Guest reccer: Top Ten Bandslash AUs
As I said in my earlier post, I used to be quite sceptical about AUs but popslash taught me to love them so I was VERY happy to discover that bandslash also has a large amount of well-written and well-crafted AUs. So large in fact that it was almost impossible to just pick ten stories to rec! In the end I'd to be very stern with myself and even so this is not so much my Top Ten as A Selection of Ten Really, Really Fabulous AUs Mostly Featuring My Chem That I Like Right Now:
Our Comedies Are Not To Be Laughed At by
adellyna & maleyka is a college AU in which they're all film students working on their final project. Frank and Gerard are the producers, Pete and Patrick are writing the script, Ryan does the makeup, Spencer's the amphibian menace, William's the coquettish schoolgirl, well, you get the picture :-) Completely hilarious and totally fabulous! (Gerard/Frank, Pete/Mikey, Pete/Patrick, Bob/Spencer, Greta/Jon, William/Travis, Ryan/Keltie) (30,390 words)
As close as it gets to home byairgiodslv is a wonderful telepath police AU. Incredibly well-realised world and the way the characters fit into it is just so right. I'm not much of a Panic girl but I really like the way they're written in this story, especially Spencer and Ryan and their friendship. That said, it IS Gerard and Frank and their relationship and Gerard's worrying about Mikey that really owns my heart in this story :-) (Gerard/Frank, Spencer/Jon, Mikey/Brendon, Ryan/Brendon) (21,560 words)
Discipline and Punish byarsenicjade Prison AUs are one of those things I actually swore off reading many fandoms ago but this had the draw of Gerard/Bob and it was by Arsenic so I thought I might at least try it and I don't regret it one minute! It's so much more than 'just' a prison fic, following the characters through prison life and as they get out and try to build a new life for themselves and deal with their experiences. Perhaps a little bit too much h/c for me now and then, but everything else more than makes up for that - the quiet, lovely writing, the characterisations, the love, the fun, how everyone changes and grows. 71 chapters of pure awesomeness! (Mikey/Frank, Gerard/Bob, Brendon/Ryan, Spencer/Brian, Jon/Matt Cortez, Greta/VickyT, Tom/Alex, Patrick/Chris Kirkpatrick, Pete/Matt Berninger) (141,800 words)
Fleurs du mal in back pocket bybattleofhydaspe is one of the most original AUs I've ever read! The things happening are all surreal and strange but the atmosphere is resolutely lowkey and everyday. Weird and fascinating and completely awesome. (Gerard/Frank) (2,420 words)
The Nesty 'Verse (or here) bybexless & cimness is an AU in which My Chemical Romance never existed. Gerard threw himself into the arts, Ray's a studio musician, Bob's still a soundtech, after college Frank starts his own small record company and Mikey works for him. This story feels so wonderfully 'real' and alive it almost makes you believe that this is in fact what REALLY happened to these guys and our world is just a wacky AU. The characterisation and atmosphere are absolutely first-class, it's funny, and reading it makes me feel all warm and happy!
- Absence Sort of Does Make the Heart bycimness is all about Bob and Ray and how they ended up together. (Ray/Bob) (35,850 words)
- Worth It bycimness takes place a few years later and tells the tale about how Bob and Ray, with some questionable help from Mikey & Frank & Gerard, manage to move into a new apartment and start a new phase of their life together. (Bob/Ray) (20,320 words)
- Conclusions bybexless takes place a few month after Worth It. Frank's looking for a lodger and Mikey thinks his big brother, who's finally getting kicked out of their parents' basement, would be the ideal person. My favourite in the series. What everything labeled 'romantic comedy' really should be like! (Frank/Gerard, Bob/Ray, Mikey/Alicia) (49,320 words)
Las Almas Perdidas byclumsygyrl I completely lack words to express how awesome this urban fantasy is. The characters, the setting, the atmosphere, and the writing are all pure magic. Fabulous, fabulous story! (MCR gen with a hint of Gerard/Frank) (4,010 words)
The Forever, Now 'verse byharriet_vane is one of the most fantastic AUs I've ever read! It's a story about love and family and belonging, about change and growth. How there are no easy solutions, that change takes time, that there's always hope. It's hilariously funny and serious, heartbreaking and sweet, adorable and thoughtful. The characters are real people, with real motives for the way they act and the dialogue and atmosphere is first class. Love it, love it, love it!
- Forever, Now How Brian Schecter, much against his better judgement, ends up adopting a sullen, suspicious almost-14-year-old Gerard and an 11-year-old Mikey, how tiny, fierce, and protective Frank enters their lives, how he engages college student Brendon to babysit them during the summer, how his colleague Gabe wants them to start their own music managing company. (gen) (77,310 words)
- Star Shaped & its codas is Brendon-centric, taking place during the holiday season a few weeks after the end of Forever, Now. I really like this Brendon, bouncy and uncertain and very much a teenager still and I even managed to become quite fond of this Ryan. But it's still Gerard that owns my heart and makes this story come alive for me, bratty and fragile, he's such an incredibly convincing mix of child and teenager and adult. (MCR gen, Brendon/Ryan, Spencer/Jon) (54,820 words)
- Best Days A week at the beach with the Schechter-Way household in the spring following Star Shaped. (MCR gen, Brendon/Ryan, Spencer/Jon) (7,700 words)
- The Lines You Amend Gerard's final year in high school, Pretty; Odd's first tour, Brian's new assistant, and everything that follows from this. The perfect story to end this universe. (Gerard/Frank, Brendon/Ryan, Spencer/Jon, Brian/Greta) (80,480 words)
Buy Handmade byjjtaylor Amazingly rich and multi-layered story about hopes and dreams and choices. There's so much here, all the vivid physical details, what Frank's thinking and feeling, Bob and Ray at the bakery, how Frank connects with Mikey, everything about the way he interacts with Gerard, I could go on forever. (Frank/Gerard) (18,800 words)
The Watch bymissmollyetc is a gangster AU, or rather a no-longer-a-gangster AU. It begins as an outline of a story but rapidly develops into a real one with wonderful atmosphere and characterisation and really excellent writing. Shockful of tension and suspense and action. (Gerard/Ray, Gerard/Ray/Bob, Mikey/Frank) (19,780 words)
Tints of Rainbow Hue and the coda Richard of York... (let's start anew) byturps33 Absolutely fabulous story about Ray's gardening company and how a one-time job to cut the Way's overgrown lawn leads to so much more. It deals with severe depression and its results in a very realistic manner and without any overblown drama or angst. The characterisations and atmosphere and writing are all first class. It's funny and sad and heartbreaking, happy and dark and hopeful, and full of love. Lovely, lovely, lovely! (Bob/Gerard, Frank/Mikey) (16,590 & 5,680 words)
Our Comedies Are Not To Be Laughed At by
adellyna & maleyka is a college AU in which they're all film students working on their final project. Frank and Gerard are the producers, Pete and Patrick are writing the script, Ryan does the makeup, Spencer's the amphibian menace, William's the coquettish schoolgirl, well, you get the picture :-) Completely hilarious and totally fabulous! (Gerard/Frank, Pete/Mikey, Pete/Patrick, Bob/Spencer, Greta/Jon, William/Travis, Ryan/Keltie) (30,390 words)As close as it gets to home by
airgiodslv is a wonderful telepath police AU. Incredibly well-realised world and the way the characters fit into it is just so right. I'm not much of a Panic girl but I really like the way they're written in this story, especially Spencer and Ryan and their friendship. That said, it IS Gerard and Frank and their relationship and Gerard's worrying about Mikey that really owns my heart in this story :-) (Gerard/Frank, Spencer/Jon, Mikey/Brendon, Ryan/Brendon) (21,560 words)Discipline and Punish by
arsenicjade Prison AUs are one of those things I actually swore off reading many fandoms ago but this had the draw of Gerard/Bob and it was by Arsenic so I thought I might at least try it and I don't regret it one minute! It's so much more than 'just' a prison fic, following the characters through prison life and as they get out and try to build a new life for themselves and deal with their experiences. Perhaps a little bit too much h/c for me now and then, but everything else more than makes up for that - the quiet, lovely writing, the characterisations, the love, the fun, how everyone changes and grows. 71 chapters of pure awesomeness! (Mikey/Frank, Gerard/Bob, Brendon/Ryan, Spencer/Brian, Jon/Matt Cortez, Greta/VickyT, Tom/Alex, Patrick/Chris Kirkpatrick, Pete/Matt Berninger) (141,800 words)Fleurs du mal in back pocket by
battleofhydaspe is one of the most original AUs I've ever read! The things happening are all surreal and strange but the atmosphere is resolutely lowkey and everyday. Weird and fascinating and completely awesome. (Gerard/Frank) (2,420 words)The Nesty 'Verse (or here) by
bexless & cimness is an AU in which My Chemical Romance never existed. Gerard threw himself into the arts, Ray's a studio musician, Bob's still a soundtech, after college Frank starts his own small record company and Mikey works for him. This story feels so wonderfully 'real' and alive it almost makes you believe that this is in fact what REALLY happened to these guys and our world is just a wacky AU. The characterisation and atmosphere are absolutely first-class, it's funny, and reading it makes me feel all warm and happy!- Absence Sort of Does Make the Heart by
cimness is all about Bob and Ray and how they ended up together. (Ray/Bob) (35,850 words)- Worth It by
cimness takes place a few years later and tells the tale about how Bob and Ray, with some questionable help from Mikey & Frank & Gerard, manage to move into a new apartment and start a new phase of their life together. (Bob/Ray) (20,320 words)- Conclusions by
bexless takes place a few month after Worth It. Frank's looking for a lodger and Mikey thinks his big brother, who's finally getting kicked out of their parents' basement, would be the ideal person. My favourite in the series. What everything labeled 'romantic comedy' really should be like! (Frank/Gerard, Bob/Ray, Mikey/Alicia) (49,320 words)Las Almas Perdidas by
clumsygyrl I completely lack words to express how awesome this urban fantasy is. The characters, the setting, the atmosphere, and the writing are all pure magic. Fabulous, fabulous story! (MCR gen with a hint of Gerard/Frank) (4,010 words)The Forever, Now 'verse by
harriet_vane is one of the most fantastic AUs I've ever read! It's a story about love and family and belonging, about change and growth. How there are no easy solutions, that change takes time, that there's always hope. It's hilariously funny and serious, heartbreaking and sweet, adorable and thoughtful. The characters are real people, with real motives for the way they act and the dialogue and atmosphere is first class. Love it, love it, love it!- Forever, Now How Brian Schecter, much against his better judgement, ends up adopting a sullen, suspicious almost-14-year-old Gerard and an 11-year-old Mikey, how tiny, fierce, and protective Frank enters their lives, how he engages college student Brendon to babysit them during the summer, how his colleague Gabe wants them to start their own music managing company. (gen) (77,310 words)
- Star Shaped & its codas is Brendon-centric, taking place during the holiday season a few weeks after the end of Forever, Now. I really like this Brendon, bouncy and uncertain and very much a teenager still and I even managed to become quite fond of this Ryan. But it's still Gerard that owns my heart and makes this story come alive for me, bratty and fragile, he's such an incredibly convincing mix of child and teenager and adult. (MCR gen, Brendon/Ryan, Spencer/Jon) (54,820 words)
- Best Days A week at the beach with the Schechter-Way household in the spring following Star Shaped. (MCR gen, Brendon/Ryan, Spencer/Jon) (7,700 words)
- The Lines You Amend Gerard's final year in high school, Pretty; Odd's first tour, Brian's new assistant, and everything that follows from this. The perfect story to end this universe. (Gerard/Frank, Brendon/Ryan, Spencer/Jon, Brian/Greta) (80,480 words)
Buy Handmade by
jjtaylor Amazingly rich and multi-layered story about hopes and dreams and choices. There's so much here, all the vivid physical details, what Frank's thinking and feeling, Bob and Ray at the bakery, how Frank connects with Mikey, everything about the way he interacts with Gerard, I could go on forever. (Frank/Gerard) (18,800 words)The Watch by
missmollyetc is a gangster AU, or rather a no-longer-a-gangster AU. It begins as an outline of a story but rapidly develops into a real one with wonderful atmosphere and characterisation and really excellent writing. Shockful of tension and suspense and action. (Gerard/Ray, Gerard/Ray/Bob, Mikey/Frank) (19,780 words)Tints of Rainbow Hue and the coda Richard of York... (let's start anew) by
turps33 Absolutely fabulous story about Ray's gardening company and how a one-time job to cut the Way's overgrown lawn leads to so much more. It deals with severe depression and its results in a very realistic manner and without any overblown drama or angst. The characterisations and atmosphere and writing are all first class. It's funny and sad and heartbreaking, happy and dark and hopeful, and full of love. Lovely, lovely, lovely! (Bob/Gerard, Frank/Mikey) (16,590 & 5,680 words)