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Frerard Puppy-play Anthology: Foreword

For the anthology-zine that I did, I decided to write a foreword to preface the anthology, as a brief overview on both puppy play itself and the prevalence of Frerard puppy play, and I had thought that some other may enjoy this overview, and thus am posting it (including on ao3). This anthology zine is actually the second (but the first of the two to be finished) frerard kink anthology-zines I'm currently working on (the first is, of course, vampires).

Puppy play is a seemingly common kink ascribed to the ship of the members of American rock band My Chemical Romance’s Frank Iero and Gerard Way (the ship colloquially referred to as Frerard). This frequency is both found within bandom spaces such as on tumblr, and on Archive of Our Own (AO3). At the time that I am writing this, on AO3, there are 387 fics listed under the puppy play tag for the ship, making up approximately 2.3% of all Frerard fics. For context, a similar trope I would consider strongly associated with MCR (and in fact, more common in association) is the ‘vampires’ tag, which accounts for 5% of all Frerard fics. For a more direct comparison, the puppy play tag composes 0.8% for the ship of Mikey Way/Pete Wentz, and 0.6% within Patrick Stump/Pete Wentz. This comparison of its occurrence to other fics from a similar bandom suggests that the frequency of puppy play fics within Frerard is around 3 times or higher above a typical ‘background noise’ of puppy play fics that are created within this genre of slash fiction. This frequency is also reinforced by the fact that the 10th most kudo’d frerard fic is Gerard Way’s Kink Service by @liberxi, a puppy play fic. This popularity also seems to spill into the ‘werewolf’ tag (although exact statistics are more difficult to parse as ‘werewolves’ tag may not be specific to Gerard or Frank, and proper ‘micro’ tagging of ‘werewolf Frank’ or vice versa is likely uncommon); in this case the myth of werewolves provides a literal in-canon explanation of dog-like attributes. Overall, it is clear that puppy play is a popular kink choice within the Frerard fandom, as well as generally ascribing dog attributes to the members (mostly Frank) of the ship. However, the question is, what makes bandom ascribe this kink and these attributes so easily to Frerard? This answer is one I will delve into below, and is one that quite quickly becomes apparent once acquainted with Frank himself, the history of interactions between Frank and Gerard, and in understanding puppy play and the many forms it takes.

Fan interpretation and enthusiasm. Img 1: graffiti in a club bathroom spotted by tumblr user @ventenne, image sent as an ask to @infectiouspiss. Img 2: graffiti spotted and image posted by tumblr user @imqueerandadeer, found on the wall of a local music venue in their area (2026).

A quick disclaimer; I do not know, nor am affiliated with these two individuals. I want to acknowledge that although I discuss the Frerard ship, both Frank and Gerard are married to their respective wives, and have children; what I write below is an analysis on the popularity of puppy play kink in RPF, arising from the fandom’s own perception of the dynamics of their public-facing personas, and is purely speculative. Another thing to note is that although these parallels to puppy play may be drawn, I am not claiming that these dynamics defined Frank and Gerard’s relationships to each other, nor implying that the puppy-related traits Frank displays are all who he is as a person. Such a claim disregards the fact that what we perceive is part of public personas, and, more generally, does a disservice to the complexities of human beings, and thus to Frank, Gerard, and the rest of the band as people.

On Puppy Play

Now, before we engage in the Frerard history, a brief background on puppy play itself needs to be explained. Puppy play—in which one player acts as a puppy, who seeks affection/attention from the other, who is often the Owner/Master of said puppy—is a subset of the larger umbrella term of pet play, and exists itself as another umbrella kink, that contains many other kinks which can be expressed beneath it depending on the players preferences (a kinky matryoshka). Frequently, the power dynamic sees the puppy as the sub and the Owner as the Dom (although, power dynamics can shift), which is evident within the affection/attention seeking behaviour from the puppy which their Owner chooses to acquiesce or not. The Owner role can also be exchanged for other roles which hold power over the other, such as a Vet, or even another Puppy. The range on how puppy-ish the puppy acts also varies; some more verbal, using human words, while others relegate themselves to solely bark and yip (and should occur within consensual, safeword/gesture frameworks, even for non-verbal play) as well as curling their hands to simulate paws, and/or deliberately unclothe themselves (while their Owner often mainly remains clothed). Toys can also be used; collars and leashes, buttplug tails, ear headbands, muzzles, clickers for clicker training, sex toys to simulate knotting, dog toys and dog crates. As with all kinks, puppy play can be sexual, but doesn’t need to be.

As for the draw of puppy play, for the puppy, the draw often comes with the relinquishing of the expectation of human behaviour; thus allowing for the puppy to be open and uninhibited about their affection for their Owner and what they desire or need, interacting with their Owner without shame. These interactions and desires can range from being non-sexual to sexual and may heighten power dynamics; it can include petting, rough housing, licking, biting and humping, as well as ejaculating or even peeing on themselves, their Owner or other things. These behaviours, while allowed in the overarching sense as that this is consensual, may of course be met with admonishments ‘bad girl/boy’ (degradation kink) or praise such as ‘good boy/girl’ (praise kink) as the Owner disciplines or rewards their puppy, providing/denying the attention and affection the puppy seeks. This ownership dynamic provides the puppy a sense of being desired because someone cares or wants them so much they are willing to own them (ie, to become responsible for them and take care of them), while the Owner experiences the reciprocal sense of being desired to the point that someone wants to be ‘owned’ by them, and the intensity of someone allowing themselves to be so openly affectionate and desperate for them. This ownership–and general D/s interaction–is as always, laced with intimacy and trust. To be owned, the puppy experiences the joy of relinquishing control and trusts the owner to take care of them, allowing them to act in ways the puppy desires that society often considers humiliating, or inappropriate. Meanwhile, the Owner in owning the puppy gets to experience the joy of someone trusting them to be responsible and take care of them, which includes trusting them to the extent of seeing them in these ‘humiliating’ situations where they are so open and desperate because of the Owner. This enormous amount of intimacy and trust expressed through the relationship of ownership in puppy play is often physically represented by a collar for the puppy.

Ownership can also be reinforced through another kink that the animal-esque desperation of puppy play can more easily accommodate; breeding kink. Although the players may not actually desire or can even become pregnant, breeding kink is another display of ownership and possession, as well as intimacy; it again emphasizes reciprocal desire, in the form of ‘choosing’ to form offspring with the other. In this case, biologically speaking, the choice in which who to further your genes with to provide your offspring the best chance to live is a highly important one and an honour bestowed upon their partner, especially as mammal offspring are energetically costly, and pregnancy comes with dangers to the body. As a result, pregnancy generally within human society comes with an implied promise of entwining your lives together for at least until the offspring has matured, if not longer, and a promise to the one who is being bred to be taken care of. These promises allow a strong reciprocity of desire and intimacy, which makes it no surprise that breeding kinks exist. Breeding kink also reinforces the animal aspect of puppy play, as ‘breeding’ often refers specifically to animal sex; such as the definition provided by the Oxford dictionary, which is “the mating and production of offspring by animals”. In this way, breeding kink can refer to both the idea of ‘uncivilized’ and desperate, uninhibited and unprotected sexual acts that come from the (perceived) inability of animals to separate sex and procreation, while also can refer to owners of their animals making clinical choices of who their animals are permitted to breed with, and wanting to keep them fertile for breeding. Both of these can enhance the aspects of the D/s dynamics and the feelings of desirability of the players.

As well, in puppy play, breeding kinks often goes hand in hand with knotting, the physical phenomenon that occurs with males of the Canid family (and a few other animals). This phenomenon is that during copulation, the base of the penis will swell so that the male is unable to remove his penis from within the female; thus more sperm remains within the vaginal canal, heightening the chance that his sperm can ultimately reach an egg in the uterus. It may also function as a double insurance that another male will be unable to copulate with the female immediately after, again increasing the possibility that his sperm reaches the egg. This of course plays well into the premise of a breeding kink, and ownership, in emphasizing the likelihood of breeding (again, whether or not genitalia for pregnancy are actually present). As well, physical differences in genitalia tantalizes humanity’s innate attraction to the taboo, which can excite us sexually, especially in the wake of context that reiterates our desirability.

Regarding the aforementioned humiliation/degradation kink involvement within puppy play, this can especially be seen in the allowed messiness of the puppy, such as through pissing or ejaculating on themselves, their owners or other things. This relates to the puppy feeling desired even though they are doing things that are generally considered inappropriate or disgusting; for the Owner, there is often an enjoyment of the power of pushing their puppy to a threshold that they piss themselves, or ruin something because they so desperately need to cum, and seeing how desperate the puppy is willing to be for them. In much the same way as espoused above, the rest of window dressings that can be involved with puppy play that has been briefly mentioned continue to help stimulate and heighten the Owner/puppy context and subsequent power dynamics of these scenes, which ultimately allows for an intense reciprocation of trust, desirability and intimacy.

Frerard and Puppyplay

With that established, let us return to Frerard. The shenanigans that most strongly evoke the dynamics of sexual puppy play were most prevalently displayed in the Pro-Revolution Tour of 2007, but occurred throughout all the years of them performing, up until today. This includes behaviour such as Frank or Gerard howling into the microphone for House of Wolves, Frank licking Gerard’s face and humping Gerard’s head. Frank has also frequently fallen to his knees in front of Gerard (occuring even in the 2026 Long Live the Black Parade tour), and at least twice doing an action aptly described as nuzzling Gerards crotch, another time gazing up at Gerard while thrusting up against his guitar, while another time Gerard grabbing Frank’s hair while he is on his knees to yank his head back and forth. Even in the extra footage of the I’m Not Okay (I Promise) music video tapes from 2004 has Frank grab Gerard hips while they are on the ground, as if to hump them, and Frank also over the years has had a thing of spitting on Gerard (and spitting generally)… and the list goes on. Some of these moments, caught on camera, are included within the anthology as photos for contextual posterity and viewing pleasure.

IMG 1: Frank grasping Gerard’s hip as if about to hump him, in outtakes on the I’m Not Okay music video (2004). IMG 2-3: Frank shoving his face into Gerards crotch after palming him and Frank playing his guitar between Gerard’s legs while on his knees; Black Parade Era (2007). IMG 4-5: Gerard grabbing Frank’s hair while Frank is kneeling to yank his head back and forth and Frank leaning against Gerard, close to their crotch; Pro-revolution Tour (2007).

Many of these interactions are clearly sexual (although howling, not particularly) and unimpeded by the concept of general public ‘decency’, which most would balk about doing such a sexual (especially homosexual; which is a whole separate kettle of fish) act openly. This unimpeded display of sexuality evokes the openness of the dynamic of puppy play, in which the puppy–in this case Frank upon stage--acts upon sexual desire, disregarding social conventions. This uninhibited expression of sexual desire, entwined with the fact that these interactions between Gerard and Frank aren’t just in the form of kisses (and often sloppy kisses at that), but are enacted through acts such as Frank humping, licking, or crotch nuzzling which suggest an ‘animalistic’ sexual desperation to Frank’s actions, strengthens the context of puppy play. Adding to this, Frank’s frequency of being on his knees in front of Gerard, provides a physical representation of power dynamics, and of a literal puppy waiting on its Owner. This is especially reiterated when Gerard yanks Frank’s hair to manhandle him, or pets Frank’s head; the former something that is a power display in puppeting the other, and could be used to admonish, while the latter would be used to praise a puppy. Overall, these acts evoke the dynamics of puppy play, with the display of uninhibited desire, power dynamics, and of acts beyond just ‘civilized’ kissing that evoke an animalistic sense of sexual desperation.

IMG 1: Gerard presses Frank closer while Frank leans and rubs up against them; Warped Tour (2005). IMG 2-4: Frank on his knees, hands held behind him, while Gerard stands before him, possibly feeding or giving him water, Frank getting petted and hair pulled by Gerard while on his knees and Frank thrusting up against his guitar while gazing at Gerard; Pro-Revolution Tour (2007). IMG 5: Gerard crouches over Frank, who pushes his hips up toward Gerard while playing on the floor; Danger Days era (2012).

There are also many non-sexual dynamics that evoke the premise of puppy play between the two. One of these is the power dynamics and attention/affection seeking behaviors between Frank and Gerard. That is, these power dynamics aren’t just visible on stage, but are ones that did underlie their relationship to each other and within the band. This can be seen in that Frank was the last of the band to join, and joined near the end of their first album because he was such a huge fan and he hung out so frequently with the band; in fact, he still calls himself MCR’s biggest fan. Being the last to join has also impacted Frank emotionally, at least for the first few years in the band; he’s himself spoken about his (unfounded) fears of needing to prove his place, implying the worry that he wouldn’t be good enough, and the rest of the band wouldn’t want him there or ask him to leave, such as is seen his comments in Life on the Murder Scene (LOTMS) in 2006. This showcases a felt power dynamic with Frank, in that he clearly places the members MCR on a pedestal of admiration, one that he desires to be on, and is on, but also feels he is in some way inadequate; in this regard the rest of the band is construed as having more power, while Frank personally contextualizes himself as lesser. He has also said that for a long time he would still try to show off to gain approval from the others in the band, a comment he made as late as 2013 if I recall correctly (although the exact quote and where it is from is currently eluding me). Considering that Gerard is the frontman, and generally the one who writes the lyrics and composes the songs with the input of the others, MCR conceptually is mostly Gerard; thus it is easy to confer Frank’s admiration of the band more specifically to Gerard. This especially as that Frank has openly in various interviews expressed deep admiration of Gerard’s talents specifically, calling them a ‘genius’ (such as an interview in 2005). As a result, there is this dynamic of Frank not just admiring MCR generally, but specifically Gerard themself; knowing that, it is not hard to extrapolate that Frank’s general desire to show off would include showing off to Gerard in particular (although that’s not to say Frank doesn’t have deep respect for Ray, but rather is focused more on Gerard). This fits within the puppy play dynamic, as the puppy is often openly admiring and affectionate of the Owner, and as a result will enact attention-seeking behavior; either positive, actively seeking to please their owner to receive attention and affection, or negative behaviour, in an effort to at least be acknowledged or see how much they can get away with what they want from the Owner. This attention seeking behavior folds into some of the sexual behaviour discussed above; showing off, or behaviour that seems be aimed to rile Gerard up by how much he can get away with. This can be exemplified by Frank humping Gerard’s head, or Frank licking a stripe up Gerard’s face, both while Gerard is singing.

I would be remiss here to not step briefly into more speculative territory, and discuss that this dynamic of Frank being the one to seek affection and attention from Gerard, with Gerard being the one to acquiesce or deny this affection/attention, also fits a common Frerard theory. This theory being that Frank was the one most invested in what seemed to be a sexual and romantic relationship between the two of them, while Gerard either did not return the same level of affections, or felt that they could not, and was the one that ultimately ended that form of their relationship at a certain point/s. A very similar dynamic of Gerard being the one to choose to step away, can also be represented with the break up of the band. Overall, there is a clear power dynamic of Frank being openly admiring of Gerard, and engaging in some attention-seeking or affection-seeking behavior on stage (and seemingly sometimes off-stage by Frank’s admittance) to get Gerard to respond to him, that fits the dynamics of puppy play.

IMG 1-3: Frank on his knees before Gerard, over twenty years: looking up at them in Warp Tour/Revenge era, (2005), playing in The Black Parade (2006), and on his knees before them and headbanging, on the second leg of Long Live the Black Parade tour (2026). IMG 4: Frank humping Gerard’s head; Pro-revolution Tour (2007). IMG 5 + 6: Frank sticking his tongue into Gerards mouth, Black Parade Era (2007) and Frank licking Gerard's face, Pro-Revolution Tour (2007).

Non-sexual dynamics of Frank as a puppy also stretch further beyond this power dynamic, to Frank’s general disposition. Frank during the 2000’s was known for being rambunctious to downright destructive on stage, generally impish in behavior (such as the magic trick in LOTMS, which he just flips the camera off), while also known to be kind to fans. These behavioural traits can aptly be described as a puppy-ish behavior in the general sense; that is, puppies being very cute, but also energetic, often mischievously playful and non-maliciously destructive. As well, the band’s response to Frank’s antics also seem similar to that of someone dealing with a puppy, as he was literally referred to as the ‘sweet baby’ of the group in LOTMS. A name evoking a similar response to a doted-on puppy, even if the puppy can get into mischief. Of course, part of this puppy allegory also fits puppies’ general newfound uninhibited horniness; something we’ve already covered above and which also is represented within Frank’s actions.

IMG 1: Frank biting the mic stand, Revenge era (2005). IMG 2: Frank spitting on Gerard, like a dog pissing on a post to mark territory; Warped Tour (2005). IMG 3: Frank goes to lick the mic; Pro-revolution Tour (2007).

The comparison of puppy play is, of course, further compounded by Frank’s love of dogs. Frank consistently over the years has had multiple dogs, and clearly cares deeply about them; he is often seen to be ecstatic about getting fanmade merch with his dogs on them. In an interview he has also been asked what type of dog he would be, ultimately answering a ‘sort rescue dog’. In the last few years, photos show he owns a guitar strap that has the words “NERVOUS RESCUE I Need Space” on it, and has worn kandi with the words “NERVOUS RESCUE”, with orange beads, likely inspired from his guitar strap and given to him by a fan. As well, during Swarm on one night he wore a black leather spiked collar on his ankle on stage, and during the second leg of Long Live the Black Parade his guitar strap for Pansy is a spiked leather strap, like a dog’s collar. He has also posted on his Instagram story during Swarm tour in 2022 an article “I’ve decided to give up being a human and become a collie: Japanese man spends $15000 on ultra-realistic dog costume so he can live like an animal” with his own comment above it saying “I’m just about ready to make the jump too… can I still play guitar 🤔”; it is unknown whether it is the concert after this that he wears the collar on his ankle, as I was unable to clarify the date. Overall, it is very clear that Frank strongly self-identifies with dogs, and with this last article, he also relates to the desire to shirk human responsibilities to enjoy the simplicity of being a dog; something that is a big draw of puppy play. As a result, Frank’s love of dogs, and own self-identification with dogs and expressed desire of being a dog on top of the rest of Frank’s personality, brings to mind the dynamics of puppy play and Frank easily fitting within the puppy role. In all honesty, with Frank over the years being pretty blatantly kinky, on top of all this puppy play context, it’d be surprising to me if Frank hasn’t engaged in puppy play previously, let alone being unaware of what puppy play is.

Images 1-2: Frank’s Instagram repost of his orange guitar strap with Nervous Rescue label, for a LS Dunes show, and photo of Frank flipping through LP’s; an orange kandi on his wrist with the words Nervous Rescue. (Dates uncertain). Images 3-4: Frank preparing to get on stage, with a close up showing the spiked collar around Frank’s left ankle and Frank onstage with collar on ankle; Swarm tour (2022). Image 5: Frank with the leather spiked guitar strap for Pansy; Long Live the Black Parade, (2026).

While we have discussed Frank specifically as a puppy in length, Gerard’s involvement (beyond the one who Frank’s sexual affections on stage have been directed to) has been less explored, but this likely comes from the fact that as the ‘Owner’ there is less to glaringly compare to, in the way that acting as a puppy does. Nevertheless, with Frank, it’s clear Gerard was not begrudgingly involved; after all, these situations occurred for quite some time, and Gerard has deliberately played into it or instigated these homoerotic and puppy play-esque incidences with Frank. One can also foot the question of puppy play with Gerard as the puppy; something that is a much less common interpretation, although one that does exist within the Frerard puppy play tag more frequently than one would think. After all, Gerard is often brazenly sexual on stage, and has no qualms about rolling around, humping objects or kneeling, which does fit the bill of being a puppy personality wise. However, there is generally a lack of a specific person these acts are directed to for attention or affection seeking behavior, which Frank’s were, and Gerard lacks the strong affiliation with dogs, in terms of self-identification, and in personality, that would make it as popular.

Gerard essentially humps the speaker; Frank lurks in the background; Swarm Tour (2022).

In returning to puppy play generally for Gerard, if we delve into more recent events, specifically Swarm Tour in 2022 and the writing on the drum heads, one does find more of a direct reference from Gerard on puppy play, as Gerard was the one writing on the drum heads and handful of these writings were specifically dog-coded. This includes:

Sit. STAY. BEG.

BARK BARK BARK

I wanna see you turn into a WEREWOLF

Back in my Cage

‘Sure’ written over ‘Back in my cage’

OFF Leash

GNAW

Some of these do not necessarily have a sexual connotation, such as ‘GNAW’, but others such as ‘Sit. STAY. BEG.’ strongly implies the sexual connotation of puppy play (and is where this anthology takes its name from). All these together can begin to reinforce the suggestion of puppy play. Also, notably, Gerard writes ‘Sit. STAY. BEG.’ the day after Frank reposts on his Instagram story the article about the man choosing to be a dog and expressing the same wish… something that some people consider is beyond a simple coincidence, especially considering Frank at one point wore the ankle collar on stage during Swarm. This once again affiliates puppy play to Gerard and Frank, in the suggestion that Gerard, the Owner, is writing that command on there for Frank, as the puppy. It is the most explicit recognition of puppy play from either of the two; however, the lack of explicitly referencing Frank weakens the statement, but remains overall a quite evocative suggestion of Frerard.

Various dog coded writings by Gerard on the drumheads during Swarm (2022).

Nevertheless, it is clear that Gerard is aware of puppy play; unsurprising, considering that they have previously performed wearing a BDSM belt, and they have talked in an interview about deliberately seeking out unusual kinks online, referencing inflation kinks (and puppy play is certainly not a terribly unusual kink either). Nor is it a surprise that these puppy play related phrases were written on the drumheads, considering Gerard has always talked about MCR as a way to push the borders of sexuality on stage. Thus, something kinky, such as words related to puppy play being written on the drum head at the same tour that Gerard dressed in traditionally feminine clothing, (and of these, often specifically traditionally feminine clothing that is fetishized) is very ‘fork found in kitchen’. Also, many of the other writings on the drumheads were clearly sexual, including ‘GAG’. However, the overall sexuality displayed on stage does not necessarily disregard Gerard’s possibility of being involved in puppy play, nor does it discredit previous and current dynamics existing between Gerard and Frank. Regarding other facets of Gerard’s potential engagement with puppy play, they have also admitted to having a piss kink; a kink that is not infrequently involved in puppy play. Overall, it is clear Gerard is aware of puppy play with his reference, and the incident around ‘Sit. Stay. Beg.’ suggests Gerard may enjoy and have even engaged in such behavior, possibly with Frank himself, whether more recently or in the past.

All in all, Frank’s strong self-identification with dogs, his general disposition, and his uninhibited attention/affection seeking behavior towards Gerard during the 2000’s, and Gerard’s own acceptance of such behavior or even encouragement of it, mixed with these latent power dynamics provides an evocative argument for the possibility of Frank and Gerard engaging in puppy play together. That said, I do not believe their interactions in the 2000’s were deliberately done to reference puppy play, but rather a result of a more natural affinity of Frank’s towards puppy play behaviour, and general expression of sexual desire. It is then no surprise then that all these together have caused puppy play to be a popular tag within the Frerard universe, especially Gerard taking the role as the Owner, and Frank as the puppy.

With all that laid out, it is this exact dynamic and kink of puppy play that is celebrated in this anthology, for your enjoyment. The anthology itself contains some different flavours of puppy play, such as era, the positionality of who is in what role of puppy/Owner, and who is topping/bottoming. Although the anthology contains some variety, I do have to confess that it is mainly a collection of puppy play fics I personally enjoy, rather than a proper diligent selection for variety; it is also relegated to shorter fics to fit within an anthology at this book size, although most puppy play fics are naturally quite short in length. As a result it unfortunately does not contain LiberXI’s Gerard Way’s Kink Service, as it is much too long to fit within this small anthology (even if it provides excellent contextualization of puppy play kink dynamics), and deserves its own book. As well, it may lack some kinks common to puppy play (such as vet or piss kink) and some of the fics included here may not have very strong emphasis on puppy play. Nevertheless, I sincerely hope you enjoy the anthology and perhaps find something in here for you, which after all this technical analysis, is unabashedly a collection of porn.

link to the anthology post and list of fics

R.S.P.

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