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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#151: Back to the Reboot

This past week we’ve been inspired by Lightyear, Top Gun: Maverick, and all the prequels, sequels, and reboots hitting our screens lately. For many of us, reboots inspire a sense of nostalgia, or déjà vu. But how do you interpret them? Do you welcome new creatives and their reimaginings of the past, or do you crave something fresh in its own right?

Of course, repetition can be creepy — and it can even become boring — but it can also open the doorway to improvement and growth. However you feel about the ever-rebirthing media cycle surrounding us, we hope you’ll find inspiration in these week’s prompts:

This week's prompts

Write about a character who wakes up in their past life, or as a future reincarnation of themself.

Fantasy – 54 stories

Write about somebody breaking a cycle.

Narrative – 42 stories

Write about a character who keeps ending up in the same place.

Sad – 40 stories

Repeat the same line of dialogue, from the same character, three separate times.

Middle School – 58 stories

Write about a character who’s expected to follow in someone’s footsteps.

Kids – 38 stories

Stories

“Buster” by L. T. Pitkin

Submitted to Contest #151

“I’m not really surprised that you murdered him.” Tess looked at me over the decapitated gummy bear, then shrugged. “It’s the traditional way to eat them. Here, come look at this spell I’ve found.” “Can I have a gummy bear?” I asked. Tess’s face scrunched with disgust. “Of course not. They’re my gummy bears. I saved them. What did you do with yours?” “I ate mine whole, the humane way,” I responded, but pulled the book closer to see. I whistled softly, a bit impressed but also not entirely. This had Tess written all over it. “You want t...

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“The Saloon” by Katie Wilson

Submitted to Contest #151

I had heard many things about George McDonough from the cowboys that wandered into the bar. Their late night purchases loosened their lips, spilling story after story about the rugged, ruthless killer with the yellow-grip pistol. Bill was one of my regulars who had actually seen George, and despite his knack for embellishment he never ceased to hold my attention during his narration. “Oh yeah, I saw ol’ George ‘bout two hundred miles back. Scared me half...

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“Blood and Courage” by Alexander Peel

Submitted to Contest #151

March 1994 Sweaty limbs thrashed against each other. My arm pressed into his neck as my face crushed up against his head. His hair – matted and sweaty – filled my mouth as his arms flailed around my waist, desperate for something to grab onto. Teeth gritted, I shunted forward as best I could, moving more of my weight onto my forearm to try and crush his windpipe. The roar of the spectators grew, and I tightened my legs around his waist to keep him on position, continuing my relentless assault. Eventually, I heard a gasp as his hand slap...

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“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” by Kate Kilbee

Submitted to Contest #151

Smoke on the horizon. My husband learned me to say that to myself, said if I could see it, he was on his way. He told me what horizon meant. I promised him I'd be waiting. I thought there'd be more people on the dock but I'm early. I need to see my George. He's been a clerk in the Second Class Purser's Office on different ships for years but no more. I'd usually come to wave him off. I'd really wanted to, what with this being his last time, but I couldn't. I hated he worked at sea but while he was away I kept those personal times when we w...

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“Following my missteps” by Glyn Harding

Submitted to Contest #151

Dear Reader, I was attempting to take care of my lawn which is generally a lost cause during the six dry months of Summer. The cell phone in my pocket rang. It turned out my daughter, having freshly graduated from Louisiana State, had found employment near me in California. Apparently, the hiring company was in immediate need of her services, and she was required to report for work within a few days. That meant she was obliged to travel by air. And so, the basic reason for the telephone call emerged. Could ...

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“The Flames” by Apollo Louidort

Submitted to Contest #151

The candle flickered with every wind that comes by, seeing the flame only makes my time here slower. Being told to become the next one was always the topic, become what's better, become what will bring you peace.Walking on the dark cold road, the street lamps slowly got blown away, even their flames were no match for the wind.I looked down at my candle to see it dancing with the wind, slowly I could see images of my family popping up. The flame shows the truth inside you, each time it dances for you, it shows how you feel, take in each dance...

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“Love and Magic” by Crystal Fay Coleman

Submitted to Contest #151

April 16, 1986 It was abnormally dark on the night Allis Cleary came into this world. The full moon could not be seen through the storm clouds that formed overhead. Even before the clouds appeared, Elisa Cleary sensed the storm that would ravage the small town of Salmon, CA where she lived. Elisa’s labor cries could be heard outside the hospital room and even two rooms over. She refused anything for the pain, even when it was almost too much to bear. Elisa wanted her baby girl brought into this world as naturally as possible. After 13 hours...

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“Follow in the right footsteps” by F.O. Morier

Submitted to Contest #151

Ida was the last born and the only one to be graced with life. The other five, one after the other, had slipped into the great silence, leaving an even greater silence behind. It had been painful to say goodbye and fold little hands over a heart that hadn't even been allowed to beat for more than a year. And Ida? Ida carried in her graceful self all the love, hope, tenderness, aspirations, and prayers that would otherwise have been bestowed upon six. Next week she would finally come home! It was a balmy evening in May and John and his wife M...

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“Off the beaten track” by Arvida Svenske

Submitted to Contest #151

During my childhood, nothing was bigger than my Dad’s footsteps. Everything seemed to shrink compared to it. His feet, often clad in the same woolie-socks all year around (even during summer, encased inside his enormous sandals), were no match for the other Moms and Dads at the soccer-practice or at parent meetings. You could always see which pair of shoes stuck out. They looked like something the gargantuan cats Hogne and Tovner, known for carrying the Norse goddess Freya, had dragged in. And I mean, his feet were a considerable, European s...

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“right on the precipice of something new” by Angel C

Submitted to Contest #151

(note: contains sensitive language, sexual content) I suppose I should begin with that cologne. Verdant and fresh, it very much is my first association with work, with professionalism. My dad used to splash a sheen onto his stubbly neck, early in the morning. Calvin Klein, it was. That smell, of grapefruit in a clementine sun, of skin scrubbed new in the shower, of someone ready for the world. That smell made my heart thump as a child. Beating and booming in my chest, it meant he was off to work. Off to practice dentistry. Away fro...

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“One Hundred Twenty Seconds: It's the Only Difference” by Cheryl Martin

Submitted to Contest #151

Exactly twenty-two years to the day I was born on his birthday. December 31, 1991. My dad, Alexander Daikos Galatas I, entered the universe on December 31, 1969. Not only were we born on the same day twenty-two years apart, but we were also nearly born within the same two minutes. But, we were afforded a tad more distance. My dad was born at 11:29 PM and I came into the world at 11:31 PM. Yes, we shared the same birthday almost exactly. Only one hundred twenty seconds separated us. Two people, divided, yet locked in perpetuity by o...

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“A Virtual Life” by David Ader

Submitted to Contest #151

We all have regrets. Coulda, woulda, shoulda…fill in the blank. It drives some people into insanity. Or into therapy. Or worse. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Shoulda is the worst of the trio. I should have done this, but I did that, and look where it got me. Where is not the preferred place or you wouldn’t have asked the question in the first place. The ideal was a life well-lived, no regrets, and a long look in the mirror each morning, smug smile appearing, and a silent nod to the ...

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“Rediscovered Genes” by Marc Graziadei

Submitted to Contest #151

It’s almost like a phantasmic stance coming right out of a Lorraine Dille Williams novel; frozen in time has an individual discovering some long lost genealogical notes forgotten in the eyes of the past. This wide discovery has granted her a great find in linking her to an engaging past. Within the late 20th century, Jason Tronel, who had been an electrical engineer most of his working life; he had conducted his own genealogical search in his spare time. He lived a quiet and comfortable life in the rural region of Gloucester, Ontario. Si...

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“Rewind” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #151

Former ace reporter Joe Stillman walked slowly along the Assateague Island beachfront deep in thought about the eventful life he had lived prior to his retirement to Maryland’s beautiful Eastern Shore. Suddenly, however, as he approached a little too close to a herd of the island’s wild ponies, one of them kicked him in the head and knocked him out. After what seemed like an eternity Joe woke up in a daze. He found himself transported ...

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“The Cursed Bed” by Sergos Lol

Submitted to Contest #151

The Cursed Bed Hi, my name is Ethan, and I'm 15. The story I'm about to tell you is really cool yet very scary. It all started on the first day of summer break, I was very excited to finally stop going to school and doing homework. I thought my summer break was just going to be filled with playing video games, like always, and this is just how I liked it. but my summer break was way more different. My parents had just walked into my room and had told me “Ethan guess what for 6 months ...

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$250

Prize money

232

Contest entries

108

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 24, 2022 EST

Won by Kelsey H 🏆

Title: The Lake

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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