i think stocke not having any like anime memory headaches is probably the funniest and best decision the writers made in regards to his identity. throughout the game they didnt even really hint at whether or not stocke was ernst-- they just downright said it multiple times. in fact, the amount of times they said it and HOW they said it are so blaringly obvious in a second playthrough that its very hard to take stocke even a little bit seriously. in a funny way! eruca straight up tells him he looks exactly like her dead brother. multiple people mistakingly call him ernst. HE calls himself ernst, and he does it so well nobody questions it even once. however while these moments make it so frustratingly obvious in hindsight i found it actually hard to believe it during my first playthrough, because ... stocke himself does not care? he never once agonizes over the loss of his own memories, because he doesnt miss them. he believes what heiss has told him without question. he doesnt get flashes of memory when he meets eruca, either because hes too dense for anything to register in his brain or because he, again, doesnt care. or, rather, maybe "doesnt care" is too cruel to say -- its very evident at the end of the game that he cherishes the people around him. rather, hes on such a one track mind that he likely thinks anything that isnt about saving the world is secondary to him... much like how he is very, very good at ignoring his own injuries. its just... so funny? i really feel like his superiors need to hire a therapist or two...
