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For our last dinner in Tokyo, we stopped by Kua’Aina for som absolutely delicious Hawaiian-themed sandwiches. It’s not Japanese, but the chain’s only locations outside Hawaii are Tokyo and London. #tokyo #johnnyontokyo #kuaaina #hawaiianburger

#kuaaina #tokyo #hawaiianburger #johnnyontokyo

https://soundcloud.com/johnnymsugar/downstairs-to-the-blue-short-demo-mix

When you have SO much shade to throw...

#hey qween #heyqueen #lady red couture #drag queen #dragqueen #drag qween #animated gif #jonny mcgovern #gay pimp #throwing shade #throw shade

fuckyeahscifiwomenofcolour

Author Scott Lynch responds to a critic of the character Zamira Drakasha, a black woman pirate in his fantasy book Red Seas Under Red Skies, the second novel of the Gentleman Bastard series.

The bolded sections represent quotes from the criticism he received. All the z-snaps are in order.

Your characters are unrealistic stereotpyes of political correctness. Is it really necessary for the sake of popular sensibilities to have in a fantasy what we have in the real world? I read fantasy to get away from politically correct cliches.

God, yes! If there’s one thing fantasy is just crawling with these days it’s widowed black middle-aged pirate moms. Real sea pirates could not be controlled by women, they were vicous rapits and murderers and I am sorry to say it was a man’s world. It is unrealistic wish fulfilment for you and your readers to have so many female pirates, especially if you want to be politically correct about it! First, I will pretend that your last sentence makes sense because it will save us all time. Second, now you’re pissing me off. You know what? Yeah, Zamira Drakasha, middle-aged pirate mother of two, is a wish-fulfillment fantasy. I realized this as she was evolving on the page, and you know what? I fucking embrace it. Why shouldn’t middle-aged mothers get a wish-fulfillment character, you sad little bigot? Everyone else does. H.L. Mencken once wrote that “Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.” I can’t think of anyone to whom that applies more than my own mom, and the mothers on my friends list, with the incredible demands on time and spirit they face in their efforts to raise their kids, preserve their families, and save their own identity/sanity into the bargain. Shit yes, Zamira Drakasha, leaping across the gap between burning ships with twin sabers in hand to kick in some fucking heads and sail off into the sunset with her toddlers in her arms and a hold full of plundered goods, is a wish-fulfillment fantasy from hell. I offer her up on a silver platter with a fucking bow on top; I hope she amuses and delights. In my fictional world, opportunities for butt-kicking do not cease merely because one isn’t a beautiful teenager or a muscle-wrapped font of testosterone. In my fictional universe, the main characters are a fat ugly guy and a skinny forgettable guy, with a supporting cast that includes “SBF, 41, nonsmoker, 2 children, buccaneer of no fixed abode, seeks unescorted merchant for light boarding, heavy plunder.” You don’t like it? Don’t buy my books. Get your own fictional universe. Your cabbage-water vision of worldbuilding bores me to tears. As for the “man’s world” thing, religious sentiments and gender prejudices flow differently in this fictional world. Women are regarded as luckier, better sailors than men. It’s regarded as folly for a ship to put to sea without at least one female officer; there are several all-female naval military traditions dating back centuries, and Drakasha comes from one of them. As for claims to “realism,” your complaint is of a kind with those from bigoted hand-wringers who whine that women can’t possibly fly combat aircraft, command naval vessels, serve in infantry actions, work as firefighters, police officers, etc. despite the fact that they do all of those things– and are, for a certainty, doing them all somewhere at this very minute. Tell me that a fit fortyish woman with 25+ years of experience at sea and several decades of live bladefighting practice under her belt isn’t a threat when she runs across the deck toward you, and I’ll tell you something in return– you’re gonna die of stab wounds. What you’re really complaining about isn’t the fact that my fiction violates some objective “reality,” but rather that it impinges upon your sad, dull little conception of how the world works. I’m not beholden to the confirmation of your prejudices; to be perfectly frank, the prospect of confining the female characters in my story to placid, helpless secondary places in the narrative is so goddamn boring that I would rather not write at all. I’m not writing history, I’m writing speculative fiction. Nobody’s going to force you to buy it. Conversely, you’re cracked if you think you can persuade me not to write about what amuses and excites me in deference to your vision, because your vision fucking sucks. I do not expect to change your mind but i hope that you will at least consider that I and others will not be buying your work because of these issues. I have been reading science fiction and fantasy for years and i know that I speak for a great many people. I hope you might stop to think about the sales you will lose because you want to bring your political corectness and foul language into fantasy. if we wanted those things we could go to the movies. Think about this! Thank you for your sentiments. I offer you in exchange this engraved invitation to go piss up a hill, suitable for framing.

This week’s Harrow card, The Sickness, highlights an unpleasant yet often unavoidable trouble that we all experience. When The Sickness appears in a spread, it can sometimes represent a tangible sickness of the body. In fact, the card is from the suit of Shields, which is associated with Constitution, the measure of physical health and endurance. Just as often, however, The Sickness can indicate a disease of the mind, heart, or spirit, especially one that has a secondary, physical manifestation. The Sickness is aligned Neutral Evil; it is less concerned with the rules of the world than it is the effect it has on the world. This is exemplified through the items the woman has in her hands. The vegetables appear to be a clump of onions or garlic, a plant long associated with protection from against negative influences. The dice symbolize a reliance on luck, one which has apparently failed the woman. She has neglected to attack the source of her own sickness, instead relying on good luck charms and chance. Not surprisingly, they have failed to cure her, and in neglecting her true illness, she may have given The Sickness enough of an opening to take hold of her completely. Similarly, we can see that her clothes and jewelry, symbols of status and wealth, remain largely unaffected by whatever malady is plaguing her. The Sickness does not recognize social standing or tax brackets; it can infect anyone. The Sickness serves as a reminder to us that we are not invulnerable, that we are subject to the same obstacles and setbacks that all of humanity experiences at some point. When we are overtaken by The Sickness, we must remember then to confront our issues head-on and not wait for outside forces to rescue us. Refusing to acknowledge our own Sickness is a surefire way to make a bad situation worse, and since everything is connected, it’s entirely possible to spread our Sickness to others. If the card is misaligned, it can indicate that we have shaken off our Sickness and are on the road to recovery. #oraclecards #pathfinder #pathfinderrpg #harrowoftheweek #dnd #dungeonsanddragons

#oraclecards #pathfinderrpg #pathfinder #harrowoftheweek #dnd #dungeonsanddragons

https://soundcloud.com/johnnymsugar/the-star-epliogue-short-demo-mix

They say that everybody has a twin out there, and that’s even true for the Harrow deck. This week’s card, the Twin, is a deceptively simple-looking card that carries a great deal of meaning. On the left-hand side, we see a man, and on the right, his negative-image double. A hazy, purple energy seems to connect the two men at the head. The man on the left has a neutral, welcoming expression on his face, but his double has a decidedly more sinister countenance and a dagger hidden behind his back. The Twin is a card of duality and of the conflicts that arise within ourselves. The card is part of the Suit of Crowns, which corresponds to the ability of Charisma. Beyond simply being a measure of our force of personality and ability to lead, Charisma is also a measure of our self-confidence, sense of self, and how we perceive ourselves in relation to the world. The Twin represents a disruption in that sense of identity, whether for good or for ill. The Twin is aligned True Neutral, and as such, it is not inherently positive or negative. The Twin within us could be a secret or shadow self that we try to hide from the world and from ourselves. On the other hand, it could also represent the true self that we are afraid of being. After all, we could be either one of the twins on the card, and our true self may be the Twin with the dagger, waiting for the right chance to set itself free. When the Twin appears in a spread, it is a reminder that not all is what is seems and that the reality of ourselves and our situations may be false. The face presented to us is not always the true face of what we’re presented with. The Twin reminds us that we all have dualities inside ourselves that seek to be resolved, even if we refuse to acknowledge them. It encourages us to recognize the Twin within our own being and to integrate that side of ourselves into our lives. If we choose to ignore these dualities -- if we choose to ignore the dagger our Twin is hiding -- we risk hurting ourselves and limiting our potential. #pathfinder #pathfinderrpg #harrowoftheweek #harrow #dnd #oraclecards #dungeonsanddragons

#dnd #pathfinder #pathfinderrpg #dungeonsanddragons #oraclecards #harrowoftheweek #harrow

https://soundcloud.com/johnnymsugar/sumo-short-demo-mix

https://soundcloud.com/johnnymsugar/lucid-short-demo-mix

My workspace today. I spent most of my shift sorting pretties. #chakrastones #eyeofhorusmpls

#chakrastones #eyeofhorusmpls

This is my special drink. This is my lime-in-the-coconut. It's not the best use of my money, but it's one of the very, very few indulgences I allow myself. #qtonic #5hourenergy

#5hourenergy #qtonic