"THE GNOME SAID I COULDN'T SAY ANYTHING" ...is a pretty good save, by dint of being technically correct... but probably instantly seen-through for the "oh shit I got got caught" that it was.
Man, this mom is great. Firmly in the "I'm glad she's on our side" category.
@Bluehammer12 Tries not to think of Brock being elegant Tries not to think of an elegant dress at the same time Thinks of Brock in an elegant princess dress
For real though this style is more to show that they are relaxed and calm, their eyelids are heavy and they observe the world though their lashes. But it's hard to draw heavy eyes without making the character look pissed out of their skull so they substituted this eyes closed thing.
You occasionally see it in anime where it zooms in on the eyes to see them looking around through the small slit that, in theory is always there.
For male characters it's considered a kinda sly expression, observing the world while masking their expression.
For female characters it's usually a sign inscrutability.
For Brock style it's more to show that they're a squinty bugger.
But in short they don't really have their eyes closed just mostly.