Jim Hopper

**James "Jim" Hopper** was a Groupy McGroupface politician and former police chief who served as the 4th President of Groupy McGroupface.

Hopper had previously served as the Chief of Police in the small town of Hawkins, Mario World. During his time as police chief, he was responsible for having exposed state government corruption that had previously been prevalent across Mario World. After having explored the mysterious disappearance of a child in Hawkins, Hopper soon discovered that the state government had been carrying out unauthorised research into parallel universes. This in turn was what had caused the disappearance of said child, causing Hopper to blow the whistle on what he had uncovered. The child was subsequently found and brought back to his parent, and the research being carried out in Hawkins grounded to a halt. The event gained nationwide attention, and Hopper soon rose to fame for his actions in this particular instance. Beyond this, he also adopted a child known only as an 'Eleven' after these events. The child had been used for experiments by the state government and subsequently had no carer in the aftermath of the research being prohibited, causing Hopper to adopt her as his own daughter.

Hopper was eventually drafted to run in the 2021 Groupy McGroupface Presidential Election for the Detection Party presidential nomination. Whilst he was initially sceptical due to his disdain for politics, his campaign soon gained traction and he ultimately won the Detection Party presidential primary. By the time of the General Election, Hopper's campaign had become extremely popular and, after the first round, he finished in second place behind Democratic Party candidate Keir Starmer. After advancing to the second round, Hopper defeated Starmer in what was the most tightly-contested election in group chat history. Hopper was subsequently sworn in to the office in March 2021, becoming the first Groupy Mcroupface president without prior government service since James Hewett.

In 2021, Groupy McGroupface suffered a coup, arranged by Penguin Club president Lord Squidy. After having infiltrated the White House, Squidy forced Hopper's hand in resigning and transferring power to the Squidy regime. Hopper was subsequently incarcerated by the group chat's new leader and, after refusing to accept Squidy as the rightful ruler, was publicly executed. His death was widely mourned and, once Squidy was removed from the throne, the group chat commemorated his legacy in a variety of different ways. He was succeeded as his president by his former running mate, Hank Schrader.

## Biography

James "Jim" Hopper was born in Hawkins, Mario World, where he resided the entirety of his youth. After having graduated from Hawkins high School, he pursued a career in the military and was among those who fought in the War of Independence. After this point, he subsequently became a veteran.

Later in life, Hopper met a woman named Diane, with whom he had one child named Sara. The pair were subsequently wed, and they then moved to New York City in Reville. During his time in New York, Hopper worked as a police officer and had a largely prosperous career. It was not long before his life was thrown into uncertainty however, as Sara was soon diagnosed with cancer at the age of 6. Despite being treated for the illness, Sara did not recover and passed away. In the aftermath of her passing, Hopper and Diane's marriage broke down and, as a consequence of this, they quickly divorced. He then spent several years working as a homicide detective, before returning back to Hawkins.

After moving back to Hawkins, Hopper was recruited to serve as Police Chief at the Hawkins Police Department. Due to the grief that he had endured in the years prior, he often relied on alcohol and prescription medication in order to help him in everyday life.

His life took yet another sudden turn however when he was approached by a former high school classmate, Joyce Byers. Byers informed him that her son, Will, had gone missing and claimed that the circumstances surrounding her son's disappearance were highly unusual. Hopper was initially sceptical, though he agreed to would investigate the matter at hand. In his quest to find Will, he uncovered a conspiracy that was in the process of being hushed up; the state government had been carrying out illegal research in order to explore a parallel universe, and that one such experiment had unleashed an unknown being that had taken the boy. Will however was eventually retrieved, the unknown being from a parallel universe was apprehended and the research was shut down. Hopper's decision to blow the whistle on what he had uncovered amassed a significant amount of press coverage, and he soon became a hero of law-enforcement.

In addition to this, these events also had an impact in his family life. There was a child, known as 'Eleven', that had been used by the state government for scientific research. The child was believed to have powers considered abnormal, hence why she had been kept. In the aftermath of these events however, she had no one to take care of her. As a result of this, Hopper took it upon himself to adopt the girl, and raised her as a single father.

Since its inception, Hopper had been a member of the Detection Party, though he had not been politically active. In spite of this, he was successfully drafted to run for the presidency in the 2021 Groupy McGroupface Presidential Election, even though he himself was sceptical of the idea. After his experience with the state government, he had primarily been disillusioned with politics as a whole, and was doubtful that his campaign would gain traction. He faced off against wealthy aristocrat and private detective Phryne Fisher in the Detection Party presidential primary, and was initially seen as a fringe candidate. After the first half of presidential primary voting, he finished in second place, though he remained a mere 30 delegates behind Phryne Fisher. His fortunes reversed once the second half of results were released however, propelling him into first place. He eventually won 210 of the overall delegates, compared to Fisher's total of 150 delegates. As a result of this, he was selected to serve as the Detection Party presidential nominee. Hopper subsequently chose Drug Enforcement Administration agent Hank Schrader to serve as his running mate, and the two advanced onto the General Election.

Throughout the General Election, Hopper stressed the importance of law and order. He claimed that other candidates, such as Keir Starmer and Thomas Jefferson, had completely ignored issues related to crime and safety, and thus condemned them. At the Main Party presidential debates, he criticised the continuous partisan warfare between the other political parties, and argued that the politicians were more concerned with fighting one another than they were actually helping people. His campaign was largely anti-establishment, and he often positioned himself as an outsider. As a result, he ran what was largely a populist campaign, though he also supported certain aspects of social liberalism.

After the first round of voting, Hopper ultimately finished in second place, acquiring 120 electoral college votes. He defeated other significant main party rivals, such as Republican Party presidential nominee Thomas Jefferson, and was beaten only by Democratic Party candidate Keir Starmer. In spite of Hopper's electoral success, the YouGroup exit poll reported that Starmer had a 75% chance of winning the election, rendering the chances of a Detection Party victory very small. In spite of this, Hopper fought on, and requested support from voters who had previously selected other parties in the first round. In the aftermath of this, Hopper received endorsements from Jefferson, Conservative Democrat Joe Manchin and independent candidate Boris Johnson.

The second round of voting however, the results produced an outcome that shocked the entire group chat. In an event that had previously been seen as extremely unlikely, Hopper pulled off a surprise victory, winning 285 electoral college votes compared to Starmer's 255 electoral college votes. This in turn meant that Hopper won with 53% of the overall votes cast in what was the closest election in Groupy McGroupface history. This election is also notable for the way in which it produced the first non-Democrat ever elected to the presidency.

In the aftermath of these results, Keir Starmer conceded the election, and Jim Hopper formally accepted the presidency. He promised to put together a presidential cabinet that consisted of all the major political parties, and he soon carried through on this. The cabinet included Democrats, Republicans, Detectives and third parties alike, including Republican Party member Conrad Dalton as Secretary of State and Detection Party member James Comey as Attorney General. Hopper was later sworn into office in March 2021, making him the 4th President of Groupy McGroupface.

Hopper's first few months in office were largely successful, and he was able to enact a series of extensive law and order reforms with bi-partisan support in Congress. His luck however would take a turn for the worse in the Summer of 2021. The events of his downfall started when he was suddenly summoned to meet with the superhero team known as 'The Vindicators'. Hopper was caught unaware when the heroes placed him in front of two infamous escaped convicts: Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows. Scofield and Burrows claimed that they had information relating to a hypothetical coup scheduled to take place, though Hopper's Chief of Staff Malcolm Tucker was sceptical of this alleged plot. Considering that Scofield and Burrows had no evidence to support their claims, Hopper chose to side with his advisor and ordered for the two men to be arrested.

The news of Scofield and Burrows having once again been arrested was made with widespread praise, as they had been on the run for numerous years. Just as Hopper was starting to celebrate however, he was called away into the Situation Room. He was informed that talks of an alleged coup had indeed been correct, and that Penguin Club president Lord Squidy had found numerous ways to infiltrate the Groupy McGroupface government.

After Penguin Club troops marched over the border and into Groupy McGroupface, Hopper was advised to find refuge in an underground bunker with immediate effect. On way his way to the bunker though, Hopper was stopped in his tracks by Walter White; the brother-in-law of the Vice President. It turned out that White had been responsible for co-ordinate the coup and that, using his White House connections, had been able to smuggle an explosive vest onto the premises. Faced with no way out, Hopper attempted one last act of heroism: he would accept defeat and turn himself over to Lord Squidy with the condition that all of his staff are given safe passage out of the building. As a consequence, he saved the lives of hundreds of employees, though this cost him his own freedom.

One week later, the Hopper Administration had been removed from office and Lord Squidy officially re-took control of Groupy McGroupface. Hopper spent this week in captivity, with Squidy's goons torturing him until he agreed to publicly support the new regime. In spite of this, he held his resolve and continued to stand strong against the Squidy in spite of the circumstances.

To commemorate the new regime, Squidy delivered a public address, during which he brought Hopper onto the stage with him. Having finally been given the opportunity to speak to the group chat he had once governed, he expressed remorse to the people of of Groupy McGroupface for not having prevented the attack, but encouraged them to keep on fighting and to resist Lord Squidy's tyranny. In spite of any negative repercussions this might entail for him, he felt it was important to show that, even in his state, he would not cower to the likes of Squidy and neither should Groupy Groupface. As punishment, he was executed live onstage by Lord Squidy's accomplice, General Hux.

After some time had passed, the Squidy regime was toppled thanks to a group of rebels, some of which gave their lives for the cause. Hopper's Vice President, Hank Schrader, succeeded him as president. Schrader paid tribute to Hopper in his first public address as president, praising him as a patriot that gave his life to defend the group chat in its darkest hour.

## Role-Plays Featured In

* 2021 Groupy McGroupface Presidential Election (Main Character)
* The Dying Detective (Supporting Character)
* Groupy McGroupface: Endgame (Main Character)