#mcr and queerness. the two most important things in the world

[stpansy]

i could write thousands of words about how the concept of coming out has become some sort of rigid litmus test of authenticity in the queer community itself over the years, something that both demonizes being closeted and implies that you must vocalize every facet of your identity in order to be taken seriously by your community. i could also write about how “don’t assume someone’s sexuality/gender” has eaten itself and once again become “everyone is straight/cis until proven otherwise” which has led right into (mostly gen z, but not only) queer people themselves ignoring and trampling and smothering the signs we have used amongst ourselves for generations to signal queerness without explicit labels, accusing these signs of being appropriation or queerbaiting with no exception. i could write about how we are living through a war on trans people, the most actively hostile and threatening period trans people have had to exist through for decades, and how coming out is not an option for some people, is actively dangerous, and to act like if a trans person doesn’t have their pronouns in their bio or loudly proclaim their transness to everyone they meet they are cis is playing a small but devastating part in that war. and this is a my chemical romance blog, so i could write about these topics in conjunction with this band. how celebrity can mean that your audience feels they are owed you coming out. how personal identity and specific labels are not owed to you no matter the public status of a person.

instead i will say this: mcr is a queer band and they want you to know it. we don't know the labels they use for themselves in private--if they use any at all, which gerard at least has stated before he doesn’t--but that doesn't matter. when gerard gets onstage in skirts and dresses, they are queer. when frank said "i'm the faggot from mcr" after years of kissing men* onstage he was right. mcr is queer, genderweird, trans, faggots, our kinda girls and our kinda boys. especially gerard, who has made it so clear that they’re not cis. and it's doing them a disservice to pretend they're not just because they haven't come out on instagram.

[eldritchsurveys]

1135.

by ausmuh

1. What's one TV episode that makes you laugh out loud every time you watch it? >> There’s an episode of Person of Interest -- “Number Crunch”, I want to say the episode’s name is? -- where an antagonist slips MDMA into Harold Finch’s drink and then pops something explosive in the microwave and leaves him to his fate. And here’s Finch, dopey and smiling, thinking it’s popcorn in the microwave and sway-dancing happily as he waits for it to be finished (meanwhile, one of his companions has broken into the place to rescue him and is just like “are you fkn kiddin me” lmao). He’s just so adorable in his impending doom, haha. Sigh... I love that show so much.

2. Who's one person you'd like to see a biopic made about? >> I don’t care.

3. Is plot an important aspect of books and movies to you, or do you care more about things like character development, themes, etc.? >> I really can’t imagine a plot that doesn’t include extensive and intricate character development. I guess I just don’t read plot-driven books, or something? I don’t know what a “plot-driven” book is. All the stories I enjoy are character-driven and the characters drive the story along... that’s just how it works for me. I guess I’d need an example of a different kind of story to understand.

4. What song hit you so hard that you remember where you were the first time you heard it? >> Awake O Sleeper by The Brothers Bright was like that. I was living with Hallie at the time. I wish I’d awakened to the bullshit I was dealing with, lmao. Regardless, that song hit me like a ton of bricks the first time I heard it sitting on the couch in the office in that house.

5. What's your "brand" of fictional character, the type you always get attached to (ex., "perky girls with deep-seated mental health issues," "guys who you would want as an older brother," etc.)? >> A few of my brands are “grumpy old magic man”, “probably a trickster god”, and “queer-coded villain”.

6. Are there any conspiracy theories that you kind of believe in? >> Nope.

7. What's the best "fake" song (one that exists only in the world of a TV show or movie)? >> I would name Dethklok songs but those songs are pretty real, lol. They used to have concerts and everything. I can’t think of any fake songs.

8. If you use Spotify, share your 2020 Wrapped! What are your overall feelings about it? Is it what you expected? >> Here’s the playlist link. And yeah, it’s what I expected -- the car playlist skewed a lot of the results, which is why there’s far more MCR and FOB and shit on there than seems logical. But You Ain’t Coming Back by Zeal & Ardor being the number one song is absolutely on point, lmao. I put that song on repeat on several occasions, which is novel for me because I don’t usually do that.

9. What's a film you watched recently that you can't stop thinking about? >> Possessor was wild. Fuckin Cronenbergs.

10. If you’ve been in lockdown/quarantine for most of the year, describe the different “phases” of quarantine you’ve gone through (whether defining them by an obsession you had, what you were doing most at the time, how you felt, etc.) >> I didn’t really have phases. Being forced to stay inside all the time was only different from my normal life in that I couldn’t choose to do anything different, which is the main frustration -- I didn’t exactly go out a lot before, but at least I knew I could if I wanted to (and sometimes I did). But in practice my life didn’t really change all that much, so I didn’t feel as disrupted as most people did. I kept doing the same shit I’d already been doing.

11. The last TV show you watched is now getting a crossover with the last video game you played: what is the unholy abomination that has just been created? >> It’d be fairly easy to recreate Bridgerton in The Sims 4, I’d think, particularly if you have some custom content installed.

12. What's an invention you’ve spent a lot of time wondering about the creation of (ex., "how did hourglass makers decide how much sand was needed and how thin the waist had to be???")? >> I think about that kind of thing randomly, but not extensively enough to warrant notice.

13. If you’re a ~gamer~, what are your top 3 all-time favorite games? >> FFXIV, Journey, and Hades are my current faves.

14. If the pandemic had happened just a year earlier, how different would your life be? >> Well, the wedding would have been cancelled. I might not have gotten to see Phantom of the Opera. 2019 was a good year and I’m really glad it wasn’t ruined by a pandemic.

15. Post a screenshot you particularly like from your favorite film without mentioning the film’s title. >> Nah.

16. Name the movie, book, TV show, etc. that you were most out of step with this year (meaning both the reviews and overall discourse was the opposite of how you felt about it). >> Hmm... I’m not sure.

17. What’s the biggest red flag you’ve ever ignored? >> Oof, just... Hallie’s whole fucking thing, lmao. But at that point I was so used to being treated any old way without care or consideration that I guess it must have seemed more normal than abnormal. Which really sucks. Because the stuff I went through with him is definitely abnormal and when I see other people going through similar things with their partners it’s really eye-opening.

18. What are some albums that “molded your brain” during middle and/or high school? >> My Own Prison by Creed, Something Like Human by Fuel, just... mainly those two. And my various mixed CDs recorded from the radio.

19. Without saying your age, post your favorite film that was released the year you turned 18. >> Hmm... The Jacket was good... Walk the Line too.... oh, Constantine! Fuck yeah! That’s the one.

20. What’s something extremely bizarre you believed as a very young child? >> I’m not sure, but I always think of this one story that this kid tried to convince me of when I was in second grade. He was light-skinned and he said that he used to be dark like me, but he started picking at his cuticles one day and peeled a piece of skin back and it kept going until he peeled all of his skin off and his current complexion was what was underneath. Kids, man... lol

[theswarmanthology]

Em, 30s, USA

"i've been part of the fandom since 2004. as much as the band has shaped parts of my life and my outlook on the world, the fandom has as well. i've made wonderful friends, read books i otherwise wouldn't know about, pursued art, and become a better artist in general because of the friends i've made in the community. this community taught me compassion for sex workers (who were also in the fandom at the time) when i was 16 and living in a very conservative household; my friends and acquaintances encouraged my growth and exploration as an artist; and, in adulthood, i've gotten to travel to places i otherwise probably wouldn't have gone just to meet my friends in person. i don't participate in many other fan communities, but this one has, without a doubt, been a formative part of my life."

Fast Facts: How long have you been a fan?: 9+ years Did you get to see MCR live before this tour?: Yes, I saw them before the breakup in 2013 How many shows on this tour did you attend in total?: 2-4 Favorite album: I have more than one favorite album Show experience out of 10: 10 Did you cry at your show?: No

Which date of the tour did you attend? 09/13/22, Little Caesars Arena, Detroit

When did you get your tickets for your show? Was it a struggle, or were they easy to grab? they were gifted to me for free by someone else in the fandom. i'm incredibly grateful.

Did you attend with anyone else? solo

What did you wear? all black + a covid-protection mask

Where were your seats? i was in the seats, but pretty close to the pit, on mikey and frank's side

What was your favorite song(s) from the setlist they played at your show? foundations of decay, give em hell kid, house of wolves, the world is ugly, famous last words

What song were you most hoping to hear? Did you get to hear it? how i disappear - they didn't play it at this show

What was your favorite moment from the show? two favorite moments: 1. gerard's nurse outfit and 2. when they played helena (i almost cried, which was pretty unexpected)

What was the most unexpected moment from the show? almost crying at helena

Did you snag any merch? What pieces? i got the SWARM hoodie

Many fans describe seeing MCR live as feeling like coming home. Did you experience anything like that at your show? it felt more like a continuation of one of the most important parts of my life than it did like 'coming home'. they, and there music, have been part of my life for almost 20 years at this point. there's no nostalgia in it for me, nor did i feel like i was ever 'away' from them. it felt like a new, special chapter, and i'm so grateful i get to add that to my life.

If you could change one thing about your show experience, what would it be? nothing

Has your perspective or opinion about the band changed since seeing them on this tour? If so, in what way? nothing has really changed, so much as i feel like they've grown as people in parallel to me changing as a person. i'm younger than them, but i literally grew up with them and with their music; they've been part of so many important life stages for me from my teen years to my 30s. i'm so grateful they exist, and equally grateful that i fell in love with them when i did.

What advice would you give to people seeing My Chemical Romance in the future? none particularly. enjoy it. talk to the people around you if you want to. you'll have a great time <3

Anything we didn't ask that you feel obliged to share or talk about? i had a moment of trans magic happen at the detroit show. i went by myself and, by happenstance, ended up in a seat next to another trans person around my age. we clocked each other and shared our joy about our queerness, and about MCR, and about getting to see them live again. when i was growing up, and when i came out in my late teenage years, i quite literally had no one who understood what was happening to me, and very very few adults who accepted my transness. like so many people, MCR was crucial to me figuring out how to articulate my transness, i'm very glad to see so many younger people in the fandom find each other and be able to share joy in creating themselves in whatever ways they want to be while sharing a community with other trans and gnc people. it was a much lonelier road for me at the time that i came out. no one that i knew in the fandom was trans, and certainly no one in my immediate life as a teenager was trans. i'm lucky to have had supportive friends both in and out of the fandom, but it felt like a really special blessing to meet someone, by completely random chance, who was both trans and part of my generation, at the show where gerard walked on stage dressed as a nurse. MCR cast some kind of special spell that night, and it gave me a moment of recognition and joy that i'll never forget.

Thanks, Em!