I've mentioned more than a few times about my enjoyment of Jinglemas and how proud I am to play a role in it. And one thing always impresses me each year: the newbie pod. Day 1 has been traditionally reserved for previously unpublished authors. Partially because there's a cushion for the moderated queue to be cleared out before the end of the holiday, partially because they have a failure rate several times higher than the average. 

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About two months ago, I was asked to help judge a contest - the New Blood contest, to be specific. While I haven't been involved with Bean's group in almost two years, the idea of a contest to promote new writers was something I was fully in support of. I had a great time with the entries, and there was honestly a ton of great stuff in there. I'd say about half ended up in my likes pile and a bunch in my potentials for

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From time to time I've mentioned that recent events preempt what I've got planned for the week's blog or cause me to make specific picks. The last couple of times have been mostly bad, but this week? It's happy news!

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I've mentioned before that sometimes the criteria connecting two stories are weird. Usually it's straight forward like 'stars the same character' or 'shares genres'. Other times you get real oddballs like 'griffon-centric stories that are used as a lens to look at real world cultures' or 'has cover art of two women swing

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Today, I'm feeling a bit of silly so I'm gonna dig into the pile and pull out a favorite comedic farce of mine and the appropriate matching more serious story. Partially because of that vibe, and partially because it's got a really odd connector between the two: pregnant Rainbow Dash. (Not the most unusual connector I've had, but it's certainly a bit off the standard.)

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Y'know? I don't think I've really got a lot to talk about this week. There's no real deep message or reasoning behind this week's pair of stories, nor is there a really big thing to natter on about. Aside from HEY IMPOSING SOVERIENGNS IS HAPPENING it's pretty steady.

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So a little bit ago, I had a quick blog on buying my first merch to celebrate the 500 follows milestone. So that leads into today's connecting topic: toys! And their stories. Real ones, in fact.

We lead with A Toy's Story by Bluebastard.

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I'm late. I'm absolutely wiped after a complication at the border added more than five hours to the travel time back from my in-laws, my phone battery is at about 2% (curse you, Peglin, for draining my battery while waiting), and I still haven't unpacked, but I haven't missed one yet and I'm not about to start now. Though I might be a little briefer than normal because my brain is fried.

In honor of that hellish trip: let's have some stories about tragedies and the moon.

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So continuing down the road to clear out my new authors folder, I'm going to put the focus first on one of the newer folks I really like: pneu. They've got a couple of really good ones, but the one I'm settling on today is my favorite of theirs so far: Haycartes' Method.

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Historically, #recommendsday has focused on shorter works - mostly because there's a lot more of them and I'm a short/flash fiction writer myself. I feel like adding a bit of bulk to everybody's reading list this week, so I'm going to pull out two series that should be on everyone's must-read list.

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So a month ago I mentioned that I'd put up a few topic sets to select from and had a couple friends suggest which one I'd grab. And I said I'd do the other ones that were requested later. Well, it's later.

So this set is one of the odder themed pairings: Rarity and plants.

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So the news is still going around, but for those who don't know: the site lost author Ninjadeadbeard recently. He passed on the 19th - news only started coming out two days ago. In a lot of ways it was expected - his last blog post uses the phrases 'stage four' and 'metastasizing in my lungs' - but it's still a blow.

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Continuing the thread of the last couple weeks, it's Twilight Time! In particular, it's time for adorable little filly Twilight. Because Purple Smart gets even cuter when she's an eight year old hellion.

We start slow, with a work from PaulAsaran: Friendship = Evil.

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October's kind of a funny month for stories. Usually there's a decent push of horror right at the beginning, then things are mostly normal, then a huge rush right at the end.

Well, that kind of inconsistency is unacceptable! So I'll do my part to even it out a bit - with some damn haunting horror for the season.

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Sometimes things just sort of line up. 

About three months ago, I lamented on Discord a bit that there was a story I wanted to feature but couldn't find a matching second story for. It was something I found to be really interesting and unique, but that's also why it became a chore to connect. 

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This week, I'm taking a look at more new writers. And today, the connecting theme's a pretty good one: the transition into adulthood.

Our first comes to us from Flutterflyer, in the form of the very simply named Great.

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As a warning to start: both stories this week are M-rated, folks, and neither is kidding. Not work safe ahead.

Now, with that out of the way! Continuing the theme of story connections you wouldn't expect, this week we have a messy one - 'stories where Shining Armor becomes a doctor for the express purpose of inflicting harm on others'.

Yeah, buckle in, it's gonna be those kinds of stories. Multiple red tags meant very strongly.

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Hey.

Hey Sledge.

Happy birthday, ya knob. Have some Luna stories.

The first is one I've wanted to feature for quite a while, and this is a great excuse for it: Forbidden Melodies by Rego.

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A new year and I'd like to get us started in a flash!

...I feels shamed for making that lame joke.

Still telling it.

ANYWAY.

Our lead this week is one of my all-time favorite Flash Sentry fics, Off the Market by Summer Dancer.

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As I come up on my second horse-iversary on the site, it occurs to me that this is a great chance to steer this blog towards firsts.

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