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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

“Captain Cashmere - The Origin ” by WM .

Submitted to Contest #263

**Viewer Discretion Advised: Language and Adult Situations** “Whew! OK, team, we’ve waited all year for this moment and it’s finally here! All the noes for funding, those countless man hours, remember Mexico City?” The team chuckles reminiscing. “Seriously, we did what we had to do, to get the things we had to get done, and we did it well.” The team cheers, inspired. “We have something that can change the world. My dream came true today and wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for the family standing here.” I go to raise a glass, “To life,...

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“The Lost Pirate” by Natasha E

Submitted to Contest #263

The boy sneezes. No one says anything. A nearby pirate–Mercer, perhaps, or Nelson–hands the lad a tattered handkerchief. Warily, he accepts the cloth, swiping at his nose with the carelessness customary to teenage boys. He clenches it tightly in his fist when done. Hook assesses him with a critical eye. Skinny, lacking any ferocity in his expression, and altogether disheveled from his time floating aimlessly along the sea. Shame the crocodile didn’t eat him. A shiver runs through the poor kid. He draws his arms closer to his c...

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“Intangible Man” by Logan Hessek

Submitted to Contest #263

There’s nothing like disappearing at will right before my enemy is about to attack. I don’t wear a cape or any kind of costume. I like to blend in with the crowd so that my enemy, the evil Captain Radar, cannot spot me as easily. It was a cold winter morning in an abandoned industrial park. I was trying to take some short cut to the other side of town because I was running late to an important business meeting. Scattered debris and thick smog permeated the desolate place. The overturned, half buried cannisters resembled tombstones. As I was ...

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“The Sacrifice” by Jane Cantor

Submitted to Contest #263

THE SACRIFICEAngelica thought it must be impossible to find anything new in the world, something no one had ever seen before. She had seen so much over her lifetime – lifetimes - surely there was nothing original, nothing for her to experience that could bring joy or anger or despair, or any of the emotions experienced every day by all the normal people she met. She stared around at the wild, desolate scenery, her constant sanctuary since time immemorial, deserted and unchanging. Far below, the lake stretched away between the hills, th...

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“Lucky Charm” by Anastasiia Lytvyn

Submitted to Contest #263

In one day, I managed to lose both my powers and my twin sister. It probably happened simultaneously; when I saw her lying on the ground, I felt weaker, as if a part of me was not there anymore. I approached her body cautiously, measuring my steps, feeling the panic slowly take hold of me. My body grew heavier until my legs gave in, and I collapsed to the floor next to her. As I moved closer to her face, I could hear her faint breathing and see smears of blood and dirt on her beautiful cheeks—cheeks that would resemble mine for just a little...

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“The return of Clown Demon” by Will Chu

Submitted to Contest #263

"What did you say about what happened?""Ok, you can laugh as much as you want, hold your stomach until you can't stand up straight!"In an ordinary looking office building, a man in a clown suit was holding a white collar man in a suit to the ground, grabbing him by the collar and roaring."You're saying your powers are gone? This joke isn't funny at all!"The man in the clown suit was actually a demonic magician, who had been regularly messing with the earth since ancient times, creating chaos with "mischievous" behaviors that were difficult f...

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“Fever” by Tempest Phoenix Smith

Submitted to Contest #263

The dream of flying engulfed him. From the sharp points of his talons to the tips of his outspread wing feathers, from the delicate but strong skeleton to the piercing eyes that watched his shadow, far below, skim over field and meadow, aware of the rabbit who froze in its tracks before running for its life.To him, always, the earth was something to leave behind as often as he could, so the fantasy took him, not of plunging down to sink talons into warm fur so he could feast, but to fly higher, up above the clouds and higher still where the ...

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“Another Day” by K CT

Submitted to Contest #263

A, slight, humid breeze. Damp skin. Persistent flies. A, home-made, turkey sandwich. A park bench. One earbud. Blank stares into the grassy void. I instinctively turn my head, sharply, to the left. "Someone else? I'm usually the only one here", I thought to myself. From the blurry silhouette in the distance, I can tell that they're walking directly towards me. I contemplate getting up to leave, I don't want to be bothered on my, routine, lunch break alone. Ultimately, I decide to stay put. I'll just ignore them. "..this is exactly what I di...

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“The Layoff” by Jack Marzbach

Submitted to Contest #263

Henry knocked on Morgana’s office door with less than thirty minutes remaining in the day, and she responded with a flat, "Come in.” Henry slid under the door with ease. Of all the doors in the office that he personally worked to secure, hers was the easiest to pass. He felt such a lapse in security should be remedied, but his security reports had mostly gone ignored in the last few weeks. Occasionally he might receive an email or mindmail that thanked him for the detailed report, but he had no new work orders. “And do close the… oh right,” ...

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“Syphon” by Connor Lindsay

Submitted to Contest #263

Sensitivity Warning: Substance abuse, Suicide, Physical Violence, Gore “Justice? What are you doing here?” I asked through my mask. I pushed down the bank robber as a multitude of bullets slid from my abdomen. The floating robe and masked reverberated, “Mark Castry—“ “Justice I am literally arresting someone right now, keep my names out of your mouth,” I turned to the robber, “And you, if I find anyone who knows that name you will not survive.” He nodded and went to speak before remembering I took his mouth, “you can have it back when I’m d...

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“Hope in the Cold” by Cody Wendt

Submitted to Contest #263

On an icy tundra that had once been rural farmland in upstate New York, two youths had been making slow progress south for several days.They were hoping to reach the ruins of the metropolitan area, following a rumor that the fallout there had subsided, and that there might still be resources among the sea of derelict buildings waiting for opportunistic scavengers to claim them. There was no certainty, but Haydyn and Ambrose knew nothing good waited for them in the other direction. Neither had anyone left living who they trusted but the other...

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“The Ghost and the Half-Blood” by Meagan McQuigge-Derkacz

Submitted to Contest #263

The Ghost and the Half-Blood “Marley, I’m too old for this running, my sweet child,” Mek Hemlock wheezed, his breath coming in laboured gasps as he stumbled over the uneven ground. The rest of the group was already several paces ahead, their hurried footsteps barely audible over the pounding of Marley’s heart. “I know, Mr. Hemlock,” Marley replied, her voice laced with urgency as she gently gripped his arm to steady him. “But we have to keep going if we want to live. It’s almost nightfall. We can’t let them find us...

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“Truce of Love” by Transforming Wagon

Submitted to Contest #263

Eyes followed the trail of a slender figure clad in purple whose fine shoes echoed with every step. He walked alone with a confident gait and a briefcase in his gloved hand. Swinging tailcoats followed his steady pace, pressed but never in a hurry. Under the brim of an elegant hat that matched the color of his attire, his face produced a smirk at the sight of the pale tower. Riddled with markings and symbols of unknown origin, the structure stood proud at the center of the Verdant Valley. It was the watchful eye of Varta, and it had guarded ...

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“REALIABLY STATIC” by Carlos Hernandez

Submitted to Contest #263

It was so uncomfortable just to be near him again after two short years. After all, I only owed him spite, while he owed me everything, but I still wanted nothing from him. That coldness would keep him from even trying to act like a father. I just wanted him to know he was as relevant to me as my neighbor across the street. Besides, I was too emotionally high to dwell on spite because Killa Rush, the alpha male Rock-N-Hop star, with all of social and mainstream media around the world at his feet, had chosen me to be in his upcoming music vi...

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“"I'm so sorry"” by James Adams

Submitted to Contest #263

To say I’m scared is an understatement. Terrified? No, that doesn’t sound quite right. Maybe horrified? Definitely not horrified. How about mortified? Yeah… that’s the word. I’m absolutely, positively, mortified to see my family. I wish I could just turn around and run down the faded red brick steps directly behind me, jump into my 2005 light blue Prius and drive back to Chicago. But I can’t. I’ve been standing on their porch so long I fear that the snow has frozen my feet in place, making escape challening. I didn’t want to come either...

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$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!

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