#It's awkwardly intimate but my hands are doomed to the work of piecing something together.

[devildom-moss]

I'm alive (light-heartedly). Thank y'all for being so patient with me. I have been having some trouble writing requests for a bit, and I've been a little worn out.

I'm going to just focus on the poll fic for this weekend and try to get other stuff done next month. It's been hard for me to actually get started, but I'm enjoying the process with this one, so hopefully you all will like the NSFW Beel x Diavolo x MC content I'll have for you, some time on the 31st (I hope).

[gemmaswriting]

Oneshots

To Build a home

“They hadn't done badly for a former Queen, assumed dead and abandoned on a sandy, near lawless, Outer-Rim planet and the son of a slave with secret Force-magic powers neither knew how to truly explain. Padme thought that from time to time.” 

Liberabit vos

“Senator Padme Amidala wakes up to find herself abducted by the Separatist's secretive new Sith Lord, Darth Vader, on the orders of Count Dooku. With the older Sith commanding that she reveal Republic military secrets to save her family from slaughter, will she give in and doom her people to Separatist victory and rule - or is there more to Darth Vader than she could have imagined?”

Of Slytherin and Hufflepuffs (NSFW)

“Hogwarts AU! Anakin wondered, just for a second, what Kit would say if he knew that he had been with Padme since halfway through their fourth year? He'd probably ask what kind of love spell Anakin was using...” 

aeternum (NSFW)

“The newly married Skywalkers spend an afternoon in bed and Anakin reflects, broods and learns there's more than one way to please his wife.”

What to expect when you want to be expecting (NSFW)

"Padme…" Anakin's hot breath tickled against her ear, "Angel, I want a baby." If only they'd known how difficult that would be...”

I wish I could rewrite the stars

“Suddenly, forever felt like something that could be real. They could make it real, the two of them together and out of nowhere, tears stung at Anakin's eyes. It just meant so much. Padme loving him too was the stuff of his dreams; something he'd only just dared to believe was possible. But she did. (Modern AU!)”

Needed this NSFW

"Well, how does an attentive wife usually make her husband feel better?"

Screaming in the Dark I Howl When We’re Apart (NSFW)

"She'd worked so hard perfecting the routine, desperate to please him; to shock him. Padme would be willing to bet every credit she owned that he'd never have imagined she'd do something like this. Force, she'd had no idea she was capable of such a thing… "

Something Very Special 

What if Padme's funeral dress had a different meaning behind it? What if she'd had it made for something else entirely? The six times the dress was laid eyes on throughout it's existence before it's first and final use.

It’s Okay to be Afraid

“Palpatine wasn't the only thing frightening Padme, despite what she tells Anakin time and time again, she does fear dying in childbirth. AU!”

In the Eye of the Storm 

“There is an old Naboo legend her grandmother told her when she was just a girl. The Gods once decided whether pairs of lovers were destined for happiness or tragedy on the day of their union. She'd always wondered what judgement the Gods would pass on her own union one day…”

Birthday

Anakin may have brought balance to the Force, but it is his children, who bring balance to him. Part of the Happy family AU series (you don't have to read the first one really! But you'll understand more if you do). Shameless Skywalker family fluff!

Thrill (NSFW)

“This time, he is sure Bail sees him shudder. He'd have to be blind not to. Swallowing thickly, Anakin tries to pull at least some part of his mind free from the fog of lust clouding it, the task is so much more difficult than he anticipated. All he can think of is Padme, her hand and her glorious, sinful mouth.”

Saints Can’t Help Me Now

“In a world where there are no Jedi and no Sith, there are only angels and demons. She cannot help but wonder, even a little… If he was good once, does it mean his soul can be saved?”

Bend (NSFW)

“Because, every now and again, even the Chosen One will bend for his wife.”

Reunion

“Revenge of the Sith AU! What if the Chancellor wasn't abducted for a year after Anakin and Obi-Wan are sent off to the Outer Rim Sieges? What if Anakin didn't come back in time to learn of Padme's pregnancy?”

 Countdown

“Just over twenty three hours… That's what the device claims is the time she must wait before setting eyes on her soulmate. In the grand scheme of things, the time is nothing, a mere blink of an eye before her life theoretically changes forever.”

 Welcome Home

"Aha!" Ahsoka laughs, still utterly unaware of their presence. "No Skywalker will has ever been able to defeat me! I am-" Finally her eyes lift to see them just as Padme's arms cross over her chest. Immediate panic lights up the girl's face at the sight of them standing here. "… In big trouble…" She mutters, lowering her blade.”

 Angelus Mortis

“If her husband has truly been consumed by the dark side as Obi-Wan says, then she will end this once and for all, before the evil that has destroyed Anakin can do further damage to the Galaxy.”

Bliss

“Since their wedding she's sworn to learn his mother tongue, Huttese, so he can speak to her in the language he used most often as a child and she can understand him as he does so.”

Stay

“He surprises her though, there are no violent outbursts or declarations of hate for whatever scum did this or even promises of vengeance. It's heartbreakingly the opposite, instead of all that, he shatters in her arms. (Set during 4x09 of The Clone Wars!)”

Scoundrel 

"By the Force… What if they've run off to get married?" Anakin's eyes widen in his panic, and Padme suddenly feels far older than she truly is for a moment. How is she supposed to defuse this? "I swear if that scoundrel elopes with my daughter he'll meet the wrong side of my lightsaber-" Slumping back in her seat, she hears Luke's terrible attempt to keep his laughter at bay.”

Siblings

“Margaery, unlike her siblings has no connection to the almighty Force, but she makes up for it in other ways. She doesn't need any of those mind tricks to play people to her tunes… What fun would it be if she only had to extend a hand and say exactly what she wanted them to do? That's much too easy. She prefers a challenge. Part of the Happy Family AU series!”

Think of Me and Burn

“Clad in only one of her silken nightgowns, the evidence of the perfection she carries within her inner cradle is obvious for his eyes to look upon and admire. How is it that he gave her his passion and she gives him the most wonderful gift in return? It hardly seems fair, but he's overjoyed none the less. (Anakin's thoughts/missing moments in Revenge of the Sith!)” 

Sisters and Secrets

“Despite the sombre nature of their conversation she can only giggle and bring her cooling tea up, to her lips to sip. It's well known she and Anakin share a very… Healthy intimate life together. They make no secret of it, so much so that Luke and Leia have taken to groaning and throwing things when they catch them kissing. It is their jobs as parents to embarrass them. (AU)” 

If you could only see the beast you made of me

“Throughout his life, throughout this war, Anakin Skywalker had done terrible things, bent the rules, broken them, stolen, sped, damaged, wounded, threatened, mind-tricked and even killed. He'd killed so many… But in this moment, now, none of that compared to… There was something far worse than all of those sins and he was mere moments away from committing it, his worst atrocity.” 

Take a walk on the wild side

"Your friends bought you a private dance." She stepped toward the small bar area, he looked like he needed a drink. "An hour-long set, actually." She'd never done an hour with anyone before. This was a new experience for her just like him. Maybe she should have a drink too?”

Just carry me home tonight (NSFW)

“I – I didn't mean to, it's only that… Well, the Force, it lets me feel… What you feel, and I know this wasn't exactly what you imagined for your wedding night, so I…" His flesh hand rose to scratch his neck awkwardly, "I suppose I just wanted to make this special for you…" Wedding night smut!” 

Once Upon a Time

“Now, she couldn't be like Anakin and swear that being a spouse and parent were all that mattered to her, because her other titles – especially the professional ones, also drove her. But to be a wife to Anakin, to be the mother of her children, it felt as natural as breathing, the progression of her life as it was meant to be. It was as if a missing piece of her had been returned.”

Take my hand take my whole life too

“Textfic. Dorme, Sabe and Obi-wan are sick to death of Anakin and Padme hiding their feelings for each other. It's time to meddle a little...”

dulce invidia 

“Senator," Anakin began, "This… This is truly not what it looks like…" He winced, and Reeva's gaze snapped back to him once more. Wasn't it? Well, she supposed not… But it could have been! It might have been given just a little more time! But Anakin wasn't looking at Reeva now. His gaze focused only on the Senator whose own eyes seemed to scream of murder when settled on her.”

Hypnotic takin’ over me (NSFW)

“By the Force… Just how many times had he seen her like this in his dreams? How many times had he run his fingers over her skin? Filled his hands with her perfect backside? Yet, when he was, by some mercy or a cruel joke, granted true sight of her, he was oblivious."

Take my hand and fight for me

“This was supposed to be a happy day, a day a father-to-be anticipated from the moment he found about the child. But not Anakin. Since Padme told him about the baby, the prospect of this day brought only dread and sickening worry that tore his exhausted mind apart. Part of him, however terrible it was, wished that this day would never come.” 

[davidmann95]

All-Star Superman #2

A scant year to the day since part 1!

All evidence to the contrary I actually have always wanted to go back to this, especially since I keep getting asked if I’ll do so and it stirs my omnipresent sense of guilt over my lack of productivity, and also the last year has not resulted in a mass turnaround of people realizing it’s a for-real good book and not just comfort food so this remains necessary. This isn’t going to be quite as in-depth as the first go-around - both that as the introductory issue and that as the introductory recap had a lot of groundwork to lay - but still plenty to cover, as this issue sets up Lois and Superman’s arcs for the series, which is rooted (amazingly, especially right off the bat, given the book’s reputation of being about how amazing Superman is) in how badly Superman’s let his fears and shortsightedness poison the most important relationship in his life.

If the first issue is the big classic Superman material - Superman saving the day from the monster! Lois and Clark and the rest of the Daily Planet crew! Lex Luthor’s sinister schemes! A ticking clock to doom! - this scales all the way down to the uncomfortably, stiflingly intimate. Classic archetypal Superman stuff gives way to the most Silver Age issue: casual huge ideas, relationship drama, misunderstandings, last-minute reveals that recontextualize the entire issue, and baaaarely latent psychodrama bubbling up at the edges. In service of that the visual framing here is not unlike a stage play, a limited set of physically connected locales as a pair of figures bounce off one another. Quitely and Grant’s work is therefore comparatively subdued next to issue #1, keeping to traditional panel layouts and wide or medium shots with a background color palate of mostly blacks and whites and grays with a handful of other colors popping out...until Lois starts to lose her shit at the end of the issue and we get close-ups and full black and white panels and eerie glowing and dutch angles and that unsettling abstract image of her clenched teeth, as the story starts to squeeze us like Lois’s gut.

She’s right to be unsettled for that matter; she’s alone on Superman’s turf (the one issue where that’s the case other than #6, and that one’s about how Smallville stopped being his home), the weird antiseptic alien lair of the ultimate super-hobbyist, and all the baggage of their relationship is spilling out into the open as she has less and less reason to think the best of this odd man who’s been lying to her for years. Unlike the Silver Age tales this is referencing, she’s absolutely on the money with her complaints about him: he’s been dicking around with her forever and thinks it can all be okay now (His little “What?” on the second page when she bursts his bubble says it all), and he’s awkwardly overcompensating trying to fix it.

While the Fortress tour serves to peacefully acclimate us to how utterly bizarre Superman’s world really gets past the traditional rescues (the little cubic starfield we don’t know the meaning of yet, trophies are floating rather than physically suspended, the glowing flowers in Lois’s room, “The Phantom Zone map room’s pretty dull unless you can see radio-negative anti-waves”), Superman himself is...humblebragging isn’t the right way of putting it, but it feels like he’s working way, way harder than he ever will again in this book to be cool and impressive and assuring. He’s a dope in love, but he can tell something’s up and that super-brain of his isn’t putting the obvious pieces together, or noticing that this is just putting her off further and further until, like Bluebeard’s wife before her, she stumbles through the threshold of the door she was never meant to, even of course in the end he’s still Superman and there’s a perfectly good reason. Not a good enough reason, however, for her accusations at dinner to not hit home - his mind may be expanding, but he’s still way up his own ass here in a genuinely unpleasant way that’ll be elaborated on momentarily. For now he’s left stammering that she should trust him and it’s limp and phony, especially compared to his big entreaty for someone to trust him in #10 (which’ll be right after he finally comes clean with her); while Superman may not be considered a savior figure by his friends in here the way he often is in the mainline comics Lois seems to be the only one who doesn’t look up to him at least a little bit, but that clarity means she’ll call him out where no one else will.

Across the next two pages it’s all laid out, and we get to the roots of where things have gone wrong between the two of them. Lois is paranoid, certainly, the panels are literally squeezing in on her, but with Superman seeming so out-there and alien like never before she would have every right to be even sans alien chemicals. But notably there remains throughout a part of her assuming the best of him wondering if maybe this is just another big misunderstanding or that he’s simply been mutated by the solar overexposure. And in her heart of hearts, she admits that maybe she wants this to be another big damn trick with a completely sensible justification, because the alternative is that this is the new normal and she has to accept that he’s a flawed mortal man. It’s ugly and it’s mean - especially since she likes Clark - and it’s human as hell in the worst, most understandable way. It’s not going to be until said mortality is staring her in the face that she’ll be able to accept it.

Superman, meanwhile...someone could write a thesis on these panels as an articulation of the Superman/Clark dynamic. The Mirror of Truth is actually preexisting, centerpiece of a Jerry Siegel/Curt Swan joint in Action Comics #269 that was later adapted into the Superman newspaper strip where Lois uses it to figure out Superman is Clark Kent until he tricks her into believing the mirror can lie, after which he tosses it in a volcano; here it’s survived, and curiously shows him as Superman rather than Clark, when in the original tale it displayed Kent even though that was fully the era of Clark as a disguise. In here too it’s Superman who’s the ‘true’ identity of the two and which this time is reflected in the mirror, yet as in #1 it’s Clark who says what he’s truly feeling. In that light, the final panel of the abandoned glasses reads like nothing so much as Superman using the mirror as affirmation that the truth of the solemn, steadfast Superman identity gives him licence to deny the uncomfortable emotions his squishy human farmboy side is dredging up, ‘lying’ to him in a way he had to fake in the source material. Those emotions however knock right on the door of what he can’t grasp here: Clark’s so wrapped up in his own head trying to do the ‘right’ thing that he’s overlooking how his attempts at self-sacrificing selflessness are hurting the people around him. Throughout the series he’ll come to rely on others, first at his lowest points with Jimmy and the Bizarros, until at last he comes to invest true trust in Lois, and the Kandorians, and Leo Quintum, and even Lex.

For now though Lois is deep in a hole, a brief but memorable meeting with the Unknown Superman of 4500AD - everything Superman seems to be becoming to her even before she wonders if it’s literally him, cryptic and masked and with a big ‘ol question mark right on his chest instead of the familiar comforting logo, even his gutbuster of a question reinforcing his distance from a recognizable human experience - leading her all the way to reimagining her Silver Age ideal happy ending of marriage and family with Superman as a Cronenbergian horror. It’s still a Superman story, it turns out he had the very best reason possible for wanting to keep her in the dark, but right through to the end he remains just a little condescending in his reassurance, and his gift of essentially bringing her up to his ‘level’ isn’t going to solve the problem. While the next issue lets us see the two of them properly in love, it won’t be until the elephant in the room comes out that they can come to terms.

Additional notes

* God Quitely is so good. Look at the way the seatbelt curves in the first panel! Lois’s bemused little disbelieving smirk!

* Pages 2-3: Aurora Borealis?!

* Lois is the only character other than Superman who gets to have actual narration (in both cases as looks at their in-text writing), the only one whose viewpoint is thus privileged in the same way as his.

* The key is the realization of this series’ aesthetic in a nutshell: the old-school idea in a sleek, shiny, clever new way that doesn’t take away from the fantastical toyeticness of it all. For that matter, the key is the centerpiece of a later bit with Superman that could be fairly described as the long-term goal of the book book as Morrison’s hoped-for perennial: “One day some future man or woman will open that door, with that key. When they do, I want them to know how it felt to live at the dawn of the age of superheroes.”

* This is A. The first note of a larger DC universe existing offscreen, something that I’ll go into more when discussing #8, B. A brilliant, concise, fun little summation of his place in Superman’s world, and C. Absolutely hilarious given Morrison suggested in his exit interview that this could be seen as much later on in the same universe as All-Star Batman & Robin The Boy Wonder, which entirely rewrites the tone of that moment.

* Already discussed the key but the muscles in Superman’s hand tensing a bit at picking it up is another great detail.

* The glimpse of the Fortress here is excellent: the statues of his friends and enemies instead of pictures because he does things bigger with the yellow electric something crackling at the end of it, the off-model but curious-looking robot appearing to glance at Kandor (are it and the bigger robot with the seats on top of it trophies, or Superman Robots with different designs tasked for specific purposes?), the classic Bad Penny Good For One Crime, the Legion time bubble that establishes his time-traveling credentials for later, the Titanic where he and Lois will dine when their relationship hits a proverbial iceberg, and most strikingly the space shuttle Columbia, his apparent rescue of which I have to imagine is a reference to Astro City’s Superman analogue Samaritan debuting by averting the Challenger disaster.

* It’s next issue that has my actual favorite Superman/Lois moment of all time, but “When we’re married fifteen years, when I’m sagging and he looks just the same, will he still meet me and say things like...” “These are for you. I picked them on Alpha Centauri 4.” is right up there.

* The technological aesthetic of the Fortress is so different than P.R.O.J.E.C.T., sleek and solid and cleanly-lit and antiseptic, beautiful and advanced but a little cold in its own way. As stuffed with wonder as this place may be, there’s something hauntingly empty about it, suiting both the tone of the issue and as a physical embodiment of Superman’s emotional state. The one part that goes against it is the forbidden room, it even has beakers and test tubes to sell the mad scientist vibe...though if you were to stretch it, it much more close resembles the human technology seen at P.R.O.J.E.C.T., and this is meant as a gift for one.

* The cosmic anvil made it along with the key into the CWverse, Lois used it in Elseworlds! I may not be expecting All-Star quality from the upcoming Superman and Lois, but it’s good to know the powers that be are using it as a reference point (beyond how it inspired Supergirl’s take on Cat Grant, a connection I discussed in a post that seems to have vanished into thin air). The whole page is perfect, Superman at his most joyfully benign and beautiful and godlike; it’s the one bit where Lois’s skepticism cracks a touch watching him feed his adorable little Lovecraftian abomination from beyond the stars.

* While he never appears physically aside from a statue Brainiac hovers over this series from beginning to end in name and deed, the ominous ultimate enemy of Superman’s past, the great trial overcome even as the scars forever remain. Morrison mentioned in the exit interview that he didn’t appear in here because he and Quitely already used him as the villain of JLA: Earth 2, but that if he had it would have borrowed Superman: The Animated Series’ take on him as a Kryptonian AI gone rogue. Personally I like his place in here as-is, a little totem parallel to the Justice League references indicating the breadth of Superman’s history between putting on the cape and Luthor’s final scheme.

* A pair of minor notes: Lois points at Superman with the pointy fork when asking him pointed questions, and while it’s not immediately clear on first read she does in fact ask the Unknown Superman exactly 3 questions (“Kal Kent?” “Will Superman and I ever marry and have children?” “What do you mean?”) before he replies with his own, as promised.

* “Oww.” and “Tickles.” literally could not be more perfect Superman moments.

* Worth taking a moment to marvel at just how many future plot elements are seeded here. There’s the obvious bit of Superman thinking about having a partner setting up the next issue, but we also for issue #6 have our first look at Kal Kent and Lois wondering “What if (the Unknown Superman) was really (Superman)?” when Clark will indeed pose as him, for #10 we get our first look at Qwewq, and for #11 not only is the Sun-Eater introduced but so is Robot 7′s malfunction as a result of Luthor’s tampering.

* The structure of the series according to Morrison is a solar cycle, beginning and ending at midday with nightfall in the center. If last issue was the sun at its brightest we begin the descent here, with Superman remaining larger-than-life and ultimately trustworthy but with his classic persona and habits held to an additional, unflattering degree of scrutiny.