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thinking about Chrissy's 'are you deaf I said go away!' and how it's clear it's more her low and at the end of her rope not like. a sign she's a secret mean girl. We see her nightmares. we see her light up so easily with Eddie when he's kind to her. obviously it's not "normal" her. she's being hunted!

and like. wouldn't it make sense if she's so mad and doesn't want Max's concern because it's a relapse? like if things are so bad she's thrown up for the first time in a couple weeks either right now or in the past few days? like she was doing better and sure, home sucks, but she was trying and she was was gonna graduate and now she's back here again. over a toilet.

#others’ thoughts 💕☁️ #just chrissy 🫧

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Happy 420 to my fave stoner Chrissy Cunningham 🍃🩷

#others’ edits 💕☁️ #just chrissy 🫧

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Chrissy's Earrings and What They Mean About Her Family's Social Class

Hello and welcome to a stupid mini rant about Chrissy Cunningham's earrings and their social implications!

So for context: I have spent a decent amount of time in (and have a large family from) the American South, where there are alllllll kinds of stupid little social rules and secrets that signal things to others who know The Codes. Obviously this isn't limited to the south, but it's v prevalent there. And among the Codes are some rules about pearl jewelry. I learned this mostly on accident because I wanted to buy myself a pearl necklace as a college graduation present and stumbled across some very opinionated blogs while researching.

Pearls are kind of a big deal in the south. Less so these days, but back in the days of Debutantes (so like… two generations ago. My grandmother's debutante ball pictures are still on the wall of a local restaurant in my family hometown), ~Ladies~ all had (and wore) a nice string of pearls. And one of the ways you showed how classy you were was obeying a system of rules around who is allowed to wear what pearls. This set of rules extended up most of the east coast. It seems to have been stronger in the bible belt, but this would not be unfamiliar to folks in, say, Kentucky or Connecticut. Obviously it's 2024 and you can do whatever you want with your jewelry (and even 60 years ago it's not like you'd be sent to jail for wearing the wrong kind of necklace, you'd just be viewed as socially inept or possibly trashy), but for the purposes of this discussion, here are the formal rules.

The main thing is size. Pearls can be bought in different standardized sizes. Before lab-created pearls really took off, the only way to get them was out of a clam. The longer the pearl sits in the clam, the more layers the clam is able to put on it, and the bigger it gets. Thus, it takes more time to acquire a larger pearl, making them more expensive. Pearls are measured in millimeters, with small pearls being about 6-6.5mm, and large pearls being about 13.0-13.5mm. To make a piece of pearl jewelry, you need to match a handful of pearls as closely as you can in terms of size, shape (they don't all come out perfectly round), and color (pearls can be white, pink, yellow, black, etc.). Thing is… young women are not allowed to wear big pearls. The general guidelines are:

5-6.5mm: given as "first pearls". Typically you wait until a girl is a little older to gift her her very first pearl jewelry. This might be done as a flower girl present, but 16 is often considered a good age for a girl to receive her first strand.

6.5-7mm: permissible for girls 16 and up. Often given as a birthday or high school graduation present. Might also be gifted to your bridesmaids as a thank you for appearing in your wedding.

7-7.5mm: permissible for women 18 and up. Often given as a high school or college graduation present, birthday/mother's day/anniversary/Christmas/valentine's day present. This is kinda considered the "all purpose" size for women.

7.5-8.0: permissible for women 25 and up.

8.0-8.5: this is where they're generally considered to be more ~luxury~. The jewelry becomes its own statement, rather than a standard all-purpose foundational accessory.

8.5-9.0: permissible for women in their mid-30s or older. Often gifted when a woman makes a significant achievement or attains some power, such as a promotion. (An achievement is not necessary to receive these as long as the age requirement is met; conversely, a woman younger than her mid-30s may be gifted this size if she has a sizable enough accomplishment.)

9.0-9.5: permissible for women when they either A) reach their 40s, or B) become "high-powered"-- upper management, CEO, etc.

Basically, you have to "earn" your right to wear larger pearls, either with age or power. You're allowed to wear any size you've "graduated" from (an older or powerful woman can wear any size, if you're in your mid-20s you can wear anything 5.0-8.0 but not above, etc.), but you shouldn't wear sizes you haven't attained the "right" to wear, as this is tacky. Even when you have the "right" to wear big ones, it's worth considering occasion-- larger pearls are more luxurious, so you may choose to wear your 7.0mm strand for your day-to-days and bust out the 9.0s when you have a fancy event. Alternatively, you might wear your 9.5s to work every day to remind everybody what a badass you are.

So now that that's sorted, these are Chrissy's earrings:

They're… big. I'd estimate maybe 10-11mm based on this picture, assuming GVD has normal-sized ears. The sizes listed above are for necklaces, and you can go a little bigger for your earrings, but a 17 year old girl really shouldn't, according to pearl rules, be wearing 11mm earrings. Like, she could get away with 7.5s even though she hasn't graduated/isn't 18, but 11mm is crazy.

For reference, here's what 10-11mm looks like on a jewelry store model-- about what Chrissy is wearing:

And this is a 6-7mm, which is "age appropriate" for her:

Chrissy's possession of these indicates that her family is not aware of pearl rules. She shouldn't even own earrings this big, let alone be wearing them to cheer practice and drug deals. Maaaybe Laura could have them, if she works outside the home and has a high power career (not outside the realm of possibility), but Chrissy would probably not be stealing Mommy Dearest's earrings for a pep rally, based on their characterizations.

Chrissy's family is obviously shown to have money. However, they aren't aware of the opaque rich people social codes. Thesis? The Cunninghams are nouveau riche and part of why image is such a big deal for them. Laura's very careful composition in public, that family portrait oil painting, their huge/pristine house, and all of the fanon decisions made about Chrissy's need to uphold a reputation/Laura's pressures and expectations of her... they're all to help the family force their way into the moneyed community of Hawkins and pretend they belong.

#huh #this is hella interesting #really cool breakdown of a little detail like this #thank you for sharing:) #others’ thoughts 💕☁️ #just chrissy 🫧

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mmmmm i really need to finish my uni work so that i can sit down with my demon au playlist on and daydream extensively for hours so that i have the correct Thoughts to write this au. but no. im a procrastinator sat here staring at an empty google doc and not getting myself any closer to be able to follow my angsty dreams

#not the girlies 🤍 #resurrected girlies 🖤💋

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one day I’ll finally write that ridiculously elaborate fanfiction that I’ve been carefully constructing in my daydreams for months and then you’ll be sorry. you’ll all be sorry.

#not the girlies 🤍 #resurrected girlies 🖤💋 #<- the au im thinking about #me and my playlist and my pinterest board and my extensive daydreams will show you all

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Chrissy/Heather the superior Chrissy wlw ship 🫶

#ah!!!!! #the girlies are thriving #<- being so delusional rn #others’ edits 💕☁️

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hawkins high princess, chrissy cunningham 😌

#stunning. absolutely stunning #others’ art 💕☁️ #just chrissy 🫧

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living on a farm with chrissy !! ໒꒰ྀི ₍ᐢ･⚇･ᐢ₎꒱ྀི১

frilly socks. tending to the animals. going on strawberry picking dates. riding horses together. having a ton of picnics. bike rides in meadows. swinging on the outdoor porch. watering the flowers. picking corn. making home-grown meals. planting crops. milking the cows. feeding the goats. hanging the laundry in the summer breeze. wearing as many bows and sundresses as possible <3

taglist: @ye0nvibezzn @superlegend216

#oooh this is so pretty #others’ edits 💕☁️ #just chrissy 🫧

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Chrissy Cunningham from Stranger Things with bisexual flag? Thanks!

like/rb if using + credit

#others’ edits 💕☁️ #just chrissy 🫧

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Chrissy Cunningham - Credit if using

#others’ edits 💕☁️ #just chrissy 🫧

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#polls #just heather 🍒

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Chrissy: I really just want to get away from everybody right now. The others are just...at this high volume, high energy all the time. I'm so tempted to just sit in here and be away from all the noise!

[Lucas and Max fighting in the background]

Chrissy: Alright, I'm gonna stay in here with the door locked for just a couple more minutes.

#others’ writing 💕☁️ #just chrissy 🫧

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i do like the idea of heather feeling like a big fish trapped in a small pond and all she wants is to get out of hawkins and be free. she wants to be in a big city she wants to be surrounded by diverse people she wants to kiss a lot of ladies and also men!

her parents are so strict when it comes to their Image™ and there's so many rules and she's had enough dammit! she's gotta spread her wings and fly

and she sees her ticket to do that in billy. in the way he talks about california and his friends back there and all the shit they used to get into. the concerts and the partying and the people... there was so much to get into

so after graduation when billy decides he's packing up the camaro and heading west, heather tells him she's going with him. writes a letter to her parents apologizing for making a sneaky getaway but explaining how she thinks this is the best thing for her, and she promises she'll call from the first place they stop at

heathers hanging out the camaros passenger window as billy speeds past the LEAVING HAWKINS sign. wind whipping through her hair as she flips the bird at the town that did nothing but hold her back

#others’ writing 💕☁️ #just heather 🍒

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I’m practicing drawing girls so heres a quick sketch of Heather :)

#others’ art 💕☁️ #just heather 🍒

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lmao okay. eye’s averted! i am looking away

🙄 <- me averting my eyes. what a lovely ceiling there is in my room

🦀 CHRISSY DOESN'T HAVE TO BE BALD ANYMORE!!! 🦀

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tom and janet do not find this to be suitable dinner conversation and billy's about to be forcibly removed

#others’ edits 💕☁️ #just heather 🍒 #trio of besties 🧍‍♀️🧍‍♀️🧍‍♂️

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uh- hey soup, luv… what the hell? 😂

🦀 CHRISSY DOESN'T HAVE TO BE BALD ANYMORE!!! 🦀

#others’ art 💕☁️ #poly ships 💅 #pompompoolsailor