Everything You Need to Know About My Chemical Romance's Fictional World, Draag

Here is everything you need to know about My Chemical Romance's fictional world called Draag.

It only took two shows for My Chemical Romance fans to start putting together the puzzle pieces of everything that may or may hidden in the messaging onstage during the "Long Live": The Black Parade North American Tour.

There's a lot to unpack, not only when it comes to the band's 25-song set each night, but also the theatrics, props and even the tags on their merch.

What Is Draag, the Fictional World Created by My Chemical Romance?

Draag is a fictional place that serves as the setting for the front half of My Chemical Romance's set, where they play 2006's The Black Parade in full.

The land is ruled by a dictatorship that influences how the story plays out onstage.

Imagery onstage and on video boards during the show illustrate the dictator's extreme rule over the people of Draag. Only you might not catch on right away since it is mostly written in a language that is exclusive to Draag.

How To Decode My Chemical Romance's Draag Language

Fans have been slowly decoding the Draag lettering system and translating the language to English on social media since the tour kicked off July 11 in Seattle.

Messages broadcast to fans have warned them to "behave" and also boasted "Long Live The Draag."

So, how are they doing it?

Typographer Nate Piekos revealed on his website that he was allegedly contacted by MCR's Gerard Way to design the font and language used during the "Long Live" The Black Parade Tour. The font is called Keposhka.

Piekos has shared some hints that allow for Keposhka symbols to be translated to English, but not enough to give the whole thing away.

Plus, Piekos says Way wanted to make translation challenging for MCR fans.

Does Keposhka Have 26 Letters Like The English Alphabet?

In addition to letters being a series of unfamiliar symbols that make Keposhka difficult to translate, Piekos and the band also intentionally used more symbols than there are letters in the standard English alphabet.

These, Piekos claims on his website, are the result of certain letter combinations in Keposhka creating completely new symbols when used together.

"I'm not going to reveal those combinations here," Piekos wrote. "Gerard and I would rather you have fun figuring this stuff out on your own."

Piekos is currently auctioning off original artwork featuring early concept drawings used when creating the font and language with Way.

Listings on eBay have already topped $1,000.

Draag Message On Concert T-Shirt

Draag's influence stretches far beyond what you see onstage. It's even on the merch being sold at each stop on the tour.

And we're not talking about the message on the outside of T-shirts either.

Fans have shared photos on social media showing a message from Draag where the manufacturing and care instructions would typically be on the inside of T-shirts.

Reddit user MistressBlackleaf decoded the message to read:

100% wheat

Grown under gloom,

Transported by livestock

Milled in Draag with broken fists.

Wash cold, do not bleach.

Long live The Black Parade.

Who Is In Charge Of Draag?

We know a dictator is ruling over Draag, but there also appears to be several "ministries" in charge of different aspects of the land.

This structure so far includes:

• Ministry of Menial Tasks
• Ministry of Complementary Conditioning (printed on some of the band's setlists given to fans)
• Ministry of Operatic Relations

A user on X (formerly Twitter) has been keeping a running thread of all of the ministries that have popped up at different times during the tour.

Demolished Version Of Draag Likely Appeared During Past My Chemical Romance Tours

Many My Chemical Romance fans are being sent down a deep rabbit hole of Draag lore for the first time during this run of shows, but the world actually might have been part of past tours without fans realizing it.

A fan who attended a show during MCR's 2022 tour believes a demolished version of Draag could be seen on the band's backdrop while they were onstage each night.

This theory has some weight to it when looking back at the music video for "Welcome to the Black Parade." The parade route is seen traveling through the ruins of a city.

Why Is My Chemical Romance Back In Draag?

Draag should still be in ruins. Not to mention, The Black Parade was "dead" as of the band's final show playing the album in Mexico City in 2007.

So why is Draag thriving again?

My Chemical Romance announced the "Long Live": The Black Parade North American Tour in November 2024 with a fully produced trailer shared on their official YouTube channel.

The 79-second video shows the dictator being led to a window to look down upon thousands of cheering fans scattered around Draag.

The description posted with the video says the tour is set 17 years after The Black Parade (My Chemical Romance's alter ego) had been sent away.

"In that time, a great Dictator has risen to power, bringing about 'The Concrete Age;' a glorious time of stability and abundance in the history of Draag," the description reads. "His Grand Immortal Dictator wishes to celebrate our rich and storied culture, fine foods and musical entertainments by welcoming you to these great demonstrations of power and resolve."

(You can connect the dots to figure out if that sounds a little too familiar to anything happening in real life at the moment. )

To mark the occasion, the "work privilege" of The Black Parade was "reinstated" as they will serve as the dictator's National Band.

Does What Happens In Draag Change at Each My Chemical Romance Show?

Fans attending know they're going to see The Black Parade played front to back, plus an entire second B-stage set culled from the rest of My Chemical Romance's catalog.

It's what happens between those songs that might be slightly less predictable.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

At one point in the show in Seattle, "candidates" are led onstage for an "election." The audience was simply asked to vote "yay" or 'nay" using provided signs in the crowd.

The act ended with the "candidates" being mock executed.

The scene had a few subtle changes a week later during the second show of the tour at Oracle Park in San Francisco. Fans on Reddit said that Way said he "mixed up" the words "election" and "execution" during the previous show.

Eagle-eyed fans also noticed that Way sported facial makeup that was made to look like scratches on his face that night, leading some to believe he may have been fictitiously punished for not getting it right the first time.

This has since blossomed into a new theory on Reddit that the band is "in a time loop and will eventually break free" from having to commit acts of evil.

Clues To Potential New My Chemical Romance Album

If the band does break free of the suspected "time loop," we may know what they are about to do next thanks to additional hints included on one of the stage props.

Way busts out a large flask during the show with writing on the side using the Keposhka lettering. Fans have decoded it as saying

MCR

G. Way

101386

The number listed does not represent Way's birthday, which is April 9, 1977. It also isn't the birthdate of anyone else in the band.

This has led some to figure out the 1986 calendar matches up day-for-day with the 2025 calendar so that Oct. 13 is a Monday in both years.

And somehow, this has led to rumors of new My Chemical Romance music dropping on that day.

The "Long Live": The Black Parade North American Tour continues July 26-27 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

A complete list of tour dates can be found at the My Chemical Romance website..