Why Anatomy of a Fall is the Best MCR Fanfic

Okay, I know, strong title but hear me out.

I, myself, am a huge fan of, well, fanfiction. That in itself is a pretty big Uh Oh when it comes to getting along with other people in the MCR bandom. Lemme get some things out of the way before I continue this:

I do not condone inappropriate behavior toward the members who are written about in any fanfiction (ie. harassing them on their posts, threatening their wives, or asking them weird questions about things that happened 10+ years ago). I have huge respect for these men and their respective spouses. Lindsey Way has probably inspired me a lot more than Gerard. Just saying.

Anyway, with that disclosed, on we go to my controversial opinion.

When a fan of MCR thinks of fanfiction, it can go one of two ways: gross wattpad fanfic or actually good fiction on ao3. Or that’s how I think at least. I’ve read probably way too much fanfic to be honest with you but that’s how I know what’s good and what isn’t. Cliches can be really good if written correctly. For example, vampires. It’s a big thing in fanfic and is often written very poorly. I have yet to think of, off the top of my head, a fanfic that’s good with the vampire cliche.

Alright. So. I have a top 4 when it comes to MCR fanfic and I think everyone should read these because I said so.

4. I Have Been All Things Unholy by Bexless

This fic is considered god tier by many fans and I wholeheartedly agree. The Unholyverse series is by far one of my favorite pieces of literature. You heard me. Literature. Not just as a fanfiction. I absolutely love the priest trope/cliche and Bexless wrote it in a way that was hilarious, socially awkward when it needed to be, and a pretty realistic depiction of what unrequited love feels like. A lot of fics take it to extremes when it comes to these things but I found it pretty realistic despite the fact that it has supernatural religious overtones with a subplot of Frank’s In Love With The Hot Priest.

3. Heaven Help Us by Bexless

Most of these are by Bexless and I have zero shame. Heaven Help Us is the third Unholyverse book and is by far my favorite of the three. I love the story in itself but I can’t say much without spoiling it. Let’s just say I really adore Gerard’s character, his story arch, and how much of a total bro Craig is. The religious overtones get really creepy in this one and very… dark side of the force, if you get me. The plot twist was fantastic and the foreshadowing was very subtle in a way where the reveal was very unexpected when you first read through it. It actually took me a couple of read-throughs to catch all of the foreshadowings. Bexless is truly just an amazing writer and I could talk about Unholyverse for hours.

2. A Natural Reaction to Rough-Housing by Bexless

Okay. Back it again with my bullshit. This Bexless fic isn’t apart of the Unholyverse series but it’s still really amazing. The fic follows MCR during the Revenge era (I assume). It documents the few times where Frank ‘accidentally’ or purposely hurts Gerard so that can comfort him. Now, okay, that sounds pretty bad on paper but listen. It’s nothing like abuse. A perfect example of this is Mikey and Frank having a rubber band flinging contest, Mikey says something like ‘ten points if you hit Gerard’s face’ and Frank goes ahead and score some extra points because he’s a bitch that can’t lose. Eventually, Gerard catches on and… yeah. It’s hella cute. I just really like the fact that it’s the band on tour. I am a HUGE fan of fic like this and I feel like everyone should read this even if it’s just to make fun of a fic like this.

And last but not least

1. Anatomy of a Fall by novembersmith

The moment we’ve all been waiting for. The Anatomy of a Fall follows Gerard and his last year of high school. Mikey has some Extreme Asthma and has to live in a testing center until they find something that can help him, well, breathe right. Gerard basically gets himself into trouble the moment he steps onto the school campus. As an escape method, he meets Frank, the cute punk who seems to be living in the woods. This fic takes a trope (that’s kind of a spoiler but imma say it anyway) like ‘one of the characters is secretly a ghost’ and runs with it SO WELL. I’ve read (and written) this trope and most of the time it's very bad. But novembersmith really knows how to write about forbidden love, the god awfulness of starting a new school in your senior year, and the juiciness of a murder mystery kidnapping. Gerard and Frank’s relationship is really sweet, don’t get me wrong, but I fucking love Gerard and Ray’s relationship in this. Ray just really wants Gerard to be his friend/be in his friend group and it’s honestly so endearing. And the way that novembersmith writes descriptions or what Gerard is thinking without dialogue is truly entertaining and by far the most relatable things I’ve read. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

- “Gerard could already tell he was going to develop inappropriate reactions to ice cubes and air conditioners.”

- “Gerard supposed he sort of looked like someone had slapped him upside the head with a shovel. A shovel made of panic.”

The plot twists and out of character actions make this fic truly amazing. Frank’s pretty scary when he wants to be and Gerard can be really aggressive when he wants to be. There’s even some enemies who become saviors. And there’s also one thing that I enjoy where the bad guys, after 20 years of hiding, finally get what they deserve. I’m always a slut for just desserts.

Just like unholyverse, I could talk about the Anatomy of a Fall for hours. So that’s my list! I hope you guys at least thought this was a cool different perspective if you’ve read these fics and if you haven’t read these fics… I urge you to set aside a weekend and give these works a shot. I’ve left links attached to all of the titles, should you want them.

This has been my rant about fanfic. Peace out.

- Elora the Psychic