hey yâall!! putting out a ton of headcanons tonight so letâs get started :)) might put them in drafts and then post them? or maybe iâll get to the end of this post and just want to put it out right then. idk lol
anyway, letâs get to our first set of headcanons for the evening, aka trans party headcanons. in each of these headcanons, the character who iâm focusing on is trans and the rest are cis (unless otherwise mentioned). also, whatever gender they are in the show is the gender that theyâre transitioning to (ex: mike is ftm, el is mtf).
mike came out as ftm to will first (naturally) when he was in 5th grade
will had kinda seen this coming? not that it was something he really thought about, but he could see that, as he got older, mike was seeming more and more uncomfortable with his feminine-developing body
they were in the basement one day and mike just kinda blurted it out
and that night, will helped mike cut his hair
much to the horror of karen, who didnât know why mike and will would do that
it clicked years later when mike came out to her
mike gradually came out to the rest of the party, who were all supportive
then he came out to his family (nancy first, then mom, then dad) and came out publicly when he was about 16
dustin took it upon himself to be mikeâs personal bodyguard basically
the two of them pretty much formed the Mike Protection Club
el was super supportive as well, and she loved learning about the science behind being trans
she was the one who used the facts to silence the transphobes
and she always texted mike to make sure he had taken off his binder every night
lucas took mike to the gym to do some weight training together because mike really wanted to build up some muscle
that was mikeâs favorite Boy Bonding Time
and when mike and will finally got together, will would always call mike handsome and tell everyone to âlook at his perfect boyfriendâ, which gave mike butterflies but also a total boost of confidence
also, when he joined hellfire, he was super nervous that he would feel like he didnât fit in
but it turns out. eddie is also trans
and he became mikeâs trans big brother!!
gave him all the tips and advice and made mike feel super comfy in the group
whenever heâs dysphoric, will always cuddles with him and lets him borrow a hoodie and kisses his face and whispers to him about how lovely he is
overall, trans mike is v supported <3
jonathan was 110% the first person will came out to, when will was about 14
jonathan was surprised, but super honored that will had told him first
he picked up extra shifts at his job so he could afford willâs first binder :(
best birthday present ever in willâs opinion, he cried
joyce was the next person he came out to
and she was just overwhelmingly supportive, made sure he knew he was loved
she set up meetings with all his teachers at school to make sure that they knew and would respect himÂ
(even though will told her he could handle it on his own, she just went right into protective mom mode)
will came out publicly when he was 15, and he came out to all his friends at once
not that he didnât want to tell them individually, or tell them beforehand, but he just wanted to get it all over with at once
all of them gave him SO much support, and sent him super encouraging paragraphs and had one-on-one heart to hearts with him
max and el took him shopping to get a new wardrobe
hopper went along and helped will with all the sizing issues
and he made sure that the employees were gendering him correctly
heâd go around loudly saying things like âhow do these feel, SON?â
it was a little embarrassing but really sweet
dustinâs kneejerk reaction was to tell will all the reasons he thought spiderman was trans
which honestly? will totally agreed with
(he went as spiderman for halloween that year after hearing dustinâs theories)
lucas decided to give will. âswagger lessonsâ
which basically was just lucas giving will cheesy pick-up lines
but will took advantage of this and asked lucas to help him with mannerisms and things he wanted to pick up on, and lucas was completely helpful with that
lucas also reassured will when he came out as gay that being gay didnât make him any less of a man, because will felt so much like he was a straight girl just pretending
but after lucasâs killer pep talks? there was no doubt in willâs mind that he was valid
mike went over to willâs house the second will had texted them all with his coming out message
he just tackled him in a hug and cuddled him tight and told him how proud he was of him :)
will always felt real and validated and protected around his friends and family <3
having always grown up rejecting stereotypical feminine things, everyone always thought lucas was a tomboy
and lucas thought that too, until he heard the term âtransgenderâ and thought about it
erica was the first one he came out to, when he was 12
erica was kinda little at this point
lucas was just playing with her and he casually said that he thought he might be her brother and not her sister
and erica just responded saying that she was glad, because now she could get girls days alone with their mom
but really, erica was so so supportive of her brother, and she loves him so much
lucas came out to the party when he was 13, then to all of his friends at 14, then to his parents and publicly at 15
lucasâs parents were beyond supportive
they immediately signed him up on the boys sports teams
will signed up for these sports with lucas
willâs good at sports, and even though theyâre not his favorite pastime, he needed to make sure everyone was treating his bestie right
he and mike dressed as luke and han for halloween
lucas had ALWAYS wanted to dress as han but was too anxious to dress as a male character
dressing as the two of them was actually mikeâs idea, and hearing him suggest that just made lucas bubble over with joy
but dressing up as han made him feel so confident
and max was hanging off of lucasâs shoulder telling him just how handsome he looked
max is queen of compliments and the founder of the lucas fan club btw
any time someone so much as throws a questionable look at lucas, el is exploding something in their face
because nobody looks at lucas that way who tf do they think they are?
dustinâs reaction was probably the best though
when lucas came out, dustin just said âsick, you can come in my clubhouse now since itâs boys only!â
like oh my god such a validating feeling for lucas??
also lucas is proud as fuck of his physical glow-up when he goes on t
he just gets infinitely more confident in his appearance and in his expression
when heâs a senior, he wins senior superlative for âbest glow-upâ
everyone is always just. flaunting after him
but his heart belongs to max <3
and max doesnât let anyone forget that bc she is so lucky wtf he chose her!!
trans lucas is handsome, confident, loved, and just. perfection
so we know eddie is trans as well, and having an older trans role model means the WORLD to dustin
seeing an older trans person was just life-changing for dustin
dustin wasnât out when he met eddie, but he had known that he was trans for a little while at that point
he came out to the party (mike, lucas, and will) when he was about 13, then met eddie, and then came out publicly around 15
eddie really helps him become comfortable with himself and showed dustin just how much he could live authentically and happily
eddie just treats dustin like a little brother and like âone of the guysâ, but also treats him like a son lmao
âdid you take a binding break yet?â âdid anyone bother you today?â âugh, i know, shark week is the worst. it takes a badass guy to be able to handle it, though.â
immediately teaches dustin how to mow a lawn, telling him that he needs to âpick up the slackâ as the âman of the houseâ
which just felt super validating for dustin to hear
he liked getting to learn that stereotypical masculine stuff, it just made him feel so happy and validated
will and jonathan take dustin out for a boys day
which consists of just anything that gives dustin gender euphoria
for him, that meant going hiking, fishing, and camping at a state park he had always adored
byers brothers best brothers
and the byers sister is the best sister
bc el didnât let dustin take anyoneâs shit
el and max teamed up and they helped dustin start a gsa at school
with the girls there to boost his confidence, dustin actually forms a presentation for teachers on how to respect trans students
the presentation is used for years to come
dustin was always capable of this, but he just needed a bit of a push
lucas helps dustin with his style
dustinâs clothing didnât change much, but he just wanted a little bit of help on becoming more outwardly masculine to match how he felt on the inside
which lucas definitely was able to help him with
whenever dustin gets dysphoric, mike comes over with nerf guns and he and dustin have a nerf battle either around dustinâs house, mikeâs house, someone elseâs house, or literally just out and about in the hawkins suburbs
dustinâs mom gets him a new bike for his birthday bc his other one felt too girly for him :( <3
in conclusion, trans dustin my beloved
el didnât really know that being trans was an option
to be honest, she didnât understand much about the concept of gender growing up, until she escaped brenner and learned more about it
when she realized how she was being perceived, she knew that it wasnât right
el didnât even know that what she was feeling was her being trans, but max explained the concept to her when el told her how she was feeling
so i guess you could say el came out to max first, when she was about 16
she then came out to hopper, then joyce, then jonathan, then will, then the rest of the party
she was fully out publicly when she was about 17
el was always stuck with will and jonathanâs hand-me-downs, but max gave her a TON of her old clothes so she felt more comfortable and like herselfÂ
not that el disliked wearing her brothersâ clothes by any means, but maxâs just felt so validating
max also helped el with some makeup when she started wanting to wear it
and she started doing elâs hair when it grew out longer
nancy was also a HUGE help to el throughout this whole process
completely took this kid under her wing as her little sister
taught her all about how to be confident and independent and proud of her womanhood
max and nancy really worked hand-in-hand here
lucas and dustin were just wonderful with her
whenever el got a new outfit or had a new look that she was confident in, they would call everyone over to have a mini fashion show for her
theyâd commentate and hype her up, just showing off el and how happy she was
no one had ever seen el smile as much as she did when she tried her first dress on
when el came out to show them all, mike couldnât stop staring and saying âprettyâ (platonically, of course, but wow, she was STUNNING)
will helped el upcycle some of his hand-me-downs as well, so she felt more comfortable in them
he also took her to his lgbtq+ support group for teens that he attended after coming out as gay
she found so many trans friends there and it was just so therapeutic knowing that she wasnât alone :)
also joyce and hopper go to parent support group meetings as well
and hopper keeps calling himself transparent
the joke makes el roll her eyes every time she hears it, but secretly, she loves it
overall, el is very supported, would recommend her support system to a friend
max had always known that something was âoffâ or âdifferentâ about her when she was little
she liked doing masculine things, but didnât like being perceived as a masculine person
after a lot of soul-searching, max came out
fist to lucas, then to everyone else, all in the span of a week when she was 17
she worried that it was âtoo lateâ for her to come out but the second she let that thought leave her mouth, will had shut it down and told her that itâs never too late to be herselfÂ
which is v v true. so true will. SO true.
mike is maxâs number one protector
he insisted on walking her to every single one of her classes personally, even when it was way out of his way
his glares at maxâs haters could shoot daggers
and his words DID shoot daggers
dustin gets pronoun pins for everyone in the party when max comes out
they all wear them proudly
and whenever someone misgendered max, heâd just clear his throat and gesture to her pin
will had max over for a number of self care nights after she came out
joyce was thrilled about this and did everything in her power to make max feel pampered and like the strong woman she was
max unfortunately dealt with a decent amount of bullying after coming out
but after el heard about this?
letâs just say no one ever bothered max again
not if they valued their teeth, that is
max was always worried that maybe she was faking it because she didnât mind dressing or doing traditionally masculine stuff, but el and lucas helped her break down those barriers in her mind
and she was able to accept that she can express herself however she wants and that wonât invalidate her gender
lucas makes sure that max knows that he sees her EXACTLY as who she is. and he really, truly means that
he always calls her beautiful and tells her that heâs the luckiest guy in the world to have such an amazing girlfriend
mans is just constantly showering her in compliments
and through the dysphoria and discomfort with her body, max starts to believe him and gains confidence in herself and in her expression
miss max mayfield is just so valid and we love her so much
hope you guys liked these!! gonna do the teens next <3
