Write the origin story of a notorious villain.

Posted in Character on Aug 9, 2024

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✍️ 89 stories

“The making of a Villain: Nurse Ratched” by Suzanne Jennifer

Submitted to Contest #263

In the dimly lit halls of Belfry Psychiatric Hospital in Salem, Oregon, the air was heavy with a mixture of pain and unrelenting moaning of the sufferers within. Mildred Ratched, a dedicated nurse, had spent the better part of a decade caring for the lost souls that inhabited this place. Like a breath of fresh air, Mildred would breeze into the rooms administering medications. Delivering meals with a smile, she would often take the time to sit with patients while they ate. She would listen to them tell the tales of their tragic lives and off...

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“The Queen” by Vivacity Rex

Submitted to Contest #263

My village is long gone, reduced to ashes that the wind has long since scattered. My sanity fled the year my child would have turned seventy, leaving behind a hollow shell that echoes with memories. How does one deal with being ageless when everything tethering you to life vanishes in the blink of a battered and bruised eye? You don’t. You survive because the curse demands it. But I refuse to merely exist. There is only one thing that keeps me moving forward now—the purpose that drives my every breath, every motion. But that purpose remains ...

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“There's A Villain In All Of Us” by Avery Feyrer

Submitted to Contest #263

“Closing time! Finish up what you got and settle up!” the barkeep bellows. His booming voice sounds like a hurricane in my head, though perhaps that was the point when dealing with the drunken sort. I look around and there’s only a handful of us degenerates left. A pair of guys trying desperately to hit the dart board but the holes scattered around it indicate they haven’t had much luck. An older gentleman passed out in a booth, a pool of drool slowly building underneath his prickly chin. And a middle-aged lady letting loose to Barracu...

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“Safety of Your Death” by Brittany Luckham

Submitted to Contest #263

Note: brief mentions of blood, war, and death. Ziva didn’t ask to be the villain. She never desired such an accomplishment. Life merely…necessitated…her acts of destruction amidst the seemingly idyllic Kingdom of Tajiem. Beyond the fanciful and harmonious citizens, the lush fields that never suffered drought, the economy that never depressed, the taxes that never rose, and the kindly population of shops and homes in an ever-expanding city beyond the palace walls. Beyond all this, King Luther feasted on his soldiers, bellowing orde...

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“Fate's Weaver” by Angela Wicke

Submitted to Contest #263

Darkness fell on the small, rural town of Devenport, but none were abroad to see it. They’d retreated to their homes with the light, huddling around their hearths for warmth, chatting animatedly about nothing in particular around the dinner table, or curling up for bed under the heavy fleece blankets the season demanded. It was peaceful time in a peaceful place. On the edge of town stood a cemetery, its brick walls and wrought iron gating overrun by foliage. It, too, had been abandoned as night crept along, the stone ghosts of Devenport the ...

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“Secrets and Waffles” by CJ Sieling

Submitted to Contest #263

Secrets are powerful. And nauseating. They weigh you down. Sometimes they are waffle irons pressing on you from every direction with so much force and heat you can’t breathe. Marks imprinted on your life that leave you forever changed and scarred. My whole life has been a constant barrage of secrets. Unbeknownst to their owners, their deepest treasures of knowledge leak out to me. A steady drip, drip, drip creating my own personal torture method. That is when I am careful. The little kid with his finger plugging the hole in the dam. Wa...

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“The Duke of Honour” by Rubekkah Estero

Submitted to Contest #263

All eyes turned to the towering frame of Alistair Wraxall, the Duke of Darbleton, as he crossed the threshold of Lady Yardley’s ballroom. Quiet murmurs spread throughout those gathered for the biggest squeeze of the season- the coming out ball for Lady Yardley’s youngest daughter, Miss Emma Yardley. Miss Yardley, finishing up a dance with a dashing young suitor and linking arms with her older sister, Miss Kate Yardley, made her way towards the lemonade stand.‘The pluck of that man, to stroll in here as though it wasn’t only a senni...

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“Lancelot Tickles” by William Siebold

Submitted to Contest #263

As a bureaucrat of strict procedural righteousness, Lancelot Tickles loved overly complicated paperwork. Lancelot challenged himself to turn the simplest administrative process into the most tediously convoluted and nightmarishly improbable task possible. He throttled innovation and strangled interdepartmental cooperation. He buried every assignment, function or undertaking in a grave of administrative trivia. Tickles dreamed of bringing down entire governments through mind-numbing paperwork, impossible approvals, and infuriatingly jargon-fi...

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“Collateral Damage” by Bill Bibo

Submitted to Contest #263

The car is going to kill me. I don't have time to jump out of the way. But then I didn't expect it to come from above. When the gas tank explodes two stories above, the blast throws me nearly twenty feet. A mailbox stops my bouncing. Flat on my back, I see the battle raging above. Awesome Man and another alien robot are in another battle to the death. *** Awesome Man. The city's self-proclaimed superhero. No one knows where he came from, but since he arrived, life in this city certainly hasn't been dull. Let’s flashback to that first day....

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“Commodus” by Melissa Taylor

Submitted to Contest #263

Marcus Aurelius. Faustina the Younger. Mother and Father. How I adore them both. I long to be as loved as my father. I long to find a wife so blessed with children as my mother. There are four of us and I am the only surviving son; I know they must pass the throne down to me, but I should like to believe that although I am their only choice, I would be their first choice regardless. I work tirelessly to prove myself. I excel in all sports, war time and otherwise. I am among the best riders in Rome. I aim to make them proud. I aim to be ...

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“The Big Bad Wolf” by Marie-Chantal Wang Iriart

Submitted to Contest #263

The Big Bad Wolf The whole world thinks I’m a villain. In fact, in every child’s story, there’s never a happy ending for me. Humans think we're the villains? Please. They clearly haven't met my Aunt Lupina at family gatherings. Parents warn their children to stay away from me. They tell kids to take the three little pigs as role models and take me as trash. The fear of wolves in Europe was so intense that there were actual trials where people were accused of being werewolves. This historical paranoia could be an interesting element to explor...

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“The Rise of Ruin” by Emily :)

Submitted to Contest #263

He was nicknamed Little Prince ever since he was a young boy. He would spend hours on the palace grounds, hiding in nooks or storage closets with his storybooks, pretending he was in a much more magical world than this one. A world filled with fairies, dragons, elves, and dwarves. Magical objects that held extraordinary power, elves with healing powers, wizards and mages who ruled the earth with their magic. It was much better than this dreary planet, which had none of these things. The others called him strange and weird, always in his head...

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“I stand alone” by Justin Diaz

Submitted to Contest #263

Footsteps echoed off the brick walls of the buildings, the night was calm and allowed the sound to travel unabated, Connor led the way for him and his date. She wore an elegant yet practical red dress that seemed to flow nicely behind her catching the dim light of the moon above. Being a full moon, it shined rather brightly over the city below. “How did you enjoy dinner Laura?” asked Connor as the two walked along the sidewalk all the while he did everything, he could not let his emotions show too much but despite his self-control he ...

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“Villain by Bureaucracy” by Michael Palmieri

Submitted to Contest #263

"Notorious Super Villain Ethereal Spear Strikes Again As He Destroys Prison To Break Out A Man Named Markus Kay!" Lance read aloud, a smirk curling his lips as he sipped his espresso at a small Italian café. "I see you made the front page again," a familiar voice remarked. The sound of a chair scraping against the stone pavement cut through the quiet atmosphere as Bryce Benson, one of the world’s leading superheroes, took a seat across from Lance, his expression a mix of annoyance and begrudging respect. Lance didn’t bother looking up. "You ...

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“The Pentagram Killer” by Alan Harrell

Submitted to Contest #263

Author's Note: This story mentions bullying and violence. Before I killed my therapist, Dr. Emily Wong suggested that I “journal my story.” I laughed at her then as she sat smugly in her high-back, leather chair. And I laughed months later when her blood was still wet on my hands. Yet here I am, putting pen to paper in a vain attempt to explain the unexplainable. I was deemed extraordinary at an early age. When most children were still defecating in their diapers, I was performing recitals in both piano and violin. By age nine, I had played ...

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Write the origin story of a notorious villain.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 89 stories

“The making of a Villain: Nurse Ratched” by Suzanne Jennifer

“The Queen” by Vivacity Rex

“There's A Villain In All Of Us” by Avery Feyrer

“Safety of Your Death” by Brittany Luckham

“Fate's Weaver” by Angela Wicke

“Secrets and Waffles” by CJ Sieling

“The Duke of Honour” by Rubekkah Estero

“Lancelot Tickles” by William Siebold

“Collateral Damage” by Bill Bibo

“Commodus” by Melissa Taylor

“The Big Bad Wolf” by Marie-Chantal Wang Iriart

“The Rise of Ruin” by Emily :)

“I stand alone” by Justin Diaz

“Villain by Bureaucracy” by Michael Palmieri

“The Pentagram Killer” by Alan Harrell

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story from the antagonist’s point of view.

Start or end your story with a hero losing their powers.

Write about two mortal enemies who must work together.

Center your story around someone facing their biggest fear or enemy.

Contest #263

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

314

Contest entries

109

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: