The Anatomy of a Fall

by novembersmith

The unholy union of a high school AU and a ghost story. Gerard's life takes a strange turn when his family moves to a small town in Vermont and he discovers the locals aren't all what they seem to be. Also includes: unexpected nature walks, murder, pining, improper treatment of crime scenes, a number of bone-related puns, high school bullies, and a short-range shrub named Ferdinand. (A Frank/Gerard fanfic)

Genres: Fan Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, LGBT, Gay

430 pages, Online Fiction

First published June 17, 2010

Reviews

[jj (chainsaw) 🐾 · Rating 5 out of 5]

more like 4.5 rounded up because i couldn’t take the brendon urie, ryan ross, and pete wentz name drops seriously but this was good it ended well 😛😛 was so worried something horrible was gonna happen but nope

frerard truther 🤞🤞 they were so cute bro

dude how was this 430 pages

[Neve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good but some plotlines were ignored

[Oleander · Rating 4 out of 5]

(SPOILERS, PROBABLY)





This fanfiction is literally one of the best of all times. The plot was amazing and left me wondering what was going to happen next after every single chapter. The humor was seriously the greatest thing ever and Gerard's inner dialogue was to die for. The story was set during Autumn and the imagery was so so good. All of the characters were written so well and despite my love for the main pairing I was so thrilled with the side characters. Ray was freaking adorable, I wanted to protect Mikey with my life, everyone loves Bob, Patrick and Worm were great, Pete and Gabe were hilarious, Ryan was so cute, and Brendon who only showed up for a second stole my heart. I loved the low key spookiness surrounding the story and the underlying seriousness of it all. (Frank is a ghost after all.) I'd definitely say that anyone who is a fan of frerard or even just ghost stories should read this fanfiction. All of the descriptions, character quirks, it is literally flawless. One of the best fan fictions of all time and I'll definitely be reading it again. Hopefully around Halloween this time because just yes.

[Violette D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I named my plant Ferdinand in honour of the heroic shrub who helped two wonderful idiots fall in love

[Moony Lupin · Rating 4 out of 5]

DUDE WHAT
fr thought gerard was gonna die again


2: aw heck yeah just as good as the first time

[Elie Carver · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I can log MCR fanfiction on goodreads you bet you ass I’m going to go through all my open AO3 tabs and start putting stuff in here

[Luli Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok é a última fanfic que vou por na timeline de vocês tá gente, eu tô aqui aproveitando que todo o tempo que passei lendo fic vai valer pelo menos um pouco pra minha meta anual.

resumo: fofa, começa muito bem mas o final é um pouco apressado. poderia ter sido melhor desenvolvido. por outro lado, a pessoa que escreveu se esforçou muito pra dar um final feliz em uma história em que uma pessoa é um fantasma e eu aprecio isso!

[Jat Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

IM SO MAD!!!!!!!! The beginning of this was actually really good. I think that the whole concept was pretty well written up until around chapter 10. Sometimes when youre reading a fanfiction you can really tell it was written by some 16 year old chick. Everything was fine until like chapter 10. The kidnapping part was well executed actually but I feel Franks character had a lot more potential and I feel like the lack of knowledge we have on the characters in underwhelming and makes you care less about the romantic relationship. I honestly kind of wish there was more horror type paranormal shit carried throughout it. I think the concept had so much potential but it was honestly kind of predictable and simple. Again, I do think that a lot of it was well written however I just hate the ending. I feel like an ending where Gerard died couldve worked really well honestly but the whole my boyfriends a ghost thing didnt really work out. Its kind of open ended in the sense that Frank stays a ghost forever and Gerard just lives on which I have a problem with because there was an entire chapter dedicated to Frank explaining why it wouldnt work in the long run. This is why I think an alternative ending with Gerards death wouldve worked alot better for the romantic plotline. I just couldnt connect with any of the characters really because there was like zero depth to them. Also if you have to state explicitly that the sex is NOT necrophilia throughout the book, its probably necrophilia. Thats another problem I had with it. I hate how most of the endings of these type of fanfics is just pure smut and nothing else which is frusterating especially with such a wild concept. There was so little explanations to the paranormal shit I feel which leads me to believe this has an unfinished ending. All in all the first half was fairly good but the ending was rather dissapointing.

[Olive Schumacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a ghost/high school My Chemical Romance fanfiction, this is strangely good. The pacing was a little weird at times, but it was well written so I can forgive that. The cameos were really crazy too, I didn’t think Ryan Ross would be so important to the plot and Dewees actually surprised me. Also, I literally can’t get over the fact that they had weird ghost sex on the floor NEXT TO a bed and they even acknowledged it like why didn’t they just get on the bed. I don’t even really understand how the ghost sex works and sex wasn’t even really necessary in this but it’s a fanfic so whatever. Side note— how come all these older MCR fics have Gerard bottoming? I don’t really care who does what but it’s just something I’ve noticed lol. Final thoughts: I kinda wish it ended with them laying Frank to rest because he shouldn’t have to be a ghost forever until he eventually fades away like that other ghost girl. Frank literally said himself that he’s DEAD and nothing can change that and Gerard should date someone who is actually alive like it can’t be good for you to be around a dead person that much. But once again, it’s just a fanfic so I’ll let it slide.

[Lyndsey Asgard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edit: First book of 2019 (Danger Days!) read!! Well, listened to. It was the first time listening to this book in audio form, and my goodness, it was just as wonderful of a story the second time around. This work is such a treat.



Hi, I'm Lyndz, and I'm bandom trash and like to read fanfiction about it.

This is probably my favourite My Chem fic of all time. It has everything I could ever ask for in a favourite novel:

Spooky atmosphere? Check.
Beautifully written? Check.
Hanging out in graveyards? Check.
Becoming besties with a ghost? Check.
Humour upon humour? Check.
Weirdo misfit characters? Check.
Lots of talk about horror stuff? Check.
Frank Iero and Gerard Way? CHECK!

Honestly, this story has it all for me. It was so fantastically written that I was immersed into it's world from chapter one, and all the characters where fully fleshed out and felt honest and real. Even the bully characters, which is a huge feat and is super easy for authors to rely heavily upon cliches.

Even if you're aren't a fan of My Chem, I would recommend this story. And the fact that someone wrote it in their own spare time, with no possibility of making any income, just goes to show you how much passion and love this story has.

It will be a read that I will gravitate to again and again for a very long time. I have so much love for this book, and I'm so grateful that it exists.

I also may have made a cover for it because it deserves better than the blank Goodreads 'G' that is there.

[Mars · Rating 5 out of 5]

So haunting and beautiful, the author does a fantastic job building immersion and drawing you into wonderfully cold, supernatural, drama that seriously had me on the edge of my seat at times. The characters felt alive and real, the chemistry felt good and not forced, there are so many iconic references and Easter eggs that made me latch on like nobody’s business. This is a great book, I’ve read it twice and I’m planning on coming back to it soon.

[wesli · Rating 5 out of 5]

GODDAMN this had me smiling and giggling and kicking my feet FR. it has been On My Mind none stop all day. i would pay for this to be longer, like a fully fleshed out novel because I NEED MORE. incredibly paced, funny, compelling, i loved it .

[Xochitl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, pero por momentos si se siente floja y las escenas smut son raras s:
El personaje de Frank es fabuloso, me encanta.
Lo que no me encantó fue el final, donde todo se soluciona por arte de magia.

[I’m gonna be Frank with you… · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite ones, I cannot get over the point that Goodreads has MCR fanfiction to rate. I might go through and find all the ones I read. This is one that I wish I could read for the first time again.

[Paz :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

lo terminé de leer hace mil, se me fue anotarlo. muy bueno, muy triste y muy real. se trata la homofobia, especialmente en pueblos pequeños, de una manera muy realista, como también la impunidad penal material que existe por relaciones políticas que eventualmente hay.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

em posare a plorar

[Alex ☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

slay

[lizzie ★☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

ik ik ill reread this in october too

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was fun and nostalgic!! Fanfiction is so strange but sometimes they're cookin.

[raynca]

THIS IS A FANFICTION I READ IN SEVENTH GRADE WHATTTTT

[EDI · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loveeee this I read it during school

[yaiza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno de los mejores fanfics que he leído jamás :')

[matilda ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

great, now i wanna a ghost as my lover :(, cruel world we live in

[Krystle Paulsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

brendan urie what are you doing here

[Jayltn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Altered my life with this story I read the entire thing in one setting.

[Cole Gustafson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the film script, I don’t think this is the same thing.

[Miles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty damn good. Overall enjoyed it, though bits of the plot could have been better. Though, if you're reading Frerard fanfiction, I'm sure you're not expecting the most groundbreaking writing. Paranormal handjobs and just the right amount of drama.

[renata · Rating 4 out of 5]

se tem mais de 400 páginas não é fic, é livro (ainda mais se é um clássico). reli pelos velhos tempos. cinema 🚬

[Ruby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back again after 10+ years and it's as good as I remember. This work is ludicrously well-written for a fic, and should be published - only minimal tidying up required.

"High school was just a phase you had to live through, and it was almost over, and really, in the long run, it didn’t matter so much"

The last time I read those lines, I was just about to finish high school. I can now confirm these words are so true, and it's so comforting to look back with that knowledge.

Also, the delicuous halloween/campfirey vibes are making me feel better about the fact that it won't be summer forever. 🎃

[c · Rating 5 out of 5]

exquisite magnificent wonderful a work of art. hating this means you hate fun and happiness and everything good in the world and i DON’T fw you <3

rereading this in the fall for MAXIMUM autumn vibes MWAH LOVE YOU FOREVER GHOST FRANK AND LITTLE RAT BOY GERARD

**FALL 2025 REREAD

perfect as usual. so funny and sweet and unbelievably in character!! fall starts NOW.