Today I went to the store with my son. We were on a mission to retrieve the newest Harry Potter book for my mother. Decked out in our anti-Harry fangirl apparal, complete with pepper spray and billie-clubs, we went to one of the larger bookstore chains here in town.
Prepared for the worst, I was shocked to see that the store was almost empty. Apparently most of the crazies had opted for the midnight run, leaving us normal people to shop in peace.
Not quite.
Deciding that it would be safe to do a bit of shopping on my own, I meandered back to the manga section, looking for Gravi 12. I had just found it when this loud voice behind me starts jabbering almost incoherantly. I look up, confused, and see this girl staring at me like I'm some bright shiny object. "Oh dear god," I thought.
The otaku was on me like a polar bear with a meat popcicle. She noticed Gravi in my hand as well as another shonen ai book, and suddenly I had books shoved open in my face and her screaming "Look! Boys! Lots and lots of boys!" (I'm not shitting you on this) I could barely get an word in edgewise as I learn about cosplay, cons, and "yowie".
Okay...I can admire her enthusiasim. That I can deal with. I'm enthusiastic about things I like too. Perhaps not "that" enthusiastic, but you get the point. However, when I tell someone three times "I've read that book and I didn't like it", shoving it in my face isn't going to make me see the light. Okay?
Also, you don't win any "fan points" by telling me you have "read" the books in Japanese. Uh huh...Honey, you can't even say ya-o-i right. It's not "yowie". Reading doesn't constitute looking at the pictures. There's nothing wrong with telling me, "I've got these books in Japanese, but I just like the pictures." Don't be a faker. It makes you look really, really dumb.
And another thing, just because I have some shonen-ai titles in my hand doesn't mean I'm a slavering, fuck-twit fan-girl, okay? Not that there is anything wrong with some fan-girls, but the ones that do nothing but squee make me want to bust out my semi-automatic rifle and shoot some melons (and I'm a damn good shot too). I'll be damned if I'm going to stand in the middle of the store and jump up and down with you. I'm almost 30 years old, for crying out loud. I'm too old to jump up and down, I might hurt something. Besides, I didn't even jump up and down when I won 1,000 bucks on scratch ticket. I laughed...slow and evil like...(true story). Girls that jump up and down and talk in high voices that would hurt Beeker the Muppet's ears annoy the piss out of me. STFU, okay!?
God, I should have thrown the books and ran for my life. This was an otaku sabatoge of the worst sort. I didn't even see it coming! My son, the little traitor, high-tailed it for the videogame section after about 5 seconds with this girl. He's currently cleaning his room for his treasonous ways.
You know, it's cool when you meet someone with the same interests as your own. There's that spark of commonality (is that even a word?) that brings people together as friends. However, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, please remember that not everyone will share the same amount of enthusiasm as you. Don't run up to a total stranger like a rabid, unfed barracuda and bombard them with drivel and senseless squeeing. You want to make friends, not scare them away.
*sigh*
Posted by Zoso at July 16, 2005 02:45 PMWhen you finish reading Gravi, could you please discuss it in one of your entries. I'd like to hear your opinion about it. I loved it, but I know few others who even read Gravi. I want to know what other readers thought of the ending! Thanks!
Posted by: Dani at July 17, 2005 12:08 AMI thought Gravi was a pretty popular title?
I haven't had time to sit down and read it yet, but I'll try to post something about it once I've read it. :)
Posted by: Zoso at July 17, 2005 09:25 AMAnd thus I avoid the shonen-ai fangirls like THE PLAGUE.
And also Harry Potter, for the same reasons. Instead, I go to our local comic shop (which specializes in American comics and thus seems to disinterest the fangirls) to get my stuff. It's cheaper, too. (Helps that I'm good friends with the staff :D)
i can relate to you. lets just say, don't go to pre-con meetups if you want to avoid squacky fangirls. what i personally dont understand is, do these girls feed off yaoi or something? its truly frightening... sometimes, just as much as those freaky Japanese-horror-film kids
Posted by: Aiko at July 22, 2005 01:12 AMI've never been to a con. Probably will never go to one either, though I hear they can be pretty fun. I hate crowds enough as it is, but crowds where rabid fangirls and boys can run amuck would be too much for me. I'd probably go to jail for battery or murder. LOL
As for yaoi fans...I don't know what's up with them. Some are just plain scary. Then again, anime/manga fans in general can be pretty freaky. There are very few of us "well grounded" fans, don't you think?
I went back to the store with my mom and son a few days later to pick up another book and that chick was there working the cash register. I snuck off to the bathroom and beat a path to the door. But not before I heard her haggling with someone over an anime box set (she wanted to buy it from them). Mind you, I was a good twenty to thirty feet away and I could hear her as if she was standing next to me. I remember thinking, "Does she ever stop talking?"
She wierds me out so bad I probably won't shop there anymore...LOL
Posted by: Zoso at July 23, 2005 02:16 AMSuu
Don't even get me started on the Harry Potter fans. OMG...there's like several levels of crazy in that fandom. What happened to the good ole days when a good book was just that...a good book?
Posted by: Zoso at July 23, 2005 02:18 AM