Hot man angst, or why I love yaoi.

by Madelynne Ellis

Many moons ago, in a bar in Birmingham a certain werewolf loving Lustie twisted my arm and said: “You are going to write about yaoi, aren’t you Madelynne.” And seeing as my arm was being twisted, and quite painfully I might add, I agreed.

Well, you know what, I lied.

This post is going to teach you very little about yaoi. It is in fact a really cheap excuse to post lots of pictures (like this one) of yummy bishonen getting it on with one another, and maybe
I’ll make a few remarks in the background. I mean, you didn’t actually want me to give you a pronunciation lesson (that’s Yah-oh-ee BTW), or warble on about what exactly yaoi is or isn’t and how it differs from slash, gay fiction, or even slash masquerading as ersatz yowie. And I’m quite sure you don’t want to read all about its convoluted history from its underground doujinshi roots to its increasing presence in the west. If you do, check out here and… erm here. Meanwhile, I’m just going to hang around a bit and enjoy the view.



Ah, boy! Long flowing locks just does it for me every time, and I love the whole hair over the eyes thing. Actually, these men just have lovely eyes, and the sort of eyelashes that women can only achieve with that super-curly-extendy-turn-your-eyelashes-into-hairy-spiders mascara. Oh, and look at these butts, so tight and firm you just want to dig your fingers in and have a nice big grope.


I realise I might be giving you the wrong idea here. I mean it’s not all about the sex and man oogling. It’s the soap opera angst that gets me too. I mean how am I supposed to resist pages of heartbreakingly beautiful men engaging in complex, romantic and exceptionally torturous relationships…

…with the occasional bit of bondage thrown in too.


The answer is, I can’t.

I will point out that I’m actually very picky when it comes to my yaoi choices. For all their beauty, I like my men to look and act like adults, which can be a problem when there’s a whole slew of stuff set in high schools and colleges. The only exception I’ve made to this so far is by Korean manhwa artist Sooyeon Won, and let me tell you, Let Dai is exceptional. It’s dark, it’s cold, it’s cruel and completely brutal.

Sensitive Jaehee has to deal with his feelings for the dangerous, disturbingly attractive and sociopathic Dai, following his girlfriend’s brutal assault by Dai’s gang.



Perhaps not a good starting recommendation, but then most of my favourite titles lean heavily to the dark side.

Okay, try Yellow, Makoto Tateno, or Ai No Kusabi (yaoi anime based on a novel). The premise of Yellow is simple, two guys, one’s gay, one’s straight, and they both have some serious baggage to work through. It’s fun, it’s edgy, and some of the situations just had me squirming in delight. These guys are seriously cool, and yet it somehow manages to be romantic as well.


Ai No Kusabi is set in a futuristic world with a strict caste system and an almost exclusively male population. It’s considered something of a masterpiece, combining a complicated plot with scorching sex, angst, bdsm and truly poignant tragedy.


Other recommendations include: Fake by Matoh Sanami, Antique Bakery, Fumi Yoshinaga (complete with scratch and sniff covers), & Gorgeous Carat by You Higuri. Also, yaoi interactive novel Animamundi (read my review here).


Oh, and absolutely don’t forget my very own yaoi inspired erotica, Dark Designs, winner of Scarlet Magazine’s Best Male-Male Sex Scene Award in 2007.

I'll leave you with one final picture.

Madelynne Ellis

PS: Please share your recommendations and or comment on your favourite image.
PPS: Go check out my newly revamped website too.

DARK DESIGNS: The movie... I mean the book...the book.

Sorry bit of wishful thinking slipped in there. Happy Friday everyone! In a moment I'll give you the rest of that Dark Designs extract I promised yesterday, but first I'd like to introduce you to my current obsession - Camui Gackt, who while not the inspiration for Takeshi, certainly comes pretty darn close to how I imagine him, but with silver-blue hair & a big dragon tattoo, of course.

And if he doesn't do it for you, maybe the chance to win a nice big bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk will. It even comes bundled with a spanking new, signed copy of Dark Designs to peruse at your leisure (or maybe flog on eBay.) Just drop me a comment either here, or on my blog. I'll announce the winner on Easter Monday.

Enjoy the read!

'You've got to be fucking kidding!' Silk yelled.

'Stop it, stop it.' An icy shiver ran up Remy's spine. She could see Takeshi's tattoo emblazoned like a warning across his back. She wished she knew more about him. He hadn't drawn blood, but he was pressing hard enough to force Silk over the viridescent bowl at his back. Takeshi tossed the sword aside and moved in, pressing two fingers to the impression he'd made in Silk's chest.

Unblinking, they waged a silent mind duel, while Silk fought for balance and Alix bobbed around the fountain's edge, still seeking out the best angles. 'Slowly,' she prompted, when Takeshi slid his palm down Silk's chest towards the half-opened zip of his fly. She leant in for a close-up of Silk's face. His expression was a combination of fury and bruised longing. Raw, but heart-meltingly beautiful. He snatched at Takeshi's hand.

Takeshi dipped his head instead, and poked his tongue rudely into Silk's navel, invoking an anguished cry.

Remy's insides clenched tight. She wanted to be able to see Takeshi's expression as well as Silk's, but she hardly dared move, let alone circle around for a clearer view. Faint 'oh!' noises were escaping her throat. Takeshi's tongue snaked along the golden line of hair across Silk's abdomen, and pressed a kiss to where, if he'd been erect and unconfined by clothing, his cock tip would surely lie.

Was Silk erect? He seemed to have lost all composure, unable or unwilling to escape. She could see him in her mind's eye, long and thick, creamy like the rest of his skin, apart from at the tip, which burned an exuberant plum red. If he'd still been zipped up, she'd have known how Takeshi's intimate kisses were affecting him. The trousers were cut tight across the hips, which meant they showed any bulges.

She saw the flick of Takeshi's tongue. Silk clenched his fists, so that his lacquered talons dug into his flesh.

She knew that sensation during sex. Takeshi had made her feel like that only last night. There were things that were so sensitive, so raw, so earth-shatteringly good, that all you could do was bite yourself, scratch yourself, stuff the pillow in your mouth in order to temper the sensations to a manageable level. Otherwise, orgasm came rushing up way too fast and the moment of explosion felt like crashing through a brick wall at forty.

Silk seemed immobilised by the whole experience, shocked into submission by the turn of events - or maybe at his own sudden arousal?

Alix kept taking pictures, gleefully snapping like a paparazzo on a window ledge.

Takeshi moved down and placed a kiss on Silk's inner thigh. Remy could picture Takeshi's next move, how he'd open the remainder of the zip and release Silk's cock, then slide his magic lips up and down the lily-white stem. It was so damn sexy she was rubbing herself against the fountain's edge. She'd never imagined Silk would turn out to be such a passive little uke. With her, he always seemed so dominant, so in control.

'Enough of this bollocks!' Silk rose abruptly to a sitting position, and his hand closed over the sword hilt. 'Get off me or I'll cut yer fucking nuts off! Got enough yet?' He directed the question at Alix.

'One more.' Alix snapped an extreme close-up of his face. If it came out in focus, it would show his green eyes to perfection, but Remy suspected she'd done it merely to wind him up a bit further.

Takeshi looked over his shoulder and caught her eye. He winked - a signal he'd used before to alert her to coming excitement. But surely the show was already over. Her body tensed in anticipation. Takeshi nuzzled against Silk's thigh, then bit down.

'Fuck! Fuck!' Silk was on his feet. He stumbled away from the fountain, and rubbed at the bite. 'I'm done.' He scooped up the coachman's coat and was out of the Orangery before she recovered enough wits to call after him.

Instead, balance recovered, she turned to Takeshi, who grinned darkly at her. 'Done? We've barely started,' he mouthed.

Madelynne xxx

www.madelynne-ellis.com

www.madelynne-ellis.blogspot.com

DARK DESIGNS: The Sneak Preview

by Madelynne Ellis

'Shhh! Quick, is anybody looking?'

'No - right then, lets get set up!'

So, it's the last Friday of the month tomorrow, which means it's time for our Monthly Sexy Snippet, when I'm expected to take to the floor with my 'award-winning' (how did that happen), tribute to yaoi manga and Gothic decadence. But, you know, I thought what's wrong with celebrating Thursday too? Maybe we could kick back and get in the mood a bit.


Ahem! Book Blurb

'Silk inclined his head a fraction and let the very corners of his lips curl upward, letting most of his response come from his eyes. Remy swallowed hard. It was like getting a come-on from a panther - aggressively, knicker-wettingly sexual.'

As the designer for an opulent gothic wedding, Remy Davies is under pressure. There's the over-stressed bride, a trinity of vampire-obsessed bridesmaids, a wayward groom, and then there's the best man... Silk looks as if he was drawn by a manga artist; beautiful, exotic, and with a predatory sexuality. She has to have him, in her bed and between the pages of her new catalogue. Remy is about to launch herself into the alternative fashion world, and Silk is going to sell it for her whether he knows it or not. But Silk is nobody's toy, and for all his androgyny, he's determinedly heterosexual. Pity, since Remy's biggest fantasy is to see him making out with her sometime-boyfriend, Japanese biker Takeshi.

Teaser:

Remy rubbed her brow and tried to focus on costumes. Alix was becoming mutinous, partially due to hunger, and partially because she was sick of making her two rivals look good. Takeshi was cavalier play-acting and Silk - well now! Dare she ask him to strip for the camera?

'Quit bloody obsessing, Remy,' Alix barked. 'Sort them out. I've been at this five fucking hours, you've got two minutes before I pack up and go in.'

It took less than thirty seconds to dress Silk. He looked like a manga character anyway. She just added the coachman's coat to the formal three-piece tail-suit he was wearing, and asked him to braid his hair. She wanted him to tease it out as his clothes came off, until it swirled around him, dusting his bare calves. Takeshi took a bit longer, a fact Alix conveniently overlooked, despite a loudly rumbling stomach. They swapped the knee breeches for leather jeans, lost the shirt and added his own leather jacket with the picture of the girl, then a long duster coat. Somehow the contrast between the two men worked, although they began shooting most of the poses separately.

They'd been at it about twenty minutes. Silk was stripped down to shirt and trousers, and Takeshi to just his leathers. Remy had them posed like lovers, with Takeshi's hand upon Silk's shoulder and their heads tilted towards one another. But the tension between them seemed to be running at an all time high. Between shots, Silk seemed to be making it clear he was there under duress. Remy wondered if she was expected to feel obligated to him after this.

'Closer, and look into each other's eyes,' Remy demanded. Despite the pressure, she was enjoying herself immensely. 'It needs more intimacy.'

Takeshi leaned forward and brushed his lips against Silk's.

Well, that was intimate!

Silk's lips parted in surprise. Takeshi snaked an arm around his waist and moulded their bodies together from hip to thigh. Silk retaliated by shoving Takeshi off his feet, followed by a wordless snarl of fury.

Remy's carefully constructed fantasy fell apart, although Alix gleefully continued snapping expressions. 'Yey, fight!' she cheered.

Takeshi snatched up the great sword and forced Silk back against the rim of the fountain. The tip of the metal beast pressed between the open edges of Silk's shirt making cold contact with the skin...

**********

Don't forget to check back tomorrow for the rest of the extract, when I'll also be giving away a signed copy of DARK DESIGNS packaged in honour of Silk's chocolate addiction with a 400g bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk.

If you can't wait that long, you could always zip over to my website, where you can read the naughty and somewhat sordid tale of Remy and Takeshi's first encounter.

Madelynne xxx

http://madelynne-ellis.com/

PS. I have no idea why the book cover features a man in drag sporting a clown wig, since I have no memory of including such a character.