Sharpies and Unicorn Shirts: The Ridiculously Adorable Love of Gerard Way and Lyn-Z Ballato
Sharpies and Unicorn Shirts:
The Ridiculously Adorable Love of Gerard Way and Lyn-Z Ballato
Many thanks to the folks at bandfandom_ref and the folks at bandgirls who all helped me with info for this. Also thanks to redbrickrose for reading and handholding.
This is Gerard Way:
If you clicked the cut to get to this manifesto you probably already know who he is. He’s the lead singer in this little band from Jersey called My Chemical Romance.
Gerard, a self-described cupcake, has a tendency toward earnestness, a penchant for pants with holes in the crotch, and a deep love of writing on himself, not showering, and kissing his rhythm guitarist on stage. Gerard and My Chem want to save your life if you’ll let them.
This is Lindsey Ann Ballato (aka Lyn-Z):
You may not know who she is, which is a shame. She is the exceptionally badass bass player for a band from New York called Mindless Self Indulgence.
She's prone to backbends, crowd surfing and getting tattoos. She's known among MSI fans for her audition, where she used the head of her bass and a stealthily consumed bottle of Bacardi to breathe fire at the ceiling. She then announced she had to pee and skipped out of the practice space. (source) Mindless Self Indulgence doesn’t seem to much care about saving your life, but they sure as shit want to rock you and to mock the shit out of you and everyone else while they do it.
For those of you who don’t know much about Lyn-Z and want to see more of her, there are some picspams and primers linked in this post
Lyn-Z and Gerard had a whirlwind courtship while touring together on Projeckt Revolution, dating for just a few weeks before their late night marriage on the last day of the tour. They first met four years ago when MCR was opening for MSI but hadn't seen each other since then. Gerard said in a recent interview that seeing her again was just like picking up where they left off years ago.
Their short time dating, coupled with Gerard’s recent broken engagement led to some fannish skepticism about their relationship. People thought it was a joke or that they were headed for speedy divorce. But then it wasn’t a joke. And there is no divorce on the horizon And as more and more information came out about them and their relationship it became clear that they are awesome together. And here is why:
1. They have a lot in common
They are both from Jersey. While it’s unknown whether Lindsey has Gerard’s level of Jersey pride they grew up in the same state, a state which Gerard credits with shaping him enormously.
They are both artists. They both attended art school in New York. Gerard has done some cover art for My Chem and his current artistic outlet is writing and illustrating the comic series Umbrella Academy. Lindsey has work in the touring art show HUNG (here are pictures from HUNG's opening in 2005 - Lyn-Z's work is halfway down the page. According to the HUNG myspace it is still touring) and has also reportedly done some album art for MSI.
They are both known for their showmanship. Gerard is known for owning the crowd when he performs. He is uber emotive, he minces and prances, he cusses, he touches himself, he touches his bandmates, he is just generally a rockstar. Lyn-Z is equally well known for rocking a crowd. Her backbends are legendary. Her jumps are ninja-like She rocks the shit out of her bass on a regular basis. (Check out this interview to see her in action. The clips of her on stage are from 2:35-2:47)
They both have a penchant for writing on themselves. We’ll discuss this in more depth later, but even before their relationship started Gerard was writing words like Faggot and Catholic on his neck and Lyn-Z was writing things like I'm Fun on her arms and I'm Dead on her fingers.
2. They are ridiculously cute to and about each other
They kiss like they’re in the movies:
This is one of the first pictures I saw of the two of them together. Note the backbend of movie kissing.
They cuddle while watching other artists and hold hands while walking around the tour grounds
They look goofy and excited watching each other perform
Lyn-Z and Jimmy (from MSI) watching MCR perform.
Gerard and his mom watching MSI perform.
They write messages to each other on each other’s skin
Seriously. So freaking cute I could die.
(many thanks to midnightbex for this post which is where I found the most comprehensive set of these.
Kiss / Tell
In Love / 100%
Run Away With Me / Anytime you Want
I <3 You / More Today
(on their wedding day!)
4 Ever / And Ever
They purchased, and wear airbrushed unicorn shirts with each other’s names on them.
This picture is at the beginning of the manifesto but really I think we could look at it some more.
Let's look at the shirts. AIRBRUSHED UNICORN SHIRTS!!! WITH EACH OTHER'S NAMES ON THEM!!!!! THAT THEY WORE ON THEIR WEDDING DAY!!!
Here is a picture of them immediately post-wedding:
Look at the tiny piece of Gerard's t-shirt you can see. Does that not look like airbrushed unicorn to you?
Gerard wears a Lyn-Z button
Seriously you guys. Seriously. It's a little unclear in this picture because of photobucket's image size limits so here is a close up crop of the button. button. So cute I might die.
She’s okay with the stage gay
Okay, this isn’t something she’s said but because of the relative popularity of the two bands it’s harder to track down MSI interviews and most are with Jimmy and Steve not with Lyn-Z. BUT Gerard mentions it in this interview. He says "My wife totally backs the way I am on stage, that's one of the amazing things about her. I have 120 per cent respect for her when I'm on stage, so there are definitely certain things I would never do. But she knows my sexuality, and I know mine, so there's no reason not to push those boundaries." So yay Lyn-Z for being confident enough in her relationship that she’s not threatened by the liberal amounts of tonguing going on between Gerard and Frank.
Seriously you guys, the unicorn shirts and the messages in sharpie would be enough to sell me on them. The rest? Is just icing. I LOVE them like woah and think you should too.
Sadly there isn’t much Gerard/Lyn-Z fic out there, perhaps because she’s relatively new to his life, perhaps because this is a slash dominated fandom, perhaps because people don’t know much about her. Whatever the reason it should change.
Here are a few recs.
Interior Design by valerie-z Gerard tries to be a grownup and has kind of a freakout.
Pretty Pink Ribbon by 7iris Obscenely hot Gerard/Lyn-Z pegging.
Mysterious Ways by etben a fabulous Gerard/Lyn-Z/Frank threesome fic wherein Gerard and Mikey are intersex polyamorous aliens.
i see the girls are out, a lot of freaks in the house by gonnafeelgood. This fic is ultimately Jamia/Lyn-Z but there is a solid chunk of Gerard/Lyn-Z and it's really well done.
Please leave more in the comments if you’ve got them. Also? You should totally write comment fic on this post about them and/or write full length stuff. Some ideas for fic? Their first meeting on projekt rev. Getting caught getting it on on the bus. Having dirty sweaty post-show sex. Threesomes with anyone and everyone. Gerard wanting to process his emotions after sex and Lyn-Z just wanting to get to sleep (idea totally stolen from belladonnalin. The decision to get married in the middle of the night and the shenanigans involved in waking everyone up. Etc etc. Leave me some fic in the comments, or leave more fic prompts.
Yay fic!
Yay Gerard/Lyn-Z!
The Ridiculously Adorable Love of Gerard Way and Lyn-Z Ballato
Many thanks to the folks at bandfandom_ref and the folks at bandgirls who all helped me with info for this. Also thanks to redbrickrose for reading and handholding.
This is Gerard Way:
If you clicked the cut to get to this manifesto you probably already know who he is. He’s the lead singer in this little band from Jersey called My Chemical Romance.
Gerard, a self-described cupcake, has a tendency toward earnestness, a penchant for pants with holes in the crotch, and a deep love of writing on himself, not showering, and kissing his rhythm guitarist on stage. Gerard and My Chem want to save your life if you’ll let them.
This is Lindsey Ann Ballato (aka Lyn-Z):
You may not know who she is, which is a shame. She is the exceptionally badass bass player for a band from New York called Mindless Self Indulgence.
She's prone to backbends, crowd surfing and getting tattoos. She's known among MSI fans for her audition, where she used the head of her bass and a stealthily consumed bottle of Bacardi to breathe fire at the ceiling. She then announced she had to pee and skipped out of the practice space. (source) Mindless Self Indulgence doesn’t seem to much care about saving your life, but they sure as shit want to rock you and to mock the shit out of you and everyone else while they do it.
For those of you who don’t know much about Lyn-Z and want to see more of her, there are some picspams and primers linked in this post
Lyn-Z and Gerard had a whirlwind courtship while touring together on Projeckt Revolution, dating for just a few weeks before their late night marriage on the last day of the tour. They first met four years ago when MCR was opening for MSI but hadn't seen each other since then. Gerard said in a recent interview that seeing her again was just like picking up where they left off years ago.
Their short time dating, coupled with Gerard’s recent broken engagement led to some fannish skepticism about their relationship. People thought it was a joke or that they were headed for speedy divorce. But then it wasn’t a joke. And there is no divorce on the horizon And as more and more information came out about them and their relationship it became clear that they are awesome together. And here is why:
1. They have a lot in common
They are both from Jersey. While it’s unknown whether Lindsey has Gerard’s level of Jersey pride they grew up in the same state, a state which Gerard credits with shaping him enormously.
They are both artists. They both attended art school in New York. Gerard has done some cover art for My Chem and his current artistic outlet is writing and illustrating the comic series Umbrella Academy. Lindsey has work in the touring art show HUNG (here are pictures from HUNG's opening in 2005 - Lyn-Z's work is halfway down the page. According to the HUNG myspace it is still touring) and has also reportedly done some album art for MSI.
They are both known for their showmanship. Gerard is known for owning the crowd when he performs. He is uber emotive, he minces and prances, he cusses, he touches himself, he touches his bandmates, he is just generally a rockstar. Lyn-Z is equally well known for rocking a crowd. Her backbends are legendary. Her jumps are ninja-like She rocks the shit out of her bass on a regular basis. (Check out this interview to see her in action. The clips of her on stage are from 2:35-2:47)
They both have a penchant for writing on themselves. We’ll discuss this in more depth later, but even before their relationship started Gerard was writing words like Faggot and Catholic on his neck and Lyn-Z was writing things like I'm Fun on her arms and I'm Dead on her fingers.
2. They are ridiculously cute to and about each other
They kiss like they’re in the movies:
This is one of the first pictures I saw of the two of them together. Note the backbend of movie kissing.
They cuddle while watching other artists and hold hands while walking around the tour grounds
They look goofy and excited watching each other perform
Lyn-Z and Jimmy (from MSI) watching MCR perform.
Gerard and his mom watching MSI perform.
They write messages to each other on each other’s skin
Seriously. So freaking cute I could die.
(many thanks to midnightbex for this post which is where I found the most comprehensive set of these.
Kiss / Tell
In Love / 100%
Run Away With Me / Anytime you Want
I <3 You / More Today
(on their wedding day!)
4 Ever / And Ever
They purchased, and wear airbrushed unicorn shirts with each other’s names on them.
This picture is at the beginning of the manifesto but really I think we could look at it some more.
Let's look at the shirts. AIRBRUSHED UNICORN SHIRTS!!! WITH EACH OTHER'S NAMES ON THEM!!!!! THAT THEY WORE ON THEIR WEDDING DAY!!!
Here is a picture of them immediately post-wedding:
Look at the tiny piece of Gerard's t-shirt you can see. Does that not look like airbrushed unicorn to you?
Gerard wears a Lyn-Z button
Seriously you guys. Seriously. It's a little unclear in this picture because of photobucket's image size limits so here is a close up crop of the button. button. So cute I might die.
She’s okay with the stage gay
Okay, this isn’t something she’s said but because of the relative popularity of the two bands it’s harder to track down MSI interviews and most are with Jimmy and Steve not with Lyn-Z. BUT Gerard mentions it in this interview. He says "My wife totally backs the way I am on stage, that's one of the amazing things about her. I have 120 per cent respect for her when I'm on stage, so there are definitely certain things I would never do. But she knows my sexuality, and I know mine, so there's no reason not to push those boundaries." So yay Lyn-Z for being confident enough in her relationship that she’s not threatened by the liberal amounts of tonguing going on between Gerard and Frank.
Seriously you guys, the unicorn shirts and the messages in sharpie would be enough to sell me on them. The rest? Is just icing. I LOVE them like woah and think you should too.
Sadly there isn’t much Gerard/Lyn-Z fic out there, perhaps because she’s relatively new to his life, perhaps because this is a slash dominated fandom, perhaps because people don’t know much about her. Whatever the reason it should change.
Here are a few recs.
Interior Design by valerie-z Gerard tries to be a grownup and has kind of a freakout.
Pretty Pink Ribbon by 7iris Obscenely hot Gerard/Lyn-Z pegging.
Mysterious Ways by etben a fabulous Gerard/Lyn-Z/Frank threesome fic wherein Gerard and Mikey are intersex polyamorous aliens.
i see the girls are out, a lot of freaks in the house by gonnafeelgood. This fic is ultimately Jamia/Lyn-Z but there is a solid chunk of Gerard/Lyn-Z and it's really well done.
Please leave more in the comments if you’ve got them. Also? You should totally write comment fic on this post about them and/or write full length stuff. Some ideas for fic? Their first meeting on projekt rev. Getting caught getting it on on the bus. Having dirty sweaty post-show sex. Threesomes with anyone and everyone. Gerard wanting to process his emotions after sex and Lyn-Z just wanting to get to sleep (idea totally stolen from belladonnalin. The decision to get married in the middle of the night and the shenanigans involved in waking everyone up. Etc etc. Leave me some fic in the comments, or leave more fic prompts.
Yay fic!
Yay Gerard/Lyn-Z!