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- The WYRMHOLE (May 4, 2025)
What’s in the Hole?
Hello Wyrms,
It’s finally spring! Emerging out of winter and false spring here, we’re finally past giant parka season and having to turn on the heat to not freeze inside my apartment. I’ve been doing some spring cleaning, channeling my inner KonMari to sort through all the random things I have accumulated like a squirrel. Thankfully, I did not find any worms or wyrms. I would have screamed if I did.
Warmer weather and sunshine also mean it’s the perfect time to go read in parks again. I’m going to come clean and admit that I didn’t read anywhere near as much short fiction as I would have liked to this winter, and I’m currently catching up on stuff I missed. Do worms hibernate? I don’t actually know. Google says earthworms do go dormant in winter until spring rain comes, so like the waking earthworms, I am back in business.
I’ve been watching too much TV lately, and I’m going to use this space to try to sell hopefully at least one person on this little anime called Chihayafuru that sounds like it shouldn’t work but it does and is horribly addictive. Chihayafuru is a sports show about a card game called karuta where a guy reads the beginning of a poem taken from a book of poems from almost 1000 years ago and you have to grab the card with the ending of the poem faster than your opponent. The rules are a bit more complicated than that, but that’s the basic principle. What I have taken away from this show is 1) you can make anime out of literally any weird sport/other competitive thing and I would watch it and 2) more people need to watch Chihayafuru because my mind has been blown with how just enjoyable, joyful, and satisfying on a storytelling level to my WriterBrain all of it is.
I want more people’s heads to explode with mine from how amazing Chihayafuru is. Plus, there are way more characters who are actual adults compared to most high school shows since most karuta tournaments aren’t age restricted, and the adults get Relatable Adult Problems (aka they can’t just live and breathe card games 24/7 and have jobs/kids/other priorities and sometimes have to take breaks for many years).
Today is May Fourth! Cue all the terrible Star Wars-themed puns. May the Fourth be with you, may you discover today that you are destined for more than just a farm kid on a planet with two suns after the Great Wyrm shows up to train you in the way of the WYRM. The all caps is necessary to differentiate WYRM from the common wyrm.
For this month’s editorial, I was inspired by an old drawing book from my childhood to make some drawings of questionable quality. I asked the other editors for their best sci-fi recs for May 4th and to make up for the fact that my recs this month are mostly horror. (Oops!) Enjoy!
(Also, if you like this issue— share the HOLE!)
Tina S. Zhu / May 2025 Editor in Chief / New York, NY
Recs & Reviews
Pak recs…
Caroline M. Yoachim, Lightspeed. 2016. 2k words.
Reminiscent of "Happy Endings" by Margaret Atwood, this campy choose-your-own-adventure excursion through a space station's medical clinic not only breaks the fourth wall, but removes it completely and stares you dead in the face. Yeah. You heard me. You there, reading this. If you need an appropriate metaphor to frame your impending dread over the state of healthcare, then click the link. If not, then click the link anyways and enjoy a fun totally non-commentative story.
Tia recs…
Rachel Delaney Craft, Uncharted. 2025. 1500 words.
Machine uprising + massage therapist rebellion = one somehow very poignant flash piece? The voice serves this story perfectly, with just enough details seeping into the main character’s perspective to build a fascinating world in a short time. Also: banger first/last lines 👀
Carolyn recs…
Jeff Dingler, Strange Horizons. 2016. 2.9k words.
A short and deeply affecting story about machine sentience that is told from two perspectives: one of a human trying to get his dues from a shitty Redbox, and one from the Redbox itself, which sends out endless, hopeless messages into the human world. It's amazing how much heart this short piece manages to pack into less than 3k words, and I am just such a fan of the arresting, frequently Weird voices of both the Guy and the Redbox--this is character done right.
Iz recs…
All the Young Kirks and Their Good Intentions
Helena Bell, Clarkesworld. 2012. 2.9k words.
This is a story where every single character is named after James Kirk from Star Trek, and it is oddly, deeply literary.
Tina recs…
Talk to Your Children About Two-Tongued Jeremy
Theodore McCombs, Lightspeed. 2018. 6k words.
One of the scariest stories I’ve ever read. Think Duolingo but horror, technology traumatizing children by emotionally manipulating them into doing their homework. This story is less science fiction and more a lawsuit waiting to happen in 2025.
A Little Like Sap, a Bit Like a Tree
Natalia Theodoridou, khōréō. 2024. 2k words.
Not to get self-promotional with this khōréō story, but if you’re looking for something that’s tender and devastating in all the best ways, check it out.
Francis van Ganson, ergot. 2024. 8k words.
The horrors of celebrity culture.
Sally Wen Mao, The Offing. 2022. 5k words.
I’m in love with everything by Sally Wen Mao, and I love the ambiguity of everything that happens in this ghost story.
WILDCARD
A Travel Guide to WYRMLAND
by Tina S. Zhu
One of my favorite books as a kid was something we randomly got at a Borders sale (RIP Borders) by the late illustrator Joy Sikorski, How to Draw A Cup of Coffee: And Other Fun Ideas for Home and Garden, which taught you how to draw squids and roses and had a whole storyline. The story was that you were now the proud owner of a French chateau in what I think was supposed to be somewhere in the Midwest but never explicitly stated. Disclaimer: I am a writer for a reason, my drawing ability is limited to questionable cartoons.
So welcome to WYRMLAND! In WYRMLAND, you find all kinds of wyrms. Some of them appeared in last month’s issue. The wyrms all live in harmony in WYRMLAND, where there is world wyrm peace.
You will find wyrms enjoying coffee and tea by the WYRM FOUNTAIN WITH MEDUSA’S FACE ON IT. What is the purpose of the fountain? Unclear. None of the wyrms know, but it’s there. If you stare at it too long, you might or might not turn into stone, according to an urban legend on the WYRMNET.
WYRM FOUNTAIN WITH MEDUSA’S FACE ON IT
When wyrms are done with tea, it takes a nap on its WYRM DAYBED WITH A FUNNY FAUX-SWEDISH BRAND NAME. Afternoon naps are mandated in WYRMLAND and are a very important part of a wyrm’s daily routine.
WYRM DAYBED WITH A FUNNY FAUX-SWEDISH BRAND NAME
When wyrms hang out together and decide to play video games, they play video games like ANGRY WYRM, a game where this wyrm is so angry that it is flying and ready to get revenge on evil fish.
AN ANGRY WYRM
Many wyrms live in WYRMVILLE, and this is a map of WYRMVILLE with some of its important landmarks.
All the Worms in WYRMVILLE are banned from THE VOID at the end of the town. What is THE VOID? Nobody knows. Is it dangerous? Is it a good thing? Is it out to get all the worms? We have no idea.
Maybe you’ll be the one to explore what’s in THE VOID. No wyrm that has entered THE VOID has ever emerged. It is said there is treasure inside, though nobody knows if this legend is legit. Onward, brave wyrms! I’ll be watching from a safe distance and eagerly awaiting your reports.
A parting song from the Editors…
Killah - Lady Gaga (ft. Gesaffelstein)
