āDo you wonder what Hawkins looks like now?ā Lieven stares through the window like he can possibly see something three hundred miles away from here. Will knows the direction they are to take tomorrow. It sends a shiver down his spine.
āI doubt it changed much in four years,ā he says.
āSo you donāt think it could also be recovering?ā hopeful, always so hopeful.
Will sighs. āIs this still about Hawkins?ā
Lieven hops across the table and onto Willās wrist. āIs there much of a difference to you?ā
In August 1993, Will Byers drives cross-country to a wedding heās been dreading, and tries very hard not to think about Mike. He makes it as far as Missouri. Two thousand miles is a long way to go without looking back.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
In the darkness, a weak flash of amber is barely distinguishable, but to Mike, the color is searing. It welds him to her, and he regrets it immediately.
Though, just for a second, he lets the smallest amount ofĀ somethingĀ ināan echo of what he knows he should be feeling, distant and secondhand, but it still has the power to submerge him completely.
It's more than he can handle. He slips into his room, shuts the door, and seeks shelter under the covers of his bed.
Mike goes through five stages of grief, gets therapy from his dead girlfriend, and finds peace.
UGH THANK YOU FOR YOUR LONG ANSWER
I loved reading it and your thoughts and justifications, for both names and species, and thank you for the list sooo much. I'm an anthropology student so for me naming is one of my favourite parts actually, like why people would name their children's daemon such things, it really is interesting to me.
Funny enough I also had a WASPy idea for popular daemon naming conventions being Greek and Roman (United States conceptualised as a re-making of the Roman Republic and 'greco roman culture' being treated as western/white culture in popular consciousness) but that the trend by the 80s has moved to Egyptomania and Irish/Germanic/Celtic culture in the USA.
Also the dustin | eddie daemon connection is SOOO good. Funny enough almost the exact same thing happened in my daemon au, but with different animals!!
I like your idea on aids and inventions to assist people with transporting their daemons. Like falconry gloves, specialty clothing, bags and slings for people to carry awkward daemons.
Share all your thoughts and ideas I am thrilled... not brave enough to come off anon but definitely interested!!!!!!!
Ahhhh your idea with naming is so buzzy to me!!! This is such a good concept. I didn't know it was a thing! But it makes So Much Sense. I also LOVE names in general (although I'm an uneducated plebian so I literally have no thoughts, just vibes hehe, so I was just literally CAMPING on Behind the Name since I was a baby). I was also thinking that in America people might really be into naming their daemons with something that honours their heritage. Like, you know, our world's version of people doing 23 and me and persisting on telling everyone they're 14.2222% Dutch š. But it might also be a genuine way of connecting with your family's origin. I kind of wanted to go with that for Joyce, her daemon's name Alvaro being of Spanish/Portuguese descent as we know that in canon her maiden name was Maldonado. And then Lieven/Alma lose that link because Lonnie is an asshole š„²
But but but it's such an interesting concept in general, right? The way daemons just come to existence? We know that in canon the name of the daemon has a much deeper connection with characters personality than maybe even their own name. So I always wondered if it's the parents who actually grant the name to the daemon and if so, does it mean the name that they give actually defines their child's fate? And otherwise I was always so curious how and when the daemon manifests. I'm not sure if it is ever covered in the books (I have read them ages ago and I'll be honest I still haven't gotten to watch the recent show). But the exact time and, well, biological details of when and how the daemon appears have always left me wondering. That would add such an interesting twist to that world's pro-life/pro-choice discussion, too, right?
Re Eddy: yeah š It would also be so interesting to see his dynamics with Mike during the hellfire club. I really love the fandom's hc that Mike had a puppy crush on him, and I think with this setting Mike could really explore (š) his feelings, parallel the fact that both Will and Eddy have same-sex daemons, and maybe even form 1 (one) coherent thought about it. Because I reckon Mike is kind of oblivious to Will's struggle with his identity for a long time since he knows Will forever and just like Never Considered it consciously (even during the rain fight). And then Mike has a bit of a crisis, bottles things up, and proceeds to act the way he acted in Lenora. And I feel that Vivian would really disagree with his behaviour there since daemon supposed to be your truer and deeper "I". I just want to see the rinkomania scene where Vivian gravitates towards Will all day, but Mike keeps on reprimanding her for that and EVERYONE is hurt by it š« And Mike secretly really missing Lieven, but Will is hiding him š¤§
Ugh I'm getting carried away again, sorry.
Also OMG? I'm so curious to read your story???? I have intentionally not searched for anything with stranger things and daemons on ao3 while writing this so that I don't accidentally plagiarize but I would LOVE to learn other people's hc's!! So if you're too shy to go off anon, please feel free to share more of your takes on the world and their animals š Or you can also just send me a DM š
Do you have a list of the species for everyone? I didn't quite figure out Dustin's or Max's and some others I think.
Do you have any headcanons about the human culture surrounding daemons? Taboos, stereotypes, history, etc.
Awww, I'm glad you liked it! Thank you so much for asking! ā¤ļø Sorry, this will be LONG
Yeah, the names generally have meanings behind them, although they are mostly just connected to vibes the characters are giving me. For example, Alma means "nourishing" which I found very appropriate for Jonathan's character, Millicent means "strong", Eimante name meaning is connected with "intelligence". For Mike and Will being central characters, the meanings are more connected to the plot though.
Vivian means "alive" which was meant to symbolise that it was essentially Mike's vitality he was actively and intentionally separating himself from. I also wanted to go for something very WASP-sounding for him and fit it in with Ted Wheeler's Veronica (meaning "proper"). Also, Ted's and Mike's daemon names both start with V, and Karen's (Beau), Nancy's (Barnabas), and Holly's (Baldur) daemon names all start with B, which I thought would be a very white middle-class thing to do š
As for Will, Lieven means "beloved friend" which Will very much is š Also, only as I was finishing the fic, I realised that "Lieven" is one letter away from being an anagram for "eleven", and very much rhymes with it, which got me thinking things and feeling things š« wonder twins!! šš
I suppose I'm most excited about El's daemon. It took me the longest time to come up with how to write her in the story. In my hc, the kids from the lab didn't have external daemons being genetically engineered that way to enhance their psychic abilities. So their soul is within themāpretty much like in real life lol. It does exist though, so a monarch butterfly is what she manifested in after her death. In the dream space, where Will and Lieven are one, El and her soul are also merged, so the butterfly Will meets is both El and her daemon.
The monarch butterfly symbolizes transformation, growth, and change which I feel El never got to have in life. They notoriously travel thousands of miles every year, with which I meant to show that she finally got to be free š It also parallels with Mike's journey who also needed growth and transformation for him to be able to finally move forward.
Taboosāpretty much the same as it is in the original Pullman's universe. I suppose the only thing that I have changed is that daemon touching is more or less okay in public if you're in established relationship. It's kind of like very heavy PDAāsome people might clutch pearls if they see it but generally it's like a sloppy make out session, not too appalling (I think teenagers would be the main culprits of doing it like Max and Lucas in 1988). Touching another person's daemon non-consensually though is a massive tabooāsame as it is in the books.
The world where there is such a thing as daemons and they must be accounted for in everyday life is such an interesting thing to ponder! I'm thinking how there's supposed to be accommodation for all kinds of species, like various contraptions available in the storesāportable aquariums for fish daemons, strollers for large daemons who can't really walk (such as seals). I like to imagine that in that kind of world there would be advocates and activists fighting for inclusive architecture and city planningālike for making public spaces/transport accessible for people with very large daemons. I remember how in the book, someone mentioned a guy with a dolphin daemon, and how he was essentially bound to the sea because of it. But the world doesn't stay in place and I want to believe that there might be some progress in inclusivity for people like this in the modern age.
Another random fun thing to think about is therapy. I imagine that each individual session is basically a couple's counselling where the therapist guides your interactions with your daemon. And obviously there would be ranges of exercises engineered specifically to train the bond, whether to improve that connection, or, like in Will's case, to stretch his anxious attachment, which really didn't work for them (and I think in Will's case, he just got a very shitty therapist, he should try again with someone else!)
For this world, I have decided that unlike Pullman's world, religion and mythology exists pretty much in the same form as in ours, with all characters just having daemons. But wouldn't it be so cool how all the gods and heroes and legendary mythological creatures have their animal companions as well! And they could also be parts of the story. And then pop-culture!! Imagine miwi playing superheroes and having Vivian and Lieven take forms of their favourite characters while they're at it š„¹š¤² And DnD! I'm imagining Mike always wanting Vivian to turn to something cool when he's roleplaying but she would inevitably morph back to her dog form, and he would be frustrated with it so much, but Will would always tell him that he likes her as she is š„¹š„¹š„¹
As for stereotypes, to my knowledge it has never been explicitly confirmed by Pullman, only implied (but let me know if I'm missing something!) that same-sex daemon is connected to queerness, but I obviously lean into it very heavily in the story. I was hoping that Will could act as somewhat unreliable narrator here: his entire adolescence he has spent being deeply insecure about Lieven being male, and there are definitely stereotypes around this in the society, and most likely the implication of his sexuality followed Will since very young age, even before he was old enough to understand it. So he's kind of obsessed with the gender of his daemon, even after he has accepted it, and he's actively noticing the genders of others. But is this something everyone does? We don't know. Is there really a link between daemon gender and sexuality? Probably. Is it devoid of any sort of fluidity? Probably not. Mike is kind of the proof of that, who I intentionally leave unlabeled. He might be gay and Vivian's gender just doesn't have anything to do with this. He might be bisexual. He might be a secret third thingāwho knows? Mike's head is a mystery.
And I do have a list of species! I wish I could expand more on all of them and I'd really love to come up with more for other characters! Here it goes:
Willāhouse finch, m, Lieven
MikeāScottish deerhound/borzoy mut, f, Vivian
Jonathanāwhite-tailed jackrabbit, f,Ā Alma
Dustināmagpie, f, Eimante (in my hc she settled as something close to Eddie's raven, another corvidae, because Dustin was looking up to him so much and also because Eddie's death was literally the trigger for her to settle š„²)
Karenāstork, m, Beau (I feel there's nothing that screams "family" more than a stork...)
Joyceāhouse cat, m, Alvaro
TedāScottish terrier, f, Veronica
Nancyāeagle owl, m, Barnabas
Elāmonarch butterfly, genderless, nameless
Maxāstoat, m, Hartwin (Max reminds me of Lyra in many ways, and stoat was the form Panteleimon was favouring quite a lot so this is kind of an homage for noone other than myself š )
Lucasābadger, f, Millicent
Steveāborder collie, f, Maia (I'm just thinking of Steve HOARDING those kids for several years yk, it just MAKES SENSE)
Eddyāraven, m, Liber (it's implied that Eddie was also queer, and Liber means "free" because Eddy never really hide him the way Will didāI came up with this hc and made myself sad that Will never got to meet them š)
Hopperāboar, f, Bellona
Murrayāracoon, f, Medea (never got to include them, but maybe if I ever write a sequel!)
Hollyāblackbird, m, Baldur
Robināferret, f, Reed
Lonnieācoyote, f, Drea
Ericaāgoliath beetle, m, Magnus (I wish I got to write more characters with daemons like insects/reptiles and other unconventional creatures. I think it's so cool! So, again, maybe in the sequel š But Erica is such a nerd, I feel she would have something very cool and strange, although I was TEMPTED to give her a bald eagle š¦ š¦ š¦ )
Anyways, I know I warned you it will be long, but I'm still sorry! I don't know if you could tell but I'm DEEPLY PASSIONATE about daemon!AUs, I can talk about it for literal hours. Thanks again for the ask and for reading the story!! ā¤ļøā¤ļø
"Do you wonder what Hawkins looks like now?" Lieven stares through the window like he can possibly see something three hundred miles away from here. Will knows the direction they are to take tomorrow. It sends a shiver down his spine.
"I doubt it changed much in four years," he says.
"So you don't think it could also be recovering?" hopeful, always so hopeful.
Will sighs. "Is this still about Hawkins?"
Lieven hops across the table and onto Will's wrist. "Is there much of a difference to you?"
In August 1993, Will Byers drives cross-country to a wedding he's been dreading, and tries very hard not to think about Mike. He makes it as far as Missouri. Two thousand miles is a long way to go without looking back.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Will wishes he could take a mental snapshot of their life now and somehow send it back to his teenage self. Just to let him know that he's going to have this:Ā theirĀ bed, andĀ theirĀ shitty shoebox apartment, and Mike, who has a screwed up sleeping schedule, and who leaves his dirty clothes anywhere but the hamper, and who kisses the corner of Will's mouth when Will is doing the dishes, and who wants to doĀ thingsĀ with Willāthe things that made Will so scared and miserable for wanting them at sixteen. Mike, who is completely naked, propped up on the elbows, and looking up at Will like he hung the moon.
Will's twenty years of deep happiness and acceptance told through the series of firsts.
