How My Chemical Romance inspires me to write vampire AU's
by vampirexchild

The band My Chemical Romance is a name widely known amongst fans of the style of alternative rock or the gritty sound punk inspired roots following their music. Rising off the ground with a raw sound combined with rough guitar solos and thrashing drums, their sound smoothed over into theatrical themes, a grand arrangement of rock keeping their spirit alive despite the split of the band in 2013. However, if one album thrives with the most hard hitting meaning of the band, that album would be known as Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge.

Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge is a concept album built with emotional yells and harmonies of lead singer Gerard Way singing songs all tied to the single heartbreak of loss. While the story to the album described by the band tells of a man killing a thousand men as a deal with the Devil to be with his beloved again, the loss of Gerard and Mikey Way's grandmother affected the tone of the album and left it as a raw sounding escape for grief as easily heard in tracks such as Helena (So Long and Goodnight), The Ghost of You, and Cemetery Drive. One memorable thing about this album is the splash of aesthetic behind it displayed in wild live settings.
For the most part, it inspired the fan groups in more ways than one.

The My Chemical Romance fandom is also known for the infamous fanfiction found on all surfaces on the internet; Wattpad, Fanfiction.net, LiveJournal, Archive of Our Own, and many other platforms. A variety of fanfiction exists and most involve gay pairings between the men in the band, and as a running theme goes, this fandom's theme is vampires. Why vampires, though? What strikes writers about this band so hard that it drives them to create members of the band into bloodsucking creatures of the night?

Taking one glance at the band's look, any person would understand why this persuasion exists. Blood splattered onto black tuxedos and red ties, images of Catholic entities printed onto shirts and backdrops with the band name underneath, pale white makeup and red eyeshadow still resonating in gothic and emo aesthetic to this day. Aesthetic plays a large part into the look of a band, and this one resembles the look of vampires as handed down through the most recent generation of authors retelling stories of these creatures.

Throughout the years, My Chemical Romance have faced ridiculous rumors of being vampires, satanists, cult leaders promoting dark imagery to poison the minds of young teens with posters of the band hanging on their walls. Instead of shying away from the catapults of hate, they sank further into the darkness by creating concept albums about death, murder, tragedies, and grieving. Bulletproof vests, hands dripping with fake blood, photoshoots of holding onto bibles with rosaries wrapped around their fingers, the statement of darkness and grittiness inspires the concept of vampire AU's amongst many My Chemical Romance fanfiction writers like a fuel to fire.

In my experience as a fanfiction writer in the My Chemical Romance fandom, the vampire AU is the ruler of most of the MCR fanfiction coming from the heart of Wattpad. No matter the pairing, many are drawn to make members of the band into fanged beings with a thirst for blood, whether the story is a comical relief with an innocent main character or a dark storyline followed by a terrified main character falling victim to the vampire.

As an observer, I have noted that the main inspiration does in fact come from Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, but also, certain appearances from the members of the band. The dark long locks and pale white skin of lead singer Gerard Way creates the perfect vampire for most alternative universes, and mainly, the singer plays the role of the vampire in these fanfictions because most find the attractiveness of the man and his devotion to aesthetic to be the most inspiring of them all.

But is it solely the look of the band that does it for fanfiction writers?
Certainly, there is much more to it.
I have also been charmed by the look of the band as it's so easy to wrap them into the imaginary world of vampires, but another thing that drives me and others to create such a universe is the splash of horror inside the look they've put together. Blood, knives, talk of hell and heaven, the shared love of classic horror films and comics between the band members seeping into the image they wanted to create. A touch of goth links into the feel of the band with tales of lost love or pain turning a person down to paths of darkness.

Vampires have always been found in the darkest parts of fantasy, blood and eternal love as well as stakes being driven through the heart. My Chemical Romance reflects the atmosphere with their roots glimmering under the enriched sounds of rock music, especially the story told within their song Vampires Will Never Hurt You off of their very first debut album.

One thing that I find especially inspiring, as much of a shock factor it may be, is the homoerotic splashes displayed by members of the band on stage. Touches, kisses, and Gerard Way's many suggestive comments about men between songs combined with their look and the shredding of guitars, the band was never one to discriminate against people of the LGBT+ and it showed within their shocking display of affection driving the crowd wild. In a more mature display of vampire books and movies, erotica and sensuality has always been linked to the beautiful vampires luring in their prey for the kill, and the romances shared between their own kind (i.e; Queen of the Damned, Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), Fright Night). Sweat, red lighting, fake blood and growling vocals vibrating through the speakers, the tone draws inspiration into the kind of vampire AU longs to create.

Tied together, all of these factors of My Chemical Romance's aesthetic fits into the perfect vampire tale made in the creative minds of fanfiction writers in the community. Light hearted themes with a touch of blood, lustful stories with arrogant vampires, horror genres with plenty of blood and shocking elements, the fandom has truly created something memorable with the looks and music given to us by the band. With this boost of imagination, hopefully many more can come out of the colorful minds of fans all over the world.

What is it about your favourite fandom that inspires you to write Alternative Universes?

P r o f i l e S p o t l i g h t:

WattVampires
The ambassador-managed interactive profile, also known as the Crypt, brings you the best in vampire lore, fiction, and their very own vampiric blog!