Re-introducing THE REAPER
A smooth-talking, tea-drinking supernatural assassin and a Jamaican empath solve mysteries.
๐ London urban fantasy!
๐ Black witches/wraiths/mages
๐ Slutty vampires
๐ Slow burn romances
๐ Black British culture
Pre-order:
It's crazy that Britain is in a place now where teaching anti-racism in schools is seen as controversial and damaging to white kids, and tackling child hunger is a debatable chore. These same ppl bang on about the plight of working class white kids but don't care if they starve?
Please add "affordable housing not allowing children to live in them" ๐ฌ
During our housing issues last yr we found loads of new build complexes that have rent + bills all included for around ยฃ1500. We were turned away because we have a toddler. Pets were allowed tho โบ๏ธ
โค๏ธโ๐ฅALL THAT WEโVE GOTโค๏ธโ๐ฅ OUT NOW
Anyways, London is fast becoming a place that is not for children and not for families.
Schools closing left and right, landlords turning family homes into HMOs for more money, new builds no bigger than two beds + a box room, more and more children living below the poverty line.
Tbh I think he made the right decision bc they were incompatible, but that was obvious from the beginning and it's clear had doubts when she didn't. I'm just sad he blindsided her + kept reassuring her mum that he would look after her just mins before saying No. That was cruel.
Okay I'm finally doing this: thread of my Berserk articles (will keep adding to it as I go along).
A
#Berserk
review was the first animanga article I wrote when I launched the site in 2018. I truly love this manga.
@BlackBoyWriting
@awkward_duck
Lool I saw that video. He was mad mad. A lot of Black male youtube reactors acted so stupid with that video, then had to do "I'm not homophobic" videos a day later.
Guts is so MANLY.
And yet, he is fragile.
My latest, GUTS AND MASCULINITY, explores how Manga Genius Miura portrays the manliest of men so sensitively, allowing him to overcome trauma and abuse.
...essay inspired by my dislike of Donovan memes.
@melissasigodo
Wait... Why not just give him the money still and show proof to the funders that he's received it? Why do they have to refund the whole money? They've handled this so badly.
It's almost as if white working class kids are only useful for the denial of racism, and in reality, the average Briton doesn't care that there are thousands of these children going hungry. Add the fact that a working class Black man is heading the campaign and it becomes "woke".
It sets a dangerous precedent that an author's books can be modified to suit the conventions of new cultures. What this actually does is whitewash history and removes evidence of casual racism from the past. Why not put discussion pages or annotations highlighting the issues?
Weirdos crying over the removal of racial slurs from Agatha Christie novels: I bet I've reread Christie more recently than you. And I double bet you can't cite a Christie quote with a racial slur and give me a good literary reason why it should remain intact.
OMFG I CAN FINALLY TWEET THIS!!
After 18 (?) rejections over 2 yrs, my bestie told me to submit my novel to
#WriteNow
. Out of 3700 applications I made it to the final 14. I can't believe I can finally say that a major publisher likes my book! I thought it would never happen.
.
@PenguinUKBooks
' PRH
#WriteNow
scheme has revealed the 14 unpublished and underrepresented writers invited to join this yearโs editorial programme! Take a look at the full cohort here:
@txadel_
It's because for liberals, none of those things are important. They all kept silent during the racism suffered by Diane Abbott and Jovan Owusu-Nepaul too. British liberals are self-serving but they fool themselves by saying they will tackle those "fringe" issues at a later date.
I also kinda feel like *some* Berserk fans are being a lil disingenuous with their defence of some of the series' treatment of rape and sexual assault. It's okay to call it out.
I wrote this is like 2018 or 2019
Scam. Got accosted outside East Croydon. Asked if there's a website to donate to and he said no, and kept showing me random pages of his magazine as proof of the youth work they're doing. What charity doesn't have a website? These kids are being exploited via pyramid scheme.
Who is behind these teenagers at the exits of busy London train stations โraising money for charityโ?
Is it actually real because itโs different charities every single timeโฆ
Yes we need more trams! They are quicker than buses because they override traffic, are nice and spacious for multiple buggies and wheelchairs, and cleaner! I love trams and the DLR! They need more investment, especially for South as we don't have many tube lines.
Things like wanting to go 50/50 on finances and work + wanting to be a stay at home wife/mum are two totally different lifestyles and Maria thinking they would just work it out as they went along was unwise. But Tom could have done this differently.
@CelestialBaby18
Agree, I tried watching a full-length video and was disappointed by a few things. It's subtle, but the misogyny is there. They just have great editing so they know how to cut the best clips to make themselves seem wholesome. the clips are funny! But the full episodes ain't it.
@JustMarveWrites
I reported her account and I encourage everyone to do the same. People need to stop engaging with her as she's clearly enjoying the attention. Report and block. Get her outta here.
Places like Enclave Croydon, The Fold, etc. they advertise they're pet friendly and have young couples on the advertising. I remember calling the estate agent and as soon as she heard my son in the background she said the contract doesn't allow children. How is that even legal.
I love Casca. Miura gave her allll the emotions. And then she's pretty much the damsel of Conviction. And the rest of the story isn't just about Griffith and revenge, but about Guts's unwavering love for her, that he would cross the world just for the chance to heal her.
@judeblay
Also it helps when you realise that you're not the only one it's happened to. Sharing helps alleviate that feeling of loneliness and isolation.
2002-2005 are my fav Guts eras. He started looking extremely handsome in the latest chapters too. We were about to see the Hottest Ever Guts in the Falconia arc I swear...
@brixnhx
Right I'm just thinking about how much the day meant for the whole family especially after the dad died. Tom could have gone about this so differently, he didn't need to lay on his love/loyalty so thick if he was planning to say no.
@jodipicoult
@pronounced_ing
Embarrassing. All of you should be ashamed. The whole display was a major disappointment & it's concerning how you all JUMPED at the chance to harass that young woman. Now all the apologies are coming one after the other in the same fashion. Clique/bully mentality is a cancer.
Welp it's done. Not really any hot takes in this one? But I wrote a lil about the women in Berserk and how femininity is explored from Casca's perspective.
BERSERK AND FEMININITY
Anyway stan Casca pls.
๐
@ChantayyJayy
I never drive behind open lorries for the same reason. The films intrude your thoughts because it used everyday mundane things and made them kill us ๐ญ
Not for the first time, Ash plays racial contrarian during a conversation where people of colour (and especially black people) are sharing their experiences with structural racism and whiteness.
This isn't going to make me popular, but I think it's incredibly reductive to say that Lucy Letby would've been caught sooner if she was a woman of colour, or that she was protected by her race. For one thing, I think that massively understates just how wrong things went.
This is one of my favourite arcs but people don't appreciate it. The lore, the poneglyph, the storyline with the snake, the shadows on the clouds, goat Sanji moments, Luffy Vs Enel, fucking ENEL one of the best villains in the series, how can this not be top 3 or at least top 5.
One of the saddest things about Miura's passing is how he saved so many lives through Berserk. Being a fan, you regularly hear of people who literally decided to keep on living because they were inspired by Guts & wanted to see how his story would end. The fandom's here for you.
Sensitivity Readers would be unnecessary if agencies and publishing houses simply hired more people from marginalised backgrounds. A lot of industry heads tweet alot about diversity, but their offices tell a different story.
A desperate conversation needs to be had about marketing and publicity efforts given to Black authors (esp debuts) after the 2020 acquisitions spree. It appears that publishers were more interested to be on the "right side of history" than building long successful author careers.
Despite the industryโs efforts to embrace diversity and inclusion, sales figures for Black authors remain underwhelming according to the latest data from Nielsen ๐
Oh snap, it's out!
Thanks
@AnimeFeminist
!
NTA (because I KNOW people are gonna say it): I'm aware Casca's ethnicity is ambiguous (I say so in the article) but I and many others identify her as Black. Others call her Asian. That's fine. I'm not debating this.
How Berserk's Casca challenges the myth of the "Strong Black Woman"
@_JackPBrown
explores how Berserk's female lead averts stereotypes of one-dimensional, superhumanly tough Black women by exploring Casca's softness as well as her strength.
I wrote this in May but due to Miura's death I put it off. But anyway...
"Morally Grey Narratives Aren't Always A Good Thing".
A comparison between AOT 139, 127, and Berserk's Black Swordsman, GA, and Lost Children Chapter.
People get extra moral when it comes to homeless people and I dunno why. They're fully grown adults who unfortunately rely on the goodwill of others to get them through the day. No need to insult them further by withholding money unless they spend it on a healthy meal.
It feels like my tl has had a Berserk refresh over the past few weeks? I'm just seeing beautiful artwork (esp
#gutsca
), cute memes, and good write-ups. Dunno what happened but big up the algorithm for that ๐๐ฝ
I wrote this some time after. Goes over the same points but is more structured.
Every time, someone will say "there is nothing salacious or suggestive with the Eclipse scene" or "it's supposed to make you uncomfortable". Can we be honest pls lol
Berserk is my favourite series and Miura was my favourite manga artist. He gave us all so much. He gave me a community. I just can't believe this. I'm crying right now. He didn't deserve this.
The newfound obsession with the word "woke" is very creepy, and I also strongly believe it has become an anti-black euphemism when it is uttered from a white mouth. Argue with your mums, I said what I said.
lol I know many white people won't like/understand my work. An agent already told me:
"I don't believe the racism you describe would happen in modern Britain" + "You can't do a book about class AND race. Pick one."
How I wish I, a working class Black Brit, could "pick one".
Weird workplace. No one emailed her the Teams link? No one from HR called her when she didn't show? Everyone just walked past her "for ages" not knowing who she was and what she was doing there? Bad situation all round. Hopefully she'll learn from this and go somewhere nicer.
A woman came to my office for an interview and was there for ages, I asked her who her interview was with and she said the Microsoft team, I said we donโt have a team called that. Turns out it shouldโve been via โMicrosoft teamsโ ๐คฆ๐พโโ๏ธ she ainโt getting that job
@RichieBrave
Unconventional mental illnesses. People understand depression and anxiety much more than psychosis, schizophrenia, bipolar, and OCD, so it's disturbingly common how often the behaviours of those illnesses are laughed at/misunderstood/met with fear and isolation.
This JB/MS fiasco has shown just how many people believe they are entitled to read free manga. There's literally nothing wrong with paying for the series you love. You do it with many other things.
@itsmekali__
@Oloni
@KrystynaHutch
@PhilanthropyGal
@SryAboutLastNyt
What kind of response is this?? Neither women are apologetic and even go on to blame us for "putting negative connotations" on their obvious racism?? So equating "real blackness" to thuggery is okay in their eyes. They're a mess.
This is why I'll always respect Watanabe. Japan isn't some isolated medieval cesspit. They have access to world media, books, films. It's not hard to respect different cultures in animanga if an artist chooses to incorporate them. So no excuse for the Krones, Darkshines etc.
Right. It's just weird to me that people are basically saying they cannot detect emotion, enjoy cadence, and acknowledge acting quality from foreign language performances. How can you hear the Japanese VA for Arnheid (for eg) and not *feel* her agony?
When I watch movies like Parasite or Oldboy I have literally no way of knowing if the performances are good cause they don't have an English dub, an English dub is the only way to appreciate a work because you have different actors & different dialogue over someone else's work๐ซก
I guess the issue here is adult readers of YA who make demands for the content of these books, instead of respecting that YA is a demographic catered to children, and that teens deserve their own literary spaces. If YA is no longer doing it for you, switch to adult books instead.
@SyddTheAquarius
Yes this has happened many times for me, especially when I'm at the supermarket? Like I'll be standing there obviously in the queue and then someone stands next to me, then slowly starts edging in front until I say "excuse me??" Then they act surprised and go behind.
Agatha Christie was British, and one thing British people are good at is pretending their role in racist structures is either non-existent or salvific. We studied Kipling et al in uni, we got to see how colonialism was so readily accepted; literature was part of the propaganda.
When I started my site 3 years ago I knew I wanted to write about Berserk because I couldn't stop talking about it. I never thought I would have to write something like this.
I lacked the strength to say thank you properly yesterday. I'm better today.
Introspection? They're literally trying to teach schoolkids that slavery wasn't that bad, as per the Britain Ain't Racist report.
Last year the government tried to shut down English Heritage for the terrible crime of... Acknowledging colonial origins of English stately homes.
How Europeans approach their colonial past:
1) General awareness and introspection: ๐ฌ๐ง
2) Some awareness and sometimes talk about it: ๐ซ๐ท ๐ฉ๐ช
3) No fucks given: ๐ช๐ธ ๐ต๐น ๐ณ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐น
4) For some inexplicable reason think it was a good thing: ๐ง๐ช
Guys when I tell you this week has been CRAZY. I can't even tell you all of it.
I'm tweeting something I never thought I would get to tweet. Happy to say I'm now repped by
@MollyJamieson
from
@UnitedAgents
.
Honestly, thanks for all your support and good vibes over the years.
@Theozilla01
@AnimeFeminist
@WriterVrai
@LuxLRKing
Truly. His disdain really comes through in the SBS segments and it's his responses to female fans that made me first realise his behaviour is deliberate. I'm glad they were included in this article.
Right now, it'll be a tie.
However I kinda think that their next 1v1 will be their last, and it'll be glorious. Guts will probably kill him, which he'll need to do to get to Griffith, but that's just my headcanon.
People should block this page. Literally no link, no context, no quote, nothing to say where they got this info from and now Jamie Foxx is trending with everyone panicking about his demise. Nonsense account.
I'm so happy I managed to track down my primary school teacher to thank her for encouraging my writing, waay back in year four.
For the good teachers out there, thank you for everything you do. Your pupils will always remember you.
You see how the media changed the goal posts? Now the discussion is all about censorship, and not racism in literature and how the industry closed ranks to discredit the writers of colour who rightly criticised Clanchy's book.
1. Mainstream medias misreporting of the situation is calculated tactical chinese-whispers. Every publication reports from the last diluted misrepresented story, until the narrative barely represents the truth at all.
Most recent examples of this are Sarah Ditum, & Tom Slater.
What the hell is this?
It's not even a review of the work, just a hit piece on the author herself. For some reason this reviewer is framing Kabi's mental health struggles as a personal failing.
Yes. 4 yrs ago I was in a "bitter place". My first novel got rejected and the TL was full of "I just got an agent!" Tweets. So I returned to a novel I started in 2010 & it's been the best thing I ever did. I'm happy! I even set up a writers org to help Black women get published.
A seagull shat in my friend's plate once during a cookout. She had a whole plate of jollof rice, plantain and stew. The aim was impeccable. Lunch ruined. We all screamed and ran inside the house.
So after being torn between TJ and Jo for ages I'm sorry to say that I'm team TJ. His history with Ian is way more compelling. He's toxic but he knows it. Jo is fake-nice.
#WetSand
I wonder if Miura will ever give us another Guts x Casca sex scene. When everyone's all healed up and recovering from everything, I would so love to see it. At this point I would even settle for a hug. It's been tough seeing them so distant after all this time.
@rgay
A common thread with the apologies coming out right now is a lack of reading before responding acrimoniously and piling on a young woman of colour. I'm just surprised and disappointed that so many authors chose not to read before participating in such abhorrent behaviour.
Great article. I always struggle with MHA bc whilst it's a cool story, a lot of important elements are just not fleshed out well. The villains are probably the worst part of it. Their motives are cynically simplistic @ the start, which leads to the issues highlighted here.
Pride, Policing, and the Conservative Politics of My Hero Academia
@__MoBlack
unpacks the implications of
#BNHA
counting the marginalized among its irredeemable villains while handing out redemption to Endeavor simply because he's on the "hero" side
@DreamingAria_
@chaoticgud
I agree, but tbh I think that most people do care about their loved ones irl & try their best. But celebrity suicides remind us that no matter how rich and exciting your life, or how many people love you, you can still be unhappy & suffer inside.
#Berserk
& The Power of Friendship: Companions as moral compasses. Comparing the Travelling Party + the Neo-Hawk and how the latter exemplifies unhealthy devotion whilst the former shows how good friends chastise each other to the betterment of everyone.
What I'm working on in 2024. We're nearing the final edits now
๐ London urban fantasy!
๐ Black: witches/wraiths/empaths
๐ Slutty pansexual vampires
๐ POC cast
๐ Political conspiracies
๐ Slow burn romances
๐ Ode to Black British culture
๐ Librarian protag from Streatham!