How does Leon and Hop's dad's death affect the others? Could it help playing out both routes?
If their dad died before Soul, Hop has barely if any memories about him. Which would reflect Naomi's memory issues. But that would contradict that Hop actually has much better recall than her, even to memories he shouldn't have.
On the other hand, it'd be a gutpunch if those memories were out of Hop's reach.
Or if their dad died later, and Hop has clear memories. Maybe the too acute clarity of those is what pains him?
Oh! Have you an idea for the name of the boy's dad?
These questions are another reason why I'm really taking a step back to look at key events and how I want them to play out. But to answer your questions:
If Hop and Leon's dad died before Soul, it would have been from sometime after 2005, when Hop and Nomi were born, but before 2010, when Soul passed away. So Hop would have been 2-4 years old when his dad died. I'm thinking 3, since it's in the middle, so that would mean their father would have died in 2008.....which is the year that Soul got Cursed. Damn. 2008 is just not their year. Now, going onto Hop and his memories, you are right in how it contradicts his abilities as a Chosen- him getting better recall. My main reasoning here is that 1) he was 3, so I don't expect him to remember everything from that time, except vague feelings- both from him and others 2) maybe he wasn't Chosen then? Naomi was Chosen-Cursed by a proxy of Soul( not sure if this was immediately when he was Chosen-Cursed or after he died but you get my point), but Hop hasn't gotten any of that yet.
A little tangent about the wolves for a quick sec: the way they interact with their Chosen is interesting. Zacian, after her accidentally making Soul Chosen-Cursed ( his curse made him much more ill....terminally ill), she kept her distance from Naomi,keeping an eye on her from afar, if she has the energy to. Meanwhile, Zamazenta is much more open. I wouldn't be surprised if a young Hop, either after the death of his father or Soul, had encountered Zamazenta once before. But out of respect and carefor his sister ( who feels terribly guilty), Zamazenta doesn't immediately Choose Hop( Hop being the ancestors of his former Chosen), not interact with him much after. At least that's how I see it for now.
Okay Wolf tangent aside- if Hop and Leon's father died after, then oof. Hop would have remembered that clearly, Chosen or not. He would remember how his mom shut down, how his grandparents cried, how Lee wasn't smiling anymore. He remembers how Naomi wouldn't leave her room, thinking she was some curse to both families ( another big oof). He doesn't want to remember the pain that he left- he felt so alone. Just one bad thing after another. And MAN can you imagine the media coverage of this during Leon's gym challenge? Using both Soul and his father's death to present him as the " hero with a tragic backstory". It's one of the first times that Leon really questioned if he truly wanted to run for champion. To be champion.
On the flip side with their father dying before Soul, Soul dying opened old wounds for everyone. honestly, and I just had this thought, that maybe Soul died after Leon became champion. Which, again, ouch, cause that's just gonna mess up everyone even more. It makes every celebration of Leon's year of being champion bittersweet.
Also, no, I haven't thought of a name for Hop and Lee's dad. I really need to, so I'm open to any suggestions!
I hope this was explained well. I'm thinking a lot about how these events play out, specifically Naomi's and Hop's relation to them. Maybe Hop wasn't Chosen as young as Naomi was, but would that make sense for all we know about past Chosens? I don't know, so I need to think about it more. But I still hope this answer was satisfying!
