#i understand not everyone has the time or brainspace to do Deep Dives

[last-flight-of-fancy]

so the qpp commands, so it shall be done

#iirc a more accurate translation would have been 'there can only be one HERO' #which has a slightly different connotation #especially given the recurring fairy tale themes of disney movies (and thus also kh)#but unfortunately the translation team didn't know that word choice was going to be *really* important the longer the series went on #regardless even in kh1 mickey had one too so there already was two keyblades#riku was just... wrong. and going through his teenage edge phase

#i wanna take the word retcon away from the kh fandom in general so bad #maybe they'll learn a) what it actually means and b) to respect it #retcons are not always bad. but a bad (edit: i meant innacurate) translation or something being foreshadowed is inherently not a retcon #the pods in khux? almost certainly a retcon. and its GREAT #nobodies actually regrowing their hearts? not a retcon that was foreshadowed in the exact same game they were introduced in #kingdom hearts

#kh is not a hollywood movie where the twist is there for cheap shock value #and it's not going to hold your hand through picking up the clues #and its okay not to notice things bc there's a lot to notice! #that's why i like to think of kh as something of a group project. we all notice different bits and it all comes together to form- #-a complete story

#maybe that's why it's so frustrating when people dismiss certain observations out of hand (like anything even tangentially related to sr) #(yknow. other than the often rampant homophobia) #because its like saying 'well i dont see it so it doesnt count' like bro you think i saw everything my first go round? hell no #i remember seeing the terra guardian theory back in... i wanna say around 09? i thought it was Neat but i wasn't gonna put any money on it #but that person obviously saw something i didn't because they were ABSOLUTELY RIGHT #looking back i can see what i missed

#my point is that if you aren't constantly re-evaluating kh's lore with every new bit of info you're going to get left behind real fast #because our understanding of it is constantly evolving #or if that's too much that's okay too; just sit back and enjoy the show while we work stuff out. us hardcore nerds are more than happy to do the hard work. Just enjoy the meal with us

Why do people always forget that there being more than one keyblade wielder was already established /in kh1/, it was never a retcon. Riku was simply wrong when he said there could only be one keyblade wielder because he didn’t know shit and had his head up his ass.

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

If Will and Mike be in a relationship, will Hopper get angry at Mike for “fooling” his daughter, or he will treat it with understanding?

I have to admit, this one had me thinking for a while. There’s just a lot of potential layers to how Hopper would react to seeing Mike and Will together. I suppose the best way to answer this is to look at Hopper’s primary motivators for his actions. So sit back because you’ve just prompted me to take a deep dive into Hopper’s psyche. Some of this I may have discussed before, but, eh, it’s a Saturday. I have nothing else to do besides go for a walk eventually.

Essentially what we need to consider is how Hopper reacts to anything. That is to say how he evaluates and reacts to a situation or stimulus. Everyone has a stress response system, mostly known as the fight-or-flight response. While it’s often a bit more complicated than that name would suggest, it’s essentially how we respond to a stressful stimuli. The idea is that our body reacts in the way that would best ensure survival. The problem is that what often triggers stress in a modern human isn’t benefited by such a response. We can’t exactly fight our boss or run and hide when we get in trouble at work.

Hopper reacts to stress with aggression. We’ve seen this time and time again. It’s unknown if this is what led him to be a soldier in Vietnam and eventually a police officer, or perhaps vice versa, but I’d imagine there’s a correlation. Then again, he’s also shown that he will hide under certain circumstances. In season 2, we see Hopper run and hide in the stairwell in reaction to his daughter’s illness and eventual death. This was a situation where aggression couldn’t help him, so he hid. If someone had confronted him at this point, he may well have reacted with aggression regardless of that individual’s intent to help. A more primitive level of Hopper’s brain is in control at that moment, and he is reacting instinctively to a threat, and it’s a threat he literally can’t pound into submission.

Hopper usually shows decent self-control, though I stress the usually part. This is another important quality of a police officer or soldier. However, when that self-control becomes inhibited, be it by anger, alcohol, or whatever, he dips down into that more primitive brainspace. This isn’t unique to Hopper, at least in real life, as both alcohol and stress inhibit higher brain functioning. Anyone who has ever tried to convince a drunk to give up their car keys or has been in a heated fight with a friend has seen how a normally rational person can seem like a different person. He sees Mike as a threat when he and El get close, and he seems to almost be physically restraining himself at times. However, when he’s calm and writing the speech that Joyce urged him to, he is actually much more understanding and rational. He tries to hide from the stress caused by El opening herself up to pain (via dating) by avoiding the confrontation with her. He then becomes aggressive when he perceives that Mike and El don’t take his concerns seriously. We have to remember that Hopper lost a daughter already, and that is the root of his overprotective behavior regarding El. He deemed himself a failure with Sara, and he won’t be the same this time around. He dislikes Mike, ultimately, because Mike is pulling El away from Hopper’s protective sphere, not because he has some specific dislike of Mike himself.

This brings us to the actual question you posed, and how he’d react to Mike dating Will instead of El. It’s going to come down to a handful of situations.

First, what is his current emotional/mental state when he finds out. Hopper does have decent self-control when he is calm. If he finds this out immediately after a stressful situation, which is considerably likely given what we know about Season 4, then the possibility for a bad reaction, caused by his stress response system telling him to protect El, is significant. If Mike were to be nearby when he learns about this, then Mike may want to start running. A negative reaction to this could be mitigated, however, if Hopper is also reacting to a positive situation, such as a reunion with Joyce or El. 

Speaking of El, her own perception of Mike being with Will would impact Hopper’s reaction. This would be particularly true if Hopper found out when Mike wasn’t around. Here, El would have the opportunity to ease, or perhaps rile, Hopper by sharing how she feels about it. If she indicates that she’s ok, or even happy, about Mike being with Will instead of her, then Hopper would likely calm down. It would be his desire to protect her, after all, that would cause him to get angry in the first place. Should El be angry about it herself, though, Hopper would probably be ready to strike the moment he saw Mike. 

Then there’s the ultimate elephant in the room. Mike and Will would be a gay couple. How Hopper reacts to that would undoubtedly be different than if Mike were with another girl. It could be good. Maybe Hop stops seeing Mike as a threat altogether. Then again, we don’t really know for sure how Hopper feels about gay people. He doesn’t seem overtly homophobic. While he reacts to Joyce talking about Lonnie calling Will a “fag” by asking if it’s true, he doesn’t press the issue, and it certainly doesn’t stop Hopper from wanting to find him safe and sound. I imagine he’d have some degree of 80-s typical discomfort, which could affect his reaction in some way, but we just don’t know for sure how severe it might be.

Regardless, I imagine he ultimately would come around if he did have a bad initial reaction. He’s meant to be one of the heroes, after all, and it wouldn’t do for him to end on a negative note. If he wanted to have any chance whatsoever with Joyce, it would be foolish for him to jeopardize things by threatening Will’s happiness. There’s also other things that could affect his reaction. They showed him treating Will sort of as a son in Season 2, so that could also come into play. Mike may be shown as more mature and heroic in his own right, allowing Hopper to see him in a new light. Hopper’s time as a Russian prisoner could give him time to reflect on his choices and actions, possibly resulting in a reconsideration of his priorities. 

This is an aspect of a possible relationship between Mike and Will that is tricky to unpack. I’m not sure how well I’ve answered your question really, as I feel all I’ve actually done is raise further questions. Unfortunately, it’s ultimately up to the writers to decide how Hopper would react.