#that Poseidonis is doing better than the other city-states

[fire-fira]

Rewatching the atlantean episodes of season 4 of YJA, and while I get why the writers went with making Lori, Topo, Coral, Garth, Ronal, and Beluga representatives of various Atlantean city-states for the sake of convenience (and not having to introduce new characters), at the same time there's a part of me that's less than thrilled about it. :/

Like yes, I can buy them all winding up in official positions that could easily warrant them being included in some sort of council, but being representatives for entirely separate city-states... I dunno.

(Long story short: whenever I get my Atlantean World-Building series going, I'm definitely taking a different approach.)

[punballchan]

Secret Santa Gift 2019! X3

“Is there something wrong?” Kaldur asked the miko seated in his lap with her back pressed against his chest.

Kagome shook her head and turned in Kaldur’s arms to face him or, more accurately, his collarbone.

“Sorry! It’s just that—well I—I’ve never done anything like this before,” she uttered, embarrassed, “That is to say, I’ve never been close to someone—a boy—like this before. I’m not exactly sure what I should be doing right now.”

Kagome stilled when Kaldur gently touched her chin and tipped her gaze toward his. He smiled at the rosy pink hue that started from the apples of her cheeks and continued down the slender column of her neck. It was hard to believe a hero and comrade who confidently fought by his side could be so timid. They were several weeks into their courtship, and the most innocent of touches made the tiny miko flustered even when the two of them were alone.

Kaldur chuckled and pressed a kiss to Kagome’s forehead. He whispered against her skin, “You’re adorable.”

Kagome pouted. “That doesn’t help, ya know.”

She yelped when Kaldur tightened his grip around her waist and fell backward onto her mattress, bringing her down with him.

“Kaldur!”

“Relax. You don’t have to do anything at all,” he told her softly, “Kagome is all I need. Don’t overthink it.”

Kagome huffed but made herself comfortable, resting her ear directly about Kaldur’s beating heart as she traced the muscles on his chest.

“I’ll try not to.”

Kaldur hummed and began to run his fingers through Kagome’s hair, grateful that she finally released the tension in her muscles. He didn’t take offense to her hesitance, knowing how difficult romantic relationships could be for her. Despite her past experiences, he knew without doubt Kagome trusted him completely. There wasn’t anywhere he could go that she couldn’t follow.

-O0o0O FLASHBACK O0o0O-

Kagome nervously tugged at the collar of the black and neon pink wetsuit she wore and shifted her long braid over her shoulder. She was anxious with a frenzy of butterflies fluttering up a storm in her stomach. In less than a minute, she would enter a Zeta-Beam transport tube and enter the capital city of Atlantis, a place even she couldn’t believe existed.

“Kagome, are you ready?” Kaldur asked her as he approached her.

Kagome squeaked in surprise, but Kaldur’s demeanor composed her thoughts. She wasn’t the only one in a frenzy about today. Her quiet, reserved leader appeared to be the same as he always was on the surface, but she could tell he was excited to bring her to his home.

Kagome smiled to herself as she recalled Kaldur confessing he wanted to bring her to Atlantis. For that, she would put her nerves aside so he could be happy.

‘Not that I’m not happy too.’

“As ready as I’ll ever be!” she replied.

Kaldur gave her hand a gentle squeeze before letting it go.

“Wonderful. I have received word from King Orin, and he is ready to receive us with his wife, Lady Mera, and younger brother, Prince Orm.”

“Seriously? All of that isn’t necessary!” Kagome insisted, comically shaking her head, “This is just a simple visit. No need to make such a fuss over me.”

“But it is much more than that,” Kaldur insisted, “Not only are you an integral part of the Team, you are a valued ally to the Justice League and its affiliates. You have done and are doing great things. You should expect the respect you receive and much more.”

Kagome flushed and looked away. “I’ll try.”

“And, on top of all that,” Kaldur continued, “you are my dear friend and, as such, are important me. Stop being so nervous.”

His only regret was that his parents were unable to travel to Poseidonis to join the Royal Family to greet them. He could have taken Kagome to Shaycris as well, but he wouldn’t risk Kagome’s health on an additional trip to his home. Kagome’s ability to withstand underwater conditions was temporary, and Kaldur wanted to be as close as possible to the transporters should something go awry. He took every precaution to ensure Kagome returned to the surface safely, and nothing discouraged her from wanting to visit Atlantis again.

“Is that a request from a friend or an order from my leader?” Kagome cheekily asked.

“That is a difficult decision. It is equally likely you will listen to neither.”

Kagome smirked and calmed just as Kaldur intended. “You’re lucky I can’t talk underwater, or you’ll get it as both.”

“Thank goodness for small miracles.”

Her heart pounding, Kagome took a deep breath as she stood, trying not to think that it would be the last breath of dry air she’d take for several hours. Sensing her nerves return, Kaldur reached out and took Kagome’s hand.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

Kagome nodded once. “Ready.”

Entering the transporter was a blur for Kagome. She only realized she was completely submerged in water when her body began to float and her mind went blank with fright. The strong, stable embrace of Kaldur’s hand engulfing hers and the steady stroking of his thumb did little to temper her body’s instinctive responses. Despite her preparation and training for this moment, she couldn’t force her body to ignore the perceived danger and draw a breath into her aching lungs.

Kaldur immediately noticed her distress and released her hand. Before Kagome could panic further, he placed one hand on her shoulder and the other cupped her cheek to direct her gaze to him. He gently but firmly pulled her closer until he became the only thing keeping her grounded, an epitome of calm and constant support.

“Breathe, Kagome,” he told her, “Just breathe.”

And, even though she did, she still felt breathless.

With Kagome’s hand in his, Kaldur led Kagome just beyond the transporter where the Royal Family was waiting to receive them. The meeting went better than Kaldur expected. With stiffened poise, Kagome released his hand and bowed before King Orin and his wife, presenting them both with Shinto talismans in the shape of the Shikon no Tama she prepared and blessed for the occasion. Queen Mera was immediately taken with the young priestess, admiring her ancient style of magic. Without her ability to speak, Kagome could only blush and nod, but her expressions spoke for themselves.

After a promise to join them in the evening for dinner, Kaldur brought Kagome to the Conservatory of Sorcery to meet his friends and former classmates. Kagome was more comfortable around people their age and visibly relaxed. Unfortunately for her, Tula, Coral, and Lori used her distraction to whisk her away from Kaldur’s side with promises to return her in one piece.

Garth chuckled and placed a hand on Kaldur’s shoulder to keep him from following.

“You don’t have to be so tense. She’s hardly in danger.”

“I know,” Kaldur replied, “It’s odd. For some reason—”

“You can’t help but worry,” Garth interrupted with a small smile

Kaldur lingered to speak with his friends for several minutes before he left to find the girls with Garth in tow. At Garth’s suggestion, they arrived at Poseidonis’s large shopping district to begin their search. Before long, Tula called out to them from the entrance of a popular clothing store.

“You saved us the trouble of finding you,” she said, “I didn’t think you would be so impatient, Kaldur.”

“You did catch me off guard. I take it Kagome is inside?”

Tula nodded. “We thought Kagome would appreciate more appropriate attire during her stay. I believe it suits her.”

Lori and Coral exited the shop, eagerly coaxing Kagome to do the same. She stumbled in open water until she stood in front of Kaldur, her hands clasped together in front of her.

The miko wore a lavender, high-collared halter top with intricate violet details that bared her midriff with deep purple shorts and a think silver chain clasped around her slender waist. On her arms were white bell-sleeves flowing over her wrists. Her previously bound hair was loose and held back by a white patterned headband.

Kagome looked at Kaldur from beneath her lashes, an expectant look in her eyes while she nervously bit her bottom lip. Kaldur smiled at Kagome, approving of her new Atlantean attire. He was grateful Tula and the other girls decided to take her shopping even though he would have preferred to accompany her as well. He reached out and tenderly grasped her hand.

“You look lovely, Kagome,” Kaldur said, his grin widening when she began to blush.

Behind them, Tula, Coral, and Lori giggled. Kagome made a noiseless shriek and ducked her head but didn’t attempt to remove her hand from his.

“We’ll leave you two alone, okay?” Lori said with a flirty wink.

“Make sure you see us before you go back to the surface,” Tula said.

Kagome nodded and approached her new Atlantean friends, giving them a bright smile and an eager nod.

-O0o0O END FLASHBACK O0o0O-

It wasn’t long after that day when Kaldur decided to pursue Kagome, and he did so earnestly.

“If you start to feel uneasy or uncomfortable, just tell me,” Kaldur stated, “We will figure it out together. This is new to me as well.” He continued speaking to Kagome in Atlantean, causing the miko to knit her brows. She knew enough to hold a simple conversation but was far from fluent.

“I’m sorry, but what was that?” she asked.

Kaldur smiled and repeated his words in English, “My arms are your refuge. With me, you will not know fear.”

Kagome shifted so that she could look Kaldur in the eye. She reached out and gently cupped his cheek. “That’s beautiful, Kaldur. Thank you.”

Kaldur leaned up, stopping just a hair’s breadth away from Kagome’s lips.

“No problem,” he whispered before closing the short distance and pressed his lips to hers with one hand pressed against the back of her head and an arm around her waist.

-O0o0O-

punballchan – That’s what I got! Assume this takes place in the Forgotten Hero universe. Hope you like it, @masquerabe. (Sorry it’s late!)

[sebeth]

Young Justice: Welcome To Happy Harbor, Drop-Zone, What’s The Story

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

 Episode 3: “Welcome To Happy Harbor”

The episode begins with Speedy interrupting one of Brick’s shipments.  Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad soon join the party.

Brick gets cocky and pays for it.  I’d completely forgotten about Brick’s appearance in this episode.  We see Brick in the trailer for the third season.  I bet he appears in Arrowette’s origin/recruitment episode.  It would be a nice callback to the first season.

The boys attempt to recruit Speedy to the team but he’s a manly man who doesn’t need to be part of a team.

“Recognized Robin B-01, Kid Flash B-03”

You know Batman programmed the codes and was all “Robin will be the first”.  It’s also a nice nod to Robin’s status as the first sidekick.

“Mission assignments are the Batman’s responsibility.” – Yep, poor Red is the one who has to reign in their shenanigans.  This Red doesn’t know how easy he has it – there should be a crossover between the Red of the cartoon universe and the Red of the comic book universe.  Comic book-Red can terrify Cartoon-Red with tales of his Conner and Bart.

“This team is not a social club.” – Kaldur would be the one most adamant about assignments and not wasting time on socializing.  He entered the Atlantean military at 12 years old.  He’s had structure and duty drilled into him at a young age.

“I cannot read his mind.” – Ooh, foreshadowing of M’gann’s later abuse of her powers?  That is a pretty clear violation of privacy for no other reason than convenience.  On the one hand, I cut M’gann some slack because even at 45 years old she is still a teenager by her race’s standards.  Teenagers don’t always make the best decisions and she’s obviously attempting to impress her teammates.  On the other hand, J’onn is a very ethical telepath and I’m positive he would have coached M’gann on the proper uses of telepathy.

“We all know what you’re thinking right now.” – Wally the horn dog is taken straight out of his solo comic in the late 1980s.

Wally and Dick competing over M’gann’s attention is hilarious.  I don’t think Dick event wants M’gann’s attention as much as he wants to annoy Wally.  Meanwhile, Superboy is not amused by their shenanigans.  At all.

Kaldur continues to be the only “adult” in the room.

“Granny Jones’ recipe from episode 17” – Subtle foreshadowing of an element that wouldn’t become prominent until much later in the season.

Wally needs to learn subtleness in his flirtations.

“Here, your powers are an extreme invasion of privacy.” – Wouldn’t that have been one of the first things J’onn would have gone over with her?”  

Superboy would be highly sensitive to telepathic intrusions due to his experiences in Cadmus.  If your entire upbringing revolved around telepathic manipulation, you are sure not going to want anyone randomly popping into your head.

“Helo, Megan.” – What we thought was a catchphrase is more foreshadowing.

The Martian bio-ship is cool.

“Fast with his feet. Not so much with his mouth.”

“Dude!”

Yep, Dick is having too much fun giving Wally a bad time.

Kaldur takes the lead and reaches out to Superboy.  Even before it was made official, the writers did a great job laying the foundation for Aqualad to become the leader of the team.

“Mimicking boys is a lot harder.” – Would it be?  Do Martians even have gender?  Their natural forms – green or white – are basically androgynous.

“Are tornadoes common in New England?” – A pretty sensible question.  Kaldur lives underwater, Conner’s a newborn, Megan’s an alien, and Wally’s from the Midwest.  Dick is the only one who lives in New England area.

The team battles Mr. Twister and comes out on the losing end.  I’ve always felt Red Tornado was one of the most formidable heroes around. How do you fight a tornado?

“That was quite turbing.” – Dick’s mangling of the English language is thrown back into his face.

Megan deduces (wrongly) that Mr. Twister is the Red Tornado.  To be fair, it was an obvious guess.

“Stay out of our way.” – Is this Conner’s catchphrase?  This is the second time in three episodes he’s stated a variation of it.

The rematch with Mr. Twister is going as well as the first round.

“First thing Batman taught me.” – Yeah, I can see Bruce believing “never be without a weapon” is a valuable life lesson.  

Where did Dick hide the utility belt? It’s rather bulky.

Megan devises a plan and the team makes short work of Mr. Twister.

“Cool.  Souvenir.” – Wally begins his collection of trophies.

The scientist at the end is Dr. T.O. Morrow – his search for Red Tornado sets up a future episode.

“Sorry.  I’ll strive to be more accurate.”

“And more respectful.”

Yep, Dick and Conner could both use lessons in manners and tact.

Conner mutters an awkward “Sorry” to Megan.  Judging from his expression, it pained him in his soul to do so.

Episode 4: “Drop-Zone”

For those curious, the first three episodes of the cartoon, along with the first five issues of the comic, took place from July 4th through the 12th.

“Drop-Zone” begins on June 19th – Kobra has forcibly taken control of Bane’s Venom-production facilities on Santa Prisca.  Bane is not happy.

Bane battles Mammoth for control of the island and loses.

I like Kobra and his minions visual design.  Very nice. I’m not sold on Shimmer or Mammoth (pre-transformation.”

We flip ahead to June 22nd.  Two possibilities for why we are now in June – which is before July, not after.  One – the creators messed up and put June in the captions instead of July.  Two – we skipped a year between episodes 3 and 4.  I’m going with the first option as the team still hasn’t elected a leader. Pretty sure you can’t have a year’s worth of adventures without an established leader.

That said, I’m pausing “Drop-Zone” and switching to the comic as the fifth issue takes place on July 20th. I’m trying to keep this in chronological order.

Issue 5: “What’s The Story?”

Wally is at the HQ – bored and flirthing with Megan.  Wally suggest a camp fire.  Megan enthusiastically agrees but dashes Wally’s hopes by inviting the rest of the team.

Tents are set, fires lit, and smores made.

Dick tells Wally to tone down his flirting as it’s “kinda bordering on the creepy.” Yeah, Wally isnt’ exactly smooth.

Conner’s not impressed with camping: “Sleep in these flimsy things called tents and sit around the fire?”

Dick scolds Wally again: “You’re about as subtle as a train wreck.”

Megan wants to learn more about her teammates.

Aqualad begins.  Here are the highlights:

·         Grew up in Shayeris, a city of Atlantis

·         Atlantis has many people, many cultures

·         Completed his education at 12 and began mandatory service in the Atlantean military

·         At 14 years old - Transferred to the prestigious Conservatory of Science in Poseidonis

·         Queen Mera is the headmistress of the Conservatory

·         Met Garth and Tula at the Conservatory

·         Garth Kaldur saved Aquaman’s life during an attack by the Ocean Master

·         Aquaman offered the boys a chance to become his protégé and later carry on his “suface duties” while he focused on running the Kingdom

·         Kaldur leapt at the chance while Garth continued his magical studies

Nice origin recap for Kaldur.  I love the inclusion of Garth and Tula as it is a nice nod to Arthur’s original sidekicks.

Wally goes next. Highlights:

·         Jay Garrick is still the original Flash!  Yes!  I love the nods to the depth of the DC Universe. Modern creators don’t seem to care about characters and continuity but Greg Weisman and company flawlessly incorporate all aspects and elements of DC’s history.

·         Barry’s next.

·         Wally desperately wants to be Kid Flash but Barry is “No! No partners! I don’t want the responsibility!”

·         Wally’s all “Screw that.  I do what I want.” and recreates the chemical combination that caused Barry to turn into the Flash.

·         Wally as a science nerd is unique to the Young Justice universe but it’s a nice addition to the character.

·         After a few weeks, Wally gains super-speed.  He campaigns to be Barry’s new partner.  Barry’s not thrilled but agrees as long as Wally does “exactly as I say, when I say it.”

The writers did an excellent job of establishing exactly why the heroes allowed the teenagers to run around in costumes:

·         Aquaman is training a protégé to assume his role as surface world ambassador/protector.

·         Batman doesn’t want Dick to turn out like him.  Bruce doesn’t want Dick’s “inner light” to face out.

·         Barry had no choice as Wally was hell-bent on being a hero.  Better to have Wally by his side than face the danger alone.

Roy is too busy being a manly loner to discover Ollie’s reasons.  Traditionally, Ollie doesn’t make the best life choices so it could have been the more typical “well, letting a kid run around in a mask and punch criminals seemed like a good idea at the time.”

Robin passes on story-telling time.  At first, Wally ribs Dick about Batman not letting him say anything but realizes he’s rubbing salt in the wound and passes the story-telling baton to Conner.

Conner doesn’t say much. He mentions the G-Gnomes and the containment pod.  Conner states he never thought for himself until his rescue.

Conner states the one thing that’s always on his mind is “Destroying Superman.

And with that bombshell, I’m off to work.

Up next, we continue story time and resume “Drop-Zone”.

[thecomicsnexus]

Aquaman #1-5. June-October, 1989. By Keith Giggen, Robert Loren Fleming, Curt Swan and Al Vey.

After having been away for several months, Aquaman returns home to Atlantis. Nearing the capital city of Poseidonis, he finds several dead sentries at an outpost. He also discovers remains of a species of jellyfish that he has never encountered before.

Investigating further, Aquaman draws close to the domed city. He is horrified to find that some mysterious invasion force has taken control of the city and have been using Atlanteans as slave labor. He also discovers that these workers are also dismantling a salt processing plant - one of Atlantis' chief exports. Some nearby guards spot Aquaman and recognizing his costume as an old Atlantean prison uniform, mistake him for an escaped prisoner. They capture him and take him to the Aquarium prison facility.

There, Aquaman mingles with the other prisoners who tell him of the mysterious invaders that laid siege to the city when they were at their most vulnerable. Nobody has ever seen what these invaders look like, but the prisoners know that they have rounded up nomadic tribes of Atlanteans from the surrounding regions and pressed them into service. Even now, Atlantean loyalists are forming a resistance to take back the city.

At the Atlantean Royal Palace, members of the invasion force reveal their true visage: sentient giant jellyfish. Their plan is to insure the genetic purity of the sea by eradicating all Atlanteans.

Meanwhile, at the AHARD-1 hospice center, Mera, former queen of Atlantis, has been languishing away in a locked room reserved for mental patients. Some strange insight flashes into her mind, and she suddenly springs to the door and begins pounding her fists while shouting "He's back! He's back!"

Back at the Aquarium, one of the prisoners decides that if he were to kill Aquaman, then he would have bargaining power with the invaders. He ambushes Aquaman and the two begin fighting. One of the other prisoners, a resistance fighter named Jared, comes to Aquaman's aid just as he finishes off his attacker. Jared tells Aquaman their plans for the resistance.

From one of the parapets of the Aquarium Prison, Aquaman and a young resistance fighter secretly watch an Atlantean transport line going back and forth to the prison. After hearing an explosion in the distance, Aquaman takes to one of the secret channels that runs beneath the facility. He returns to the prison block just in time for a routine inspection. Later, the Atlantean, Jared, and he go over battle strategies and memorize a map of the entire prison layout.

Some time later, members of the outside resistance movement detonates a bomb near the Atlantean Royal Palace. The invaders, concealed in their metal shells question their guards about the explosion. Aquaman knows that the young boy he met earlier is involved in the attack and wants to help him. The other inmates restrain him, citing that he risks everything should he leave now.

The Jellyfish invaders meanwhile, track down the boy responsible for the attack and have him executed. To send a message to the resistance, they rig a prisoner transport ship to explode and send it to Aquarium. Aquaman tries to prevent the attack, but he is too late. The ship blows up, killing hundreds of prisoners.

After much consideration, Aquaman determines that the invading force is actually a species of sentient jellyfish. He withdraws the sample he collected earlier and analyzes it. Now knowing what he's up against, he knows how to combat it. He rallies the other inmates together and tells them that they are going to bring the fight directly to the invaders.

The Atlantean drones report in to their jellyfish masters. They indicate that there has been a substantial increase in resistance activity and there is definite cause for concern. There is also news that Mera has escaped confinement at the hospice center.

Meanwhile, Aquaman rallies the Atlantean prisoners together and they escape the Aquarium via secret aqueducts. They plant canisters of poison gas beneath and around the Atlantean Royal Palace and wait for the proper time to set them off.

As Aquaman inspects the target areas, he finally comes across his wife Mera. Mera is insane with rage, and still blames Aquaman for the death of their son. She creates hard-water daggers and begins hurling them at Aquaman. Aquaman has no desire to fight his wife, and goes to great length to avoid her attacks.

The resistance fighters activate the gas canisters and the poison fills the royal palace, killing the jellyfish present. This is their first true victory against the alien invaders, but there are many more to deal with. Hope grows within their hearts, for now at least, they stand a chance of fighting back.

Back at the palace, Mera continues her attack against Aquaman. Aquaman assumes a defensive posture and judo-flips Mera backwards, accidentally impaling her upon an sharpened piece of metal. He looks on in horror as his wife lies dead before him.

While the war rages on, Aquaman is tasked with the solemn duty of burying his wife, Mera. One of the hospital staff members tries to console him, but he just wants to be left alone. Staring down at his wife's coffin, he silently apologizes for everything that has happened. Suddenly, the coffin lid springs open and Mera emerges, angry and very much alive.

Meanwhile the jellyfish invaders have abandoned the city to escape the poison gas. They take up position outside the perimeter of the dome for all to sea. The leaders of the invasion instruct their Atlantean drones to completely seal the city off, blockading them from their food and supply lines. If they cannot defeat the insurrectionists by force, then they will starve them out.

Resistance fighters man battlements throughout the city. Now that they have taken back Poseidonis, they will fight tooth and nail to keep it.

At the Atlantean Royal Palace, Aquaman is startled to see Mera attacking him anew. She reveals that her physiology is different from that of an Atlantean, and as such, her vital organs are not located in the same areas as a normal person. She still blames Aquaman for the death of her son and states that if he had been sired by a real man, then he might still be alive. Having virtually torn Aquaman's heart out, Mera decides to leave this world forever. She opens a spatial aperture and returns to her native Dimension Aqua.

Aquaman has little time to grieve however, he still has a war to fight. He consults with the Atlantean general and receives an update on the current situation. After taking some time to reflect on the situation, Aquaman divines a plan to fight back.

The invaders' drone soldiers maintain the perimeter around Poseidonis, blockading the resistance from food and supplies. The resistance soldiers push the line, but are quickly repelled. The giant jellyfish send orders to take out the resistance fighters strongest warriors in order to lower morale.

The Atlantean general leading the resistance is determined to continue making surgical strikes to leave the city, even though such a strategy is veritable suicide. His officers question the man's judgment, but he retorts, citing that they have no alternative.

The AHARD-1 health facility has been turned into a triage unit. The walls are packed with wounded soldiers and there appears to be no end in sight. The hospital is severely understaffed and they do not have the resources to care for so many.

Aquaman swims to the uppermost spire of the Atlantean Royal Palace. He knows now that the Atlanteans cannot take back their lands on their own. Pushing himself harder than he ever has before, he broadcasts a telepathic summons to every fish, cephalopod and marine mammal that he can find. A gam of whales storms the perimeter and smashes into the opposing armies, overturning tanks and battleships. 

Sharks and electric eels go directly after the soldiers and the seas turn into a cloud of red blood. Most of the jellyfish invaders are killed, but three of them choose discretion as the better part of valor and flee. Aquaman's telepathic commands overtax him and he collapses from the spire. The Atlantean loyalists catch him and praise his efforts. Their king has returned. When Aquaman comes to however, he tells them that he has no desire to resume his position as king. His duties are more broad than that, and that Atlantis now belongs to the Atlanteans.

Aquaman leaves and explores the depths of his true home - the oceans of Earth.

From DC Wikia

These mini-series spun off “the legend of Aquaman” special by the same creative team, so, if you are expecting an origin story, this is the wrong place. However, the story could be considered essential to understand the post-crisis version of Aquaman and what differentiates him from other heroes.

While Batman fights for Justice, Superman fights for hope and Wonder Woman fights for peace, Aquaman fights for his people, his ocean and its relations with the surface. At least in this version.

And what better way of explaining all this than using parallels to World War II and the colonization of (South) America.

The first issue felt like another “Aquaman comes home and finds a new dictator” kind of story, but on the second issue I really got into it. And the reason is that horrific moment when Aquaman realizes they are killing their own people, just for not being properly lead.

And that is why his role is important in this story. Atlanteans can go to war anytime, but they cannot win without someone to lead them.

Now, compared to the bronze age stories, this is a good one. Mera is not doing great here as she has gone a bit insane since the death of Aquababy. Despite this, her leaving our plane of existence inspires Aquaman to assume his responsibilities. (But not entirely). I think it was a mistake keeping Aquababy in continuity after Crisis.

The ending is flawed. Aquaman should have stayed in Atlantis as a king, after all, that is what Mera and all the deceased pretty much taught him through the series. So it makes little sense for him to abandon Atlantis again (Especially considering that he wasn’t involved in anything else in the DC Universe at the time, apart from random cameos here and there).

The art is stunning. Curt Swan’s art may look a bit dated, but it’s still very detailed and human. There are a couple of contribution that I think helped a lot. Giffen breakdowns (I am going to assume he did that), and Al Vey’s inks. At simple sight the issue looks like it is a pre-crisis story, but once you read it, you know it’s from the late eighties.

I give the mini-series a score of 7.73.

[tgwltw]

Firsts.

Requested by @septembergrl88: Omg I’ve been looking everywhere for some Aquaman fics, I’ve read yours & they were great! I was wondering if i could request a fic where Arthur takes the reader to Atlantis in their 1st date

Hi, thank you so much for the compliments, I’m glad you enjoy them! I actually really like writing about Arthur Curry. Thank you for sending in your request and this is totally different than what I had planned in mind, to be very honest. It was supposed to be something sweet and fluffy but this happened instead. Over 1k words of I’m-not-sure. But hope you enjoy!

“Sweets, I sure as hell hope you know how to swim.” Arthur chuckles when he spies your affronted look – Arthur knows very well of your hobby and your love for being in the water. It amuses him greatly to see just how much love you have for the ocean too. 

You punch him lightly on his shoulder. That’s the thing with Arthur – even though this is technically your first official date with him, there’s this air of settled comfort when it comes to Arthur and you have never had that before with any of your previous boyfriends (not that you had a lot). “So are we going swimming?” You ask him, trying to look around the place – Arthur said it was closer this way, though you have no idea where ‘it’ is. 

You then look at your choice of attire – Arthur had only told you to wear something comfortable and dry-fit so you opted to wear a sundress, tights and a jean jacket. “Arthur,” You start but the rest of your words is swallowed by Arthur when he abruptly stops to plant a kiss on your lips. You didn’t want to admit but you were breathless by the time he pulled away, that smug grin still on his face.

“Something like that, sweets.” Arthur tells you and pulls you along. You roll your eyes at his response but kept walking behind him. You didn’t mind the fact that your first date isn’t as typical or normal as others’ just so long as you get to spend some time with Arthur. The both of you have been so busy with your respective works that the two of you just haven’t had the chance to go out on your date just yet. 

When Arthur stops, you are careful not to bump into his back. He drops your hand and shrugs off his jacket, dropping it to the side. He then holds out his hand, raising his eyebrow at your confused look before he points to your jacket. You shrug your jacket off, shivering slightly at the cool wind and hand it to Arthur who dumps your jacket on top of his. “Nobody ever comes to this part so your jacket will be safe.” He points out and takes off his shoes too. So you simply followed his actions, placing your shoes beside the pile of jackets.

“So?” You look at him inquiringly and Arthur lifts a hand to cup your cheek, letting his thumb caress the apple of your cheek for a bit. You can’t help but grin at his sweet action. 

Arthur pulls his hand back and looks at the sea. “This isn’t probably the best ideal date or whatever, sweets but I wanted…” He trails off the slightest bit before shouldering on. “I wanted to show you Atlantis.” 

The moment those words left his mouth, your heart jumped and your jaw drops as tears well up in your eyes. Whenever the two of you had some time to yourselves, you would always end up talking about your childhood memories and occasionally, Arthur will tell you stories from when he was a young kid, stories of what he had went through growing up and you have always wanted to go to Atlantis – you just never had the chance to express it to Arthur in fear of stepping over the line. 

Arthur wipes a stray tear and pulls you in his embrace. “Come ‘ere, sweets.” You wrap your arms around his waist loosely, smiling to his chest. The two of you stayed like that until Arthur deemed you to be alright. “You ready?”

You grin up at him. “Of course.” 

Arthur chuckles and nods his head, releasing his hold on you. He grabs onto your hand instead and brings you over to the shore. “The water’s gonna be slightly cold and it will probably take a bit for your body to adapt the temperature of the water but if by any chance, you feel uncomfortable, tell me okay?” He informs you sternly, eyebrows furrowed in concern and you nod your head. 

“I know the drill, Arthur. I told you I started my diving classes right?” You reminded him and Arthur nods his head curtly. “But thank you for reminding me so how are we going to do this?” You peer over his shoulders to stare at the ocean. You doubt you will be able to swim there, wherever Atlantis is.

Arthur grins. “Well, let’s get in the water first.” It really doesn’t take long for the two of you to get in the water. You had shivered slightly when you got in but now, you think you are fine. “I learned a neat trick and this should suffice until the next time we resurface.” He informs you with that beautiful smirk on his face – on that makes his face devilishly handsome. You smile at him. When Arthur tells you to hold your breath under the water, he dives in and creates a thin water bubble around you and suddenly, you find yourself able to breathe under water. Your eyes widen slightly at the show of power – you know Arthur is powerful, he did tell you about what he was capable of. Seeing Arthur at ease, looking as amazing as he had on land, makes the smile on your face grow bigger. He takes your hand in his once more as he slowly pulls you to him. “Just make sure to keep your head close to my chest.” You nod your head, loosely wrapping your arms around him and just as you settled in, Arthur takes off like the speed of light and it excites you, even though you can’t really see anything at all yet. Arthur comes to a stop, gently releasing you from his hold and he nudges you. “You can open your eyes now.” He states and the moment you open your eyes, you are greeted with a gate so big and magnificent that your jaw dropped the slightest bit. “This, Sweets, is the main entrance also known as the King’s Gate.” He states. “History’s a little bit,” Arthur makes a noise at the back of his throat. “But it was said that long ago, the city of Poseidonis constructed this dome to protect them from barbaric neighbours and when a meteor submerged the city, this dome protected the inhabitants. But I don’t really want to bore you with too much details, let’s give you a tour around the place.” You nod your head, shutting your mouth shut as Arthur lead you in to Atlantis. The place is far better than what you had imagined and it was simply beautiful. Coming from the land and seeing all of these Atlantean going about their daily lives is really mesmerizing to you. “This used to be where I would go.” Arthur brings you to this place, not far from the palace. It was secluded but the view was breathtaking. “To think about my life sometimes.” Arthur pulls you closer to him. “And I wanted to share this with you.” You would have blushed if you could but since you couldn’t, you settled with wrapping your arms around Arthur. He pulls you even closer, until you are directly in front of him, your back towards him. “Thank you for bringing me here, Arthur.” Arthur chuckles as he slowly brings the two of you down on the flat ground near the corals. “Is this alright for our first date, Sweets?” You nod your head, turning your head to the side, placing a kiss on his jaw. “Even better than what I had hoped for, Arthur.” You place your hand on top of his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “And you know I don’t care much for ideals – it’s not like we started this relationship ‘the right way’ anyway.” You roll your eyes and Arthur chuckles, nodding his head.

[lizartgurl]

The Conservatory

Word Count: 1600+ Characters: Kaldur’ahm, Queen Mera, Garth of Shayeris, Lori Lemaris, Topo, La’gaan, Tula Requested by @bat-mike. Thank you for the request, I’m sorry it took so long to finish this. I hope you enjoy it!

Kaldur rubbed his bandaged arm, biting his lip as he looked the splendid building up and down. The architecture and art was second only to the palace of Poseidonis, not far from the doors to Queen Mera's Conservatory of Sorcery where Kaldur now stood.

"Kaldur," He looked up at his parents. Sha'lain'a and Calvin each had a hand on one of his shoulders, smiling at him encouragingly

"If you want to go home, you can."

Kaldur swallowed his nerves. "No, I can do this."

Sha'lain'a hugged him tightly. "I know the queen. She is a wonderful woman. You will be happy here."

The words "You will be safe" were unspoken, but with his Matim's tone, Kaldur knew that was what she meant.

"Ah, Kaldur'ahm!" Queen Mera herself chose that moment to appear, and Kaldur bowed as deep as it was respectful, just as they'd taught him in the military.

The Queen chuckled. "Rise Kaldur'ahm, and welcome to the Conservatory of Sorcery." She held out her hand to him, and hesitantly, he accepted it, looking over at his parents for reassurance.

Calvin and Sha'lain'a smiled at him proudly, gesturing for him to go on.

Kaldur didn't know how much longer he could take separated from his parents. He had been conscripted into mandatory service in the Atlantean military for the past two years, with only a few letters from home each month. He'd only returned home for two months when Sha'lain'a and Calvin recieved word that their son showed aptitude for sorcery, and was invited to attend the Conservatory of Sorcery in Poseidonis, at the invitation of Queen Mera herself!

"Follow me," Mera gently encouraged him. Young Kaldur hefted his pack onto his shoulder and followed the Queen through the elaborate maze of hallways, carved out of a jade-green stone.

"That doorway leads to the courtyard," The Queen waved her hand in the direction of an open archway, "Many students favor that spot for practicing, either together or alone."

Kaldur nodded quietly, still following obediently, trying to avoid catching attention from any purist students who might want to cause trouble.

"The mess hall is down there, the classrooms to the right," Queen Mera continued, pushing a heavy set of doors open with her magics, "And these are the student dorms."

The hall had numerous doors on either side, stretching off as far as Kaldur could see. So many people, living in such a big building.

"Girls are on the right, boys on the left. And this is your room," Queen Mera pushed open the fifth door on Kaldur's left. "I picked your dorm-mate myself. Kaldur'ahm of Shayeris, meet Garth of Shayeris."

Despite being from the same city, Kaldur couldn't recognize the boy. It was probably due to his rommate's lack of any distinguishing fish-features. Unlike Kaldur, this boy was not impure, and especially in Atlantis's outer city-states, purists typically kept themselves separate from any they deemed "impure".

Garth, who had obviously arrived much earlier yet wasn't quite unpacked yet, turned to greet his new roommate, and Kaldur felt his nerves returning as he gripped the straps of his pack. Would the boy reject him at the sight of his gills? Would he have to relive the two years of torture his comrades had subjected him to in the military?

"Hello Kaldur'ahm, I am Garth. Do you mind if I call you Kaldur?" Garth held out his hand.

Kaldur knew Garth felt the webbing between his fingers when he accepted the handshake, but the purple-eyed boy made no comment.

"Yes, Kaldur is just fine," He nodded.

"I will leave you to get settled in. There is orientation in the courtyard in less than an hour, where you can meet the rest of your classmates." The Queen informed them. "I look forward to our classes together."

She closed the door, and Kaldur wished he didn't feel so trapped.

"Which bunk do you want?" Garth asked, hefting up his own bag. "Each one has it's own window, but I would like bottom bunk if that is alright with you."

Kaldur nodded, he didn't have a particular preference, "That is fine." He agreed.

"We can each have half the closet, and half the drawers to keep our things in. Which half would you like?"

"I do not particularly care," Kaldur admitted, climbing up to the top bunk bed with his things.

"Are you certain?" Garth inquired curiously, wondering why the other boy was acting so shy.

"Yes, I am certain." Kaldur said. He looked down at the other boy, watching as he carefully counted out the drawers to make sure that they each got the same amount, and tried to make sure that his clothes only fit in one half of the closet.

There was a knock on the door, and Garth quickly went to answer it.

"Kaldur!" Lori Lemaris cried, pushing past Garth and barely noticing him.

"Can you believe it? We are finally here! At the Conservatory of Sorcery!" Kaldur's old friend swam up to his bed and pulled him down to the floor, where La'gaan and Topo were also entering the room.

"I saw them setting up in the courtyard, they have so much food!" Topo blurbled.

Lori giggled. "La'gaan said he was going to eat crab until he was sick!"

"Well, maybe I won't," La'gaan chuckled nervously.

"Come on, you have to meet my roommate, she is so nice! Oh, speaking of which, where's your roommate, Kaldur?" Lori cocked her head to the side curiously, and it took Kaldur a moment to realize that she had stopped talking and was waiting for a reply.

He gestured behind them to Garth, who was waiting by the door, watching Kaldur's friends in fascination.

"Lori, La'gaan, Topo, this is my roommate, Garth of Shayeris. Garth, these are my friends from home."

Lori gasped and swam over to Garth, shaking his hand. "I must have shoved the door open in your face! I am so sorry! Can you ever forgive me?" She begged.

For a split second, Kaldur thought that Garth would be angry and yell at Lori, like most other purists the four of them had to protect themselves from over the years, but Garth laughed and smiled, shaking Lori's hand in return.

"There is no harm done. I know you were anxious to see your friend." Lori' sighed in relief, and Topo and La'gaan swam over too. Kaldur found himself following them.

"So you're from Shayeris too?" Topo asked.

"Yes, my parents are good friends with the Lord and Lady of Shayeris!" Garth said, with the slightest note of pride in his voice.

"How come we've never seen you around before?" La'gaan asked.

Garth shrugged, his cheeks tinted pink with embarassment. "My parents liked to keep me close to home. I...I have been homeschooled up until now, but when Queen Mera invited me to attend the Conservatory, my parents couldn't say no. I have never been around so many Atlanteans my own age until now." Garth said, unable to stop smiling at Kaldur and his friends.

"Oh my goodness!" Lori gasped, her tail flicking back and forth nervously, as it always did whenever she forgot something, which was often, with her flighty head.

"The orientation! We have to get going!" Lori grabbed Kaldur and Garth's hands. "You still have to meet my roommate!" She swam out into the hall and towards the courtyard. Kaldur was barely able to grab Topo and La'gaan before her powerful tail shot them all through the water to catch up with the other students.

Kaldur had never seen so much diversity. There was his friend, Blubber, speaking with a half-human half-shark figure. Fins and tails were evrywhere, mixed with gills and normal human attributes. Half of the new students seemed scared of everyone else, and the rest were awkwardly mixed in with them.

"Lori! There you are!"

"Tula!" Lori called the girl's name, and pulled her over to the rest of the group.

"Boys, this is Tula, my roommate. She's from Xebel, just like Queen Mera. You can tell by the red hair!" Lori said, pointing to the short locks chopped off just above Tula's ears.

Tula laughed lightly, warm and bubbling through the water like the feeling that arose in Kaldur's chest when her aquamarine eyes rested on him for just a moment.

"While I do have hair similar to the queen's, it is more than my red hair that makes me Xebellian." Tula told Lori.

"Like what?" Topo blurted out, the only one seemingly not entranced by Tula's beauty.

"Well, there is my aptitude with magic," Tula cupped her hands for a demonstration, and a small whirlpool swirled above her palms for a moment, "and, as my father would say, there's also my natural hard-headedness and tenacity that many Xebellians are known for." She rapped her knuckles against her head, making everyone laugh.

"Shh!" La'gaan hissed to them, having already found a plate of crab and shoving meat into his mouth, "The queen is going to speak!"

As if they had all somehow heard La'gaan, everyone in the courtyard started to quiet down, spotting Queen Mera standing on the decorative steps that lead up to the main hall.

"Greetings, young Atlanteans," The queen's voice was like a reassuring hand on everyone's shoulder, making each new student feel included and welcome.

"Welcome to the Conservatory  of Sorcery. Each of you has been invited to attend due to your natural ability with magic, or your potential to develop such an ability.

"As you look around, you will see many faces. Some familiar, more, I expect, are unfamiliar. The conservatory is here to grow friendships between Atlantis' city-states and those of its diverse culture. As you study here, I hope you will not only focus on developing your skills in magic, but also developing the invaluable resource of friendship and alliances."

As the others gave the Queen their undivided attention, Kaldur looked around. At Lori, Topo, and La'gaan, his old friends, and at Tula and Garth, possibly his new friends.

Maybe studying at the Conservatory wouldn't be as bad as serving in the military.

Maybe it would be better.

[fishpunsarelife]

Hey La'gaan. I was playing some card games with my sister and this question popped into my head. In Atlantis, do you guys have any concept of card games? Have you ever played any land card games? (*Whispering conspiratorially* ever played Go Fish?)

When it comes to card games in Atlantis, kind of? I mean, with things like that they would have to be weighted so the current doesn’t kick them up, so the closest we’ve got are usually made of tile or stone. The really fancy ones are made of metal (or occasionally treated bone with the magic-treated variety being even MORE expensive) and occasionally inlaid with abalone, pearl, or random other things (which you can pretty much only find in the big cities like Poseidonis, Tritonis, or Shayeris– pick one of the big city-states and you can get overpriced junk like that there).

There are a lot of games that use them, probably with as many different rules as card games on land, but one I prefer that I learned early on is Ba’athu Kuengii (translates as something like ‘Deep Hunt’, and that sounds really weird in English and is probably going to be bugging me all day). It’s kind of some weird mix of a card game and chess I guess. One of those things that it’s easier to show than to try to explain. Anyway, thing is, outside of where I’m from Ba’athu Kuengii isn’t all that common; a lot of people haven’t even heard of it. So what did I do? Taught it to my friends.

BIG MISTAKE.

My friend Blubber is great, he’s the kind of person you wouldn’t expect to ever have even the tiniest bit of viciousness to him. Playing Ba’athu Kuengii though? He’s ruthless. In a five-way game between me, him, Lori, Topo, and Kaldur he destroyed all of us. He’s one of those people that if you play against, you have to watch everything he does with each move in the game or you’re done. (One time he won 10 times in a row. It was ridiculous. It was bad enough that Kaldur swore it off for at least a week.)

As for actual card games, I’ve been exposed to a few but some of it is just weird. I keep on expecting to get paper-cuts from the damn cards, so I probably haven’t paid as much attention as I should the few times I’ve been dragged into it. (Strong skin or not, a cut on the webs sucks. It stings like hell and if it’s bad enough I pretty much can’t use my hand for a while.) If I wasn’t worried about slicing one of my webs open, then most card games would probably make more sense.

Go Fish has been threatened on a few occasions, but the team hasn’t followed through– mainly because there’s an argument over whether Go Fish, War (with three decks– why that’s important I don’t know), or some other game that I refuse to believe is called Bullsh*t is better. Until the others sort it out, I don’t really care all that much. Pretty sure that if they ever settle on Go Fish that I’m going to get pulled in because reasons.

[ittybittytatertot]

You can literally do it in two issues too look:

Issue 1/2

Kaldur tells the team good job on their last mission and waits until they’re gone to invite M’gann and Conner to come with him to the Atlantean Olympics.

Of course M’gann would want to go and Conner would go along with it because why not?

They first meet Sha’lain’a and Calvin who are in Poseidonis for the festivities. Have a bit of an in-passing explanation that they live in the city state Shayeris.

Then Kaldur takes M’gann and Conner to one of the events, which is magic of course and M’gann gets even more excited because she LOVES magic!

Have either Conner or M’gann mention how diverse everyone looks, around this point you would also have the introduction of Kaldur’s old classmates and include the M’gann transforming a mermaid tail because that’s still a cute scene and we stan M’gann’s awkward unsubtle flirting.

Further explanation about the different Atlantean city states. Give King Sha’ark a little bit more focus bc I wanna know about the mean teen king of a whole ass city state and how other Atlanteans feel about that.

Ronal is there and an asshole who thinks Poseidonis is better than anywhere else and overall being wayyy too invested in his city state winning the games.

Maybe have him antagonize everyone enough that they decide to put on their own Teen Olympics and they play a made up Atlantean sport that doesn’t need to make sense it just needs to look fun and maybe a fight ensues over someone cheating or something and King Sha’ark gets caught nearly eating one of the other kids and Mera is so pissed at him she nearly bans his city state from the competition.

The issue ends with Mera getting kidnapped by a mysterious figure.

Issue 2/2

On the second day of the fesitivities, Kaldur is awoken by a magic image of Mera who tells him she’s in danger

Going outside, they find Prince Orm has had the various leaders of the other city states arrested as possible conspirators in the Queen’s kidnapping, Sha’ark the number 1 suspect.

Of course Prince Orm is actually the one who has her.

Ronal knows all this and is totally chill with it until he finds out Orm isn’t just keeping the Queen safe until they can idk kill Sha’ark? Pass a previously mentioned legislation that would place Poseidonis’s king above all others in Atlantis?

It doesn’t matter because Ronal betrays him when he realizes Ocean Master actually means to kill the Queen and her baby.

Epic under water fight, save Mera, release the other city state leaders, Kaldur’s a hero end issue.

I hate the Purist arc so much wtf. Every single thing about it is bad.