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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 – 41 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

“The Origin of Mr.Riddles: The World’s Greatest Thief. ” by Alex Solomon

Submitted to Contest #263

The Origin of Mr.Riddles: The World’s Greatest Thief. I am Ian Query, better known as Mr. Riddles. When I was eighteen years old, I was struck in the head by a bolt of lightning, and my mind was split into two parts: The Wanting and the Question. The Wanting was a kleptomaniac, it appeared on my shoulder as a green fox with a bushy tail and beady eyes, urging me to steal anything and everything. The Wanting gifted me power, "Look at anything, then picture any place and it will be taken there!” It was incredible! I could t...

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“Cracked Under Pressure” by Ellie Northrop

Submitted to Contest #263

I could hear the footsteps as my father climbed up the stairs. Each step was like thunder clapping, echoing across the house. Following each step was a drunken groan from the owner of the footsteps.If I focused hard enough, the smell of liquor could reach my nostrils from where I lay. I twitched my nose in disgust as cold shivers ran down my spine. Fear and anticipation were filling in the pit of my stomach as I waited.'Drunken bastard.' I thought, watching my bedroom door closely.There was no lock on my bedroom door. My father got rid of it...

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“Frenemies” by Malcolm Twigg

Submitted to Contest #263

Satirical religious intolerance, stereotypical mysogynistic reference and anti-woke opinion.The atmosphere in the boardroom of G.O.D. Enterprises spoke volumes, reflected in the number of Special Advisors present, amongst whom a nervous HR manager sat running a finger around his collar.A dapper-looking individual with a Mephistophelian goatee sitting at one end of the table sighed. “Well? Is nobody going to set the ball rolling?”His opposite number at the other end wearing an immaculate white suit snorted. “My life! You already set more...

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“THE ARTIST'S CHOICE” by Glenna Agnew

Submitted to Contest #263

Gage sat in the window seat of his cabin and fidgeted with the pad of paper and pencil beside him on the dusty old cushion. He had picked them up at least half a dozen times in the last half hour. He had started to sketch the view from the window seat but hadn’t made more than a few half-hearted lines. Usually, his creative juices were working overtime, but today he felt like a parched lizard sitting by a cactus in the desert. He had nothing, zilch, nada. One big fat zero. He loved art, drawing, painting, and sculpting. It was his raison d’ê...

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“Another FGI” by Maria Wickens

Submitted to Contest #263

“Haz!” A short, sweaty guy with unblinking bloodshot eyes waits outside the cabin.Meeting up with a crazed little man sweating profusely has all the elements for a bad night in the boondocks. From the moment Harrison shouted at me to get in the car, it was clear there was a bad moon on the rise and I did not have my things together. Not at all.“Who’s Haz?” I whisper to my brother.“Me,” says Harrison. “Short for Hazard.”Oh yeah. Sure. That made sense.Short, dark and sweaty is Chaos. Another buddy from Harrison’s time in the dessert. They use ...

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“Layla and the Dream Competition” by Kathryn Minicozzi

Submitted to Contest #263

It was Friday evening, and she hoped to ace tomorrow’s competition. Layla Mancini sat at the piano and let her fingers glide over the first movement of Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata. This piece was second nature to her by now. She had nothing to worry about. However, pre-competition nerves prompted her to practice the sonata until she was sure she could play it even if she zoned out, which was always possible. Layla was on the older side of the competition’s age limit at fourteen years of age. This year w...

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“The Voice of Hate” by Rudy Greene

Submitted to Contest #263

This story contains some profanity and bigotryIt’s going to be the fight of the century. That f***in’ kike doesn’t have a chance. They set up a ring on the south side of Chicago. The money is pouring in even though it’s not, what’s the word, sanctioned. Those Jews think the war just ended. Well, I’ve got a message for them. It’s just starting here in the states. We’ll finish what Hitler started. To think my dad lost his life fighting to liberate the camps in Germany. I would have been alongside him if my birthday had been just a few months e...

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“"Broken Heart of Red"” by Stephvon Dames

Submitted to Contest #263

While revenge might provide a temporary sense of satisfaction, it often leads to feelings of bitterness and emptiness. You may be unable to heal emotionally if you are focused on negative emotions. You may end up compounding your grief instead of alleviating it by seeking revenge.One who understands this idea well is Marco Prince, a baby left at the hitman guild Dragon Tail and taken in to be raised. Despite being trained in a world of vengeance and violence, Marco learned that true healing comes from forgiveness and moving forward. His stor...

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“The Greatest Foe” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #263

I saw a therapist once. It was more than once. The attraction was elemental. We both kidded ourselves that there was more there than there really was. Something beyond the sating of physical desire. Maybe there was, but neither of us explored that aspect of what was on offer. We liked the thought of each other and what was on display was intoxicating. The taste of her lingers on in my memory. Her words however…She didn’t exactly open up. We’d both been open in our own way. Had to be in order for what we had to be so dizzying and mind alterin...

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“The power of time” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #263

Penelope had it all: a good family, a cute house, and a satisfying job. But she also had a secret she had never shared with anyone: she was able to bend time and space. She had always seen people around her struggling daily to reach the end of their days and do everything they wanted at work, school, and in their private lives. Time seemed too little for family and friends. People ran continuously, restless, to meet their ends, enjoy their lives, and spend time with people they liked, but not her. She had time. She had love. She had everythi...

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“A Tattered Flag” by N Martin

Submitted to Contest #263

The black-and-white footage flickered, casting a ghostly light over the dimly lit shack. Resistance fighters huddled around the makeshift television desk, their faces etched with weariness and resolve. The grainy images of the dense Bornean jungles and the devastation wrought by the Malaysian military filled the screen.“In the dense rainforests of Northern Borneo, conflict is brewing. Discontent with the new Malaysian government’s religious policies has sparked violent uprisings in the region of Sabah. What began as a few isolated prote...

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“TRADITION” by Josiah Mporampora

Submitted to Contest #263

With only a snap from my mighty fingers, the final enemy stronghold would fall in a “pillar” of flame. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!For centuries, my kingdom, the powerful and imposing kingdom of Ragnus, battled with the feeble and pompous kingdom of Numori. No longer would we allow them to raise their noses at us. No longer shall we be forced to adopt their “modern way of living.” What matters most in this world is power! I will admit, there was a time where their military was a threat. Their ability to control and manipul...

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“The Ashen Phoenix: The Rise and Fall of Alara Thorne” by Yanna Khaleel

Submitted to Contest #263

In the kingdom of Valthorne, the name Alara Thorne was whispered with a mixture of awe and reverence. Known far and wide as the Ashen Phoenix, she was a beacon of hope in a land plagued by darkness. Her powers, a gift from the mythical phoenix, allowed her to control flames, to summon and manipulate fire with a mere thought. The people believed her to be invincible, their last line of defense against the ever-growing shadows that threatened their world.Alara’s rise to power had been meteoric. Born into a family of warriors, she had always be...

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“letter to Death” by Page Jenkins

Submitted to Contest #263

Hello all, this is my letter to death. Death seeps into every aspect of life, no matter how far you can run. It destroys insides, relationships, and minds. Death consumes all, at one point or another. To Death, I hope to never find you again. You come in the dead of night in a pool of sweat over my forehead. You come on the most beautiful of moments, taking everything in your path. You are a restless regret that cannot be found. Beings everywhere fear you to great extents, but I am angry with you. I have not feared you, and therefore ...

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“Mere Woman” by Lonnie Russo

Submitted to Contest #263

The placid waters, glistening with grit, lay sullied only by mud, not yet reddened by blood one day to spill. She trod through them, disturbing the surface with well-balanced footfalls. A mother long-gone had once called her Godgyfu—her gift, her gift of God—a god that himself had treated them with fury alone, more harshly than even these wilds’ most unforgiving days. Today, at least, was not such a day. The slumbering fens heaved around her, tranquil with the humid breath of life. A shallow inhale, a swallowing of the damp air in the s...

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$250

Prize money

314

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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