Discussion April-May 2026 Short Story Contest Reading and Voting Thread

[Y'ttar Scaletail]

Some belated review-things:


Gitstompa: Ikkit, yoo git! Wez back in ‘ere doing dese stoopid story fings again, wot da acshual zog?!


Ikkit Snowscoop: Scent-look, Gitstompa…it was this-this or scent-selling your kidney-flesh again…I scent-think they grow back…


Gitstompa: Wot…?


Ikkit Snowscoop: Any-anyway this Is Ikkit Snowscoop, weather-rat for Skavenblight Underground Radio…and with-with me again is Gitstompa, our radio-thing’s Orc Sport Commentator-thing.


Gitstompa: Jus…jus get on wiv it ya git…


Ikkit Snowscoop: Yes-yes…we have been brought-brought in today to review more of these scale-thing stories…so let-let us scent-begin!


Story One:

Gitstompa: Wot da zog?! Iz yoo tellin’ me dat scale-boy ended up in a fite fer etern…inte…etah…fer a long zoggin’ time! And dey iz makin’ it sound sad?!


Ikkit Snowscoop: Mmm well next-next time warp-thing rift opens…you can scent-go through, Gitstompa.


Gitstompa: Hurhur…yoo iz da best Ikkit, even if yoo iz puny like a grot…


Ikkit Snowscoop: Story-thing had some nice-nice weather-thing mentions, Ikkit scent-liked that. Felt slow-slow in places, mostly scale-things ramble-squeaking.


Gitstompa: Dat fite woz sumfink tho…dat shield bash inta dat horn git’z face woz music ta me earz!


Ikkit Snowscoop: I also scent-think there was some-some kind of reference-thing to some-something in this piece. But is not-not my thing.


Gitstompa: I wish I ‘ad one of dem scale-thingz dey ride on…a red wun…hurhurhur…


Story Two:

Gitstompa: An’ dat iz why yooz rat-gitz nevah win and why da greenskinz iz way bettah at krumpin’


Ikkit Snowscoop: *Audibly sighs* Gitstompa…green-things fight-slay each other more-more than mighty-great Skaven…we kill-slay each other with more-more style and clever-smarts.


Gitstompa: Didn’t seem clevah-smert ta me, Ikkit. Dey just cowered like grotz…’ow iz yoo gitz even a threat?!


Ikkit Snowscoop: Well clear-clearly not these fool-meat! No-no, that is why-why you have rival-thing leader murder-slain and army-thing take-taken into your own-own.


Gitstompa: …Wuldn’t anuvva wun try ta bootray yer tho?


Ikkit Snowscoop: Yes-yes, almost cert-certainly. However, Gitstompa, they would have less-less power-strength than the Warlord-thing you kill-slew, more-more chance of other rivals take-grabbing their power, yes-yes?


Gitstompa: …Wot iz wrong wiv just krumpin’ da scale-boyz over da ‘ead? Dis iz just stoopid…


Ikkit Snowscoop: …any-anyway, theme-thing was on point-point, I scent-feel like more-more maybe could have been said-squeaked from view-thing of scale-things. Scale-things were not-not focus and any-any other weak-lesser race-things could have change-replaced them.


Gitstompa: Except greenskinz! Wez’d take dat fite to da ratties!


Ikkit Snowscoop: …Indeed…Gitstompa…indeed…


Story Three:

Ikkit Snowscoop: …This-this scent-reminds of the time-time some fool-meat inverted the weather-thing chart predictions…


Gitstompa: Yoo mean dat time yoo squeaked dat da wevver wuld be hot an’ sunni?


Ikkit Snowscoop: …


Gitstompa: An’ instead we ‘ad dat snow and dat squignado?


Ikkit Snowscoop: Point-thing is that first-firstly it was not-not my fault…


Gitstompa: …But yoo do yer own ree-serch and dat, cos yoo iz ‘da only best-best git ‘oo can do it’.


Ikkit Snowscoop: …Point-thing is that first-firstly it was not-not my fault…secondly, misread-reading or not scent-seeing the nasty-bad forest-things for the tree-things can scent-happen. Even to fool-things like those toad-things.


Gitstompa: Dat toad-boy shoulda just got straight to da fightin’, all dis delay and finkin’…ugh…finkin’. Dey missed a great fite, like a sport commin-tater countin’ da antz crawlin’ on ‘iz reportin’ desk (and krumpin’ dem) and missin’ da Uggbag’z Blitzerz makin’ da touchdown dat won dem da Bloodbowl Grand Cup…


Ikkit Snowscoop: …I scent-thought they fire-sacked you for take-stealing Bloodbowl Bob’s Orca-Cola…


Gitstompa: …dat…dat didn’t help…


Ikkit Snowscoop: …we also must speak-squeak about how-how you have been scent-stealing my Skavenade…but yes-yes…a very cunning-smart way the author-meat dealt with the theme-thing.



Story Four:

Ikkit Snowscoop: *Maniacal chittering laughter* Stupid dwarf-thing! Scent-serves it right-right! And that fool-meat of a Skaven…heheheheh…Oh I scent-like this one!


Gitstompa: …But dere woz little real krumpin’…


Ikkit Snowscoop: …But-but they were a writhing ball-thing of beard-fur and fur-fur and thrash-thrashing limb-meat. Sure-surely that was fight-thing enough, no-no?


Gitstompa: …But dere woz no blud or kumped in ‘eadz…none of dem gitz died…


Ikkit Snowscoop: But-but they had worse-worse fate-things…


Gitstompa: Dey did?! Nah nah mate…da stunty iz no longer a stunty and seemz ta be dead killy now, and da rattie just made iz matez more krumpier…


Ikkit Snowscoop: *Sighs* I scent-give up…Scent-look fool-meat listening to us. This piece-thing was silly-strange but was much-much enjoyable for it. You scent-have Ikkit’s vote-thing.


Gitstompa: *Grumbles*

 

[Scalenex]

The winner is "A Closing of Eyes"

Thank you to everyone who entered and voted.

Story One, "The Long Wait" by @Y'ttar Scaletail

Story Two, "A Perfect Plan" by Scalenex

Story Three, "A Hidden Threat" by @Killer Angel

Story Four, "A Closing of Eyes" by @thedarkfourth

 

[Killer Angel]

Congrats to @thedarkfourth , once again he proves himself a great storyteller

 

[Killer Angel]

The winner is "A Closing of Eyes"
by @thedarkfourth

the Collection thread has been updated

 

[thedarkfourth]

I wouldn't call it great storytelling, but it plays to beloved tropes and sometimes that's all we really need.

The other stories were so good, exploring interesting areas of lizardmen lore. The Long Wait was really beautifully written, I love the rain-drenched dark memory-hole vibe and the cool take on the subtle and strange Oxyotl mythos. A Perfect Plan is another one exploiting humorous skaven tropes, and I enjoyed the cuts back to the lizardmen perspective baffled at all the useless attacks. A Hidden Threat is well paced and well structured, the reader groaning with every misunderstanding of the slann, but also wondering if it could be right - right up until the end... an excellent exploration of the lizardmen's classic flaw of overthinking. I particularly enjoyed "the scent of pulverized itxi grubs".

Is it just me or did a vote move magically from one story to another just before the end? Can our gamemaster explain this anomaly??

 

[Killer Angel]

A Hidden Threat is well paced and well structured, the reader groaning with every misunderstanding of the slann, but also wondering if it could be right - right up until the end... an excellent exploration of the lizardmen's classic flaw of overthinking. I particularly enjoyed "the scent of pulverized itxi grubs".

Much appreciated

 

[Scalenex]

Scalenex's Belated Story Critiques

Story One, "The Long Wait"

I try to provide constructive criticism, but I can't here, because I don't see any flaws and because of that, this story got my vote.

It's well-polished. It fits the sweet middle ground "too short" and "too clunky", efficiently relating what it needs to relate. The characters are well developed. It tells a complete story, and I have a soft spot for animal stories.

It's not a flaw per se, but on a Warhammer forum, a story with low action and without any dead bodies in it might be the best for the target audience.

A Perfect Plan

Well I wrote this one. Because I wrote my critiques after the author ID reveal, I don't have to be coy.

I don't know why but even before I had a story concept, I had the idea in my head "I want to write a light-hearted piece."

I eventually settled on playing Skaven treachery for laughs. I wrote the piece fairly last minute with minimal editing, and I think the flaws resulting from my rush job are fairly obvious and I am not surprised I came in last place.

I thought about throwing in a gratuitous Chaos Dwarf reference. While that would have made Nightbringer, I don't think it would have contributed to the humor I was going for.

Ikkit Snowscoop: Well clear-clearly not these fool-meat! No-no, that is why-why you have rival-thing leader murder-slain and army-thing take-taken into your own-own.

I actually thought about this while writing this. Two reason I didn't do this. First, I figured a light-hearted piece would probably not have a huge death count. Second, I kind of figured both Skaven leaders were looking for this and it cancelled. Maybe if I had more time I could bring it out in a funny way.

"I know you know I know you know."

Ikkit Snowscoop: …any-anyway, theme-thing was on point-point, I scent-feel like more-more maybe could have been said-squeaked from view-thing of scale-things. Scale-things were not-not focus and any-any other weak-lesser race-things could have change-replaced them.

I didn't consider this point while writing the piece, but in hindsight, I think I should the piece would have been slightly better if I included more Lizardmen viewpoint descriptions. It takes a lot of skill to make a funny joke and advance a story at the same time. I suppose waiting to till the last minute to start writing is never the best idea, but it's extra bad for a comedy piece...at least for me.

Story Three, A Hidden Threat

Well-polished. I guess all the pieces this cycle except mine were well-polished. And my piece was well-polished by my usual standards.

Well-constructed story. Good pacing, good characterization and evocative descriptions. It covered the theme well and it covered a major weakness of the Lizardmen, over-contemplative inaction.

The ending was a bit predictable. I personal do not think being predictable is a weakness in a short story, but historically speaking, predictable pieces don't get a lot of votes from non-Scalenex members of the forum.

The piece is also a bit of a downer. There are plenty of short stories with downer endings that have won L-O short story contests, so that wasn't a problem. I could be overreaching but I have a theory. Maybe it only applies to my pieces, I haven't done a deep dive on all contest winners.

Lizardmen are more alien from the human viewpoint compared to most WHF factions. There is two dichotomies that define them. Beast versus civilized and spiritual versus secular. There is a variable level of human-ness Lizardmen protagonists can embody.

I had three pieces that won with a downer ending "Watching Things Burn", "A Long Journey" and "Brothers to Remember". In all three cases, the protagonists in question were more human than the average Lizardmen story protagonist.

That's not to say that you can't win a contest with alien Lizardmen. Plenty stories have, just not those with downer endings.

Story Four, "A Closing of Eyes"

In general, I'm not the biggest fan of twist endings in short endings, and usually the vote tallies back this up. This time though, the piece with the twist won the most the most and it almost got my vote.

Twist aside, this piece was well constructed. Good pacing, well-polished, solid story structure, good characterization. Unlike most short stories that use dramatic twists, this piece did not neglect the fundamentals. The win is well-deserved.

For a constructive criticism, I think this piece could have used a smidgeon more characterization and/or exposition. I could identity with an understand the Slann (no easy task for a writer!), but I think the dwarf and especially the skaven could have used a bit more fleshing out.

"You mean I did something good-benefiting for my Clan? And not for me?? I... I kept..." he gulped, barely able to say it. "I kept my promise-vow? No... Noooo!"

I don't like this blurb. For me personally, it stands out as the one blemish on an otherwise stellar piece.

I get that skaven are selfish, but it seems crazy that he would view this as an ultimate personal failure. If you want to play this for laughs, that's fine, but the story as a whole is not a comedic piece so this is a jarring bit of inconsistent tone.

I think this wrinkle could be ironed with a little bit more exposition to explain how and why the skaven keeping his word would blow up in his face. A single paragraph should be sufficient.