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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#87: Fool Me Once

From trickster gods to office pranks, humans have long been fascinated by mischief and mayhem. There’s just something about breaking free of the rules of polite society and causing a bit of chaos that appeals deeply to our psyche.

This week, let’s embrace that playful spirit. Whether it’s someone being pranked or doing the pranking, there’s plenty of opportunity to dive deep into your characters’ motives and reactions. No joke — it’s time to break out the (metaphorical) cream pies and throw some anarchy at your protagonists.

This week's prompts

Write about a mischievous pixie or trickster god.

Kids – 206 stories

Write about someone who’s spent a whole year planning a big prank, and now they’re finally ready to pull it off.

Middle School – 75 stories

Write about someone who hates pranks and spends April Fools’ Day doing good deeds instead.

Holiday – 69 stories

Start your story with a big company pulling an April Fools’ prank that ends up going horribly wrong.

Holiday – 82 stories

Write about someone who goes to great lengths to avoid being pranked on April 1st, only to realize they had the date wrong and it’s already April 2nd.

Holiday – 60 stories

Stories

“A Day in the Life” by Andy Bell

Submitted to Contest #87

Thimble hummed a familiar song to herself as she worked. Second Moon of her new house. Just long enough to know the inhabitant’s routine, but still finding new weak spots. Move that coffee mug just that much closer to the edge, loosen the pepper cap just the right amount, make sure the keys were buried in the sugar bowl. You have to be bold somedays, she thought. She blew a kiss to herself as she passed the giant mirror in the hallway. She wondered if the Man kept that special glue in the hallway table drawer like the Man from three houses a...

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“Social People” by Remember Egbecho

Submitted to Contest #87

Everyone wants to know the baddest trickster that ever lived. In the medical laboratory, Lady discovered something higher. Lady discovered the baddest trickster that ever lived. One thing about developing countries is their hard work towards perfection. Perfection, not for behavior but for public image. Even Public Relations is not enough to achieve this. In the core of a bustling city, Lady’s father’s hospital lay remarkable, saving hands outspread. It was built in three years but its reputation was not built, it was born. It was born...

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“Ladybird and the Carver” by Nicola Niemc

Submitted to Contest #87

In a long-since forgotten world, there lived a lord, his lady and their two young children. They had a son, with the dusky blue eyes of a bird’s egg and hair as messy as a nest of last year – he was called Robin; and a daughter with red apples in her cheeks and the brightest, blackest eyes you could imagine, named Ladybird.The lord and his lady were rather careless of the old gods, and they frequently forgot or did not bother to make an offering of the grain they reaped or the animals they slaughtered. Eventually, one of the most ancient an...

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“Lessons of the Pixie” by Hayley Carter

Submitted to Contest #87

Pixies are always hated in folklore, fiction, fantasy. But we are as real as those Funions you are eating right now or your new Prius. The only way to become a mischievous pixie-like me is to go to school for it. What, you thought pixies just randomly are mischievous or have vendettas. No, we come in all fields and walks of life. There is a school dedicated to pixies and we get to major in what we want. I even went to this school when I was a young briny little thing but I was shaped into the mischievous little being that I am because of the...

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“Prankster God (Fake)” by Kat Orbs

Submitted to Contest #87

Of all the gods and goddesses that he could have succeeded, why did Zeus assign him to replace Apollo? (Full offense meant, by the way.) When mortals think about Apollo, the god of the sun and a billion more things because he's an attention hog like that, they think of charisma, of healing, of music and elegance and fun. It's not an overstatement to say that he's thoroughly adored and worshipped everywhere. No problem with that, really. As far as Galen is concerned, Apollo is one of the...normal ones, which is honestly pushing it too f...

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“Bartebly's Playground” by Kenneth Michael

Submitted to Contest #87

“Enter! Enter!” the malicious yet light-hearted deity cried manically. “Have you ever read about the girl’s adventures in wonderland!? You will see my inspiration once inside” it spoke as it hovered in front of his magic door. Rogna sweatily gripped the hilt of his sabre tighter but knew he could do nothing. Stay in this world and walk away, and he would fail. His vow would be broken and he was sure to be an outlaw to the kingdom’s royal will. Entering the translucent portal that reeked oddly of onions and glowed la...

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“The Djinn Ring” by Brian Barrott

Submitted to Contest #87

The Djinn RingMy wife and I laid on the bed of our winter residence in Goa. The doctor looked bemused as our hearts were beating slowly, yet all blood pressure measurements showed hypertension! We kept slipping in and out of consciousness, however, core temperatures remained normal, internally we both felt like a raging fire burnt! Our bruised arms showed black needle marks from endless tests. I looked towards the doctor, checking our blood results for the umpteenth time! A light wrap sounded on our apartment door. It made him lookup. U...

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“Be Careful What You Wish For” by James Mckinley

Submitted to Contest #87

Angus McKinley wasn’t what you would call a lucky man. In fact you might say he was a bit of a hard luck story. For most of his life, it seemed that he was always in the wrong place at the wrong time. He always seemed to make poor choices that lead him to inevitable bad outcomes. Many people said that the Irish were lucky, but not Angus, he seemed to have been born under a dark cloud. Of course, you couldn’t say that other factors didn’t contribute to his poor circumstances. You see, Angus had been brought up by a dad who was less than ...

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“Days for Drolls ” by Ava <('.'<)

Submitted to Contest #87

Winnie rolled open her construction paper, holding it down so it wouldn't roll back towards itself. Sheltered inside the paper were her jottings; written in cheap crayons and glitter. This was the third time she had opened up her plan, and the third time glitter would spew out. She read her project until she was satisfied with the wording. So again she read outloud: "How I will catch a droll: First, I will pretend to be in deep distress. I will use my homework as a decoy. Second, I will drink chocolate milk and pretend to go to ...

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“Grandma Goddess” by Lucy Kent

Submitted to Contest #87

I woke with a feeling of dread. It was April Fools Day. The worst day of the year. I carefully turned my eyes to the mirror I had nearby and groaned. This year my head had gone invisible. It was always a toss up whether it was my head or body. I heard a screech from down the hall and knew that my sister much have had her body vanished. I don’t mind being jut a head so much, people never actually believe that I am real and just tend to ignore me. But when its just my body, I tend to find myself getting in trouble with people who think that I ...

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“Fox and Rabbit: A Trickster's Tale” by Jennifer Engel

Submitted to Contest #87

Rabbit and the Fox A Trickster Fable written by: Jennifer M. Engel The worm moon was high in the silent March night sky, making it easier for Fox to see while digging his burrow. It had been a long, harsh winter. Much of his food supply perished underneath the bitter snow, which seemed to laugh every time it heard Fox’s growling stomach. Fox’s natural personality was not malicious. It was just that Mother Nature seemed to force him into situations that caused him to perform acts of devilish means, i...

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“The Invisible Friend” by Nirmila Lall

Submitted to Contest #87

The soft chapping of the geckos and the chorus of crickets reverberated through the forest. An owl hooted in the distance. A soft wind was blowing. Leaves rustled. Tok Abu, the village shaman, used to the nocturnal sounds of the jungle was on a mission to retrieve a special herb that gave out maximum aroma during the full moon. This particular herb was used as an antiseptic for a mass circumcision ceremony that was scheduled the next day. When he heard the demonic call of a barking deer, Pak Abu knew it prophesied a bad omen, but he ignored...

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“Trixie the Tricky Pixie” by Alyson Ackman

Submitted to Contest #87

Trixie adored her new abode. The tiny house suited her perfectly if it weren’t for all the pink. Trixie hated pink. It was an atrocious colour. Her black hair was cropped short and naturally spiky, giving view of her pointed ears, both pierced three times with broken pine needles. Her violet eyes were a sharp contrast to her familiar outfits of varying greens and browns, made with leaves. Her wings were like those of dragonflies; intricate patterns of transparent membranes which shimmered in the light. It was quite a change from the...

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“Mae Flowers” by Katherine Jackson

Submitted to Contest #87

Mondays were routinely the most dreaded day of the week for Mae. Besides the usual "start of the week" hatred that most people have for the day, Mae hated it for one very particular reason. Each Monday a raging storm forms right above her house as if on a strict schedule. Rolling grey clouds move in quickly, grumbling in anticipation. They hover over her home as if they are teasing her to play, waiting for her to make one wrong move. These days are usually spent curled up next to her window, watching the rain fall down and cupping her shakin...

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“The Day Loki Got Tricked Twice” by Azka Fathiya

Submitted to Contest #87

Loki sat there on a chair at a desk, staring at the window in front of him. He couldn't believe his fate, the god of mischief, in some 16 years old mortal body, and not by choice, mind you. It was Odin the fucking allfather, he did this to him. Loki huffed, blowing the strand of soft brown hair this mortal body had. Truthfully, as far as punishment goes, this one was far from the worst. However, he was bored, he was really, really bored, a god without his magic, his seidr, and the god of mischief nonetheless. How was he sup...

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$50

Prize money

492

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 02, 2021 EST

Won by Catherine Hill 🏆

Title: Samill the Trickster

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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