The Meeting On The Turret Stairs~💀🖤

Books and Graphic Novels to curb the She-Ra s5 hangover (Pt.1/?)

So, I've been wallowing in the She-Ra feels for the past few days. Mostly reading fanfics, swimming in Tumblr and rewatching s5 (as most of us are). And, because I'm a big reader, I started thinking about books I've read that remind me of spop. I came up with a handful of books/graphic novels that I’ve already read and made this lil list for my fellow She-Ra loving readers out there. As I read more I will most likely add to this list. (Especially with #prideathon coming up next month!!!) So keep an eye out for part 2...

1) Cosmoknights by Hannah Templer

Okay! So I read this graphic novel semi-recently and freaking loved it! Plot-wise it doesn’t have a whole lot of similarities (except for childhood BFFs... these one are long lost and in need of a reunion though, not at each others throats) to She-Ra. But the art style and queer themes/characters are very She-Ra. Not to mention it’s all about sapphic space knights fighting the patriarchal galactic empire; what more could you want! Literally all of the characters in this book are queer women... and most of them are badass knights or sexy spies and it’s GREAT! I need more people to read this book!!! Also this GN was written by a queer woman! I honestly think the only con to Cosmoknights is that it’s quite new so only Vol. 1 is out right now.

Synopsis: “Pan's life used to be very small. Work in her dad's body shop, sneak out with her friend Tara to go dancing, and watch the skies for freighter ships. It didn't even matter that Tara was a princess... until one day it very much did matter, and Pan had to say goodbye forever. Years later, when a charismatic pair of off-world gladiators show up on her doorstep, she finds that life may not be as small as she thought. On the run and off the galactic grid, Pan discovers the astonishing secrets of her neo-medieval world... and the intoxicating possibility of burning it all down.”

2) Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan (Author), Cliff Chiang (Illustrator), Matthew Wilson (Colorist), Jared K. Fletcher (Lettering)

Paper Girls is hard to explain but it’s essentially about a group of papergirls in the 1980s who get caught up in a inter-dimensional, time-space tear in the fabric of the universe that lands them and others in different points in time and they must work together to get home. I seriously loved this GN series. The girl gang/girl power aspect and many of the characters and relationship dynamic reminds me of She-Ra. Once again it’s not exactly the same plot but the chaotic sci-fi elements are there. There are cool space monsters, complicated bag guys, gay aliens, and snarky ladies who will smack you over the head with their hockey stick. Its also queer as hell and features a prominent wlw relationship (a relationship that has some delicious catradora vibes if you ask me...)! It’s also a completed series so it’s ready for you to totally binge in this quarantine time! 

Synopsis: “Paper Girls follows the story of four 12-year-old newspaper delivery girls (Erin, MacKenzie, KJ, and Tiffany) set in Stony Stream, a fictional suburb of Cleveland, Ohio.. While out delivering papers on the morning after Halloween, the town is struck by an invasion from a mysterious force from the future. The girls become unwillingly caught up in the conflict between two warring factions of time travelers.”

3) This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

This is a the book on this list that I’ve read the most recently and it completely blew me away. The prose is stunning and the story is so complex in the most beautiful ways and ties in so wonderfully at the end. Its about two woman on the opposite sides of a time war who are rivals and then fall in love with each other as they send letters back and fourth. If you have already read all the fanfics and are in need of some catradora vibes this is the book for you. It does the enemies to lover trope so so well and I was really impressed by how much emotion El-Mohtar and Gladstone put into their story. Honestly Blue and Red’s romance had me crying at the end (not from sadness!) it was just so moving and heartwarming. Not to mention the world/setting with which this book takes place in is so unique and honestly like nothing I’ve ever read before.

Synopsis:  “ Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. . Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Something epic. Something romantic. Something that could change the past and the future. Except the discovery of their bond would mean death for each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war.”

4) Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

Okay so this book is the wildcard of the bunch. I was originally going to make this a three book long list but as I was thinking back on the books that I’ve read and Skyward popped into my head. It’s a YA Sci-fi book that’s basically Top Gun but in space and with a headstrong and noble teen girl as the protagonist plus a sentient spaceship. I was wracking my brain for why this book made me think of She-Ra because it’s not queer (as far as I know... I’ve yet to read book two), it’s not really the same hero’s journey type plot and nor are any of the relationships similar to those in She-Ra. But then it hit me. Like She-Ra, this book does a really good job a depicting kids and teenagers as soldiers. All of the characters in this book are made into pilots at a young age to fight an unknown foe. Sanderson does a really good job at showing the repercussions of this, as well as the real life risks to being a soldier in a war. This book also has some Fright Zone vibes with the setting and, the more I think about it, the lead character, Spin, shares a lot of qualities with both Catra and Adora. Qualities which make for a fantastic MC who I think, if universes collided, would be a great addition to the Princess Alliance. (Side bar: this book also has some AWESOME action sequences that literally kept me on the edge of my seat.)

Synopsis:  “ Defeated, crushed, and driven almost to extinction, the remnants of the human race are trapped on a planet that is constantly attacked by mysterious alien starfighters. Spensa, a teenage girl living among them, longs to be a pilot. When she discovers the wreckage of an ancient ship, she realizes this dream might be possible—assuming she can repair the ship, navigate flight school, and (perhaps most importantly) persuade the strange machine to help her. Because this ship, uniquely, appears to have a soul.”

BONUS: (aka the honorable/obvious mentions) Lumberjanes and Nimona both by Noelle Stevenson!

Noelle Stevenson is the creator of spop and also a graphic novelist and artist herself (as many of you may know)! I’ve read and loved both of these graphic novels and you can totally see the essence of Noelle’s storytelling that you see in She-Ra appear in these GNs as well. I highly recommend for a reread if you’ve already read them but also if you’re a She-Ra fan and have never picked up any of Noelle’s other works yet this is a great time to do it! They’re also both really queer regrading both themes and characters, which is no surprise cause it’s our Queen Noelle, you guys!

Lumberjanes Synopsis:  “At Miss Qiunzilla Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet's camp for hard-core lady-types, things are not what they seem. Three-eyed foxes. Secret caves. Anagrams. Luckily, Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley are five rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together... And they're not gonna let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! The mystery keeps getting bigger, and it all begins here.”

Nimona Synopsis:  “Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are. But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona's powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit.”

My Top 10 Romance Novels

Goodreads says that it’s “romance week”, and who am I to argue?  I’ll be presenting my top 10 romance novels, but first I should explain my tastes: I like my romances pulpy and melodramatic.  I like my heroes dark and sneaky, but not so evil I want to throw them out of a plane.  My ideal romance novel period is in between old school and new school, where the plots are still over the top but the characters are more human.  I’m forever searching for a true gothic bodice ripper, and some day I will find one.

The big rule for this list: nothing that would be shelved as anything other than romance.  No Pride and Prejudice, no Outlander, no Kushiel’s Dart.  Just stuff that is bought and sold as romance.

So here we go!

1. The Windflower by Laura London.  This is the ultimate pirate romance, with espionage and dark backstories and danger-tinged bickering and a pet pig.  I love the characters, and the hero is just right there on the line of darkness where I still believe someone could live happily ever after with him.  There is attempted (but not completed) rape in this book, if that’s a dealbreaker for you, but I found the whole thing to be great fun.

2. For My Lady’s Heart by Laura Kinsale.  Princess Melanthe is probably my favorite romance novel heroine, in that she’s completely unexpected.  She’s the one who’s morally grey, not out of malice but simply because she’s ruthlessly trying to survive courts full of assassins, and is doing a delicate balance of protecting those she loves and staying alive.  (Melanthe could win the Game of Thrones.)  I’m a sucker for ‘knight and lady’ dynamics, too, and the hero was inspired by the Green Knight!

3. Strathgallant by Laura Black.  This is the closest thing I’ve found to a gothic bodice ripper, and also the closest thing I’ve found to a literary version of a reverse harem anime or otome game.  Perdita is about to come into a great fortune if she abides by the condition of marrying one of her foster cousins, whom she hasn’t seen since they were all children- but one of them wants her and that fortune a little too much and is prepared to kill off the competition!  It even has an ending that (possibly) implies a triad!

4. Skye O’Malley by Bertrice Small.  If any item on this list is going to make people judge me, it’s this one.  Bertrice Small is the queen of the guilty pleasure, and Skye O’Malley is not your typical romance.  It’s a picaresque about a very stubborn, very lustful woman in the Elizabethan era who marries/sleeps/gets abducted/goes pirating across Europe and the Middle East, loses her memory, goes through husbands like kindling, and tells us that Robert Dudley has the longest genitalia she’s ever seen.  Nothing else in the world is like this book.  It may not be to your taste, but it must be respected.

5. Lothaire by Kresley Cole.  Now this is some dark stuff, warning you now, full of dubious consent.  A vampire lord has captured a woman for an evil goddess to possess, and she decides the only way to save her own life is to seduce her captor.  You may be shaking your head over me right now, but Cole totally drew me in with her hero-villain and self-proclaimed hillbilly heroine, and I need to read the rest of her Immortals After Dark series now.

6. The High Sheriff of Huntingdon by Anne Stuart.  I just love the audacity of this novella- Anne Stuart apparently liked Alan Rickman’s Sheriff of Nottingham, so she wrote a romance story about him.  It’s great!  He’s villainous and terrible, and his unwilling bride never lets him forget that he’s terrible, and though the end kind of implies she’s going to be a Lady Godiva figure who gets him to be less terrible, the important thing to me was that she was happy.  And I was certainly very happy.

7. Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas.  Yeah, I like villainous heroes.  This one isn’t actually so bad- he’s a rake who committed one scandal too many for society, which makes him a good target for a girl seeking a marriage of convenience. It’s often held up as one of the best regency romances, and for good reason; the protagonists defrosting towards each other is super sweet and sexy. 

8. Lord of Danger by Anne Stuart.  If Anne Stuart based The High Sheriff of Huntingdon on the Sheriff of Nottingham, I wouldn’t be surprised if this one was based on some version of Rasputin.  The hero is a court wizard, relied upon but also feared and disdained, and the heroine ends up married to him after being summoned to the court of her abusive brother.  He may be spooky, but he’s the only one she can really trust- and the same is true the other way.

9. The Silver Devil by Teresa Denys.  Forget what I said about Lothaire, THIS is as dark a hero as I’ll go for.  He’s a Renaissance Italian nobleman, and unlike Princess Melanthe, there’s no excuse for the ruthless cruelty he displays.  So why do I like this?  I feel for the heroine, trapped as a preyed upon concubine, I find the “hero” unfortunately attractive, and it contains the best grovel scene I’ve ever read.  Plus it works as a straightforward historical political thriller, as well.

10. Knights of the Round Table: Gawain and Knights of the Round Table: Lancelot by Gwen Rowley.  What can I say, I gotta support my boys.  I’m cheating by including both of these in one entry, but I just want to say I really love how well Gwen Rowley plays with Arthurian legends, making loveable characters out of these classic archetypes.  I was especially surprised by how much I liked the Lancelot entry- I’m already in love with Gawain, so it took more to win me over for Lance and Elaine.  The last book for me to read in the trilogy is Geraint, who I thought was a dillweed in the Tennyson poem, so I can’t wait to see how she pulls it off!

Rethinking the Stark Siblings: Pt. II Arya, Sansa, and Jon, Tension and Protection

Note I wrote the first part of this a year ago...and have been sitting on pt. 2. The first part talks about stuff we all know. So I won’t bother linking to it. 

In the first part of this series, I talked about Sansa and Jon's relationship. Discussing the commonly believed thinking that Sansa's Vale arc is meant to be a mirror of Jon. In an even earlier meta, I discussed the idea of the chivalric romance. While some fans, even Jonsa shippers, might not like this way of viewing their relationship, it holds up. Chivalric romances were between a Knight and the Lady they served who could even be a stand-in for the Lord. The romance did not have to be consummated. In fact, it was sometimes viewed as being purer if it was not. Jon has time and time again pledged to protect Sansa. She has refused him, which is typical of this type of romance saying 'No one can protect me". He again continues to prove himself to her and promise protection. At which point she accepts him i.e. "You're a Stark to me". These two have become fierce in their protection and support of each other. This is chivalry all over the place. 

Jon's newly formed alliance with Daenerys has the potential to blow up this chivalric romance. Jon rightfully states to Cersei, he cannot promise himself to two Queens. He might want to add he can't promise himself to two Queens and a sister-cousin-wife on top of that.

I was answering a Quora question about how Sansa and Arya will feel about Jon's ‘love’ affair. 'They won't like it' is the only answer no matter what you ship. Getting to the why of the answer, we must look at the Stark family bond. This bond along with Jon and Sansa's shall we call it 'platonic chivalric romance' will be sorely tested when Daenerys arrives at Winterfell.

At first, there may be some confusion and wariness over his decision to become involved with the dragon queen politically or in any other way. Sansa is already wary about the alliance. Many fans think Arya will be ok with whatever Jon decides because she cares for him so much. I disagree with this. I think because she cares for him and for Sansa so much, she will not like Dany at all. And this is where the show almost got the Northern plot right but didn’t. To understand how Arya and Sansa will react, you have to understand their dynamic and their dynamic with Jon.

Yes, Arya and Sansa would've argued some once reunited. They are always going to argue to a degree, they are two sides of the same coin. Jon was a big part of their tension as children. This is often missed in fandom.

The first argument we see between them as children was instigated by who else but Jon. He says Joffrey looks like a girl and Sansa has a snarky retort that angers Arya. Jon knew Arya would tell Sansa what he said. Or at the very least did not care if Sansa knew what he thought. This tension is later mimicked at the Trident between Sansa, Arya, Joffrey, and Mycah, the butcher's son. Before Sansa every finds Arya, she complains to herself about Arya wanting to play with Mycah.

"Arya would make friends with anybody. This Mycah was the worst; a butcher's boy, thirteen and wild, he slept in the meat wagon and smelled of the slaughtering block. Just the sight of him was enough to make Sansa feel sick, but Arya seemed to prefer his company to hers." AGoT Sansa I

Sansa is jealous that Arya liked playing with 'smelly' boys over her. And perhaps jealous that boys liked playing with Arya. It's so very typical had it not turned out so very tragic. This could be how Sansa felt at Winterfell when Arya idolized Jon. This isn't excusing young Sansa's treatment of Arya or her behavior at the Trident, it's giving context to it.

The North plot in s.7 downplayed the tension between Arya and Sansa over Jon in order to focus on Sansa’s letter. The letter is important but so is the Arya-Sansa-Jon dynamic. The tension between the three was mentioned in regards to Sansa possibly wanting to rule over Jon. I don’t think that is really what upset Arya. She has been trained to detect lies. Sure she sensed Sansa’s frustration over Jon being gone but Arya should be able to see that Sansa doesn’t want to take Jon’s crown. And she certainly should’ve been able to see right through Littlefinger.  It might’ve been more interesting to have Arya get upset over how close Jon and Sansa had become. Have her express jealousy that it was these two that reclaimed Winterfell. That Jon trusted Sansa to leave the North in her hands. Loves her enough to give her the best bedroom. We got hints of this but nothing explicit. These reasons would be closer to why Arya would be angry at Sansa. The letter was simply an excuse. (Alas that’s not what we got…sigh…)

Regardless, Arya will be more wary of Dany then Sansa will. She will remember what Targaryens did to their family just like Sansa did and she will understand Jon’s motivation less then Sansa. We may even see Sansa being more surface level supportive or at the very least non-combative about the whole Jon and Dany thing.

This doesn’t mean Sansa won’t be hurt by it. She will and she may even try to hide it. Any hurt Sansa feels over Jon and Dany aligning in more ways then one would be confusing to Sansa. Arya, though, will again see another woman getting closer to Jon while she has missed all this time with him. A woman who made Jon give up his title to get the support to save his people. If Arya didn’t like it when she thought Sansa wanted Jon’s crown, is she really going to like it when Dany has made him give it up? No, she is not.

An interesting reversal of the very first tension we ever saw between Arya, Sansa, and Jon over Joffrey could be a similar convo around Dany. Perhaps, Sansa shows her jealousy and Arya lets it slip to Jon and he makes a snarky comment. Arya then defends Sansa to Jon. Or Arya makes a snarky comment and Sansa defends Jon, surprising Arya. Perhaps, Sansa even slips and lets deeper feelings for Jon show in front of her sister.

Arya will see how hurt and adrift Sansa will feel once Dany is at Winterfell. Jon giving up his crown, leaves Sansa in a precarious position. What is she now? Is she still Lady of Winterfell? Is Jon, Lord of Winterfell? What happens to Sansa if Jon marries? Sansa is the one that has the honor of repeating Ned’s words ‘the pack sticks together’ back to Arya. Dany is a threat to that pack. Arya may very well sense all of this.

The Littlefinger incident brought the sisters closer together. Bran also helped them through this. I don’t think they will let another outsider come between them. It would be a nice turn of events to see Arya have Sansa’s back. And once Jon’s parentage is revealed and he becomes a threat to Dany, I’m sure Arya and Sansa will function as a team along with Bran to support and protect Jon. Just as he tries to protect them against the White Walkers. These Starklings are anything if not fierce in their love and protection. In AGoT Eddard V, we're presented with a beautiful image.

Sansa drifted to sleep as the moon rose, Arya several hours later, curling up in the grass under Ned's cloak. All through the dark hours, he kept his vigil alone. When dawn broke over the city, the dark red blooms of dragon's breath surrounded the girls where they lay. "I dreamed of Bran," Sansa had whispered to him. “I saw him smiling.”

Jon could represent Ned here and the dragon's breath could be ominous. OR Jon could be the dragon's breath surrounding the girls, a cloak of protection during the long night. Jon could be both here. Sansa waking first to whisper in his ear, telling him all is well. Bran is in the dream world smiling at them.