Cheronica

Cheronica is the femslash ship between Cheryl and Veronica from the Riverdale fandom.

Canon
Cheryl and Veronica meet on Veronica's first day at Riverdale High, once Cheryl takes an interest in Veronica, who has just moved to Riverdale from New York. Cheryl insists Veronica try out for the Riverdale Vixens and seemingly aims to add Veronica to her squad, but quickly realises Veronica isn't the following type when they face off over Cheryl's treatment of Betty. Although Cheryl proceeds to treat Veronica with disdain, Veronica sees through Cheryl's mean girl facade and goes to comfort Cheryl when she runs off at the fall Pep Rally meant to honour Jason's memory. Though Cheryl pretends to be part of the "established order" of misogyny of Riverdale High, she ends up teaming up with Betty and Veronica to help them rid the football team of the sexist pigs, once Cheryl realises her brother was one of them. In spite of Cheryl's rivalry with her, she seems to want to be around Veronica, crashing her and Kevin's hangout at the last Drive-In showing.

Their relationship changes when Cheryl invites Veronica for a sleepover at Thornhill the night before Jason's memorial. Veronica has dinner with Cheryl, her parents and Nana Rose, and is met with icy disdain, but it doesn't face her. Veronica is surprised to be met with a more vulnerable Cheryl, who didn't want to feel alone the night before saying goodbye to Jason and Cheryl reveals that she invited only Veronica as she was the only one who cared about her breakdown at the Pep Rally. Cheryl shows Veronica photos of Jason and says that Jason would've loved Veronica. Veronica supports Cheryl in the face of her parents' repression and encourages Cheryl to do what she wants at the memorial, to honour Jason as she wishes to do. Emboldened, Cheryl wears the dress she wore the day of Jason's disappearance and Veronica is stunned at the sight of Cheryl entering the memorial. Cheryl tries to give a eulogy, but breaks down crying and Veronica goes to comfort Cheryl.

When Polly escapes the Sisters of Quiet Mercy, both Cheryl and Veronica partake in a search for Polly in the woods, albeit on different teams. Cheryl later warns Polly about Cheryl's parents' intentions and Veronica offers Polly sanctuary at the Pembroke. Veronica hosts a baby shower for Polly which Cheryl attends with her mother and grandmother, where Cheryl informs Veronica that her Nana Rose might be a bit off, as they witness Rose predict that Polly is pregnant with twins. Their frenemy dynamic continues as Veronica is frustrated with her family and decides to take down Cheryl by challenging Cheryl for the leadership of the River Vixens. They compete in a dance off, where the Vixens declare Veronica the solid winner and Cheryl "fires" her minions in rage. To get revenge, Cheryl decides to crash Jughead's birthday party with Chuck Clayton and starts a game where people have to reveal secrets. Cheryl faces off with Veronica who accuses Cheryl of being into her brother when Cheryl tries to get back at Veronica by revealing the Lodges' activities. They're all thrown out by FP and the girls don't really communicate for a while after that. Cheryl attends Homecoming where Veronica and Archie perform together, and she leaves, saddened. FP is arrested for Jason's murder and Veronica witnesses Cheryl hitting Jughead when he apologises to her on his family's behalf. Once they find the video of Clifford shooting Jason, they're all shocked and let Cheryl know. Cheryl's shaken by the discovery, which Veronica notices when Cheryl 'retires' from Vixens and gives Veronica captainship. Veronica worries about Cheryl's wellbeing and state of mind, and rightfully so when she gets a text from Cheryl saying goodbye. Veronica deduces where Cheryl is and finds her at the frozen Sweetwater River just in time for her, Betty, Archie and Jughead to save Cheryl from drowning herself. Veronica brings Cheryl back to the Pembroke but Hermione unceremoniously asks Cheryl to leave despite Veronica's objections and Veronica leaves Cheryl to go to a school function.

Frenemies
Cheryl and Veronica don't really spend any time together following the events at Sweetwater River and become antagonistic once again when Veronica arrives at cheerleading practice and is non-plussed that Cheryl seems to be in charge. Despite handing over the reins to Veronica, Cheryl states that Veronica was never truly Head Cheerleader. During a later practice Cheryl, Veronica and Midge see the flyers going around town for Archie's Red Circle. Cheryl worries for her safety due to the attempted murders, prompting her and the Vixens to walk only in groups around town. When Veronica makes shirts for The Red Circle, Cheryl is more than willing to help distribute them and advocate for the group as a safety measure. Cheryl invites herself to a party thrown by Veronica's visiting acquaintance, Nick, from New York. Cheryl and Veronica both decide to partake in drugs supplied by Nick at the party, with which they get high and daze about. Nick tries to assault Veronica and apologises the following day at a SoDale event, then he proceeds to spike Cheryl's drink. Veronica performs with the Pussycats, but keeps an eye on Nick. When he leaves with Cheryl, Veronica and the Pussycats follow to his hotel, find him about to rape Cheryl and beat him up. Cheryl is shaken and comforted by Josie and Veronica, and stays the night at Veronica's. The next morning Cheryl and V overhear Penelope Blossom telling the Lodges that the ordeal was probably made up by Cheryl, and Cheryl cracks beneath the longtime abuse of her mother, dismissing Veronica's imploring that Cheryl report the assault. Despite the trauma, Cheryl attends the drag race between the Serpents and the Ghoulies with Veronica, Reggie, Kevin, Jughead, Archie and Betty, serving as the flag waver. Cheryl later uncovers the identity of the Sugarman for Betty, and Veronica expresses to Betty how impressed she is with Cheryl getting the information. An unhappy Cheryl makes a derogatory comment to Veronica and Archie about their constant making out at school. Cheryl has a visceral reaction to the Southside High students being transferred to Riverdale High and attempts to bully them on their arrival, which Veronica attempts to thwart as Veronica's working an angle for her parents to keep the peace among the students. They have a face-off, but Cheryl is undeterred and attempts to blackmail Archie with his and Betty's kiss to get Veronica to back down. Cheryl's blackmail doesn't work, as Archie instead asks how she is following her being attacked by St. Clair. Cheryl inadvertently reveals to Archie that Veronica was attacked too, and Cheryl later apologises sincerely for telling him, as she thought Veronica had told him.

Cheryl attends the Pickens Day Celebration where Veronica performs with The Pussycats (sans Josie). Suffering her mother's prostitution in Cheryl's home, as well as loneliness, Cheryl invites herself along on a retreat she overhears Veronica and Betty plan with their boyfriends. Veronica awkwardly mentions it's a "couples only" retreat and Cheryl, hurt at being rejected, later calls and tells Jughead about the kiss between Archie and Betty to get revenge on them. After Cheryl's hitherto unknown uncle Claudius shows up and plots with Penelope, Cheryl begins to fear for her and Nana Rose's lives. To counter any attacks on her, Cheryl invites Veronica, Toni, Josie and Betty over for a sleepover. They are all woken in the night by an attempt on Nana Rose's life. Toni asks Veronica and Josie for help when Cheryl has vanished and Veronica finds out where Cheryl's being held. They confront Cheryl's mother, who doesn't tell them anything, but Veronica and Toni are adamant they will find Cheryl and prepare for a heist mission. They sneak into the Sisters Of Quiet Mercy via a hidden tunnel and escape with a despondent Cheryl before the nuns can catch them. Cheryl and Veronica are both cast in the school musical and Veronica attends Midge's funeral where Cheryl sings as a tribute to their lost friend and fellow River Vixen. Following the riots, Cheryl discovers that her mother and uncle are in cahoots with Hiram lodge and tells Veronica of their parents misdeeds, leading Veronica to save Pop's Choc'lit Shoppe from his claws. They both stand up for the Southside students at Riverdale High and attend Archie's swearing in ceremony, watching in horror as he's arrested.

Juniors
Cheryl goes away with her girlfriend for three months and returns to throw an end-of-summer party at Thistle House. At Pop's, Cheryl mean-girlishly invites Veronica, along with Betty, Archie and Jughead, to her party. At the party, both Veronica and Cheryl, separately, are upset about Archie's upcoming trial and the false allegations against him. They both attend his trial. After Archie volunteers to go to juvie for two years, Veronica volunteers to take his stead as Student Body President, but Weatherby informs her that Cheryl has taken the position. Veronica's furious and confronts Cheryl, who tells her that she sympathises with Veronica's situation, and did it for her college resume. Cheryl and a few fellow River Vixen's later visit Pop's, where Veronica exchanges unpleasantries with her and Cheryl asks the Vixens to leave. Cheryl tells Veronica that her anger about Archie's imprisonment should be directed at getting Archie out of juvie and suggests Veronica look into 'The Innocence Project'. Veronica approaches Cheryl in the locker rooms and prompts a detente, as she wants the River Vixens to perform at a juvie football game, to which Cheryl agrees. When Veronica decides to open her speakeasy, La Bonne Nuit, she approaches Cheryl specifically in school to give her and Toni and invitation, and promising them VIP treatment for life. Cheryl and Toni attend the opening and Veronica welcomes them.



Veronica asks Cheryl, along with many others, to assist with breaking Archie out of juvie. They are successful and Cheryl's among the group in the bunker who swear to Veronica to keep Archie's location secret. Cheryl and Veronica are in class together when Sheriff Minetta comes in and starts questioning them about Archie's location. At school, Veronica and the cheerleaders are walking together when all of them, except for Cheryl, suddenly suffer seizures in the hallway. After recuperating and returning to school, the student lounge is shut down and Veronica talks to Cheryl, asking if she knows anything. Cheryl tells Veronica there's a school board meeting, that she suspects they want to shut down Riverdale High and that the Lodges are the instigators. At that moment men in hazmat suits enter the halls, taking the cheerleaders who suffered seizures into quarantine and Cheryl worriedly urges Veronica to run before they get her too. Veronica later calls Cheryl and together they bust up the school board meeting to accuse Hiram of wrongdoing, but he weasels his way out easily. Cheryl, however, steps up to the plate for the seizure-stricken Vixens and her mother causes a distraction by faking a seizure, fooling everyone but Cheryl. After Betty tells Veronica about the Fizzle Rocks testing at the SOQM, Veronica asks Cheryl to La Bonne Nuit and tells her how Hiram and Claudius are working together, suggesting they question Penelope Blossom to which Cheryl enthusiastically agrees. Cheryl and Veronica abduct Penelope, tie her up and torture her with... maple syrup. Afterwards, they enlist the Fizzled-up RROTC as their muscle to depose Hermione and stop her from setting Hiram's plan in motion, but they're too late as Riverdale's being quarantined.

A month later, the quarantine's lifted, but Riverdale's now effectively run by the Hiram Lodge. As a result, Veronica's business is booming and she welcomes Cheryl and Toni to La Bonne Nuit where Veronica has a standing reservation ready for them always. They don't really spend a lot of time together after that. Toni and the Pretty Poisons working as security for Veronica, as well as Toni and Veronica singing a duet with the Poisons and hanging out at La Bonne Nuit while Toni and Cheryl are fighting doesn't seem to cause any friction between Cheryl and Veronica. The two of them star in the musical as part of a notorious trio of jerks, along with Betty, and have a number of dance routines and songs they perform together. After initially helping Betty, Cheryl gets sucked into the cult and, despite being brainwashed, Cheryl takes it upon herself to arrange the junior prom with the theme "Fire & Ice" which, incidentally, is how Cheryl and Veronica respectively describe themselves. Cheryl sells tickets to the prom and teases Veronica when she and Archie buy tickets to go as friends. Cheryl escapes the cult, when Betty reveals what they really are, in time to save Veronica and the others from Penelope's murder hunt of them in the woods.

Seniors
To start senior year off right, Cheryl decides to host a party when the students are forbidden to have one at Riverdale High, of which is an attendee. Veronica mostly spends time fighting with her family over their usual crimes and her newly discovered half-sister, while Cheryl keeps Jason's corpse in the basement. Cheryl invites Veronica to attend the makeshift funeral and final goodbye for Jason when Cheryl finally lets him go. When Riverdale High's last football game comes around, Cheryl and Veronica perform a pop song during half-time and dance suggestively, despite the principal's attempt to stop it. Cheryl also felt the cheer squad abandoned her (although she's been treating them badly like she does everyone), a claim which Veronica backs her up in. After the game, Cheryl offers Veronica a lick of her maple snow cone and Veronica gets an idea. She later invites Cheryl over to Pop's at night and suggests that they go into business together, with the Blossom maple becoming part of the rum brand Veronica has been cultivating, and Cheryl accepts the offer to be business partners. They decide to ask the school chemistry teacher, Mr. Beaker, to analyse their now maple-based rum and he determines that it has succeeded in changing the formula satisfactorily. Veronica and Cheryl help Betty by participating in a school trivia quiz against Stonewall, before presenting Hiram Lodge with their new patent infringement-less rum. Afterwards, the two have a meeting at Veronica's speakeasy, which she proposes they operate out of by turning it into a dance club and handing out samples. Cheryl concurs with their plan and they cheer to the agreement. They open the club, dancing and having fun with each other on the floor. They go to the bar where they stand watching and enjoying their success when suddenly the lights are turned on and the music shut off. Hiram walks in with a warrant for suspected alcohol sales, finds the rum cupboard and smashes all the bottles. They regroup afterwards, and Cheryl gets an idea: that they keep the club open and move the rum business somewhere else. She brings Veronica to the erstwhile Maple Club with its black book of rich scumbag clients and Veronica is on board: they phone around to let the clientele know that the Maple Club is now an exclusive rum club. To keep an eye on the club, Cheryl suggests Penelope, to Veronica's objections until Cheryl reiterates that Hal and Hiram are murderers too, but they can keep an eye on her. Veronica cedes the point and they start business officially.

Later in their Spring semester, when Jughead is believed to have died, Cheryl and Veronica both attend his funeral. At Pop's, Cheryl witnesses Archie meeting Betty and comforting her over Jughead's death, leaving Cheryl suspicious of their dynamic. The following day, Cheryl has, in an effort to keep them apart, surreptitiously decorated Jughead's locker and practically holds vigil which has Betty leaving for the music room with Archie following her. Cheryl goes after them and, proving her suspicions correctly, sees them kissing. She takes photos and sends them to the school to expose Archie and Betty — all except Veronica. Cheryl seeks out Veronica in the bathroom and gently tells her that she feels Veronica should hear the truth in person. Cheryl shows Veronica the picture and follows her to stand by her side as Veronica confronts and yells at Betty and Archie in the student lounge. Despite it all being for show, Archie, Betty and Veronica have to wait to reveal it to everyone else. Archie and Betty have to pretend that there was a break-up and that they are now together, walking down the halls and sitting in class holding hands as Veronica and Cheryl watch. Cheryl later talks to Betty, telling her that she knows there's something real between Archie and Betty, but that she won't tell anyone. However, when Cheryl confronts Betty about her feelings and Betty seems on the verge of accepting them, Cheryl urges Betty to give it up before she hurts anyone. Veronica and Cheryl have start selling rum to frat boys who objectify them, which Cheryl is not having. They then are accosted and threatened by a gang claiming to be a rival maple business, which Veronica believes is her father's work as always. Later, Cheryl calls Veronica in the middle of the night as the Malloys have broken in and trashed the Maple Club, which Cheryl blames on Veronica provoking them. Veronica confronts Hiram and learns that they're not his thugs, with Hiram later fighting and killing their leader. Cheryl is not interested in the mob scene and tells Veronica that she wants to end their partnership as all she ever wanted was to have fun with Veronica. Veronica accepts and they hug.

Songs

 * gold | ADDIE HAMILTON
 * ronnie and cheryl call prospective customers


 * we love (feat. MNDR) | TOKIMONSTA
 * ronnie and cheryl dance at lbn


 * dreams | GRACE JOYNER
 * Veronica sleeps over at Cheryl's


 * walk home | SLEEPING BAG
 * Cheryl tells Veronica about Hermione and the Serpents

Fanon
This was the 2nd most popular femslash pairing (after Beronica) for a while on the series, and the most popular femslash pairing for Cheryl, until Choni became canon. (Cheryl's diminished screen time in Season 2 led to a sharp decline in interactions between Cheryl and Veronica, but the season was problematic as a whole re: relationships on the show). It remains a popular ship and was getting back to familiar territory in Season 3a, which surprised but delighted fans. It is kind of a rare pair in the fandom now, though a popular one. In a Summer 2020 fan-made ship quiz, Cheronica placed no. 8 in the Top 10.

Fandom
FAN FICTION
 * Veronica/Cheryl on FanFiction.Net
 * Veronica/Cheryl on FanFiction.Net

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Photos

 * Cheronica/Gallery