Title: Fundamental Principles
Fandom: Man of Steel (DC Comics)
Pairing: Jor-El/Dru-Zod
Genres: AU, Arranged marriage, Romance, Family, Drama
Length: Epic (50,322 words)
Warnings: Major character death

Author on LJ: manic_intent
Author Website: manic_intent @ AO3

Author's Summary:
Jor-El first learns of Dru-Zod's existence on the eighth cycle of his existence, and quite by chance. He had been on his way to the eastern cryst terrace of the El estates, to watch sundown with his twin, and had cut past the sunward planarform on a whim. His parents were leaning by the balustrade at the furthest swing of the curved planarform, and their voices barely carried over the evening wind.

"... he is hardly yet of age, Seyg," his mother looks agitated, and out of concern, Jor-El hesitates at the archway, just out of sight.

Review:
Thanks to chibifukurou for letting me rec in their claimed fandom this week.

To be honest, I didn't enjoy Man of Steel enough to really look for fic about it, and no pairing (and definitely not this one) jumped out at me. The only reason I bothered to take a look at this fic was the fact that it's long and written by the goddess that is manic_intent. There's also my love of the arranged-marriage-turning-into-love trope. And I am so glad that I did take a chance on this fic.

I've only ever seen Superman in movies and Smallville; the comic canon is a bit of a mystery to me. Rest assured that this is a lovely fic, but I'm not sure how true to the Superman canon characterisations it is. We didn't see much character building for Zod in the movie, but I feel that the blanks manic_intent has filled in fit with what we did see of him. Zod is pragmatic and tough and acts as though he doesn't have time for the budding scientist Jor-El, who nevertheless worms his way into Zod's heart with his charm, intelligence, and pure stubbornness.

The romance is gradual enough to be believable, with Zod annoyed at his weakness when it comes to Jor-El, and yet so clearly in love with him that his attempts at appearing aloof are more cute than anything. Jor-El is charming and funny whilst also being adorably idealistic, and I loved his characterisation. They end up being much more enthusiastic about their marriage than their parents ever were, and have to fight against political machinations, Zod's own family, and the systemic problems present on Krypton as they try to stay together. Both the political plot and the romance are well written and compelling. The side characters are well written also, with Jor-El's brothers and his friend Faora-Ul standouts.

Fundamental Principles