Fandom: Starsky and Hutch
Pairing: none
Length: 2:27
Vidder: T.M.
Musical Artist: Alabama 3
Vidder on LJ: shfan
Vidder's Website: N/A
Why this must be viewed:

T.M. has been recced many times before for her excellent vids, so I'm delighted to highlight her latest: a gritty, edgy mood piece set to Alabama 3's "Woke Up This Morning (Chosen One Mix)."

We often point (with justifiable pride) to the warm and fuzzy side of Starsky and Hutch, but let's not forget: they're inner-city street cops. There's a level of mental toughness—even ruthlessness—required if you're going to pull the trigger, whether you're a cop or a criminal. And if you live by the gun, you pay the price, one way or another.


T.M.'s keen eye for detail and in-depth knowledge of the canon is evident in all her fanworks and "Chosen One" is no exception. Her thoughtful choice of song and clips, skillfully edited and framed, makes this hard-hitting vid a must-see.

Chosen One

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Gen
Length: 10430 words
Author on LJ: Not known
Author Website: http://stade.homestead.com/geminits.html
Why this must be read: - Told by one of a gang robbing a convenience store it's more or less a tale of 'Blair is taken hostage... again'.

In general, I'm not a great lover of stories told in first person, but sometimes they work very well, and this is one that does. Rick, who tells the story, develops as an interesting character, and his comments about other members of the gang - 'That's what too much cocaine does to ya.' 'He's an unfeeling SOB.' - are brief but say a lot about both them and Rick himself.

I was surprised to discover that Gemini has never been recced here. I've enjoyed all of her stories.

Fandom: MEN'S PROFESSIONAL TENNIS RPS
Pairings: Roger Federer/Tommy Haas, Benoit Paire/Stanislas Wawrinka, Tommy Haas/Sara Foster
Length: 4661
Author on LJ: polkad0tting
Author website: polkadot on AO3
Why this must be read: Roger Federer of 2013 sometimes seems as if he's the old man on the tour.  Many of the players he grew up with have either retired (Safin, Roddick, Ferrero) or have long-ago faded (Hewitt, Nalbandian).  The players he's lumped together with (Nadal, Djokovic, Murray) are 4-5 years younger, at very different points in life.  With all that in mind, it was a breath of fresh air when this fic was posted last month.  This fic is actually about Tommy Haas, who, at age 35, has been playing out of his mind well.  He's also the only "peer" Roger has left on tour.

The fic itself begins with an event from the 2000 Olympics: a starry night involving a very drunk silver-medal-winning Tommy and "a scrawny 19 year Swiss kid" who just lost the bronze medal match.  That blurry memory comes back to Tommy in 2013 as he watches Roger's friend Stan practicing with a relative newcomer (this author has a series involving Stan/Benoit that I quite enjoy as well) and starts seeing things he'd never seen before regarding Roger.  I'd also nominate Sara Foster as best tennis player wife ever for her reaction to his revelation.
( Excerpt )

world turned upside down

Fandom: BANDOM
Pairing: Frank Iero/Gerard Way
Length: (7,000 words)
Author on LJ: sinsense
Author Website: AO3 Sinsense (though there's no other Bandom stuff there)
Warnings: "... for some sex, lots of cursing, and the end of the world."
Why this must be read: I'm a sucker for post-apocalypse fics, but THIS FIC. It's sparse and beautiful and reads like a modern fable. I've read it several times! It's Frank's POV, and he's withdrawn and fierce and skeptical. Until he finds the boys in the trees...

( Just the first paragraph! )

After