#i could sing any mcr but dead is fun

[honeybee-deepsea-kitty]

I’ve been consuming too much Star Wars content lately, so far as I’m aware the darksaber is the only black lightsaber. It was created by the first Mandalorian Jedi and is an important symbol of the right to rule.

Gotta agree summer is exhausting. Love the increased chance of sunshine but when it’s hot it’s intolerable.

What colours have you dyed your hair so far? Would you rather have horns or fangs? Ideal Halloween costume if you had unlimited budget? What would your go to karaoke song be?

- 🤓 anon

Ah I see you are also a nerd. Nerds are the best!

Like the sun is better for mental health, but the heat is a killer.

Let's see; light pink, dark purple, dark green, red in many variations(I'm not a big fan of the natural red I have s fire a long long time I'd darken it) black obviously, indego, something that was called sapphire but just looked like a basic blue. Different variations of natural browns, and as a child my mom used to kind of bleach my hair (I hated being a blonde though)

The idea of fangs appeals to me but I'm a bitey person and I'd really hate to hurt anyone in trying to be playful. So horns, one of my fav pictures I've taken of myself was in these cute horns I bought from a Ren faire.

Unlimited budget hmm... Literally the most cringiest cat girl ever moving tails and ears all that. No seriously It'd probably more like cosplay because I'd want to do Ahri, the nine tailed fox (league of legends) Probably the fox fire or popstar versions of her. Those styles would be cool as fuck to try and pull off. But also the amount of detail I could go into with an unlimited budget would be insane. The thought excites the artist in me.

Oh music... Ha I'm sooo obsessed with so much music it could pretty much be anything. But I'm going to give you actual answers so.... Here's a short list of songs I'd kill in karaoke.

This is one of my favorite fall out boy songs and really I could probably sing anything by that band but this one! I'd sing I'd dance it would be a show.

I was stuck between a few songs by Icon for hire but there's a special place in my heart for this song.

This song uhhh it's so good. Seeing it live was seriously the best thing ever.

This is my all time favorite song. It touches in my heart in such a way.

This goes without explanation

And this one's a comfort song.

[magnificentlyeclectic]

Here is my take on the MCR Riot Fest Crowd coming from a die hard MCR fan that has actually gone to concerts and festivals before.

It’s very obvious the majority of younger people in MCR’s crowd have never been to a concert in the scene before. I have literally been going to concerts in the scene since I was 7 and it was exactly what you would expect it to be. I was towards the front with my sister, we were in the pits, we were having an amazing time cause this is what we know from shows. I will say it was extremely packed and that can be very overwhelming, I mean at one point I didn’t even have room to move my arms, but it was not aggressive. I’d say it was honestly a very average crowd but if anything it was a little on the dead side. The difference from this crowd vs others was that a bunch of people who have never experienced these types of crowds before were there and a lot ended up towards the front and towards the pits. At one point during Taking Back Sundays set when I came out of the pit for You’re So Last Summer a girl and her friend standing directly in front of the pit told me that it was disrespectful of me and my sister to sing and dance while standing behind her cause she was not there for TBS, she was only there for MCR and didn’t want any part of the TBS crowd and we were forcing our music experience on her. She then proceeded to tell me that her friend had mace and if us or anyone else from the pit touched them, even accidentally they would mace them. Like what the actual fuck. If you are going to fight your way to the front of a crowd at fucking riot fest during a set of a band you don’t like then you can’t fucking complain about people who are there to actually enjoy the fucking music. Also I’d like to point out how fucking disrespectful some of these kids were towards the other bands. There were multiple people in that crowd booing TBS and Alkaline Trio saying “we want MCR.” Maybe if you wanted to see MCR so badly and not mess with the hassle of other bands you shouldn’t go to a fucking music festival then. I will say MCR handled everything extremely well. They were very attentive to what was happening in the crowds, they stopped the show multiple times to make sure everything and everyone was okay and safe and made sure that people who couldn’t handle the front anymore could get out. On the pink line after the show I heard a lot of people poking fun at the band and Gerard yelling “everybody take a few steps back” but let’s be honest, a lot of people at the front were in over their heads and Gerard speaking up was able to help and get a lot of people who needed out the ability to leave the front. There has to be a mutual respect at concerts, you can’t get mad at people for enjoying a band and dancing and singing but vice versa you can’t be upset if someone needs to get out of the front, it should never get to the point where a band needs to stop a show in order to get people out of a crowd. If someone wants to leave you make a fucking path and let them go. Basically if you plan on attending anymore shows in the music scene you all need to learn some fucking concert etiquette and learn to respect each other.

[theswarmanthology]

Katie Wetzel, 19, Bay Area, CA

"It’s a family truly. I remember being very young when I first began engaging in MCR fan culture. The elders have always been so welcoming. They showed me the ropes and made me feel cared for. Having more fans my age now is wonderful too, I love connecting with such an amazing group of people."

Fast Facts: How long have you been a fan?: 9+ years Did you get to see MCR live before this tour?: No, this tour was my first time seeing MCR How many shows on this tour did you attend in total?: 1 Favorite album: I have more than one favorite album Show experience out of 10: 10 Did you cry at your show?: I'm still crying right now

Which date of the tour did you attend? 10/05/22, Oakland Arena, Oakland

When did you get your tickets for your show? Was it a struggle, or were they easy to grab? I got my tickets in January of 2020, I told my cousin about the tour and she bought them while I was in class.

Did you attend with anyone else? I attended with my younger cousin

What did you wear? I wore jeans (yes, blue, yes, I felt weird wearing blue jeans to an MCR concert) as well as a “The Black Parade” t-shirt (thanks 2010s Hot Topic), and my high-top black Converse.

Where were your seats? Our seats were in section 124 which is slightly angled behind the stage on Ray’s side.

What was your favorite song(s) from the setlist they played at your show? My favorite song they played was Boy Division. It’s not a song I was expecting to hear, and it’s one of my favorites.

What song were you most hoping to hear? Did you get to hear it? I was really hoping to hear Dead! They didn’t play it lol. I was also really hoping for them to play Teenagers. I know they get tired of playing that song, but it introduced me to the band, and I never expected to hear it while I was still a teenager. They played it and it was really special.

What was your favorite moment from the show? My favorite moment from the show was Gerard chasing a crew member off of the stage while mumble yelling the words to I’m Not Okay. Good reminder for everything there of how spooky and creepy he is.

What was the most unexpected moment from the show? The most unexpected moment from the show was Gerard dedicating The World is Ugly to a couple who just lost their dog Walter. RIP Walter.

Did you snag any merch? What pieces? I grabbed a tour shirt (with the the Three Cheers picture on the front) as well as the cheesy, J-14, Tigerbeat style ‘Boy Zone’ shirt (I’m in love with it and wear it all the time).

Many fans describe seeing MCR live as feeling like coming home. Did you experience anything like that at your show? I truly felt like I was home. I felt like I was with my family. Seeing a group of freaks and weirdos gather to be freaks and weirdos at a concert for a band made up of freaks and weirdos was really special. It was very nostalgic but also new and so much fun. Mikey was so sweet during our show, he kept coming to our section to sing to us and it really livened everyone up. Such a happy moment for us all.

If you could change one thing about your show experience, what would it be? I would change the amount of people I talked to. I wish I was more social with the audience. It’s a concert full of people that have connected to this band in a very special way, I’m sure I could’ve made some friends if I had spoken up to the people around me. I’m not a socially awkward person, it just didn’t cross my mind. I wish I had spoken to others more.

Has your perspective or opinion about the band changed since seeing them on this tour? If so, in what way? I have always loved the band and been so appreciative of them. But, it made me more appreciative of not just what they have given us as fans, but appreciative of the fact that they are still around to even do these shows. Knowing that some of them almost didn’t live to see getting married or having children, and now they’re rocking out on stage with their kids drawings tapes to the amps, and their wives taking photos of them on stage, I’m so glad they’re around for it.

What advice would you give to people seeing My Chemical Romance in the future? Go crazy. There was a period of time in which we never thought the band would be getting back together, and now they’re in front of you rocking out to songs that you grew up with. Forget about the people around you, forget about the opinions of others, have fun. Headbang until your neck is sore, jump around until your legs feel weak, sing until you have to stop to catch your breath (all if you are physically able of course). Have your moment. Make that memory.

Anything we didn't ask that you feel obliged to share or talk about? Maybe the fact that the costumes and makeup were INCREDIBLE at the show. So many people dressed up in really dark and off-putting ways. It was so cool.

Thanks, Katie!

[karen-elaine]

Hey guys!

So I’m currently on vacation! My family and I are doing a cross country trip! For reference, I live on the east coast and had never ventured away from the east coast. This has now obviously changed and among our many stops was LA. While there my dad and I decided that it was crucial we stopped by the iconic Amoeba Music located on Hollywood Boulevard.

I did my fair share of shopping around, got some cool stuff, and overall had an epic experience. So, I figured I’d talk about it on here!

THE STORE

Here’s the store itself just chilling on the corner living it’s best life. It’s not super grand or anything from the outside, you get most of that wow factor when you walk inside. Still super cool though and they had some super chill employees hanging out right outside the door to welcome people in and chat with the customers.

When you first walk in to the store this is what you’re greeted by! It’s this awesome, colorful, record mural with those nice LED lights in it. I didn’t take anymore pictures once inside, but it was huge! There were rows and rows of records, cassettes, CDs, band tees, and equipment for listening. It was crazy and there was so much stuff to look through! If it wasn’t for the limited time we had due to the parking meter, I could’ve spent forever in there just looking through everything.

ARCTIC MONKEYS - FAVOURITE WORST NIGHTMARE

First of the many records I got today is Favourite Worst Nightmare by the Arctic Monkeys! I got one Arctic Monkeys album a couple of months ago (Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not) and now I’m on a mission to get all of their albums. Needless to say, I was super excited to stumble across this one at Amoeba.

This record has a very epic song list! In total it contains 12 songs including:

Brianstorm

Teddy Picker

D Is For Dangerous

Balaclava

Fluorescent Adolescent

Only Ones Who Know

Do Me A Favour

If You Were There, Beware

The Bad Thing

Old Yellow Bricks

505

I believe this one just to be pressed on a black vinyl, but I won’t be opening it until I’m back home.

ARCTIC MONKEYS - A.M.

Yes I got myself another Arctic Monkeys album because why the heck not? In my defense though I never see these two at my local record shops, so that’s my excuse!

This album is a classic and I find a staple in many people’s collections. It features many of their big hits and is overall just an iconic record to own. With that being said, the song list is pretty awesome. A.M. features 12 tracks:

Do I Wanna Know?

R U Mine?

One for the Road

Arabella

I Want It All

No. 1 Party Anthem

Mad Sounds

Fireside

Why’d You Only Call Me When Your High?

Snap Out of It

Knee Socks

I Wanna Be Yours

Once again I do believe this to be on a plain black vinyl. Either way, my best friend is super excited that I got this one.

BIKINI KILL - REVOLUTION GIRL STYLE NOW!

Last time I came at all of you with a Bikini Kill record it was Pussy Whipped. This time around though I picked up Revolution Girl Style Now! which is pretty great! The “B” section of my collection is really starting to bulk up and I’m not mad about it!

As always the songs on this album are most excellent. This one has:

Candy

Daddy’s L’il Girl

Feels Blind

Suck My Left One

Carnival

This Is Not a Test

Double Dare Ya

Liar

Ocean Song

Just Once

Playground

Sticking with the common theme here, I’m assuming the vinyl is just a standard black pressing.

BIKINI KILL - YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH

Yes I got another Bikini Kill album! I swear this is the last one of multiple from one artist. It’s just Arctic Monkeys and Bikini Kill this time around.

Any who, this is another classic album of theirs with many great, well known songs from them. This includes:

White Boy

This is Not a Test

Don’t Need You

Jigsaw Youth

Resist Psychic Death

Rebel Girl

Outta Me

George Bush is a Pig

I Busted in Your Chevy Window

Get Out

Why

Fuck Twin Peaks

Girl Soldier

Not Right Now

Once again, I’m assuming that this is just a plain black vinyl. I don’t even think there is any colored pressings of Bikini Kill, but I could be wrong. Who knows?

FALL OUT BOY - TAKE THIS TO YOUR GRAVE

Here we have an artist I’ve been looking to add to my collection for a while now, Fall Out Boy! I can never seem to find their records in person, but today at Amoeba Music they had this one and Save Rock And Roll. That one was super expensive though with a lot of extra stuff. I was not looking to drop $40 on one album today, so I decided on this one instead!

The song list on this one is sweet. It features 12 songs all of which I’m pumped to listen to once I arrive home:

Tell That Mick He Just Made My List of Things to Do Today

Dead On Arrival

Grand Theft Autumn/Where Is Your Boy

Saturday

Homesick At Space Camp

Sending Postcards From a Plane Crash

Chicago Is So Two Years Ago

The Pros and Cons of Breathing

Grenade Jumper

Calm Before the Storm

Reinventing the Wheel to Run Myself Over

The Patron Saint of Liars and Fakes

Such a great album and it’s also such a great pressing! This copy of Take This To Your Grave is pressed on the limited edition silver vinyl which is super sweet.

MELANIE MARTINEZ - CRY BABY

I wasn’t even planning on this one but when I saw at the store I couldn’t say no! This album was my favorite in 6th grade and I was such a hardcore Melanie fan then. This album and Melanie herself is so iconic and I knew I had to get it.

All of Melanie Martinez’s packaging is always stunning too! I know this one has a whole picture book in it with a page for each song that connects the whole album in to one story. Super cool stuff!

This record contains 13 sweet songs including:

Cry Baby

Dollhouse

Sippy Cup

Carousel

Alphabet Boy

Soap

Training Wheels

Pity Party

Tag, You’re It

Milk and Cookies

Pacify Her

Mrs. Potato Head

Mad Hatter

This is the standard black pressing, but as I said before, the packaging for this is great so it’s all good! I’m super excited to give this guy a listen when I get home! My favorite through middle school was Mad Hatter so that’s going to be so fun to hear on vinyl.

MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE- DANGER DAYS: THE TRUE LIVES OF THE FABULOUS KILLJOYS

Final record purchase of the day is by none other than My Chemical Romance! I got their album Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys and I’m super excited about it!

This record marks my second MCR vinyl in my collection, other than this one, I have The Black Parade which is another awesome album.

As always he have a very epic song list consisting of 15 tracks including:

Look Alive, Sunshine

Na Na Na

Bulletproof Heart

SING

Planetary (GO!)

The Only Hope for Me Is You

Jet‐Star and the Kobra Kid/Traffic Report

Party Poison

Save Yourself, I’ll Hold Them Back

S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W

Summertime

DESTROYA

The Kids from Yesterday

Goodnite, Dr. Death

Vampire Money

As shown in the image, this is not a standard black pressing! I got the fancy picture disc which was the only available option and I’m definitely not mad about it. Super cool, and my very first picture disc. Can’t wait to spin this one!

T-SHIRT

While I was there I also had to pick up some Amoeba merch to take back home with me!

They had a really epic graphic tee section. Some of which were for various musical artists while others were for the store itself. They had so many too!

I ended up going for this simple, black, logo tee with this super cute pink logo in the center. I think it’s adorable and I’m so looking forward to styling it back home.

PIN

As I was chilling in line I spotted the pins display and took a quick look at that too. I ended up grabbing a little rainbow pin with the Amoeba Music logo in the center. Once I’m home I plan to put this on my denim jacket that I’m currently trying to fill with cool pins and patches. It’s definitely going to be a really cool addition to my jacket. Unfortunately though, no pictures because I reached the max number of pictures. Very sad.

[patrick-hockstutter]

Modern!Bowers Gang:

Patrick:

Really into cinematography and photography of the unsettling

Never captions his Instagram posts

Goes live on Instagram a lot, even though people really wished he wouldn’t

Makes art out of dead animals or animal bones he finds

Think Banksy, but with roadkill

He’ll take some (somehow) tasteful photos of them, post them, then leave the scene there for some unexpecting bystander to find

Has a nosering (fight me)

Never uses incognito mode

If someone happens to stumble upon his search history, he’s not paying their therapy bill

He likes reading smut more than he likes watching porn

A ps4 guy

Loves spooky games like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Until Dawn and Death Stranding

He’s not really into school, but he surprisingly reads a lot when he’s alone in his room

Only about things he likes though

Abnormal psych, criminal psych, and sometimes some zoology (u kno y)

Watches serial killer documentaries like he’s paid to

Listens to grunge, nu metal, and 80s alt

Won’t admit it, but sometimes listens to Joji

He’s not super into emo music, but he’s the only one who will listen to it with Victor (he fckn vibes to Brand New)

Ironically uses a Zune

Has an Android but lowkey wishes he had an iPhone

Doesn’t have a computer, just jailbreaks/hacks the school issued laptop

Has a black line tattooed around some of his fingers, one of his wrists, and the shell of his ear

Has a foot tattoo

Has a fucking Juul

Watches LeafyIsHere on YouTube (tell me I’m wrong)

Spends too much time on Reddit

Wears flannels, skinny jeans, and Vans (a beanie if he’s cold)

Mostly cycles through the same three or four outfits

Wears the same pair of Vans every single day

Victor:

Big into aromatherapy

He uses lavender soaps and has an essential oil diffuser in his room

Uses incognito mode to watch Vampire Diaries

A Nintendo ass b i t c h

He has the gray Switch Lite

He brings his Switch with him everywhere (yes he’s that guy)

But what else are you gonna do when you wanna ignore Patrick?

Watches conspiracy theories about ghosts, cryptids, and aliens

Also big into podcasts (mostly true crime and conspiracy ones)

He listens to them on his headphones while he takes walks or draws

Posts his drawings on Tumblr

Does art streams on Twitch when he gets really bored

Has an eyebrow piercing (but it’s a small stud one, not a ring)

Has little tattoos on his hands

Wears bomber jackets, skinny jeans, joggers, army jackets, converse, and combat boots

The boy has style okay

Had an emo phase but still listens to the music (especially Tiny Moving Parts)

The emo phase was pretty short because Henry made fun of him so much

He just fucking liked MCR and Taking Back Sunday a lot, okay?

And Pierce The Veil and Sleeping With Sirens, but he doesn’t readily admit that

Now mostly listens to new wave, synth pop, and lofi hiphop

His favorite bands are Drab Majesty and Choir Boy (look up their new album btw)

Has a black iPhone and a space gray MacBook Pro

Uses Apple Music

Vapes, but only fruity flavors

Watches BoJack Horseman

Doesn’t really eat fast food but never passes up an M&M McFlurry

Paints his (and Patrick’s) nails black

One time Patrick caught him doing a facemask, so Patrick put one on and started chasing him around screaming as a joke

Cue: hmm… this feels kinda good tho

So now Victor and Patrick have secret mini spa days

Drives a Subaru

Belch:

Makes Spotify playlists like he’s paid to

He’s just really good at putting songs together

He tried to get into music theory, but he wasn’t one for actually making his own songs

Really into metal (obvi) but also likes some classic rock and punk stuff

Has records hung up side by side all around his room where the wall meets the ceiling

Still buys CDs

His Instagram feed is full of vintage cars and custom import cars

Fast and Furious is his favorite movie series

His favorite shows are Sons of Anarchy and The Walking Dead

But he also loves early 2000s comedies

Has a mini projector to watch movies on his room wall

Wears band tees, flannels, jean jackets, Carhartt stuff, d a d  h a t s

Really wants a tattoo but always gets nervous

Uses incognito mode to watch porn and buy some of his band tees from Hot Topic

Only one in the gang that uses Facebook (Mama Huggins made him so he could keep in contact with family)

Follows a few meme pages but also some cooking ones so he can send his mom any cool recipes he finds

Victor lowkey makes fun of him for actually using the Facebook page

Invests money in really good headphones and car speakers

Has a black iPhone

It’s always at 20% battery cause it’s always connected to his headphones, Bluetooth speaker, or car stereo

Him and Victor FaceTime when they’re bored

Sometimes they won’t even say much, they just like the over the phone company

Doesn’t smoke, but sometimes hits Vic’s vape

A social vaper if you will

Watches Idubbbz and Filthy Frank on YouTube

His favorite fast food place is Wendy’s

Not really into video games but fucking slays at Guitar Hero

And when Rock Band came out nobody saw him for like two weeks

Has a black Hydroflask with band stickers on it

Henry:

He plays a lot of Xbox

Mostly Halo, COD, Destiny, any first-person shooter really

Baits people on Xbox Live cause he thinks it’s hilarious

He’s also a fucking cyberbully but we all expected that

Has Victor’s old iPhone

Never fucking charges it

He’ll text you back in 3-5 business days (if at all)

And if you try to call him he’ll block your number

Plays iMessage games like cup pong and 8 ball with Belch

The only social media he uses is Snapchat and Tinder to look at girls

In one of his Tinder photos he’s holding a fish (srrynotsrry)

Doesn’t really listen to too much music

He doesn’t dislike music, just usually prefers to do things in silence

His mind is chaotic enough, he doesn’t need background noise

But he will listen to Cigarettes After Sex and TV Girl on a really low volume when he goes to sleep

Uses incognito mode to pick and choose random soft or angsty songs that he likes to put into a bedtime playlist

Otherwise just listens to whatever Belch listens to

Has a tattoo on his wrist

Takes a lot of drives into the countryside/national forests/mountains with Belch

Takes a lot of scenery photos, but never posts them anywhere or shows anyone except Victor

Still smokes cigarettes (he thinks vaping is douchey)

Watches South Park and American Dad

If he’s willing to spend money to go see a movie, he’s going to an IMAX theater

Sometimes he likes 3D, but most of the time it just hurts his eyes after a while

Longboards everywhere

Needs prescription glasses but refuses to wear them

They’re mostly for reading, which he doesn’t do anyway

But he does listen to audiobooks sometimes

Likes Frappuccinos but will kill you before you find out

He orders them through Uber Eats under a fake name so nobody will find out

BONUS: all four!

Victor still has his childhood GameCube that they play Mario Party, Mario Kart, and Melee on

Henry is banned from playing Mario Party after breaking a controller while beating Patrick with it

Patrick only ever picks Waluigi in Mario Kart and everyone is sick of it

When they play Rock Band Patrick is on bass, Henry plays guitar, Belch absolutely slays the drums, and Vicky boy sings his lil heart out

One night a week they order a shit ton of Dominos and make a drinking game out of watching Vine compilations

Victor does everyone’s birth charts

They collectively made a fake Tinder account on Patrick’s phone and catfish guys with it

They all try to one up each other doing vape tricks yikes

They buy bags of chips and candy from Costco and lounge around eating them on weekends

They’re banned from the city metro busses because Belch’s car was in the shop for a week and that week was hell for every bus driver in the city

[theflurtifly]

Hiiii I have a question (or discussion??) That I think you'd be most likely to be able to answer or give input on!!

Is Blood - End Credits (My Chemical Romance) about war, donating blood, or vampires? Multiple at once? Any of those as a metaphor? (I know it's a metaphor but still)

ooooh, my chemical romance song analysis!!!

i think there's multiple ways to look at it- through the lens of the album's story, from what the band members were feeling like at the time, from a personal perspective, or from whatever fun fantasy interpretation you feel like, because no analysis is bad as long as you can back it up lol.

from looking at the story of the album and the themes, it's definitely a continuation of multiple album concepts- the patient's self loathing and time in the hospital, the effects of war, the idea of society trying to control people, disillusionment, etc. For example, Gerard sings that he's "such an awful fuck" and "human wreckage"; these ideas of self hate are seen throughout the album ("I'd encourage your smiles/ I'll expect you won't cry", "tell me I'm a bad man", "I'm the one that you loathe".) He's also obviously talking about time in the hospital- "doctors and nurses" and "gurneys"- and the Patient is implied to have died in the hospital from the heart monitor flatline in the beginning of "Dead!" and, well, the entirety of "Cancer".

The idea of war, seen most prominently in "Mama", is continued here too; the idea of giving your blood and life, and it never being enough, and the government "encourag[ing] your complete cooperation". The theme of control, of some "they" being in charge, is also seen in "Teenagers" and "Disenchanted"- whether its the government, parents, or the media, someone is in charge, and you are expected to be perfect, give your all, do as you're told- give them "all that they could drink" so you can become "another cog in the murder machine".

So, so far, "Blood" is about the Patient dying in the hospital, self-loathing, imperialism, and societal pressure. Fun!

Some of those things carry over to the band themselves; at the time The Black Parade was being written, the band members' mental health was really bad, they were having nightmares, abusing substances, and they'd gotten huge after Three Cheers blew up so they probably felt a huge amount of pressure. They were out there, feeling like shit, while being expected to give huge parts of themselves to their music and make hits. "They" would then refer to a few things- record labels and execs, fans, and (for lack of a better word) haters. On one side, they're expected to produce another huge album; on the other, they're being called a death cult, which is definitely a Lot.

From a personal perspective, this song is really relatable in a way I find funny- I was so stressed from the pressures of school, work, and my family life that I ended up being hospitalized. I got a lot of bloodwork done because they were so confused as to why I kept passing out and getting migraines (everything came back normal, so. stress, i suppose.) I kept laying there in the hospital, singing "Blood" to keep myself from thinking too much about the needle in my arm.

In terms of the song being about vampires, I think that would be a really fun analysis. My Chemical Romance mentions vampires in a lot of their songs; maybe the singer has been abducted by vampires, or maybe someone is in a hospital with a vampire doctor à la Carlisle Cullen. I don't have the brainpower to figure out all the connections right now, but you could make a convincing story if you tied in other MCR songs that talk about vampires.

[twink-frank]

🩸 🎸 🧛🏿‍♂️

& 🔮 what are lyrics from anything mcr/mcr adjacent that you think genuinely helped you/saved you/just made you feel a little less alone in your struggles, if you have any

Thank you nathan <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

🩸: do you have a memory associated to the first time you listened to each of the mcr albums? Not really? usually whenever i listen to an album in full i just kinda sit down and do it. and its been so long since i heard any of their songs or albums for the first time that those memories are nothing but blurs. 🎸: what’s your favorite song by ray toro? Oooogghhh can i say the entire remember the laughter album? its literally such a masterpiece and the fact that ray produced the whole thing himself with almost no help just makes it that much better. ray toro is in fact a musical genius and his compositions make my fucking monkey brain go oohh aahhhh and i feel like he deserves way more recognition than he gets, 🧛🏿‍♂️ : what’s the most rewarding thing for you about being an mcr fan? (finding friends, experiencing shows, etc.) i’ve been into mcr since i was like 8 years old, and ever since then its always been about the community for me. i heard their songs when i was a young kid being bullied and harassed and found out that i wasnt alone through their music. like the messages they put out i intensely connected with. and i think that was their intention, to let people who were a little fucked up know that its Okay to be a little fucked up.

🔮 : question of the anons choosing im gonna stick to mcr lyrics that helped me and made me feel a lil less alone bc if i went into mcr adjacent things we would literally be here all day.

I went a lil crazy so my answer is under the read more <3

“The boys and girls in the clique / the awful names that they stick / you’re never gonna fit in much kid / but if you’re troubled and hurt / what you got under your shirt / will make them pay for the things that they did.” ~ Teenagers

“Back home, off the run / signing songs that make you slit your wrists / it isnt that much fun, staring down a loaded gun.” ~ Cemetery Drive

“But nobody cares if you’re losing yourself / am i losing myself? / Well i miss my mom! will they give me the chair? or lethal injection or swing from a rope if you dare? / ah nobody knows, all the trouble i’ve seen.” ~ Prison

“Well mother what the war did to my legs and to my tongue / you should’ve raised a baby girl, i shouldve been a better son / if you could coddle the infection they can amputate at once / you should’ve been, i couldve been a better son.” ~ Mama

“She said, You ain’t no son of mine / For what you’ve done they’re gonna find / a place for you and just you mind your manners when you go / and when you go don’t return to me, my love.” ~ Mama

“Do or die you’ll never make me / Because the world will never take my heart / Go and try, you’ll never break me / We want it all, we wanna play this part / I won’t explain or say i’m sorry / i’m unashamed, i’m gonna show my scars / Give a cheer for all the broken / listen here, because it’s who we are / I’m just a man, i’m not a hero / just a boy, who had to sing this song / i’m just a man, i’m not a hero / I don’t care.” ~ WTBP

“I see you lying next to me / With words i thought i’d never speak / awake and unafraid, asleep or dead.” ~ FLW

“I am not afraid to keep on living / I am not afraid to walk this world alone.” ~ FLW

“Preach all you want, but who’s gonna save me? / I keep a gun on the book you gave me / Hallelujah lock and load. / Black is the kiss, the touch of the serpent son. / It ain’t the mark or the scar that makes you one, and one, and one.” ~ Venom

“Trust, you said / who put the words in your head? / Oh, how wrong we were to think / that immortality meant never dying.” ~ sorrows

“And now, the red ones make me fly and the blue ones help me fall / And I think i’ll blow my brains against the ceiling. / And as the fragments of my skull begin to fall / fall on your tongue like pixie dust, just think happy thoughts.” ~ Headfirst

“And in this moment, we can’t close the lids on burning eyes / our memories blanket us, with friends w know, like fallout vapors / steel corpses stretched out towards an ending sun / Scorched in black, it reaches in and tears your flesh apart / as ice cold hands rip into your heart. / thats if you’ve still got one thats left / inside that cave you call a chest / And after seeing what we saw / can we still reclaim our innocence? / And if the world needs something better / lets give them one more reason now.” ~ Skylines

“Sometimes I think I’ll die alone, I’d think I’d love to die alone / Just take me down / Just take me down / I think I’d love to die alone.” ~ Cubicles 

“As lead rains, will pass on through / Our phantoms forever / Like scarecrows that fuel this flame / We’re burning forever and ever / Know how much I want to show you / You’re the only one / Like a bed of roses / there’s a dozen reasons in this gun.” ~ Demo Lovers

“I’m sick, down from the bones to the other side / Red-mob we insects hide / King rat on the streets in another life / they laugh we don’t think it’s funny / If what you are / is just what you own / what have you become / when  they take from you almost everything?” ~ Destroya

[i-will-physically-fight-you]

Gibbous Chapter 8

Chapter Title:  One Swallow Does not Make a Summer

Summary: It’s fine. Everything is fine. (It really isn’t)

Pairings: platonic lamp, platonic sleepxiety lets finally be honest with ourselves

Chapter Word-Count: 6024

Warnings:  unresolved grief, past minor character death, panic attack, crying, panic/anxiety, emotional abuse/gaslighting, dissociation

Previous | Present | Next

AO3 Link

Hi, apparently I don’t know how to write 2k chapters anymore, guys I’m sorry.  Special thanks to @theeternalspace for her continued support for this AU in terms of brainstorming/cheering me on and to @stillebesat who beta’d this chapter, helping point out plot inconsistencies & grammar stuff. 

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“Hey Virgil, it’s time to get up.”

Virgil grumbled, shifting in his bed, “Don’t wanna.”

A chuckle, “Are you sure? Your dad is making his world-famous pancakes. Better get up before he eats them all himself.”

“Pancakes?” Virgil asked, looking up at last at his mother. Her dark hair was pulled into a loose side ponytail rather than her typical bun. Little curly wisps escaped the ponytail, kindly framing her face. She wore a yellow sweater with a goofy sloth face on it, something that was definitely his father’s.

“I knew that would get your attention, my little poet.” She grinned, affectionately booping his nose.

“Moooom,” Virgil groaned, because he was nearly thirteen and entering preteen angst. He was too old for boops and cutesy nicknames. His parents didn’t quite seem to get the memo just yet.

Mom kept smiling at him, wide and bright. Like she knew something he didn’t.

“What?” Virgil demanded, tilting his head sideways in confusion.

“Oh nothing,” She said, hands gently cusping the sides of his face, “I’m just thinking of how old you’re getting and how proud I am of you.”

“For what?” Virgil asked, confused by her words. He knew his parents loved him. They often proclaimed that with words and hugs. He could take being loved. But being proud of him? That was a completely new territory. He hadn’t done anything to earn this sentiment. He wasn’t the Grade A Student or the Star Athlete. He was just Virgil. An anxious preteen who liked listening to MCR. He didn’t get why his mom would be proud of that.

“Because you never give up, regardless of what life throws at you.” Mom said softly before pressing a kiss to his forehead, “I love you, Virgil.”

“Love you too,” Virgil mumbled, cheeks burning as he threw his arms around Mom for a quick hug. Never gave up? He wasn’t sure if that aptly described him. He felt like a colossal coward, one who always ran from his problems rather than face them. Maybe he’d managed to trick his parents into thinking otherwise. A pang of guilt hit him from that thought. Like a dodgeball during recess. Still, he couldn’t deny the warm, grateful feeling that crept inside of him.

Virgil withdrew from the hug and leapt out of his bed. When he reached the doorway, he paused to turn back at his mother, “C’mon! We have to go downstairs before Dad eats all the pancakes, remember?”

 “Oh yes,” His mother said, following behind him, “how could I ever forget that?”

As they descended down the stairs, Virgil could hear pancake batter sizzling and his father’s attempts at singing.

“Just a small town giiiiirl, living in a lonely wooooorld!”

Virgil loved his dad, just as much as his mom. He loved how enthusiastic the man could be. His dad put his whole heart into everything he did. Even if he wasn’t great at them. It was an admirable quality to be sure. It still didn’t mean Virgil didn’t wince a tiny bit from his dad’s screechy singing.

“Please make it stop,” Virgil whispered underneath his breath.

His mom shook her head, looking more amused than anything else. He supposed it had something to do with how they first met doing a duet at a karaoke bar. He heard the story a gazillion times by now, but it never got old. Especially with his father adding new details every iteration. His mom would hover nearby, correcting him in an exasperated but loving way.

“Hello Dearest.” Mom said, startling Virgil out of his thoughts. He looked up to see they were already in the kitchen. Huh. He must’ve gotten lost in his thoughts or something.

Dad gasped, putting a hand to his chest in a playful offended way, “Love, is that my sweater?!”

Virgil’s mom easily towered him by a few good inches. Some people made fun of Virgil’s parents because of that. They said it was weird for the woman to be the taller one in a relationship. Virgil never understood that arbitrary reasoning. Not when his father looked up at his mother like she was his whole universe. His whole sun, moon, stars and everything.

“Is it? I found it lodged in my drawer. Almost like someone hastily stuffed it in there without paying attention to which dresser they placed it in.”

His dad spluttered at a loss for words and Virgil snorted. He couldn’t help it. Not when his dad was a walking, breathing cartoon character. Anyone could read him like a book from his facial expressions alone. He kept spluttering, his eyebrows nearly flying off his face and eyes as wide as saucers. One unsubtle wink directed towards Virgil told him that it was mostly an act on his part.

 “Well, uh, may I offer you in some….pam-cakes?” His dad asked, redirecting the topic from his haphazard attempt at house cleaning.

Pamcakes. A pun on his mother’s name—Pamela. Oh my god, he said that every time. His mom always rolled her eyes at it, lips pressed together to keep from smiling. She was supposed to be the stoic foiling his comedic. Yet it fooled nobody at all. It was why his dad did it every time, knowing she secretly loved it.

Mom rolled her eyes as always before leaning down to accept a kiss from him, “You may.”

“Really? Right in front of my pancakes?” Virgil said, pretending to gag. As a growing preteen, it wasn’t cool to have your parents be all mushy in front of you. Even if he still thought of them as the coolest Mom and Dad ever. They chuckled, breaking off the kiss.

“Virgil, someday you will find someone you love very much and then you’ll understand why I am obligated to kiss your mother every time I see her.” His father grinned, flipping the last set of pancakes on the griddle.

“No I won’t, because kissing is gross.” Virgil said, childishly sticking his tongue out because technically he was still a child.

“Afraid of catching cooties?” Mom teased.

“I know those aren’t real, Mom.”

“I wouldn’t be so certain of that,” His father said, a mischievous twinkle in his eye, “The Cootius Amor is a very real disease. I was under the affliction of it, suffering heart palpitations and an upset stomach. You know what saved me?”

“What?” Virgil asked, despite being suspicious that he knew the answer.

“Your mother!” He fake-swooned, taking the pancakes off the griddle and bringing them to the kitchen table. Mom snorted, trying to maintain a calm composure and failing.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“I think you mean ridiculously in love with you.” Dad said, grinning widely when he managed to get an actual laugh from her this time. Then they kissed again, causing Virgil to groan yet again from the syrupy sweetness of it all. But he wouldn’t have any other way. This moment was perfect, a moment he could relive a million times. He knew this, because he had done so.

In this perfect idyllic moment a startling realization hit Virgil. Something he always inevitably realized. Something that he should’ve realized from the start. Something he wished wasn’t true. Because this moment, this shadow of the past, this wasn’t real. He hadn’t been twelve years old for awhile now. A decade almost. The same amount of time since he’d last seen his parents alive and in the flesh. 

This was all just a dream.

God, every time he had this realization it hurt so much. Sometimes he was able to forget his parents were dead. He’d gotten very good over the years at distracting himself. The truth felt far-off in the distance, almost unreal. He envisioned them as simply being elsewhere. Too busy for him to call or visit. As much as that illusion hurt, it was better than simply accepting reality.

Other times, he was forced to be very cognizant of their deaths. The hole in his heart became an expanding void. One that threatened to engulf him whole. Those times he just wanted to lay in his room and just cry. Where all he wanted was their comforting embrace, their words of assurance. But he couldn’t. He wasn’t allowed that. It’d been almost ten years���you’d think by now he would be past the grief.

But accepting their deaths almost felt like a betrayal. Almost as if he believed they were still alive hard enough, then it’d come true. They would come find him and be a family again. If he accepted their deaths, they’d be lost to him forever. He knew it was stupid and didn’t make sense. It still didn’t stop him from trying.

As uncertain as Virgil lived his life, he’d always known without a doubt they loved him. When he made mistakes or failed, they didn’t berate him. Rather, they came alongside him to help him understand and grow past them. So of course fate snatched away the most important people in his short lifespan. He missed them so much.

This was what made dreams like this difficult. Because for a brief moment, everything was back to normal again. They were always so vivid too. He fell for it every single time. It was cruel to gain them back in this temporary sort-of way. As cruel reality crashed into him every time upon waking up. It made him simultaneously want to sleep forever and not at all.

“Virgil, are you with us, bud?”

A hand touched his shoulder, shaking it gently. Virgil didn’t feel it.

“Little poet, your dad and I had a talk regarding your birthday—”

“—tell you something—”

“Virgil, please listen—"

Virgil’s lungs seized up. His breaths came out short and shuddery like a car engine struggling to start. Tears stung his eyes as a harsh sob escaped him. Mom? Dad? He couldn’t hear their voices anymore. Nor was he sitting at the kitchen table, bright light streaming into the window. He laid on a soft surface, his surroundings dark and murky. He was awake.

Awake and with the wound of his dead parents ripped open again. He bit back another sob, sweeping the grief underneath a metaphorical rug. Just like his dad and his cleaning tactics. Maybe Virgil did take more after Dad than he thought he did.

He forced himself to breathe, taking in one shaky breath in at a time. He’d managed to get it mostly under control when an alarm blared. A loud, discordant sound of chaos in the midst of stoic silence. Virgil screamed in fright, hitting his head on something as he jolted forwards. Work—he had work today, didn’t he? Cathy was going to be upset if he was late again—wait no. That wasn’t right. He didn’t work there anymore.

The alarm wasn’t right either. It sounded different than the one on his phone. He glanced around the room, aptly thinking, “Well, this isn’t my room.”

It was dark to discern much, but the one key factor was the window. It had a thick shade better at blocking out sunlight than Virgil’s blanket-duct-taped-to-the-window solution. The bed was nicer, the bedsheet soft and not as threadbare worn as Virgil’s. Where was he?

He couldn’t remember. It was nothing but fuzzy tv static sizzling inside of his brain. Like someone changed channels and he didn’t have the remote to change it back. Oh god, please don’t tell him he drank too much and went home with a complete stranger. He couldn’t handle even the thought of it.

Something shifted above him, causing him to realize this was a bunk bed. It creaked as a blanket dropped to the floor. Or rather, a blanket containing a bundle of something.

“Shit, shit, shit,” Blanket Bundle muttered, slapping a blanket-covered appendage over the Alarm’s OFF button. Virgil inhaled sharply, causing Blanket Bundle’s attention to snap towards him. Fizzy, curly hair spilled out of the blanket, framing a very recognizable face; Remy. He stood there, black shades absent. Virgil had seen him without them before, of course, but it was weird. 

He couldn’t shake the image of Remy with red eyes. Even though Remy currently stared at him with hazel eyes, an unidentifiable emotion within them. His eyebrows slightly raised, his lips curved downwards. Remy almost looked…worried. But then he cleared his throat and with it his expression changed at once.

“Hey Virge,” Remy greeted, casual and cool as usual, “How are you doing? Did you get good beauty sleep?”

Virgil hated that first question. It was too big and ambiguous. Way too much currently for his brain to grasp. Not to mention nobody truly cared about the answer to the question. It was just a thing people were required to ask others. As to the second question, well. He definitely didn’t get good beauty sleep. So he decided to answer neither of them.

“I’m hungry.” Virgil croaked, surprised by the hoarseness of his voice.

“Breakfast yes,” Remy nodded sagely, “The most important meal of the day. Follow me this way, my good homo sapien.”

“Homo sapien?”

“I’m practicing vocab terms for biology,” Remy rolled his eyes, “Like gurl, do not get me started on my biology professor. She’s part of the rhetoric that refuses to see vampires, homo sanguis, as anything but diseased homines. Like, I can’t even!”

He paused, as if waiting for a response. Virgil offered nothing but a blank stare in return. Something was wrong. He didn’t know what. He still couldn’t remember how he ended up at Remy’s dorm room.

 There was also Remy’s behavior to consider. The vampire was a flurry of activity as always. Never one to remain still if he could help it. He moved about the room, putting his sunglasses on as he ranted. Yet something rubbed Virgil the wrong way about it. Virgil couldn’t tell if he was reading into things but it was too fluid and smooth. Perfect to a degree that was unlike Remy’s usual chaotic brand of energy. 

“Anyways,” Remy said, rolling his eyes, “I may be a ‘diseased human frothing at the mouth for blood’ but even I have learned some basic skills like cooking to blend in.”

“I don’t even know how to cook.” Virgil blurted out.

“Yeah well neither did Betsy back in the fifties but did that stop her from criticizing my prized quiche? Oh no!”

Virgil followed Remy into the small dingy dorm kitchen, still baffled as hell. As much as that confusion ramped up his anxiety, a small part of him wanted it to stay that way. It warned him he might not like the truth. In the same way he tried ignoring the reality of his parents��� death.

“So!” Remy said, rummaging through the cupboards, “What are you hungry for? Pancakes or omelets?”

“Omelet please.” Virgil muttered, barely withholding a shudder. He didn’t think he could stomach pancakes after that dream with his parents. He sat on a stool, his legs tucked close to his chest.

Remy, thankfully, didn’t comment on it.

“Good choice, my roommate would probably murder me if I took from his pancake mix. Even though he definitely drank the last of the OJ and left the jug in there, biiiiitch. Good thing he’s not here because I’d give a piece of my mind. He’s not getting away with that easily, no mad’m!”

He casted a look towards Virgil as if saying “Roommates am I right?” and Virgil forced a laugh. It was a pastime of theirs to complain about their roommates. Alongside with discussing their favorite bands, of course.

Remy cracked eggs against the frying pan, his mouth still going a mile a minute. He flipped from one topic to the next, never settling on one for long. There was a high pitch to his voice, an almost nervous energy to it. Like he was putting on a performance for Virgil. Something for him to take comfort and solace in. It grated on Virgil’s nerves. Virgil wanted to call him out on it. He wanted to demand Remy to cut it out. He wanted to know what was going on.

Yet, fear held him back. It clamped down on his throat, like a bear trap and refused to let go. It told him it was better to say nothing than to possibly risk inciting Remy’s ire. Even if Remy had never been angry with Virgil before, did he really want this to be the first time?

So he sat there, too foggy-brained and half-asleep to say something. Or at least, that was what he told himself. A small part of him appreciated the mindless chatter Remy provided. It was a distraction from the daunting feeling he was forgetting something important.

He went to pull out his phone. Just to check the time—maybe scroll through tumblr real quick. Nothing big. He slipped his hand into his pocket, coming into contact with something jagged. Not smooth.

The tv static in his mind dissipated. Crystal clear HD images flooded his mind. The text from Patton. Jerad jeering. The chase around the apartment. Jerad gripping his wrist, squeezing it tightly like a boa constrictor. Dangling over the street far below. So close to plunging to his death. His phone falling, falling, falling to the ground. Into a tiny million pieces. Virgil fleeing, panic pulsing through his veins. Remy? Remy was there. He comforted him. But none of that made any sense. Just like a dream. It had to be a dream. No, a nightmare.

….He had to wake up.

Wake up, wake up, wAKE UP!

“Virgil!” 

Someone shouted something. His name? He couldn’t tell for sure over the raging storm of panic consuming him. Just like it did last night. No that wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. If he repeated that to himself, it’d come true. As true as his parents weren’t dead. Just simply…not around.

Burning. The smell of burnt food invaded his nostrils. He tasted something salty. Tears? He felt a wetness on his face. A hand rested upon his own, fingers thrumming against his knuckles. Singing. A voice low and strained. As if overcome by some sort of emotion.

“We’ll carry on, we’ll carry on, and though you’re dead and gone believe me—”

“Your memory will carry on.” Virgil croaked, causing the voice to stop.

He didn’t wake up. He still sat on the kitchen stool. Only now Remy sat beside him. His expression indiscernible due to his sunglasses. The broken pieces of his phone still dug into his hip. Virgil always found reality more frightening than nightmares could ever be. At least you could escape nightmares. You couldn’t do that with reality. At least not as easily. Virgil swallowed.

“Remy?”

“Yeah?”

“I think the eggs are burning.”

“Well fuck the eggs,” Remy scowled, expression softening as he squeezed Virgil’s hand, “Right now the only thing I care about is making sure you’re okay.”

The intensity of Remy’s words spooked Virgil a bit.

“Well, maybe you should turn the burner off? Just in case it starts a fire?” Virgil suggested weakly. 

Remy stared at him for a long moment. Then he nodded slowly and rose to do just that. He leaned against the counter, facing Virgil once more. His lips twitched downwards but he otherwise maintained a blank exterior.

“Virgil, are you gucci?”

“I’m fine.” Virgil said before he could even think.

“Are you sure of that, hun?” Remy said, raising an eyebrow, “because I found outside my dorm last night and you didn’t know who I was at first. And then—just now…”

“Wait, you found me outside your dorm?” Virgil gaped.

He didn’t pick a particular destination when he started running. He just ran and ran, the world one big blurry ball of nothingness. Did he subconsciously run to Remy, hoping to receive comfort? What did that say about him? For being so needy and dependent on Remy? No wonder he seemed so upset!

“Virge, did someone hurt you?” Remy asked.

Virgil jolted, completely unprepared for this question. It seemed to come out of nowhere, not at all connected to the conversation at hand. Remy’s eyes drifted away from his face, looking at something in Virgil’s general vicinity.  He followed Remy’s gaze to a purple splotchy bruise on his wrist, its tendrils spreading out like a spiderweb. No, a hand. Jerad’s hand. Squeezing like a claw machine and he the hapless stuffed animal trapped in its grip. Virgil’s breath hitched.

“Nobody, I—I just hit my hand against a doorknob, that’s all.”

Remy’s frown deepened. He stepped towards Virgil, who barely repressed a flinch. He looked away, unable to maintain eye contact. Not with the unusual ferocity that emanated from Remy.

“Vee, I’m serious,” Remy whispered, crouching beside him, “I don’t care who it is. If it’s that idiot pup again or even Boss Man. Tell me their name and I’ll beat them up for you.”

Virgil’s breath hitched. Remy was a vampire--one that happened to be centuries old. He’d known this, of course, for some time now. But during that moment, the full weight of it Virgil. Even if Remy didn’t drink human blood now, he had to at one point. Right? Or at the very least, you don’t live that long without committing some violence acts. Did he really know the real Remy?

Paranoia aside, he couldn’t fight other what-ifs attacking him. What if Jerad hurt Remy? What if Jerad found out about Remy’s a vampire? What if Virgil caused the death of his first true friend in a decade?

“N—no one. It’s no one, Rem, I swear,” Virgil said, fear coiling around him like a python, “It’s just sometimes, I get panic attacks. L—like they suck and stuff, but there’s nothing I can really do about it.”

He snuck a gaze up at the vampire, heart hammering away at his chest. Remy’s eyes peered above his sunglasses, narrowed. Remy didn’t believe him. He didn’t need verbal confirmation, he just knew it. Virgil gripped the side of the breakfast bar, searching. Looking for something, anything to help him escape this conversation. A clock. One of those digital ones that contained both the date and time. Tuesday, 9:51AM.

“Okay I won’t—”

“I have to go.” Virgil interrupted, shooting up from the stool. So abruptly that the stool fell onto the floor with a crash. “I—I’m going to be late. I’m supposed to be at work by now—oh my god Logan’s gonna kill me.”

“Wait!” Remy stepped in front of him, “I think you should play hooky.”

“What?” Virgil said, one decimal away from screeching.

“Call out of work,” Remy suggested, “Logan will understand. He’s not that bitch Cathy. And if he doesn’t, I’ll make him.”

For a second he saw the flash of someone else in Remy’s place. A huge, hulking silhouette. A shudder ran through Virgil’s spine. He moved away from Remy, shaking his head.

“No, no, it’s fine—I’ll be fine. I have to go. I just—” Virgil took off, unable to finish that sentence without a sob escaping.

He ran out of the dorm, out of the university campus and to the city beyond. He ran, running from his problems like always.

“Virgil!”

He shrieked, halting to a complete stop. Remy was there, almost as if he just appeared. Out of thin air, no less. Because with Virgil’s head start, he shouldn’t have been able to get to his side so easily.

“What, Remy?” Virgil snapped, hands forming fists at his sides. He couldn’t do this, not now.

Remy didn’t recoil. His sunglasses fully covered his eyes, masking his expression again. Instead he offered something black and soft towards Virgil. A black jacket, one Virgil never saw him wear before.

“It’s always pretty chilly in the library, you know.” Remy shrugged, looking away.

Virgil saw through Remy’s words. He was offering him a way to hide the bruise from visible view. Something that hadn’t crossed Virgil’s mind, really.

“Thanks.” Virgil swallowed, taking the jacket. He slipped it on and left without saying anything else.

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When he slammed Logan’s office door open, he expected to be faced with lots of angry lecturing for his tardiness.  He did not expect concern and understanding from Logan. Like, at all. Somehow that scared him more than the alternative. Why was Logan being so lenient with him?

Sure, today was a fluke. He was usually great at being there on time. A tiny bit of him was relieved about it after everything. The rest of him held its breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. While it didn’t exactly drop just yet…well. The black jacket Remy gave him hadn’t completely worked.

“Virgil, who gave you that bruise?” Logan asked, staring into the depths of his very soul.

He’d freaked out at that question. Just like Remy, but worse. He spoke sharply to a werewolf who growled at him just seconds prior. Logan had been upset to see that bruise—just like Remy. Most people appreciated others showing an interest in their wellbeing. Not Virgil. It terrified him for reasons he didn’t quite understand himself.

The rest of work resumed as usual. Virgil drowned himself in the mundanity. The only thing that existed in the entire world was the library. His whole purpose? Working the front desk. Helping patrons the best he could. Sorting and putting books away. Telling a rowdy studying group to quiet down. Before he knew it, he was clocking out for the day.

That was when everything threatened to fall apart. He didn’t have anywhere to spend the night. He couldn’t crash at Remy’s again. Because if he asked Remy, then the vampire would really know something was up. When it wasn’t, not really. Just a spat between roommates. Sure, it ended in a broken phone, but it could’ve been worse. Like falling to one’s death—

Virgil took a deep breath as he walked the front entrance of the library. His movements stiff and mechanical. As if someone else was manipulating him to walk like strings to a puppet. He could do this. He just had to take things one step at a time. Literally.

Step one, leave the library. Simple, easy. He could do that. Once outside, he’d figure out the rest. Step two? Find somewhere to stay the night. Less easy.

The library’s automatic doors slid open and the last bright, brilliant rays of the sunset greeted him. A swarm of blackness attacked him next. He jerked backwards, hands automatically reaching to grapple with the thing that caused it. He stared down, eyes stinging, at a very familiar black plaid hoodie.

 “You actually caught it! I thought you’d fumble it like a dumbass.”

Virgil stopped breathing; Jerad. He stood there, hands haughtily crossed against his chest. Had he been waiting outside for Virgil? And if so, for how long? Virgil couldn’t take him on in a fight. He had to flee—run back into the library. He didn’t move. He remained rooted to the spot, muscles locked in place as Jerad advanced. To pummel him, or worse yet—kill him.

All color left his face as Jerad raised his arms and…hugged him? Or at least Jerad’s version of a hug. A tight, vindictive squeeze that Virgil had grown used to over the years. It still did nothing to diminish the fear swelling inside of him.

“Aww man, you should see your face! You look like you thought I was gonna punk ya!” Jerad crowed as he released Virgil.

“I—you—the phone.” Virgil stammered, unable to form complete sentences. Jerad didn’t get angry. He just laughed, slapping Virgil’s back in what was a friendly gesture. Virgil winced despite it.

“Oh that! Shit man, you know I don’t really mean anything when I lose my temper. I just can’t control it, ya know?”

Virgil silently nodded, unable to trust his voice in the moment.

“Besides, that thing was old and already falling apart! You know what you need? The latest greatest current smartphone out there! My treat!”

“Wha—” Virgil barely squeaked out before Jerad dragged him off to a cell-phone store. Jerad rambled about stuff on the way there. Virgil couldn’t hear him over the roaring of his heartbeat in his ears. He clung to his hoodie in one arm as if it was a stuffed animal. He couldn’t think. His mind was a myriad of white noise. This couldn't be real, right? He had to have fainted or something. Please let it be so.

“—huh, Virgil? What do you think of this one?” Jerad said, nudging him.

Virgil blinked, spooked to be faced with a display of smartphones. Somehow, they were already at the store. He bit his lip, eyes widening at the price tag.

“I—it’s—I don’t know,” He glanced over to a cheaper phone at the other end of the display, “I like that one.”

“C’mon Virgo! This one comes with a protective screen cover! That other one doesn’t,” Jerad scoffed, leaning in closer, “Do you really want another shitty phone that’ll break like your last one?”

Those words sparked a rage inside Virgil. A fire burned in the pit of his stomach as words materialized at the tip of his tongue. It was Jerad who threw the phone from a five-story balcony. Jerad who always mocked Virgil and acted like throwing money at the problem solved a situation when it didn’t. Not really. Jerad who insulted his friends. Virgil wanted to scream at the top of his throat obscenities at him.

“N-no.” Someone said out loud, shaky and uncertain. 

Virgil jumped a bit at the sound, glancing to see who it was. It sounded familiar. He looked to see Jerad staring right at him, smirking. His stomach churned as a wave of realization crashed into him. Oh, oh. That had been him, he’d been the one to say that. But why? That had been the exact opposite of what he meant to say!

He didn’t have much time to process it before Jerad clasped him on the shoulder, chuckling.

“That’s what I thought! Lemme just—”

A loud obnoxious 80s rock song interrupted him. Jerad fished his phone out of his pocket, groaning upon seeing the caller id.

“Ugh, it’s my mom again. You’re lucky your parents are dead, Virgin, because they are so fucking annoying.” Jerad rolled his eyes, declining the call as he strode off to find a store associate.

Virgil stood there, withholding a flinch. Because he knew if his parents were still alive, they wouldn’t be proud of their son. They’d be absolutely repulsed by his cowardice.

He watched as Jerad chatted up the store associate, his back facing Virgil. If he couldn’t stand up to Jerad—this was it. This was his chance to flee. To run off while Jerad was distracted. Maybe he could run to Remy again. They could get an apartment together, away from both their annoying roommates. They’d laugh together and watch awful movies for the sake of ridiculing them.

 They’d be the best of friends until Remy grew sick of him. Until Virgil became annoying and obsolete to discard like an old flip-phone. Remy was immortal, just like Patton and Logan. It was really all a matter of time before they confirmed his suspicions. They’d get tired of him. It happened. It always happened to everyone in Virgil’s life. Why wouldn’t it happen to them? They’ll eventually grow tired of him and he’ll become their next meal. He’d be an idiot to think any other way.

Virgil turned to look back down at the phone display. He swallowed, unable to dislodge the lump in his throat. His vision spun a bit, his stomach nauseous. He couldn’t move a muscle, just like a statue. Perhaps he could try becoming one. All they did was remain motionless all day and let pigeons poop on them. He’d be better at that than being a human being.

“Virgil!” A hand took hold of his shoulder, forcibly turning his body around to face a new direction. Virgil glanced briefly down to see he was still flesh-and-blood. Not a ivory stone statue, free of all his troubles and misery.

“Virgil, this is Jeff,” Jerad said, gesturing to the store associate, “He’s gonna help with getting your new swanking, danking phone!” Jerad fist-pumped the air, letting out a whoop. 

Virgil locked eyes with the poor slightly frazzled store associate named Jeff and did a small nod of recognition. As if to say, “I’m sorry to be the cause of your agony.”

He knew what it was like to deal with customers like Jerad. He hated knowing it was his fault they were in the phone store in the first place. Virgil sharply exhaled, eyes blinking rapidly to stop the tears from forming. If he couldn’t keep himself from crying then he was truly pathetic.

His awareness grew blurry, almost foggy. His body moved out of its own accord, nodding along to the conversation and following after Jerad. Normally this type of thing would’ve freaked him out.  Given all the panic already present in his body, it might’ve killed him on the spot. Instead he couldn’t bring himself to feel the twinges of anxiety. Or frustration, anger, disgust. Nothing. A numbness took hold of him, wrapping around him in a cold embrace.

Jerad purchased the new phone, true to his word. He fiddled with it on the walk back to the apartment, ogling over its features. Virgil’s legs faithfully kept walking, each step closer to the apartment. His heart beat right on time, his breaths slow and even.

“Let’s take the stairs, get some exercise in today.” Jerad suggested and Virgil’s head jerked in agreement. They took the stairs, five flights and all. Virgil wheezed at the end of it. The pain of getting insufficient oxygen made him feel alive again for the briefest of moments. It ended sharply with Jerad laughing as he patted Virgil’s back.

“I see someone skipped leg day!”

A feeble imitation of a laugh croaked from Virgil’s lips. Jerad shoved his key into their apartment door and unlocked it. Virgil followed him in. Jerad stopped abruptly in the middle of the living room, causing Virgil to almost run into him. He turned around, the new phone clasped in one hand.

“Hey man,” Jerad began, offering the phone toward Virgil, “we cool?”

Virgil spat in his face.

Or at least that sounded better than what actually happened. 

“Yeah, thanks.” Virgil said. He took the phone from Jerad and headed off to his room. 

He sat on his crappy bed, swaddled in his raggedy purple blanket. He looked at the phone, at its glossy smooth screen. It was fine. Everything was fine. Virgil had just overreacted, that was all.

Jerad was not that bad of a guy. He was a jerk, yes. He liked to jerk Virgil at times, get inside his head. He was the jerk that threw Virgil’s phone down a five-story balcony. But he was a jerk who made up by purchasing a brand new one. The phone currently in Virgil’s hand.

His old phone couldn’t compare with this one. Not with its cracked screen and bad battery. This new phone had the latest technological achievements and best camera lens. He wouldn’t have this if it wasn’t for Jerad.

It didn’t stop him from wanting his old phone back. He’d felt so proud to own it after scraping and saving for it. It was dumb but he’d named it Taran and treated it almost like a friend, no more than that. A lifeline that got him through life no matter what punches it threw at him.

 It was okay. He knew eventually it’d break on him. It didn’t matter how it broke in the end. Really, it didn’t. He just needed to move on and stop mourning an inanimate object. Maybe he could name this new phone Taran II in remembrance or something. It was fine.

Virgil kept staring down at the phone, into his reflection in the phone-screen. He looked past greasy hair and dark eyebags into dull, defeated eyes.

He threw the phone onto the ground, unable to bear the sight any longer. He curled up in his bed, head firmly pressed against his pillow, and cried.

[twowivestwoknives]

Album thing:

I want more mce onions so three cheers for sweet revenge pls

oh Hell yeah aighty here we go: Revenge, best to worst as deemed by this bitch (me)

1. Cemetery Drive

I’m completely bias as it’s one of my all time favourite MCR songs BUT i have a reason. Revenge is a song known for it’s roughness and it doesn’t do the merging of soft and hard together as well as the band grows to be able to do (see Sleep or Save Yourself later on). Cemetery Drive is really the song on the album that marries the emotional intensity and desperation the band has been known for up to this point with the utilization of musical stylings that stand out from the rest of the tracks but still sound distinctly My Chem. It’s the Halos of Revenge and I fucking adore it. Plus lyrically? Fucking poetry 2. Hang ‘Em High This Song Fucks. It’s lyrically all over the place but terrifying and you can tell Gerard believes every word in how they sing it even if he has no clue what it means. It’s all the theatrical, violent drama the band is known for, and it in my opinion epitomizes Revenge as an album. Which is a big statement especially with songs like Venom and Helena on it, but I think it touches on all of the thematic cores (rebirth, being hunted to death, dead women, catholic guilt, murder), and I think as a “scene” of a song, as the album is concept, it really frames the frenzy someone who’s rolling with the punches of coerced serial murder would be going through. Plus murder goth cowboys. Woohoo. 3. It’s Not A Fashion Statement, It’s a Fucking Deathwish One of the most impressive opening lines of any song I’ve heard in my 25 years. It earns the spot in top three just for “For what you did to me! For what I’ll do to you! You get what everyone else gets....you get a lifetime!” Way to make a lyric sound like a prayer and a threat in the same breath. From there on it’s just a banger. A drag race of an MCR song that does 3 more laps than you’d ever expected to. Really embraces the energy MCR has in it’s speed, and not afraid to use a major sound here or there. 4. Helena It’s super weird for me to put a release this high on the list but Helena holds up as one of the most beautiful songs of the mid oughts. It shows “revenge” for what it is thematically on the album, a revenge on death. That is the running theme. i saw someone say Bullets is Gerard being terrified of death, Revenge is them being pissed about it, Parade is an acceptance of it, and Danger Days is a preoccupation with after-life in the form of memorium. Helena is also musically so outfield for the band at this point that really for the innovation gets it put here. The music video is also one of the most beautiful and aesthetically pleasing videos of all time imho.

5. To The End

You gotta love an anti capitalist homoerotic murder mansion anthem. I also believe the plot of this song was based off a book of the same name? Cuz Gerard really loves their cultural references. This song is so fun and hauntingly beautiful and I would Not want to be at this houseparty. Bonus points for the explicit gay lyrics and also Ray’s harmonies. That man has a voice of gold my lord. 6. The Jetset Life Is Going to Kill You I don’t know if this will make sense outside of my own brain but Jetset is what Prison could’ve been. Like Jetset is beautiful and haunting and absolutely about things that are not PG or even PC these days to talk about, but it weaves the themes so deftly with the music that it just works. Also did anyone else see that Sims2 youtube video of Jetset where Gerard was like...a secret ghost murderer of abusive boyfriends? No? Just me and my 6th grade class that I forced to watch it for show and tell? Cool. 7. Give ‘Em Hell, Kid This song just straight up fucks. I feel like it hones a lot of what MCR’s vibe was in revenge era (though I was still a little young for them at that time, I came into the band when I was 11 so that would be 06). It really does sum up the nonsensical metaphor, the hyper-drama, the almost drag levels of camp, the violence, the viscerality. Also points for a call forward lyrically to The Sharpest Lives. 8. I Never Told You What I Do For A Living This song is here because of the chorus, firstly, and the viscerality secondly. I scared the shit outta sixth grade teachers singing this one. But it is such a fun and interesting vocal line throughout the entire song and I’m a singer so I’m bias. Plus it’s such a phenomenal song to end the album just top tier. “The kinda dirty where the water never cleans off the clothes” is also just a to-the-core line 9. Thank You For The Venom Venom is actually a really good song, and I feel weird having it so low considering I have a tattoo from it. It’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just that I guess the songs above I like more? Venom is absolutely a fan favourite so it might just be a case of I’ve heard it too much. Lyrically and musically very fist-fight gut-punch. Fight with glass shards stead of knives type vibe. It’s really interesting to listen to a song critiquing substance use and forced medication because I remember back in the oughts when everyone was so anti-meds (some for fair reasons and some for not), and just seeing a song that lays prescribed medication and self medication on the same table saying “either could kill me but I wont let it” is....that’s a cultural moment right there. 10. Ghost Of You The song is beautiful and that chorus is fucking gutwrenching, I’m just so incredibly not here for war music videos. Doubly not if it traumatizes people to film them? Like...no need to give the state more propoganda boys just let the song be pretty. 11. You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison? Okay this song had so much potential, and it was pretty fucking radical at the time not gonna lie. Rape analogies ain’t it. The song was really written from how I understand it to do the kinda stage-gay MCR was known for in the oughts. Hearing them talk about it, 2004 wasn’t a time homophobes were shy in hardcore, so songs like Prison paired with the stage antics made Homophobes...not wanna be there. Which gave them more space for the actual queers in the audience (and arguably on stage) to rock out without getting hate crimed. Also lyrically a lottta critiques of the prison system but yeah, coulda thought it through a bit more. We coulda had another Jetset but alas. 12. I’m Not Okay (I Promise) This song is fun as hell and you will catch me singing every word when it comes on. It’s only down here as it is just...a little underwhelming compared to the rest of the album. It’s fun and lyrically pressing and great to headbang to, but a lot of the rest of the album is more complex or intense in ways that I’m Not Okay just fails to fill out 13. Interlude Like it’s pretty but it absolutely sounds like a “we need 13 songs cuz frank said so” song. It’s filler.

[v-t-holmes]

MCR songs rated by how many of the Bandori bands could and/or should cover them

romance: no lyrics, but it has roselia vibes 1/5

honey: afterglow vibes, but also popipa (and also I want Rimi for the screaming parts), they might be kira kira doki doki but they also covered a song entirely about sex and god knows ... is pretty dark too, 2/5

vampires: roselia and afterglow both seem like the type to cover this, 3/5 for the third possibility of yukina and ran covering it together

drowning lessons: once again, afterglow and roselia or a yukina and ran cover vibe, but also RAS, 3/5 + 1

sorrows: afterglow, and RAS and glitter*green vibes and also ran, layer and yuri deserve to say fuck 1/5 + 2

halos: lets just go ahead and say that most of the bullets album has afterglow vibes, but this one also has hello happy world! vibes, harohapi is the kind of band to cover stuff you wouldn't expect them to 2/5

turnstiles: it does have afterglow vibes but should any of them really be covering this song 0/5 + 1 bc I trust yukina's dad with it (also i googled him after writing this, why is he so pretty excuse me)

monroeville: afterglow/5, ran has the range

best day ever: clearly, afterglow, 1/5

cubicles: just like approximately 100 times previously, this has clear afterglow vibes, but also roselia, maybe glitter*green too, 2/5 + 1

demolition lovers: everything but screaming in this song says roselia bc screaming is very un-yukina-esque, 1/5 + ran would totaly scream

helena: fits roselia the best, but it also has afterglow or glitter*green vibes, maybe even RAS, but at the moment they don't have the emotional depth for that yet, 2/5 + 1.5

give ‘em hell kid: realized that bullets and three cheers have afterglow and roselia vibes respectively, but their imagery is exactly the opposite. that being said, both roselia and afterglow could do a great cover of this song, 2/5

to the end: just like a bunch of times before, roselia and afterglow, 3/5 for a possibility of yukina and ran cover

prison: Hello!!!! Happy!!!! World!!!!! I do not take constructive criticism on this one, 1/5 let kokoro tsurumaki say motherfucker

i’m not okay: guess the band it starts with a and ends with fterglow (also can somebody put this song over the tied to the skies mv i have a theory they fit together), also roselia, but only for the 'i'm okay (trust me)' part bc i want ako to have the 'trust me' line, 3/5, popipa, harohapi and pasupare together give the song another point

ghost of you: it could very easily be a roselia song, 1/5

jetset life: una otra cancion para roselia to cover por favor 1/5

interlude: it may be a short song but yukina's vocals and roselia's sound would fit it way too well 1/5

venom: realistically, afterglow and roselia would be most likely to cover it, but someting about it says 'cutesy idols should get away with singing it', so I'd want pasupare to cover it, but also popipa or harohapi, 5/5, *please*

hang ‘em high: oh yeah afterglow totaly, but more importantly, harohapi, 2/5

deathwish: nobody will be surprised if I say Roselia and Afterglow would cover this, right? also I just noticed there's lots of christian motives in the three cheers songs, 2/5 + Jesus

cemetery drive: why are most of the songs so fitting for Roselia and/or Afterglow (i mean it's fitting but please give me more to work with mcr), 3/5

never told you: it has strangely popipa and harohapi vibes, and I'd fear for my thumbs if it was a harohapi song and was added to the game, also afterglow 3/5

desert song: this song is too sad. -9293838382/5, or I'll cry

the end.: I mean yeah, afterglow and roselia, but it has Poppin'Party vibes but Dark 3/5

dead!: well since the end. transitions to this one, afterglow, roselia and popipa already have this song rights, but this one also has pasupare and harohapi vibes, and maybe even glitter*green, 5/5 + 1

how i disappear: the intro alone says roselia and the rest of the song keeps and keeps saying roselia. roselia. did i mention roselia? 1/5

sharpest lives: afterglow for this one, and maybe harohapi, 2/5

wttbp: hello happy world is legally required to cover this song, 1/5

i don’t love you: idk this song made me think of pasupare, but more realistically, afterglow or popipa, 3/5

house of wolves: the vibes say pasupare and popipa, the song says afterglow, 3/5 + i spent about 5 minutes trying to roll that R in 'i said ashes to ashes'

cancer: pasupare or roselia but please no. -2/5 I would cry and miss all my notes on the easy difficulty

mama: god. please. hello happy world. 3/5 bc pasupare and popipa also seem like they'd make a great cover

sleep: something about it just say afterglow and nobody else, 1/5

teenagers: there's something about imagining kokoro singing the chorus ... but really any of the bands could do it Well so 5/5 + 2, please

disenchanted: yukina's voice. it's made for this song. please. bushiroad do something about this. roselia/5

famous last words: yes. feels like one for all the vocalists to get together and sing, all/5

blood: fun! hello happy world! 1/5

kill all your friends: it has the afterglow vibes, but I can also see harohapi and popipa cover it what else can I say, 3/5

heaven help us: saying roselia and afterglow gets boring, popipa and harohapi is in, 4/5

my way home is through you: Poppin' Party (also afterglow but really they already have enough songs on this list) 2/5

emily: i got so focused on the comment section on youtube that I almost forgot to think of which band this would fit. most likely pasupare or harohapi, 2/5

party at the end of the world: finally we're getting to the more popipa/pasupare/harohapi vibe songs, also afterglow 4/5

not that kind of girl: i spoke too soon, this clearly has ran vibes, 1/5, afteeglow type of song through and through

all the angels: uh tough one. it sounds nice but has Very Dark lyrics, so popipa and harohapi could both cover it, but like, also roselia vibes? and maybe even pasupare, 4/5

na na na: out of the main bands, harohapi, but really, it has more RAS vibes, 1/5 + 1, let layer say fuck

bulletproof heart: it even has roselia-esque song title, what else is there to say, 1/5 + 1 actually, i feel like it also has guriguri vibe

sing: this has very uplifting vibes actually, and popipa, pasupare and harohapi have very uplifting vibes, ran is made to sing songs like that too, and god knows yukina could sing this so well, another one for all the main bands 5/5 + 2 because also RAS and guriguri

planetary (go!): HELLO HAPPY WORLD/5 AND NOBODY ELSE

the only hope for me is you: definitely a roselia type of song, 1/5

party poison: oh this simply has afterglow + aya vibes, 1.2/5

save yourself, i’ll hold them back: same as the previous one, but yukina instead of aya, 1.2/5

scarecrow: pasupare seem like the band for this song. it also has popipa vibes. maybe collab with ran? ran could honestly sing all the mcr songs. 2.2/5

summertime: the only of the main bands i can't see singing this song is harohapi, 4/5

destroya: just saying afterglow would be boring. it's popipa and harohapi you should worry about. 3/5

kids from yesterday: i mean it would be a good song for roselia or pasupare to cover, but the emotional toll this song would take on me if it was chosen on multi live is not worth it, -2/5

vampire money: listen it has kira kira doki doki vibes of popipa, and cute idols should be allowed to say fuck, and afterglow would clearly do a cover, but really, the best one for this song would be harohapi, but even more really, a 5-way collab between the five bands would be the best, all/5

we don’t need another song about california: my first thought with it was popipa, but it also has pasupare and roselia vibes, 3/5

black dragon fighting society: this song is clearly a job for harohapi and nobody else/5

f.t.w.w.w.: roselia and afterglow and harohapi show up a lot huh, 4/5 for a possible collab between ran, yukina and kokoro

mastas of ravenkroft: well, considering what this song is about, the only band who should do it is popipa, 1/5, kira kira doki doki vibes didn't stop them from covering romeo&cinderella, it won't stop them from covering this song

boy division: another one with harohapi vibes, but also more afterglow vibes (i mean look at them, they're the most emo band in the game), 2/5

tomorrow’s money: afterglow and roselia would definitely cover it, but who i really want to cover it is pasupare, 3/5

ambulance: really any of the main bands could cover this, but especially pasupare or popipa, 5/5

gun.: it has the vibes of every band honestly, and all the bands could make it sound good, 5/5 + 2 for RAS and glitter*green

the world is ugly: i mean they all could, and the covers would be nice, but is crying and eventually dying while playing a live really worth it? -5/5

the light behind your eyes: what is this, songs that would make me die before the fever chance bar showed up from making me cry? -728282/5 I don't want to die in a multi live just bc of crying

kiss the ring: can't see roselia or pasupare cover it, but popipa, afterglow and harohapi definitely could, it has them vibe, 3/5

make room!!!: it doesn't have roselia vibes, but it does have RAS vibes, 4/5 + 1

surrender the night: clearly a roselia vibes song, although afterglow and popipa have a similar vibe too, 3/5

burn bright: can't decide if roselia or afterglow would make a better cover, 3/5, maybe they should do it together

fake your death: 6/5 bc the special band should be the one covering that, even if all the main bands could do it well separately

[imfuckinfine]

just another mcr theory!!!

well I think I need to write it here... I'm sorry for any mistakes I could do, english isn't my native language. please correct me🥺

I just thought, maybe when fun ghoul, kobra kid and jet star died they became draculoids? except of party poison whose face was shown on the foreground in the end of the "sing". if there are so many accents on him maybe he has a different fate? I think BL/ind had another plans for him, but I can't imagine which plans.

that is why we see three dracs in "a summoning". they are fg, kk and js. they had come because this kid summoned mcr while they were dead or faceless (just like draculoids). explosion in the end of this film killed them and set their souls free.

and! that is why the ouija board said "RUN" in the beginning and "YES" in the end, when draculoids died and killjoys became alive (or just free) again.

and!!!(x2) I think the death of killjoys meant the end of mcr and this explosion meant their comeback.

I hope we will see killjoys again if there will be more videos.

[theseance1968]

2,4,6 and Gerard way and Gabriel ba

Diego: if you had powers, would you rather fight crime alone as a vigilante or work with a team? 

It depends on how powerful I am, but a team would probably be more fun

Klaus: If you could summon anyone from the dead and have a conversation with them, who would you chose? 

not to be sad, but probably my aforementioned grandfather 

Ben: If you could summon any mythical monster/supernatural creature to defend you in a fight, which would you choose and why? 

does the fishman from the shape of water count lmaooo I’m just trying to keep it sexy and fun ;))

Gerard: What’s your favorite MCR song and album: 

song: either Mama or Sing 

album: Danger Days

Gabriel Ba: If you could choose to make fanart for any character or fandom, which would you chose? 

I wish I could draw Klaus and Dave lmao 

[dogbearinggifts]

“It’s healthier to see them as good people doing a good thing—not as the world’s last chance at hope.” Thank you so much for that piece. Finally someone brave enough to say it.

I don’t know if it’s bravery on my part so much as concern. I’ve seen a couple posts floating around since MCR announced their reunion shows treating it like…well, like I described in the post you’re referring to. Like MCR is a band of four larger-than-life heroes who reunited because the world was in such dire straits that they knew their music was the only thing that could save it. While that would probably make a fun D&D campaign, I doubt it’s what’s happening here. I think they reunited because they had a chance to see how badly they missed the band’s energy, and because they felt they’d all recovered enough to withstand the rigors of the music industry again. 

Seeing people talk as if this is a heroic act that’ll grant humanity the hope and inspiration to solve all the world’s problems makes me worry for two things: the fans, and the band. I worry for the fans because, to be frank, MCR’s reunion isn’t going to solve all their problems. It can’t. Don’t get me wrong: My Chemical Romance is an important band. They’ve written some of (in my opinion) the best music of the new millennium, and that music is more than just music to the people who love it. I myself was aware of MCR back when I was a teen; but I didn’t begin listening to them until I was in my 20s. By that time, I was working a demoralizing, dead-end job in a city I hated. I was completely on my own, cut off from my family, and still working through the fallout from a childhood I had only recently realized was abusive. Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge gave me permission to feel angry about how my parents had treated me, while reminding me that all-consuming anger was not constructive in the long run. The Black Parade gave me permission to feel helpless and hopeless. “Famous Last Words” gave me an anthem to sing in the car and to hum at work, and a chorus to remember when I considered ending my life. 

But those albums, and all the other music the band produced, didn’t get me a better job. They didn’t get me out of that city. They didn’t tell me how to deal with customers and management that made me want to run in the back and scream for hours, and they didn’t make my boss give me enough of a raise that I didn’t worry about being able to afford the mechanic’s bill when my car needed more than an oil change. As incredible as MCR’s music is, it couldn’t tell me where to look for a better job or which city to move to. I had to improve my life on my own. MCR just reminded me that there was a way out of the pit I was in, and gave me a lantern to hold onto while I searched for a ladder. 

Then there’s the band to consider. I don’t know if anyone in the band browses Tumblr. I don’t know if they’ve read the same posts I have, though I suspect they haven’t. But I do know that there’s a lot of danger in expectations like the ones I’ve seen on this site. Like I said, and like you’ve said, these people are human. They’re not gods. They’re not superheroes. They’re ordinary humans with extraordinary musical skill and a message that happens to resonate with a lot of people. And ordinary humans mess up. They can be shortsighted, they can make mistakes, they can have bad days. And when they run into fans who expect them to be more than human, to be the heroes they need and therefore above all that petty humanness, that’s got to be stressful. I’m speaking from personal experience when I say that if someone sets the bar at perfection, and you know that’s where it’s set, the knowledge you will fail can kill your motivation. 

When I was younger, my dad told me a story about his brush with fame. When he was a young adult, he and a couple friends were out at a McDonald’s late one night when they spotted Mötley Crüe, grabbing a bite to eat. As my dad tells it, he approached the band and asked if they were who he thought they were. They said yes, but my dad didn’t ask for an autograph. He didn’t go gaga over the sheer star power at that table. He sat down and chatted with them awhile, as if they were any other group of strangers. 

I don’t remember how they closed that conversation. It’s been a while since I heard the story. What I do remember is that, according to my dad’s recollection, he treated the band as if they were normal humans, and they were grateful and relieved for the opportunity to let their guard down and enjoy a pleasant conversation with a fan who enjoyed their music but didn’t worship them for it. 

Honestly, I think that’s what a lot of stars want. Fame is an expectation and it’s pressure. Allowing our favorite band a chance to be normal humans—to share their music with people who enjoy it, people who don’t expect them to be superhuman—is the least we can do for a band that has given us so much. 

[avvidstarion]

For the album ask game... how about The Black Parade?

oh ABSOLUTELY. i LOVE you. this is all subject to change at the drop of the hat bc im wishy-washy and i love all of these songs anyway so

this got WAY too long so i am putting it under a readmore shhvkldlkdgjlkdsj

not including b-sides:

1. Teenagers- kind of a basic pick i know, BUT, in my defense, the song slaps. it’s such a fun song, especially when you’re singing it at the top of your lungs. the guitar part is super cool too- im trying to learn it rn but it’s a slow process bc im bad at guitar.

2. Mama- what can i say. it fucks. the old time-y feel, the harmonies/background vocals, the layers. the guitar goes so fucking hard. banging lyrics- “you should’ve raised a baby girl, i should have been a better son”??????? songs to be trans to.”but the shit that i’ve done with this fuck of a gun” is the kind of lyric that you can only properly convey if you’re screaming it at the top of your lungs. the whole ending is just. mind blowing

3. The End.- LISTEN!!!!!!!!! the end is WAY TOO FUCKING UNDERRATED!!!! oh my goddd i love it so much. i love it SO much. it’s such a perfect beginning to the song. the lyrics are great (”now come one, come all, to this tragic affair” if you look in the mirror and don’t like what you see, you can find out first hand what it’s like to be me”, “another contusion, my funeral jag. here’s my resignation, i’ll serve it in drag. you’ve got front row seats to the penitence ball, when i grow up, i want to be NOTHING AT ALL!!! SAVE ME!!! GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!! SAVE ME!!! TOO YOUNG TO DIE, AND MY DEAR!!! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME JUST WALK AWAY AND TAKE ME!!). the bit with the snapping and the ooooohs is fun too. such a good song, it could honestly be 1 or 2 but my ranking system isnt based in logic and makes no sense to even myself

4. House of Wolves- house of wolves was my favorite mcr song for a good chunk of time, but as a result i’m kinda burned out on it, which is why it isn’t higher.  however it is still number four  because it’s objectively a fucking amazing song. the guitar is so fuckin fun, the lyrics are great, and it’s just. fun to dance around and sing it at the top of your lungs. you better run like the devil cause they’re never gonna leave you alone!!!!! tell me i’m a bad, bad, bad, bad man!!!

5. Welcome to the Black Parade- the big man itself. the titular song. their biggest hit. a lot of people shit on wttbp for being popular and, like, pretty much the only song of theirs to ever be on the radio anymore (and even then it’s once in a blue moon), BUT. it got popular for a reason. it’s a really good song. i love the structure of it, i love how it builds and builds and builds. the lyrics are wonderfully done- “a world that sent you reelin from decimated dreams/ your misery and hate will kill us all”, the whole “do or die, you’ll never make me” stanza is The Ultimate rallying cry. and the “im just a man, i’m not a hero” is just. ughghghdlkslakdjglsdkg. the titular song of an album entirely about death and dying and misery being SO hopeful and SO upbeat really portrays the album as a whole much differently- mcr is known as The Emo Band because, yeah, their aesthetic is dark and their songs touch dark stuff but they have never been all whiney and boo-hoo-y and melancholic for the sake of melancholy. there’s always been a positive note to their music and a lot of people just don’t get that which makes me sad. anyway. wttbp is fun and i like it and i like the drums and the trumpets at the end. marching bands fuck

6. Blood- ok so the pattern here seems to be that i favor the fun songs over the slow ones, and blood sticks with that. much like with mama, i love the old time-y feel. i love that this is like a fun little bonus ditty to end the album on. the lyrics are silly and fun and jovial, and the piano is great. love it and it makes me happy

7. Disenchanted- OUGHH. OUUUUUGH. i know cancer is objectively the saddest song on the album, but disenchanted just hits different. “when the lights all went out, we watched our lives on the screen/ i hate the ending myself, but it started with an alright scene” just DECIMATES me, man. the acoustic guitar is a nice change of pace, and the vocal performance is just. so fucking emotional. especially the “woahhhhhhhh-ohs” at the end. great song, makes me Feel Emotions

8. The Sharpest Lives- ok so i know this is pretty much in the middle of the list, but i want to stress that i dont hate any of the songs on this album, so even the middle of the list is pretty fuckin good imo. the sharpest lives makes me go batshit.  the lyrics are so fucking wild. “a light to burn all the empires, so bright the sun is ashamed to rise and be” is SO fuckin sick like OH my god. what a line. also “there’s a place in the dark where the animals go/ you can take off your skin in the cannibal glow/ juliet loves the beat and the lust it commands/ drop the dagger and lather the blood on your hands, romeo” like WHAT?????????????? GERARD POPPED OFF W THIS ONE FOLKS!! also i love how at the beginning the whisper-y vocals bounce from ear to ear. also “so why don’t you blow me......a kiss before she goes” is fuckin hilarious. honestly this song should be higher but i havent gone through a phase where i’ve been obsessed w it yet so it stays down here for now. one day it will take hold and be all i can listen to for a month straight and THEN it will climb the ranks. 

9. Cancer- makes me cry like a liddol baby. my mom doesnt let it play in the car cause it makes her too sad. twenty one pilots covered it and it was FUCKING AWFUL so the song is kinda ruined now cause i can only think about their shitty cover. like the AUDACITY. but anyway besides that the song is heart wrenching and amazing. the hardest part of this is leavin you!!!!

10. Dead!- look, i know technically the end. and dead! are the same song/ are just continuations of each other but i’m listing them separately bc dead! is, to me, the worse of the two. not that it’s bad or anything, it just doesn’t pop off the same way the end. and all the songs before it on the list do. however i do love the guitar at the beginning and the solo, and the “one! two! one two three four! LA LA LA LAs” are super fucking fun. 

11. Famous Last Words- i used to hate this song!!!! i truly did!! it’s obvs not on the top of my list now or anything, but i have grown to appreciate it a lot more than i used to. like with wttbp, it is the silver lining of the album that betrays its optimistic side. it’s a happy final message to a dark album. the ending is fucking amazing. I am not afraid to keep on living!!!! i am not afraid to walk this world alone!!!!!!

12. Sleep- Sleep is, unfortunately, just kinda boring in comparison. i almost forgot to even put it on the list. however, i do like the “the hardest part’s the awful things that i’ve seen” and the “a drink, for the horrors that i’m in. for the good guys and the bad guys, for the monsters that i’ve been” lines. also the “three cheers for tyranny, unapologetic apathy!” line. but overall it’s just. eh

13. This is How I Disappear- i have. complicated feelings on tihid. on one hand, it reminds me of my favorite oc, re, and is on their playlist. on the other hand, i have grown bored with it over time. it just doesn’t stand out to me at all really. that being said, i do really like the “who walks among the famous living dead” and the “can you hear me cry out to you” stanzas. 

14. I Don’t Love You- while i dont think idly is a bad song at all, it just simply isnt my kind of song. i do think gerard’s vocals are extremely strong throughout, especially during the “when you go, would you have the guts to say/ i don’t love you like i loved you yesterday” line. like wow ok maam please continue. but overall i just dont vibe w breakup songs bc i cant relate

including b sides: 1. Heaven Help Us

2. Kill All Your Friends

3. Everything else

4. My  Way Home is Through You

my reasoning: 

heaven help us is tied for my favorite mcr song Of All Time. everything about this song is catnip for lil old me. the angsty christian imagery, the vocals, the guitar. all of it. the lyrics make me lose my mind, especially the “will you pray for me? or make a saint of me? and will you lay for me? or make a saint of- cause i’ll give you all the nails you need/cover me in gasoline/ wipe away those tears of blood again/ and the punchline to the joke is asking ‘SOMEONE SAVE US’” and the “you don’t know a thing about my sins/ or the misery begins/ you don’t know, so i’m burnin! I’m burnin!!!” parts. like i absolutely vibe with this song so fucking hard. i sing it constantly, it’s great to sing (very stimmy for me), it sounds beautiful. i am obsessed with it through and through

similarly, kill all your friends also speaks to my very soul. i can’t pick favorite lyrics bc id just have to copy and paste the whole song. i love the build-up, i love the time progression throughout the song (it’s been TEN FUCKING YEARS since i’ve been seein your faaaaaace rounnnnnd heeeere), i love the “you’ll never take me alives”. literally everything about this song makes me emo. it just Gets Me. it’s literally about my greatest fear. all my friends growing up and moving away and getting on with their lives without me, leaving me to rot in my hometown waiting for them to return. we only see each other at weddings and funerals, so it’s time to kill all your friends so we can party when the funeral ends!! it’s probably tied with heaven help us, but i’m putting it at number two just because it didn’t hook me as strongly as hhu did. it’s more of a strong, steady favorite than a “this song has latched on to my very soul and i have to listen to it on repeat over and over and over again”, if that makes sense. it’s still in my top 5 mcr songs though

i never vibed with my way home is through you. i don’t listen to it often, and i just don’t really feel it. it’s not bad, it’s just. eh.

anyway if you’ve read this far down i love you so much. thank you for listening to me ramble, mcr means a lot and i love to infodump about my music tastes. i really really appreciate being given an opportunity to do so <3

[crwndsprkzy]

Damon Hugh’s Diary

30/1/2021 9:30 pm

I’m Damon Hugh. I’m 16 and am in year 10 in high school. I am a boy who likes to draw, paint and listen to MCR and P!ATD. My favourite colour is dark purple. I’m an absolute loner: no friends, no life, ignored by everyone unless they’re bullying me.

At least this diary I got (stole) from my (someone else’s) school supplies will listen to me.

 15/2/2021 10:30 am

I’ve been at school for less than two hours now (I arrived late). It’s a normal school day so far, regular boring classes, all that jazz. But I can’t help but feel like someone is watching me, like intensely. Meh, not likely though, I’m really uninteresting. I mean, yeah sure, I “befriended” that popular Mia Talune, but I’m not liked by anyone. Oh well, at least science is finishing soon.

 15/2/2021 11:03 am

Not a normal day any more. That Heath Forest guy who bullies me? I found him dead outside the main building. Stabbed in the chest and abdomen. Yeah no, first on the scene on accident equals not fun! So I called the police then rushed to find a teacher. It wasn’t that hard (the main building, duh). But now people think that I killed him! Which I definitely did not! As if the bullying about the heterochromia, me being ace, my height, the fact that I’m a guy who’s artsy and having anxiety wasn’t enough.

Whatever. But still, now I’m wondering who killed Heath? I’m not torn up about it since I don’t like anyone here, I just want to know why someone actually had something against him. He was only mean to me after all...

 15/2/2021 2:30 pm

Yeah no, I’m getting weird vibes from this girl in my class. She keeps staring at me with this glazed look. Her name is Bianca Cornwel (only found that out through the roll) and to be honest, that last name is atrocious. 

There’s been questioning taking place all day because of the cops, and my class has been talking non-stop about it. I have noticed whenever anyone brings up that it was me, the class prez, Rory Dee, gets very defensive and brings up that it couldn’t be me (a few points he made were hurtful: “He’s too weak to do something like this”). He also seems to turn his head from his front seat and glare at Bianca.

 15/2/2021 10:37 pm

A quick sum-up of today:

-woke up

-went to school late

-had to sit through science 

-found the dead body of a regular bully 

-got accused all day (for the murder)

-was stared at by a girl (every lesson)

-was defended by the class president (why?)

-was questioned twice by the police 

-went home 

-wrote this instead of sleeping

 16/2/2021 2:48 am

I was woken up by my phone. It’s a news story. I only really get notifications from the news (I’m a loner) so this is regular.

So I had a look at it and the headline reads: “16-year old’s body found dumped in a sewer”. Ew.

Oh. The murdered teen was Tanisha Andre, a girl in my class.

 Something’s up.

 16/2/2021 8:55 am

I got to school on time. My problem now is that I don’t have an alibi as I did for Heath. Hopefully Class Presi-Dump has something to defend me with. Clearly he will. I mean, he’s perfect in every way! He’s good at everything, popular, a high achiever, kind blue eyes, lightly tanned skin, fluffy looking golden blonde hair, cute little freckles around his nose and cheeks, his pearly white smile, his smooth voice that’s perfect for singing, the fact that he smiles softly at the people who he passes, his laugh; he’s just perfect. I mean, prince charming 2.0 much. 

But still, why is he defending me of all people? We’re polar opposites! He’s tall, I’m short. He's popular, I'm a loner. He's class president, I'm assumed to be a murderer. He's brave and strong, I'm shy and weak. He listens to pop music, I listen to emo music.

It is a bit refreshing now that Bianca isn’t staring at me, but now Palace Tucker (one of the chicks that hang around The Mythic B***h Mia) has been glaring at me ever since I arrived today.

I wonder if there’ll be questioning today following Tanisha’s death?

  16/2/2021 12:30 pm

President Perfect did defend me, as I expected. 

I have noticed that after Palace left Maths class, Bianca followed after her. So far Bianca has come back, but Palace has not.

Yeah, I don’t trust Bianca. I mean, that’s a given considering she’s always watching me. I’m in the middle of the class and she’s at the back, so she can stare at me without suspicion. Which is REALLY uncomfortable! But I’m not going to tell the teacher, duh, debilitating social anxiety.

 16/2/2021 1:35 pm

I found a hall-pass on the ground. It's one for Bianca and Palace. It says “mental health break”. I did see them both wandering the edge of the oval when I was in class. It’s a regular route for me at break time, so I’ll see if Palace is out there.

 16/2/2021 1:38 pm

I definitely found Palace. Just drenched in… blood. And stab wounds through her head and her eyes gouged out. That too.

The song I’m listening to (Teenagers-MCR) ABSOLUTELY describes my realisation. My realisation being: Bianca is the killer and because I’m weak, I’m probably next.

And because of Tanisha's death being out of school, I can't hide at home. Hell, since I walk home, practically everyone knows where I live. I would know, a ton of them egg and t-p the house.

What if I encourage dad to get us moved to a city further away? What if we got out of the country? What if I learn how to fly planes and land on a deserted island? What if I went back in time and posed as an artist who sculpted attractive men for the church? What if I got astronaut training early and flew to Pluto?

I don’t know, but my anxiety is worsening just thinking about it. I'm just going to run and scream.

Hopefully they don’t think it was me.

 16/2/2021 2:45 pm

The cops are back and that’s not helping my anxiety. If anyone talks about it again or to me, I'm gonna break down.

 16/2/2021 2:57 pm

The police questioned me alright. But I couldn’t answer any of their questions; non-verbal panic attack. It wasn’t helped by intrusive thoughts about me getting framed, getting killed and being called a liar.

Bianca watched me on the way out and on the way back into the classroom. But so did Rory. He also looked at Bianca.

Has he realised? He's smart, he probably has.

Guess I’ll have fun for the last bit of class by listening to bands.

 16/2/2021 3:51 pm

So Class King didn’t know anything about it. Then what does he have against Bianca? He can’t be glaring for no reason.

I did overhear Callum Jones talking to Bianca about how he's “going to a totally rad party with lots of babes tonight”. Bianca just told him to “stop lying” and that “everyone knows you're going to go home and DM Mia with your 5 different insta accounts”. Oof. There was nothing saying he was lying though. How did she know? 

Oh yeah, Callum was definitely offended by that and took a swing at Bianca, but she was already gone.

 17/2/2021 12:30 pm

I'm not dead yet, but I am going to be soon. I decided to, for whatever reason, talk to Rory about the murders. I could not stop stammering or going quiet for extended periods of time, but when I was talking I asked royal Rory what he thinks of Bianca. I haven’t got a response but I'm slowly dying…

Nobody has died yet today, but I'm absolutely paranoid. I just keep thinking I'm next or that I'm going to be confronted by the football team and they’ll punch me to death. Whenever I think these things, I can practically SMELL the blood. Even when I'm not imagining them I can smell blood.

Wait, what are those red stains on Jules Elvis’ yellow cardigan?

That’s what I've been smelling! Wait, was I wrong about Bianca then? Was it really this eager to please girl who did this?

No, if she was a murderer, she would know how to dissolve blood, or at least know not to wear the clothing worn while committing the crime.

But nobody is noticing Bianca.

 17/2/2021 2:30 pm

The teacher has announced that there has been another body found- Felicity Forest, Heath’s younger sister. They showed a fairly censored version of the security tape to us. It showed a tall girl with brown hair, pale skin and a yellow cardigan on.

Guess who fits that description perfectly? Jules. The blood-stain on the yellow cardigan was pretty telling. Felicity was also Jules’ best friend, so the connection was there.

But Bianca has the exact same cardigan, I've seen her wear it. The tape was early, so she could have easily framed Jules. She was also asking our health teacher how healthy it is to be awake all night.

When the police came in for Jules, she was violently sobbing. She was saying stuff like “I would never!” “I didn’t do it!” “But… I was going to ask her today to be my girlfriend” “I LOVED HER!” “Our friendship bracelets said ‘together forever’!” and more.

I don’t think it was Jules at all. I know it wasn't Jules. 

But I couldn’t speak up, the words got caught in my throat as if a dagger had cut them off.

Sorry Jules…

tags- @fallenfromforgotten @random-artsy-stuf @flowersanddinosaurs (you can request to be added at any time!)

[postmastered]

I Was An Island

Words: 1653

Warnings: Cursing

A/N: i think this counts as a songfic but who gives a hecc 

Cole watched from the window of his school as the other dweebs that went to his school fled home for the day, only to return tomorrow. The window was open, luckily, and Charles, his best friend, was the last person waiting to go home. Like always. He yelled, “Hey, nerd!” and Charles, being the scaredy cat he was, jumped, turning around quickly.

“For Tesla’s sake, Cole! You almost gave me a heart attack!” Said nerd snapped at him from the gate.

“Yeah, I know.”

“Oh, very mature. Go bother your dumbass jock of a crush so he can-“

“Ooooookayyyy, no more from you, go home and shove your snake up your ass!”

“Tch. I’ll do that when MCR gets back together.”

“OH, YOU BITCH-”

“Charles!” His and Cole’s attention turned to Kat, Charles’ parent. He waved goodbye to Cole, who promptly flipped him off, yelling “That was for Gerard Way!” He watched as Charles walked home, chattering idly with Kat. They insisted on walking with Charles for fear he’ll get hurt if he did that on his own, but their house was around a block away, and they did like talking while they walked home. He eventually dipped back into the school as the two figures got smaller and smaller, shutting the window and roaming the very empty halls. It was a crisp September afternoon, tree leaves turning orange and brown, blowing through the chilly wind. Cole was wearing a scarf and a black coat, walking through beams of setting sunlight, eventually arriving at the auditorium doors.

He, an art club member, was asked very nicely by the drama club and theatre kids, specifically the leader of the drama club.

Adam Adams. 17-year-old senior, Adam. A whole seven inches taller than him, Adam. Stood in front of him, pouting and pleading with him to “Pleaaaaaaase help us paint the sets? Please?” He was adamant (heh) to say no to any other members who asked, but… he couldn’t say no to Adam. His one weakness. So here he was, standing in front of the auditorium, clutching his supplies.

Great.

He walked in, he had a job to do, after all. He shambled onto the stage, moving towards the mostly blank, save for a few sketches he did during school hours, sets. Setting his own personal playlist to shuffle, he plopped his stuff on the ground, taking out his painting stuff and sweeping his brush along the unfinished background.

Once he realized which song it was, he smirked. Gee, that’s fitting. He thought to himself. It was “I Was An Island” by Allison Weiss. He often admired her. Reminded him a pinch of someone he knew. He turned, taking a glance at the empty auditorium.

Come on, Cole, you know there’s no one here. It’ll be just like when you’re at home alone, singing into a hairbrush. Deep breaths, Noir. Deep breaths, edgy last name. Deep breaths, equally edgy first name.

He took a breath, merely saying “Yo” as a test to see the echo of the auditorium. Huh. Fun. Anyway, right, fun, he should be having that.

He took a breath, as he’d promised himself, and sung.

I was an island.

He paused for a moment, just in astonishment that his voice sounded… nice? He giggled a bit, oh, this’ll be fun. He didn’t try too hard at home, just set on dicking around. But doing this for real, less for funsies? The. Best.

Before you came along.

Put your boat in my sand, hand in my hand, heart in my song.

Cole stopped, suddenly. Did… did he hear something? No, he didn’t. He glanced at the doors. Shut. He looked around backstage, as far as he could see just from front and center. He heard a creak. His gaze spanned across the seats, eventually back down to his feet. He pressed his foot down onto the hardwood floor. It creaked. “Well, that explains things.”

I was a fighter.

And I was so, brave.

But I lowered my sword, when you held me and swore, you’d stay, stay, stay…

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adam was staying late after school to practice football with his younger sister, but eventually she had to go back home, but he decided he might hang around for a little while longer. The hallways did look a lot cooler at sunset. Of course, he was given permission to stay. He sprinted through empty halls, doodled cute little messages on chalkboards for teachers he liked. He decided he might go over to the auditorium. His favorite room in the school. He reached for the doorknob, but heard a sound from inside. A fiend, perhaps?!

He pushed the door open just wide enough for him to slip through, dashing to hide in the shadows so the monster who was hiding here wouldn-

Oh.

There was… just a kid. A short one. With black hair and a striped hoodie.

Wait.

He knows that guy. That’s the guy who he asked to help with th-

O h .

The kid was singing. And it was… oh gosh. He’s so gay, oh golly. He stood up a little taller. He wanted to go up on that stage, tell that kid that he’s incredible, that he likes his haircut, and if he wanted to go get some slushies sometime, but… he stayed. He didn’t move. He was mesmerized.

He watched as the kid waltzed around the stage, occasionally running a hand through his hair.

Now that, that was a pretty sight.

Adam hadn’t moved a muscle since he got there. That is, until the kid turned around, looking at the seats nervously, to Adam’s surprise. He ducked down, hiding from view.

He waited until the kid kept going, Adam stepping closer to the stage with each line. He eventually got two rows away. Just two rows of seats away.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cole didn’t look behind him once after the first time. He just kept painting and singing, occasionally stepping back and admiring his work. Once he knew he was getting to the ‘good part’, he whirled around, moving closer to the front of the stage. He shut his eyes, still singing, but his movements had more passion, more drama.

I can’t do this alone anymore.

‘Cause I’m no good on my own anymore.

What did I do to deserve this?

What did you do to me?

Baby come back.

You know I don’t wanna be free.

Oh, baby come back.

You know I don’t wanna be free.

No, no, no.

Oh, baby come back.

You know I don’t wanna be free.

He opened his eyes as the song ended, eventually smiling and laughing and turning back to his canvas to keep working. And that’s when he heard clapping.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adam kept listening to the kid until he was done. He was right in front of the first row of seats.

His voice was angelic, truly. He recognized the song, he knew how it went, and the kid’s voice fit the song, but he added something to the song that made it… better? More special? He couldn’t pinpoint it, but all he knew was that this kid was gorgeous, his voice was gorgeous, and Adam was very gay.

He snapped out of his little trance once he realized the kid had finished. He ducked down before the kid could see him when he went back to his work. Eventually Adam stood back up, clapping. The kid turned around, startled to high hell. He was spooked, that was for sure. He stuttered with his words, trying to make a sense of things.

“I.. uh.. wh- Who are you?” Cole watched Adam walk up the stage stairs, eventually coming face-to-face with him. Well, it was more like face to chest. Cole and Adam just stared at each other for a moment.

“Uh.. Hello?”

“Oh! Right, I’m sorry, I just happened to be parading through the halls recklessly and heard something in the auditorium. I thought there was an evildoer in our beloved school. But it was just you. Your singing is lovely, by the way.”

Cole’s face flushed. Okay, what?! No, he’s either dreaming or dead. Wouldn’t be surprising if he was dreaming about this, in all honesty. “Uhh… What?”

“I said, Cole Noir, that your singing is lovely.” Adam held Cole’s hands in his. The other practically shrunk under his gaze.

“HAHA YEAH COOL THANKS BRO REAL NICE OF YOU!” Cole frantically tried looking away from Adam’s stupid face that had to be stupid attractive and his stupid hair and his stupid warm hands and his stupid everything. He tried his best to pretend he was straight, but his skills were rusty. Adam wasn’t buying it.

Adam laughed a bit at his reaction. “Tell you what, if you’re straight-“ He placed a little note into Cole’s palm. “You can ignore this happened, and we can never speak of this again. Or, if you’re not… you can let me take you out? On a date? Please?”

Cole felt like all his blood had rushed to his face. He stared at the paper in his hands, then looked up at Adam. “Uhhhh…..”

Adam slapped him on the shoulder, almost making Cole fall over. “See you around, sunshine!” Cole watched, not having moved a muscle as Adam walked out of the auditorium.

“O.. Okay?” But he was already gone. Cole glanced once more at the sticky note in his palm. Eventually, he broke out into giddy laughter. His! Crush! Asked! Him! Out! He stuffed the paper in his pocket, smiling as he picked up his things and left the auditorium, Adam long gone, already gushing to Skylar about the occurrences of that day. Cole practically ran home, seeing his mom’s car in their driveway for once. He dashed straight through the door, immediately gushing to his mother about Adam. She rolled her eyes, still delighted to see her son so happy.