#brotp: joyce and murray

[stevesbipanic]

I would like to hear about Joyce for the character ask thingy:]

#1 Mum

favorite thing about them

- How she adopted El without a second thought, she loves those kids so much.

least favorite thing about them

- How she clearly prefers Will over Jonathan

favorite line

- Okay a magnet? Magnets? Do you know magnet? Magnet?

brOTP

- Joyce/Murray chaotic besties

OTP

- Jopper was so happy we got some kinda closure with this ship this season

nOTP

- Joyce and that asshole Lonnie

random headcanon

- Joyce and Claudia smoked a lot of weed together in high school

unpopular opinion

- She ignores Jonathan a lot and puts too much responsibility on him.

song i associate with them

- Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift

favorite picture of them

Just her having proof Will was ok 🥺

[wibble-wobbegong]

hopper!

1: sexuality headcanon

straight as a board most of the time. 99% of the time. completely dedicated to joycs. but if joyce wanted to try out a threeway he would be voluntarily kissing the other man on the mouth but ONLY after the russian plot. i cannot explain why

2: otp

jopper

3: brotp

him and dmitri (only real friend he’s had the whole show)

4: notp

him and murray. i do not see it 💔

5: first headcanon that pops into my head

he shoves mike’s face in his came on his 18th birthday because, quote, “you’re a man now which means i can treat you like one” (this is the meanest thing he’s done in years and will be the meanest thing he does until doing this exact same thing at mike’s wedding)

6: favorite line from this character

cant remember the exact wording but the one where he starts threatening alexei when he complains about having strawberry instead of cherry

7: one way in which I relate to this character

masculine urge to punch as many people as possible

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

everything about that car scene with mike in s3. bro chillax

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

well. i think he’s in between the two

[etchedstars]

Joyce for the character thing? :) hope you are having a good day/night !

hm hmmmm . i can safely say i dont think too much abt joyce So.

1: sexuality headcanon - oh god i think shes straight but i really like the idea that she had a thing w mrs wheeler in high school its so funny to me

2: otp - jopper um. who else

3: brotp - murray omg <333 everything to me

4: notp - murray it just doesnt work romantically

5: first headcanon that pops into my head - jewish she is jewish shouting it from the rooftops JOYCE IS A JEW

6: favorite line from this character - oh that one speech from s1 where she tells jonathan this isnt yours to handle alone ..,

7: one way in which I relate to this character - joyce is like. the least relatable person on this show omg okay um. brown hair and i do not look put together day after day

8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character - THE WAY SHE TREATED JONATHAN oh my god. i will not ever stop talking abt this bc its Bad ok its bad. also every time she referred to will as my boy its just a personal thing its weird idk

9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave? - cinnamon roll i think? maybe?

[blueeandyellowmakesgreen]

argyle or joyce for the character thing

omg helloooOO

im gonna do both because i can

argyle:

Why I like them

hes hilarious, intelligent and the only ‘normal’ friend outside of the group’s trauma circle and they really need that, especially jonathan. i think sometimes people forget jonathan didnt have friends back in hawkins so im really glad he met argyle

Why I don’t

you are Legally Not Allowed to dislike argyle

Favorite episode (scene if movie/book)

4-episode 2 for putting mike in his place at the airport with that hug

Favorite season/movie

4? i guess

Favorite line

‘GOT ME STRESSED AND ITS NOT EVEN MY GIRLFRIEND’

Favorite outfit

i cant Remember. i know he has funky pants

OTP

him and weed xxx (jargyle’s cool too)

Brotp

jargyle..!! but id love to see el and argyle interact more tbh

Head Canon

mike gets argyle’d offscreen and thats why mike dislikes him bc he was able to psychoanalyze the kid while high. also casually admits hes queer which makes mike spit out his 7 up

Unpopular opinion

i think that since s5 is gonna be hawkins based with the chars as the center, i do think argyle is gonna be seen driving back to cali in the first ep. brief goodbyes are said and hes off since jonathan and el insist he go back before he gets into any unnecessary danger. theyd do that

A wish

he doesnt die and is confirmed queer in s5. maybe he goes back to cali as soon as s5 starts i honestly see that happening

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen

doesnt die i guess!!

5 words to best describe them

cool, intelligent, funny, creative, confident

My nickname for them

dont have oneee

joyce:

Why I like them

love of my life. shes SO smart and cares about her kids so much. shes so loyal and the reason why the men in the show even get anywhere and i need that acknowledged in the show how shes always right i NEED people to stop doubting my woman

Why I don’t

no

Favorite episode (scene if movie/book)

god i dont remember but it was the episode where she argued with lonnie in s1 and had that speech where she was never going to stop looking for will. that was a chilling moment for her, and a runner up is her talking to will through the lights. honestly joyce fucking shined throughout the entire season, which leads to my next answer for the next question!

Favorite season/movie

1!

Favorite line

again, going back to her speech against lonnie!

Favorite outfit

season 3 outfit slayed

OTP

JOPPER 💞💞💞🥰

Brotp

watching her and murray in s4 was actually really fun!

Head Canon

she played dnd with will, just the two of them when he was younger!

Unpopular opinion

uhhh i really didnt like how her reunion with el was more significant in s4 than it was with jonathan and will, her own kid who she went to hell and back for,, a very miniscule part of me is just salty abt that fjjdjd i miss the byers family interacting okkk

A wish

that men stop doubting her 🤡

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen

dont die.

5 words to best describe them

caring, passionate, genius, loyal, hot (i said it.)

My nickname for them

no nickname!

[bylerisrequited]

For the characters hcs - Joyce and Murray (do both or just one)

joyce

sexuality headcanon: bisexual yep yep

gender headcanon: female, she/her

a ship i have with said character: jopper <3

a brotp i have with said character: joyce & murray

a notp i have with said character: joyce & lonnie

a random headcanon: she used to build blanket forts with mike & will when they were younger

general opinion over said character: i love her sm best mom ever if she dies i die !

murray

sexuality headcanon: gay :o

gender headcanon: male, he/him

a ship i have with said character: alexei? idk

a brotp i have with said character: joyce & murray

a notp i have with said character: hopper & murray?

a random headcanon: he likes to visit the byers at the most random times. it's kinda why they weren't entirely confused when he was in their kitchen lol

general opinion over said character: a funny character that i'd miss sm if he died :( i almost lost it when i heard the death rumors in vol 2

[milquetoast-on-acid]

Murray sleeping the whole ride to Alaska, meanwhile Joyce is anxious, worried AF and definitely didn't sleep a wink is so them.

[cricketsatnight]

Today is a glorious day because I had a post-op checkup that went well and now I get to shriek at ST4 stills until we see the trailer.

(I am, in fact, desperate and feral for a trailer tho)

[beelzeburgerr]

STRANGER THINGS SHIP TIER LIST (text only)

THEY ARE EVERYTHING: murray x alexei, robin x vickie (rockie), jargyle

a special place in my heart: byler, eddissy, steddie, jancy, jopper, ronance, bob x joyce (boyce)

yummy yummy delish: eden/argyle, lumax, elmax, elumax, suzie x dustin (duzie)

i care for them quite a bit: jason x chrissy (he loved her okay!!?!!??!?), robin x chrissy (rossy), mileven

brotp only: steve & robin, lucas & mike, max & will, max & mike, lucas & will, el & will, dustin & el, dustin & lucas, other cool duos

gtfo and never return: harringrove, non-platonic stobin, stancy, jason and eddie, stonathan, stommy, and idk who else but theres def more

[finnickodaiir]

Hopper!

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life 

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

best quality: devotion to the ppl he cares about

worst quality: bad temper

ship them with: Joyce

brotp them with: Bob, Murray, Dr. Owens

needs to stay away from: Hawkins Lab

misc. thoughts: he is a deeply flawed person, means well, but needs to control his temper. Also I think the fandom can be a little too extreme with him. He can be an asshole, but he is not Lonnie 2.0.

[boneheadtrashmouth]

Bev, Eleven and Joyce

IM PUMPED LETS GO

Bev

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life 

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

best quality: brave and strong!!!!

worst quality: [ERROR: 404] too perfect

ship them with: ben :)

brotp them with: the losers :)))

needs to stay away from: her dad, bowers, pennywise

misc. thoughts: I would die for her she’s so pretty pleas e

Eleven

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life 

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

best quality: powerful and gorgeous and strong and kind and-

worst quality: a bit reckless

ship them with: Max :)))

brotp them with: Will, Mike, Dustin, Lucas, Johnathan, Kali, and HopperAndJoyce (as parents)

needs to stay away from: monsters >:(( also the lab workers

misc. thoughts: she’s perfect I can’t

Joyce

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life 

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

hogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuff

best quality: all of her. have you seen her? amazing. strong. caring. selfless. honest. shall I go on???

worst quality: she can be a bit intense at times?? and sometimes she’s too selfless,,,stop sacrificing yourself please

ship them with: Hopper

brotp them with: Murray and Bob

needs to stay away from: Lonnie, monsters, and Russians

misc. thoughts: the best mom in the world

[stevesbipanic]

Murray for the character ask!

The most chaotic man

favorite thing about them

- Willing to go along with anything slightly insane

least favorite thing about them

- He's a bit patronising

favorite line

- So Jonathan, how was the pull out?

brOTP

- Murray/Joyce chaotic besties

OTP

- Murray/Alexei they gossip in russian

nOTP

- Murray/Joyce EW they're besties don't make them date

random headcanon

- He has a pet ferret that like to sit on his head

unpopular opinion

- Murray is perfectly sane for having the level of security that he has.

song i associate with them

- Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles

favorite picture of them

It's just very him

[kaypeace21]

Jonathan Byers (For your character questions Ask)

favorite thing about them

He’s incredibly caring and selfless to his family. He’s extremely devoted to Will and Joyce (frankly taking on more than such a young guy should have to). At 17 he’s discussing helping pay for his mom’s mortgage . Then of course, Jonathan is a surrogate dad to Will in a lot of respects. In s1 it’s cannon that he cooks breakfast for Will, wakes him up, drives him places, works extra shifts to pay the house bills. Gives Will coded pep-talks about his sexuality. And sometimes calls Will (coded fatherly nicknames that dads give their kids)- like “kid, buddy, pal, and sport”. He’s paralleled to all the ST mom’s taking pics of their kids in their ghost busters costumes, as well. I love Jonathan. He pretty much sacrificed his entire childhood to be the father figure for Will, that Lonnie wasn’t. He did all of this since he wanted Will to have more than he did (aka a Dad).Jonathan  in s1 even said in the past Joyce had “anxiety issues”. And tells Joyce, “This is not an okay time for you to shut down,” implying there has been times when she has shut down, and left him with the  burden of caring for Will and herself .  Joyce even apologizes in s1 for not being there for him as a kid ( cause she was too busy working). Many s4 movies emphasize Jonathan’s devotion to Will and knowledge that he sacrificed his childhood to do so .

least favorite thing about them

He constantly think he’s inadequate and often refuses help. Calling himself a “weirdo”.  Not telling Joyce of the supernatural threat cause “she’s been through enough”. And constantly apologizing for not being there for Will- and blaming himself for what’s happened to him. 

Like joyce said “you act like you’re all alone in this world. But you’re not!” And Bob reiterates his trust issues saying “I’m really getting through to them- well except Jonathan he’s a tough cookie to crack.” Murray also parrots this saying “trust issues, am I right? Something to do with your dad.”  Jonathan has severe trust issues and I hope he heals from that .

favorite line

"You shouldn't like things because people tell you you're supposed to.”

brOTP

Obviously - my brOTP is Jonathan and Will.

OTP

Don’t really have 1. I used to ship jancy (still wasn’t fond of the camera incident though). I like jonathan and nancy but after s3 I think they may be better off not together . I like both but I think maybe they’re not the best fit together.

nOTP

if we’re talking about popular st ships of him like Jancy and I guess... stoncy & steve/jon? I’m mostly indifferent. I feel like nOTP’s are more vitriolic. 

But I just feel like Jancy isn’t right for each other, in the long run.Nancy only apologized for claiming Jon was sexist but not for making fun of him for being poor and his dad leaving -calling him “oliver twist” (a poor orphan). Which clearly pissed him off since when he talked to her on the phone later he did a clap back referencing the book saying he was with ‘Fagin and the gang’. Which is similar to Mike apologizing for being ‘jealous of Max’ but not for the fact he lied (the reason for the breakup in the first place). The fact Nancy says “here comes the Oliver Twist routine AGAIN”. Implies Jonathan has tried to open up to her in the past but she dismissed it as just bellyaching. I just can’t really get over that.  I don’t think either was completely in the right though. I talked about all the pairings (including jancy) and their parallels to other ships, in way more detail- here and why I don’t see them as endgame.

random headcanon

- Since Nancy says in s2  Jonathan likes reading Vonnegut. I think it may reflects a lot about Jonathan!

Vonnegut like Jonathan was born in Indiana- like jonathan.He was an atheist and a humanist and served as the honorary president of the American Humanist Association.Some quotes by him:  “I am a humanist, which means, in part, that I have tried to behave decently without expectations of rewards or punishments after I am dead...  purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved.”

A lot of his books critique society in a scifi form.

- In Breakfast of Champions (1973), Vonnegut vows to “clear [his] head of all the junk,” and race and racism are at the top of his list of “junk” to be cleared.  In the book he critiques colonialism, and institutional and social racism predominantly focusing on the mistreatment of black people. “I think I am trying to clear my head of all the junk in there...I suspect that this is something most white Americans, and nonwhite Americans who imitate white Americans, should do. The things other people have put into my head, at any rate, do not fit together nicely, are often useless and ugly, are out of proportion with one another, are out of proportion with life as it really is outside my head.”

-  Slaughter house 5 (1972) was based on his own experiences as a  ww2 soldier. “It sees war as a tragedy so great that perhaps only the mask of comedy allows one to look it in the eye. Vonnegut is a sad-faced comedian.  The book says Billy may be hallucinating about his experiences with the Tralfamadorians as a way to escape a world destroyed by war—a world that he cannot understand ( heavy Will foreshadowing). Even while Vonnegut admits the inevitability of death, with or without war, he also tells us that he has instructed his sons not to participate in massacres or in the manufacture of machinery used to carry them out”. The phrase “so it goes” represented the deep sadness and resignation to death- appearing with almost every death in the novel. This phrase become a popular mantra in the Anti-vietnam war movement.Mr. Vonnegut wrote at the end of the book, “was shot two nights ago. He died last night. So it goes. Martin Luther King was shot a month ago. He died, too. So it goes. And every day my Government gives me a count of corpses created by military science in Vietnam. So it goes.”

- In a letter from 1965, he also recommended a novel to his wife. ‘here is a really lovely book about it in my study -- on a top shelf. It's red, and it's called The ABZ of Love." “Indeed, the book was in many ways ahead of its time and of the era's mainstream, pushing hard against bigotry and advocating for racial, gender, and LGBT equality with equal parts earnestness and wry wit.”

-his novels also had a lot of gay characters and this caused a lot of controversy at the time.

Reflecting  how he’ll probably be supportive of Will-  which was foreshadowed in s1 when he was encouraging Will not to behave a certain way cause his homophobic dad wants him to.

unpopular opinion

probably Jancy not being endgame

song i associate with them

-’should I stay or should i go’ . obvious cliche choice, i know.

favorite picture of them

Hmm... I’m not sure. I just find Jonathan & will exchanging looks with each other and laughing precious.

[solarsleepless]

Things I want in season 4 of Stranger Things (most of it is Max)

Max to punch Michael Wheeler in the face

I need for Max to grab Steve's nail bat, walk into a room with Demedogs in it or some shit and lock the door behind her and there's screams so Lucas and the rest assume she's dead but the door opens and there's Max panting and covered in red blood and she just goes, "Safe to come out now."

Becky Ives!! I need her to come and adopt Max and be a bigger part of the story!

I want a scene where they're going to Russia and everyone's wearing relatively normal winter clothing, give or take a few layers and then there's Max with like 100 layers and Mike bursts out laughing and she goes like, "Fuck off, I'm Californian and I'm going to fucking Russia, I am more cold-blooded than you all are!"

Max and Mike being a chaotic brotp

Kali!

Max following Kali around like a duckling after being like "YOOOOO WTF YOU'RE AWESOME" to her.

Kali teaching the girls (and eventually the whole party) self defence

Suzie-Poo.

LUCAS AND MAX. Holy fuck we NEED MORE SCENES, DUFFERS! Like it wouldn't have been that hard to mirror the scene from the bus in S2 except they just exchange grateful glances. Like don't make them comedy relief >=/

Mike protecting Max

Max protecting Mike

Murray going "THIS IS FOR ALEXEI!" And just killing a buncha Russians.

Becky and Robin being the next best comedic duo

Steve to get beat up (bcuz it is not st if he doesn't)

Max and Steve brotp

Mike being halfway between angsty and non-angsty

Max being so fucking angsty like oml

Eleven being innocent

I know this'd be too obvious but a great IT reference would be of someone of the party (not necessarily Mike) has an axe or Steve's bat and goes "Welcome to the Party, asshole!" With the demegorgon

Kali character development/arc

Steve and Becky simultaneously being the best duo yet both trying to be momfriends

B e c k y

Mike and Nancy to say the word "Bullshit!" At least 10000 more times.

Holly being included more.

Honestly just give Lucas more awesome scenes so that Caleb can get some fucking recognition

Dustin and Max to be fiercely locked in a battle on Mike's ATARI

Nancy to punch some sexist pieces of shit

Joyce to beat the living fuck out of Brenner because how dare he do that to her daughter

Max flashbacks with Billy

More signs of PTSD with all the characters, not just Will, Nancy and Joyce.

At the start of all the upside-down shit no-one tells Becky anything so she ends up being like "What the fuck what the fuck what the fuck" 95% of the time (think Robin at the beginning of Season 3)

Oh

Did

I

Mention

B e c k y

[tightropeflea]

hopper

Dang, you guys really have my number, huh.

favorite thing about them: Hop has this tendency to realize his mistakes. Sure, it takes him a while to do so, but once he’s out of his temper tantrums, he apologizes. He tells people he is sorry. He tells them they are right. He tells them that the fight wasn’t their fault. He holds them when they fight and scream at him. He’s a big bad beat cop/detective, stereotypical 80s man with the softest spots - even if they’re hidden quite deep.

least favorite thing about them: Hopper burns. He gets livid in a way that isn’t healthy, he has anger issues. We all know this, we’ve all seen it. Anyone who says that Season 3 Hopper was incredibly out of character should take a step back and look at Season 2 Hopper who literally threatened to take El back to the lab. He has a too much gene.

favorite line: “ I’ve been stuck in one place, in a cave you might say, a deep dark cave. And then I left some Eggos out in the woods and you came into my life.”

brOTP: Hopper and Murray, although Hopper and his deputies are a very close second.

OTP: Y’ALL KNOW WHAT IT IS. Jopper to the grave, baby! The only addition that I’ll put on this post is that for what it’s worth, outside of his fucking tantrum, Hopper has generally been really patient with Joyce. I think he’s been pining for years, but I also think he’s done it in a way that’s commendable. He never tried to intrude on her time with Bob (that we saw), he gave her space as much as he could, and when she came up with a lame excuse, the detective who could clearly see that she was uncomfortable let up immediately. He saw the error in what he did - the first time. It’s why I like all of those fics that took place in the span between season 2 and season 3; it gave people the opportunity to spin that yarn where he’s kind of nasty but also sweet and protective.

nOTP: Hopper and literally anyone else, except Diane. I’ve seen some really nasty ones (Hopper and Jonathan???? Hopper and Billy????) but I will say that the strangest ones are the ones where it’s Hopper/Reader. I’m not here to yuck your yum, I just never got into that type of fiction. Write what you love. 

random headcanon: Hopper is a dashboard drummer. He gets so into music that it’s wild, rivaling even Jonathan’s love for The Clash.

unpopular opinion: Season 3 Hopper was not out of character. David Harbour has been saying since season 1 came out that Hopper is a sort of antagonistic protagonist, he has a lot of demons in the closet and he doesn’t always deal with them well. I know that we all want him to be better, but that’s a process. I honestly think we’ve now seen the worst of Jim, and that he’ll improve drastically in the next season.

song i associate with them: Obviously You Don’t Mess Around with Jim, (I prefer this cover of it for him than the original. THAT’S a spicy take, huh?) and definitely Lucille, which is a heartbreaker. Hey Kid by Ingrid Michaelson gets me too (but it was literally written for Hopper so). Lastly, I’m No Stranger to the Rain.

favorite picture of them: 

[strangertheory]

Murray Bauman

Murray Bauman

Favorite thing about them:

I appreciate Murray's understanding of how society's biases work, and how certain truths need to be watered down so that they are more palatable or they will be dismissed and ignored by people entirely, regardless of how convincing the evidence is. The human mind will almost always prefer a comforting lie to a frightening truth. 👀

Least favorite thing about them:

He's excessively preoccupied with the love lives of other people. Perhaps he would rather pester other people about their relationships than address his own self-imposed loneliness and isolation.

Favorite line:

"People don't spend their lives trying to get a look behind the curtain. They like the curtain. It provides them stability, comfort, definition."

brOTP:

Alexei and Murray

OTP:

Alexei and Murray

nOTP:

Murray and Joyce. Yes, he respects her a bit more than other people, but I require more than a little bit of basic mutual respect between characters in order to ship them together.

random headcanon:

Murray arranges for all of his food and supplies to be delivered to another address, and then he secretly picks them up at a later date as-needed, so that no one knows where he lives. He has an entire system established to ensure that when he does go out, that nobody can successfully follow him home.

unpopular opinion:

Murray is not a genius matchmaker. When he shares his thoughts on people's love lives he's just being a nosy, opinionated, meddlesome little fart. 🙃

song I associate with them:

No More by Billie Holiday

favorite picture of them:

[aethelredism]

Murray Bauman!

My NOTP for them: idk if i have one

My BROTP for them: Murray and Joyce

My OTP for them: Murray x Karen Wheeler

My second choice pairing for them: Murray x Alexi

My fluffy pairing for them: Murray x Karen

My angsty pairing for them: Murray x Alexi

My favorite poly ship for them: Murray x Joyce x Hopper

My weirdest pairing for them: Murray x Karen