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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 – 41 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

“Running Round A Dream” by PJ Aitken

Submitted to Contest #151

Read original story “Running Down A Dream” here https://blog.reedsy.com/short-story/03dhqg/ His eyes exploded wide open as the harsh sunlight hit them. Mikey had had one of those dreams again but this felt even more real than last time. He didn’t need to wrack his brain because every detail was etched into his mind. The lake. Sound of a boat’s engine. Voices. His best friend Warren was there. A close up of the T-shirt they bought during a group trip to the Mall last week. An enormous explosion. A time – 9.15am. Then once again ...

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“The Pitch” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #151

Every weekend… Every weekend we come out here to see them play and he does the exact same things. Has his hands up to his face and just lets the other team run past with the ball. All those practices and he just does not do a thing when the game is on. Four years of this and he still does not care at all about it. When I was his age, I was out there wishing I had a uniform and a new ball to play with and people to make me better at the game. But no, we have to come out to the pitch and see him just freeze in front of all of the other parents...

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“The Grandfather” by Michael Typist

Submitted to Contest #151

Part One It was late in the fall of Oliver’s Kindergarten year. He was ready for school, but it was still half an hour before the bus would arrive. He had risen early to help his grandfather, Charles Walker, wash the car The car needed to be washed before he left for work, because he has a very important meeting today Oliver dipped his hand in the bucket and felt the cold, soapy water. He watched the suds float around while Charles scrubbed. His face was stern and unforgiving of the bird droppings on his windshield Oliver listened t...

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“The Land of Milk and Honey ” by Futurama Delivery

Submitted to Contest #151

As he nestled within a center of spiraling trees, Kreios clutched his whetted stinger to Amara; his eyes unabashedly filled with envy. A soft, snowy midnight glow bathed them. Seeing Amara's black-coated hair reflected in it, Kreios shivered as an undeniable power gleamed in her eyes. Her susurrations echoed in the trees. She bounced up and down.Amara was almost giddy beneath her fearfully shaking antennas.Her sandalled hindleg languished on firmly rooted oak branches. Dense shrubbery was beneath them. Pollinated by the bee colony's hard wor...

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“Lost down Memory Lane” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #151

“Betty, wake up, it’s starting!”“Come on dearie, you don’t want to miss it!”The words come through slowly, thickly, like they’ve waded in honey. Sticking together, they seem to make little sense. Still, I open one eye and then the other.There she is, radiant even as an image on a glass screen; the satin gown seems to glow with its gold and silver threads as if she’s been dipped in a pot of light. That dress, it looks like it’s been spun from my sweetest dreams, perhaps the dreams of every girl watching. Who wouldn’t want a dress like that? T...

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“Duelling an Eldritch Alien” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #151

Sir Danielle Longbow’s sword rose to meet a foe unimagined in her worst nightmares. On the alien world designed by hatred and hunger it was no wonder that the beast was an eldritch abstraction. Butterfly wings tipped with claws fluttered at the speed of a hummingbird. Eyes blinked on stalks with lamprey mouths. A purple fanged stalk lurched towards Danielle with the speed of an arrow. She slashed at ...

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“The Goddess of Life” by R. B. Leyland

Submitted to Contest #151

Content. That is the word I’d use to describe my current condition. Surrounded by a warm substance, fed what I want at my slightest whim, surrounded on all sides by cushioned walls. Some would probably call where I am a prison; I call it paradise. Compared to the rest of my life, feeling safe and secure is more than just a bonus, it’s a delicacy I never thought to consume. A comforting female voice was my constant companion, whispering to me and planting her warm, loving hand on my head. Less common was a deeper rasp, but no less loving...

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“The Sands of Time” by Wendy M

Submitted to Contest #151

"I am your God and you shall worship me." He stared at his people balefully, this beautiful Abyssinian tyrant. None dared to disobey his wishes, afraid of the curse those vivid green eyes might level upon them. The people watched, quivering, apprehensive as the last stone rolled into place. Their God walked amongst them and had driven them hard. He ruled their ancestors for millennia, and they had bowed to his every desire, every whim. They had built this magnificent edifice for him, not knowing what they had created. A collective sigh a...

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“Selene” by Crystal Lewis

Submitted to Contest #151

I visited her at night as always, travelling to the Mountains, tall and dark like a looming beast.I walked to a hidden cleft marked only by a blanket of blossoming Moonflowers. At the base lay silvered, black doors that only opened when the sun’s heat was long gone.With a wordless gesture, it opened and I strode into the welcoming light. Soft, plush grass carpeted a ground of hard, cold rock. Lights were festooned into the walls and glowed with a bright, yet cold light.I strode through the corridor until it widened into a vast library with h...

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“Wheatish Complexion, Average Height” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #151

I hop over the 20 dot kolam and open the gate. I know I will be sent to Mayura Bakery and Sweets within minutes.I look back at the four swans with cherries in their beaks, encircling a sharp leafed twig. They float on the street outside the gate only when special guests visit us. The guests who could potentially become family.I remove my school shoes and carry them inside. The shoe rack has been shifted from the front door to the back door in honour of visitors.I walk into the living room. A new diwan cover set with red elephants parading on...

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“Lather. Rinse. Repeat.” by Jeannette Miller

Submitted to Contest #151

James was minding his own business, drinking his coffee and reading the paper. It was Sunday morning. His day off. His day to relax, maybe go outside and mow the lawn. If the weather wasn’t too hot. “This time it will be different.” Liz said pleadingly sitting down on the couch next to James. Convincing him to try new things was always a challenge. Her track record wasn’t that good and she really needed something to go as planned. “You said that the last time.” James said without looking at her. Saying no was easier if he didn’t look at her...

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“Stalling” by Jeremy Renbarger

Submitted to Contest #151

I wasn’t very cool in school, kind of nerdy, shy, and awkward. I had always felt weird about people, we would be cool one day and the next day they would pretend they didn’t know me. I always wanted to be like my older brother Rick, was super popular in school had a lot of friends and friends that would pretty much take a bullet for him. Rick being my brother made me, I guess sort of cool, but my brother did his best to give me tools so that I could be cool on my own. He taught me how to breakdance, always put me on to cool music,...

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“Gobbler” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #151

Gobbler “What we’ve got here is&...

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“Baptism of Acid” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #151

Alien insects were chewing on Sir Danielle Longbow beneath her armour. Her feet were tired of running from hunters with long spears. A godly herald floated above her as she ran. Blood fell as drizzle from the hellish sky. Danielle’s green Crann Kingdom tabard was turning from green to blackish brown. Her sword slapped her side in its scabbard. Her shield took the scratches of vicious thorns on every branch she ran through. ...

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“unseen” by Emily Harvey

Submitted to Contest #151

"WHASSUP!"A heavy arm was thrown on my shoulders from behind. I hardly flinched. Though my anxiety was through the roof, I simply sat there waiting for the unexpected face to make its way into my peripheral. But as this thought flashed through my mind, I heard a cacophony of familiar laughter."Heyyy there Jessie! Haha I didn't mean to paralyze you!"I looked up from my textbook to see a pair of familiar eyes squinting in ecstasy from behind a pair of not-so-familiar glasses. He tried to continue but was interrupted by another burst of his own...

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$250

Prize money

233

Contest entries

110

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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