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In The Walls by thesamefire (R)
Fandom: BANDOM
Pairing: MCR gen
Length: 72,250 words
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
thesamefire
Author Website: Fic Master List
Why this must be read:
They got a lot more than they bargained for when they moved into the Paramour to write their new record.
This the definite Paramour story. It's creepy and eerie and intense and completely captivating, and has a great sense of place. The characterisations are wonderful and all the different strands of the story - the supernatural elements, their personal relationships, the emotions, the MUSIC they're creating - are all equally fascinating and important, woven together to form an absolutely wonderful story. One of the best from this year's Big Bang.
Excerpt from the story:
The hallway gets darker and darker as he goes until it's almost completely wrapped up in shadows. The things hanging on the walls are just dark outlines as he moves by; some look like they must be framed paintings, perhaps portraits of long-dead Hollywood players, while others look like old-fashioned ornamental sculptures, nailed to the wall to ride out the tastes of changing residents.
Gerard stops to admire a really ornate gilt frame of a mirror. The glass itself is dusty so he blows on it to clear it, and then he spends the next minute coughing as the dust flies back into his nose and mouth. The glass is cleaner for it, though, and he gives it an extra swipe with the cuff of his hoodie.
He can see himself reflected in it now: the rise of one cheekbone, the peak of his nose, the line of his brow, all picked out in the contrast of light and shadow. It's almost poetic, he thinks as he tilts his head sideways to watch the way the change in angle affects the play of shadows across his skin, changing the face he sees in the mirror.
There's a flicker, then, not in the lights around him but in his reflection. His hair suddenly looks much shorter, cropped close above the ears and a only a little longer than that in front, and his reflection's cheeks are flushed even though it's far too cold in the hallway for his face to be so hot. He looks younger in his reflection, almost like a teenager.
And his eyes...
He hesitates to even call them his; they're bloodshot around the edges and his pupils are dull and flat in a way that has nothing to do with the lack of light in the hallway, and it makes something dark and sick start to swim around in his guts.
Gerard winces, stepping back from the mirror as though he's trying to dodge the wild swing of a fist. He takes a deep breath, trying to slow the too-fast beating of his heart, and then shakes his head as if it'll help him shake off what he just saw.
When he looks back a heartbeat later, his reflection is exactly as it should be.
Gerard stares at the glass for a long moment before turning away, moving briskly down the hall back in the direction he came from to put as much space between himself and the mirror as possible.
He's still kind of turned around, but eventually he finds his way back to his room. He shuts the door firmly behind him, strangely relieved to have something solid between him and the rest of the house.
In The Walls
Pairing: MCR gen
Length: 72,250 words
Author on LJ:
thesamefireAuthor Website: Fic Master List
Why this must be read:
They got a lot more than they bargained for when they moved into the Paramour to write their new record.
This the definite Paramour story. It's creepy and eerie and intense and completely captivating, and has a great sense of place. The characterisations are wonderful and all the different strands of the story - the supernatural elements, their personal relationships, the emotions, the MUSIC they're creating - are all equally fascinating and important, woven together to form an absolutely wonderful story. One of the best from this year's Big Bang.
Excerpt from the story:
The hallway gets darker and darker as he goes until it's almost completely wrapped up in shadows. The things hanging on the walls are just dark outlines as he moves by; some look like they must be framed paintings, perhaps portraits of long-dead Hollywood players, while others look like old-fashioned ornamental sculptures, nailed to the wall to ride out the tastes of changing residents.
Gerard stops to admire a really ornate gilt frame of a mirror. The glass itself is dusty so he blows on it to clear it, and then he spends the next minute coughing as the dust flies back into his nose and mouth. The glass is cleaner for it, though, and he gives it an extra swipe with the cuff of his hoodie.
He can see himself reflected in it now: the rise of one cheekbone, the peak of his nose, the line of his brow, all picked out in the contrast of light and shadow. It's almost poetic, he thinks as he tilts his head sideways to watch the way the change in angle affects the play of shadows across his skin, changing the face he sees in the mirror.
There's a flicker, then, not in the lights around him but in his reflection. His hair suddenly looks much shorter, cropped close above the ears and a only a little longer than that in front, and his reflection's cheeks are flushed even though it's far too cold in the hallway for his face to be so hot. He looks younger in his reflection, almost like a teenager.
And his eyes...
He hesitates to even call them his; they're bloodshot around the edges and his pupils are dull and flat in a way that has nothing to do with the lack of light in the hallway, and it makes something dark and sick start to swim around in his guts.
Gerard winces, stepping back from the mirror as though he's trying to dodge the wild swing of a fist. He takes a deep breath, trying to slow the too-fast beating of his heart, and then shakes his head as if it'll help him shake off what he just saw.
When he looks back a heartbeat later, his reflection is exactly as it should be.
Gerard stares at the glass for a long moment before turning away, moving briskly down the hall back in the direction he came from to put as much space between himself and the mirror as possible.
He's still kind of turned around, but eventually he finds his way back to his room. He shuts the door firmly behind him, strangely relieved to have something solid between him and the rest of the house.
In The Walls