Fandom: NEWSIES
Pairing: Sarah, Jack/David (with Jack/Sarah references)
Length: 1,700-ish
Author on LJ: poisonivory
Author Website: PoisonIvory's Profile at The Refuge
Why this must be read:

By far, the most abused, neglected, and otherwise maligned character in the whole of Newsies fandom is Sarah Jacobs. She's the only teenage girl in the movie, and she's the character who ends up kissing Jack Kelly in the end, angering a good portion of the Jack/David slashers and Jack het shippers alike (as well as, inexplicably, a lot of the rest of the fandom).

But this author isn't content to ignore, bash, or dismiss Sarah, as many authors have. Instead, she puts us in Sarah's head. She lets us see how she views Jack and David. And she makes her more of a likeable, three-dimensional character than the movie even attempts to create.

This fic is set in the modern day, but it feels just like something that would have happened a few years after the movie, if the movie existed in a time when a gay couple could ask someone to be a surrogate mother. And that's what this fic is about - Jack and David asking Sarah to be their surrogate, and Sarah experiencing all the thoughts, memories, and feelings that accompany her decision. It's real and raw, and Sarah is far from good and perfect, but she's flawed in a believable, sympathetic way. Plus, the prose is lyrical and lovely, the bits of memory are beautifully rendered and fleshed-out, and the characterization feels spot-on for these three characters (as well as the rest of the Jacobs family). There is nothing at all that I can criticize about this story, and as an example of Jack/David fic that handles the Sarah question responsibly, sympathetically, and realisitically, it deserves to be read by all and sundry.

Watermelon

Fandom: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
Pairing: None
Length: 2,640 words
Author on LJ: littlefurryguy
Author's Web Site: Littlefurryguy's FF.net page

Why this must be read:

Because it's the end of the world and no one knows why. This is a scene from a much longer story, and the only thing wrong with this fic is that it isn't 500 pages long.

One day everything started to die. And when it was over, only the guys were left.

Prototype by Littlefurryguy and Ghostwriter

Fandom: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
Pairing: None
Length: 3,624 words
Author on LJ: unknown
Author's Web Site: Stealthy Stories

Why this must be read:

It's an interesting premise, although one not entirely supported by canon. Raphael and Donatello are on their way home after a night at Casey's when they find themselves in a showdown against a freaked out kid with a gun. Facing off against that kind of firepower throws them and shows them how helpless they can really be against their enemies, even with all their training. Now, they've faced guns in canon a hundred times before, but the kid does have the drop on them, and they are in a tight spot. Raphael's reaction is true to form and very real, but it's Donatello's actions that really make the story for me.

"I said, put down the gun," Don repeated, his voice still calm as he spoke, although Raph could tell he was anything but calm; his entire being seemed to tremble with fear.

The boy turned back to look at Raph, the desperation in his eyes having transformed into panic, the tears running down his face gone dry.

"I'm serious," Donatello urged, raising his hand a little higher, holding the gun a little tighter. "Put it down."


Helpless by Mickis