diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 7d033a1..65a73eb 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -13,14 +13,13 @@ jobs:
     strategy:
       matrix:
         python:
-          - "3.8"
           - "3.9"
           - "3.10"
           - "3.11"
+          - "3.12"
           - "pypy3.9"
           - "pypy3.10"
         django:
-          - "Django>=3.2,<3.3"
           - "Django>=4.2,<4.3"
     env:
       GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index 815b67a..74bfea5 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ Right now we're targeting to get things working on Django 4.2;
 WARNING: This project is not in good state, and is likely to break with django updates.
 It's better to use raw mongoengine.
 
-Working / Django 3.2-4.2
+Working / Django 4.2
 ------------------------
 
 * [ok] sessions
@@ -50,9 +50,9 @@ It get's replaced after class creation via some metaclass magick.
 Fields notes
 ------------
 
-* mongo defaults Field(required=False), changed to django-style defaults
-  -> Field(blank=False), and setting required = not blank in Field.__init__
-
+* Project uses mongoengine style argument `required=False`, not django style `blank=False`,
+  to be compatible with mongo-types.
+  **All your fields are optional by default.**
 
 
 TODO
diff --git a/django_mongoengine/document.py b/django_mongoengine/document.py
index 973d818..4af0d0f 100644
--- a/django_mongoengine/document.py
+++ b/django_mongoengine/document.py
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 from functools import partial
-from typing import TYPE_CHECKING
+from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any
 
 from bson.objectid import ObjectId
 from django.db.models import Model
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
 # TopLevelDocumentMetaclass is using ObjectIdField to create default pk field,
 # if one's not set explicitly.
 # We need to know it's not editable and auto_created.
-mtc.ObjectIdField = partial(ObjectIdField, editable=False, auto_created=True, blank=True)
+mtc.ObjectIdField = partial(ObjectIdField, editable=False, auto_created=True)
 
 
 def django_meta(meta, *top_bases):
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ class DjangoFlavor:
     objects = QuerySetManager["Self"]()
     _default_manager = QuerySetManager["Self"]()
     _get_pk_val = Model.__dict__["_get_pk_val"]
-    _meta: DocumentMetaWrapper
+    _meta: DocumentMetaWrapper | dict[str, Any]
     DoesNotExist: type[DoesNotExist]
 
     def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
diff --git a/django_mongoengine/fields/djangoflavor.py b/django_mongoengine/fields/djangoflavor.py
index eb7d5f7..f764d47 100644
--- a/django_mongoengine/fields/djangoflavor.py
+++ b/django_mongoengine/fields/djangoflavor.py
@@ -10,13 +10,12 @@
 
 from .internal import INTERNAL_DJANGO_FIELDS_MAP
 
-_field_defaults = (
-    ("blank", False),
-    ("null", False),
-    ("help_text", ""),
-    ("editable", True),
-    ("auto_created", False),
-)
+# Add some default values, required for django.
+_field_defaults = {
+    "help_text": "",
+    "editable": True,
+    "auto_created": False,
+}
 
 
 class DjangoField:
@@ -37,13 +36,13 @@ def _get_flatchoices(self):
     flatchoices = property(_get_flatchoices)
 
     def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
-        for k, v in _field_defaults:
-            kwargs.setdefault(k, v)
-        if "required" in kwargs:
+        kwargs = _field_defaults | kwargs
+
+        if "blank" in kwargs:
             raise ImproperlyConfigured(
-                "`required` option is not supported. Use Django-style `blank` instead."
+                "`blank` option is not supported. Use Mongoengine-style `required` instead."
             )
-        kwargs["required"] = not kwargs["blank"]
+
         if hasattr(self, "auto_created"):
             kwargs.pop("auto_created")
         self._verbose_name = kwargs.pop("verbose_name", None)
@@ -53,6 +52,9 @@ def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
 
         self.remote_field = None
         self.is_relation = self.remote_field is not None
+        # This is needed for django, but we use mongoengine style in __init__
+        # to not confuse type checker.
+        self.blank = not self.required
 
     def _get_verbose_name(self):
         return self._verbose_name or self.db_field.replace('_', ' ')
@@ -272,7 +274,7 @@ def formfield(self, **kwargs):
         elif isinstance(self.field, fields.ReferenceField):
             defaults = {
                 'form_class': formfields.DocumentMultipleChoiceField,
-                'queryset': self.field.document_type.objects,
+                'queryset': self.field.document_type.objects,  # type: ignore
             }
         else:
             defaults = {}
diff --git a/django_mongoengine/mongo_auth/models.py b/django_mongoengine/mongo_auth/models.py
index 67b5c79..9f047c7 100644
--- a/django_mongoengine/mongo_auth/models.py
+++ b/django_mongoengine/mongo_auth/models.py
@@ -10,13 +10,13 @@
 from django.contrib.contenttypes.models import ContentTypeManager
 from django.db import models
 from django.utils import timezone
-from django.utils.encoding import smart_str
 from django.utils.translation import gettext_lazy as _
 from mongoengine import ImproperlyConfigured
 
 from django_mongoengine import document, fields
 from django_mongoengine.queryset import QuerySetManager
 
+from django.contrib.auth.hashers import check_password, make_password
 from .managers import MongoUserManager
 
 
@@ -34,32 +34,6 @@ def ct_init(self, *args, **kwargs):
     ),
 )
 
-try:
-    from django.contrib.auth.hashers import check_password, make_password
-except ImportError:
-    """Handle older versions of Django"""
-    from django.utils.hashcompat import md5_constructor, sha_constructor
-
-    def get_hexdigest(algorithm, salt, raw_password):
-        raw_password, salt = smart_str(raw_password), smart_str(salt)
-        if algorithm == 'md5':
-            return md5_constructor(salt + raw_password).hexdigest()
-        elif algorithm == 'sha1':
-            return sha_constructor(salt + raw_password).hexdigest()
-        raise ValueError('Got unknown password algorithm type in password')
-
-    def check_password(raw_password, password):
-        algo, salt, hash = password.split('$')
-        return hash == get_hexdigest(algo, salt, raw_password)
-
-    def make_password(raw_password):
-        from random import random
-
-        algo = 'sha1'
-        salt = get_hexdigest(algo, str(random()), str(random()))[:5]
-        hash = get_hexdigest(algo, salt, raw_password)
-        return '%s$%s$%s' % (algo, salt, hash)
-
 
 class BaseUser:
     is_anonymous = AbstractBaseUser.__dict__['is_anonymous']
@@ -88,7 +62,7 @@ class Meta:
         # ordering = ('name',)
         # unique_together = (('app_label', 'model'),)
 
-    def __unicode__(self):
+    def __str__(self):
         return self.name
 
     def model_class(self):
@@ -158,7 +132,7 @@ class Meta:
         # unique_together = (('content_type', 'codename'),)
         # ordering = ('content_type__app_label', 'content_type__model', 'codename')
 
-    def __unicode__(self):
+    def __str__(self):
         return "%s | %s | %s" % (
             self.content_type.app_label,
             self.content_type,
@@ -195,7 +169,7 @@ class Meta:
         verbose_name = _('group')
         verbose_name_plural = _('groups')
 
-    def __unicode__(self):
+    def __str__(self):
         return self.name
 
 
@@ -208,22 +182,23 @@ class AbstractUser(BaseUser, document.Document):
         max_length=150,
         verbose_name=_('username'),
         help_text=_("Required. 150 characters or fewer. Letters, numbers and @/./+/-/_ characters"),
+        required=True,
     )
 
     first_name = fields.StringField(
         max_length=30,
-        blank=True,
         verbose_name=_('first name'),
     )
 
-    last_name = fields.StringField(max_length=30, blank=True, verbose_name=_('last name'))
-    email = fields.EmailField(verbose_name=_('e-mail address'), blank=True)
+    last_name = fields.StringField(max_length=30, verbose_name=_('last name'))
+    email = fields.EmailField(verbose_name=_('e-mail address'), required=True)
     password = fields.StringField(
         max_length=128,
         verbose_name=_('password'),
         help_text=_(
             "Use '[algo]$[iterations]$[salt]$[hexdigest]' or use the <a href=\"password/\">change password form</a>."
         ),
+        required=True,
     )
     is_staff = fields.BooleanField(
         default=False,
@@ -250,7 +225,6 @@ class AbstractUser(BaseUser, document.Document):
     user_permissions = fields.ListField(
         fields.ReferenceField(Permission),
         verbose_name=_('user permissions'),
-        blank=True,
         help_text=_('Permissions for the user.'),
     )
 
@@ -259,7 +233,7 @@ class AbstractUser(BaseUser, document.Document):
 
     meta = {'abstract': True, 'indexes': [{'fields': ['username'], 'unique': True, 'sparse': True}]}
 
-    def __unicode__(self):
+    def __str__(self):
         return self.username
 
     def get_full_name(self):
diff --git a/example/tumblelog/tumblelog/models.py b/example/tumblelog/tumblelog/models.py
index 1272249..429c5f2 100644
--- a/example/tumblelog/tumblelog/models.py
+++ b/example/tumblelog/tumblelog/models.py
@@ -1,7 +1,4 @@
-try:
-    from django.urls import reverse
-except ImportError:
-    from django.core.urlresolvers import reverse
+from django.urls import reverse
 
 import datetime
 
@@ -13,9 +10,9 @@ class Comment(EmbeddedDocument):
         default=datetime.datetime.now,
         editable=False,
     )
-    author = fields.StringField(verbose_name="Name", max_length=255)
-    email = fields.EmailField(verbose_name="Email", blank=True)
-    body = fields.StringField(verbose_name="Comment")
+    author = fields.StringField(verbose_name="Name", max_length=255, required=True)
+    email = fields.EmailField(verbose_name="Email", required=True)
+    body = fields.StringField(verbose_name="Comment", required=True)
 
 
 class Post(Document):
@@ -23,18 +20,21 @@ class Post(Document):
         default=datetime.datetime.now,
         editable=False,
     )
-    title = fields.StringField(max_length=255)
-    slug = fields.StringField(max_length=255, primary_key=True)
+    title = fields.StringField(max_length=255, required=True)
+    slug = fields.StringField(max_length=255, primary_key=True, required=True)
     comments = fields.ListField(
-        fields.EmbeddedDocumentField('Comment'),
+        fields.EmbeddedDocumentField(Comment, required=True),
+        default=[],
+    )
+    strings = fields.ListField(
+        fields.StringField(required=True),
         default=[],
-        blank=True,
     )
 
     def get_absolute_url(self):
-        return reverse('post', kwargs={"slug": self.slug})
+        return reverse("post", kwargs={"slug": self.slug})
 
-    def __unicode__(self):
+    def __str__(self):
         return self.title
 
     @property
@@ -42,29 +42,29 @@ def post_type(self):
         return self.__class__.__name__
 
     meta = {
-        'indexes': ['-created_at', 'slug'],
-        'ordering': ['-created_at'],
-        'allow_inheritance': True,
+        "indexes": ["-created_at", "slug"],
+        "ordering": ["-created_at"],
+        "allow_inheritance": True,
     }
 
 
 class BlogPost(Post):
-    body = fields.StringField()
+    body = fields.StringField(required=True)
 
 
 class Video(Post):
-    embed_code = fields.StringField()
+    embed_code = fields.StringField(required=True)
 
 
 class Image(Post):
-    image = fields.ImageField()
+    image = fields.ImageField(required=True)
 
 
 class Quote(Post):
-    body = fields.StringField()
-    author = fields.StringField(verbose_name="Author Name", max_length=255)
+    body = fields.StringField(required=True)
+    author = fields.StringField(verbose_name="Author Name", max_length=255, required=True)
 
 
 class Music(Post):
-    url = fields.StringField(max_length=100, verbose_name="Music Url")
-    music_parameters = fields.DictField(verbose_name="Music Parameters")
+    url = fields.StringField(max_length=100, verbose_name="Music Url", required=True)
+    music_parameters = fields.DictField(verbose_name="Music Parameters", required=True)
diff --git a/poetry.lock b/poetry.lock
index 01bb90c..19a51d1 100644
--- a/poetry.lock
+++ b/poetry.lock
@@ -264,6 +264,20 @@ tzdata = {version = "*", markers = "sys_platform == \"win32\""}
 argon2 = ["argon2-cffi (>=19.1.0)"]
 bcrypt = ["bcrypt"]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "django-types"
+version = "0.19.1"
+description = "Type stubs for Django"
+optional = false
+python-versions = ">=3.7,<4.0"
+files = [
+    {file = "django_types-0.19.1-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:b3f529de17f6374d41ca67232aa01330c531bbbaa3ac4097896f31ac33c96c30"},
+    {file = "django_types-0.19.1.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:5ae7988612cf6fbc357b018bbc3b3a878b65e04275cc46e0d35d66a708daff12"},
+]
+
+[package.dependencies]
+types-psycopg2 = ">=2.9.21.13"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "dnspython"
 version = "2.1.0"
@@ -458,15 +472,30 @@ files = [
     {file = "mccabe-0.7.0.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:348e0240c33b60bbdf4e523192ef919f28cb2c3d7d5c7794f74009290f236325"},
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "mongo-types"
+version = "0.15.1"
+description = "Type stubs for mongoengine"
+optional = false
+python-versions = "^3.8"
+files = []
+develop = false
+
+[package.source]
+type = "git"
+url = "https://github.com/last-partizan/mongo-types.git"
+reference = "fix-embedded-types"
+resolved_reference = "1c9e66cbc80685c3085eaa5227d645460dbc68f0"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "mongoengine"
-version = "0.26.0"
+version = "0.27.0"
 description = "MongoEngine is a Python Object-Document Mapper for working with MongoDB."
 optional = false
 python-versions = ">=3.7"
 files = [
-    {file = "mongoengine-0.26.0-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:020a0779d1830affc649f2760d8c408e998981f18898e425eb041915181d3a53"},
-    {file = "mongoengine-0.26.0.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:3f284bdcbe8d1a3a9b8ab7d3c3ed672d10b8fd2e545447cd1d75e40d6e978332"},
+    {file = "mongoengine-0.27.0-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:c3523b8f886052f3deb200b3218bcc13e4b781661e3bea38587cc936c80ea358"},
+    {file = "mongoengine-0.27.0.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:8f38df7834dc4b192d89f2668dcf3091748d12f74d55648ce77b919167a4a49b"},
 ]
 
 [package.dependencies]
@@ -1030,6 +1059,17 @@ files = [
     {file = "tomli-2.0.1.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:de526c12914f0c550d15924c62d72abc48d6fe7364aa87328337a31007fe8a4f"},
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "types-psycopg2"
+version = "2.9.21.16"
+description = "Typing stubs for psycopg2"
+optional = false
+python-versions = ">=3.7"
+files = [
+    {file = "types-psycopg2-2.9.21.16.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:44a3ae748173bb637cff31654d6bd12de9ad0c7ad73afe737df6152830ed82ed"},
+    {file = "types_psycopg2-2.9.21.16-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:e2f24b651239ccfda320ab3457099af035cf37962c36c9fa26a4dc65991aebed"},
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "typing-extensions"
 version = "4.8.0"
@@ -1080,5 +1120,5 @@ files = [
 
 [metadata]
 lock-version = "2.0"
-python-versions = ">=3.8"
-content-hash = "80b087eaaabf55a7f91863cf6dae6377efef9b229608d03da49ecc6459d4972e"
+python-versions = ">=3.8,<4.0"
+content-hash = "6230e932eacccb9aba246b34836235a6410301f67dfda387d62f463a88fc4892"
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index a74a180..a60590c 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ description = "Django support for MongoDB via MongoEngine"
 authors = ["Ross Lawley <ross.lawley@gmail.com>"]
 
 [tool.poetry.dependencies]
-python = ">=3.8"
+python = ">=3.8,<4.0"
 django = ">=3.2,<5"
 mongoengine = ">=0.14"
 
@@ -20,6 +20,9 @@ ruff = "^0.1.3"
 sphinx = "*"
 black = "^23.10.1"
 typing-extensions = "^4.8.0"
+#mongo-types = { git = "https://github.com/sbdchd/mongo-types.git", branch = "main" }
+mongo-types = { git = "https://github.com/last-partizan/mongo-types.git", branch = "fix-embedded-types" }
+django-types = "^0.19.1"
 
 [tool.black]
 line-length = 100
diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index eee9ea0..07d36ad 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ classifiers =
 [options]
 zip_safe = False
 install_requires =
-    Django>=3.2,<4.3
+    Django>=4.2,<4.3
     mongoengine>=0.14
 include_package_data = True
 packages = find:
diff --git a/tests/forms/models.py b/tests/forms/models.py
index 3b29766..c36b478 100644
--- a/tests/forms/models.py
+++ b/tests/forms/models.py
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@
 
 
 class MongoDoc(Document):
-    year = fields.IntField()
-    file = fields.FileField(upload_to="test")
+    year = fields.IntField(required=True)
+    file = fields.FileField(upload_to="test", required=True)
 
 
 class DjangoModel(models.Model):
diff --git a/tests/views/models.py b/tests/views/models.py
index 02bcd48..3c95ee5 100644
--- a/tests/views/models.py
+++ b/tests/views/models.py
@@ -1,57 +1,59 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env python
-
 from bson.objectid import ObjectId
 from django.urls import reverse
 
 from django_mongoengine import Document, fields
 
 
+def object_id() -> str:
+    return str(ObjectId())
+
+
 class Artist(Document):
-    id = fields.StringField(primary_key=True, default=ObjectId)
-    name = fields.StringField(max_length=100)
+    id = fields.StringField(primary_key=True, default=object_id)
+    name = fields.StringField(max_length=100, required=True)
 
     class Meta:
-        ordering = (['name'],)
-        verbose_name = ('professional artist',)
-        verbose_name_plural = 'professional artists'
+        ordering = (["name"],)
+        verbose_name = ("professional artist",)
+        verbose_name_plural = "professional artists"
 
-    def __unicode__(self):
-        return self.name or ''
+    def __str__(self):
+        return self.name or ""
 
     def get_absolute_url(self):
-        return reverse('artist_detail', args=(self.id,))
+        return reverse("artist_detail", args=(self.id,))
 
 
 class Author(Document):
-    id = fields.StringField(primary_key=True, default=ObjectId)
-    name = fields.StringField(max_length=100)
-    slug = fields.StringField()
+    id = fields.StringField(primary_key=True, default=object_id)
+    name = fields.StringField(max_length=100, required=True)
+    slug = fields.StringField(required=True)
 
-    _meta = {"ordering": ['name'], "exclude": 'id'}
+    _meta = {"ordering": ["name"], "exclude": "id"}
 
-    def __unicode__(self):
-        return self.name or ''
+    def __str__(self):
+        return self.name or ""
 
 
 class Book(Document):
-    id = fields.StringField(primary_key=True, default=ObjectId)
-    name = fields.StringField(max_length=300)
-    slug = fields.StringField()
-    pages = fields.IntField()
-    authors = fields.ListField(fields.ReferenceField(Author))
-    pubdate = fields.DateTimeField()
+    id = fields.StringField(primary_key=True, default=object_id)
+    name = fields.StringField(max_length=300, required=True)
+    slug = fields.StringField(required=True)
+    pages = fields.IntField(required=True)
+    authors = fields.ListField(fields.ReferenceField(Author, required=True))
+    pubdate = fields.DateTimeField(required=True)
 
-    _meta = {"ordering": ['-pubdate']}
+    _meta = {"ordering": ["-pubdate"]}
 
-    def __unicode__(self):
-        return self.name or ''
+    def __str__(self):
+        return self.name or ""
 
 
 class Page(Document):
-    id = fields.StringField(primary_key=True, default=ObjectId)
-    content = fields.StringField()
-    template = fields.StringField(max_length=300)
+    id = fields.StringField(primary_key=True, default=object_id)
+    content = fields.StringField(required=True)
+    template = fields.StringField(max_length=300, required=True)
 
 
 class City(Document):
-    name = fields.StringField(max_length=100)
+    name = fields.StringField(max_length=100, required=True)