So, Apparently I've Got A Rep

[przed]

The Sweetie frequents The Beguiling, the coolest comic store in Toronto. One of the guys who works there, Chris, is both gay and wise in the ways of yaoi manga, so he's always reccing stuff to the Sweetie that he thinks I might like. (Pete, the owner of the store, doesn't get the whole yaoi/homoerotica thing, but he's also a willing enabler.)

A couple of weeks ago, the Sweetie's in the store and Chris has a new rec for me...

Chris: Hey, I think your wife might like this manga, Antique Bakery.
Sweetie: Oh yeah?
Chris: Yeah. It's not as dirty as most of the stuff she likes, but it's better written.

Let's stop and contemplate the fact that the gay comic dude thinks I'm dirty. (Am I proud or ashamed? I have no idea.) Not to mention the fact that he doesn't think much of the writing in the ones I do like.

So, next time I'm in the store, I flip through Antique Bakery and it's not my thing. Three guys running a bakery and nary a gun or a sword in sight. (I may or may not like my yaoi "dirty" but I definitely like it with violence and mayhem involved.)

Tonight, the Sweetie makes his weekly trip back to the store. Both Chris and Pete are there...

Chris: So, did your wife check out Antique Bakery?
Sweetie: Yeah. She doesn't think it's quite her thing.
Pete (Yelling from the back of the store): I told you. It's not dirty enough!

Okay, so now the straight guy and the gay guy think I'm dirty. Plus, the Sweetie was laughing so hard he failed to defend my honour and inform them that it was not the lack of said dirt but the lack of swords and guns that failed to float my boat.

Good thing I'm not easily embarrassed or I'd never show my face in the store again.

Comments

[shaw012145.livejournal.com]

I trust you are going to set them 'straight' next time you go in.

[przed.livejournal.com]

As it were. *g*

Not only do I need to defend my honour, but if they know what my tastes are, they'll be more likely to rec stuff I really will like.

[shaw012145.livejournal.com]

Hopefully you will not have to go armed with a sword to get your point across :)

[nakeisha.livejournal.com]

You certainly do need to put them 'straight' on what you enjoy and why you didn't like the new one he rec'd.

[przed.livejournal.com]

I think a long talk with Chris is called for. (I'm also seriously tempted to send him one of my smuttier Pros stories, just for fun.)

[nakeisha.livejournal.com]

Now that sounds like an idea :-)

[beledibabe.livejournal.com]

So, Oh Knowledgeable One, any recs? I like Kizuna, Target in the Finder and Jazz, but would love more swords and mayhem to go with my yaoi!

[przed.livejournal.com]

On the gun end of things, I highly recommend Yellow. It's four volumes and develops into some serious hurt/comforty fun.

On the sword side, there's Black Knight (the uke's a bit on the cute side for my taste, but his seme is fab), Gorgeous Carat and White Guardian.

Then there's Gerard & Jacques, which has neither guns nor swords, but is set before and during the French revolution and starts off as a rent boy story which I cannot resist. (The uke is a bit young to start in that one, but they grow him up fast.)

I like Kizuna and the Finder ones too, but wasn't sure about Jazz. You think it's worth checking out, then?

[beledibabe.livejournal.com]

Many thanks for the suggestions! I've only read Jazz 2, but liked it enough to look for Jazz 1 and 3.

[msmoat.livejournal.com]

Good lord. Right, that's the best story I've heard today--this week in fact. Go you!

[przed.livejournal.com]

I think I need a t-shirt that says "Gay boys think I'm dirty." *g*

[ancastar.livejournal.com]

Honestly? That is one of the funniest things I've ever read, bar none. Maybe you just need to think of your reputation and/or taste as not so much "dirty" as "sexually charged". That just sounds so much more *genteel* somehow. ;-)

[przed.livejournal.com]

That just sounds so much more *genteel* somehow.

But not nearly as funny. ;-)

[shayheyred.livejournal.com]

Have you read "Unsigned Blade?" (My icon is from that.) I read it on yaoi_daily and I don't know if it's licensed in English. It's got PLENTY of swords and mayhem, as it's a samurai story, where the seme is a former killer who has become a doctor, and the uke is a killer who wants to reform. They are unbearably gorgeous and there's blood and gore enough for all. I suspect our tastes are nearly exactly the same (Gorgeous Carat G&J, Black Knight et al. I do like Kizuna, but I like the secondary pairing, because they're yakuza.)

[przed.livejournal.com]

Unsigned Blade sounds right up my alley. Looks like Duo Brand have published it in English, as Mumyoutou, though Amazon doesn't have it listed. Time to use my comic store connections to see if they can get it in. Yay!

I like Kizuna, but don't love it, but I'm ripping through G&J, Gorgeous Carat and Black Knight as fast as I can get hold of 'em.

[shayheyred.livejournal.com]

Right, "Mumyoutou." If you find it, I may ask you to give me the info so I can order it, too.

Oddly enough, I'm currently obsessed with a non-yaoi manga and anime, Death Note. The manga is talky but interesting, but the anime is spectacular. I understand there's a live action movie that's been made as well.

As for Kizuna, I'm not a fan of the artist. I got into it because I got assigned thehoyden for Yuletide, and she wanted a Kizuna fic, so I immersed myself in it, and really love the character of Masanori Araki, the yakuza boss. But damn, he and Kai are spending so much frickin' time in denial, they are working my nerves! By the way, the story is "Idiot's Delight." I finally archived it here (http://www.chezshay.net/stories/Idiots.html) at Chez Shay.
/desperate self-pimpage

[przed.livejournal.com]

D'oh! Duo Brand are the mangaka, not the publisher. And it looks like Mumyoutou's not in English yet. (Found the info here: http://www.mangaupdates.com/authors.html?id=852 )

On the plus side, the same mangaka did White Guardian, and its followup Crimson Wind, and Drama Queen has published those in English. I picked up White Guardian at Escapade and adore it. I'm going to bug Chris to get in Crimson Wind.

And I'll definitely check out your Kizuna story. (Though I'm going to have to swat up on those boys first. It's been a while since I read it.)

Can I have a T-shirt too?

[(Anonymous)]

Hon, it's a compliment. As far as I'm concerned, there aren't enough dirty women in the world. I aspire to be one... so GO YOU for already being one!
Nads

Re: Can I have a T-shirt too?

[przed.livejournal.com]

I'm mostly amused by the whole thing. And yeah, just a teensy bit proud. *g*

We all need those t-shirts. Especially you! (Trev can vouch for you.)

[faramir-boromir.livejournal.com]

Look. You've got to go in there and straighten them out, or they're never going to rec you the right stuff! Suggest you explain with examples their pea-brains can get: Boromir, Alatriste, and so on.

[przed.livejournal.com]

Ah, Alatriste... Sorry, where was I.

I'm sure once I explain it, they'll get it. Or Chris will, anyway. Pete valiantly keeps trying to recommend things he thinks are homoerotic/slashy and not quite getting it. (Don had a conversation with him and Chris about certain movies being homoerotic and Pete kept going "Really?", to which Don and Chris would both say, "Oh yeah, totally.")