#character analyses

May I just say it here? Please don't throw stones at me. That's a great quote. And since we're all a bit delusional at rpf (I think that our great leader of VR46 cult would be very proud of us for that), let me fantasize about it a little bit. I always thought it was interesting to show how Marc might also be a little hostile towards Luca, since he's, well, Vale's brother and can hurt him as well. But then they obviously get closer, probably even have a serious conversation (similar to their interaction in your wonderful child of divorce au) and Marc renounced his prejudice, probably not even realizing that he experienced it, until Luca points on it (Marc, I think, terribly upset when he realizes this).

Despite this, to be honest, sometimes when I see how big Marc's heart is, I think maybe he never had real hatred for Luca, probably because their relationship has always been different. Maybe they've always really understood each other's position in this crazy story and what role each of them got in this show (I don't think they both agree with this state of affairs).

In any case, it's so nice when their relationship is shown to be supportive and respectful, even compassionate. I love them for that. And well, Luca helps Vale see things, THANKS A LOT TO HIM FOR THAT. Without him, we would have died in madness many years ago.

I hope I didn't scare you with this sudden and huge ask, I don't know where it came from (maybe madness hehe?).

EVERYONE PLEASE LOOK AT THIS!!!!

THIS IS WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!

Honestly I can really see MArc getting extremly careful in terms of who he lets in. Like last person he trusted was the reason people attacked his parents. His brother. Yeah that man definitly got some trust issues from that. So he is very careful.

And I mean of course you wouldnt excactly welcome the brother of someone that talked THAT amount of crap. Seriously. Cause of course you think the brother is the first person standing at his side. Especially when we consider the close relationship between Alex and Marc. Marc who would stand by everything ALex does and say probably cant even imagine to turn on his brother and not agree and support whatever bs he is doing.

Maybe not even in a prejudice concious way but more in a subtle careful way which is why he needs a wake up call thats like "You dont trust Luca but he has literally never done anything or turn on you" which would made him stop and realize he had done the same to Luca (in a way) than so many had done to Alex. And I dont mean it in a mean way, like you said, Marc has a big heart so I think of it more as a natural safety think that his mind developed. Like "Everything Rossi related = bad = danger" and Luca got unjustified caught up in it.

Growing up with someone who was absent and the times he was present was more of a drilling sargent (insisting on Eddie taking his place during his departures) than he was being an emotionally aware and present father, makes Eddie's patterned responses when conflict is brought up come together in a tragic odyssey. He is reluctant when it comes to expressing his emotions: repressed > withdrawn with himself, but aware and patient of others —Eddie tragedy is akin to Orestes in a way that he is constantly demanded to step as an older sibling, and he takes the responsability of being the man of the house in front of his father's inevitable absence. Eddie, as in the myth, grows resentment for his father.

But Eddie's trauma that (as Carl Jung puts it) 'splinters off his ego' , doesn't only come from Ramon exigency, but also Helena enabling her husband and eventually being a perpetuator of a (mild) more throughout version of his abuse in a more controlling manner; While Ramon probably displayed his dissatisfaction with Eddie's passiveness and lack of guidelessnes, Elena was contempt with it and demanded for Eddie to 'listen to her' at all times feeding his psyche with the negative and complex sides of himself that he would never be able to fix (unless he let's her take control of his life.)

Eddie's complexness comes from the split personalities that shaped his childhood —a father that asked him to step in and be a man, and a mother that told him he wasn't enough to be one.

God gets attributed a lot when it comes to Eddie's neurosis, but from what we've seen of his parents I think it gets attributed way too much whilist his parents don't get enough credit for their disastrous parenting styles. God is used as an impulse to defend (back up) a perversive version of the world and himself. But the main malfactors are his parents. —'Catholic Guilt' at the end of the day steams from the way you are taught religion as a list of sublimited activities. There's a long-lasting impact that lingers especially in already vulnerable members of the community (abuse victims, minorities, disabled, low income...) and how that feeds into his [Eddie's] insecurities and deep rooted fears causing repercussion.

She'd make such a good second in command.

Mariner's biggest flaw is her insubordination and tendency to push back against authority. But at the same time, these are often highly calculated acts of insubordination, brought on very intentionally and wielded like a sword. Mariner knows how to manage people and inspire them. She has a great capacity for creative thinking. And she also constantly challenges whoever's in charge. She has no interest in dealing with the bureaucracy of Starfleet and the minutiae of managing and the difficulties of playing politics with the admirals.

Total word count: 2,096

This was supposed to be a brief analysis post regarding his parents alone, but, admittedly, I got carried away whilst writing all this down. Sincere apologies for those waiting on the Meguca!Penny megapost and analysis of the families present within the Sun and Moon anime; I will do my absolute best to bring both of them on the table as soon as I am able to. This has been, let's say, a fun little writing exercise that got way out of hand- but I am happy to confess that I did have my fun writing it all down, and do hope that you guys also enjoy what I have brought in- consider it a sort of a snack made to prepare you all for the next meal!

So, starting from the very top, I have noticed that a couple of the parents' designs within the SM season of PokeAni do correlate with some NPC models present in-game for quite some time now; specifically with Abe/Mallow's father and Sophocles' parents. In the former's case, he's clearly based on the chef class; just slightly tweaked and redesigned to make him resemble his two kids, which was surprisingly effective enough to give us a simple yet unique design that helps him stand out. Meanwhile, with the latter, they're based on the madame and gentleman classes respectively- down to the minute detail of both the father and said gentleman class possessing a grey watch on both of their left arms.

It really isn't a surprise seeing how these inspirations work in their favors not just design-wise, but also within the narrative; Abe is already present in the games donning the exact same NPC model, and it has been all but outright confirmed to us that Sophocles' family is of high societal status - with both Molayne operating Hokulani Observatory and the father being the VP of the tourism board -. These designs and their inspirations help them fit in to their roles seamlessly and perfectly; giving the impressions of who they are to the viewer and their respective without the need to state their purposes to us outright.

What caught my eye for quite some time, though, is that it does appear to us that Soffy's folks are quite, let's say, quite old when compared to the other parents present within the show; not just in appearance, but it's also clear to us through their mannerisms - with the both of them having this polite, old-timey, and jolly vibe they tend to carry wherever they went -. A rather innocuous detail to fuss over, but it is one that would throw a wrench at whatever timeline one might be working on once you take Sophocles himself into account; how he appears to be so young, especially with the rest of his classmates already being in their early teens and himself being at least 11 years of age in comparison.

While I could see that the writers didn't really think too hard on it, I personally believe that this little detail right here might provide more insight into Sophocles' upbringing and why his old folks are doing their damned best to provide for and help nurture him in the best way they could. As a matter of fact, I have half a mind to say that, alongside Kiawe's and Lana's families, Sophocles' might be one the healthiest family dynamics we have seen throughout the Sun and Moon seasons of the anime, and, by golly, I am really excited to explore their interactions and the core reason behind it all in as much detail as I could.

After pondering on the topic for a while, I've managed to muster up two little theories that might help bring everything together and provide more insight into Sophocles and his folks as their own characters. Bear in mind that, aside from the analysis of certain context queues and symbolic references, neither of the following proposals are anywhere near canon; they're merely nothing but my own 11 AM ramblings on a Sunday, but it is fun to speculate and place those three goobers under a microscope! These are simply my interpretations of the events that have lead up to the present day and the characters we are currently discussing, and if you guys have other proposals behind this you want to share, I highly encourage you to do so! We are here to inspect these characters through various lenses and perspectives, so the more interpretations, the better!

The first, and most possible, reason behind all this is that the two met during later stages of their lives; the both of them already having more than enough experience to not just create a healthy relationship between one another, but also grant their eventual future child a prosperous and loving home life where he could grow up into a promising young man- with his own skills and experiences evolving with him in-tow. This scenario would not only paint the both of them in a wiser light than what we've seen throughout their appearances within the episodes they're present in, but it also boosts speculation on who they are before they both met and eventually had their kid; what sort of achievements they have personally accomplished, what they've gone through to become the people they currently are, the circumstances of their own upbringings to begin with- all of these and more are essential building blocks to a person's overall character and how they view the world. After all, though they have their similarities, the differences between the two are almost night and day- and I hope I could bring said key differences to light soon! They, alongside the other parents of the main cast, deserve an analysis post of their own, and I hope I could share my speculations and findings with you all soon enough!

The second possibility, though, teeters more on the speculative and even symbolic angle, but still manages to fit like a well-placed jigsaw piece on a puzzle board. I should give you all the heads-up, though- it's best that you take a good look at the trigger warnings present within the tags before proceeding here; if what we're about to discuss is triggering to you in any way, shape, or form, click away now for the sake of your own health. I apologize for the inconvenience, but, once more, one must place the health of the reader in a higher regards over their creative projects. Please be safe, darlings.

What I am about to suggest next is that...in gentler terms, Sophocles was the child they have managed to conceive after such a stretch of time- after countless trials and tribulations. The toll of trying and failing to conceive throughout the years may have managed to take its toll on the both of them, but now look- the duo have finally managed to bring forth their little miracle into existence. They have given their all so that they could have their sweet little child in their arms, and now he's here; happy, healthy, and breathing.

This is a...rather grim scenario, but it's also one that makes a shocking amount of sense; after all, Sophocles is usually associated with either of the two symbols within the overarching story- lightning (which is to be expected, as he is an electric type specialist) and stars; the latter of which being a common symbol of wishes, especially when in the form of meteors. Heck, when you look at him back when he was a toddler as shown in the episode "Showering the World with Love", you can even tell that his hair at the time looked like a star!

Speaking of, within that same episode, we were also presented with the life cycle of the meteor pokemon, Minior; a species that is destined to one day make an impact on the earth's surface, live out the rest of their brief lives amongst its inhabitants, and float back to the skies as they dissipate into fine particles- marking the end and new beginning of their species' life cycle. It is in that episode where Sophocles had his first encounter with loss, and, according to some, might be where he tackles the root cause of his scotophobia; witnessing a friend he's managed to make at such a young age at the time fade in to the dark with no promise of return- dissipating into the vast nothingness of space peacefully and without a care in the world, for they have long come to terms with their destinies. There was nothing he could have done to change or prevent this, as this was one of the many set rules of nature, if not existence itself.

Once more, I have to repeat myself and state that the possibility of Sophocles being a couple's only success at making their own bundle of joy is shockingly dark- and I wouldn't even blame you for believing that this is way too much for Pokemon to ever portray. However, one most also remember that the topic of grief, as we've already discussed just now, is no stranger to the Pokemon anime, especially within the Sun and Moon seasons. As a matter of fact, one of the many overarching themes present with this set of seasons is, in fact, grief- it is this state of mind and deep sense of sorrow that drives a majority of our characters, whether that's been made obvious to us or not, and it is within these seasons that we learn of the many ways one might handle or even tackle the impact of sudden loss.

Besides, in complete contrast to our first proposal, it is also implied that both his mother and father have been a thing for quite the stretch of time now; from their choice of words and language in the EN dub, to them addressing one another via affectionate nicknames such as "love" and "dear". All that, and that's on top of the father being completely smitten with his wife; taking every opportunity to give her praises all while blushing like mad whenever she compliments him. To me, that's a couple that went through thick and thin via healthy communication, and are cooperating with one another to ensure that they manage to live their lives harmoniously.

"Hang on, didn't he also have an implied celebrity crush on Kahili?" Yeah, well Burnet also had one towards the Masked Royal before she knew he was Kukui- it's ok to find some people attractive or generally good-looking, just don't go out and form romantic relations without the awareness of your partner and cheat on them. :/

All in all- though these scenarios were born from mere speculation, they still stand as a testament to how well these three are written, and how the way they interact with one another grants leeway for fan interpretations and conjectures. While I am bummed by how we didn't get any more of their dynamic in the canon of the anime, I don't think it's time to close the book on them just yet; after all, if Kiawe's grandfather was canonized by the games - specifically in Pokemon Masters EX - years after he made his debut in the anime, then there might be hope for other anime-only characters later down the line.

Personally, I am hoping that they grant us more content in regards to Sophocles' old folks, and the reason behind this is mostly due to the similarities our child of the starts has with none other than Team Galactic's leader, Cyrus. They may share similar strengths, skills, and struggles- heck, it isn't hard to see that, once upon a time, Cyrus may have been in a similar spot as Sophocles back when he was a child, but, in the end, it is their respective upbringings that have molded them into who they currently are; a child who wishes to explore the stars with his partner pokemon, and a man who sought to destroy the entirety of existence by reweaving the fabrics of space-time so that he could rebuild it all in his own image.

To a select few, Sophocles was their little blessing; a bright and peculiar little child, indeed. To those few, he deserved to live his life in harmony and peace- with the opportunity to continue growing and honing his skills in a healthy environment. To those few...I can only hope that they are now glad with all their hearts; he has, indeed, become a talented young man with oh-so much just ahead of him.

Stand proud, Sophocles.

I have a headcanon—theory, if you will—that Bill likes to trick his intended target/victim-seeking-him-out, into trusting him, by offering what the person thinks they desire most and especially by (incorrectly) copying the traits of what or who the unsuspecting person is most hung-up over the loss of (even though they may not admit to it). Kind of like how real life scammers and big business advertisers do. (I wonder if it gave his charisma bar a boost to be a literal demon.)

One example of this, which I find to be one of the greatest/most blatant, is Bill’s relationship with Stan and Ford. 

I personally think Ford is the one that Bill enjoyed manipulating/harming the most out of all his victims and that Stan is the one Bill enjoyed mimicking/copying the most. I’m convinced he began doing this so that he could get close to Ford in the first place! (Ford missed Stan and kept unhealthily coping by trying to forget and replace him!) Then, eventually, he ended up keeping the personality he crafted for his years-long con because he grew used to it/ended up liking it/decided it was his true, actualized self.

I think this can help to explain why Bill shares so many suspicious similarities with Stan throughout the series, despite being a separate character. It’s not just because they’re both con artists. Bill may have been trying to be Stan. Or rather, his warped/decontextualized idea of who Stan is. Since clearly Bill didn’t have in his heart, even close to the amount of love and devotion that Stan actually does (usually) have in his, for those he considers family.

Once you notice these things, it becomes that much more unbelievable how Stan only really comes into contact with Bill, face-to-face, once (which ends in Bill’s defeat). It’s almost like Bill only wanted to watch Stan from a distance to ‘get the gist’ of who he is, but didn’t want to get too close... Maybe this was his biggest mistake with Stan? Writing him off as a non-factor.

A few premises:

What i say here below might have been mentioned already by others in the past

It's my interpretation of facts, so I might be wrong!

It contains TW // suicidal thoughts, alchololism, PTSD, grief, self-loathing, gaslighting

Before going right into the topic, it's better if we go back to the beginning of the show, so to analyse where John comes from. The show opens with shots from Afghanistan, a nightmare that wakes up John, leaving him sweaty and panicking. Then we see him in a therapy session, Ella telling him about his trust issues. We never know what caused these issues, but I believe that it is a cause of the war PTSD or of the sexual repression going on inside of him if we think of him coming from a conservative and homophobe family. No one really understands him, he has no one to relate to and to talk about his trauma, hence he is no longer bothered to open up to others if all he gets is nothing. 

Even if we consider John as the more empathetic and extrovert compared to Sherlock, we are reminded constantly of his struggles in relating to people and showing emotions. John is as much lost and damaged as Sherlock: he was probably dealing with past traumatic experiences, he came back from a war that left him with PTSD and he is now suicidal with nothing to look forward to. 

"You are not haunted by the war, Dr Watson, you miss it." That doesn’t really make sense if we think of John’s nightmares. But if we consider the 'war' as his inner turmoil, then it makes sense. John was literally on the point of ending it, until the moment he met Sherlock. From the nothingness, to something happening, going back to life. Though life requires feelings, John's weak point. 

I think it is also important to talk about John’s strong attachment with male figures, in particular Sherlock and Sholto. Compared to them, John is the one who is looking at them as a guide, probably because of the lack of a strong bond with his own father, thus resulting in the commonly known daddy issues. Some examples can be seen in TSoT, where Sholto is presented as John’s ex (army commander). If we think of their relationship in a romantic way, reinforced by Mary’s ‘neither of us were the first’, then we get John’s strong attachment to him: he is concerned about him, advises him to go to therapy to deal with the trauma and probably John himself has been in some sort of distress when he knew about Sholto’s accident. 

John never mentions Sholto to Sherlock, the other male person he is strongly attached to, probably because he is scared to lose him, preferring then to bottle up his emotions. This bad habit of John is recurrent: when Sherlock fakes his suicide, John at first bottles up his emotions, he doesn't even talk to Mrs Hudson because, as mentioned before, he doesn't really know if she would fully understand him. We see then at how he copes with it in Many Happy Returns. His tare héreditaire makes him find peace in drinking alcohol, probably abusing it as a way of escape from feelings. He is repressing them so much at the point of blaming himself of feeling them, adding up the sense of grief and probably guilt of not having been enough for Sherlock after all they have experienced together. But when Sherlock comes back, John finds that the only way to express what goes on in his head is by actions, attacking Sherlock for having been so careless of not even thinking about him when he fell from the rooftop. Here John is one of the many considering suicide as something selfish, where the one who leaves doesn't think of the void they'll leave inside others. This, though, is discussed and later contradicted by Sherlock himself in tld 'your life is not your own, keep your hands off it'.

Time to flashforward to TST now, whose final scenes really require John all the strength to fight the feelings he has always repressed. Grief is a tough process that we all get to face in life and that might cause different emotions. For the second time in his screen-time life, John once again decides to retreat, hiding from the world and not giving his best friend a chance to help. We know that he gives Sherlock a letter, but its content is a mystery. As he struggles himself with a direct confrontation with Sherlock, he might have written down his thoughts, probably harsher than he intended, as we later see Sherlock high and John coping in an unhealthy way with trauma. 

He is self-blaming himself for letting Rosie down, he is stuck into a dimension of things that is bigger than he is and really doesn’t know how to deal with it. As he speaks with the (fake) therapist, he is passive-aggressive, once more he is getting defensive about his own point of view. He doesn’t understand his own feelings, he doesn’t want them to be normal and ordinary during a process of grieving. He is desperately craving someone to agree with him and not going against him, making him feel even more misunderstood. He is ‘holding himself to an unreasonable standard’. He wants to be someone else, not committing the same mistakes that probably most of the important figures in his life have done. In tld, we see John who is desperately clinging to his past, his only place of comfort. But clinging to it is never good, it doesn’t really solve anything. 

He is distressed, grieving, not understanding the emotions he is feeling. For once, he wants others to return the care he is constantly giving but yet again, the trust issues come in.

His session is interrupted by Sherlock, one of John’s weak points. Sherlock’s addiction is now coming over into John’s problems. Once at the hospital all the emotions he is keeping inside to holding up to his unhealthy standards are on the point of bursting.