kind heart would not allow for her to ignore...

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“The Blue People” by Patricia Merewether

Submitted to Contest #172

The Blue People The villagers of Burford, England, shunned Livi and her family. The cruelest folks yelled, "UGLY WAGTAILS or INDI WITCHES!, and threw rotten cabbages at them or pelted them with stones. But to most villagers, they were simply The Blue People and were shunned. The business of making indigo produced a most nauseating stench that clung to their bodies and clothing and followed them wherever. The plants used in the process had to rot before adding them to the dyepot and issued the odor of rotting garbage and death. Mixing and...

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“Being in Isolation, Together” by Daniella Diaz

Submitted to Contest #172

It would be impossible for you to imagine someone who didn’t “feel feelings,” would it not? I mean, if I was told that my mother just died, would you not expect me to break down sobbing? Perhaps you would expect me to be angry, or even relieved, depending on my relationship with her. Really, though, I would not feel a thing. Maybe, in your mind, I just won the lottery, and I should be jumping for joy. I should be stressed with all the responsibilities of holding such an immense amount of money. I should be thrilled at my new life. Instead, I...

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“Danna ” by N Navsky

Submitted to Contest #172

“What are you saying, Danna?” “I’m saying..I wish..I I…” Danna’s eyes welled up with tears. “I should have told Dirk.” “Told Dirk what?” Heather cared about her friend, but Danna and Dirk had been hot and cold for years now. She thought Danna should accept Dirk and his divergent beliefs on religion or let the idea of romance drop completely. Danna was crying softly. “I should have told him I wasn’t dating anyone. You should have seen his face.” “Listen. If you want to stay true to yourself and your dating rules….let him go. Maybe,...

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“Flowers for Adeline” by Sam Sage

Submitted to Contest #172

Dave moves the boxes from our shipment this morning in his usual burly silence. His brows are hard-set and he keeps his head down, blocking out everything else but the task at hand. I wonder, for the hundredth time, how someone like him could stand working at a florist, where everything is sweet-smelling and full of color. From the first moment we began working together about three years ago, I could see that everything about him was in stark contrast to our surroundings: always dressing in dark colors, always a stony expression, seldom both...

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“Poker Face” by Kate Rich

Submitted to Contest #172

The morning after Carol commits the crime, she has to work to swallow. The tightness of her throat is so intense, it feels locked. She makes short, shallow breaths. Her hands shake. She is sure if she lets anyone near hear, they will hear her heart pounding. The morning after the crime, Carol drives her Kia on I-5 north toward Bellingham, speeding to catch the ferry to Alaska, knowing that if she misses the Friday sailing, the next won't leave until Monday. And by Monday, Carol wants to be reunited with ...

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“A Bitter Thorn” by Sarah Boyd

Submitted to Contest #172

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” Wheels whirred as her father’s wheelchair zoomed across the red-and-white terracotta floor. He leaned forward, a plaid shirt clinging to his scrawny body like an extra layer of skin. Tracing the leaves of a vibrant pom-pom blue flower, he smiled and rasped, “It’s hydrangea, one of my favorites. Should’ve seen them when they bloomed. Truly magnificent!”“Yeah. That’s nice,” Rhea groaned, wiping her sticky brow. How can he stand this? It’s like eighty degrees here! Sunlight streamed from the vintage greenhouse windows,...

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“Pageant Queen” by KP Savitt

Submitted to Contest #172

Three… two… one The countdown feels like a ticking time bomb, and when it goes off, it’ll either explode confetti or blow up her entire world. Her fingers are crossed behind her back, only one hand because she can be superstitious. Her eyes are closed tightly––so tight bursts of light cloud her vision, but she ignores them. All she can think about is the countdown. More specifically, the result at the end. The energy in the room is palpable. Girls to her left and right are practically buzzing with anticipation. Some hold hands, others cros...

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“The Best of Both Worlds” by Madeline Honig

Submitted to Contest #172

Leo could nearly feel the heat of Charlotte's bulging brown eyes burning holes into the side of his face. She leaned forward ready to attack like a lion to its prey. He was not going to give her the satisfaction of him looking back at her. “I don’t understand what the issue is,” Leo picked up the remote and slouched down on the couch. “You don’t get what the issue is?” Charlotte’s eyes got bigger. “You don’t get what the issue is? I’ll tell you what this issue is. You have a text on your phone about how grea...

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“Just a shell” by Eoghan Ricci

Submitted to Contest #172

James was a simple man, yet he had one thing about him. He seemed lifeless, without emotions. Yet, to the untrained eye, this is who he was at the core. People were met with this calm demeanor when they thought they would make him angry. When one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, death, had taken someone close to him. It almost seemed natural to him not to show grief. James was a man of little words. However, his calm demeanor was often enough for anyone to understand if there were any alterations in his voice to hold one’s tongue. Th...

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“Fading in to nothing” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #172

-"My mother has been fighting, or rather, against dementia for two years." she sighs. "I don't know what to say to her when I'm on the phone." She briefly rubs her fingers on her cell phone lying next to her on the couch, as if asking her mother's forgiveness for talking about her with me." "How about hello? That is always a good start?" I suggest. In response, she raises her eyebrows in boredom. -"Or I love you..." This time she squeezes her eyes shut and shakes her head vehemently. -"She is talking more and more about her parents." she tri...

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“Bottles” by Emily Pope

Submitted to Contest #172

Sensitive Content: Mental Health (anxiety), Sexual Abuse (non-violent) I store my feelings in bottles in the basement of my brain. The bottles sit on shelves for hours or decades and wait for me to open them. I’ll never know for sure, but I think the shelves came with the basement, there from day one waiting for the first bottle with the first self-soothed sob. Since the first bottle, I have placed thousands of sealed-up feelings in my little basement. My negative emotions do no good for anyone or the world around me, so I feel no point ...

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Write a story about a character who acts like they ‘don’t have feelings’ — except they’re just putting up a facade.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 45 stories

“Palace At The Edge Of The World” by T.K. Taylor

“Hollow” by Liam Strittmatter

“You Broke Me.” by Kelli McAleenan

“It Will Shatter” by Sarah Deisel

“The Blue People” by Patricia Merewether

“Being in Isolation, Together” by Daniella Diaz

“Danna ” by N Navsky

“Flowers for Adeline” by Sam Sage

“Poker Face” by Kate Rich

“A Bitter Thorn” by Sarah Boyd

“Pageant Queen” by KP Savitt

“The Best of Both Worlds” by Madeline Honig

“Just a shell” by Eoghan Ricci

“Fading in to nothing” by F.O. Morier

“Bottles” by Emily Pope

🌟 Similar prompts

Set your story in a world devoid of logic, where feelings govern all decision-making.

Write about a character who must confess their true feelings by midnight, or risk losing it all.

Write about a character reminiscing over something they should have said, and how their life would be completely different had they said it.

Set your story in an unfiltered world, where people are always honest about how they feel.

Contest #172

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

188

Contest entries

90

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: