#he'd understand the social status difference between the two of them

[champagneandcaviar]

/ I constantly think of what would have happened if Ratigan was raised by rats instead of a mouse. Not like, his OG rat family and colony, they were toxic assholes.

But like, a family that cared about him and showed him the ropes? Showed him to survive properly and fed him and sheltered him and didn't let anything happen to him.

I mean... Moriarty did the same, but he raised him in a way where he started to think of himself as a MOUSE in a bad way and he pushed back the rat side of him that is important for his growth and knowing about himself.

Its wild to think of how he'd turn out if he was raised by another.

[howlingday]

Okay, I absolutely adored your last Jaune & Weiss social standing reversal!

So how about one where their family dynamics are reversed?

Weiss is the one who leaves her loving parents and siblings behind, intent on becoming a hero like her grandmother....

...While Jaune is the one desperate to leave his strict, manipulative mother and drunkenly depressed father. Meanwhile, all 7 of his sisters, apart from Saphron the eldest, are either very distant or cold to him.

Weiss Schnee had everything a woman of her status could ask for. Since her grandfather's passing of his position as CEO of the Schnee Dust Company to his daughter, and her mother, Weiss had been the perfect example of how a Schnee should be at her age. Her sister, Winter, dismissed the offer to take her mother's place and instead chose her own path to become a huntress like her grandparents and her mother. Weiss would also choose this same path, mockingly called a copycat by her siblings. Speaking of said siblings, Whitley, the youngest of the three, threw himself into his studies to pick up the slack left by his sisters. He was always the odd one, loving mathematics and probability and statistics and other such complicated business jargon that made any other thirteen-year-old's head spin. Their father, Klein, seemed to be the only member of the family who seemed to understand him, or if he didn't, he hid it very well.

Weiss was now at Beacon, modestly packed with only the barest of essentials as the representative of the Schnee Dust Company. If said "bare essentials" required three suitcases and a trolley to carry them, then so be it. Still, she was confident she would excel in her classes and establish herself as the team leader in time at all. And if she didn't, then oh, well, right?

Even if she really wanted to be team leader so badly.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jaune Arc was living in hell. Saphron had the right idea to run away, just like he was doing now. The only difference between them was that Jaune had enough sense to take a weapon with him. If only he held that sense when his mother had one of her "fits". Not like Dad would do anything to stop him. He'd been deep into the bottle since his time in the war, and in a way, he was still there. He felt pity for the poor man, though it was cold comfort for him when seven other women were screeching at the only two men in the house. And now, that pity would be long forgotten, hopefully like his mother and her underhanded manipulation of his family's actions would be. Y'know those stories about the "perfect man who does everything around the house"? That was him, being groomed by his mother to be perfect at everything so that someone would look his way and decide, "Yeah, I'll definitely marry someone tall, blond, and scraggly!"

The last he saw of his family before boarding the bullhead was his father sitting on the porch, bottle in his hand. He didn't say anything. He didn't do anything. He'd been the same man for the past seventeen years of Jaune's life. Most motion he made was taking an especially long sig of his liquor until it was only the bottle left. As the alcohol soaked into his blond, graying beard, Jaune made an oath, a promise; Jaune Arc would never become his father.

He'd say he'd give his word, but what good would that do? An Arc never kept his word before.

[the-badger-mole]

Jukebox fics: "In Love with Your Soul", The Collection -- A:TLA preferably

In Love with Your Soul The Collection

This is going to be a pretty long synopsis, but I think this would end up being a pretty good sized story. After 25 years of marriage, Katara and Zuko find themselves adrift after their youngest leaves home for good. Two decades of parenting and building careers, they feel as if they are living with a stranger. Katara, only 49, still feels like there's more of life to experience. Zuko, on the other hand, is looking forward to his settled 50s. As they navigate their new normal, their drifting begins pulling them away from each other. Zuko is intimidated by the new friends his wife is making, while Katara is terrified that her once quietly passionate husband is becoming an old man before his time.

It all comes to a head when Katara is offered the chance of a lifetime to work in another country for a year. She's afraid to even bring it up to Zuko, but despite that, she starts making plans. It's mostly daydreaming at first. She looks up apartments, looks up the social life, and the local hotspots. She even contacts an old college friend who lives in the area, and makes plans to visit. The only problem is, this old friend is someone she used to date. Zuko sees Jet's name pop up in Katara's phone, and that coupled with how secretive she's been with her phone and computer leads him to the worst conclusion.

Without a word, he takes off, visiting places he and Katara used to love going to before work and family life consumed their couple life. He bounces between heartbroken rage and complete understanding as to why his vivacious wife might not find the prospect of being alone with him for another few decades tolerable. After a few days of being off the grid, he goes to a divorce lawyer, and at long last comes home with a separation agreement in hand. Katara, scared out of her mind and furious after not being able to reach her husband for days is shocked by the papers. That was not what she wanted, but then Zuko confronts her with his suspicions that she's having an affair, and declares he'd rather not have her than share her. That's when Katara comes clean about the job offer. She wasn't planning to take it, but she thought maybe she could at least convince Zuko to go travel with her to that country and explore a bit. She shows him the text messages, and her emails with her boss. She had asked for time to think, and time was winding down, but she assures Zuko that she knew how little he liked change, and moving to another country- even for a limited time- would be a massive change.

They have a long talk about their marriage and how disconnected from each other they feel, but in the end, they decided they're still in love enough to figure things out together. Then Zuko encourages her to take the position. As long as he's with her, he tells his wife, he'll feel at home.

And we will call this fic Our Rope is Braided

This song gave me very bittersweet, we've been together a long time, and our relationship has survived a lot (which is why I was a little confused when I saw someone say they wanted this song played at their wedding, but different interpretations for different folks). I wanted to come up with a concept that spoke to that. The thing is, I don't see Katara and Zuko having a ton of internal conflict in their relationship. I definitely don't think infidelity would be an issue. But what might be an issue is learning how to communicate after a massive change to their status quo. Katara's self-sacrificial nature would lead her to not talk about her goals and aspirations to her set-in-his-ways husband. Zuko might not know how to address his feelings of being left behind as Katara finds new social outlets, now that she's not a full time mother anymore, and this is what I came up with.

[maya-matlin]

So sorry to bug you one more time, but I was dying to hear about what you think the differences and similarities between Drew and Bianca are too! I also would love to know what you see them both doing as careers. I feel like Drew would be such a good sports coach, maybe working to make sure trans kids were included as a tribute to Adam. As for Bianca, I always love that she was academically talented - maybe a teacher?

I'll have to think about Drew and Bianca because as much as I love them, they're two more characters that I rarely break down. Obviously, they come from very different worlds. It's unclear what the Torres family's financial status is, but Mr. Torres is a lawyer and they never seem to struggle with money. And though the specifics of Bianca's background are unclear due to Degrassi's recurring classism problem, the fact she finds herself involved with Vince and Anson and KC is easily able to understand her situation implies she grew up in a poorer area, probably not unlike Zig. Both Drew and Bianca overcompensated for their weaknesses or setbacks by leaning into their more charismatic, confident sides to get attention. But while Drew was a popular jock who could get dates, it seemed like Bianca's reputation resulted in her mostly having sexual encounters and not really being considered girlfriend material. At least not until Drew, but only after he somewhat understood what it was like to be an outcast. Not that it was executed well at all. The whole "gross by association" thing only lasted two seconds and wasn't even consistent with how Drew seemed to be perceived during the previous block of episodes. Bianca is very book smart and naturally gifted at academics. Drew was never a great student. Once Bianca was given the encouragement and the means to view higher learning as a possibility, she jumped at it. It's not stated whether or not Drew planned to go to college, but probably not? Every time we get a hint of Drew's life post high school, his career options are mainly things that don't require a degree. Drew was successful when working at the mall kiosk because he was great at handling the customers. Later, Drew and Dallas made plans to start their own party planning business. The main thing he needed was connections to make that a possibility, which he managed to get from Mr. Hollingsworth. Both are pretty outgoing, though I'd say Drew is the more extroverted of the two. Presumably, both view marriage and a family as their eventual end goals. When I break it down like this, they're actually pretty similar. It's just that their energy and personal interests differ.

Whatever Drew does, he'd want to work with people. I love the idea of Drew becoming a coach, but I see that as more of a side gig. When he and Bianca inevitably had kids, he'd want to be involved in their school stuff and probably be on the school board much like his mother was. As for his day job, I could see him successfully running a party planning business. If he becomes a hit with wealthy people, there's no reason to think he couldn't have that as a career. As for Bianca, I'm torn between her going into law and becoming a social worker. I think she'd want something stable and would do well defending criminals. But at the same time, I could also see Bianca wanting to give back and get involved with troubled kids much like she used to be. It could go either way for me.

[monocytogenes]

For Pravin W., Isra, and/or Pravin T. 👀

Does your OC have an enemy? What happened between them? Is it mutual or one-sided? Is it petty or serious? Is one party seeking revenge? Does one person want the other dead or are they content to hate them from afar?

How important is friendship to your OC? Do they prefer to have one or two close friends or a large group of casual friends? Or do they prefer their own company over that of others?

Does your OC have an enemy? What happened between them? Is it mutual or one-sided? Is it petty or serious? Is one party seeking revenge? Does one person want the other dead or are they content to hate them from afar?

Most of the people Isra's counted as technical enemies are simply folks on the other side of the war--she has no particular hatred for them, and sometimes feels a pang of regret when they force her hand to violence. While Sith are given expansive reign to harm and kill in her societal context, the luminaries she really admires eschew violence without purpose as displays of weakness and insecurity, and she concurs with that--it's easy to see the tragedy of war in, say, taking out a bunch of panicked nineteen year olds fresh out of boot camp on an ill-conceived patrol. They're technically her enemies, she and they both understand that, but it's like pitting a bunch of five year olds against a teenager in a playground game, you know? Things are different with actual Jedi, of course, though still generally without the undercurrent of personal emotion--her encounters with them tend to be that of mutual deference between warriors; she's knelt before those she's felled after a fierce duel as a show of genuine admiration.

The one person she's had in her life that she's counted as an actual, personal, hated enemy was Darth Baras--her former master who tried to dispose of her after she grew too powerful and knowledgeable of his secrets. She carried out all manner of dirty work for him, some of which still haunts her because it involved silencing assets of his who were injured, imprisoned or noncombatants, thinking that if she could just get through that and earn her lordship then his influence and favor would open doors--and then he not only tried to off her out of paranoia, fearing she might become a troublesome loose end, but to off her through burying her beneath rubble. Isra's always had to contend with the complexities of earning respect within her social hierarchy as someone both privileged from certain perspectives and viewed as inferior from others, being both an alien and a woman in a culture with negative preconceptions of both, and while it necessarily hurt for Baras to try to take her out in the first place, him not even challenging her face-to-face? He made her feel worthless. She went on a full-fledged (successful!) revenge quest after that, the man's high status be damned.

Pravin T doesn't have anyone he'd consider a personal enemy who's still living at the beginning of DA, really--he had a particular hatred for Loghain given his handling of the Blight and the people he allowed to die, a situation that lead to the death of a man Pravin cared about and Pravin's own lasting injury, but the guy's offed in the aftermath of that. Pravin's certainly taken out a few nasty characters over the years as a bard, but his relationships with the folks he's found himself at professional odds with are more rivalries than anything (hi, Leliana) and he generally doesn't like thinking about the ones he's had to harm in the thick of tense situations.

Pravin W had Hunter, That Motherfucker, who you've heard me talk about lol. The interesting thing there was that Hunter definitely had kind of a sexualized fixation with him and really wanted their relationship to be a "worthy opponents with mutual respect" sort of thing, but Pravin didn't view it that way at all. Pravin's done some nasty, violent things in the line of duty, sure, but always out of calculated necessity or furious desperation; he'd find satisfaction in a well-executed op, but as a means to an end. Hunter, on the other hand, got off on the violence, the torture, the thrill of watching someone suffer. There was nothing novel about that kind of sadism to Pravin--Pravin had heard about people like him in the ranks of the Sith, encountered one or two in the Imperial military, played pazaak and drank with a few in cantinas on Hutta. Hunter wasn't Pravin's dark mirror or cautionary tale; he was a glorified animal who needed to be put down.

Pravin's didn't feel victorious when he did, really. There the guy was, yammering on about the narrative of intimacy he'd dreamed up, asking to show him something, reaching for his clothes--Pravin felt a brief jab of fright, suspecting he was going for a weapon, and his finger plied the trigger by reflex. Hunter looked surprised when he fell. There was a cold relief in that.

How important is friendship to your OC? Do they prefer to have one or two close friends or a large group of casual friends? Or do they prefer their own company over that of others?

Isra didn't have many close friends in her youth, given her race and upbringing--while someone from an established sith family would have myriad opportunities to socialize with people of similar abilities and species, she was an adopted alien. She spent much of her childhood compelled to pass as a sith-human hybrid, filing down her horns and instructed not to use her native tongue, an experience she found traumatic; she'd often bond with peers and then listen to them disparage people like her, which made her feel disgusting and fearful of her true identity being discovered. She made some deeper connections with people in her later teen years and at the academies she attended, where she chose to be out as a zabrak--usually fellow aliens or other misfits--and also had some casual friendships from sexual trysts, mainly forged through the Kaasian kink scene, itself a place of refuge for corners of the population that are a bit more open-minded.

I think Isra tends to form friendships with men more easily, but has a deeper psychological need for female friends, especially through the course of her story where she's training and establishing her career; she's not only navigating becoming a great warrior and all the political considerations that are part and parcel of working with the military and Sith, but also figuring out what it means to be a woman in that context. She practically tumbles into an intimate friendship with Vette after sussing her out as unthreatening; Vette's also an alien and has had a difficult life of separation from her culture, and when they're together they can be, well, normal. They can watch stupid reality holos and do each other's makeup and trade gossip that Isra could never share with the authorities in her life lest she seem flighty and troublesome. Vette's a refuge, as well as a check on Isra's more romantically chaotic behavior, and Isra later strives to offer herself as safe harbor to her protégé Jaesa in much the same way.

Pravin, in both his iterations, grew up in a home where he was emotionally neglected; as a youngest child with something of an age gap between himself and his older siblings, he was treated as extraneous; given a good education and having his physical needs met without actually being nurtured as his own person. His parents indulged some of his interests but were mainly concerned with keeping up appearances, ensuring he didn't act out and embarrass them and laying out harsh punishments when he did. He found from an early age that if he really wanted validation, he had to seek it outside of his family, and the authoritarian context he came from taught him that affection was necessarily transactional--if he wanted to be liked, praised, or doted upon, he had to swallow down his more unpalatable feelings and opinions and put forth a cool, friendly and confident version of himself.

Both iterations thus initially seek out a large swath of friendships that are fond but casual, ones where he doesn't have to show a lot of vulnerability. A lot of these blur into physical intimacy as a substitute for emotional intimacy; it's easier for him to cope with negative feelings through giving and getting pleasure that way than, you know, actually talking about difficult things. I think Pravin T ends up with some deeper friendships amid the wider Orlesian theater community where they do bitch about work and related frustrations, just because the community is so tight-knit and protective of its own, but he still keeps some of his darker stuff on a tighter leash.

His relationships with Gaubert and Lautilde are another story--they cross the line from friendship in the common sense and really become found family. Pravin's always sought out father figures in his life, given his fraught relationship with his biological dad, and Gaubert was uniquely positioned to become one: they're from different social strata, but are both artsy misfits who ran away from disapproving home situations, experienced chaotic young adulthoods, and found success through their own charisma and guile. Gaubert's seen a lot of bad stuff over the years through his bard work and other travails, but come through it with good cheer and plenty of love to give, something Pravin really needs. Lautilde, meanwhile, is a solid and stable presence who shows love more through actions than words, something that appeals deeply to Pravin (as someone who's more accustomed to making affectionate declarations on the stage or as part of some ploy or other). They know more about his background than he thinks through sheer intuition, and he's more attached to them than he's generally willing to admit.

Pravin W's a different story, and I think he's psychologically less well off than his DA counterpart because of it. He essentially had two different groups of friends while working for Intelligence; a job that, over time, caused his earlier friendships to fall away on account of his travel and inability to share details of his work--people that were part of the agency, and people he met while working undercover. The former were mostly Watchers and Fixers that he bonded with through shared challenges; the latter were people who didn't know who he actually was, but who he genuinely liked spending time with, especially in his years on Hutta (where he had more of a stable, long-term post). The cruel irony of it is that while none of those friendships were super deep and intimate, he was closer to the former given that he was able to be more himself with them, and when he left Intelligence he necessarily cut ties with his colleagues and was left with just a handful of contacts in Hutt Space that he could depend upon for assistance and comfort.

Vector is, of course, the exception to the rule--someone who was both "inside" and "outside" at once, working for a different agency but aware of Pravin's professional identity, whose own position in the bureaucratic hierarchy was strained enough that he wound up willing to leave with him. I really doubt Pravin would have returned to Intelligence in the immediate aftermath of the mind control arc and helped finish off Hunter and crew without Vector as a kind and steady voice of sanity, and while Pravin isn't always fully honest with him, Vector's definitely his one true confidant.

(I do, as you know, have some stuff I've been writing with Pravin and Theron, and I'm looking forward to those two developing a weird friendship on the basis of pragmatic cooperation and mutual professional respect, lol. Pravin's never had a ton of sustained contact with other field agents of his own caliber, I think, due to how Intelligence structures deployments and the unusual political circumstances near the end of his formal career, so being able to see himself in someone from the other side will draw out some empathy in spite of his better instincts.)

[rebelcourtesan]

Why Blitzer works better than Stolitz

Not trying to start a shipping war, but here are my reasonings behind why Blitzer works better as a ship compared to Stoliz.

The last time I was so invested in a ship, it was Entrapdak from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power so if you go back into my archives, you'll see I've wrote several essays about them.

Blitzer strikes as ship that I want to write about because it makes so much sense to me of why these characters are good together. In order to prove my point, I'm going to do a comparison between Blitzo's relationship with Stolas vs his relationship with Striker.

First, let's back up and look at how Blitzo's interactions with Stolas. Based on the pilot, it looks like Blitzo seduced Stolas to steal away the book to get access to the Living World to carry out jobs for Sinners. Afterward, in Episode 1, Stolas makes a deal with Blitzo for him to return the book once a month so Stolas can do his 'job' and in exchange for a night of 'Passionate Fornification"

Therefore, Blitzo's relationship with Stolas is purely transactional. Blitzo hasn't shown any affection for Stolas nor does he seem to enjoy being around Stolas anymore than he has to. Episode 2, when he acts as bodyguard for Stolas, he warns him against trying anything sexual in Loo Loo Land. Everything he does with Stolas is for the sake of keeping the grimoire and for money.

On Stolas's end, he is constantly coming onto Blitzo through open flirtations to very lewd sex talk. Their conversations never stray from the job to Stolas wanting Blitzo nearby for him to flirt and desire.

There's never really moment of them bonding, at least not from Blitzo's end.

Also, every time they are together, Stolas is towering over Blitzo. Let at these scenes.

AAnd another thing to point out is that in each of these scenes, Stolas is either speaking to Blitzo with baby talk or openly lusting for him. He objectifies and infantilizes Blitzo which would bring their vastly different ranks into play. Stolas is a royal prince of the Ars Goetia family while Blitzo is a lowly imp from the lowest rung of Hell. There is an imbalance there.

Not saying that Stolas would ever use his status to sexually assault Blitzo, but he is using what Blitzo needs for his business for sexual favors. Another thing to point out is that in each of these scenes, Blitzo is annoyed or angry with Stolas. He's only there for a means to an end. If he could keep the book without ever seeing Stolas again, he'd do it in a heartbeat. I've seen no signs to indicate otherwise.

Now let's look at the end other end.

The first thing I noticed is Blitzo's reaction when Striker compliments him for opening his own business despite being an imp. At first, Blitzo is taken aback by the compliment as if he wasn't sure if it was a compliment or not and once he thought about it, he proudly accepted it. At first, it went over my head until I rewatched the scene and realized it's the first time we've see Blitzo be praised for his endeavors. Everyone he's met new and from his past had nothing, but insults or complaints about him. For him to receive a compliment for an achievement and not know at first how to take it was actually quite sad.

It could be argued that Striker only said it to get the others to let their guard down, but I think it was genuine.

And when Striker brings up Stolas, Blitzo is quick to inform him that his relationship with Stolas was purely transaction, which it is. Akin to the manner of someone assuring they were 'free'.

After their meeting, they aren't too far away from away from each other.

fLook at their faces! They are wrestling together and loving it. While the montage is supposed to have us focus on Moxxie's failings at the games, it shouldn't be too hard to miss how Blitzo and Striker were able to go neck to neck at the games and even tied for first place together!

What I'm trying to point out is there is an equality between them, mutual respect. Blitzo is able to give as he receives which is the same for Striker. So much so that Blitzo even offers Striker a position at I.M.P, to which Striker accepts, both wanting to work together.

Then we have the confrontation between Blitzo and Striker. Blitzo is justifiably pissed, but he also seems hurt, not because Striker was trying to kill Stolas, but someone he had opened himself to accepting Striker.

Remember, Blitzo sees his business and his employees as family! For him to hire Striker, means he was willing to accept him into his family! He's disappointed and angry, but he is accustomed to being harmed by those he's close to (Robo-Fizz and Verosika).

C'mon, you can't look at this scene and not think there isn't any attraction between them.

I honestly believe Striker's offer to partner up with Blitzo was true based on how well they did together in the competition. They are both physically combative, able to go tie for the games and go toe to toe in a fight.

Let's compare.

Stolas is talking down to Blitzo using baby talk, which he mean as affectionate, but it belittling whereas Striker is on equal terms with Blitzo.

Blitzo is annoyed by Stolas and seems to dislike him.

Blitzo is more intrigued with Striker.

Stolas calls Blitzo, Blitzy which he finds annoying and also refers to him more than once as an imp.

Striker calls Blitzo by his name with the silent O.

The key word is respect. Stolas continues to degrade Blitzo's status by never taking him seriously as an equal. He constantly downgrades Blitzo to that of a pet or a plaything by calling him little imp, talking baby talk to him in the beginning of the episode, and their conversations never extend beyond sexual or their agreement over the grimoire. It's understandable for Stolas, a high ranking royal, to see talk down to Blitzo who is on the lowest rung of Hell's social ladder, but if he's going to expect more than physical relationship, his attitude needs to change.

Whereas, Striker is on the same level with Blitzo, even raising him up by acknowledging him as a skilled assassin and offering a partnership in taking down Overlords to which I believe Blitzo was very tempted by. I can see these two talking shop while planning on taking out a target and a loving relationship to grow from there.

I think in the next few episodes, we're going to see Stolas and Blitzo's relationship come to a head. Especially if Stolas tries to move their relationship beyond what it is now and will get rejected.

[theangrypokemaniac]

@nyarthsis

First of all, it's symbolic.

No reason was ever provided why Jessibelle looks so much like Jessie. It would've been simpler and more instinctive to invent an entirely new design. Instead, it was decided to turn them into identical strangers.

I can't see what purpose this serves other than to validate Rocketshipping. As his fiancée, Jessibelle is the romantic figure in his life. Whether he likes it or not, James is in a relationship with her, albeit a long distance one.

The intention is for he and she to be married, but the similarity between the girls invites viewers to picture Jessie in that role. It's hard not to, since the Jessibelle is simply Jessie from the upper class. Whatever way he turns, he's fated to fall in with a red head.

Bear in mind also that this idea has not sprung from thin air. Up to this episode, Jessie and James have often acted like a couple in all but name: rowing, hugging, holding hands and inseparable. People may have had an inkling beforehand but this confirms suspicions.

Remember James's parents too. Yes, they selected Jessibelle for him because she's wealthy and presumably from a good home, but they genuinely appear to have affection for her too, and want her to join the family.

Since James ran away it could be concluded that Jessibelle replaced him in their lives, explaining that relationship. Maybe in these circumstances she went from being just a suitable future wife to the daughter they never had, and like adoring parents, they can't see any wrong in her.

Plus, the reason James gives for leaving home was Jessibelle's demanding nature, asking he use the right spoon and do things a specific way.

To Ma and Pa, that's commendable behaviour: she's merely trying to mould their wayward son into a gentleman. That he won't accept instruction just shows him to be difficult.

Personally, I don't think what she asks is so bad. He's got a cosseted life, waited on every minute, due to inherit billions from parents who didn't walk out, and can really have anything he wants.

It's got to have some catch, if only to be fair to the rest of us. Yet having to conform to a set of exacting rules of etiquette isn't really so awful, especially when it's all you know, and everyone in your social circle follows them, as in they aren't expecting anything they wouldn't do.

Considering that James rejected these in favour of joining Team Rocket, whereas Jessibelle remained a law-abiding lady, it looks like she was right to try and curb his instincts, as see what he got up to when left to his own devices.

If all Ma and Pa cared about was money and background, they could've found anyone of that description for James, even an ugly bride, but they made a point of selecting a pretty, decorative candidate, suggesting they like her appearance too.

Add all this together, and it could be said that, whatever Jessie and James feel for one another, any happy ending is an impossibility The gulf in status is just insurmountable.

Ma and Pa would never welcome Jessie, a poor thief, who's led their son astray, over a refined example of femininity, polished and sophisticated, and certainly not when they love her.

Choosing Jessie means James may well be impoverished for the rest of his life, and he's known luxury, so going without it is more obvious than it is to her, who grew up deprived.

Jessie and Jessibelle are similar in personality too, except that the latter is not always violent. I don't believe her ladylike manners are an act, I think she really is like that most of the time. It might well be that the 'dominatrix' routine is a one-off, to punish James for abandoning her.

Jessibelle is actually quite a tranquil person. She never loses her temper, barely raises her voice, and remains calm and controlled throughout. As a wife, that may be what James can expect.

Jessie however is constantly on the edge, forever losing her temper and dispatching her fists. I don't blame her for that; it's how life has shaped her.

At worst, James will be beaten by Jessibelle, but has all that moolah as consolation. With Jessie, a beating is the norm, and he's poor and starving. It'd be understandable of it all got too much and he decided he's better off at home.

The resemblance between the girls smooths out many of these obstacles. If James refused to obey his parents, and presented them with his choice, who was the complete opposite of who they had in mind, it'd be too jarring to tolerate. They'll have spent years imaging what it'll be like to have Jessibelle in the family and her giving them grandchildren.

If it's Jessie, then it's easier for Ma and Pa to accept. She fits into their dynastic fantasies to the snug level that an outsider might not notice the difference, and maybe they'd occasionally forget it hadn't all gone to plan.

As they want heirs, James has to be intended to find Jessibelle attractive, so they can't say they don't know what he sees in Jessie.

Much of her inner rage is probably frustration over failure and general unhappiness. If that's alleviated, she'd be far more laid-back, and so not so unsuitable to high society. Ma could offer a little instruction then.

The second thing is the events leading to this situation. Yes, James couldn't cope with marrying Jessibelle, and so, when away from home at Pokémon Tech., he ran off.

Before this, he encountered Jessie, as in a girl the exact image of the one he wanted to escape.

That meeting is an accidental twist of fate, and can't be helped, but to James it must've been the universe conspiring against him. He'd have believed it was Jessibelle initially.

If he hated his fiancée to the depths of his soul, every bit of her, he ought to have run for the hills. How could you stomach being around someone that similar to all you'd gone to the trouble to avoid?

Instead, he not only befriended Jessie, but stays beside her from that day. He joins the Bike Gang with her, enters Team Rocket with her, and walks over the world with her.

Every single day he has a reminder of Jessibelle before him. He absconded, but she's inescapable, and he decided to make it that way.

Why would this be?

It's as if, whatever he says to the contrary, he does like Jessibelle. He wanted to leave her behind, but not her face, and found himself a replica.

Somehow, Jessibelle telling him what to do was unreasonable, but he wanted her, without that element of control. He then found Jessie, who not only orders him about, but hits him, yet that's alright, as long as he has a certain level of freedom.

If he's in Jessie's company every minute of the day, he can't resent her appearance. In turn, that implies he likes it, and so he must fancy Jessibelle. If that's so, he has to also be attracted to Jessie.

The funny thing is that Rocketshipping and Rumishipping aren't rival ships, they're two sides of the same thing. If you support one, you must accept the other, else yours can't exist.