Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Menu

✕

CONNECT

Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites

BLOG

Success Stories

APPS

TOOLS

Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships

ABOUT

About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#263: Heroes and Villains

If you’re an avid cinemagoer, you’ve probably seen trailers or posters for the recently released superhero comedy film Deadpool & Wolverine. Personally, I’m looking forward to seeing two beloved characters set aside their differences to save the world — and potentially start an unlikely friendship along the way.

Inspired by Deadpool & Wolverine, this week's prompts center around protagonists and antagonists. Create a new kind of hero or villain, parody a character who already exists, or go totally off script and interpret the prompts in a creative, unexpected way… the choice is yours!

This week's prompts

Write a story from the antagonist’s point of view.

Character – 84 stories

Start or end your story with a hero losing their powers.

Character – 42 stories

Write about two mortal enemies who must work together.

Character – 29 stories

Center your story around someone facing their biggest fear or enemy.

Character – 71 stories

Write the origin story of a notorious villain.

Character – 89 stories

Stories

“Do Nothing” by Michael Williams

Submitted to Contest #263

A mysterious figure watches from the brick building across the street, observing with an unnatural interest in this magical quarrel. Across from the train station parking lot, a chaotic scene of storefront fires rages on as damaged cars sit idly scattered, twisted, and bent beyond proportions along the cobblestone steps of old town Biloxi; now, New Coast City. Iron Jaguar faces off against danger from the deepest chasms of the Gulf of Mexico. BOOM! “The airbreathers will feel the sting of the sea for their crimes against the king...

Read story

“The Shadow of Valour” by David Dean

Submitted to Contest #263

The wind blew through the city streets, and a sign announced to Hector Mares’s hologram that he was nearing a crossroads. There were gaps in the traffic but soon enough the lights changed and he navigated the cyber truck to the diner to meet Johnny Antunes. Antunes from the Canadian Spacetime Agency who was his contact.He walked into the diner and sat opposite Johnny and his girlfriend, who had brought a quilted backpack. He shook hands with both.He wants to work with us,’ said Johnny.“What do you need me for?” asked Mares.“We need you to de...

Read story

“The Enemy Within” by Sharon Schoneveld

Submitted to Contest #263

As far back as he can remember, he's been afraid. Not a general sort of anxiety, but the specific kind - that which can dictate the path of one's entire life. The attempts at avoidance, the terror of anticipation, the dread of a confrontation. The fear can be paralysing, robbing him of the ability to move at all. No fight or flight for him, only freezing; like a terrified rabbit at the mercy of its hunter. But here he is, at this juncture where he must gather up all of his courage and press on. His job demands it, his troops expect it. A pro...

Read story

“MORTAL COMBAT” by DJ Grohs

Submitted to Contest #263

“Wake up, big sister, I have news for you.” A man stands before me, insistently poking my shoulder with a sausage-sized finger. He is huge, Andre-the-Giant huge, incongruously wearing cerulean blue tights, a matching T-shirt with the letter “C” emblazoned in white across its front, and white running shorts. He looks at me with a wicked sneer, his breath horrid. “Uh, what? Who are you?” I’m groggy, my neck stiff from sleeping in the waiting room chair in the medical cente...

Read story

“Dream” by Kwasi Sike

Submitted to Contest #263

I arise to find myself at a grand dining room table. But this mahogany, stained table covered in enough dust to question how long it's gone unused, doubles as a conference work surface. In the middle, lay a shiny, silver platter and utop, a mound of lime green grapes, which appear to be freshly chilled as if they had just been taken out of a freezer because they still have a frost on them. I can’t help but only see them as invitations to be crunched down on. Around me, three other students sit, all buttoned up in deep sea blue uniform jacket...

Read story

“The Monster” by Eli Satter

Submitted to Contest #263

For years, he has taunted me. For years, he has turned my home into a living nightmare. It seems like my entire life he has chased me, existing in the shadows and making an appearance when I least expect it. He has stolen sleep from me, he has stolen my food, he has stolen my safety, my comfort, my sanity. All that I have is worth nothing when he could appear at any given moment to take it all away. I know not his name. He is tall and unnaturally thin. He moves in a way that doesn’t seem right, back and forth and swaying from side to s...

Read story

“The Peculiar Warrior Origin of D.B. Cooper” by Gregg Voss

Submitted to Contest #263

I swear, if I ever get out of this, I’m going to make sure I’m a rich man. Seattle or no Seattle, I’m going to be rich, rich, rich. Filthy rich. Come to think of it, maybe instead of Seattle, I’ll live in an apartment in Manhattan, or a mansion in Palm Springs. Wherever the hoity-toity reside. England had been so close. But no way that cratering Flyi...

Read story

“My Own Legacy” by Cassey Castleberry

Submitted to Contest #263

My ears rang as my blade screeched against the stone block. I needed my weapon to be sharp as a glare for what was to come. I come from a long line of superhumans, each more powerful than the last, and my father wanted me to keep that trend going. I remember the earliest years of my youth, completely consumed with training. At four years old, I had my first lesson on combat. At five years old, I had my first fight. My first fight with my father anyway. He landed a blow, a blow that felt nothing like the intensity of love I thought I kn...

Read story

“The Glass Jar” by Livia Owens

Submitted to Contest #263

Clara Crenshaw has been waiting for her mother to pick her up at the school bus stop for hours. The horizon swallowed the sun long ago, and a full moon's faint outline is visible in the twilight sky. Her mother’s lateness terrifies her. Something has happened, something bad, probably, knowing her mother. Clara tried to tell Aunt Mona that her mother frightens her, that she didn’t want her mother picking her up on the last day of seventh grade, but Aunt Mona insisted Pearl Crenshaw is fine now. “They wouldn’t release Pearl if she wasn’t bette...

Read story

“Zu and the star fox” by Gayatri Varma

Submitted to Contest #263

When you said stepping out of the house was your biggest fear, no one laughed. And the sheer thought of it felt like a physical cut. To leave the house which carries Zu’s memory was like allowing the witches and the monsters to eat you whole. Sound of rain seeped into the room and Blue or Annie or Copper rushed to close the windows. Bee or Laya or Ethal remained silent. Their gaze shifted from you to the rotten bananas on the table.‘How long it’s been there?’ Annie or Ethal asked.You didn’t say anything but thought of Zu and her tired smile....

Read story

“The Phobia” by Lisa Onion

Submitted to Contest #263

This is it. This is what all those therapy sessions and deep breathing techniques led up to. I want to face my fear head on, I don’t want this to hold me back from exploring the rest of the world around me. Man oh man! Do I feel wrong…Here I stand right in front of my biggest fear and I hate it. I hate it so much that I start to feel bile rise up to my throat just like the last few times I’ve tried to conquer my fear. I can hear my blood drumming in my ears and my heart lodged itself in my gut. I could barely hear anything, everything sounde...

Read story

“The Accord of Storms” by Ava Black

Submitted to Contest #263

My feet hurt, I smelled like a deep fryer, and the coffee burns on my forearm stung. I sat in the driver’s seat of my sky-blue 1990 Honda Accord, staring at the little mountain restaurant I’d never return to. I slammed the car door, and I screamed.The restaurant I worked at had just laid me off. It was 2010, and Canada was still struggling to recover from the Great Recession. I was broke, and though I’d been accepted into university, my mother made it clear she would kick me out at the end of the summer—whether or not I had saved enough for ...

Read story

“Bravery?” by Christina Miller

Submitted to Contest #263

TW: This story contains mentions of physical violence, mental health issues, and a cult My breath rattles in my lungs as I try to take a calming breath. My hands fist at my sides. This is it. This is the decision that'll change everything. Or it won't, and I'll be stuck spinning my wheels for the rest of my life. The bruised skin on my back stretches uncomfortably tight as I shuffle on my feet. After today, they'll be no new bruises. No new broken bones, no more punishment for breaking the rules. Whatever the rules were supposed to be. The A...

Read story

“The White Dragon - Part 1” by Max Sun

Submitted to Contest #263

In ancient China, there was a special vocation for transporting important items from one point to another. Usually, the items can range from a huge amount of gold to important military letters that might impact the future of a nation. Only the Kungfu masters with special abilities can take this job because many dangers can happen on the way. This was the first time Wuxi’s Biaoju(bureau for transporting items) was asked to transport a prisoner. Wuxi’s father was assassinated brutally before the mission set off. The young Wuxi had no choi...

Read story

“41” by Rebekka Chvatal

Submitted to Contest #263

11:41pm I slip my shoes on and open the door, ready to head out. ‘Do you have your keys’ he asks me standing right next to me. Without a word I take them from the hook next to the door and slam it into his face. I don’t want him (coming) with me again. It is dark and raining outside and I don’t have my jacket, I bury my hands in the sleeves of my worn hoodie. At least I am away from his constant nagging and his voice in my ear telling me who I am ‘supposed’ to be. I walk down the sidewalk briskly; I can’t tell if it’s the rain...

Read story

Load more stories

$250

Prize money

315

Contest entries

109

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 16, 2024 EST

Won by Eliza Entwistle 🏆

Title: Petrified

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!

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢