#Sophocles' parents

[puella-1n-somn10]

The adults in Soffy's life.

Art is by @/Bxsql on TikTok

[incorrect-sm-families-quotes]

'Ulu: Peeling those sour rainbow gummy strips into long thin strings and putting them into a bowl filled with a cheap energy drink to create something I call "Battery Acid Spaghetti". Will update you all once I've finished it.

...

'Ulu, stumbling out of the kitchen: Don't do this.

Lana's mom, entering the kitchen: Oh, we'll see about that.

Lana's mom, with all life sapped from her eyes, looking like a reanimated corpse: Don't do this.

Sarah: I'm gonna-!

Harper, running after her mother, implying that she sneaked in to try that unholy dish as well: Don't do this, please!

Sima: Even with that sort of unanimous consensus, you guys still insist on doing this...

Faba: Well, three times is enough for scientific peer review-

Abe, slamming that dish in front of everyone for examination:

Abe: It looks like the dry skin at the top is made of the candy's sour pellets; that's not a great start...

*Everyone looks on horrified as Abe took a large bite out of it.*

Abe: *gulp* Tastes...really good, actually. I...also feel like I'm about to explode-

...

Abe, on the ground, writhing in pain as he clutches his abdomen, his veins are about to burst, and the paramedics are being called: Do not do this...

Lusamine: I'll be right back. Faba, Wicke, keep your eyes on the others as I investigate this.

Lusamine:

Lusamine, coughing up black blood that looks eerily like Nihilego poison as she tries to balance herself on one of the chairs: They weren't lying; don't do this!

Samson: I just tried to pop a bubble with my fork. It didn't pop- it's sitting there with a hole on top...

Burnet: I'm convinced you all just ate radioactive waste...

Lana's dad: ...Add vodka-

Rango: Do not.

Sophocles' mom, walking slowly into the chaotic restaurant: Oh, goodness; I've tried this before- please don't do this...

Sophocles' dad, confident in his wife's abilities as usual: Aww, come on, dear- it couldn't have been that awful!

Sophocles' mom: *Raises an eyebrow at him*

...

Sophocles' dad, foaming at the mouth as he stands there nigh-catatonic: Yeah, don't do this...

Kukui: That's it- now I have to try this.

Kukui, struggling to breathe as his throat and eyes get itchier from within: Don't do this...!

Mimo: Hey, don't tell me what to do!

Mimo, coughing and crying as if she's allergic: D-Don't do this...

Hobbes: Bet.

Hobbes, with his fancy mustache now fallen off: Please don't do this.

[a-little-home-in-hauoli]

Hey there! Sophocles' father speaking- you guys could call me Francis, though! I've heard about this "Rotom-Blur", especially from my own son! So why not join in on the fun, I asked?

I go by he/him pronouns- been a long journey since I've got to this point, but I'm happy with who I am. (Transmasc)

Now, I may know these things with age (he's in his mid-40's, mun is 20+), but don't start sending anything too crass my way! It's ok to joke, but there's a time and place for everything!

Vice-president of Alola's Tourist Bureau, with plans of retiring sooner or later.

Lived in Alola for most of my life- born and raised in Hoenn, though.

Once went on my own Island Challenge! ...I didn't do so well, but what happened, happened.

I'm just a father who is proud of every member of my family- my dearest, amazing Molly, and my brilliant Sophocles! (Don't insult his wife and kid. He will kill for them.)

Extended family...the less has been said, the better, ok?

((HCs and DNI under the cut))

Let's make this quick; /lh

DNI:

- General qualifications for that; including, but not limited to, racists, pdf-files, z00 files, poke files, tr-mp supporters, zi0nists, naz1 sympathizers- just don't be a dick.

- I also wanna mention that I am not comfortable with NatDexers and anyone who supports it to this day. I've had some unpleasant experiences in regards to this "movement", and, seeing how I aim to become a game dev myself, the core of their message is really damaging, especially when taking the widespread issue of Karōshi into account. I will allow it if you agree that the devs are being overworked rather than them being 'laaaaazyyyy'.

- Mun may be 24 and the muses are in their 40's, but please don't send anything too NSFW. Jokes are fine.

- Please be 18 or older before interacting.

- If I see one more inc-st joke relating to my muse and his wife, I will flip. /lh qnd also srs

Headcanons:

- As stated above, he's a trans man. Just because.

- A bi disaster, too; have you SEEN how he blushed when watching Kahili on the screen?!

- Hoennian/Alolan. Lived in "too much water"-land up until he was 10

- Taurus. Shares the same birthday with his EN VA. (May 2nd)

- ADHD and on the spectrum (AuDHD). Diagnosed as an adult.

- Pals with Abe, Sima, and Mohn before his disappearance. Rough relationship with Noah, Lana's dad.

- The only family member he's in contact with is Anela, his aunt. His own old folks and brother? Absolutely not.

- Sophocles doesn't know whether his paternal grandparents even exist. In Francis' eyes, it's better that way.

- Let's say his bro's name starts with an "M" and ends with an "-agma admin Tabitha"

- Eyes are not naturally brown. He wears contacts mainly to withdraw attention coming from his brother's actions.

- Still the same jolly dad from canon (specifically the EN version of him)! He's just...dealing with a lot on his plate.

- His wife, Molly, tends to pop up every now and then! She's just shy and more reserved compared to her husband.

[vinnystaysawake]

Uncle Cyrus and his terrifying aura

(Drew this based on that pokemon masters storyline)

[doloneia]

and what if my heart exploded into a million billion tiny pieces. what then

[plushrats]

CLONETOBER DAY 24: Candy 🍫

[filmnoirsbian]

Why do you like Jason Todd so much? (I like him too! Just wondering your reasons)

My favorite fictional character of all time is Sophocles' Electra. Being a Jason Todd girlie is simply in my blood.

[swallowtail-ageha]

Head empty thoughts full of the antigone incest essay

[tethrarisms]

During the Sinnoh Villain Arc, when Cyrus is deep into Darkrai’s nightmare and everyone is trying to bring him back, Cynthia, Dawn and Sophocles try to reach out for his heart, but the last “voice” Cyrus hears before waking up is Rotom’s cry.

I think about this at least thrice a day and I cry every time.

[litcest]

Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles

Oedipus Rex ('Oedipus the King') is a Greek tragedy written by Sophocles and first performed around 429 BC. Everyone knows the plot. I myself have mentioned the play many times before, often drawing parallels with other tragic stories of incest between a parent and their offspring. It's a play about not being able to change your fate, about not leaving your children to die in the woods, about loving your mom way to much.

I'm using the Ian C. Johnston's verse translation from 2007, which is the most recent prose translation that I found for free.

Buckle up, this is a long one, because not only I talk about Sophocles play, but I decided to talk about Euripides' Oedipus and other poems/play about this iconic mother x son duo.

I honestly thought the play would begin with Oedipus' birth and follow his adventures in Sphinx slaying. But no, it opens much later, when he is already the King of Thebes, with his subjects begging him for help against a plague that's devastating the city. Oedipus says that he has sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to Delphi to inquire the oracle about it. Just as he's telling this to the crowd, he gets word that Creon has returned.

Creon has good news: the plague will go away if they find and punish the murderer of Laius, the previous King of Thebes. Oedipus has no idea of how to find the killer, as the only information a surviving witness was able to give was that it had been a gang of thieves.

"I have his bed and wife, she would have borne his children, if his hopes to have a son had not been disappointed. Children from a common mother might have linked Laius and myself. But as it turned out, Fate swooped down onto his head. So now I’ll fight on his behalf, as if this matter concerned my own father, and I will strive to do everything I can to find him, the man who spilled his blood, and thus avenge the son of Labdacus and Polydorus."

Oh, this is so ironic. Oedipus will investigate the matter as if it was his own father.... And poor Laius that never had a son ;)

Oedipus decides to asks the Teiresias, a blind seer, for help. Teiresias at first refuses to help, saying it will do no good. Oedipus insists and insults the see until Teiresias tells him the truth: Oedipus is the killer he was looking for. More than that, Oedipus is "you are living in disgrace" with his "dearest family". Teiresias teases that when Oedipus discovers the identity of his father, he will be destroyed.

"And he will turn out to be the brother of the children in his house—their father, too, both at once, and the husband and the son of the very woman who gave birth to him. He sowed the same womb as his father and murdered him."

Oedipus acuses Creon of having created a plot against him to get the throne for himself and Creon has to defend himself in front of the citizens. Oedipus wants to kill Creon, but Jocasta, Creon's sister and Oedipus's wife, interferes and he decides to merely exile Creon.

Jocasta asks Oedipus for details of what happened, to which he replies "To you I’ll speak, lady, since I respect you more than I do these men", clearly showing he holds his wife in high regard. He tells her that Teiresias, a seer brought by Creon, told him he murdered Laius.

Jocasta basically laughs and tells him to ignore the prophet, for there was no such thing a prophecies, giving the exemple of a prophecy that she and Laius had received but never came true. That prophecy had foretold that Laius would be killed by his child with Jocasta, but it obviously wasn't true, because Laius was killed by robbers. She also reveals that, to make sure the prophecy wouldn't come true, Laius had killed their son when he was an infant.

During her speech, Jocasta mentions the location of Laius' murder, which no one had done before, and that place is all too familiar to Oedipus: he had once killed a man there. Oedipus begins to despair and begs the survivor of the attack to be brought to the palace.

Jocasta begs him to tell her what worries him so much and he elaborates on how he came to Thebes: he believed himself to have been the son of King Polybus and Queen Merope of Corinth, and one night, a drunken man tells him he was actually adopted; curious to his lineage, he goes to Delphi where he's told by the oracle that his fate is to "defile" his mother's bed and slay his father. Trying to avoid this fate, for he loved his parents very much and wished them no harm, he left Corinth and became a wanderer. During his travels, he ran into a man in a triple fork on a road and slayed the man, for he had been disrespectful towards Oedipus.

While Jocasta and Oedipus wait for the witness to arrive, there comes a messenger from Corinth with the news that Polybus had died and Corinth wishes to make Oedipus their king. Jocasta tells this to Oedipus as further proof that prophecies are bullshit, because Polybus died without Oedipus being responsible. Upon hearing this, Oedipus admits to Jocasta that she had been right all along and reassures him that the part about having sex with his mother was also a lie.

"Do not worry you will wed your mother. It’s true that in their dreams a lot of men have slept with their own mothers, but someone who ignores all this bears life more easily."

The messenger from Corinth hears this and tells Oedipus that he has no need to worry about Merope, since she isn't his real mother. Although the royal couple loved and raised Oedipus as their own, he hadn't been born to them. Actually, that very messenger had been the one to give him Polybus, who had taken pity at the child with the pierced ankles. Oedipus wants more explanations, but the messenger only knows that much and suggest that there's another man who might know more, the man who had given Oedipus to the messenger.

Oedipus wants to find this guy, but Jocasta is horrified at the idea and begs her husband to stop investigating, telling him it's for his own good. Desperate to know the truth about his origin, Oedipus disregards her advice. Then, the witness to Laius' murder arrives. And it so happens that the witness is the same person who saved Oedipus as a baby.

The witness is reluctant to talk, but Oedipus threatens him with murder or exile (this is becoming a recurring theme) and the man finally confesses: the child was Laius' son, whom the queen had wanted dead because of the prophecy. Finally, Oedipus begins to understand what's going on and returns to the palace in shame and despair.

Another messenger comes from the palace to deliver the news that Oedipus had come home wanting to kill Jocasta, but Jocasta had already hanged herself. Upon finding her corpse, he took the golden brooches that kept her gowns in place and used the needles to blind himself. Oedipus blames Apollo, god of prophecies, for all his misadventures.

"She lay moaning beside the bed, where she, poor woman, had given birth twice over— a husband from a husband, children from a child."

"He kept asking us to give him a sword, while he tried to find that wife who was no wife—whose mother’s womb had given birth to him and to his children."

Creon returns and Oedipus asks to be exiled and Creon agrees, promising to take care of Oedipus daughters, who will be having a hard time from now on, as "have never known [his] dining table placed away from them or lacked their father’s presence".

I honestly find it so funny that Oedipus and Jocasta blind/kill themselves because they commited incest, when they worshiped a bunch of inbred gods. The mother Earth, Gaia, married her son, Uranus and that's basically what allowed the world to exits. But when the royal couple do that, it's a problem? At least the gods weren't hypocrites and the curse upon Thebes was because the unavenged murder of the former king.

Oedipus, by Euripides

You see, Sophocles wasn't the only one to write about Oedipus. A bit later, circa 415 BC, Euripides wrote his own play about the mythological character. Unfortunately, this play is lost to time, save for a few fragments.

These fragments revels that they play follows the same events to Sophocles', with a few major differences: in Euripides' version, Oedipus isn't the one who blind himself, instead, being blinded by one of Laius' former servants (I'll assume it was in retaliation for Oedipus having murdered Laius). Also, this play has Jocasta surviving the events and joining Oedipus in exile

Odyssey, by Homer

Homer's Odyssey, written around the 8th century BC and therefore older than both plays, contains a mention of the Oedipus myth, which has a very different version than the plays. Odysseus, during his trip to the Underworld, meets Oedipus' mother, in here named Epicaste. And while he mentions that she hanged herself, he also says that Oedipus continues being the King of Thebes after the revelation of his parentage.

Oedipodea, by Cinaethon

The Oedipodea is a mostly lost poem credited to Cinaethon that, as the name suggests, follows the story of Oedipus. It was written around 764 BC, making it closer to the Odyssey than to the plays, and, from the verses we have available, we can see one major difference: in this poem, Oedipus and Jocasta never had any children together. The two sons and two daughters of Oedipus were from his other marriage to Euryganeia, who may or may not having been Jocasta's sister (and Oedipus' aunt).

[monotonous-minutia]

kinda wanna liveblog the Pelly La belle Hélène even though I've watched it like five times

[puella-1n-somn10]

Sophocles; the Miracle Child of Melemele

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.

Stand proud...our dearest bundle of happiness, pride, and joy...

[incorrect-sm-families-quotes]

Fun fact!

The reason why Molayne and neither of Sophocles' parents were on-screen together is because it'd be hard for either of them to fully forgive him after basically traumatizing their kid and being the possible cause behind his scotophobia,

If anything, the two might be indifferent or cold towards Molayne if they were ever in the same room, which would definitely not fit the tone the anime's setting been up at all. They haven't objected to Sophocles' desire to keep up his brotherly relationship with Molayne, due to them both having a sense of trust and confidence in him as well as fear of his eventual isolation, though the two would rather not interact much with him over it all.

[redwolftrash]

i wanna explain every goddamn facet of what i’m doing with the affix doc but i can’t because. i fear that it will simply be Too Much for someone not well versed in my blend of autism and visual learning

[mythologyolympics]

Mythology Olympics tournament round 1

Propaganda!

In Greek mythology, Antigone is a Theban princess and a character in several ancient Greek tragedies. She is the daughter of Oedipus, king of Thebes; her mother is either Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene. The meaning of the name is, as in the case of the masculine equivalent Antigonus, "in place of one's parents" or "worthy of one's parents". Antigone appears in the three 5th century BC tragic plays written by Sophocles, known collectively as the three Theban plays, being the protagonist of the eponymous tragedy Antigone.

Angrboða (also Angrboda) is a jötunn in Norse mythology. She is the mate of Loki and the mother of monsters. She is only mentioned once in the Poetic Edda (Völuspá hin skamma) as the mother of Fenrir by Loki. The Prose Edda (Gylfaginning) describes her as "a giantess in Jötunheimar." Her name has been translated as 'the one who brings grief', 'she-who-offers-sorrow', or 'harm-bidder'. The first element is related to the English word "anger", but means "sorrow" or "regret" in Old Norse, the later meaning is retained in Scandinavian languages. [art credit]

[ankh-morporkianpostalworker]

Me, starting Nona the Ninth: Man, this is weird. I hope I see Gideon and Harrow again soon.

Me and the end of the book: I would literally die for Nona. I love her and her three parents, and that she has to die so Harrow can live, having committed no sins so heinous as to damn her to such a short life, is a tragedy worthy of Sophocles and Shakespeare...

Also, John is a lot more complicated than I thought, and hearing him recount his journey to godhood and the bullshit he had to deal with was really interesting.

10/10, loved it