okay, first off, my emma/sophia content (and my vigilante sophia content in general) won't make sense until you know which sophia trigger theory I'm subscribing to.
this isn't my original theory - I regret to say I stole it from a spacebattles comments section - but I did yes-and it out into the emma bits.
the theory is that steven was actually a nice guy. a good stepfather, and... that's it. sophia bore him no resentment while he was alive. his family were kind of cunts, but that's hardly on him. one day he's picking sophia up from some sports or whatever that ran late, and it's dark already, and they're walking home when they get jumped by members of one of the gangs. probably e88. anyways... the gang members are out for blood. steven dies, and sophia triggers. from shock, grief, and fear rather than direct injury, and with the need to escape - breaker/mover.
she makes it home in her shadow state, tries desperately to explain what happened.
her family grieves.
they also know she's a cape, given the (literal) state she showed up in. steven's side of the family catches wind of it somehow too. she pretends she doesn't see how none of the meet her eyes. she pretends that everyone at the funeral isn't blaming her. she can't pretend any longer when someone finally accuses her straight out - you got powers, and you still weren't strong enough to save him?
they don't say it should have been you, but sophia is an observant child.
sophia hates the weak.
sophia despises the useless.
sophia can't picture anyone who deserves death more than those who cower in the face of a threat.
she couldn't possibly be like that. she will never be like that.
so she takes up a crossbow, and she uses her strength, like she should have done that night. and one night, in another dodgy back way, she comes across another girl and her father. a different girl, a different gang, but still...
she waits to see if this girl deserves to live.
and emma fights back.