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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#226: Temptation Time

Temptation comes in many forms this time of year, and our ability to resist seems to wear a little thin during these cold winter months. Some of these temptations are innocuous, from a little over-shopping to a well-deserved third helping at Thanksgiving dinner, while others prove a little more problematic, like the temptation to snap at loved ones after a long weekend in close quarters.

This week’s prompts are all about impulses, indulgence, and the way in which wants and needs tend to blur around the edges after a glass or two of mulled wine.

This week's prompts

Your family’s holiday dinners always end with everyone at each other’s throats. This year you’re determined to keep a low profile, but your patience is being put to the test.

Thanksgiving – 38 stories

At some point in your story, a character says “You’re better than this…”.

Thanksgiving – 56 stories

Your character finally gives into a temptation they've been avoiding, and becomes better because of it.

Thanksgiving – 31 stories

Write a story about somebody trying to rationalize giving into temptation, even though they know they shouldn’t.

Thanksgiving – 42 stories

Black Friday is the one day of the year where the Devil makes selling your soul a good thing, although there are some bizarre T’s & C’s.

Thanksgiving – 22 stories

Stories

“The Bargain” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #226

The death of Terry was the final straw for Bert. Once again, life had short changed him. English Bull Terriers were supposed to live for more than a decade. Terry Bull only made it just past his sixth birthday. If that wasn’t bad enough, Terry checked out with what the vet referred to as complications. Translated into layman’s terminology, this meant that the vet was going away for two weeks all-inclusive and Bert was footing the bill. Soon after Terry passed Thanksgiving reared it’s fat and ugly head. A holiday of excess enjoyed...

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“Blood is Thicker” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #226

You can’t choose your family, and I lost the family lottery big time. I doubt anyone ever wins big, not unless they are gifted a very limited number of family members who have mastered the art of not inflicting themselves upon family members. There is supposed to be a compensating strategy to make up for family and it has something to do with friends. Apparently, you can choose your friends, but that all falls down because it’s not like you can form a cadre of friends who you take with you wherever you go to protect you from family and the...

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“When Bruce, the alien, and Pinn, the Earthling, reminisce about a Friday from long ago.” by Jack Torn

Submitted to Contest #226

Bruce rarely spoke so frankly and almost always avoided long term detail. But during this particular conversation he was uncharacteristically enlightening.He and Pinn were at the usual table by the pool. One had coffee, one had tea, one smoked and no one swam. The morning was a cool twenty-four degrees Celsius.“Tell me again why you want to save us,” said Pinn?“I didn’t say I wanted to save you,” said Bruce, “I said I wanted to save the planet.”“Arguable,” said Pinn. “In your Shamash story, you also mentioned the Tree of Life. What’s the Tre...

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“Temptation: Terms and Conditions” by N Walsh

Submitted to Contest #226

Marcus stood hesitantly in the doorway and scanned the bar. It was pretty quiet - just a lone bartender wiping the counter and a scattering of players bent over pool tables. A solitary booth was occupied by a lone but instantly recognizable figure. Before him two fresh, foamy beers graced the table. His silhouette shrouded in shadowy darkness, though his eyes gleamed crimson. In his hands smoke curled from the end of a fat cigar. His sharp nails tapped the table with rhythmic impatience. Marcus paused, one foot on the threshold o...

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“A Fragile Truce” by Dita Dow

Submitted to Contest #226

The snow fell gently outside, creating a serene world that stood in stark contrast to the tension inside the Anderson household. The aroma of roasting turkey and simmering gravy mingled with the thick, palpable atmosphere of familial discord. I sat at the head of the table, tapping my fingers against the polished surface as I surveyed my family. Each face bore the weight of years of unspoken resentments and simmering conflicts. This year, my goal was to keep a low profile and handle family conflicts like a seasoned diplomat. The dining roo...

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“Tycho Brahe's Labyrinth” by Arthur An

Submitted to Contest #226

This story can also be read as the continuation of my previous submission Metamorphosis************Unlike most of the helipads which are built for show but never used, the pads on Tycho Brahe’s 400 feet yacht Sita Faustina get frequent usage. Two were built, one on the foredeck and the other on the sun deck, so the arriving potentes did not have to experience the embarrassment of landing prioritization which revealed their pecking orders.Jed Cooper stepped down onto the sun deck helipad on the highest point of the ship with his shoulder...

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“Dear Son,” by Zach Emory

Submitted to Contest #226

Trigger Warning: Multiple raw scenes related to drug abuse, murder, and suicide. Strong language contained within.The following is a recording from mother to son. It has been transcribed to maintain the original diction.Back before I met Jesus and when ya daddy walked out, I told myself back then I ain’t need no goddamn man. Fuck 'em. We’d be alright. But we wasn’t. We sure wasn’t alright.Them food stamps ain’t cover nothin’, and we was both hungry. And boy, you cried. Day and night, you cried. There was somethin’ wrong with you, but I could...

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“Santa Comes to Dinner” by M. Nathan Robinson

Submitted to Contest #226

This Santa is a bit different. He brings two bags full, slung over his shoulder, and rather than using the chimney, bursts through our back door, unexpected. He leaves another knob-sized dent in the drywall and pries the trim from the doorframe as he forces his oversized load through the undersized threshold. And this Santa doesn’t arrive with a cheerful greeting, but a somber, “Hey,” followed quickly with a slightly less somber, “What’s for dinner?” The pan-fried chicken portioned for three now needs to accommodate five, since this Santa,...

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“Souls are a Frivolous Thing to Waste” by Sam Goularte

Submitted to Contest #226

Thanksgiving is when people come together, travel to see family, and make memories. A holiday dedicated to overeating, having intense conversations, and the occasional yelling match with family. However, the next day, Black Friday, is the real fun. People line up outside of stores to get one particular item. Diners become filled with grumpy, sleep-deprived people begging for more caffeine to keep shopping. Black Friday is simply one of the busiest Fridays of the year. Yet, you are unaware that humans aren't the only ones who celebrate such...

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“Campfire Tale of the Sasquatch Temptation ” by Kristi Gott

Submitted to Contest #226

The Sasquatch Temptation “Silent steps beneath the trees, Blending with the whispering breeze, In emerald worlds of mystery, Sasquatch walks with secrecy.” Myths and legends, fantasy tales, Mystic Beach, where the storm wind wails, Blowing over spindrift foam,Tales of Sasquatch in its home. Adriana brought her Sasquatch books to the family reunion at Thanksgiving. Their large group gathered every year in the Mystic Beach wilderness on the Oregon coast. She could retreat and read if she needed some peaceful time. The family often g...

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“The B-SAC” by Jessica Grote

Submitted to Contest #226

"Mammon!" Satans voice thundered through the soot coated halls. A stone wall crumbled and collapsed somewhere. The cries of some unlucky souls were cut off when they were crushed. One Mississppi, two Mississippi, the cries flared up again. Death has no persistance in hell. A droning sound emerged from the back of the halls, visceral like pulsing blood in a choking man's ears. Satan squinted. A shadow formed in the corner of the atrium, visible only because it was even darker than the darkness surrounding it. Arches and pillars cracked with e...

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“Thanksgiving Trailer Trash Treasures” by Patricia Parent

Submitted to Contest #226

It’s been 8 years since I’ve seen my family from my mom’s side. The trailer trash side. I managed to escape 8 Thanksgivings with audacity and luck but this year they got me by guilt. Grandpa Rolly was on his last mile, and he wanted to witness one last shitshow before he kicked the bucket for good.They all lived in the same trailer park area and everyday with them there’s some sort of hard to believe fuckery happening. I’m not saying I’m better than them, I’m just saying that each and every one of them is missing a couple of bolts in their o...

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“Hot Dog Highway” by Craig Scott

Submitted to Contest #226

Uncle Phil stood in the highway; hands on his hips and comely smile spread across his bearded face. He wore a bright red sweater with yellow pin-stripes and corduroy pants natural to the style of his time. Rain fell around him, sogging the edges of his cardboard frame and slowly wilting his structural integrity into a collapsing blanket. Wind rocked him on the cardboard triangle that propped him upright. Given time he would be knocked over and become so much mush on the road. But not yet.He had been stolen from a local high school’s Winter F...

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“The Blandishment of a Broken Heart” by Lora Sells

Submitted to Contest #226

I have everything under control.At least that’s what I try to tell myself as the holidays approach: the time of year that tests those very notions; and this year I tell myself I’m ready, I will be victorious against the heartbreak that has held me captive for the past several months. I do my best not to laugh at myself as I load up my journal full of self-empowering affirmations, make mood boards full of powerful, self-assured women in those smart, perfectly tailored business suits, who own the companies, that have the banks accounts flush w...

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“End Of Shift” by Cara Boynton

Submitted to Contest #226

End Of Shift Located on the upper level of Lakeside Mall, Totally Hair was always busy. But today the salon would be wild. It was black Friday and the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners were playing in town this evening. My drive to work takes an hour plus, and I was late for my shift. After my divorce, I’d tried finding a job closer to home but in a small town with six salons, the customer base wasn’t enough to pay my bills. An hour and ten minutes lat...

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$250

Prize money

189

Contest entries

87

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 01, 2023 EST

Won by Chris Campbell 🏆

Title: Forthright Thursday

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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