Hooo boy, now things are getting really complicated as Cyril enters the scene
Letâs see if I can remember all the connections. So we have Jeoffrey, Kaito, Nigel, Marlowe and Cyril.
Marlowe hits on Nigel who hates him.
Jeoffrey offers himself to Marlowe (maybe jokingly, but who knows) but is turned down.
On the other hand, Cyril hits on Jeoffrey, but Jeoffrey seems to have cooled down somewhat (presumably because of Kaito).
Kaito is super-jealous of Cyril and realizes more and more that he wants Jeoffrey for himself but does not (yet?) feel ready for the sexual aspects that that would most likely entail.
Nigel realizes Kaitos feelings for Jeoffrey and turns to him in a caring manner, which is well received by Kaito.
Jeoffrey realizes that and becomes super-jealous of Nigel, which Marlowe notices.
Nigel helps Kaito steer clear of Cyril by offering him his own room.
So far so well, but then things get somewhat out of hand: Jeoffrey bursts into Nigelâs room and starts to drag Kaito with him, which ends in a bit of a brawl between him and Nigel. On top of that, Marlowe sends in a bunch of prostitutes who start to go after Nigel - that was a bit overdone in my opinion⊠but at least it leads to the desired result of Jeoffrey being able to disappear with Kaito.
Itâs not clear to me yet in which way Nigel is invested in Kaito - for now he comes across as the motherly and caring type, but I wonder how much romantic interest there is behind this façade.
Also, Iâm surprised that Jeoffrey isnât more interested in Cyril right now although he comes across as the rather promiscuous type, so that should be his natural move. But I guess he knows full well that that would be even more offputting for Kaito, potentially increasing the distance between them again. Jeoffrey seems to be willing to cut down on his own momentarily interests in order to win Kaito over long-term.
By the way if you like these funny complications, I can recommend Commedia dellâArte who plays with the exact same themes (just minus the BL part). It often contained improvised parts but there are also fully written plays, such as The Servant of Two Masters - Wikipedia
That escalated quickly Took me by surprise, quite a bit. I thought we still had 2 or 3 volumes to go before something serious happened Now we have a loving couple that promises each other eternal faithfulness and stuff⊠letâs see how long this holds up against the realities
From Kaito having entertained some thoughts of jealousy regarding Cyril in the previous volumes, it all comes to a point when Cyril himself enters the inn theyâre staying at and immediately throws himself at Jeoffrey.
I like that Kid took the opportunity to spell things out for Kaito, so he had to confront the depth of his feelings, or at least, acknowledge that he IS on some level interested in Jeoffrey, even if he doesnât know how far he wants to take it.
Or rather, Kaito doesnât want to impose on Jeoffrey if he intends to spend the night with Cyril, and so accepts the offer of staying with Nigel instead. Itâs not dislike of Cyril, so to speak.
Now that you mention it, this chapter was really that!
I get the feeling that Jeoffrey interrupting the âmomentâ Nigel and Kaito was having, might have been more necessary than not. It felt like they were again bonding strongly. Nigel comes across as a very safe and protective choice now for Kaito. Meanwhile, Jeoffrey has all this stuff going on around him. But, then again, heâs clearly also willing to pull back on his personal needs, with the prospect of maybe winning Kaito over.
Man, weâre all on the same reading wavelength or something. Just finished Chapter 4 myself!
More katakana-ized Japanese, sigh.
Just as a heads up, itâs actually âKitâ! But anyway, him sneaking up on Nigel and kissing him was Itâs so much fun to see Nigel and Jeoffreyâs history catch up with them. I actually really liked reading his dialogue; heâs another good example of ć çâs dialogue-writing skills!
But isnât âkitâ = âKidâ. What kind of nickname is Kit? I just assumed, but also due to having heard the voice acting and itâs defo a âKidâ thenâŠthough I should relisten before I say more.
I double-checked the Wikipedia page, and it gives âKitâ. I think Iâve heard his name before in other places as well, and Iâve always heard Kit.
Havenât quite started chapter 5 yet, but I just wanted to comment before I forget how far weâve come from the beginning with volume 1, with Jeoffrey threatening to turn Kaito over to Walsingham if he didnât cooperate. How the table turns.
That a good point! Jeoffrey certainly was not expecting where heâd be at this point in their journey. Which makes me think about the epic proportions of all thatâs happened so far.
I should have phrased that better. Kaito dislikes Cyril, but the reason he doesnât want to stay in the room is for Jeoffreyâs sake. Thatâs my interpretation.
Oh, now I see what you mean. My feeling is still that Kaito rather wants to avoid meeting Cyril instead of wanting to make space for Jeoffrey, but I guess there is no way we can find out, so either take is a possible option
Finished chapter 5. Wow; that got really intense really fast. Who wouldâve thought Drakeâs wife wouldâve leaked such important info and ruined all their plans? Although, if I was reading right, it seemed like Walsingham and Queen Elizabeth didnât seem to take the whole âcan see the futureâ thing seriously, right? Walsingham mostly seems to see it as a means to an end to accuse Kaito of spying/working with the Spanish, while Elizabeth seemed to think Kaito was just a good people-reader who was trying to curry favor from the adults around him.
Kaitoâs been upgraded from cabin boy to court fool; heâs really working on that resume building. ButâŠwhat does a fool do? Surely Kaitoâs going to be let back to the Gloria, right? Iâve never seen a very positive interpretation of fools/court jesters in popular media, so maybe I need to do some researchâŠ
I really liked Kaitoâs thoughts about how the Whitehall heâs in now no longer exists in his original time, and how lucky he is to experience it in the flesh; it was really thoughtful.
Raleighâs name katakana-ized as ăăŒăȘăŒ is simply amazing; itâs definitely jumped to the top of my ânames I couldnât have guessed without contextâ list.
Our two lovebirds get woken up by Marlowe who announces that Cyril had drowned his heartsickness in alcohol the night before and subsequently caught a cold, so he is unable to get on stage for the performance of Tamberlaine which is supposed to have Queen Elizabeth as spectator! Now Marlowe is looking for a replacement and of course thinks of Kaito who is of about the same physique as Cyril (who wouldâve thought that ). After lots of persuasion Kaito agrees and finds himself with the theater troupe, only to find out that Shakespeare himself is part of that group
And of course itâs a female role that Kaito has to stand in for. But he is surprised how much clothes and makeup can do, and in the end he likes his new appearance. Now out onto the stage!
TL;DR: The theatre play is a full success. (Of course )
Slightly longer version: It seemed to start off okay, but then at some point his counterpart actor decided to go off-script without further notice, and left Kaito to struggle with what he threw at him. First it went poorly, and the audience started to boo him, but then Kaito turned it around by reciting a poem by Robert Burns (omg lol). Afterwards he said he had come up with that on the spot (as he clearly couldnât explain that it was written by a dude who was not born until 200 years later ). That blew everybody away, including the queen who gave him a gold coin as reward.
I must confess I could not properly follow the theatre playâs dialogues for some reason, so I checked the wikipedia page afterwards. Also I refrained from reading the poem in Japanese or Katakana, and searched for an English version. The version I found is actually in Scottish (Burnsâ mother tongue) which makes it even more charming, is my take. You can find it in the ever-growing list of links in the clubâs home thread.
Now the last remaining question is, how will Kaito manage to get away from the court and return to Gloria? Is this going to happen in the remaining two chapters, or will we need to wait until the next volume?
I couldnât help but laugh at this. Itâs the red oni!
Though the situation quickly turns foul, as Jeoffreyâs rough handling of Kaito causes a scene and a crowd starts to gather - all gawking at the foreign looking Kaito, throwing increasingly threatening insults at him. :C
Jeoffrey manages to keep the scene from spiraling out of control, and they leave to a more quiet spot. Apologizing for his behavior, something that doesnât come easy for Jeoffrey, leads to more heart to heart talk and then love confession! Finally, the truth of his feelings is lain bare to Kaito, who tentatively returns his affection. Though, itâs a rather complex situation, as heâs very much dependent of Jeoffrey for his personal security and so it doesnât come across as a pure return of feelings on Kaitoâs part. I like how Jeoffrey reflects on how heâs screwed up the timing of his confession, and by doing so heâs forced Kaitoâs hand before he was truly âthereâ to return his feelings, on his own terms.
Even so, itâs still a major step closer for these two and Iâm looking forward to see their relationship grow stronger down the line.
Personal gripe with a lot of BL, is how they overplay reluctance of any kind of physical affection. Itâs quite refreshing to see a more ânormalâ attitude toward sex, where itâs just a natural extension of a relationship, with little drama attached to the act itself. Instead, BL tend to prefer a nearly asexual approach to relationships, as it is with Kaito. It tends to feel disingenius as itâs there to prolong the whole relationship building process, itâs not a show of true character. itâs a story trope, and as such. Kaito clearly needs a ton of prompts to be able to act on physical desire. I guess, making it all gentle is nice though. Again, Jeoffrey shows great restraint and ability to be a gentle lover as he teach Kaito the ways of physical affection. And so, they donât really go further than kissing as Kaito is allowed to settle into his feelings for Jeoffrey instead.
I do hope they have food for him or heâs going to be a very sad kitty! 
Took me by surprise, quite a bit. I thought we still had 2 or 3 volumes to go before something serious happened 
Now we have a loving couple that promises each other eternal faithfulness and stuff⊠letâs see how long this holds up against the realities 
But, then again, heâs clearly also willing to pull back on his personal needs, with the prospect of maybe winning Kaito over. 
Itâs so much fun to see Nigel and Jeoffreyâs history catch up with them. I actually really liked reading his dialogue; heâs another good example of ć
çâs dialogue-writing skills!
I couldnât help but laugh at this. 
Again, Jeoffrey shows great restraint and ability to be a gentle lover as he teach Kaito the ways of physical affection. And so, they donât really go further than kissing as Kaito is allowed to settle into his feelings for Jeoffrey instead.