M.J. Lyons's Blog, page 3

BLog: The Treasure of the King and the Cat

BLog reviews recent boys love, yaoi and LGBTQ+ English translation manga.

The Treasure of the King and the Cat
Story and art: You Kajika
Translation: Christine Dashiell
Publisher: TOKYOPOP
Release Date: March 30, 2021

I only had to finish the first two chapters of this adorable boys’ love fantasy collection before I was able to describe it to a friend as: Ghibli’s Howl’s Moving Castle but gay

The Treasure of the King and the Cat is two interconnected stories and a series of shorts set in the magical kingdom of Astelia. “Wizard of the Borderlands” follows the story of the half-elf wizard O’Feuille and his oblivious, enamored, freckled partner Volks, as well as the wizard’s albino raven familiar Alvas and the cait sith friend of Volks, Mia.

“The Treasure of the King and the Cat” moves the action from the borderlands to the royal city, where people have been going missing at an alarming rate. King Castio Luchlups (wild anime surname) sneaks out of the castle to investigate where he’s attacked, although he somehow doesn’t fall to the same fate as his subjects. He’s aided by his childhood friend and confidant, the handsome Lord Nios Eric. (Eric?! Of the noble House Eric?!)

The most glaring issue I had with an otherwise adorable collection is that, despite being classified as boys’ love and despite being rated “Teen age 13+”, The Treasure of the King and the Cat is a relatively chaste title. It’s perhaps boys’ love in a very literal sense; these are boys who love each other. Volks is entirely devoted to O’Feuille, very clearly in eternal, dumbass puppy dog love, ditto King Castio and his devoted protector Lord Nios. But aside from a few raunchy jokes (almost exclusively from resident himbo Volks), a couple of cheek kisses and a few instances of what I would classify as an “accidental” magical nudity fetish, the boys’ love element takes a backseat to the action.

Artist/author post-scripts are always incredibly revealing in manga. Mangaka You Kajika writes: “I was so fixated on figuring out what would happen to the characters in this world that the main love story was pushed to the side… and when I realized how bad that was, I worked it in here and there where I could, and this is the result.”

That’s not to say there isn’t plenty to enjoy. Even if the first story throws a lot at you from the word go (Who’s Volks? Who’s O’Feuille? Who’s Mia? The royal city? The borderlands? Wait… why is Yggdrasil there?!), and the plot of the main story is a little convoluted, the art (and boys) and the world are a delight. If you let the world wash over you without worrying too hard about the story its a wonderful little adventure.

The Ghibli comparison is both apt and a compliment, which is why the world-building works even if the storytelling isn’t finely tuned. In Astelia, magic is very much based on will and emotion, as opposed to some quantifiable pool of mana points. For example, in “Wizard of the Borderlands” Oliver, a young boy with wild magical power he doesn’t understand, seeks out O’Feuille’s help to save his mother. Before disappearing with his familiar, the wizard commands him attempt to make flower seeds of the magical Yekl flower grow and blossom without any tools or assistance. This gives the usual dumbass Volks the chance to tell the story of how he formed such a loving bond with the wizard in a heartfelt little flashback. The titular story ramps the Ghibli-ness up to the next level; a story of a cursed king, a strange artifact and a kingdom full of magical cats.

And, again, even if you’re disappointed at the relative lack of boys’ love in a BL manga, the boys more than make up for it. There’s a little bit of something for everyone, be that the long-haired fae beauty of O’Feuille, the freckled shounen dumbassery of Volks, the hunky Nios or fine-featured pretty boy King Castio–if anything lives up to the BL label, its the exploration of the curse on Castio and his lifelong relationship to Nios that will satisfy that fudanshi/fujoshi itch. There’s even a practical, probably secret perverted glasses character in the castle’s steward and castle physician Ulla, who is passionate about getting or describing the king naked–so the character that I identified with immediately. The characters and worldbuilding are what make The Treasure of the King and the Cat an adventure worth taking.

Level of Problematic: The treasure of the king and his naked, cursed booty; the worst this manga gets is inappropriate remarks from Volks at Oliver’s expense, as well as the “accidental” magical nudity thing, which, honestly, I’m into.

Level of Adorable: The treasure of the king and his kingdom of cats; this category is where The Treasure of the King and the Cat is a powerhouse title. Absolutely adorable on every page, gorgeous art. Plus more cats than I’ve ever seen in a single manga or anime since The Cat Returns. Plus “accidental” magical nudity. Plus catboy. Manga needs more catboys. If you’d like more BL catboys go read the other 2021 TOKYOPOP title The Cat Proposed.

Level of Spiciness: The treasure of the king and his incidental homosexuality; I would like a “M for Mature” version, please. He said about everything.

BLog: Black or White Vol. 1

BLog reviews recent boys love, yaoi and LGBTQ+ English translation manga.

Black or White Vol. 1
Story and art: Sachimo
Translation: Adrienne Beck
Publisher: SuBLime Manga
Release Date: September 14, 2021

Black or White isn’t about two guys as they trepidatiously begin to explore a blossoming relationship. It’s about a relationship with history, threatened by self-doubt and stretched between the duelling demands of fame and love.

Shin Himemiya (whose stage name is Shin Washimiya) is an emerging acting talent who is mistakenly type-cast as a villain–dark haired, intense, glaring, brusque, when he’s actually a caring, hard-working, socially awkward, inexperienced and closeted gay boy. He met his boyfriend and fellow actor Shigeru Osawa (whose stage name is Kazushige Tatebayashi), in high school, and they started secretly dating in third year. Shige is the polar opposite of Shin, easily beautiful and charming, “the prince” of the industry, ending up playing romantic leads, although in private he’s passionate, insecure about his own talent, obsessed with supporting and protecting Shin’s career who he sees as the more talented of the two… and is secretly a bit kinky…

In a subtle way, Black or White is an interesting little exploration of fame, and the perceptions that we impose on one another, be that fans towards the stars they love and hate, or between two lovers in a tenuous relationship.

The manga follows Shin closely as he takes on the role of Captain Dark in the equally extra titled Ranger Academy: Battle For the Academy–I picture Power Rangers meets Attack on Titan. He struggles with coming off as cold and rude to his fellow cast and the general public, and is always rushing home to be with his longterm partner. As a rare interview on a late-night talk show catapults him into the public spotlight, the careful little world Shin and Shige built together starts to look more and more impossible.

At the start of Black or White, Shige and Shin’s relationship begins as extremely intimate, something slightly less than sexual, but definitely more than platonic. Shin is insecure about his lack of experience, his first kiss and first sexual experience were both with Shige. Even though he wants to please his partner he doesn’t feel ready to go further.

We don’t often think of manga in terms of its realism, but as a romantic drama Black or White may be one of the more… straightforward romance stories in recent memory. As an example, one of the more endearing (and strangely sexy) scenes happens when Shin goes to his closest friend for advice. Hanazaki is a member of an idol band, his image as equally curated as any other Japanese star, but when they met at a talent agency mixer he immediately clocked Shin as gay. Wanting to go further but unsure how to get there, Hanazaki proceeds to give him the most in depth preparation guide to anal (minus douching) in the pages of manga–I’m reminded of another SuBLime title, Escape Journey, I’m always pleasantly surprised when guy-on-guy sex isn’t depicted like jumping into a pool… with nary a drop of lube in sight… *shudder*

The story is equally realistic in the depiction of Japanese celebrity culture, the uncomfortable reality of image above all, where presumed heterosexuality and heterosexism trumps even homophobia–the two don’t have to confront homophobia in their careers, their relationship is so private and insular their sexuality is never even questioned. Even the people who support Shige and Shin’s relationship know it can’t exist publicly. The two accept this without question, which is probably realistic but kind of sad and disappointing.

This realism keeps Black or White very grounded, though. Their story and feelings for each other may be intense, sometimes a little overwrought, but in the sense that they can only explore them within the confines of their own private world together it tracks. It also means the moments where we get to see Shige and Shin acting like normal humans–especially when Shin smiles–is all the more effective and adorable. It suffers from your standard BL “you’re the only one for me, I want to be with you forever” melodrama, but hey… sometimes, at least in the pages of manga, these things can be pretty… BLACK OR WHITE.

Ehh?! Ehh?!

Level of Problematic: The Academy Award for Best Depiction of Horny, Dumb Gay Boys goes to… Again, always strange to acknowledge BL manga for a good depiction of gay relationships and sex, but here we are. There’s even a decent acknowledgement of consent as, after an initial, uncomfortable experience, Shige does his best to give Shin space… maybe a little too much space… to get his butt ready for the big “A”. And again, they do that whole BL thing of being intensely invested in being together… the line that really did it for me was “bind me to you and never let go”. Like, yeah, I guess that’s romantic… but that’s a lot of pressure, Shin!

Level of Adorable: The Academy Award for Best Boy goes to… Hanazaki. He makes the briefest and midriff-iest of appearances, but I love him. Shin is a close second.

Level of Spiciness: The Academy Award for Best Depiction of Anal Sex Preparation goes to… This manga has everything: boys fooling around and getting scared about going further, boys full on boning, boys spying on one another whackin’ it, boys fingering themselves. Next level spice.

BLog: Thigh High: Reiwa Hanamaru Academy Vol. 2

BLog reviews recent boys love, yaoi and LGBTQ+ English translation manga.

Thigh High: Reiwa Hanamaru Academy Vol. 2
Story and art: Kotobuki
Translation: Elina Ishikawa
Publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment
Release Date: August 17, 2021

If volume 1 of Thigh High was a small, slim, cute and spunky little freckled high schooler in his plaid school uniform skirt, sweater vest and adorable little necktie, then volume 2 is a beefy, thick-thighed jock boy who works after school as a maid in a frilly pink dress, adding a touch of sex-appeal with a leather garter and heart-shaped metal fastener.

We return to Reiwa Hanamaru Academy as frumpy, hapless class rep Kiritani is asked to welcome a new student, Amayama, a monolithic, scarred and wild-haired slab of muscle whose family practices combat sports deep in the mountains. Challenged to a duel by the new student, sports hunks Yumekawa and Kitahara (pictured below on the left and right ends, wrestling club and baseball respectively) meet Amayama’s challenge… through thumb and arm wrestling. However, it isn’t until Yumekawa puts a celebratory scrunchie on his new classmate to tie his hair up that he defeats Amayama with the ultimate weapon… CUTENESS.

Volume 1 cover boys (left to right): Kitahara, Taki, Himura and Yumekawa

As the summer months turn to fall in this absurd, titillating slice-of-life comedy we follow Kiritani, best friend Harumi and the rest of class 2-A through the seasons, meeting additions to the wild cast of characters. Along with Amayama, we also meet the intense class 2-B rep Mutou at the Sports Day celebrations, the bad boys of Akaten High School and more, as well as misadventures with returning favourites. My personal favourite addition… is Kanda Rito.

In one of the more wholesome and lovely stories of volume 2, we meet moon-faced Kanda who drags Kiritani and Harumi to a dessert shop–that Yumekawa works at in the aforementioned frilly maid’s dress. Over an enormous parfait Kanda admits its the last one he’ll ever eat, the chubby boy plans to quit sweets and start exercising to be just like his hero, Kitahara. Ever blunt, Yumekawa says, “There’s no way.” Kanda can’t be someone else, and shouldn’t want to either. After a failed attempt at sportsing, a heartbroken Kanda collapses, only to be revived by Yumekawa with a big slice of cake. He says Kanda is fine the way he is, that he’s cute when he’s happily eating, and if he wants to combine sweets with exercising, there’s a place he could do that… in a frilly dress working with Yumekawa at the café!

This is high school slice-of-life at its most delightful, it’s all about overcoming relative adversity through the power of friendship! Even if that’s an army of thugs in skirts from the bad boys school across town invading your schoolyard.

And then… there’s the hornies.

On top of Yumekawa in a sexy-cute maid outfit, there’s an entire section during winter when the Reiwa Hanamaru boys go to a ryokan with a hot spring, so PLENTY of opportunities for spring-side fan service… if you’re into ogling fictional, naked high school boys, you perv.

There’s actually some really adorable character moments, Kiritani and Harumi definitely take more of a backseat in volume 2 to make room for exploring some of the secondary characters. Kouki, the shy, scaredy-cat thug boy gets a few spotlight moments, as well as his frighteningly and tragically curly haired friend Makino. On top of the Kanda and Kitehara section, another favourite was the backstory of band boys Taki and Himura’s friendship. Taki was a chubby boy pressured into sumo by his parents, but it wasn’t until Himura came along and asked him what he wanted that he blossomed into the beautiful Gothic lolita flower he is. The nice thing is, with both this story and the Kanda section, aside from the implicit “skinny > fat”, there’s no fat shaming, Yumekawa even points out how Kanda enjoying food is an important part of his personality.

Everything you loved about volume 1 is in the second and ramped up another couple of levels. More absurdity, more hilarity, more skirts. If these manga were movies, this would be a rare case that the sequel would be even better than the original. The movie poster would read: Thigh High 2: Bigger, Beefier, Babelier Boys

Level of Problematic: World’s ugliest sweater contest; worst this one gets is skinniness being better than fatness, and ogling teenage boys in skirts, but we’ve come this far together.

Level of Adorable: Beefy maid café; this manga is beautiful in its purity of cuteness… and fan service, of course. That hot springs scene. Hoo boy.

Level of Spiciness: Strip “rock, paper, scissors”; volume 2 definitely strips the manga down to… well, bras, panties and yukata. Meow.

BLog: Wild, Wild Wildlife

BLog reviews recent boys love, yaoi and LGBTQ+ English translation manga.

Wild, Wild Wildlife
Story and art: Hyougi Kijima
Translation: ???
Publisher: Kuma
Release Date: January 15, 2021

Oh, short story manga… An opportunity for BL/yaoi mangaka to really put some nitro in the engine and open ‘er up to the weirdest, most fucked up, most fantastic premises.

Wild, Wild Wildlife is six previously published shorts collected together in a, as usual, beautifully packaged Kuma manga. The collection is worth it for the titular story alone, where peaceful, agrarian goatmen are regularly accosted by the sexually violent lynxmen in the woods–left to fend for themselves when excluded from mating by the imperious lynxwomen. They don’t mind playing with one another, but the virile and sexually resilient goatmen make for enticing partners. Takegiri, a pretty, muscular, long, white-haired goatman is an especial fixation for brutish, power-bottom lynxman Kurohae.

That’s actually pretty mild within this collection, especially in comparison to slutty prostitute boy android semen-drinking monster brothel owner.

That would be “Vive la Vivre”, one of the more inscrutable stories in the collection. “Steel-Grey Down” is a reverse Pygmalion, seeing the scion of a powerful Victorian mining family with a thing for burly workers embed himself amongst his labourers. “Corpse Survival” is a romance between two warriors during the zombie apocalypse, one of whom is immortal (???). “The Pink Badass” sees a high school boy aspiring to the heights of masculinity worshipping a new student teacher with a secret. Finally, “Takamaru Charm!!” finds the titular protagonist on his 20th birthday, when a secret power passed down through his family manifests… with sexy results!

So that’s the bare basics, let’s dig in.

“Vive la Vivre” is perhaps one of the more… provocative stories. Clients arrive at a brothel that exclusively deals in slutty android boys, “dolls” of the owner, a slight, blond young man. The androids are small, slim, hairless and adolescent-shaped, so getting past that one will depend on if your soul’s already far gone enough down the fucked up manga hole. A new client arrives and chooses a short, spiky-haired android, and the working boys collect the “essence” of their clients through any means necessary–oral, anal, footjobs, etc.–and joyfully deliver this essence to their owner through any means necessary–blood drinking, ejaculation, etc.

└[∵┌] (Spoilers for “Vive la Vivre”) [┐∵]┘

Where this story really goes off the rails is in revealing the owner is actually a nurse android reclaimed and repurposed from a post-apocalyptic hospital. Repurposed, of course, for sex. After receiving so much “life essence” he becomes a Tsukumogami (“tool kami”), a tool or object that’s acquired a spirit or soul, and the boys might be the same thing (???). When the new client attempts to steal his black, spiky-haired boy and tries to rub off his identification number he peels the android skin back to reveal a scar he remembers his childhood love receiving when they were climbing a fence. Before he can get any answers the owner shows up, tears his throat out and then returns the android to Vive la Vivre.

So yeah, lots to unpack there. Are they actually teen boys frozen in time through android vampire sex magic, transformed into thrall vessels to deliver copious amounts of male “essence” to a vengeful Tsukumogami? I guess that doesn’t really matter, the story’s an excuse to draw hot slutty teen boys in g-strings and corsets getting fucked every which way without it being super inappropriate… or is it?!

└[∵┌] (End of spoilers) [┐∵]┘

My personal favourite is “The Pink Badass” (also a fantastic title), with its 80s shonen-inspired protagonist and style. Tsukimura aspires to be the manliest of manly men, saving the weak and crushing the strong so people will look up to him as a “bro” or “badass”, with his spiky windblown haircut and unbuttoned gakuran. When he meets tall, broad-shouldered, handsome, sideburns-ed student teacher Mayama he devotes himself as a disciple to manliness under the student-teacher’s wings. Mayama brings him home to help with all the things he needs to get done. That’s when Tsukimura discovers a horrible secret about Mayama… his idol, the pinnacle of manliness… LIKES CUTE THINGS!

You may be able to imagine where that leads–insulted for wanting to show boys and men it’s okay to like cute things, Mayama asks if manliness is dependent on the obvious… LIKE SIZE. Each of the stories, no matter what bizarre or hilarious premise, inevitably lead to filthy, cummy sex. Despite the whited out dicks this is some of the best yaoi art in recent memory, especially “Corpse Hunter”; there’s just something about the way Kijima draws writhing torsos and the puffiest, cutest man-nips. Even the moments of dubious consent manage to be fairly mild–as an example, the lynxmen in “Wild, Wild Wildlife” are explicitly forceful taking the protesting goatmen. Afterwards, as Takegiri and his equally violated companion are washing off, they reveal that the sexual attacks are more a mild inconvenience… and still enjoyable. Another fantastic moment is the role reversal of “Steel-Grey Down”, the slight, twinky rich boy enamoured of the burly miner foreman is emphatically a top, which is super hot to see play out on the pages.

If you can overlook some of the more questionable elements–nothing outside the realm of normalcy in manga, though the android boy sluts may be pushing it for some–the art and fantastical premises make this a collection you will likely revisit, like a goatman revisiting the path where he was taken by his power-bottom lynxman crush. And like the goatman, you’re in for a wild, wild ride.

Level of Problematic: Vive la vivre de sodomie; the dub- or non-con and teenage android boysluts are sometimes pushing it, but seeing as Yarichin Bitch Club always ends up being my baseline for the level of inappropriate high school filth I’m willing to accept in my manga, Wild, Wild Wildlife certainly doesn’t outpace that.

Level of Adorable: The pink badass’ cute pink ass; I’m going to level with you, though. The teenage android boysluts are hot and adorable. Further reading for adorable filth in “The Pink Badass” and “Takamura Charm!!”

Level of Spiciness: Wild, wild wildlife’s mating season; there is not a single one of these stories that will disappoint in the spice category. “Corpse Survival” for the sex scene art alone. Talk about a taste for flesh.

BLog: My Summer of You Vol. 1

BLog reviews recent boys love, yaoi and LGBTQ+ English translation manga.

My Summer of You Vol. 1
Story and art: Nagisa Furuya
Translation: Jocelyne Allen
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Release Date: June 22, 2021

If you’re looking for the purest, primo, BL to mainline right into your feels, look no further.

My Summer of You is any queer boy’s high school fantasy. Make an extremely hot and popular best friend over your favourite shared interest, and he wants to spend all his time with you. As school comes to a close you make special summer plans, and he confesses his crush. Angst, pain, longing, and that bittersweet first summer kiss…

…

Excuse me, I got distracted there for a second.

Toda Wataru is an average high school who’s made an unlikely friend in attractive, popular Saeki Chiharu. While they’ve never been in the same class, the two guys realize they have a shared love of movies after a run in at a video store, and start to spend lots of time together after school, taking turns picking movies to see. After a year, Wataru asks Chiharu why he doesn’t date–he saw the high school hottie turn down a girl earlier, saying he already has someone he likes. Chiharu confesses the person he like is Wataru, but that he doesn’t expect anything out of it, he’s just happy Wataru knows and that they can keep spending time together. Absorbed by Chiharu’s confession, as summer approaches the two plan a pilgrimage to shooting locations of one of their shared favourite films, and Wataru begins to realize how much his friend means to him…

This is BL at its best, fluffy and cute but still meaningful, with characters who are easy to care about and fall in love with. Chiharu, the archetypal BL dreamboat, shaggy-haired with a standard-issue fringe in his light, wistful eyes. Wataru, on the other hand, is the perfect BL protagonist, goofy, easily flustered, occasionally grumpy when he ends up on the receiving end of Chiharu’s teasing. There’s one fantastic moment that just made the entire manga for me. Not long after the confession and their first summer pilgrimage, the two are seeing a movie together. Chiharu asks for Wataru’s favourite superhero. When asked as well, Chiharu dodges the question and starts laughing to himself, consternating Wataru. The popular boy leans in and whispers, “I was just thinking you’re cute when you pout.”

…

Excuse me, I just need a minute.

These kinds of details are what ground BL. We come for some fluffy romantic fantasy, but sometimes it can feel like a little too much fantasy in terms of the boys. I always think of the writing criticism I saw on Twitter, how a story isn’t good if you can’t imagine the character going for a poop. That’s not to say we WANT to see characters go for a poop, but characters in media can feel so monumental and unreal it can be hard to imagine little real life details that actually make them human.

My Summer of You is EXTREMELY romantic with that slow-burn, angsty high school romance, but also the little things make the characters more real. The fact that they’re both huge film nerds as both the thing that brought them together and the driving force of the romance is a fantastic starting place, we all want a friend who loves the thing we love the most.

And it turns out Chiharu’s actually just a dorky high school boy, constantly teasing his crush, or nerding out about movies. Wataru’s a precious little cinnamon bun–true to Chiharu’s word, especially when he pouts–but gives as good as he gets. The fact that the two break down in giggles constantly as they wander around together, that’s what friendship is! It’s not just two anime boys staring wistfully at each other… although there’s plenty of that, and other BL tropes that we all know and love. Although the way the two met originally, which is revealed later in the manga, is absolutely wild and very, very, very BL, but I won’t spoil it.

I love BL that’s comforting in its familiarity and gives us what we all want, that romantic fantasy with beautiful boys, but then pushes it that one step extra to make it a favourite, and that’s what My Summer of You is; exactly what we want, with that extra little bit to make it truly memorable, like a summer crush!

Level of Problematic: NO SPOILERS!!; like I said, the reveal of how the two boys originally met is wild, and very BL. But mild in terms of problematic crap.

Level of Adorable: The cutest, must see romantic drama of the summer; I know Chiharu’s supposed to be the hot one, but Wataru just does it for me. I definitely have a thing for precious little cinnamon buns.

Level of Spiciness: Rated PG; SIGH.

BLog: Bad Boys, Happy Home Vol. 1

BLog reviews recent boys love, yaoi and LGBTQ+ English translation manga.

Bad Boys, Happy Home Vol. 1
Art: Hiromasa Okujima
Story: Shoowa
Translation: Adrienne Beck
Publisher: SuBLime Manga
Release Date: July 13, 2021

Who could have guessed that a manga about two dumbasses fighting one another could be one of the most adorable and strangely heartfelt BL manga releases of the year?

Bad Boys, Happy Home was one of my favourite manga of all time before I’d even finished reading volume 1, on par with Go For It, Nakamura! or Our Dreams at Dusk. I’ll go back to what I said at the beginning of my review of Nakamura: BL is often about pretty boys, rarely about gay dumbasses you could run into on the street. And I clearly have a thing for the latter.

This manga also delivers one of the most delightfully shounen openings I’ve ever seen in BL. Aisuke Akamatsu is a spiky, blond-haired teenage punk with a bad case of puberty. He stumbles on a young man in a tracksuit with dark hair and an undercut eating curry bred in a park playground and immediately picks a fight with him to blow off some steam. When he roundly has his ass handed to him, he returns again, vowing to defeat his newfound nemesis.

But then he starts to notice that Mr. Curry Bread spends a lot of time in the park, hanging his clothes to dry on the playground equipment, sleeping in some conveniently forgotten construction piping, helping homeless folks find some food to eat. Turns out Seven Kanzaki, aka Mr. Curry Bread, aka Mr. Pipe Sleeper, is homeless under somewhat mysterious circumstances. When the pipes are removed and Seven says he’ll need to go elsewhere, Aisuke takes in his wayward nemesis… so they can continue fighting, of course, and they quickly settle into domestic bliss with occasional throw-downs. Bad boys, happy home.

But strangely, Bad Boys, Happy Home goes way beyond the premise of “what if two rivals ended up living together”. Even as they shop for housing supplies and matching giraffe and elephant mugs, Seven is trying to keep ahead of some thuggish men who are after him. Meanwhile, Aisuke is finding the close quarters with an attractive young brawler a battle for other reasons… SEXY REASONS. The incredible thing is on top of being one of the most laugh-out-loud hilarious BL manga released this year, it’s also one of the more heartfelt. Bad Boys, Happy Home is like its protagonist, a ridiculous, reasonably horny teen boy with a heart of gold.

As an example–this is later in the book but I think fairly spoiler free–in one of the manga’s saucier scenes, Aisuke and Seven end up in the apartment’s small bath, and like any horny young man Aisuke pops a boner. Seven offers to take care of the problem, he claims he’s “used to it”. Aisuke is simultaneously turned on, confused and, eventually, upset with the way the situation unfolds. A weirdly multilayered scene, we’ve got the hornies–Aisuke ending up between Seven’s legs in his “safari park” is adorable and hilarious–and then we have some character development with Seven’s casual attitude towards servicing his roommate and Aisuke wrestilng with the bizarre situation before fleeing in terror.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I think the fact that there’s a separate writer and a manga artist, both able to do their best work, means the story and art are high tier. The art itself is next level, apparently Okujima’s first foray into boys’ love, but the veteran shounen/seinen manga artists’ work does not disappoint, really takes it to the next level and just makes the two dumbass thug boys so cute. Shoowa storyboarded the story, and the actual narrative is so slick and tight; you don’t typically turn to BL for expert storytelling, but the flow and efficiency of Bad Boys, Happy Home is impressive. With humour and heart to match.

There’s just so much to love, from the characters to the art to the smut to the story. Like some of my favourite prose books, it rarely happens that I don’t want to finish manga because I’m sad its going to be over, and that’s certainly the case with this one. I could have kept reading an entire other volume and still wanted more. That, and I actually care about the characters. I want to know Seven’s backstory, and the mysterious Eight who’s tracking Aisuke on behalf of whoever’s looking for the homeless youth. I want to know how Aisuke’s relationships develop, with his family and his nemesis/roommate/growing crush–and there’s an expiry date on their living situation, Seven’s promised to find new arrangements in three months, which will absolutely keep me reading… as well as any other bathtub scenes they want to throw in… Dumbass idiots fighting in the park has never made such a beautiful story.

Level of Problematic: Bad boys, mild masculinity; I think one of my favourite things about Bad Boys, Happy Home is how it takes its own premise and then flips it. Yeah, Aisuke wants to absolutely thrash Seven and won’t be happy until he does, but in the meantime he wants to learn how to cook and clean better to take care of his newfound nemesis/friend/crush. The mall scene is an absolute delight.

Level of Adorable: Bad boys, babely boys; THEY ARE SO CUTE.

Level of Spiciness: Bad boys, bathtime boners; if there were a couple of more spicy scenes in volume 2 I would not complain.

BLog: Bonds of Brass (The Bloodright Trilogy #1)

BLog reviews recent boys love, yaoi and LGBTQ+ English translation manga–and occasionally non-manga LGBTQ+ media!

Bonds of Brass: The Bloodright Trilogy #1
Written by: Emily Skrutskie
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: April 7, 2020

This review is going to be a love letter to this book.

For me, Bonds of Brass was like a knife driven into my heart from the first couple of chapters, and continually twisted with each turn and revelation. I could feel my heartstrings getting played on, I had a pit of despair deep in my gut through pretty much the entire read, I was emotionally raw by the end of it.

And I loved every second of it.

Ettian Nassun is the survivor of the brutal Umber Empire invasion of his own people’s former empire, Archon. After clawing his way out of the chaos of post-war Rana, his home planet and the system capital, he ends up as a pilot cadet for the oppressive, conquering Umber fleet. And a roommate to Gal Veres, a fellow cadet as infuriating as he is charming… and attractive! The two learn of a simmering Archon resistance even in the safety of the academy as a squadron of cadets turn on Gal during training manoeuvres. He is revealed to be the Umber heir, kept to the shadows for his safety and the safety of his line. Believing Gal to be the only chance for a future of galactic peace, the two young men throw themselves into interstellar danger with the single goal of returning the heir to his throne.

Bonds of Brass may be a book custom tailored for a reader like me. Other M/M young adult titles and space opera offer action, romance and adventure, but this one grabbed me so thoroughly and engrossed me so entirely, and I’m going to try to piece together the components that turn a story that could be simply fun and cute into something epic and heartbreaking.

The action and plot trajectory of the first title in the Bloodright Trilogy is fairly straightforward space opera fare–with the delicious gay twist, of course. We start with the secret prince trope and a street orphan with opposing loyalties. Escaping the flight academy and the clutches of an ambitious system governor the boys flee in secret to Corinthian, a neighbouring empire not touched by the Umber invasion. There’s the misadventure as they try to sell their stolen military getaway ship to a grizzled junker with a mysterious past and a cybernetic arm. They accidentally pick up a chaotic street urchin named Wen Iffan, which leads them into a violent altercation with organized space crime, and they reluctantly end up as part of Archon resistance in the process. Again, all components of space opera that are tried and true.

The focus on Gal and Ettian’s relationship, and later the burgeoning friendship between Wen and Ettian means we don’t get to see a lot of the other character’s inner workings. Ettian has friends from the academy, fellow Archon soldiers, people we meet along the way I felt were a little bit interchangeable, I would have loved for a little more room for those characters to breathe–audiobook-loving Sims being the one exception, precious little cinnamon bun. Ettian’s agony, be it over the tensions in his relationship with Gal or tormenting himself over his choices in service to Gal also gets a lot of page time. This is space opera, though, and its balanced with action and in service to a slow burn romance. With major payoff by the epilogue, my god. Knife to the heart.

Where Skrutskie ramps things up is in the dynamic between Ettian and Gal. The close first person means we experience the world through Ettian’s mind, his devotion for Gal challenged only by the crushing pain of Archon’s brutal defeat–a loss made all the more painful because of Ettian’s childhood worship of Archon knights, power-suited warriors and protectors of the empire, a kickass worldbuilding touch, I hope we get to see a return of them in sequels. Gal, on the other hand, is loves Ettian but is entirely devoted to his birthright as heir to the Umber throne, leaving Ettian to wonder how much of their relationship is purely in service to his family’s name, even while Gal claims he genuinely wants whats best for the people of his future empire.

There’s something between Gal and Ettian from the start, but it’s a relationship that evolves, stretched thin between violent interstellar history, warring empires and old wounds being reopened. The relationship between the two feels both intensely, painfully personal, and in a scope that spans the stars because of their duelling allegiances. The romance is an agonizingly slow burn, and I say that as a compliment, because even as things develop there’s this feeling of terrible inevitability, like it will all come crashing down. And it’s exquisite.

That’s my favourite element of Bonds of Brass; there’s this underlying melancholy to Ettian’s existence, the entire galaxy, an elegiac feeling. Pain is wielded expertly by Skrutskie, be that the pain of a single person or the pain of a fallen empire, usually both. There’s a future, but it’s built on the charred bones of an entire people. There’s hope, but it’s tinged with despair. There’s love, but there’s fear of its inevitable loss. The balance between the personal and political, the pain and (painfully brief) pleasure means that, if you’re at all like me, you’ll be praying to let these two beautiful boys have a happily ever after, dreading the inevitability that awaits both of them. With a few superluminal-speed surprises along the way.

Level of Problematic: Heavens and hells; I really appreciate a space opera that can subtly depict an oppressive conquering empire from different angles. Some people see Umber as bloodthirsty villains, some people see them as bringing infrastructure and stability, some people see them as a ladder to climb. Especially for YA its a cool way to tackle colonization without it feeling didactic or preachy. An empire can be a lot of things but at the end of the day its all about power, control and resource extraction.

Level of Adorable: Gods of all systems; I’m an absolute freak who loves a heavy helping of agony with my romance, and boy does Emily deliver.

Level of Spiciness: Ruttin’ hell; … and now to go in search of smutty Ettian/Gal fanfiction…

BLog: Boys Run the Riot Vol. 1

BLog reviews recent boys love, yaoi and LGBTQ+ English translation manga.

Boy Run the Riot Vol. 1
Story and art: Keito Gaku
Translation: Leo McDonagh
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Release Date: May 25, 2021

“The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.”

Boys Run the Riot would make an excellent Persona game. I can see the high drama moments in my mind, hear the voice acting and the soundtrack.

Here’s a manga about society’s outcasts. There’s Ryo Watari, a teenage trans guy, closeted to his family and at school. The only time he doesn’t feel dysphoric about his body is when he gets to wear his favourite clothes, expressing his gender identity in street fashion. He meets Jin Sato, a cisgender teenage guy who transfers into Ryo’s class after missing a year of school, who looks like your typical Japanese punk but is actually a big sweetheart with ambitions of running a fashion brand. Rounding out the first mission is Itsuko Todo, a meek member of the class’ cool group and secretly an aspiring photographer, taking pictures with his father’s old film camera when not subject to the whims of his domineering friends.

After meeting by chance in a trendy fashion pop-up, Ryo is initially embarrassed by Jin’s attempts to recruit him as a partner in his dream of a streetwear fashion brand, but this is more about Ryo’s survival mechanisms in conflict with Jin’s idealism and shamelessness. As Ryo comes around and they develop their first product, the two business partners and the other outsiders they slowly pull into their orbit realize that it’s more about striking out on their own path, not just following what society’s laid out for them. Very Japanese.

Like Persona, some of these very Japanese social beats take some getting used to for North American sensibilities. This is the story of a trans teen and clothing, so that’s obviously going to be central to the story. The introduction is all about Ryo’s school uniform, even though it’s against the rules he makes excuses about showing up to school in his uniform track suit because it’s better than wearing a skirt. To anyone who’s never been to a school with uniforms (moi), the idea of every article of clothing you’re wearing being so aggressively policed beyond the usual sexist bullshit (North Americans love aggressively sexualizing teenage girls so we can tell them what they can and cannot wear) takes some time to wrap your head around.

The emotional beats have a similar feel. Whether it’s Ryo coming around to Jin’s flagrant disregard for social norms, or dealing with rumours and assumptions about what his burgeoning friendship with Jin means (since everyone still sees him as a young woman) or, later, Itsuko’s insecurity about wanting to be a photographer.

The formula is: [Person 1] feels shame or embarrassment about [not living up to very strict social standard or norm], [other person, usually Jin] gives [advice or a rousing/earnest speech]. [Person 1] comes around, realizing they’ll never be happy constrained by [society/their family/their friend]’s expectations. Again, very Japanese. To me, a girl (or secret trans boy) showing up to class in a track suit wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow. A kid with a cool film camera might be eccentric but still cool. A bad boy with a heart of gold is the dream. A lot of the tension comes from the characters against Japanese society, so some of the emotional beats feel a bit melodramatic, but then I remember these characters are in a different society a world away, where uniforms are every day, and the expectations of young people are even more rigidly structured than in North America.

I had to read Boys Run the Riot twice. The first time I was a little off put by the social dissonance, I was like, “Why does the school care so much about a student showing up in a track suit? Why is a kid so embarrassed about carrying around a camera? Etc.” The second read I was over the social element of it, so I was able to focus on the characters more, the way Ryo’s gender is constantly being scrutinized and criticized, Itsuko carrying his father’s shame about dreaming of becoming a photographer, the way Jin claims power by standing out and standing up against all these expectations. Even if the emotional arcs can be a bit overwrought and melodramatic, these things are life and death to young people, feeling crushed by the rules and expectations of society, especially if you’re queer, trans or non-binary on top of that.

The thing I love most is seeing the trajectory of Boys Run the Riot as the titular boys running the riot pull together a group of misfits and outcasts. There’s the young, supportive Japanese teacher, Hinata-sensei, a lifeline to Ryo on a faculty that’s otherwise apathetic or aggressively toting the status quo. There’s Chika, Ryo’s crush who seems to understand a lot more about Ryo (and life) than a high school girl might. There’s Tsubasa, the genderqueer cousin of one of Itsuka’s friends, seen briefly at the end, who has an online following and a fraught relationship with their family. We actually don’t know much about Jin at all, what his background is, why he missed a year of school. Even if the emotional beats can feel a little clumsy or over the top, I’m following Ryo and Jin’s brand all the way to the top.

Level of Problematic: Boys run the trans representation; the only other manga I can think of with explicit trans man representation is Our Dreams at Dusk, whose Utsumi is an adult and already established as a man, so it’s impressive to see another positive representation from the other end. Maybe not on the same level as ODaD, to me at least, but a fantastic character for young trans people to engage with, made all the cooler by the fact that its a trans mangaka.

Level of Adorable: Boys run the street fashion lewks; I wish there was even more of a focus on the street fashion element. You get to see some of the fantastic outfits in passing, but I want more!

Level of Spiciness: Boys run the get your filth from somewhere else; you heard me. Although it would be interesting to see, since I can’t think of a single manga depicting a trans man of any orientation having sex, but this is ages 16+ so who knows.

BLog: MADK Vol. 2

BLog reviews recent boys love, yaoi and LGBTQ+ English translation manga.

MADK Vol. 2
Story and art: Ryo Suzuri
Translation: Adrienne Beck
Publisher: SuBLime Manga
Release Date: August 10, 2021

(;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`) CW: Extreme violence and sexuality, spoilers for volume 1 (;´༎ຶД༎ຶ`)

There’s a dramatic principle in storytelling called “Chekhov’s gun”.

The idea is that, if there’s a gun on the table or the wall–there usually is in Russian art–at some point the gun will be fired. A principle where only relevant elements of the story are included, everything else removed. “One must never place a loaded rifle on the stage if it isn’t going to go off,” Chekhov wrote in a letter. “It’s wrong to make promises you don’t mean to keep.”

Like any other principle in art, it’s up to the individual artist to choose whether they follow it or not. Sometimes some of the most wonderful details can be throwaways, but too many and a story can get bogged down.

I wonder how Chekhov would feel about his principle getting applied to “three-dicked demon”.

Aspiring cannibal gay boy turned demon pet Makoto has been working at fungal demon Datensho’s brothel for three years, during which he hasn’t seen his master, Archduke J, once. We will remember from volume 1 that, in hell, demons can only speak the name of other demons of equal or lesser stature than them. J has reigned supreme and unchallenged for hundreds of years, to the point that none even know his name. Speaking names means holding power over other demons. As J asserts himself back into Makoto’s world and teaches him more of the demon world, collecting the souls of humans, torturing his pet all the while, Makoto has vowed to surpass J and destroy him, something that seems to titillate Archduke J.

In the course of volume 2, an older, more experienced (and longer haired… *mrrow*!) Makoto delves further into the demon world seeking out someone who knows J’s name. He explores the demon slums, with violent lesser demons constantly screaming at each other, learns about the Werewolf Clan, feral demon beasts turned thuggish merchant syndicate, and in the course of his investigation meets a shapeshifting demon who turns out to be J’s older brother.

Here is where we come to Chekhov’s three-dicked demon.

On the whole, volume 2 is significantly less violent, gorey and sexual than volume 1–within reason, this is MADK after all. We learn that Makoto has been working in Datensho’s demon brothel, but in terms of sex all we get is him walking out from a client. He gets a former besotted client to show him around the slums, a big, chunky, bipedal, fancy, slobbery-tongued dog beast (*mrrow*!), but the most we get to see is the horny naked demon climbing on top of Makoto, who begs him off–and then later is found decapitated.

And then there’s J’s brother… the three-dicked, big breasted Kieran.

Ryo Suzuri places the Chekhov’s gun-turned-genitalia on the literary table and leaves it unfired. WHY?!

Kieran is a veritable Jungian Mercurius, a mulit-genitaled, multi-gendered being, and is a manga heart-throb, a head of swoopy, spikey hair, horns and fangs, etc. There is a very brief sex scene with Makoto, but it’s all dark and shadows, fade to black, not the filth and degeneracy we got in volume 1.

That’s not to say there’s nothing to enjoy about volume 2. If the first’s focus was on psychosexual violence and gore-fucking along with an introduction to the demon world, the second leans further into the world-building of Makoto’s hell, along with the mechanics of demon life and politicking. The best parts are seeing Makoto develop quietly as a sociopathic demon-prince-in-training, and his desires around destroying his Archduke.

J was Makoto’s saviour, the first person who accepted him for who he was–RE: aspiring cannibal gay boy–but the torturous toying J’s put him through, the way he talks around everything and keeps Makoto strung along like a pet inspires a cold desire for vengeance, his desire to surpass and destroy J. The horror becomes what Makoto is willing to do and take from the people around him to achieve that… his clients, Kieran, Datensho, whoever and whatever he needs… J, meanwhile, has his own motives and Makoto’s left wondering if he’s just doing exactly what J wants him too. We learn in the course of volume 2 that if a demon goes too long without having their name spoken they “extinguish” and are gone for good. I’m curious to find out if J wants Makoto to learn his name, whether that’s to see what he’ll do with it, to purposely allow himself to be supplanted, or knowing that Makoto won’t use it and allow J to extinguish. That’s one of the interesting things as a series, readers are just as unclear on J’s motivations as Makoto.

The second volume does feel a bit wandering, and feels like it crammed in too much of the world, which bumped some of the exciting, dynamic, fucked up things we love about volume 1. There should have been more filth, at least a better balance. Suzuri promises a volume 3 is in the works–not even out in Japanese yet!!–and it better be fucked up enough to make up for two.

Level of Problematic: The pact was signed long ago, so long that it’s been forgotten; we know what we’re getting into, but weirdly there’s only one sequence of sexual violence on the page, and its more tragic and emotionally violent in context.

Level of Adorable: Long-haired, fancy demon pretty boy; if there’s any consolation to the lack of exquisitely fucked up sex, we do get a lot of long-haired Makoto, with his fucked up black eyes. Not enough Datensho, though…

Level of Spiciness: Hell has frozen over; MORE FILTH DAMNIT!

Pendragon Saga: Chapter 4

King Arthwr of Wales

House Pendragon

House Words: Son of the Dragon

Standard: Crown of Or on an Azure Field

Living Members: 18

October 26, 934

The crown glimmered in the moonlight on the battlements.

Ornate golden leaves and crosses decorated the brim, spaced evenly along the circlet, given a silvery sheen by the light of the waning gibbous hanging heavy in the sky. The thick golden band, polished until it sparkled, was bracketed and fitted with red rubies. Red for the blood of families. Red for the blood of war. Red for Wales.

“Here he is!” cried a voice from behind him. “Thought we’d find you up here, Your Majesty!”

Arthwr turned and saw his chancellor, Lord Hyfaidd, climb up through the hatch leading onto the rooftop of Caerllion. He dragged something behind him, and the golden mop of Lord Tomos, his steward, followed up, lugging the small keg. “We brought ale!” Tomos called up.

“Good,” Arthwr smiled, slurring. “My mug’s almost dry.”

Tomos struggled with the stairs, he’d lost his leg years ago in battle against the northmen as Deheubarth claimed Northumbria back from the heathens, something the bickering Anglo-Saxon lords of the south had never been able to do. Arthwr hoped dominion over the lands he had liberated may be some small consolation… it eased the king’s conscience, barely…

Lord Hywel the Brave, his marshal, came next, followed by Alberto Azzo, whose eyes met Arthwr’s, curious about a king disappearing from his own coronation. Last came Arthwr’s son and heir, Arthur, looking on the whole ordeal with thinly veiled amusement.

As they struggled to lift the sloshing keg, he leaned in to his son so they could not overhear. “Your uncle?”

“Dead drunk,” Arthur said, an uncomfortable look on his face. “We kept he and Rhiaindrech separate.”

Arthwr nodded, patting his son on the shoulder. Arthur hadn’t always been so reliable, so dutiful. Even as he squired with Mordred and demonstrated a gift for military strategy, Arthur showed a dismissiveness to others, as if he couldn’t care what anyone thought of him, as if his will overruled all. Not long after he’d become a man grown, Arthwr learned that his son had beaten one of Caerllion’s stable boys, a blacksmith’s son, when his horse had stepped in a puddle and splashed mud on his breaches. Perhaps within his right, but hardly honorable or fair. Arthur agonized that his son might turn out like his uncles Mordred or Hywel, he wasn’t sure which would be worse. One a violent adulterer and degenerate, the other a mad, dunderheaded heretic.

Arthwr marched his son down to the village like a misbehaved child and commanded him to speak to the stable boy and his family, to take responsibility for his actions. To his surprised and delight Arthur seemed changed after emerging from the modest cottage of the blacksmith. They walked back up the hill in silence, and over the weeks Arthur took more of an interest in laws, the philosophy of chivalry, justice. Arthwr always wondered what had inspired the change, maybe seeing the senseless pain he’d caused? Seeing the way the lowborn bowed and scraped to him despite his reprehensible actions? Maybe just seeing the inside of a peasant’s home? He’d grown to be one of the most intelligent, respectable, honorable men Arthwr had ever known. He’d be a better ruler than Arthwr could ever be.

Tomos and Hyfaidd wedged the keg in between the crenellations, next to the crown, and Arthur took a small axe to it. The six men pressed their mugs together as a torrent of amber liquid poured out of the hole.

“To the fucking King,” Hyfaidd called out, raising his mug, the others joined him.

“To the fucking king!”

Arthwr shook his head, but once the toast was done drank deeply from his cup and had his son tip the keg for him once more. His son leaned in and whispered, “Are you well, father?”

“Needed some air,” Arthwr replied. “Plus that thing is bloody uncomfortable.”

He nodded at the crown, and Hyfaidd threw his arm around Arthur’s shoulders, pressing a fresh mug of ale into his hand. “Get used to it, prince! It’ll be you on that fucking dragon chair soon!”

“I should hope not,” Arthur murmured, looking to his father in apology. “God be good, King Arthwr will rule for an age yet.”

The men toasted to Arthwr’s health, and the king waved dismissively as he lowered himself onto a stool meant for the watch. He’d given most of the house guard the evening to enjoy, they were likely down in the village, lavishing their meagre silver on women and drink, toasting their king on this, his coronation day. He could see the gentle glow of the tavern down the hill spilling out onto the village green, an idle, drunken fantasy that he was among them, filling his cup, he and his companions’ heads pressed close together as they discussed their new kingdom of Wales, their new king. He would stumble home, find his children fast asleep, fall into a drunken, dreamless sleep, and then wake up the next morning and tend to his cows. Life would be simpler.

Arthwr had delayed the coronation ceremony until the Duchess of Gwynedd had arrived to swear fealty to her king. The days after he sent the message, his declaration as King of Wales, Caerllion had waited in tense anticipation. When a patrol from Caerffili reported sightings of the standards of Gwynedd they had no idea if it was a diplomatic visit or the vanguard of an invasion. House Brycheiniog had recently supplanted Aberffraw for the then principality with the aid of now Duchess Euronwy’s alliance to Mercia through her husband. Gwynedd in the west and Mercia in the east would spell disaster for Deheubarth, for peace in Wales.

But the Duchess arrived with gifts and words of fealty, which Arthwr accepted readily, and invited her to remain at Caerllion as a guest of honor until the coronation. She seemed an honest, decent ruler, her husband less so; a vile, domineering Anglo-Saxon. By law, his son’s wife had a claim to the duchy of Gwynedd, but Arthur was no fool. A war with Gwynedd meant a war with Mercia while the alliance held.

“So, my liege!” Hyffaid called out. “Who’s first up on the chopping block?”

“You,” Arthwr returned, “should my cup remain empty.”

Hyfaidd jumped to his feet and gave a pantomime of a bow, drawling out a lisping “your majesty!”

“Shame Mordred’s kin,” Alberto muttered, making sure he was out of earshot of Arthur and Lord Hywel.

“A son on his own daughter,” Hyffaid dropped his voice as well, shaking his head. “I still can’t fucking believe it.”

Alberto and Arthwr believed it. Almost two decades ago, long before the Prince had granted his younger brother the counties of Westmorland and Bryneich–intending to make him Duke of Northumbria when the documents could be drawn up–Alberto had come to Arthwr with a most distressing revelation. The spymaster had found evidence that their brother-in-arms, their friend of decades, was partial to certain… proclivities of a nature too depraved to speak aloud. Mordred was a well-known adulterer, Arthwr’d made sure his poor bastard boy, Cadfan, received a good education–a child should not pay for a father’s sins, even though it happened time and time again.

Still… this discovery eclipsed adultery, made it seem tame in comparison. The court of Deheubarth was shocked and disgusted to learn of Mordred’s incestuous relationship with his daughter, Rhiaindrech. He’d proclaimed it proudly when she gave birth to little Hyfaidd almost a year ago. Arthwr had little other recourse than to place his niece under house arrest, but when she began to starve herself he released her into the care of Caerllion in hopes the distance from her father would end the relationship. He feared it hadn’t, the way the two sought each other out at the coronation. Fortunately their bishop, Ffriog, was an absolute idiot, or he feared Mordred would have been excommunicated that very evening.

Which would have meant the second Pendragon to receive that honor. Creepy little Hywel, Mordred and Arthwr’s younger brother, had been excommunicated for his heresies two decades ago. Arthwr had never sought out more details. Since his failed attempt for the throne of Deheubarth the fool had floated around as a sell-sword for years, Arthwr had never really kept track of him, except to ignore him when he occasionally paid a visit to Caerllion. The king was saddened to hear when Hywel’s only son, Uther, had been slain in one of the many wars for Dublin, now held by Mercia. Uther hadn’t been a particularly bright boy, but Arthwr knew if his fool of a father hadn’t dragged him the world over to fight in whatever fool war would pay for men to die in he might still be alive. Arthwr had made sure his nephew’s children were looked after.

Arthwr remembered his father, in his later years, speaking to life being a tragic comedy, or a comedic tragedy. His son learned that either was more entertaining with a drink, and in his current stupor the king of Wales tried to remember when he had taken so enthusiastically to the bottle. He’d always judged Mordred for his intemperance, but now he could understand it; it dulled the pain somewhat. Hmm… it had been before the public revelations of Mordred? Yes… but after Hywel’s excommunication, not that Arthwr cared in the slightest save the disgrace it put upon House Pendragon… It had been before the death of Owain three years ago, starved to death, barely touching food in the last months of his life despite his family’s, his twin brother’s pleas.

Death… yes… the death of little Mordred, Arthwr’s third son, now dust and bone in the crypt below the chapel…

Arthwr raised the mug and drained it again.

Not long after his friends placed the crown on his head, which slipped at a precarious angle, and carried the drunken king down the keep to his chambers. His new wife, Queen Beorhtwaru, looked on in concern, a hand on her belly, another child…

“A toast to my queen!” Arthwr called out at her, although the words were clumsy in his mouth.

His friends laughed, and Arthur dismissed them, saying, “I think you’ve had enough toasts for tonight, father.”

Once in his chambers, Arthur lifted the crown from his father’s head, placing it in the large, velvet-lined wooden case, a dragon rampant running across the cover.

“You keep it,” Arthwr slurred at his son, “I’m tired of being king.”

He hated to see the look of worry on his son’s face as he approached and kneeled at his father’s bedside. He tried for a kindly smile, “You’ve only been king for a day, father. I think you should keep it a little longer.”

Arthwr wanted to tell his son that no, he was not well. He felt like an accidental prince, who had become an accidental king, carried along by the tides of fate. Either a tragic comedy or a comedic tragedy, he still hadn’t figured out which.

“Long live the king,” Arthwr slurred as his vision spun, and a restless sleep overtook him. A sleep filled with his failures; with the face of his dying father, crying out in agony, feverish; with the face of his dead son looking out of the shadows from a little coffin, worm eaten eyes staring blankly. Then the darkness swallowed it all.