#i simply think jessie surviving and having the gang over at her parents' for a home-cooked meal is

[razubomb]

❛   ▌┊𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑 :   cloud  ( @mosewolf​ ) .

                𝐒𝐇𝐄  𝐇𝐀𝐃  𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐍  𝐇𝐈𝐌  𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐑  𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌  𝐓𝐇𝐄  𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄.  Jessie  didn't  follow  immediately,  opting  to  give  him  some  space  for  a  few  minutes.  Once  upon  a  time,  she  might  have.  But  things  were  different  now;  she  was  different,  in  the  way  that  people  usually  are  after  surviving  near-death  experiences.  Eventually  though,  she  found  herself  growing  antsy.  Had  he  not  liked  the  food?  Or  was  it  something  else?  She  joined  him  outside  moments  later,  smiling  wide  and  bright  to  tamper  down  her  own  worry.

                ❝  Alright,  so  it  wasn't  pizza  like  I  promised,  buuuut  —  ❞  she  shrugged,  apologetic.  ❝  I  hope  my  mom's  cooking  lived  up  to  the  praise.  Wedge  gets  a  little  carried  away.  ❞

[theangrypokemaniac]

It will never cease to amaze me how Ma and Pa James are universally seen as bad parents despite not abandoning their son, all just because they ask he marry Jessibelle.

You mean they desire a daughter-in-law who's the closest thing possible to Jessie, without actually being Jessie?

There is room for manœuvre! Ma and Pa could accept her in the future.

Yet, Giovanni, a proper villain, canonically greedy, ruthless, callous and cruel, is generally regarded with fondness by the fandom.

It's not even in the sense of liking his character, but not his personality: people relish him.

Everyone can apparently forgive his criminal acts, his delight when causing suffering in others, of inadvertently almost triggering Armageddon by creating, then baiting Mewtwo. Oh no, he's ship-worthy this one, a charismatic rogue with a heart of gold.

He tried to murder Team Rocket.

Ma and Pa don't want James dead! They hope he'll settle down, get married and start a family. It's not such a unreasonable wish from parents.

Maybe their plans interfere with James being with Jessie, but so do the Boss's. Ain't no romance at the bottom of the sea. The only ships there are wrecked.

And yet he is popular. I've not found a single bad word about old Gio. How can this be when he made an attempt to kill three favourites?

It disgusts me portraying them nowadays as on first name terms with him and such great pals, because that's not who Team Rocket are.

They weren't designed to be evil in his sense, meant instead as pantomimic villains capable of heroic behaviour given the opportunity.

Part of the tragedy and charm of the actual trio was their devotion to a worthless master. I tend to associate Jessie and Meowth more with the organisation than James, because they're two impoverished orphans who have nowhere else to go.

Joining gangs is the closest thing they know to family, hence both starting off as petty thieves. Being part of something bigger, and wearing a uniform, is like relatives sharing features.

I also wonder, neither having a father, if Giovanni is a paternal figure to them, and that's why their slavish worship goes far beyond normal loyalty to an employer.

James has a life beyond Team Rocket. He may not want to go back, but it is there as an alternative. He probably only signed up for membership because Jessie did, not from an independent leaning.

It's telling that he was the one thinking of life once they'd left, as in his eyes it wasn't a permanent status.

Giovanni would be openly rude and insulting, to the extent they cowered in terror when speaking over the phone, but nevertheless all they did was to please him.

Irrespective of the constant electrocution and starvation, they carried on for his sake, to bask in his praise, to make him proud. They loved him so much even his abuse was taken as warmth.

The implications of the scene are appalling. He's already a multimillionaire but the Boss can't resist another piece of fraud, however needless, because he revels in illegality.

That he chooses Jessie, James and Meowth for this task is not a coincidence; to him it's killing two birds with one stone, or three with an airship. He's not only ridding himself of useless agents, but profiteering from it too!

The bloody nerve!

He could simply sack 'em if so bothersome. It'd be a kindness in the end, forcing the trio to seek alternative employment, in which they'd no doubt thrive and be happy.

If he had no care whether they lived or died, that's at least a neutral attitude. Yes, remaining unmoved at their death is cold, but on the other hand, their survival doesn't bother him either.

Were there a mission vital to his schemes, but highly dangerous, you can understand his reasons for sending them. Might as well risk minor figures whom he won't miss. If they succeed, he's only gained; if they fail, he's lost nothing.

No, instead he actively plots their murder, and in a rather offhand action, just to show how little they matter.

He intended that to be their last conversation, with the audacity to pretend it's promotion. Even knowing that, he showed not a quiver of remorse, rather laughing to himself at his future windfall, as if recuperating the expense of their wages in one go.

Had it been up to him, they'd have drowned, with their final thoughts dwelling on how they'd failed to live up to his faith in them.

I love this scene so much, because it means 4Kids thought that young children would

Know what an insurance policy is

Be able to extrapolate that Giovanni is planning to commit insurance fraud

Understand that insurance fraud is a crime

…but they didn’t think those same kids would be able to comprehend rice balls