#hellcheer squad
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glitterslag · 2 years ago
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eddie 'fine I'll take you to prom but I'm not dancing' munson VS jeff 'i know you're here with munson but he's lame + may I have this dance + ratio' whatever his surname is
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dutchs-toybox · 2 years ago
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More ST blogs to be moots with? No minors please respect my boundary
Dutch
Mid twenties
LGBT maybe
A writer, maybe I'll take a request
Billy defender because I was that angry kid once too
This is a side blog
Writing examples
Metalsandwich fic How Kings Fall - NSFW Billy Hargrove recovery and growth fic And we'll be birds
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ivyodessa · 9 months ago
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Hellcheer Anniversary Week Day Two - Friday Night Football Game
"T-I-G-E-R-S! GO TIGERS GO!" the squad yelled in unison while Tina and Rochelle did double front handsprings in the front. The two of them grabbing pompoms and rejoining the group for the final cheer.
Chrissy was in the center of it all, smiling and yelling as loud as she could with her squad. Hers. She was the captain now, the responsibility passed down to her at the beginning of senior year just a month ago.
The Homecoming game was the first big night to show off everything they'd been working on during cheer camp this past summer and the first few games of the season. Try as she might though, her focus kept getting stuck on a figure clad in black sitting at the very top of the bleachers smiling down at her.
Their pompoms pumped the air as they gave their final chant "GO, FIGHT, WIN!" and before she knew it, the announcer was welcoming the marching band and color guard to the field. Halftime finally, thank goodness.
She looked up to the top of the stands and expected to find a lanky metalhead with a Cheshire grin, but his spot was suspiciously empty.
Chrissy turned to Abby Lancaster, one of their best flyers, "I'm gonna get a drink from concessions, I'll be right back!" and walked off before the girl could even give an affirmative nod.
She made her way through the crowd of people milling around as the show began and found a small gap to crawl underneath the bleachers. It wasn't long before she saw the glowing cherry of a lone cigarette in the darkness.
"T-I-G-E-R-S! GO TIGERS GO!" Eddie cheered in a high, girlish voice while waving his arms in an uncoordinated attempt at a cheer routine. "You looked pretty good out there, princess," he chuckled warmly, flicking the cigarette aside.
"Oh yeah?" she said with sweet smile. "You think we can cheer them all the way to the championships?" She made her way to him and placed her hands on his chest, gazing up at him adoringly.
"Can you? Absolutely yes. Do I want you to? Fuck no. I want these fuckers to lose every game. I hate having to sacrifice Friday nights with my girl." His girl. Eddie Munson's secret girlfriend. The thought always set her cheeks ablaze.
"If I'm your girl why haven't you kissed me yet?" she pouted playfully.
With a smile he cradled her face and leaned down for a gentle kiss. A kiss that quickly turned heated. Her hands made their way to his hair, scraping his scalp and pulling a moan from him that she swallowed down eagerly. His hands inevitably made their way under her cheer skirt, squeezing and kneading her ass as his teeth and tongue turned her brain into fuzzy television static.
Somehow she broke away from their kiss, panting and still holding onto a fistful of his hair. She stared at his kiss swollen lips and then looked up into the rich chocolate of his wide eyes, a perfect shaft of light from the bright field lights illuminating the warm, brown canyons found in his irises. The cacophony of sound around them didn't even seem to touch them here in this private dark place.
She touched her forehead to his. "I missed you," she whispered desperately, her heart still beating erratically from their kiss.
"You're telling me," he huffed out a laugh, "Longest fucking week of my life."
She toyed with the chain around his neck, "But we're together now. And I plan on sneaking under the bleachers with you every game, just so you know."
He smiled and looked deeply into her eyes, "Whatever you want, princess."
She pulled on his necklace, bringing his face infinitesimally closer until their lips almost touched, "Just you, always you," she whispered.
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ebongawk · 7 months ago
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Hellcheer AU: Usually, we see Chrissy pulled into Eddie's world when they meet (like in the show.) How about one where Eddie's forced into Chrissy's harrowing world of two-faced preppy popularity? A "The principal formally bans the Hellfire Club from operating, and Eddie's forced to work for/with the basketball team, or even better the cheer squad, after the principal threatens to fully expel him unless he shapes up" AU. No Vecna, but Chrissy and Jason are still together (for the drama.)
oh lord, the absolute mischief Eddie Munson would cause:
In my head, the principal didn't ban Hellfire, but it is the threat he uses against Eddie to make him do some amount of in-school service (Eddie could probably handle disappointing Wayne by being expelled, but the idea of disappointing his and all future sheep by getting the club taken away permanently? Removing the safe haven he's spent so much time building as their shepherd? That's the legacy of the outcasts, he won't have it endangered).
Eddie basically becomes the "assistant" to all of the sports teams - so a glorified water boy during practices for both the basketball team and the cheer squad during the second semester, but he also has to do concessions during games (both at home and away).
He's sort of always had a thing for Chrissy Cunningham, but seeing her in her element while she's coming up with choreography and helping her fellow cheerleaders kinda makes him want to eat his own skin and get a flower tattoo the same color as her hair. He also isn't totally blind so every time she comes to refill her water bottle that's only half empty, he's definitely 110% willing to strike up the conversation she's obviously searching for.
The jock straps with their laundry ball are a whole other flock of bullshit to contend with though. So, if Eddie has to subtly put them in their place every now and again (spitting in their water cooler, returning as many stupid remarks as they seem intent to give him, flirting obviously with their captain's girlfriend) he's not above it.
It's actually the stupid remarks that spark the first public issue with Chrissy and Jason, though, because Fuckface McGee says something loudly about how Eddie's basically lowlife garbage that will never accomplish anything in his life and Chrissy stands up for him (be still his cynical heart) in front of the cheer squad and the basketball team. Which embarrasses Jason.
Oops bonus #6: that very night, when Jason is trying to haul Chrissy into his car like a sack of potatoes, Eddie steps between them and manhandles Jason the exact way Jason tried to manhandle Chrissy. Putting him in his place, of course, but when he offers to drive Chrissy home after Jason speeds off, the only thing she says is, "Why the hell would you do that, Eddie?"
send me an AU and I'll make up five facts about it!
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dwobbitfromtheshire · 9 months ago
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In season 2, Steve mentioned that Chrissy was going to be at the party. I know it wasn't planned. . .that Chrissy wasn't added until later, but I like to think canonically that Chrissy was friends with Steve and Nancy when they were dating, and even though they vehemently hated Jason they supported her. I also like to think that Nancy was friends with Chrissy since, according to the Duffers, Nancy was briefly on the cheerleading squad. I also like to think that's how Nancy caught eye of Steve and that Chrissy told Nancy that of all the jocks, Steve was one of the good ones. I highly doubt they're going to reveal that in season 5, but it would be nice to see Chrissy come back and show that she knows them. Much like Eddie and Robin, she's a big Stancy shipper and just as supportive if they turn it into Stoncy, especially since she herself is a bisexual woman. At least, that's how I headcanon her, and these are my thoughts. I love the idea of Nancy and Chrissy being friends who occasionally fooled around. The same goes for Eddie, Steve, and now Jonathan. All of them, really including Argyle and Vickie. . .I mean Robin only with the women, of course. Not Vickie with Chrissy because I headcanon them as being cousins. Endgamers are still Stoncy, Hellcheer, and Rovickie. I just love a Nancy, Chrissy, and Steve friendship before season 4. Maybe they tried to help her with her mom, and it ended badly. Nancy, Chrissy, and Steve are all preppy. While Nancy is a nerdy prep, a prep she is.
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hellcheer-prompts · 4 months ago
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I saw a tiktok of the grinch dancing with cheerleaders, real fever dream shit
but so hellcheer coded in a way I can’t fully explain
For a pep rally right before winter break the cheer squad has this big thing planned to swap out the mascot with the grinch and do a routine in Santa hats (so cute and festive with their school colors already being green)
but the guy who really is the mascot refuses to do it and all their boyfriends are out too
But eddie sees the grinch costume and the dance and he’s like yea that’s my weird shit I’m in, and of course Chrissy hugging him and saying he’s literally saving their asses is a huge bonus
X
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electricbluebutterflies · 10 months ago
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an upside-down "spider-man" kiss + hellcheer
PG-ish and also on ao3.
They’re hanging out at the old park when Chrissy gets an idea.
Well, actually Chrissy gets several ideas. It’s early autumn and this is a quiet place mid-morning for both of them, convenient for weird schedules – she’s only doing a couple days a week behind the desk at a veterinary practice, and Eddie might be taking over the VFW bar but they don’t open for another two hours – and sometimes they just talk and sometimes they make out and-
It’s been nearly six months since the Incident, and Chrissy Cunningham is getting tired of feeling breakable.
There’s a playground near where they usually hang out, not as maintained as it could’ve been but everything still intact, and something about the monkey bars looks tempting to her. She’s a petite girl, always will be, perfect size to play around and-
“You gonna spot me?”
He’d follow her into hell if she asked, she thinks as he stays two steps behind as she wanders over and contemplates what exactly she wants to do. (By some technicalities he already did that, but she was hooked up to four hospital monitors at the time and… what she doesn’t know, in this case, is a couple years and more than a couple panic attacks from coming out, and-)
She gets up on the structure no problem and goes across a couple times and it feels so good, like all the things she doesn’t get to do anymore. She was a flyer the few times the cheerleading squad got to do bigger stunts, and something about there being nothing in the world but the swing of her body and the metal under her fingertips does something to her, something-
Chrissy gets another idea. This better work. This is why she has supervision.
She swings her body a couple times, checks how far her legs can go and how much force she can actually get to before she hooks them around another bar. She feels safe like this, somehow, as she let her hands drop and the supportive metal is now under her knees. Her ponytail is below her head, and her skirt won’t stay up but at least she’s wearing cute underwear and-
From her current angle she can’t quite see Eddie’s reaction to any of this, but she imagines his mind is like static on TV right now, and he hasn’t said anything, hasn’t worried too much and this is why she likes him, this is why-
“Get over here?”
He does, and as he comes into view she sees how right she is, he’s looking at her like she’s the prettiest thing and-
Chrissy swings her body forward just a little and kisses him.
It’s fun, from this angle. Different maneuvering, awkward like they aren’t quite awkward under more normal circumstances, and she ends up taking a few kisses, little playful heartbeats, and-
“You’re perfect,” he murmurs, mouth just an inch from her skin, and-
The scary part is she believes him. The scary part is she knows he’s in love with her in a good safe way and they’re figuring this all out so slowly and he likes that just as much as she does, she can take her time and get okay before anything happens and-
“Help me down?”
“’Course. Hands go where?”
“I think… hips? I’m not sure…”
He makes sure his hands are over her skirt, not… they are not talking about her cute floral underwear that she kinda did want him to see, it’s fine, and…
Chrissy is a small person, she reminds herself. Eddie has a solid enough build. It’s still just a little scary to let her body drop into his arms.
He catches her. It’s a little awkward, as she tries to do a flip and get on the ground and ends up kicking his shin in the process, but she’s okay, she’s okay and-
“Everything-“
“Yeah,” she murmurs, almost a laugh. “You like that?”
“Yeah.”
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kpchrs · 1 year ago
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Flight of Icarus Spoilers and Opinions - Hellcheer Version
Just my thoughts on the Hellcheer crumbs in the book. I wanted to write it short and just for myself, but it became longer so I thought I'll share it with people who might be interested.
I haven't rewatched S4 and I haven't processed Eddie's characterisation as intense as fanfic writers so maybe I can be wrong here and there, but this is just my opinion. This is not too organised, sorry, I'm sleepy lol
I think the fact that Eddie thought Chrissy was just another conformity-loving cheerleader girl fits his character. Eddie has formed his prejudice to jocks rock-solid since forever here, thus skipping her existence until then.
Chrissy may have been pressured to behave as the perfect cheerleader too so far, but the sweet Chrissy can't just stay quiet when the jocks harass Gareth. Chrissy is different, thus Eddie notices her again.
I love it when Eddie says "straight teeth". Maybe I overanalyse it, but that just symbolises that Eddie is far too stuck up in his prejudiced thinking. Because Chrissy - by coincidence because I'm sure the production casted Grace without taking account of her appearance - doesn't have what society called "perfect teeth". I don't know if the writer wrote that deliberately, but I think that's interesting? Just symbolises even further that Chrissy is actually not the cliche cheerleader girl he thought of.
I don't think of this book as absolute canon, but based on this, my headcanon is Eddie notices Chrissy more and more from then on (or after the book time (I haven't finished the book lol)) and as a result, he respects cheerleaders and has a soft spot for them, which is why he was kind to the cheerleaders in the cafeteria scene.
About him not remembering her until then, as much as I love the "Eddie has a crush on Chrissy since middle school" fanon, I think it's understandable that he didn't clock her or remember her until then. He got a life after middle school, I guess. But since in the show, Eddie called the talent show "hangout", the writer should have shown that thought process in the book. Or like emphasising more that this is a significant moment for him. But maybe I'm just asking for too much lol Hellcheer is canon but not "canon" anyway.
I like that the writer emphasises subtly Jason's...craziness, to foreshadow his character and what he is capable of doing.
As I have said before, I like the talent show background story. Lots of Hellcheer writers have written a similar version of their own, so it's very familiar. It also foreshadows Chrissy's struggles with her parents (as the writer should, what a missed opportunity if not). I can't make up my mind yet about Chrissy's "hungry jealousy" at Eddie's dad being late though.
We don't know much about Chrissy's dad. I love her fanon dad's characterisation fans based on the vision, but this makes me wonder if there's so much more about her dad. But I think fanon is not that far off, seeing the "blank-faced" Philip Cunningham at her daughter being lectured by the abusive Laura ("grabbing her shoulder and yanking her to the door" wtf??????? Chrissy Protection Squad, go go go!!!)
The fact that middle school Eddie immediately says sorry to Chrissy pointing at her mum tells me that he realises Chrissy's struggles intuitively. I love that Chrissy immediately opens up to Eddie with that "me too" and "like a secret she never told anyone". Just like 20-year-old Eddie sees through her and 18-year-old Chrissy opens up to him at the picnic table.
Well, I love Steve Harrington and his cameo. I like that it is implied that Jason is kinda scared of him lol
I'm overanalysing again but I love that Jason immediately pulls Chrissy away the moment she starts to defend Eddie. Just shows that Jason is that asshole who wants Eddie to...hm, get executed(? lol) no matter what, just like how he is in S4. But maybe it's more likely so that Chrissy won't tell the truth, hah.
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ashleyfanfic · 2 years ago
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They're a 10 but...
Found this on Twitter and decided to bring it here!
Tell me about your story/WIP’s love interest using: (Note from Ashley: I apologize for the length of this in advance) Thanks to @arielchelby for the tag
“They’re a 10, but…”
He's a 10 but he's secretly her mate and doesn't tell her about it until she accidently almost kill him. (Beautiful Diaster - Rewrite) - Dramione
She's a 10 but she's a high school cheer coach that's tough as nails on her squad but melty baby for him (Your Biggest Fan) - Hellcheer
He's a 10 but he's unwilling to acknowledge that killing his sister would have been hard on him and just needs hugs from her (The Dragons Dark and Deep) - Jonerys
She's a 10 but she's a sexually repressed lady of the ton with a psychotic mother (Possession)
She's a 10 but she was found in the woods on Christmas with a dress her mother shredded and a whole bunch of tears (Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas)
He's a 10 but her friends all hate him (That's Why I Love You)
He's a 10 but he's a bitter divorced dude who only smiles when she's back in his life (My Heart Whispers for Snow) Jonerys
They're all 10s but they're going through war with the undead and a crazy woman on a throne (Love on the Brain) Jonerys, Gendrya, Jaimsa
She's a 10 but her fear of people not seeing her for the ruler she is instead of a pretty face causes him to take a potion to be blind so he can see her for who she really is (I Am A Man On Fire, You A Violent Desire) Jonerys
She's a 10 but she had never heard of a blow job (The Oral Education of Miss Featherington) Polin (Colin x Penelope) I only did 10 - I have a lot more than that. tagging @frostbitepandaaaaa @justwandering-neverlost @chrissy-n-eddie
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i-used-to-wear-the-fedora · 2 years ago
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Hellcheer Roller Derby AU
-Chrissy Cunnigham is the queen of Hawkins High School. She has straight As, a perfect boyfriend, and is the captain of the cheer squad. Really, there's not that much else to her if you asked anyone.
-All of that, combined with an overbearing and controlling mother, Chrissy is under a lot of pressure. But she has one release for all of her pent up feelings.
-Tuesday and Friday nights at the semi run down roller rink near the edge of town, the Hawkins Skull Crushers is one of the best co-ed roller derbys this side of the Midwest.
-Chrissy isn't the biggest girl in the rink, but she's one of the most agile and people underestimating her ability has helped the team win many times.
-Eddie Munson and his band, Corroded Coffin, have been struggling to find places that will let them play. They're hired by the local roller rink to play Tuesday night when he sees her.
-Chrissy Cunningham, his crush since middleschool, hip checking some girl over the railing as she races around the arena.
- It's been years since they've even talked, but he's still smitten by the blonde. As they're packing up for the night when he hears her talking to someone about how they're down one player.
-Seeing this as his chance to spend more time with Chrissy, Eddie...overexaggerates his expertise in the arena and is immediately accepted into the team so they can go to the next tournament.
-Eddie shows up to practice on Thursday, woefully unprepared for how violent the sport can be. He absolutely eats shit, almost losing a tooth when he faceplants. Hard.
Normally, he'd get kicked off, but they need a backup for the upcoming tournament and the team isn't left with many other choices.
-Chrissy takes it upon herself to personally train Eddie and the two find themselves growing closer. In the rink and at school. Much to the confusion of everyone at school. Especially Chrissy's boyfriend.
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thatgirlwithasquid · 6 months ago
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WIP Word Game
Rules: you will be given a word. share one sentence/excerpt from your wip(s) that start with each letter of that word.
I was tagged by @rigginsstreet with the word TROUBLE
T - Edwin/Charles | Dead Boy Detectives wip : That does it. This bitch does not get to lay one fucking finger on Edwin, not if Charles has anything to say about it.
R - Steve/Eddie | Stranger Things, Beauty and the Beast au : “Run, Dustin,” he hissed over his shoulder.
Steve’d been through this enough to know that something always happened. Someone got left behind. Someone sacrificed themselves. They always lost someone. So he knew how this was going to go. He knew that fate wouldn’t have her fill without one of them being left for dead - and Steve would be damned if he was going to let it be Dustin.
O - Eddie/Chrissy | Stranger Things, aro!hellcheer wip : Over the coming years, Wayne would be the only person Eddie could really talk to about any crushes or things like that. He was the only person that understood. Eddie didn’t exactly love in the way everyone else seemed to.
U - Harley/Rick | The Suicide Squad wip : “Uh.. hi,” he manages, nodding uncertainly.
He’s still waiting for the other shoe to drop, or some hint of a trap to be laid out before him, because, so far, it just seems like Harley has genuinely just invited him around to her apartment. And, judging solely on the decorations, it seems like it may actually be her birthday.
B - Mr Flower/Argos | The World Of Mr Plant, hanahaki au : But for Mr Flower? It seems to have hit its peak. Sure, he’s still… in love… but it’s not something that’s getting any more intense, no matter how long Mr Flower spends around his fertiliser, as the doctors call him. He honestly doesn’t think it will. This is how he feels about Mr Plant, and this is where those feelings will stay.
L - Maddy/Liam | Wolfblood s2e10 canon divergence : Liam crawls on after it, squinting into the blackness outside of his flashlight’s reach. Occasionally he’ll catch a silhouetted tail swishing through the shadows or a flash of those evil eyes looking back at him. It’s the only reassurance he has that he hasn’t lost his guide.
E - Huntsman/Snow | Snow White and the Huntsman wip : Eric’s grip tightens, holding her jab securely in place. He feels the length of the blade pressed against the side of his ribcage even through the layers of his clothes. A few inches to the left and it would puncture a lung. A few further and his heart would be giving out now, pouring the sludge of his blood into that broken chest.
Tagging @kallisto-k @kittyphoenix12-xx @intothedysphoria with the word SWEET (of course, as always, no pressure :) )
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glitterslag · 2 years ago
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i dunno if anyone listens to catfish and the bottlemen but cocoon gives me all the hellcheer feels
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rose-n-gunses · 2 years ago
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hellcheer fic where eddie is told he needs another extracurricular (besides hellfire club) under his belt in order to graduate so chrissy convinces him to join the cheer squad because they need another base
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fujiblackthorne · 1 year ago
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hellcheer au where eddie is the waterboy for a football team’s cheerleading squad that chrissy’s part of 💦 (and they fall in love ofc)
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phoenixwrites · 2 years ago
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What’s the slander squad?
The Stalk Squad are a few people—possibly even just one person—who are currently combing through my blog (which has been up and active since 2011) hunting for problematic things I’ve said to prove I’m an evil person and that my blog is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. There is a post currently going around the ST fandom that is worthy of quite the eyeroll if you know me at all. It’s a big mix of out of context caps from my blog and straight up lies, such as:
“Phoenix wrote a fic about 11-year-old Erica and 20-year-old Eddie!” Didn’t happen. I ship Erica with Dustin and Eddie with Chrissy. No one else.
“Okay, well Phoenix SUPPORTS fics about 11-year-old-Erica and 20-year-old Eddie” Nope. (I am vehemently against censorship, which means supporting dead doves and dead dove writers, so if you think I’m going to point at another writer who writes disturbing content so y’all can harass them? Forget it.)
“Phoenix AGES UP Erica to write smut about her!” Never wrote smut about Erica. Have written her at ages 16, with a crush on Dustin, and as an adult with two kids. Again. With Dustin.
“SHE REC’D A FIC ABOUT ERICA AND EDDIE” I rec’d a fic featuring adult Erica and adult Eddie that several friends of mine, who are more polyamorous with their Eddie ships than I am, really enjoyed. I haven’t read this fic. Because I like Hellcheer and Dusterica.
“She has a fic about 16-year-old Chrissy and adult Eddie” yep, I sure do. They ain’t real, friends. (Really enjoying a fic about Anna, from Grace Van Dien’s film Roost and Michael, Joseph Quinn’s character in Hoard and can I just say I love that Hellcheer is following in its parent Rumbelle’s footsteps in trying out Anyelle? Anyway, quite the disturbing age difference between Anna and Michael, and it is deliciously creepy, and guess what, no one is getting hurt because THEY AIN’T REAL.) (Yes, I have just decided Rumbelle is the parent of Hellcheer. The Rumbelle pipeline is REAL.)
“She rec’d a dead dove fic about Chrissy and Eddie” An anon linked me this fic to which I responded with a vague eyeball emoji. (I clicked on the fic, read the tags, decided they would be triggering for me, and did this wild thing called exiting out of a fic and moving on with my life.) Because you can do that. You can look at a fic and go “gross” or “this gives me the ick” or “wow this is violently triggering to me, sure glad the author utilized trigger warnings and tags to forewarn me about the content, thank you author, peace out”.
“She weaponizes her trauma as a CSA victim” I am literally just existing. I don’t send anons, I don’t send hate, I mainly just stay on my feed and answer asks that I get sent or occasionally explore the Hellcheer tag. I have been open about being a CSA victim, which makes the P*%$ accusations particularly galling. I would hazard a guess that creating a post to “callout” someone in an attempt to encourage others to harass, bully, and doxx someone else would be far more in the realm of “weaponizing trauma” than me stating I am a CSA victim and I am very against censorship of any kind, whether it’s Ron DeSantis banning books or teenagers whingeing about AO3 content they can easily filter out but are too used to being spoonfed algorithmic content.
“She ate the pretend fake baby of one writer and Eddie Munson!” Actually this is true, I did eat that baby, it was delicious sautéed in butter.
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griefabyss69 · 1 year ago
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Sorry, I see religious trauma and I pounce. Ergo, pls:
03 nobody likes religious trauma frowny face
Hell yes <3 <3 <3 This is an unusual one for me! Has a plot, some pretty serious subjects that aren't the usual ones, has made me feel like crying while writing it before LMAO
This one is a Hellcheer that will WAY later become Steddissy + Robin probably, I have vague polycule ideas for the later plot. But the MAIN story is actually just about Chrissy herself and how when you later have control over your own life, you can start naming all of the huge feelings you had when you were younger.
This snippet is from early in the fic when she's still in school, like early teens
(Cw: controlling/strict parents, little mention of religion, and mentions of her ED)
She doesn't listen to a lot of rock music, sometimes she hears a song on the radio and thinks it sounds pretty cool, but her mom buys her the cassettes that she's allowed to listen to, and when she listens to music at her friend's houses, they all have pop music.
Except for her coolest friend, someone her mom doesn't know about. She has some new wave, and Chrissy likes the feeling she gets when she lays on Tara's floor and closes her eyes and pretends they're somewhere else. Somewhere exciting, maybe Chicago, or another state completely.
She had once tried to get her to try out for the squad, she seemed pretty athletic and Chrissy would bet five bucks that she could fly if she wanted to, but Tara shut her down with a hard, wavering voice.
"They don't let people like me become a cheerleader, Chris."
She didn't really get it, but she sort of understood anyway. Plenty of her friends were already cheerleaders, so it's not like she needed Tara on the squad. She just thought she might like it, especially the acrobatics.
At the end of that night she gathered up the books she had been supposed to take to the library to study, feeling a warm flush up the back of her neck when Tara gave her a soft punch to the shoulder, a cool "see ya later" that made her feel like there might somehow be a way out from under the watchful eye of God, and more importantly, her mother.
Tara had ended up moving - her coolest friend but still young enough to be stuck getting whisked away by her military parents, breaking Chrissy's heart in the same way that her heart broke when her mom found out she had been trying on lipstick at the mall and made her pray to God for forgiveness instead of eating supper that night.
It was unfair, and there was nothing either of them could do about it. Tara had left her with a letter and no phone number to call, no new address.
Weeping over the letter on her lunch break, hidden in a corner by the water damaged classroom that nobody used, she truly understood what Tara had meant back when she said she couldn't be a cheerleader.
-
Eddie Munson, too big for his body, too big for the little stage in the gymnasium, too big for the stink eye the principal was giving him, reminded her of Tara.
It's not like they looked alike, or like Eddie was playing any of the new wave bands Tara liked, or like they would hang out later and he would softly punch her shoulder with a cool "see ya later" when she left.
It was the attitude, maybe. Even though their mannerisms were different and she doesn't even think they'd be friends, probably. It was something she couldn't articulate even after running it around in her mind all through math class, an itch she couldn't scratch, and the answer to it just on the tip of her tongue. She could reason around it all she wanted, but it was out of reach.
She didn't dare think it had anything to do with the letter.
He lived in her heart for about a week, tucked up beside her memories of Tara and the frustration that she couldn't even send her a letter of her own. She didn't have any frustration with him though, and so he faded until she forgot about him until she'd catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye, a little spark shooting her in the chest for a moment.
She just held her breath until it passed and did something that she was supposed to, like double check the spelling on her note to Jason Carver, make sure her hand writing didn't look too shaky.
The sound of Eddie's guitar followed her thoughts until she snuck out to the mall and bought the kind of cassette she had to hide in her locker.
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