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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#217: Tropes

Last week, we revisited the old “show, don’t tell” rule. This week, let’s throw out the rulebook and have some fun.

In your reading, you’ve probably come across some recurring tropes. In romance, we’ve got star-crossed lovers, fake relationships, enemies-to-lovers, and happily-ever-afters. In fantasy, we’ve got Chosen One protagonists, reluctant heroes, and wise mentors. In mystery, we have unreliable narrators, jaded investigators, locked rooms, and remote settings. It goes on.

Subverting these tropes can be fun, but the tricky thing is that you need to do it for a reason, and in a way that enriches your story. Can you do it?

🥇 Winner

“Who Are We to Judge the Music of an Octopus?” by Paul Crehan

🏆 Winner of Contest #217

Who Are We to Judge the Music of an Octopus? A short story by Paul Crehan The octopus swam up the aquarium like an arpeggio up staff paper. Bob listened as he watched. What did he hear? I’ll be damned, he thought. Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. With a discordant no...

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Beowulf: A Guard Dog's Tale” by AnneMarie Miles

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #217

Dedicated to my furstborn, who thinks he is much braver than he is, but really just has the sweetest and most tender heart, and often gets the short end of the stick now that he has a human sister. The day I slayed my first dragon started off like any other. The sun greeted me with a gentle touch, and though my nose welcomed its warmth, I felt my body tight and tense: my toes still squeezed together, my hair still up, my jaw still clenched. Last night had been an all-too-real slaughter of tree-dwellers, and I was convinced I’d find myself am...

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“A Fixer Upper” by Lisa Lange

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #217

Am I a Jonah or a James Bartley, I wonder? It’s my own fault. Too much wine, some pot, an allergy tablet. I fell my way into this old Victorian–my friend Emily’s house–during our lady’s book club sleepover. I thought I was headed for the bathroom at 3 a.m., but I stepped off the widow’s walk. Emily and her family moved out. I don’t belong to anyone in this house. I shouldn’t belong to this house. But when you die in a house, it has a way of holding onto you, or rather, you let it hold onto you. You get complacent, you find your niche, you s...

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“Maximillian Braveheart the Brave” by D. Grimes

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #217

Agnes sits in her stone hut, entirely unaware that she is about to receive a visitor. One side of her hair is knotted into a cloud, and a raggedy dress drips ripped hemming around her bony knees. However, this is how she always looks. If she had known someone is coming, she may have teased a second knot into the opposite side of her head, and donned her classic cloak and pointy hat. A black cat, Mr. Nightmare Sr., purrs and rubs against Agnes’s ankles. A cauldron boils in thick bubbles over a fireplace that warms the room. . Ducking under th...

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“A Petition. ” by Lara Deppe

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #217

In the District Court for Splitsville County, State of Denial Civil Division I. This suit is brought by Absolutely (Abby) Dunn, Petitioner who is Forty Six (46) years of age and who resides at 1111 Loved Him Once Street, City of Newfound Freedom, State of Annoyance. Respondent, Dr. E. B. Dunn, is a permanent resident at the Nobu Hotel with his 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO in a gated parking location. II. ...

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This week's prompts

Write a story about two characters who like each other but don’t get a happily-ever-after.

Romance – 91 stories

Set your story in a creepy mansion — except nothing horrifying takes place in it.

Horror – 64 stories

Write about a person who's been called to mentor someone in a special skill, but doesn't really want to.

Adventure – 27 stories

Write about a sleuth who’s a little too keen, but not because they have a traumatic past they won’t talk about.

Mystery – 10 stories

Write a story about a warrior who doesn’t want to kill the dragon.

Fantasy – 92 stories

Stories

“Who Are We to Judge the Music of an Octopus?” by Paul Crehan

🏆 Winner of Contest #217

Who Are We to Judge the Music of an Octopus? A short story by Paul Crehan The octopus swam up the aquarium like an arpeggio up staff paper. Bob listened as he watched. What did he hear? I’ll be damned, he thought. Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. With a discordant no...

Read story

“At An Impasse” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #217

All thoughts – of treasure and fame and glory, of heroics, of wenches lining up as far as the eye could see, of bards and minstrels fighting to sing the better song, of a princess and maybe one day a kingdom, and maybe even one day a couple of wee lads and lasses of his own – vanished from Marcus’s mind, because the damned dragon took flight. The sudden rush of air stole his breath and his scream, and even the roar of the vile beast was drowned in the noise. All thoughts were gone, and his hands acted instinctively. One held onto his dagger,...

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“Beowulf: A Guard Dog's Tale” by AnneMarie Miles

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #217

Dedicated to my furstborn, who thinks he is much braver than he is, but really just has the sweetest and most tender heart, and often gets the short end of the stick now that he has a human sister. The day I slayed my first dragon started off like any other. The sun greeted me with a gentle touch, and though my nose welcomed its warmth, I felt my body tight and tense: my toes still squeezed together, my hair still up, my jaw still clenched. Last night had been an all-too-real slaughter of tree-dwellers, and I was convinced I’d find myself am...

Read story

“Deceiver to All” by Corey Melin

Submitted to Contest #217

Gunmar Lextonic looks up at the blue sky, puffy clouds here and there where one can imagine shapes of wonder. A current view which took him back moons ago as an innocent child lying on the grassy field, looking up at the sky. “So much has changed,” he mutters as he looks back down at the dirt path, quickly becoming overgrown with grass and weeds. By this point on the path most races will start feeling the fear coming forth from the lair. Each step becomes more difficult until most cry out in fear and run f...

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“Check, Please” by Nina H

Submitted to Contest #217

The quaint Italian restaurant was nearly empty, with plenty of seating available inside and out. Zoe always loved the romance of a meal outside on a summer night, the sun disappearing, the moon and stars lighting the sky. The cool night air caressed her arm, causing tiny goosebumps that made her soft blonde hair stand on end. Ben took his dark brown eyes from her face for a moment and noticed, placing a hand on her and running it softly and slowly from elbow to wrist, collecting her chill and making her burn instead. He looked back to her fa...

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“I Don't Blame You ” by Daniel Fernandes

Submitted to Contest #217

That's it the rope has been cut and ignored. I tried to lend a hand but you never wanted my support. My presence to you is more trivial than it was a reward. My heart listened as it was being torched.Sorry for those petty mistakes. The ones we argued over as it became late. For the days I'm exhausted I just happen to stay awake. You can never sleep in the middle of a debate.I don't blame you and I'll explain why. Love is a two-way street. You're just oblivious on your side. If only you could be in my shoes and watch from my eyes. My actions ...

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“Where the Wild Things Aren't” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #217

Where the Wild Things Aren'tI approached the door with trepidation. I had been here numerous times before. I had every right to be here. I held the key in my hand. Thankfully, the lock slid open flawlessly. But when I tried the door it stuck—again. As it had every other time whenever I arrived. Even with a glove on for a more secure grip, the door wouldn't budge to give up the treasures within.From previous visits I knew what awaited inside was like a museum. A tangible testimony to the lifetime talents and holdings of the formidable Dragon ...

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“Fallout” by Danielle Barr

Submitted to Contest #217

“I’ve been thinkin’,” Randall says, forced levity coloring his voice; it cracks just enough for me to raise a critical eyebrow at him, and his eyes dart back down to the hammock we’re attempting to string up across the hallway of our dormitory with bungee cables from the emergency kit my dad assembled and stashed away in my car. “I think maybe we should have sex.” I straighten now, my side secured to the not-totally-kosher eye bolt screw I’ve sunk into the drywall. “Oh?” Randall plows ahead, his words tumbling out one atop another. “I ju...

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“We'll Always Have Uber” by Sol Caine

Submitted to Contest #217

I just blushed. Didn’t mean to. She just caught me off guard. It’s been a while since anyone complimented me. “Well, handsome?” She asks again. “Who was here first?” This is like a typical Hollywood-style encounter, where two people enter a taxi from opposite sides, only to find that one of them must get out. Instead, they decide to share the taxi leading to a whirlwind romance that sweeps them up into a happy-ever-after ending. I hesitate with my answer. I have a wife at home – I remind myself. I am about to suggest we share when the taxi ...

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“Waking up Poor” by Jonathan Page

Submitted to Contest #217

All the treasures this land offers lie below the burning sands, hoarded by yellow dragons. In Sakasanda, it is the enormity of the bareness that is awesome—that poverty can be so abundant. It is not even sunup and Scor comes running into my room.“Momma, momma, are you going to market?” Scor asks.“What do you want?” I say, turning back over and pulling the sheets over my head.“Fig jam, dragon’s blood pudding, and sweet sausage. And funnel cakes,” she says, pulling up a corner and whispering her list under the top sheet. He...

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“The Count” by Anthony Carello

Submitted to Contest #217

A loud knocking woke The Count from his deep slumber.The oversized stone slab made a grinding noise as it slid off the coffin. A sleepy and rather annoyed-looking vampire clambered out. On a small table beside the coffin sat a glass filled with a viscous red liquid—blood. In two gulps, The Count drank it and headed toward the front door of his manor.Shadows loomed in every corner of the mansion, as The Count saw no reason to waste candles on such a frivolous idea as light. He could see perfectly fine in the dark.When he reached his destinati...

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“The Boy Knight” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #217

“Life is precious. All life is important. I cannot and will not kill an animal.” Hugo Allard repeatedly muttered his pledge, as a vibration of trembling capacity shook the very core of his body, followed by a blast of hot air gently caressing his face. “Life is precious. All life is important. I cannot and will not kill an animal.” Squeezing his eyes tightly shut, a sense of impending finality shook the heavy sword from his hand, dropping it to the floor of the catacombs he had arrived at in search of his prey, the Dragon of Voltaire. “Wh...

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“A Knight Full of Grievances ” by Livana Teagan

Submitted to Contest #217

“Aren’t you getting a little sick of this, man?” “Sick of what?” I shoot back to Barren, confused by what he means. “Wandering through miles of wilderness? It keeps us in shape.” “Sick of this,” he repeats, motioning with wide arms at everything around us. “At all of this. Is it worth it? It gets old after a while. Don’t you ever want to do something else with your life?” We leave our horses behind us, heading to terrain they can’t enter. A shallow river lay before us like a writhing snake. We wade through the creek bed. Our b...

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“Falling Star” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #217

Falling Star “Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket." - PerryComo &n...

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“Sir Braxton’s Alchemy ” by Michelle Oliver

Submitted to Contest #217

Savagely munching an apple purloined from the kitchen wench, Sir Braxton stormed his way through the outer courtyard, its stone walls ringing with the morning’s activities. Lord Hume had asked to see him in the great chamber and he could guess what that noble lord wanted.“Damn and thrice be buggered!” he hissed, startling a milkmaid as she went about her morning chores. He snarled at her impatiently and threw his apple core in her general direction. She squeaked as she dodged the projectile and scurried away, avoiding aggravating his temper ...

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$250

Prize money

284

Contest entries

130

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 29, 2023 EST

Won by Paul Crehan 🏆

Title: Who Are We to Judge the Music of an Octopus?

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.

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