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“Write about the moment a rivalry began — or the resentment that outlived it.”

Posted in Angst on Jul 24, 2026

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✍️ 29 stories

"RIvalry"

Weekly Contest #365

I only messaged Susan to find out what happened to Stan. It had been twenty years since we knew each other in college. Susan had been Stan’s girlfriend. She had married Stan after college. I had never married. How I hated her! In college, she was not pretty, but her voice smacked of confidence. She stood barely five feet tall and sauntered with the laziness of a cat. Her face wore a permanent grin. Stan was so smitten, she led him around by the nose. There’s no accounting for taste in men when you’re nineteen. Susan and I had not been frien...

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Saif and the Nightly Walks

Weekly Contest #365

Muna grabbed the edges of the tray holding around twenty finjans; tiny teacups, about a finger length tall. She stood by the wall of the door to the majlis, the living room only used for visitors and guests and was closed off otherwise. She grasped the tray, exhaling through her lips.Men spoke loudly inside, not laughing, nor in merry moods—but simply discussions between one another, like debating a matter, though they might not be debating at all and simply talking—the amount of voices speaking inside was too numerous. Multiple men spoke ab...

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The Compliment

Weekly Contest #365

The rivalry began with a compliment. This was inconvenient because compliments are expected to behave themselves. They are meant to brighten a room, improve the recipient, and leave everyone else exactly as they were. “Elise has always had a way of making everything look easy,” someone said. Mara could no longer remember who said it. Over time, the voice had separated from the speaker and become part of the room itself. Everyone agreed. Elise lowered her eyes in the modest way of someone accustomed to being discussed favourably. She wore a c...

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The Bottle

Weekly Contest #365

My childhood was spent in competition with the bottles my mom loved so much more than me; I insulted seltzers, tried to blow chipped wine glasses up with my mind, and death glared bottles of tequila. Yet none of these alcohols ever made my blood boil as much as the handle of vodka my mom kept above the fridge. If she wasn’t at the bar, she’d wind down with a drink every night before bed. Whether that be a gin & tonic or a glass of whiskey—her leisure sips would eventually lead to gulps and glazed eyes before she’d stumble to bed. This b...

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The Christmas Letter

Weekly Contest #365

Dale turned his collar up against the keen wind as he hurried home, his eyes watering and his nose red with cold. He opened the front door and called a greeting. Flo usually had a pot of coffee brewing in the afternoon, and often, the smell of baking would be wafting from the kitchen. There were no delicious aromas today. She had been busy; the autumn decorations were down, and the boxes of Christmas decorations were sitting ready to be unpacked. Dale hung up his jacket, put on his slippers and headed to the kitchen. Flo was sitting at the t...

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Burying hatchets, hamsters, and Harry

Weekly Contest #365

CW: Death It started with a hamster. Squeak-squeaking in the pool of his palm, it looked at me and said, I should be yours. “This one’s mine,” my best friend said. “I picked him first.” “And he’s mine now,” my worst enemy insisted. “Take the black one.” “That’s not fair.” He gave a shrug. Then he stroked the soft, golden, furry nugget in his outstretched hand. Both our hamsters died two years later; they now lie buried next to each other in his parents’ backyard. Some people bury hatchets. We buried hamsters. So long ago now, but I still ...

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The Good, the Bad, and the Eddy Delfuego

Weekly Contest #365

Eddy Delfuego arrived in the world at 8:13 am on a Monday. Precisely at that moment, good angel #111 smiled from above. At the same time, from far below, bad angel #57 snickered. Now that you know their names, we may abbreviate or use only their numbers as the story unfolds.Anyhow, simultaneously the assignment parchments of both angels displayed a single name: Eddy Delfuego.Now the funny thing about good angels and bad angels is that everybody had a job to do. These two had competed for souls before, and the rivalry favored good with an imp...

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Two Explosions, One Grudge

Weekly Contest #365

Two Explosions, One GrudgeI got the call at eleven at night, and by the time I hung up I already knew who I needed.Brian Mason. Best demo man I've ever worked with. But a job like this, he'd need a right hand, and there was only one guy good enough — Mike Kilbreath.Only problem was Brian and Mike couldn't stand each other. They hadn't spoken in years, and if one of them said the sky was blue, the other would swear it was green just to be contrary.There wasn't time to go looking for options. I called them both. Didn't tell either one who they...

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pink & all

Weekly Contest #365

Pink plants cascaded down the walls like streamers, all glinting like balloons in a midday sun, but these were lit by a massive yellow halogen lamp overhead, and a sparkling clung to everything, and to the walls' red, and his nostrils were slammed by the scent of freshly machined plastic mixed with deep genuine pine wood freshly cut. Iceland frowned as he crept through the bloodred hallway, because this was all a bit odd, then the lights flickered off. He stood there, shivering, in waves of darkness. The void rolled over him like concentric ...

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The Last Laugh

Weekly Contest #365

Note: contains topics of body shaming Melissa Hughes studied her reflection in the slick double doors of Casper Community High as she walked up to them, just as she had for the past 2 years. What she saw pleased her. Her ‘fat girl waddle’ had turned into a swift gait propelled by slim, toned, jeans-clad legs. Her T-shirt no longer stretched over rolls of body fat; instead, it accentuated the waist that had become visible over the summer. And her plump face had developed planes she hadn’t known were there. With the little makeup she’d learne...

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Fight forever

Weekly Contest #365

The van cut through the first tree before the second tore the engine in two. The remains of the vehicle tumbled down the small embankment before finally settling upside down. Shattered headlights illuminated a spiderweb of blinking shadows as the alarms dying wheezes filled the night.Chris emerged from underneath the wreck first. Shards of glass showered the forest floor as he struggled to his feet. The taste of blood filled his mouth, and his head felt like someone had used a gimmicked blade to get color.He spotted the driver trapped betwee...

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ROSALIA'S ISLET

Weekly Contest #365

ARRIVALRosalia watched the men hop onto the carriage driver’s seat and waited until they had galloped away from the river a fair distance. Satisfied they were far enough, she carefully embarked upon her brand-new wherry, set her travelling basket upon the wherry’s bottom boards, got close to one of the trunks, opened it and took out a small crossbow. She set a bolt and readied the triggering mechanism, set the weapon on the first wooden seat while she closed the trunk’s lid. Then, gathered the crossbow from the seat, setting it on her lap as...

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The Champion's Heir

Weekly Contest #365

Thunder rolled through the city, lightning arcing across the skies as rain poured like the tears of those below. The day was finally upon them. A day none of them could have ever prepared for: their greatest champion had fallen. Even the Arena was closed to fights in mourning, the gladiators and warriors who normally battled taking time to respect one of their own.Down Main Street, a funeral procession rolled. The chariot that carried the casket was being led by the champion’s own mount, Stomper. The metallic horse walked stoically along ahe...

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Pursued

Weekly Contest #365

Pursued“I’m not gonna play with you, fuck boy, you can come up here and say this shit to my face. I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but I’m a 30 year old man and I will bury you in front of your kids,” Jasper said, as he stood there, with his cane, leaning into every word that he spoke.Spit flew from his lips and his southern accent became more prominent as the conversation continued. His scrawny frame belied his ability to bury anyone via physical altercation. Short, kept hair, slightly sagging Levi’s, and a white t-shirt compris...

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