Interesting.

So, yesterday morning I did something I wanted to do 15 years ago and didn't do for some reason (probably money-related). I bought the Tomy Jessie and James figures, the ones that came together in the Japanese release. That means I'll have to buy Meowth separately, but I have my eye on a listing for him too. Heh, I was worrying about doing a whole Amazon order right now and then I go and do that. Typical. Although they cost less than an Amazon order, even with shipping. And I will be getting another cash-out soon....

I wish there were movable figures that were affordable. The only movable Team Rocket figures are the Figuarts ones, and those are out of the question. So expensive.... Anyway, I don't like that the Meowth in that set looks so grouchy. And I wasn't wowed by James' expression either, to be honest. I think the cutest figures, expression-wise, are the G.E.M. ones. They are very dynamic! But I prefer figures standing up straight if they don't move, so I decided the old Tomy ones were just fine. I might get the G.E.M. ones too at some point, though.

One nice thing about preferring Classic Era is that just about all the characters I'd want to have in a figure release exist. I wish they'd made Delia too, though, and Giovanni would have been cool. I also discovered that Brock is hard to find. Great. **sarcasm.** I'm somehow not surprised that the set with Nurse Joy is rare, but even by himself, Brock is not easy to get hold of and more expensive than the others, even loose. At least Ash and Misty will be easy to obtain....

I wish I could find another set of stickers like the ones I got at Toys R Us years ago. I used one sheet and they're mostly faded from water on the binder. The other sheet is unused. I love stickers, but I don't have many logical places to stick them. Part of me wants to use that sheet, but when it's the only other one I have, I don't dare.

And I'm feeling sad again that I didn't get to get that gift bag all those years ago. Silly, so many years later and for something like that, but it was so cute.

I do wonder why a lot of the official merchandise back then, like the bag and the stickers, and even the wig for Pokemon Live, depicted James' hair as lavender. It always looked blue to me, and at last the merchandise reflects that too. At least the old Tomy figures are one thing that showed it as blue even back in the day.

We had to get groceries this past day instead of on Monday because of Dad having a dentist appointment on Monday. At Wal-Mart, I found a lovely material to use for James' hair if I make a plush! It's the perfect shade of blue, and it's so soft.... Expensive too, at $5.97 a yard. Eeek. But luckily, I don't need near that much. If I could find the same material in the right color, I'd like it for Jessie's hair too. If not, at least I found some fleece in the right color....

The church Christmas party was also this past evening. This was perhaps my most favorite menu ever. Ham and rolls, ice water, and SEVEN KINDS OF CHEESY POTATOES! Heaven! Also, many, many desserts. I brought back two kinds of brownies and a giant chocolate cookie. Yuuum. Few things make me think Christmas as much as the smell of many varied desserts.

Rocketshipping....

I got a review today from someone who wrote an interesting story, trying to turn the Musashi and Kojiro of Feudal Japan into Jessie and James and somehow get a romance going with them. (Yes, Musashi was a girl in the story.) The duel happened, but to try to get around that problem, Musashi said she challenged Kojiro just as a test of skills and never intended to seriously wound him. Then she tried to doctor him. I was just curious as to how the duel would be explained, so I stopped skimming around that point.

Anyway, it reminded me that years ago, I used to use their Japanese namesakes as an argument against Rocketshipping, LOL. I'm like "... Okay, they were named after two skilled swordsmen who had a duel and Musashi killed Kojiro. Why, exactly, would anyone want to pair up the Pokemon characters Musashi and Kojiro, given that their namesakes were enemies, or at least, rivals and one killed the other?!"

Of course, the explanation is likely that the idea of naming them after those swordsmen was a joke. What happened to them has no bearing on the Pokemon characters Musashi and Kojiro. They behave just the opposite of the real-life people in that they actually work together and care about each other.

Another argument I have heard is that they must be a couple because of how they're always glomping each other in terror and in Japanese culture, they just wouldn't be that touchy-feely if they're not super close. I was thinking they could be close in a familial way too, though, and that it wasn't absolutely only romantic couples who acted like that. In any case, though, I think the glomping is also supposed to be a joke, that they're not romantically involved but they do things that are generally only done by couples. The show itself certainly seems to indicate that they are not romantically involved; it's hard to get around that scene in Sweet Baby James where James absolutely freaks at the thought of marrying Jessie because he thinks she'd leave him with all the housework and he shrieks, "I'd rather diiiiie!" ROTFLOL. That was apparently in the Japanese version too, so ...

Of course, I imagine Rocketshippers counter that by saying that they're lovers with no intention of marrying or some such. But for someone who really thinks that it's more interesting and meaningful if there are no romantic feelings involved, I just found the scene in Sweet Baby James rather delightful and hilarious and nice to point to as an anti-shipper.

I also suddenly realize the irony of my Control Freak redo, that the mask possesses Jessie to the point that she impales and kills James. I did that without even thinking about their Japanese counterparts' names or namesakes.