hanmi!

alright. obligatory big 3 discussion, and then i'm leaving them alone cuz everybody talks about them.

the anatomy of a fall by novembersmith. it's not only the most bookmarked frerard fic, but also the most bookmarked mcr fic. it's genuinely so fucking good. fucking read it. it's devastating and beautiful. the pining is INSANE. slow fucking burn. i love this fic so, so, much.

unholyverse (series) by bexless. aka the reason why there are endless priest au's in this goddamn fandom. it honestly took me a moment to get the gist of what was happening, because, like, I couldn't figure out what the "rules" of this universe were, but eventually i got it. best advice i can give you is just pretend you're in the supernatural universe, and then your suspension of reality will be a lot more calibrated to what these fics will throw at you. but here's the deal: once you get it, it really fucking is that good. bexless is crazy good at building tension, and oh-fucking-boy is there tension in this series. and the rikey? dear jesus. i literally was so confused at first and then IMMEDIATELY got on board because holy fucking shit.

both of these fics/fic series are from 2011. yes, they are that good.

and alright, there's someone missing from the trio: a splitting of the mind. i have not read it, and do not intend to read it, because i am a true first person POV hater. cannot fucking stand first person POV. i have also heard some people discuss that it doesn't have the best representation of schizophrenia, which i'm not super down with either. no hate if you adore asotm, but i can't in good faith rec it because i haven't read it.

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okay !! we are free from the big three !!!! let's look at some more popular guys!!!!!! what constitutes as popular? my dumb arbitrary opinion, mostly, but 1) if the fic is on the first 1-10 AO3 pages of bookmarks, that's probably pretty popular. 2) if i have seen at least like 3 separate posts reccing the author, OR if most of their fics fall into category 1), then I'm calling them popular.

this is in no particular order beyond that generated by my beautiful mind.

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bexless: there are more works by bexless than just unholyverse! look at them.

frank keeps injuring gerard. kind of on purpose: a natural reaction to rough-housing. so fucking good.

cinderella au. fucking HILARIOUS: an emergency of the heart.

very short and sweet silly oneshot. ray accidentally walks in on gerard and frank (they do not realize he is there. he does not want to be there.) so fucking deeply funny: yeah, baby

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liberxi: under the "popular" subheading for a reason (re: everyone recs them), but also literally all of their stuff is very, very, good!! look at their page beyond the recs here they're so crazy good. specific recs:

danger days/killjoys aus:

literally you don't understand. this fic makes me cry every time i read it. kind of an odd choice for a first liberxi rec because there are far more popular fics by them but you be my detonator is so dear and close to my heart. queer people loving each other in the desert,,, fun ghoul learning how to be loved,,,,,,, FUCK. literally cannot rec this enough.

don't need the system is in a different universe than you be my detonator but is equally So So Good, but in many different ways. the hurt/comfort of this fic goes sooooo hard. set aside some time and read it!

basement/bullets-era gerard stuff:

sorry wrong number: miscommunication but quickly resolved !!! loser-ish gerard + frank who thinks he's the hottest thing to walk this earth (after taking a moment to figure it out). a bit of sexuality exploration. kinda pwp but then the hurt/comfort comes in like a fucking TRUCK at the end and oauauoauaoaouagh. ouaoauaaouaoo. so good. soooo hot. kinky fun.

all throughout the night: meet cute!! mikey tries to set up frank w/ gee, frank is dubious about mikey's loser brother until he runs into said brother and oh fuck that guy is hot what the fuck michael. g + f flirt and it's soooo silly. so many sci-fi hypotheticals. essentially pwp too.

how i disappear : guys you'll never fucking guess it. loser-ish anxious gerard + frank who is Nuts About Him (and also kinda a loser) except gerard doesn't get that cuz he's insecure!! both of them like ough this beautiful confident man will never want me cuz i suck soooo baddddd... pwp.

pup stuff:

okay look pup play is very much Not My Thing tm, but it's kinda inescapable in the mcr ao3 universe on account of frank. being like that. so I'd be remiss to not mention some of liberxi's most popular work. which, btw, is so insanely good that it's worth reading anyways.

gerard way's kink service: i don't really have words to describe this one just fucking read it........... so much hurt/comfort. so much.

you belong to me i believe (WIP): frayrard. work in progress. actively updating. VERY much out of my normal interest zone but damn it, liberxi you've done it again. and now i am desperately waiting for another upload. just read the tags guys idk.

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metaleaterz: nobody understands me the way that metaleaterz does. truly the most niche aus that you could never think of, written SO beautifully that what are you going to do. what are you going to do. fellow rikey warrior. solidarity. look at all of their stuff 1000% but specific recs include:

staples au. i need you to understand. this is the #4 most bookmarked fic in the mcr tag, right after the big 3, which were first published in 2011 & 2007. this fic was published in 2020. do you get how good this fic must be to be published in 2020 and reach #4 in the mcr tag as a whole (not just frerard!!!)??? trust me. hold my hand. this fic is so fucking sweet. they're all losers and trying to figure things out. i was so dubious at first because of staples and then i read it and i understood. another one of my all-time favorites. i swear the angels are whispering into metaleaterz's ears: "that was easy."

house-flipping au, aka the art-wife fic!! gerard has red hair and wears overalls and is sooo gender in this one. idiots in love + established rikey who know all: another superstition.

rival chef/ghostwriter au. their latest addition!! tonally a bit different than the last two, but truly beautiful in its own way. kinda angsty and just like. think of the vibe of a line cook? yeah that's it that's the main vibe of this fic. still definitely worth a read: does it bite at your edges.

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pixie_revolver: genre-hopping wizard that never fucking misses. also under the popular tag for a reason. literally insane about the way they write hurt/comfort.

you want horror? the horror that i'm in. this is another one of my absolute top fics for the mcr fandom, and it truly needs more love. it is a gen-u-ine horror fic, though, so keep that in mind!!! but listen this was one of the fics that i fully had to take a day to recover from. i was changed. i had so many new ideas for horror stuff that i was working on. i love this fic with all my fucking heart. if you like horror and hurt/comfort, please read this fic.

you read unholyverse and want more priest gerard nonsense except more d/s? choosing my confessions (series). guess what... it's more hurt/comfort!!! ohhhh boy this series made me CRY. i'm soooo normal about it <- lying. there's a happy ending though guys !!!

you want light-hearted office romance? the best part of my day. fluffy. cute. love this.

you want danger days/killjoys hurt/comfort? the only hope for me. what it says on the tin. very sweet in the end.

you want pro-rev d/s stuff? life is but a dream (series). have y'all seen the pro-rev videos? cuz i have. and goddamn. thank you pixie_revolver for your service.

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jjtaylor: a oft-unmentioned author in these rec posts that truly deserves far more love. i (stupidly) almost did not put them into the author section until i realized that i had basically all of their work in the very popular fics section below.

baker/small artist au. you do not fucking understand how funny and heartfelt this shit is. dying. this series is also going to go in my like mcr fics of all time. it is so heartfelt and wonderful. it feels like a fucking hug. please, please read it: Buy Handmade (series).

insanely complex urban fantasy/supernatural au. worth your while if you don't mind that all of the people from the emo bandom scene are there. i pretend like they are new people i have never met before. rare petekey appearance in my recs: Gerard Way's (Vampire) Detective Agency (series).

a really intense and sweet danger days fic. frank sleeps in a washing machine and doesn't know what to do with himself: Born to Motorbabies.

STILL VERY POPULAR FICS BUT NOT SORTED BY AUTHOR. ORDER OF APPEARANCE IS STILL RANDOM:

strangers on a train. sweet. pining: On the Midtown Direct

GORGEOUS time-travel killjoys funpoison kobrastar au series. oh my god hard to put into words but GODDAMN. selfcest occurs, so, uh, keep that in mind? you want to start with James Cameron Got It Wrong and then you read the rest of the series.

another timey-wimey fucked up story with the killjoys!!! soooo satisfying plot wise, it's just so fucking good: the science of sleep

more time travel yayayayyayayayyay !!! the hurt/comfort in this one goes SO FUCKING HARD YOU DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND: Crossed Out.

dude this au is so niche i can't even BEGIN to describe what is happening here. summary reads "in 1932, Gerard Way has been making a name for himself robbing banks up and down New Jersey. Frank Iero, analyst for J. Edgar Hoover's Division of Investigation, is determined to catch him." outlaw-ish, wild-west-y vibes???? idk. it's good. read it: Public Enemy

this rec will return once i make my supernatural-specific mcr fic rec post (that will either be #2 or #3!) but this fic fully is on the first page of bookmarks, so i'd be a bit remiss for not mentioning it. frank's watching gerard (a vampire) over the weekend. they're kind of idiots. frank wants gee to suck his blood, just a little bit: Black Market Blood

gamerz au. if danger days was a mmorpg: sing it for the n00bs.

they work at a record store together! and gerard and frank are kind of enemies. another rare petekey appearance: Spun.