#i was just thinking about mcrs Political Statements | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

raytorosaurus · 1 year

Note

i think where people get confused is that mcr did try very hard and very overtly to make their shows a safe space for queer people and women which is not a political act it just feels political because being queer and/or a woman means you exist in a space where your being is politicised by those around you whether you want to actively be involved in those politics or not. but, as you said, the art itself is personal and the message at shows is generally also about personal expression and learning to be yourself and take care of yourself. there's an element of respect each other/respect each others' differences but that's not political there's no call to action there's no fight for structural change and that's totally fine they don't have to be that

yeah no you said it, i totally agree. like i said, they're only political as far as all art is political - maybe slightly more because they made an active effort to engage with a socially outcast audience, tho in their minds that wasn't about specific marginalised groups like queer people, neurodivergent ppl etc - beyond their vocal support of women at shows/in the scene, they were directing their art just at people who didn't quite fit in in general. there's a big venn diagram there (and obviously some contextual cause-and-effect in terms of what kind of people tended to be unwelcome in hardcore scenes lol - even then, mcr never made any statements about race or whiteness) but it's not like gerard started a band to empower or liberate specific identities in a political sense - it was very consciously an effort to sing more about general unifying human experiences - i.e. ones lots of people can relate to. one of mcr's (especially gerard as lyricist) greatest strengths is being able to tap into those "universal" emotions like grief, loneliness, self-hatred etc. and make them a little easier to confront head-on or feel a little less isolating. that's literally why they're popular - if they had been overtly political they simply never would have made it that big! wait i'll let hanif abdurraqib say it because he said it best (brief snippet from his wonderful essay on the black parade in his collection they can't kill us until they kill us - 100% worth the cost of the ebook alone, and all of his essays are brilliant).

that idea is kind of at the heart of mcr and something i really appreciate about it. there's actually very little specificity in mcr's lyrics by design - it's meant to be projected onto and interpreted. that makes it inherently difficult to politicise bc good politics requires clarity of message and intention. that in turn makes mcr pretty apolitical by nature - which isn't a bad thing! different bands (like all types of art) exist for different reasons, and mcr's reason is catharsis and connection far more than it is any kind of activism. we can be pretty assured based on the lyrics and what we know of the guys that their politics aren't terrible and that's enough for me.

the real issue comes in when people act like mcr are political and give them credit for something they're not (and something they've never really claimed to be!). i get that mcr is a gateway band for a lot of people into harder/heavier music - it was for me too! - but even bands one step removed from mcr in the same scene (e.g. thursday) are leagues more political than these guys are.

this goes beyond mcr/bandom now but....tbh i think a lot of it comes from that relatively recent attitude that's common in online circles that activism is heavily rooted in personal identity (which ties in with the harmful pattern of, for example, white queer people acting like they're somehow above other white people in terms of racism) and comes more from individual thought, words, and discussion (in which using the correct language sometimes has more weight than what you're trying to say) than it does from actual community action. this isn't an attack at anyone btw - a lot of the statements about mcr's politics around here are pretty flippant and light-hearted anyway, i doubt too many people are taking them super seriously, but it's probably worth considering. overall, i'm not listening to mcr for politics and i'm certainly not looking to any of them for political guidance, but it's nice to feel connected to them and to all of you guys and to know that they support my identity, but that’s kind of as far as it goes for me.

#me at 6pm: i'm too dead tired to think straight after work :(((#me at 9pm: so in hanif abdurraqib's essay on the representation of universal grief in the black para-#answered #mcr talk #i Think there's an id on that screenshot btw i hope it worked lol (i'm on desktop)

91 notes · View notes

astheswarmitcalls · 5 months

Text

PART 3: RETURN TOUR WARDROBE - CAMPY AS FUCK

This is the third part of my 4-part analysis of MCR5, the Masterpost for which can be found here. Link to next part found at the bottom of the post. If there's something I missed, or you'd like to add your own spin/elaborate on something I brushed over, by all means I'd love to hear it!!

So for Campy As Fuck, we’ve got a great range of costuming that seems incredibly intentional and costuming that seems so stupidly fun. Deep political commentary can coexist with just doing things for the bit and because you simply want to. Gerard did say that this tour "was the most fun we’ve ever had. Every day it’s like clown city!" Also, for my own ease of reading, costumes that were designed by Marina Toybina will have an asterisk (*). I’ve also had to do a fair bit of research for this and found some things that I haven’t heard anyone else talk about.

In an interview with Marina Toybina, she said this:

”I didn’t know if they had a designer. Then he did mention Colleen (Atwood) was doing something for him.”

I don’t think it’s common knowledge that Colleen Atwood also worked on the tour outfits. She did the costuming for The Black Parade and Danger Days, so it’s fantastic to see her back for the tour, and it explains some gaps in the costuming. Toybina only did 11 of the characters Gerard portrayed onstage, some of the outfits are DIYed, and a few of them I speculate could be Atwood’s work.

META-MAN: “I feel so powerful!”

The first outright Costume in the reunion tour. At this show in Milton Keynes, Gerard had this white suit splattered in blood and tattered, white mask with the Meta logo drawn on their forehead. Pretty clear-cut commentary on Meta, how you shouldn’t let corporations own your identity and such. Gerard went on a 4-minute spiel on his feelings about Meta-verse. Here’s an abridged version of it here:

“We don’t want your meta-verse. We don’t want you having every single detail of our lives, and CONTROL over it… living your life on a screen, and giving everything- giving these corporations everything. And living in a new and beautiful and EXCITING, virtualistic fucking world. I feel the same way that David Lynch feels about watching a movie on your telephone… I’m not judging, there’s no judgement. You do your thing on there, I’ve done my thing… Look, there can be great things to share on there… Just don’t give those bastards EVERYTHING! Keep some for yourself and the people you love.”

To me, this is reminiscent of the ethos of Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. The Fabulous Killjoys fight against Better Living Industries or BL/ind. (hah! Get it?!) who have seized utter control of Battery City in post-apocalyptic 2019 California. The story encompasses topics of capitalism, consumerism, corporations, and corporate greed.

Not any clear ties to MCR5 here, aside from maybe talk of corporations, but there doesn’t have to be. This works beautifully as a little statement piece from Mr. Way here.

CLOWN GERARD: “They are gonna have to bury me in this motherfucking filthy clown suit.”

Gerard Way is a filthy fucking clown. This is unbelievably fun, and so far removed from the established MCR lore.

I think clowns also embody the spirit of the return tour: they’re getting silly and having fun with it and not taking themselves so seriously. I’m vaguely reminded of Hesitant Alien, and the psychology of Lola. They would look right at home next to a clown, methinks.

Again, no clear MCR5 ties as it’s not necessary. This is just so fucking fun.

UNCLE FESTER????:

The ghoulish/skeletal makeup is familiar to MCR. This whole look though? It’s something.

That raincoat-poncho-thing appears to be that earthy green that’s appeared throughout the tour, albeit a lot grosser. ‘Doug’ is written on the front which is a nod to MCR’s producer. The silhouette of this entire fit reminded me of Uncle Fester from The Addams Family. The themes of that franchise (death/decay/vermin/rot/reanimation) wouldn’t be so far removed from the themes of MCR5. That being said, I don’t know if Gerard is even a fan of The Addams Family so we’re definitely reaching.

CLOWN GERARD (REPRISE):

Unlike the previous clown outfit which was very circus-y, this reads a lot more like Joker. They’re both sort of decrepit jesters, but this has a little less whimsy than the former.

The shirt they’re wearing is a Watchmen tee. Watchmen and Joker are both rooted in comic books. Gerard loves comic books. Maybe it’s that simple. Clowns are not familiar to MCR in the slightest. I did say that the clowns popping up could be symbolic for how fun the tour is for the band, but I’m reminded of something Gerard said after the release of Revenge regarding the attention they had garnered.

“There’s a fine line between being treated like a demi-god and a circus monkey. It’s almost the same thing”

Dressing up like a clown because you feel silly and jovial is all fun. Painting clown makeup on your face to comment on the way you feel you’re being commodified and treated like an attraction is scathing.

CRYING BLOOD GERARD:

More religious subtext here. MCR’s first album ‘I Brought You My Bullets You Brought Me Your Love’ features a song called Lady of Sorrows. The Lady of Sorrows refers to the Mary mother of Jesus in Catholicism. Gerard and Mikey were both raised Catholic, something Gerard has said ‘is some scary shit.’ So the Lady of Sorrows is depicted crying for all the sorrow she has suffered (Jesus dying etc.), with statues of Mary being known to, through some sort of divine miracle, cry real tears or blood. The black sclera contacts are a real nice touch.

Jesus’ story is technically one of rebirth? Which appears to be a very explicit theme of MCR5?? And the Virgin Mary could almost make the cut for FEMCR as a historical (??) woman who is mythologised and experiences a lot of tragedy? There’s layers here, both with the religious iconography and what may be a Virgin Mary cosplay.

SKELETON!!!!:

Now this? THIS is so fun. Skeleton iconography is very familiar to MCR through The Black Parade. This is so campy. It’s giving shitty Halloween costume. Back during The Black Parade it was fairly common for the band members, Gerard especially, to don skeleton face paint for performances. Case in point:

Skeletons are very at-home with MCR. The skeleton one-piece, however? It’s skewing away from those traditional themes of death, grief and illness that are present in TBP. This skeleton is silly and fun and campy. Skeleton Gerard reads as another nod to MCR’s established aesthetic, to what the band represented before, and yes, we are going to acknowledge it exists but we are moving on from that. You wanted The Black Parade? You wanted skeletons? Sure! Here’s our frontman in this stupid skeleton suit from Party City.

MY CATMICAL ROMEOWNCE:

Babe. BABE. Can I be real for a moment? Can I speak freely for just a second? I love you so much, but you are so fucking weird.

In all honesty though, I do think this is at least alluding to the established motifs of MCR. Gerard spoke on tour about the stray cat they took in during quarantine who brings them dead rats. The Foundations of Decay refers to vermin, and there’s rat iconography on the set as well as Gerard’s weird rambles about rats. They had a shirt spray painted with the word ‘rats’ one night, and this may be the follow up to that. I will say the neckline on that sweater is incredibly Wine Aunt, and we love to see it.

As I’ve stated before, we are the rats. We are the vermin swarm. Mr. Way?? Are you out to get us or what?

BLACK SWAN:

This costume is really cool, but I have not watched Black Swan so there’s not a lot I can say about it. From what I gather it’s about ballet and about the ballet Swan Lake and there’s themes of perfectionism. I skimmed the Wikipedia page and that was about it. If might go watch the movie, come back and rewrite this entire bit.

When I was researching however, I DID come across Black Swan Theory; a metaphor for the reality that just because something has not happened does not mean that it cannot occur in the future. (Britannica). So something that has not happened? And may seem unlikely but is not an impossible occurrence? Like, mayhaps, a fifth MCR album? Think about it for a little.

(If you're familiar with Black Swan and you have stuff to add, please please please by all means I know there's probably a lot I'm missing here.)

WATCHMEN REFERENCE?:

A not-so-subtle-but-not-so-obvious reference to Gerard Way’s appearance at Comic Con in 2010:

The inclusion of the bullet through the skull I think is reminiscent of the iconic Watchmen smiley face.

Watchmen tackles themes of nuclear warfare and war. It’s incredibly rooted in a real-world narrative, and explores and deconstructs heroes/superheros in a grounded setting. The narrative of MCR5 is going to be more raw, more realistic in this sense. With references to 9/11, and functioning as an almost meta-commentary on the band’s rebirth itself, we’re moving away from a concept that’s fantastical like in Revenge, and to something more akin to TBP. Watchmen is also explicitly about war, which is an established theme for The Foundations of Decay and the backdrop of the Return Tour.

As A DC/’Superhero’ Comic, that grounded, grittiness that’s not so common to typical superhero comics is a lot of what Watchmen encompasses. Gerard has talked extensively about how much Watchmen influenced them as a writer and a person. It’s likely this might just be an ode to an incredible piece of art, but the themes of MCR5 and Watchmen marry into each other quite well.

*BAT GERARD:

Now this? THIS is Camp. The big, black boots, the gloves, the WINGS. You wanted vampires? How about bats? How about a stupid, slutty bat costume?

No connection to MCR5 this is just delightful.

*CASINO GERARD:

The sparkly gold tux? It’s fantastic. ‘The house always wins’ was written on the drum that night and is in reference to casinos. To make a profit, the ‘house’ needs to be skewed against the players. We’re a few neurons off from turning that into a grand metaphor for capitalism.

This night they performed a Frank Sinatra cover. I totally dig it.

*SHEET GHOST GERARD:

Oh man oh man oh man-

As is with basically every costume in Campy as Fuck, it’s just stupidly fun. This may be one of my favourite ones. It’s just so fun. The references to the undead and spirits and ghosts seem familiar from The Black Parade, but this still feels wholly new.

HELENA/REVENGE-ISH GERARD:

This feels almost like nostalgia-baiting. MCR wants us to draw connections between the colour palettes of this outfit and the Revenge age. The stunt they pulled at WWWYFest was a much more obvious play on the toxicity of nostalgia culture. The black with little pops of red is so reminiscent of the band’s Revenge uniforms, and I think this is paying ode to that. Also their flower is so big it looks a little silly.

I read this as an ode to Helena; the black with the red flowers. MCR keeps toeing that line of familiar and new and I adore it.

*GERACULA:

VAMPIRE TIME BABEY!!!

It’s already been established that vampires hold significance in the MCR mythos. They’ve written 5 songs, maybe more, that are about or use vampires as a metaphor. To my knowledge, vampires have been referenced in MCR since the first album, but we haven’t seen them appear in music videos or in costuming. UP UNTIL NOW!

Gerard Dracula. Geracula. I believe this is a costume recreated from the 1931 movie ‘Dracula.’ It’s the traditional, gothic vampire that MCR loves. It’s also incredibly Camp. Vampires have thematic relevance to a lot of MCR’s messages, about addiction, but I suppose as undead they’re sort of a symbol of rebirth? I’m pushing for this to have MCR5 ties but it really doesn’t need to, it’s so fun.

RED SKULL? PHANTOM? I DUNNO???:

So! I’ve been pointing out allusions to military/anti-war commentary with the green and camo throughout the entire tour thus far. This could be read as a reference to The Ghost of You music video (set in WWII) with the military uniform, or something that could just be Fun, but it feels far too intentional for that. Why the bright red? Why not black or green?

Hear me out: this is the man who stands upon the hill in The Foundations of Decay. He’s the military leader, the one who has endured the battles and gets to be canonised in death. He’s in red and black because that was the unofficial ‘uniform’ for My Chemical Romance and their fanbase. He’s our leader and we are his devotees, his mob, his minions.

That one is a fairly big stretch, but we’re trying to cover as much ground as possible. It’s like monkeys and typewriters, maybe if I ramble for long enough, I’ll write Shakespeare.

I think this outfit may be a Colleen Atwood costume; it’s too high quality to be store bought but doesn’t appear on Toybina’s Instagram.

God sorry this one was so, so long, I promise the next part won't be. I think.

<<< PREVIOUS PART | NEXT PART >>>

#mcr #my chemical romance #mcr5 #mcr5 theory #mcr5 is real #oh god this post is so long #so sorry about that one

6 notes · View notes

maylorscardigan · 11 months

Note

that set list today was… depressing. No Robbers and it was just… he’s so sad 😭

what is your take on the performance today?

Setlist included:

Give Yourself a Try

Looking for Somebody to Love

I'm in Love with You

I Like America & America Likes Me

About You

Ballad of Me & My Brain

It's Not Living (if its Not With You)

I Always Wanna Die (Sometimes)

Somebody Else

Love it if We Made It

Sex

People

My first impression... anyone who is familiar with My Chemical Romance knows their first album "I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love" and their last "Danger Days"... I get that vibe from this setlist with a mixture of "The Used" for good measure. So long and short of it - this is as emo as the 1975 can get without being Drive Like I Do.

And I am here for it.

Just look at the songs themselves.

The song is one that talks about humanity. How the media makes you believe in happiness and growing up liking who you are, only it doesn't happen. It touches on identity & aging as well.

Political in nature. It's about school shootings and the toxic masculinity of society today.

A love song. Matty wanted a love song that was sincere and earnest.

Talks about Matty's relationship with fame and how he pleas with society for a safer world without the fear of gun violence.

Do I really need to cover this one? It's THE song.

This song covers mental issues and how their looking for their lost brain (sanity). It covers dodging fans and what its like trying to cope with fame. This song has always made me think that it would be the result if Taylor's Wonderland & I Know Places had a baby.

Another regular. It's about his heroin addiction.

Matty says that death has essentially become a big meme and that death is now, essentially a mood. It sums up life in the online age.

Another regular. Jealousy, ownership over the body of a former lover (emotional ownership. not actual) and dealing with seeing a former lover with someone else. Anyone who knows MAYLORE knows this songs history.

Like About You... i never see this leaving the set list. This song is better live by far then the recording could ever dream of. It's a social anthem much like Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire" before you know... FOB did a cover of it.

Teenager angst over sex.

The new closing song? Unhinged Matty and when I truly feel like I am watching Gerard Way - and if anyone takes that as an insult come fight me because its not. Another social anthem.

As I said - this setlist comes off as very much the context and themes you'd see at an emo / pop-punk show. Very much reminds me of The Used and MCR.

Does this set list make me think he's sad? No. Not at all. Angry? Hell yes. The themes of dealing with fame and how fans are assholes and society sucking as a whole... its an interesting statement and I am completely here for it.

Honestly - unpopular opinion but Danger Days is one of my all time favourite albums and this screams that to me. Especially People. Matty has said that the band is an influence and a dream collaboration so...

Gerard... I am looking at you. Please PLEASE do this.

I also think this is the truest side of who Matty is and what he has always stood for and against. They said that SATVB was how Matty is NOW and I honestly believe the set list reflects that.

As for no Robbers... maybe he just wanted to give fans a breather from being afraid he will kiss someone or to just flat out get rid of the speculation on whether or not he will.

I havent seen the whole show yet but snippets I did see... he was very happy and high energy. Very pre-May happy Matty.

I'll find more videos and see if that changes but as of right now.. yeah.

#matty healy #the 1975 #anon #set list

2 notes · View notes

awsugar · 2 years

Note

Tbh I’m pretty uncomfortable w the way that this fandom interacts w 9/11. Like it gets treated as a joke a lot of the time when really it was an act of mass murder. I get that the cult of patriotism that’s sprung up around it and how it’s been used to hurt people has turned mocking it into an anti government political statement, but when it comes down to it it’s not materially different from mocking any other tragedy, like a school shooting or something.

This is a long winded way of saying I’m really worried about how people are going to act at the nyc shows in September. Especially bc so many fans are too young to remember 9/11 and don’t understand the impact that it had on people who witnessed it.

i have to be honest i dont tihnk its just the mcr fandom i tihnk the jokes about 9/11 are prevalent on the internet as a whole or at least tumblr.

i agree that it feels wrong to joke about and i also know that a lot of people have used 9/11 as an excuse to be horribly racist and islamophobic which is why people started to try to combat it with humor in the first place.

but im going to the 9/11 show and idk i dont think anything major is going to happen in the fandom. i think we'll be focused on the show and i tihnk they're going to do something big for it. which is not to celebrate the tragedy obviously, but the band was born from that.

#anonymous #asks

18 notes · View notes

homophobicgerardwayau · 9 months

Text

Actually, I'm on one today, not done yet. Got thinking about Danger Days and my distaste for it.

I was talking to another fan about it last week and they asked me how it was received at the time of its release. I honestly don't really know because I had gone off MCR by then. I was in art school and it was very uncool to listen to mainstream rock at the time. Emo had died off and synth-heavy indie rock had come in. Guitar music had already fallen out of favour in both the charts and in indie circles.

I think the timing was off on the album's release. If it had come out a couple of years earlier, the use of synth effects/electronic instrumentation and pristine production would have sounded a lot fresher. Regardless, I still feel that the synth and electronic aspects of the record are clumsily incorporated over all.

It's like that record can't choose whether to commit to a stripped back proto-punk sound or not. The songs are certainly bare-bones in terms of instrumentation, especially compared to TBP's lush and layered sound. But then these songs are recorded and mixed in the most sterile way possible, imo highlighting the lack of nuance in the song-writing, and not in a good way.

Don't get me wrong, there's some bangers. Love NaNaNa, love Vampire Money, love Destroya.

But aside from the sonic stuff, if I think about why that record doesn't appeal to me in the same way as the others, it probably mainly has to do with the songwriting and lyrical content.

Here's an example:

First lyric on Three Cheers: "Long ago, just like the herse you die to get in again-"

First lyric on Black Parade: "Now, come on, come all to this tragic affair-"

First lyric on Danger Days: "NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA-"

In isolation, a non-lyric is fine, it's great in fact. A staple of pop songwriting. Works for an upbeat, uptempo banger. But for our introduction to a concept album? The opening lyrics for Helena and The End concisely establish core ideas about the record to come.

"Long ago," Ok so we are in for some storytelling here. A herse? Dark imagery. Someone has died. "YOU die to get in again." Are WE, the listener, a part of this story? Perhaps. Have we died and are now somewhere else? In a world that exists only for the half an hour that we listen to this record? So much can be extrapolated from just this first line alone.

"Come on, come all to this tragic affair", beginning with the theme of death/dying again. This time we are being welcomed as a spectator. We are here to watch Gerard being a cunty little martyr. We are being ushered into both the metaphorical funeral and the album listening experience at the same time.

We get no such hospitality from Gerard on DD. Instead, we are introduced to this new world by some rando espousing nonsense. It's not a bad idea, it's kind of cool, having snippets of radio broadcasts strewn throughout the record. But without the accompanying comics, videos and artwork, the concept is hard to follow upon listening.

I think that this is a big sticking point for me. If there is an MCR5, it should be Gerard's voice guiding us into (presumably) the new world or story that they want to tell.

Ultimately, I was predisposed to disliking Danger Days. But in saying that, why is the American national anthem on this thing? What is the statement of intent here other than 'not black parade 2'. Anti-capitalism? Hard to take seriously from a bunch of guys* that are by this stage rather wealthy and have never made explicitly political music. Not a hot take! But rather just having a think about it all. I've softened on it a lot since its release. Also why is Boy Division not on this thing? Oh man that song was SO GOOD live.

#my chemical romance #danger days #mcr5 #mcr #discourse #Nancy

1 note · View note

pseudophan · 4 years

Note

Nora have you seen what frank said about basement eyes? He indirected gerard saying it was about not wanting to see him neglect his “fire”.... i- I need a moment.

idk if the Entire song is about gerard i think it's about a lot of things but like......yea......

for some reason the 'that still can't hold a gaze' that then turns into 'that still can't hold MY gaze' fucks me the fuck up like bro....Bro.......BROOOOOO

also. this part of frank's post. fuck me. i cant stop thinking about mcr getting back into a room and just playing together in 2017..... FUCK MEEEEE i hate this band stop this shit please

#i am vulnerable #like i know its all fine now #like theyre best friends theyll always be best friends #(frank referring to gerard as his best friend last year made me wanna Die)#but for gods sake #i keep thinking about gerard being like. oh all the gay stuff is like a political statement !#and thing is as funny as that sounds it really WAS deeply impactful on fans and the rock scene as a whole back then #like incredibly so #but then u think abt frank clearly being uh. not quite in agreement #and im just 🙃#i love u with my entire heart gerard but why oh why is it that every damn person youve kissed or fooled around with or whatever #literally cannot let it go #like the mcr fandom def exaggerate it all sometimes #but its still all just. A Lot #anyway love mcr love this mess we stan best friends #answered

40 notes · View notes

agentemo · 4 years

Note

rate the mcr albums! or if u rlly need a good distraction rate all the songs off ur fave album

porque no los dos!!!

when i rate mcr albums, it tends to be: revenge, parade, danger, bullets though they are all very good but ya know

that’s in order of how i like them not how good i think they are cuz black parade is the best album of the 2000s obviously it just doesn’t punch me in the (redacted) as hard as revenge does

anyway so hey anon here’s my rating of three cheers for sweet revenge songs

the ghost of you venom give em hell cemetery drive hang em high INO never told you prison helena fashion statement jetset life to the end interlude

send me asks please: horny shit? favorite whatever by whomever? insert question on waves vaguely at politics? please I need to think about anything else beside my current situation

#anon #asks

4 notes · View notes

sweetbabyfrank · 4 years

Text

more asks cause i wanna keep track of my life and no one will ask me anyway

5th period massacre: did you enjoy your time in school? sure thing

catch me if you can: any guilty pleasures? im over cringe and cancel culture tbh nothing makes me guilty

this song is about being attacked by monsters: do you like horror? if so, favorite horror film? i love horror stories, not much horror movies but if i have to choose one, to laugh: nightmare on elm street 2, to get truly scared: lights out

i am going to kill the president of the united states: do you consider yourself to be politically active? if so, why? fuck yeah i am, i think politics are the people's way to change reality, we must get involved. being against/a-politic/s it's not only irresponsable and a fucking privilege, but also stupid nonsese cuz being apolitic is a political statement so fkng fuckyou.

murder was the case that they gave me: you tend to hold grudges? not really, i'm more of a forgive and forget/throw you the fuck away, except that one time a friend told our group of friend they hoped we warned them abt an exboyfriend when all we did was fucking warn them, im still bitter.

sunsets are for muggings: how do you feel about the medical industry? you guys in the states y'all got it fucking awfully hard huh. i'm glad i was born and raised elsewhere. it fucking sucks there.

my lovenote has gone flat: have you ever experienced heartbreak? yeah, that time my bf broke up with me after i came out, tho there were other reasons, i was vulnerable and broken

your friends are full of shit: have you ever had fake friends? fuck yeah i had, but i was lucky enough to emotionally distance myself on time

bodysnatchers 4 ever: have you ever been in love? if not, do you want to be? i am in fucking balls deep love rn

leviathan: do you trust others easily? why or why not? i like to think i do but some experiences prove me wrong, so i think it's bc im always happyfuckyhappy and wanna make frndz laugh so i can't be serious or vulnerable

myself: do you hate anyone right now? if so, why? myself sometimes.

xo: if you could change one thing about the world, what it would it be? capitalism.

loathe: favorite lm song, and why? 5pm, leviathan, your friends are full of shit. i just think they're neat.

hate: if you could see any 3 bands live, who would you see? mcr of fucking course, ratm and fuckit, muse again (ive seen them twice)

rat: have you met any members of lm? fuck no don't fucking remind me

threat: what are you scared of? death, solitude, my nudes being leaked

maul: do you see yourself ever being in a band like lm? what would you contribute to the band? i think id be the secretly helplessly in love w/bandmember friend who does the cover art for the album for free cuz im desesperate like that

#me

0 notes

rpf-bat · 7 years

Text

Dance Alone To The Tune Of Your Death

Pairing: Frank Iero x Reader

Genre: Fluff, Romance

Summary: Request fic for @chloethebinch. “I was wondering if you could do a fic where the reader is Frank's friend and he suggests that she could be Helena in the music video and he gets a huge crush on her in the Helena dress?”

The dance studio at your college's fine arts building was empty, except for you. You weren't surprised. It was past midnight. What other student besides you was crazy enough to be pirouetting at this hour?

Maybe other people would think it was weird, but, when you were stressed, dancing always calmed you down. You slid on your ballet slippers, tying the ribbons tightly so they wouldn't slip down your ankles. You put a CD onto the stereo and hit play. A normal ballerina would have used classical music. To be honest, you should probably be using the soundtrack to Swan Lake, since you were going to be performing in your school's production of that ballet later this year. Instead, for some reason, all you wanted to dance to was your friend Frank's post-hardcore band, My Chemical Romance.

Frank had dropped out of college to be MCR's rhythm guitarist full time. At the time, you were worried he was making a mistake (and, of course, sad that he wouldn't be your classmate anymore). But, his decision seemed to have paid off. His band had been signed to a major label, and last summer, they'd traveled the country as part of Warped Tour. Part of you wondered if Frank was going to forget all about you now that he was getting rich and famous.

Don't worry about that right now, you told yourself. Just dance.

You pointed your toes and began a spin as the opening notes of 'Helena', the first track on the CD, began to play. You did a demi-plie as you let the sound of Frank's wild instrumentals wash over you. The vocalist, Gerard, was great, too, but when you listened to MCR, your focus was always on Frank. Maybe it was because you had a bit of a crush on him.

So do ten thousand other girls, at this point, you frowned, and threw yourself harder into the dance to distract yourself from your negative thoughts. You whirled and twirled across the floor to every song on the album, and by the time the last track concluded, you were panting, brow streaked with sweat.

You froze, and gasped, when you heard the sound of someone clapping.

Who the hell is in here?! you wondered, turning around in shock. Your jaw dropped when you saw Frank Iero standing there in the doorway, grinning at you.

"Frank?!" you gaped. "When did you get into town?"

"We just got back from tour," Frank explained, "so I had to come and see you."

"But, how did you know I'd be here?" you wondered. You nervously tucked a sweat-drenched strand of hair behind your ear. Great. First time Frank sees you in months, and you're in your grimy workout leotard.

"Cuz I know you," Frank laughed. "I went by your dorm, and you weren't there, so I figured this was the only other place you'd be."

"It's good to see you again," you said, stepping closer and giving your old friend a hug.

"Good to see you, too, Y/N," Frank said into your ear. "I missed you."

You blushed and pulled away.

"Your dancing's gotten better," Frank complimented.

"Oh, no, I still need lots of practice," you shook your head humbly.

"No, I mean it, you're really talented," Frank insisted. "Actually, that's part of what I came here to talk to you about."

"What do you mean?" you asked, puzzled, as you sat down on the floor and took a swig from your water bottle.

"You know my band's song 'Helena', right?" Frank asked, sitting down beside you.

"Yeah, it's my favorite song on your new album," you nodded.

"Well, the label's decided we need to make a music video for it," Frank explained.

"Wow, so this will be your second big-budget video shoot, right?" you replied, remembering how crazy it had been when you saw Frank - your Frank - on MTV last September when the video for 'I'm Not Okay' came out.

"Yeah, it's nothing like the dinky little video shoot we did with Eyeball, back in Jersey, for 'Vampires Will Never Hurt You'," Frank compared. You still remembered the day Frank and the guys shot that video. It was a couple years ago now, but it felt like more.

"So, what's the concept for the new video?" you asked curiously.

"It's a funeral scene," Frank revealed. "We're all there to bury Helena."

"That's going to give me deja vu of the real funeral," you frowned. 'Helena', was, of course, named after Gerard and Mikey's grandma, who had died several months prior. You'd accompanied Frank to the memorial service, to support the Way brothers. It had been such a sad day.

"Me, too," Frank admitted sadly. "But, the video director said he doesn't want Helena to be played by an old lady, like the real Elena Way was when she passed."

"For real?" you blinked, surprised.

"Yeah, he says if it's a young person, it's more emotional," Frank shrugged. "The idea is that, during the video, she'll open her eyes, and get out of the coffin, and start dancing towards the door, like her spirit is leaving for the afterlife."

"That sounds beautiful," you whispered, impressed. "I'll watch the video when it comes out, for sure."

"About that," Frank said, a smirk crossing his face. "I don't want you to watch it."

"What?" you said, confused. "Why not?"

"I want you to be in it," Frank declared.

"What?!" you gasped.

"I want you to play Helena," Frank clarified.

"There's no way!" you cried. "Frank, I'm just a student. This is a for-real music video, that's going to cost tons of money to make, and be on TV, and everything. You need to hire a pro. I'm sure any experienced dancer from, like, the New York City Ballet company, for instance, would love a chance to work with....."

"But, I don't want somebody from the New York City Ballet," Frank interrupted with a smile. "I want you."

"Why?" you argued. "I know how important the song is to Gerard and Mikey. I mean, it's about their grandma. If I screwed up a role that important....."

"I already talked to Gerard and Mikey," Frank assured you. "They don't think you're going to screw up. They want you in the video, too. And after seeing you dance tonight, I'm sure it's the right decision. Please, Y/N, will you do this for me?"

You looked at Frank for a moment, uncertain. His eyes were pleading.

".....Ok," you decided, heart pounding. "I'll do it." %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

The day of the video shoot finally came. You had to let all your professors know you'd be missing a week of classes, and reserve a plane ticket to Los Angeles. But, when you drove from the airport to the church where 'Helena' was being filmed, Frank was there on the steps to greet you.

"Are you ready for today?" he asked, hugging you in greeting.

"I'm nervous, to be honest," you confessed when you pulled away.

"You can do it," Frank assured you. "I believe in you, Y/N. Come on, let me introduce you to the director."

The director, Mark Webb, and the choreographer, Michael Rooney, were polite and friendly to you. There were several other dancers milling about, but Mark explained that you were the one the camera would primarily be focusing on. Your heart thumped anxiously, but you reminded yourself that you'd been practicing your dance routine for weeks. You could do this.

"You'll need to get changed into your costume soon," Michael suggested, handing you a garment bag. You took it and went into the church's bathroom to get changed.

Your costume was a black and red dress. It was sleeveless, which made you a little self-conscious, because you didn't usually wear outfits that bared your shoulders. Plus, it showed a little more cleavage than you were used to. Not a lot - it was supposed to be a burial shroud, after all - but enough to make you yank up the top of the dress, a little embarrassed, as you exited the bathroom.

"Whoa," a familiar voice gasped as you entered the chapel. You turned and saw Frank, dressed in his own costume: a three-piece suit, with a fedora that made him look a bit like a Mafia boss.

"Whoa, what?" you asked shyly, still fidgeting with your dress.

"Whoa, you look gorgeous," Frank said, eyes panning over you slowly. He'd never stared at you like this before.

"Th-thank you," you blushed, not sure what to make of this unusual attention. "You look nice, too."

"Well, I....." Frank wasn't able to finish his statement, because suddenly the makeup artist Mark had hired walked over to you.

"Your makeup's going to take a while, so we should get started, Y/N," the woman told you. "We've got to make you look nice and dead."

"Isn't that an oxymoron?" you laughed.

"I'm sure you'll be the nicest-looking dead girl I've seen," Frank joked. "Um, I guess I'll talk to you later, Y/N."

"Right," you agreed, and headed towards the makeup chair. You wondered why your face was flushing. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

It felt extremely weird to climb into the coffin near the pulpit. You lay still, eyes closed, doing your best corpse impression. The camera man stood over you, leaning over your prone body so he could capture the shot of your eyes opening.

"Cut," the director called. You sat up and looked over at him. Had you done something wrong?

"Y/N, that was very good," Mark complimented, to your surprise. "Before we film your dance, we're going to try and get some shots of the band playing, alright?"

"Alright," you shrugged. You propped your elbows up on the coffin lid as you sat and watched Frank and the other band members pretend to play their instruments. Even though it was just a fascimile of the real thing, Frank was putting so much heart into it, like he always did. You'd always admired his energetic playing style.

"Cut," the director called again. "Gerard, loving the emotion you're giving the camera, alright? Ray, Mikey, you're doing good, too. But, Frank, I need you to look at the camera for me, please."

"I was," Frank argued.

"No, you weren't," Mark disagreed.

"Dude, he's right," Gerard admitted, crossing his arms. "Your acting was good, but you kept looking over at Y/N the whole time."

"I-I did not!" Frank denied, turning crimson.

"Frank, we need you to focus," the director advised. "You can talk to your girlfriend after we're done filming this scene."

"Y/N, uh, she....she's not my girlfriend," Frank stammered. He wasn't usually a stutterer. Why would he be acting like this?

"Oh?" Mark blinked. "Well, my mistake. Let's take it from the top." %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Eventually, the guys wrapped up the scene focusing on them. It was time for your dance. The song played from a stereo in the background, to set the mood and help you sync your steps with the beat. You were nervous. You didn't want to mess up, and make the whole camera crew start over with a new take.

But, then, you thought of what Frank had told you when you got here this morning: You can do it. I believe in you.

Summoning your nerve, you opened your eyes, climbed out of the coffin, and began to dance towards the pews. You resisted tears when you thought of the symbolism of your movements - when you tilted and grasped at the 'funeral attendees', it was meant to be Helena wistfully reaching towards her loved ones, who were mourning her. You glanced at the band. Gerard looked emotional, too. But, Frank was just staring at you, looking completely riveted. The unguarded adoration in his eyes surprised you, and you almost stopped moving.

Could Frank.....like you?

There wasn't time to process this. Knowing that the cameras were trained on you, you continued the dance, taking care not to forget any steps. When you were done, everyone in the church clapped. You flushed, feeling proud of yourself for pulling off such a complicated routine. And you were going to be on national TV!

"Y/N, that was amazing," Frank said, running over to you as soon as the director yelled cut.

"Thank you," you smiled. "You, uh, you looked like you were enjoying it."

Frank's expression changed, and now he looked embarassed. "You were looking over at me?"

"I'm always looking at you," you confessed.

"Y/N....." Frank asked quietly, not wanting the rest of the video's cast to hear. "Do you like me?"

"I mean, of course I like you," you mumbled. "We've been friends for years."

"You know what I meant, Y/N," Frank said, looking at you seriously.

Your face reddened. "Why are you asking me this, Frank?"

"Because I realized today that I like you back," Frank admitted, and, suddenly, he was kissing you, in front of his band, the camera crew, God, and everybody. You were embarrassed by this large audience, but you didn't resist. You'd wanted this for so long, and it was even better than you'd imagined.

"Yes," you said breathlessly when Frank pulled away at last. "Helena likes you very much."

#frank iero x reader #frank iero imagine #helena

312 notes · View notes