Write about a character with questionable morals.

Posted in Dark on Oct 31, 2022

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✍️ 41 stories

“Just Don't Be An Idiot” by Havana Summer

Submitted to Contest #158

“Just don’t be an idiot.” Keith said to me. “Like you?” I said sarcastically.“Just shut up for a sec, would ya?!” Keith retorted.“You shut up!” I glowered at him.“Argh. All I wanted to do was put a fake snake on Mar-Mar’s homework for that one time she told on me. Like literally, all I did was hide ONE broccoli in my sock.”“You mean ALL your broccolis AND a carrot too!”“Stop talking. My ears need a break.” Keith cupped his hands over his ears.“What, this fabulous voice?” I started singing off key very loudly.“STOP!!!!”***“Just don’t be ...

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“The Wilford Reading Room” by Kathryn Engelmann

Submitted to Contest #158

"Could you send me bank statements on behalf of your foundation? We're not seeing where the money's going." Greg took a long drag from his cigarette and let the smoke curl away from his lips. He hadn't considered that someone would look for a paper trail. He tapped his finger on the countertop, stared down at his phone, and stirred his mind for an answer. He heard an uncomfortable cough come through the speaker. "Look-- Irma, was it?" "No, my name's--" "Sure. Irma, Charles Wilford Literary Foundation is a cornerstone of this communit...

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“Cocaine Blues” by Phil Manders

Submitted to Contest #158

WARNING: Almost certainly contains the abuse and misuse of commas. (Sorry Deidra)Luckily, I’m not cursed by an irrational desire to justify my decisions. I know when I’m right. Which, I’m not ashamed to say, is always.It was so tiny when it finally came. It often is. Most people in the room, I assume, would have been oblivious to it. Not me. One might be forgiven for assuming it would be a dramatic, more obvious detail that convinced me. As always, I had to be patient. It’s rather a crude expression, but I always trust my guts. They’ve not b...

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“Secrets to the Grave ” by Abigail Rae

Submitted to Contest #158

He wiped the sweat off his forehead. The back of his shirt was damp and clinging to his skin. He paused what he was doing to take a long drag from his cigarette. God he was getting old. He glanced at his work, satisfied that he would make it home for before Cherie woke up. The dirt hole was large, at least 7 feet deep and 3 feet wide. It had taken him a few hours to get to this location and to dig it up. It was going to be the home of his latest capture. The man stared back at the pleading eyes of the gagged individual in the ...

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“THE MISANTHROPE” by Nick Wynne

Submitted to Contest #158

Osgood Feeney was a miserable cuss. Everybody who had ever had any contact with him agreed with that conclusion. He was cruel in his speech, slovenly in his dress, dishonest in his business dealings, and was generally avoided by all the residents of my hometown. He was also an inveterate funeral goer, carrying a little black book in his pocket that listed everyone he hated or was feuding with. He would approach the casket, look at the face of the deceased, and then take out his black book, flip through the pages, and with...

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“Deer Season” by Jim Holley

Submitted to Contest #158

&...

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“Annihilating The Bridge Transient” by Seth NoLastName

Submitted to Contest #158

Annihilating The Bridge Transient Going under the bridge is the best part of my daily run. This morning as I approached the entrance, I saw a figure in the middle of the path. He was a pale-skinned hobo who appeared to have taken up residence underneath the bridge. This worthless pile of filth & disease was sitting inside of a stolen shopping cart, cradling his mucous soaked chicken legs with a set of nimble looking hands. His fingernails were long, black, & un...

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“Cornelius Clemens” by Ralph Aldrich

Submitted to Contest #158

Pearce, Arizona, is a small mining town just southeast of Tucson. The year is 1895, and it’s late August. The sun is blazing hot as a small traveling cabana rolls into town. The driver pulls to a stop at the far end of the main street and climbs down to look around. He’s a little disappointed because he had figured a gold mining town would look more prosperous. His name is Cornelius Clemens, and his trade is to sell snake oil to the unsuspecting. He is a flimflam artist, a con-man, and a swindler. Corneli...

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“The Statistics of Morality” by Karen C

Submitted to Contest #158

He flinched in surprise when it was cold instead of hot. His eyes flicked from the words “empirical methodology” to the partially-full mug of coffee which he had subconsciously set down in disgust. The black liquid, no longer steaming, looked like a miniature oil spill in the white ceramic.He rubbed his eyes. Gotta be at least 2am. Refusing to look at the nightstand clock as he passed it, he refilled the mug with burned coffee from the too-hot coffee pot. Half an inch of utter darkness, mirroring the bedroom window, still remained at the bot...

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“Woebegone Miracles” by SJ Latrice

Submitted to Contest #158

It's only by the grace of the gods that Francis doesn’t laugh at her mother-in-law’s bellowing wails. Davith’s funeral had ended three hours ago but Maryanne Warthwood had always been dedicated to her dramatics. It was no secret that Maryanne hated her eldest son; he wouldn’t like the foods she wanted him to like, wouldn’t go to the university she wanted, and refused to marry the woman she’d prepared for him since he was six. Everything Davith did was a crime after that last slight, but now the woman of sixty-five years cries bucket...

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“The Great Beautifier ” by Benjamin Spivey

Submitted to Contest #158

Dr. Roivas grimaced. He hated it when they screamed like this. He looked down at the woman thrashing on the table, thin shirt slipping down over her shoulder and dark wet hair splayed across her white forehead, and tried to force the expected smile. He replayed the last hour's events in his head. She had run. His men had tackled her. The rain had been smacking the pavement hard during the chase.So she was wet and his once-clean hospital floors were muddy.Her black shirt clung to her body and her hair flung water against the white hospital wa...

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“Where We Once Knew” by Asha Mody

Submitted to Contest #158

Time echoes throughout the city burned to the ground. Memories of a time long forgotten when light erupted steadily from window sills nonexistent. Bodies lay on the ground, their ashes more than anything scattered mercilessly across the barren streets. Too much time to save the city. Not enough people cared. Not enough people cared until it was utterly impossible to not notice. Till the skies turned red and fog engulfed the night sky. Less of a fog and more of a smoke that caught people's lungs and suffocated them without relent. A smoke tha...

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“A Working Holiday” by Michael Schmidt

Submitted to Contest #158

The lights of the Montclair Holiday Resort loomed wistful and gray in an unseasonably cold rain for that time of September. All throughout the wooded valley and the surrounding lake district, the same dull flat drab bank of clouds crouched low and stubborn between earth and sky. Beaches that formerly flocked with screaming families and smoking barbecues in summer months now stood empty, and the blue waters that rose in arcs with speedboats and the plop of a fisherman’s lure now sat silver...

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“Principled Lessons” by Niklin Day

Submitted to Contest #158

“When was the last time Adrian came to school?” “It’s been about a week.” “For seven days you took attendance and never noticed your student was missing. Does that sum it up?” “I wouldn’t say it’s that simple, I have a class of 32 students and this just got away from me. If I -” “That's bullshit, another teacher contacted me about your missing student. This didn’t get away from you, it was carelessness. You’re coming with me.” Hadiza Wilson rushed to the school exit with 3rd grade teacher Mr. John Alexander in tow. As the principal o...

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“Passion Project” by Ashley Hughes

Submitted to Contest #158

She slowly exhales while glancing at the clock as discreetly as possible. Only five minutes left, she thinks and looks back at the man sitting across from her. He is speaking in a very animated way, his face is a little pink, and his eyebrows furrowed together. This really was not what she had imagined when she decided to do this job. She attempts to reign her attention back to what he is saying. “The money was sitting right there, I could have easily taken it, but I didn’t. That’s improvement right?” he ...

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Write about a character with questionable morals.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 41 stories

“Just Don't Be An Idiot” by Havana Summer

“The Wilford Reading Room” by Kathryn Engelmann

“Cocaine Blues” by Phil Manders

“Secrets to the Grave ” by Abigail Rae

“THE MISANTHROPE” by Nick Wynne

“Deer Season” by Jim Holley

“Annihilating The Bridge Transient” by Seth NoLastName

“Cornelius Clemens” by Ralph Aldrich

“The Statistics of Morality” by Karen C

“Woebegone Miracles” by SJ Latrice

“The Great Beautifier ” by Benjamin Spivey

“Where We Once Knew” by Asha Mody

“A Working Holiday” by Michael Schmidt

“Principled Lessons” by Niklin Day

“Passion Project” by Ashley Hughes

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with a couple sharing a cigarette in a parking lot.

Write a story where the law plays an important role.

Write a story about a character who is trying to become a better person.

Write a story that includes someone saying, “It’s not fair.”

Contest #158

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

245

Contest entries

103

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: