#my chemical romance theory

[spoilthevines]

i might have gotten brain rot from @girlgerard but foundations of decay legit seems like a song about gender struggles to me - specifically about contemplating some sort of transitioning as an older amab person

i've been trying to figure out what this song is about since the release date, and the more obvious explanations about e.g. the band reunion mostly make sense except none of them explains the "he gets to die a saint // but she will always be a whore" lines. i've seen this being explained as some sort of social commentary on misogyny / slutshaming, but:

it's clearly an autobiographical song (with all the towers mentions etc), it gotta be something much more personal that that

we get into the solo / breakdown part right after this, so it's not a throwaway line - it's something that's triggering a strong emotional response (=the breakdown)

the female character appears out of nowhere - there is a generic "we" , there is a male protagonist, but that's it. like, who tf introduces a character like that? not someone who wrote an eisner-award winning comic book

so, what if there is no female character as a separate person? what if "she" also refers to the protagonist, specifically their feminine side / self?

imo this tiny detail makes the whole song just ✨make sense✨, so let's dig into it (cw: mentions of transphobia)

See the man who stands upon the hill

the very first thing we are being told about the protagonist is that they are a man

He dreams of all the battles won But fate had left its scars upon his face With all the damage they had done

they've done important things in his life but sacrifices were made for it, and it wasn't easy (a stretch - they've struggled to keep up the appearances)

And so tired with age, he turns the page

the protagonist isn't young anymore and is moving towards the next stage in their life, whatever that is:

Let the flesh submit itself to gravity

oh, that's the next stage? it could be just a fancy way to say "you are tired, get some rest" or "give up" but consider this - i know a fair amount of trans and non-binary people (myself included) who talk about their bodies in a somewhat derogatory manner, like it's a flesh prison of sorts, so could this be about giving up on the said uncomfortable flesh prison? masculine flesh prison as we've been told right in the very first line

Let our bodies lay while our hearts will stay Let our blood invade if I die in pain

literally saying that yeah, whatever, bodies don't matter that much, it's whatever you feel inside that counts - which means that the previous line is indeed about the body as opposed to the whole self, the masculine body

Now, if your convictions were a passing phase May your ashes feed the river in the morning rays And as the vermin crawls, we lay in the foundations of decay

some contemplation about whether or not you still believe in things you believed in when you were younger, or if it was just a phase (tm) that you grew out of - if i had a dollar for every time i've heard this said about a kid who thinks they might not be cis...

He was there the day the towers fell And so he wandered down the road And we would all build towers of our own Only to watch the rooms corrode

some autobiographical stuff that tbh i'm not sure how to get into properly (the jump from he to we is interesting though) so let's just skip

But it's much too late, you're in the race So we'll press and press 'til you can't take it anymore

ohhh yeah. you are already a person with an established public persona, you can't just go around changing things about yourself that late in the game, right? well, yeah, maybe you can't, but not doing it will get more and more unbearable with every passing day until you just ✨snap✨

Let our bodies lay while our hearts will stay Let our blood invade if I die in pain

nothing new here, just drilling down the dissociation or, dare i say, dysphoria

And if, by his own hand, his spirit flies Take his body as a relic to be canonized

so what happens if the protagonist decides to free their spirit from the masculine body? one option is public outcry, all the transphobic "oh but he was such a good-looking guy, it's a shame". a lot of people will miss the public persona, or even literally the protagonist's appearance they were obsessed with, thus "canonized"

And so he gets to die a saint But she will always be a whore

it often feels like for transgender celebrities who come out publicly there is this before and after persona split in the public conscience, as if their assigned at birth gender presenting self was perfect and has just been killed by a disgusting transgender person. it's arguably worse for trans women, because then there is also the misogyny and slut shaming and just plain old judgement in places where it weren't before

protagonist think it will happen to them too once let go of their public masculine persona

an alternative interpretation - protagonist has a fair amount of internalised misogyny and transmisogyny, and actually judges themselves for their femininity harshly sometimes, and maybe even would rather just stay that perfect man person they could, but...

Against faith (antihero) Against all odds (as if it must be pure) Against change (we wander through the ruins) We are free (the guiltiness is yours)

seems like they can't do it anymore, even if it seems like it's doable practically ("against all odds"). they got tired of things as they are, and they want to do what they feel is right for them at this moment, even if they aren't 100% sure ("as if it must be pure"), even if it ruins someone else's idea of them ("antihero")

You must fix your heart And you must build an altar where it rests

trust yourself, trust how you feel about yourself, literally build a new body for yourself ("an altar") that you can love, a body that you deserve to have and that feels right

When the storm decays and the sky, it rains Let it flood, let it flood, let it wash away

let the old body, that masculine persona go ("let it wash away")

And as we stumble through your last crusade Will you welcome your extinction in the morning rays? And as the swarming calls, we lay in the foundations

this might be something about the last public appearances before the change? sort of sounds like the change is inevitable already ("as the swarming calls we [will] lay")

Yes, it comforts me much more Yes, it comforts me much more To lay in the foundations of decay

yeah, it is much easier to get out of the public eye, change a few smaller things here and there in private but nothing major, and just live the rest of your life in this state, but...

Get up, coward

the protagonist feels like they need to do much more than just that

this lines up quite well i think and generally makes sense, except i now might be going to hell for borderline speculating on someone else's gender identity - so please let it be known that i'm not trying to predict anything like gerard making a public announcement about their gender after this tour or some other bullshit like that, i'm just having fun with the lyrics

#foundations of decay #mcr #my chemical romance #gerard way #mcr theory #my chemical romance theory #mcr5 #mcr5 theory #gender #gender identity #transitioning #mcr gender

[dead-vape]

MCR5 truthers waking up on Nov. 1 getting ready to speculate a Christmas album

#it’s me #I’m mcr5 truthers #MCR #mcr 2023 #my chemical romance #frank ireo #gerard way #mikey way #ray toro #mcr5 #mcr5 truthing #mcr5 is real #mcr5 theory

[missm0rgue]

Okay so hear me out for a second

We just got new Revenge merch but that doesn't mean anything since this year is it's 20 year anniversary, right? Wrong. Frank just posted something MCR related on his Instagram story + Mikey posts

THIS on his story

Oh, what's that now ?

M ? like My Chemical Romance ? Mikey Way in the studio with My Chemical Romance ?

MCR5 is REAL.

#mcr #my chemical romance #me when mcr5 isn't released yet #mcr5 is real #mcr5 truthing #mcr5 theory #manifesting mcr5 #mcr5 #my chemical fucking romance #frank iero #ray toro #gerard way #mikey way #my chem #im going insane #please my chem

[faggyv4mpire]

#It's not the fifth album if we count weapons #i know its not an album but for me it is damnn #gerard way #my chemical romance #my chemical frank #my chemical fucking romance #mcr #my chemical gerard #my chem romance #ray toro #mikey way #frank iero #mcr5 is real #mcr5 truthing #mcr5 #mcr5 theory #frnkiero #black parade era #mcr gerard

[zynmdx]

MCR5 is basically confirmed with all the hints lately

With the announcement of the new netflix series featuring WTTBP as the trailer song - maybe they want to promote their music again to get people listening more?? i don’t know how big of a stretch that is but ITS THERE… mcr IS active…

#mcr5 is real #mcr #my chemical romance #mcr5 #mcr5 truthing #mcr5 theory #manifesting mcr5 #summoning mcr5

[therealfrankier0]

What if MCR5 gets announced on the anniversary of three cheers

#my chemical romance #frank iero #ray toro #gerard way #mikey way #mcr #mcr5 #three cheers for sweet revenge #tcfsr #demolition lovers #mcr5 is real #mcr5 truthing #mcr5 theory #mcr5isreal #I’m not crazy

[0zziejoints]

anyone see on the mcr youtube account the foundations of decay playlist got updated to an album.. an album. theres like no way its not happening come on

#mcr #my chemical romance #gerard way #frank iero #mikey way #ray toro #mcr5 theory #mcr5 is real #mcr5 truthing #mcr5 #the foundations of decay

[music--rat]

Mcr5 confirmed ‼️💥💥‼️💥‼️💥😨

#my chemical romance #ls dunes #mcr5 #mcr5 theory

[gerardwhore]

My original mcr5 theories

#mcr #mcr 2023 #mikey way #mcr gerard #mcr return #mcr memes #mcr5 #mcr5 truthing #my chemical fucking romance #mcr5 is real #manifesting mcr5 #mcr5 theory

[abrandnewshadow]

#oh no I would never make this #my chemical romance #mcr #mcr5 #mcr5 theory

[frnkiebby]

him and his stupid fucking hospital gown~🎃

#i still stand by my theory that he just takes one every time he goes to the drs #he just sees a gown or scrub top and makes it his mission to sneak it out #what if— #i mean #a hospital gown itself could be an outfit #right?? #gown and some sneaks #a whole outfit #maybe #okay okay #kthxbye #frnkiebby #frank iero #mcr #frnkiero #mcrmy #frnkie #mcr5 #my chemical romance #my chem #ilhsm

[horseshoemybeloved]

More uncovered screenshots >:3

#fall out boy #fob #my chemical romance #mcr #mikey way #Pete wentz #joe trohman #Patrick stump #fob cn #the lost media special……. #warped tour 2005 #from under the cork tree #futct #infinity on high #……. #I am so sorry #please forgive me for my sins #I had to #the whole conspiracy theory about the ‘05 warped tour Pete mikey summer fling is just too funny to me #it’s so WACKY #cray zee #n e ways #hashtag misinformation #I gotta say that cus last time I had mcr fans anoning me #being like ‘ you piece of shit you need to properly tag this you’re a fucked up person ‘ #dude I’m tryin to make it onto a blameitonjorge video #art #my art #fall out boy fan art #fob cn 2008

[milligramspoison]

#rip to the friday the 13th theory #mcr #my chemical romance #my chem #mcr5

[ghoulish-art-tendencies]

Just read this post by @phil-lestifer , and my brain cogs started turning about dan and phil in the new crafting video.

So, my theory stemmed from the My Chemical Romance lore of the demolition lovers where these two people are in love but 1 (or both) dies and so the man makes a deal with the devil to get back with his lover who is presumably dead/in heaven while he went to hell.

My theory/thoughts is that possibly Phil DID die in the third video, and possibly Dan went to hell and could have realised what had happened or he was conscious enough and asked the Devil to bring Phil back so that they could be together forever. But to be together forever would require them to die together or be taken by the devil together.

Now, using the Devil tarot card as a parallel, we see at the end of the video Dan and Phil’s hands are interlocked and also tied together by what seems like rope, while the devil looms behind them grabbing them and holding them there. Dan and Phil are finally together, but at the cost of having to work with the devil and now, go with him and possibly help him (though we wont know for sure unless we get another video next year). The devil now has a hold of them, but they finally get to be together.

But, this then dips into slight queerness by the fact queer people are often associated with the devil and/or hell. Dan and Phil are gay lovers, and they finally get to be together, but the devil looms behind them.

This is not by any means accurate more than most likely, but I think it is an interesting interpretation at least.

Thank you for my Ted-Talk, and thank you to @user19180509 for listening to my incoherent rambles of this before it was anything more than just ideas.

#dan and phil #dnp #phil lester #dan howell #amazingphil #daniel howell #dan and phil crafts #dnpc #dnp crafts #dapcrafts #dap crafts #theorising #dapg #theory #mcr #my chemical romance #my chem #phan #dan and phil games

[faggyv4mpire]

i need one of my wives (4 men over 40 years old from new jersey) to give me a hug

#gerard way #my chem romance #my chemical romance #my chemical frank #my chemical gerard #my chemical fucking romance #mcr #ray toro #mikey way #frank iero #mcr5 truthing #mcr5 #mcr5 is real #mcr5 theory #frnkiero #black parade era #mcr gerard

[iconsumethesoulsofthedamned]

It’s not a fashion statement it’s mcr dropping something on nov 14 please please please please-

#ictsotd-art #fanart #mcr #my chemical romance #my chem art #mcr fanart #mcr gerard #mcr poster #mcr art #my chem romance #mcr5 truthing #mcr5 is real #mcr5 theory #gerard way fanart #three cheers for sweet revenge