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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 Turkey's Done” by Keelan LaForge

Submitted to Contest #226

The turkey was basted. It looked moister than usual. That was a real achievement for the Conor Family. Dry turkey was as much of a tradition as family fights were. Everyone served up the sweet potato pie and then they fell into disgruntlement with one another. There were six members of the family that attended dinner at the Conor’s family homestead each and every year. They could grow vegetables quicker than most people can grow the hair on their heads, but the turkey was always bone dry, and Aunt Clarissa would always be first to comment on...

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“The Stub” by Hilary Yelvington

Submitted to Contest #226

My mother died when I was 7. That meant my father was left alone to take care of all four of us kids, a job he took about as seriously as his doctor’s advice to quit drinking. Anyway, being the oldest and a girl to boot, I got handed responsibility for everything my mother, Grace, had done before driving the family station wagon dead on into a giant oak tree outside town. Drunk, probably, but nobody ever said that within my earshot. We got by on bread and butter and apples we picked from a tree in the garden next to our house until Grand...

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“No Thanks to Our Crazy Family” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

Submitted to Contest #226

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real experiences or people is coincidental and reproduced with mega poetic license. My name is Maria. I am the baby of our family. The first four siblings form the four oldest. Seven years are between me and my next older sister, and fourteen years between me and my oldest sister. I am still attending High School, whereas the others are married.One sister, Katie, used to live in England with her husband. Once she became pregnant, her husband Finn relented, and they returned home – though not...

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“The Marshal” by Mark Burns

Submitted to Contest #226

“That your final word on it, kid?”My hand hovered over the butt of the old Remington on my hip. “That depends on you, Mr. Hall.”I couldn’t believe it had come to this. My mind flashed back to a much better time…Edward B. Hall had always been a hero of mine. He’d been town marshal of Sweet Springs, Kansas since before I was born. My name’s Dan Bonner, and ever since I could ride a horse, I told everyone I was going to be a lawman, just like Marshal Hall. In the spring of ‘79, Hall was between deputies, and I saw my chance.I pulled the Deputy ...

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“Greta, Greta...” by Lyle Closs

Submitted to Contest #226

“Greta, Greta.” It’s just a whisper. So quiet it’s at the edge of audible. Greta looks up from the lounge. Did she hear that, she wonders, or did she imagine it? Must have imagined it. Shakes her head and looks back at her book. Looks around the room again, worried. Looks at the book, drops it onto the coffee table and stands up, stretches. Probably need more sleep. It’s been a tough few weeks. … Greta sits on the toilet, pajama pants at her ankles. The door is open. She lives alone in the one-bedroom flat and it’s locked up. Bed calls. She ...

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“Hoot Knew?” by Meghan Brooks

Submitted to Contest #226

Deals with demons, bargains with fairies, contracts work with strigans, all of these require reading the fine print before one throws themselves at something that they might come to regret in the long run. Desperation breeds rash decisions and that's what makes these transactions all the more powerful and dangerous like they were fish, ensnared by the temptation of a fishing line. Not many people are known to have wised up to the sweet talk of these beings and gotten out of these dealings with their souls, hearts, or other things they valued...

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“I Wish I Had What They Had” by Ashley Sawh

Submitted to Contest #226

“You’re better than this, Yona.” My mom said “You could have-” “Stop.” My brother cut her off. “Excuse me?” “You heard me,” Parker continued as he stood up, slamming his fork with a piece of chicken on the end back onto his full plate of food. “Do not talk to her that way, especially about school, especially now.” “She’s my daughter-” “-and she’s my sister!” He slammed his fist on the wooden table “Don’t talk to Fiona that way!” “Speak to your mother kindly, son-” “Oh don’t even get me started with you.” Parker snarled as he moved clo...

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“Late or Latte?” by Max Reeh

Submitted to Contest #226

A single adult man wakes up, grunts, looks at the clock, "Ugh. . . why didn't my alarm go off?" He says out loud, "whatever, I'm usually early for work anyway." He really has to go to the bathroom, but it's cold outside, and he is comfortable under his blankets, but he knows he really needs to get moving. He tries to talk himself into just stripping off the blankets, bracing himself as if he's about to jump into freezing cold water. He says aloud, "One, Two, Three" and strips the blankets off, immediately getting a chill and getting out of...

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“Twisted Indulgence” by J. I. MumfoRD

Submitted to Contest #226

The holidays always brought out the worst in people. In the previous shift, some festive do-gooder had put seasonal bunting on each of the desks. His crumpled orange and black bunting was round-filed before he sat down. Jackson wasn’t the only officer offended by the reminder that the precinct was open 24/7, holidays included. The station was subdued, almost gloomy. Something had shifted in the last few months, an unspoken tension that lingered beneath the surface. Internal Affairs was still sniffing around. Several officers, usually the one...

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“The Itch” by Diana Bishara

Submitted to Contest #226

I wish I was addicted to something else. Anything else. Eating too much McDonald’s chicken nuggets? Nah. Drinking too much booze? I’m good. Smoking? No thanks. No. Me? I have to be addicted to being treated like - well, let’s just say, dirt, to keep it polite. I don’t like it, but I am. I’m sitting here, talking to you - well, talking to myself, I guess, staring at my scuffed up iPhone. He texted me. He Who Shall Not Be Named, let’s say. And yes, he reminds me of Voldemort in every way, except he actually has a nose. And ju...

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“Year 45” by Scout Graves

Submitted to Contest #226

When the world ended 44 years ago, we were told a prophecy from below. Tearing through the molten core, the mantle, the crust, the soil, the flora, the fauna, the air, and the atmosphere, in our world that had ended, we heard the voice of that thing on the tympanum of Notre Dame, the goat headed, nameless harbinger of death, the king lower than the embers of the Earth, and it said to us, "Buy flowers in year 45." No one imagined that the sound which came at the end of world, which prophesied, presumably, our survival, would fall on ...

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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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“Yuletide Meltdown” by David Willett

Submitted to Contest #226

The aftermath of my family's backyard Christmas lunch always resembles a festive warzone. The flies, ever the opportunists, descend to finish off our leftovers. Their gentle buzz is audible above some popstar's pitchy attempt at a holiday hit. Having had enough of the cheery screeching, I cross the destruction of winter-themed decorations and soiled paper plates to shut down Mum’s brandless Bluetooth speaker. As the music vanishes and the flies chorus intensifies, I survey the carnage as it bakes in the afternoon heat. Usually, I would be he...

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“A Dish Of Potatoes” by PJ Town

Submitted to Contest #226

(This story contains references to God and a tiny bit of swearing.)“Pass the potatoes!” Ellie calls from the end of the table.“Where’s the please?” Uncle Hank calls back. His hand hovers over the serving dish, the passing of the potatoes conditional on obeyance. From any other person, it could be made a light-hearted lesson – Ellie would learn some manners but would grin and be happy. From Uncle Hank, it’s the third degree.Ellie holds out for a few moments; you can almost see the cogs whirring, the youngster weighing up the pros and cons of ...

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“The Silent Feast” by Peter Sugiharto

Submitted to Contest #226

Every year, my dining room turned into a battleground and the yearly holiday feast, the ammunition. It was always a vicious cycle: raised voices, pointed fingers, and another resentment that lasted for another year. I can even feel my heart beating because of the anxiety. “Here,” Elijah offered me his flask. “It’ll help a lot.” I took it gratefully and grimaced. Even though I wasn’t a stranger to alcohol, the state could be better. 'I wanna dance with somebody, I wanna feel the heat...', I reminded myself to change that old ringtone. "...

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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.

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