No way Will’s experiences with Lonnie didn’t make Jonathan an expert in calming and soothing someone through panic attacks and no way El didn’t desperately need that particular skill of Jonathan’s at some point in Lenora. Their sibling dynamic could’ve been everything.
- will cannot afford to buy mike anything so he usually hand makes his gift, usually a sketch or painting of some kind
- mike wants to make sure he doesn’t feel bad about it, so he goes on and on about how much he loves the gift until will insists that he’s overdoing it
- mike also starts hand making his gifts for will. he briefly gets into crochet and makes will a scarf, and then never touches the hook again, citing hand cramps as the deterrent
- will is like “oh so you can scribble notes in your notebooks with the worst pencil holding posture I’ve ever seen, but crochet makes your hands cramp up?” and mike is like “yeah :)”
- will tries to get into ceramics, mostly for the practicality of it all. he wouldn’t have to buy new plates or mugs, and it works as a gift. he makes mike a jewelry dish in the shape of the emblem of his paladin that valentine’s and mike started tearing up
- mike then gets into embroidery and he embroiders song lyrics on little decorative pillows and a yellow stuffed bear that he gives to will one valentine’s, with lyrics from heroes embroidered on its stomach in a heart shape. (this time mike quits because he keeps pricking his fingers with the needle. will’s like “there’s an invention for that you know.” mike’s like “my fingers are too long, it’s not comfortable :(” and will just rolls his eyes).
- they don’t go out to eat. there are so many people, it’s so stressful, and they’d rather not risk getting hate crimed or anything. they’ll go out to dinner the following weekend, but on the day itself they take turns making dinner and dessert. one year mike does dinner and will does dessert, and they next year they trade. the next day they have their friends over and they all eat leftovers.
- they do however go to the bar on the day before valentine’s, because it’s fun and they get to hang out with their friends and they say this is their valentine’s for celebrating platonic love and shit
- sometimes the day before valentine’s is friday the 13th and then will dresses slightly more gothic and they watch a shitty horror movie after they stumble home from the bar, drunkenly making fun of the acting and sfx makeup
- they keep it lowkey but it’s still romantic, because they’re with each other
OKAY the post everyone (no one) was waiting for Oliver’s Official Modern Day “The Party” HCs (if you’re looking for a specific character i’m planning on listing them in this order so scroll to find their number: 1. will, 2. mike, 3. lucas, 4. max, 5. jane, 6. dustin)
1. WILL BYERS THE PEOPLE’S PRINCESS (using pink because there’s no yellow) (he/him, gay)
- modern day will is very similar to 80s will only wayyy more open in his subtle femininity and sexuality
- he’s still a painter, still an artist of course he draws on his ipad (which is very old he’s had it since he was 5) too which is why you should never take it away from him
- lots of dainty jewelry i think he’d like pearls he’s always stacked with bracelets and rings and thin watches tyty
- he’s a big fan of “old” music because jonathan’s still pretentious about music even in the 21st century so his favorite artists are the smiths, the cure, the clash, and david bowie but he dips his toes into newer indie and alternative music
- he absolutely adores the perks of being a wallflower
- he and mike are constantly staying up late on the phone with each other, usually playing minecraft or just talking
- he gets jane into ALL of his music it’s tradition for the byers siblings to pass their music back and forth between each other
- he’s the kindest, sweetest, coolest, nichest boy ever
- he posts his art and fit checks on his public tiktok account and for some reason he frequently goes viral
- he doesn’t drink a lot, only when he’s in a safe environment (ie. at his house with friends), but when he does he gets white girl wasted and mike is incessant about getting him to his room so he can rest
- he hates vaping and smoking he avoids his school’s public restrooms at all costs. there’s a bathroom in the art room and sometimes he’s late to class because it’s the only bathroom he’ll actually use
- he always has a pair of earphones in. he rejects airpods and embraces tradition
- he collects cds and cassette tapes
- he sort of had a sombr phase. not because the music was good but because he thought he was hot
2. MIKE WHEELER (unfortunately) (he/him, gay)
- even in the modern day, hawkins is still a small, conservative town so it still took him a while to get over his internalized homophobia. nowhere near as long as it must’ve in the 80s though
- he’s a writer but shows absolutely no one his work besides the d&d campaigns he writes. will’s the only one who’s read his poetry (and max but we’ll get to that later)
- he doesn’t wear a lot of accessories except maybe the occasional keychain on his belt loop and a single necklace or a watch. he doesn’t put much thought into his outfits either, he has a few good outfit ideas and reuses them once per week
- he plays guitar because of eddie and this only makes will fall for him even more
- less influenced by eddie than dustin is, but he did get into midwest emo and indie rock when eddie told him his music taste was ass
- he also appreciates an occasional dominic fike or malcom todd or any r&b dustin and lucas put on when they’re hanging out
- he’s really into scott pilgrim vs the world and 500 days of summer because he kind of felt like todd when will got a bf that wasn’t him
- he is very willing to talk back to teachers and speak up against any assholes that are mean to his friends, he’s good at insults when he’s not overthinking it (which he usually is)
- he gets closer and closer to picking a cigarette up everyday but he maintains his strength because “he can’t smoke will doesn’t like the smell”
- he is always saving up for “a new guitar” so he never pays at group hangouts. he will, however, pay for will no matter how much will protests
- max tries to get him into skateboarding and lucas tries to get him into basketball because he thinks mike’s height shouldn’t go to waste, mike enjoys both activities more than he thought he would
- he has a secret tiktok account where he posts his poetry and actually gets a lot of positive feedback and reposts no one cares about his public account because he barely posts
- he collects pokemon cards and trades with dustin
- sometimes he’ll ask will to draw his oc’s and will always agrees
3. LUCAS SINCLAIR THE ONLY MAN TO EVER EXIST (he/him, probably bisexual but he doesn’t have time to worry about that he has basketball practice)
- modern day lucas is the coolest man alive if i’m being real
- he loves collecting cool sneakers and likes using them to add color to his outfits (he matches them to his bandanas) i especially like him in the lil yachty af1s would he listen to lil yachty? i’m not sure but the shoes would look good on him
- he and dustin are the most active in the party’s gc, lucas sends a lot of tiktoks and overuses the youtube thumbnail reaction images
- he’s very fond of legos and has a ton of finished sets around his room. he expects one lego set per holiday pls
- he and dustin are the most active on their respective xbox’s too, the rest of the party is always willing to join them though
- he and max are fortnite SWEATS they cook when playing duos together #couplebondingyay
- he’s really into south park, regular show, and adventure time. he’s a cartoon enjoyer and he has no shame
- he knows how to accessorize i think his favorite type of jewelry is rings i can see him wearing a lot of those, he also has a helix piercing and is considering getting his nose done
- he also wears a lot of rubber bracelets because he wins them at the arcade and what else would he do with them but wear them
- his music taste is VARIEDDD he’ll listen to anything but his favorites are r&b, hip-hop, and indie pop music i think he’d be really into gym class heroes and paramore (max’s influence) and also laufey and beabadoobee because he saw them being related to performative men and had to prove real ones listen to them too (laufey is slightly jane’s influence too though)
- he also has the biggest celebrity crush on hayley williams (who doesn’t)
- he always has a drink in his hand, whether it’s a gatorade, a coffee, or whatever, he’s always sipping on something because he doesn’t like it when his mouth is dry and he wants to stay hydrated
- he’s a big spider man fan and likes itsv and atsv in particular because he can sort of see max in gwen (both avoidant iykyk)
- will was his bisexual awakening in like early middle school
4. MAX MAYFIELD EVERYONE’S FAVORITE (she/they, bisexual)
- modern day max is still frequenting the arcade to play old-school machines and she is still dominating the high scores
- she’s most active on instagram and frequently posts stupid shit on her story, her pfp is a picture of her and lucas
- she hates all men except her boyfriend he’s the only good one mike wheeler can go fuck himself
- sometimes she drinks and gets drunk enough to start venting to mike wheeler who vents right back to her
- she thinks women in all genres of music are amazing but her favorites are pop punk, rock, and anything experimental. she loves tori amos, kate bush, paramore, and avril lavigne
- she has a secret tiktok account where she posts and reposts vents and accidentally ended up following mike’s secret poetry account. she doesn’t know it’s him but she loves his writing
- on her main account she posts some couples content with lucas but it’s mainly tutorials on skating tricks and everyone thinks she’s the coolest ever (she is)
- hangs street signs up in her room, some are actually stolen, some are bought from yard sales and amazon
- she has gotten in trouble with the cops for trespassing but being best friends with the chief’s daughter and son is very helpful
- she really likes cobra kai, i am not okay with this, and the end of the fucking world
- she also really likes fight club and donnie darko and mid 90s
- she has an industrial piercing and a helix piercing on both of her ears, her lobes are pierced too, and she had a nose ring
- she convinced the party to all get matching tattoos when they turn 18 because it made the idea less scary to her
- nonchalant and has a lot of aura but she’s kind of performative about being a hater because she has a lot of love in her heart, especially for her friends
5. JANE HOPPER (ALSO) THE PEOPLE’S PRINCESS (they/she, unlabeled but she does prefer girls)
- so whimsical and so fun her entire aesthetic is whimsigoth/whimsitwee to me
- she collects dvds because she is a movie LOVER even if they’re bad she’ll still watch them because she feels like it gives her perspective into other people’s world views
- her favorite movie is juno. she doesn’t know what kind of girl she is.
- she loves mixing and matching patterns and overaccessorizing most of her bracelets and necklaces are ones she hand made
- she’s practicing nail art and frequently uses max and will as test subjects
- whenever her, will, and max have sleepovers (which is frequent) she drags them into doing arts and crafts with her
- she’s not a big gamer but she really enjoys playing minecraft and roblox with dustin because he explains everything in such a nice way
- she loves cocteau twins so much jonathan and will got her into them but now she’s a bigger fan than they ever were
- she’s also very into 80s pop and whatever music her friends like
- jonathan taught her and will how to cook and she branched out to baking from there
- she likes collecting cool pins and socks and goes to hot topic just to rummage through their box of pins
- she really enjoys visiting the mall she thinks pretzel bites are the most beautiful thing to grace this earth
- she has a ton of perfumes and likes to match her scent to her outfit
- she doesn’t really use instagram but she does watch the videos everyone sends to the gc
6. DUSTIN HENDERSON LOCAL GENIUS (he/him, straight)
- modern day dustin henderson is an instagram reels WARRIOR he is always sending stupid ones to the gc
- he sends so many, jane is the only one who’s willing to watch all of them
- speaking of jane, he thinks he might have a crush on her but he’s not really gonna think about that for too long
- a lot of his style is influenced by eddie, especially his lip ring, studded bracelets and belts
- however, he does find his own belt buckles and he somehow manages to find the coolest ones every time
- he’s a big fan of sitcoms, especially the office and the good place
- yes his rigby headphones match lucas’ mordecai ones they are best friends like that
- one time jane painted him a custom headset for his birthday and he almost cried when he accidentally chipped the smallest piece of paint off
- he loves hip hop and r&b and rap he is also partial to synth pop from the 80s but that’s only occasional
- he also explores metal music because eddie’s influence is that strong to him
- he is the best guitar hero player you will ever meet but that doesn’t mean he can play actual guitar at all (he’s begging mike to teach him)
- he loves claymation movies especially fantastic mr. fox
- his tiktok consists of the stupidest posts ever he has a couple viral videos because he is acting like an idiot in every single one of them and that is just the dustin henderson charm
- he is very smart and definitely still valedictorian he makes people pay him to do their homework sometimes and business is kind of booming in that sense
OKAY THAT’S THE END OF THIS THANK YOU FOR LISTENING SORRY ITS SO LONG!!!
stranger things random headcanons !! ✿ ( ╹▽╹ )*.✧
(mainly willelmike tbh)
this has been sitting in my drafts for a while bc i thought it was kinda cringe but turns out i actually don't care. enjoyyy
• jane would deadass love the movie tangled so much i'm not joking. she would watch and rewatch the movie all the time. partially because she relates to rapunzel's experience
• mike, jane and will are all autistic #mytruth. cringe is a social construct, fight me. both will and jane have selective mutism
• nancy is the one who helped jane get ready for the snow ball ! we all just fucking know hopper doesn't have makeup anyway. be so for real dawg we need more nancel moments
• will has synesthesia !! projective chromesthesia more specifically (and associative tactile-visual synesthesia perhaps) think about it ok? seeing mike's voice as blue, and his own voice as yellow... i also think he incorporates the way he perceives things into his art.
• the non-verbal wiw headcanon is real idc. i think the first people to hear him speak were jonathan and mike. in my head, miwi were playing in the living room and jon had to keep an eye on them bc joyce was at work. mike wrote will's name (they were slowly learning how to write), so will picked up the pen but instead of writing mike, he drew a stick figure with black hair and freckles, showed the paper in front of him so that jon could see too, and went "mike ! :)"
• glam rock will, inject it. he would totally go see bowie live with jane and jonathan
• oh and mike wears loser grunge shit. he has 32884739 stinky band tees and wears them on top of long sleeve tops. for winter he has thousands of grandpa sweaters with dumbass patterns (think of the season 2 gay ass zigzag blue and gray one) except everytime it's the same sweater in different shades of blue
• jane would totally dye her hair purple. i can just picture max helping her dye a few steaks in her hair like the cute bestie/gf she is. epilogue jane is whimsigoth
• elmike are the pickiest eaters known to man. if they don't eat the exact same thing everyday they explode (jane → waffles with hot chocolate two times a day + mike → syrup eggs every goddamn morning. jane hates cheese, beef, oranges and sodas. mike hates seafood, mushrooms and all kinds of beans. they also both hate spicy stuff. yes it's oddly specific)
• i feel like jane and mike would be besties :( after breaking up mike would be sm more confortable showing affection to her platonically. after that i know he'd call her jane as well. he'd teach her how to ride a bike
post final battle hcs :
• in my mind dimension x doesn't exist mind you.. personal preference ig, i just don't like this whole wormhole and piss abyss concept. by breaking will's connection with the ud (idk how) and destroying the upside down's existence for good (idk how), jane looses her powers. she can now live a somewhat normal life yipeee
• mike and will dance together at prom to just like heaven by the cure (they finally have the courage to do it now. snowball parallel sniff <3)
• joyce, will and jonathan change their last names back to maldonado bc they'd rather eat cement than have lonnie's name on their graves (after marrying jim, joyce might mix the last names though ? hopdo ? malper ? hopdonado ? yeah no actually she might just become joyce hopper idfk. if they do mix, jane might take that name though? do will and jon have to automatically as well ??? HOW DOES THAT EVEN WORK)
• mike and max work at scoops ahoy for the summer, you won't take madwheeler away from me no matter how hard you try duffers. max uses crouches and is an ambulatory wheelchair user yet she just wants to work bc oh man coma was boring as hell.
• back in cali, jane thought being homeschooled was prob better. however she chooses to go to hawkins high and max stays here as well for another year (bc she was in a coma duh), so they spend the school year together while the rest of the party is already on their first year of college. s3 elmax vibes come back to meeee. i feel like they hang out at some lake when it's sunny
• will studies art and mike studies creative writing in the same city, so they're roomates *rubs hands like a fly* (also dustin studies astrophysics and lucas studies history stuff. he wanted to become a history teacher canonically !!! if you even care)
• stobin still work together! idk where but they do. i saw someone on here jokingly say they started working at fazbears pizza and um actually? canon
Does Vickie give anyone else cottage core vibes or is it me just mixing my hc of her being a plant lady with a strawberry garden with the facts that Amybeth is Anne with an E.
