Need help with Mera (Aquaman) lore for blackmail story

[Emptysodabottle]

I'm currently commissioning a multi chapter series which stars Mera (of Aquaman lore), based mostly on the New 52 continuity with room for some broad strokes in the lore. I'm trying to provide the writer with as many details as possible to make the world of the story as faithful to the existing lore, to make it almost like a 'hidden chapter' or Elseworlds type vibe.

The core of the story is based off of the events of Aquaman #6 (New 52 re-launch). In this continuity, Aquaman and Mera are living in the surface world attempting a new life outside of ruling Atlantis. Aquaman's relationship with the surface world is better, but tenuous. In the issue, Mera breaks the arm of a lecherous grocery store manager, Randy Rovner, when he attempts to make a move on her. In-universe, this matter kind of gets handswept away since her and Aquaman save the day a few different times afterwards.

The premise of this story is that 6 months later, one late evening when Mera comes late to the store, Randy Rovner blackmails Mera by threatening to release security camera footage of the event on all social media, to the tabloids, new, etc. Since he has it done in a way that will release automatically, Mera has no choice but to accede to his demands for a night with her, right there in the back office of the grocery store. However, she finds out that Randy is actually a much more skilled lover than Arthur Curry, and that despite being a regular human, has much more sexual chemistry, and can't help but enjoy his attentions.

Afterwards, he reveals that he actually has five digital copies floating out there, and she must spend 5 more nights with him (in total one night for each of the 6 months he spent healing from his arm/getting back function), spread out over the weeks. The chapters following these weeks will show Mera's transformation from reluctant blackmailee to enthusiastic, consensual partner by the end.

So far, the chapters covering the 1st and 2nd nights are done. To make things interesting/not all sex, I'm making sure the story has plenty of in-between scenes where we see Mera's life, both to inject authenticity to the concept of being a "hidden chapter," demonstrate how the events are changing her, injecting a sense of irony from seeing characters not in the know say/assume things about Mera, etc.

What I'm looking for is ideas for those "in-between scenes" that'll add life into the world of the story. To give you an example of what that may look like, here's a small smidget (to comply with forum rules) that takes place after the first night of blackmail sex. It’s days after the event. This is from the perspective of Jennifer, an employee at the grocery store who witnessed Mera breaking Randy’s arm originally. She does not know what happened, just that Randy all of a sudden seems less lecherous and much more polite since he returned to more active work recently, and concludes Mera teaching Randy a lesson changed his behavior. The irony is we the reader know that his behavior is just a ruse/he’s also less lecherous because just a little while before, he was able to unleash his full pent up sexual energy on Mera for a full night.

Tidbit:

But to her surprise, Randy had been fairly courteous to all females, staff and customer alike. The man was still coarse in his talk and rough around the edges, but there was a definite difference. To Jennifer, it was almost as if the energy of a horny mutt in him had been sucked out of his body.

Looks like Mera breaking his arm was the best thing that could have happened to the guy.

Remembering that moment, Jennifer felt a warm buzz. It was the first time she and
Aquaman’s wife had met, and the thought about how heroic Mera was personally to
her. The same incident which led to their friendship (since she sided with Mera even
when the townspeople wouldn’t) had also led to her life being free of Rovner’s
particular style of toxic masculinity.

Not just me. Every woman who he talks to or interacts with. It’s like an Atlantean miracle.

The door chime rang. Jennifer looked up and grinned as, as if summoned by her
thoughts, Mera walked into the store.

“Let me guess,” the girl said, winking and pointing a finger at the dog food aisle.

“I’ve known killer whales who could consume less,” Mera said with a smile.

“I apologize that I couldn’t hand over the dog food last week in person last week,”
Jennifer told the Atlantean woman as they made their way to the right part of the
store. “I guess you got it just fine?”

Mera paused. “Yes, just fine,” she said. But there was something in her voice that
made Jennifer think that there was more that her friend wasn’t saying.

End tidbit.

-*to give context, her going to get dog food from the store alone, with Jennifer being sent home early by Randy deliberately, led to her being confronted by Randy with the blackmail material which led to the night of sex.*


If I could get the help of the members of this forum to think of ideas involving the lore for this in-between scenes, I would be most appreciative!

 

[lovecraft68]

First off you're only allowed to post a paragraph or so of a story, most of that is going to get deleted.

Also, this might not get through because Warner Brothers who owns DC is known to be litigious and Laurel has removed a lot of NC stories featuring DC's characters.

 

[Emptysodabottle]

First off you're only allowed to post a paragraph or so of a story, most of that is going to get deleted.

Also, this might not get through because Warner Brothers who owns DC is known to be litigious and Laurel has removed a lot of NC stories featuring DC's characters.

AH, noted, I went ahead and deleted most of that story chunk.

And as for the latter concern, it should be okay because this is a private commission: I'll get the original, and he plans on posting a copyright-friendly/knockoff version later.

 

[DarkSollat]

I really like this premise! I'm a fan of DC Comics and New 52 was my first serious dive into it. Mera is for sure a sexy woman - both beautiful and fierce - so she can be a great lead.

When it comes to all copyright issues, I'm no law expert, but from what I know parodies are allowed in USA, so if you put disclaimer that your work is parody, maybe you're safe. If not, there are some other sites with more... open approach than Lit.

One thing you need to consider the most is: why is this blackmail even an issue? I mean, as a member of superhero community Mera has access to word-class hackers like Batgirl or even part-computer beings like Cyborg - I seriously doubt Randy would be able to set security measures they aren't able to break. Maybe he has a help from a supervillain like Calculator or - even better - Black Manta? One of the scenario would be that Mera contacts Batgirl, but she needs more time, so Mera lets Randy his ways with her once or twice, before she decides to call Batgirl off and enjoy her fling.
I also can't understand Randy character here. He was a perv and mysoginist before - why having his arm broke made him treat women with respect? And if he treats women with respect, why does he blackmails Mera instead of letting her go? Also, did his look change as well,like did he hit a gym or something? I know unattractive people can have sex, but my preference in reading are different, so I'm curious.

 

[Emptysodabottle]

I really like this premise! I'm a fan of DC Comics and New 52 was my first serious dive into it. Mera is for sure a sexy woman - both beautiful and fierce - so she can be a great lead.

When it comes to all copyright issues, I'm no law expert, but from what I know parodies are allowed in USA, so if you put disclaimer that your work is parody, maybe you're safe. If not, there are some other sites with more... open approach than Lit.

One thing you need to consider the most is: why is this blackmail even an issue? I mean, as a member of superhero community Mera has access to word-class hackers like Batgirl or even part-computer beings like Cyborg - I seriously doubt Randy would be able to set security measures they aren't able to break. Maybe he has a help from a supervillain like Calculator or - even better - Black Manta? One of the scenario would be that Mera contacts Batgirl, but she needs more time, so Mera lets Randy his ways with her once or twice, before she decides to call Batgirl off and enjoy her fling.
I also can't understand Randy character here. He was a perv and mysoginist before - why having his arm broke made him treat women with respect? And if he treats women with respect, why does he blackmails Mera instead of letting her go? Also, did his look change as well,like did he hit a gym or something? I know unattractive people can have sex, but my preference in reading are different, so I'm curious.

So if you read my post closely, this scene takes place after the first night/blackmail sex. This is from the perspective of an outside who does not know what happened, just that Randy all of a sudden seems less lecherous and much more polite, and concludes Mera teaching Randy a lesson changed his behavior. The irony is we the reader know that his behavior is just a ruse/he’s also less lecherous because just a little while before, he was able to unleash his full pent up sexual energy on Mera for a full night. I’ll edit my post so people don’t get confused.

And his looks didn’t change at all. He’s still the epitome of ugly on the inside and outside. He’s just that good at sex, that even his looks won’t get in the way of pleasuring Mera.


As for your second point, Randy brings out the blackmail and demands she give in right at that moment or the footage goes out. So she doesn’t have time to contact an ally. And even if she did have time, at this point in the continuity, Aquaman is a member of the justice league, but Mera isn’t really a part of the team. And the JL are still slightly weary of her as a wildcard. She doesn’t really have any surface Allie’s besides Arthur. And now that it’s happened, she’s never going to tell him, for fear that his heart will break/he’ll do something to Randy that tarnished his reputation with the surface permanently.

 

[LupusDei]

Knowing exactly nothing about the source material, but going by reading what's here already, I think the growth of the Randy character in the relationship with Mera, even if started by blackmail, is the most interesting part of the story, story wise. Sure, it's initially superficial effects of simply him finally getting a release of his pent up whatever, but I would seek to show those changes to backfill and become at least somewhat permanent. Even if he remains a total shit, he's now already more tolerable and tolerated, and may have new opportunities after/besides Mera, and clear path to become much better adjusted at least superficially if not in his base.

 

[Emptysodabottle]

Knowing exactly nothing about the source material, but going by reading what's here already, I think the growth of the Randy character in the relationship with Mera, even if started by blackmail, is the most interesting part of the story, story wise. Sure, it's initially superficial effects of simply him finally getting a release of his pent up whatever, but I would seek to show those changes to backfill and become at least somewhat permanent. Even if he remains a total shit, he's now already more tolerable and tolerated, and may have new opportunities after/besides Mera, and clear path to become much better adjusted at least superficially if not in his base.

Maybe, I'm trying to figure out just how much change there should be by the story's end, and how much of it is genuine. I have half a mind where due to his "relationship" with Mera allowing him to fulfill his own urges, he not only becomes less lecherous, but more confident in his own life, and more productive at his job, causing him to become a pillar of the small community of Amnesty Bay, which then in turn becomes an excuse to which Mera can go see him (I plan on some in-comic-universe plot developments happening in between chapters, which includes Mera and Arthur going back to ruling Atlantis as king and queen, and Mera functioning as a diplomatic role in helping surface-ocean relations; her future excuse to see Randy would be when she stops by Amnesty Bay during her trips to the surface, and do her rounds with all the community leaders).

So, by the end of the story, Randy is more well adjusted to society and functioning a whole lot better. But at the same time, I want him to remain, like you stated, a total shit of a person: that's part of the flip in power dynamics that keeps his "relationship" with Mera hot: she's disgusted by every part of him, but can't help the fact that he fulfills her so completely on the sexual level.

 

[DarkSollat]

Maybe, I'm trying to figure out just how much change there should be by the story's end, and how much of it is genuine. I have half a mind where due to his "relationship" with Mera allowing him to fulfill his own urges, he not only becomes less lecherous, but more confident in his own life, and more productive at his job, causing him to become a pillar of the small community of Amnesty Bay, which then in turn becomes an excuse to which Mera can go see him (I plan on some in-comic-universe plot developments happening in between chapters, which includes Mera and Arthur going back to ruling Atlantis as king and queen, and Mera functioning as a diplomatic role in helping surface-ocean relations; her future excuse to see Randy would be when she stops by Amnesty Bay during her trips to the surface, and do her rounds with all the community leaders).

So, by the end of the story, Randy is more well adjusted to society and functioning a whole lot better. But at the same time, I want him to remain, like you stated, a total shit of a person: that's part of the flip in power dynamics that keeps his "relationship" with Mera hot: she's disgusted by every part of him, but can't help the fact that he fulfills her so completely on the sexual level.

Hm, I need explanation. You want him to remain the same, but pretend to be a decent person?

 

[Emptysodabottle]

Hm, I need explanation. You want him to remain the same, but pretend to be a decent person?

That's essentially one possible direction I'm thinking about.

Option A: Because he has Mera to take his sexual urges out on, it improves his own self-esteem and productivity in his personal life, which allows him to outwardly be more charming/less sleazy to others, build the quality of his grocery store, and improve his overall reputation. In some ways, the change is internal, yes, with regards to his confidence and ambition. But he's still just as lecherous as before, not even a little bit remorseful about his blackmail/his selfish justification as it being "justice", revels in having Mera in his power and slowly converting her into being his willing partner.

Option B: the inner change becomes genuine as Mera's goodness rubs off on him. The problem is, I just can't envision how this could happen in the course of the plot.

 

[LupusDei]

Hm, I need explanation. You want him to remain the same, but pretend to be a decent person?

Cynically, yes, that's how it goes, and most probably best he can ever do. But if someone function as a decent person most of the time, as long as they doesn't relapse, what's the difference? From outside you couldn't tell. Internally he may still implement some very interesting alternative morality, but as long most of external decisions remain the same as of the "decent" person, who really cares?

The keyword is "adjusted" here. Just like with any neuro-diverse (crazy, so to say) person. If someone's brain is wired differently, there's very little that could be done, you can't rewire him, besides adding training and learning of how to function in the general society, yes, superficially. But the "crazy" part remains the same. Yet, people with the same diagnosis can have radically different functional levels and value to society, exactly because of how they learn to manage their own crazy.

Well adjusted sociopaths, for the most well known clische, can become excellent manipulators exactly because they have to invest tremendous amounts of intellectual work to understand things "natural" to most people. They still are unable to experience emotions, but they may know about emotions more than almost anyone, exactly because they had to study it all as alien science. Now, how each of them apply that wealth, is of course yet another discussion.

 

[DarkSollat]

That's essentially one possible direction I'm thinking about.

Option A: Because he has Mera to take his sexual urges out on, it improves his own self-esteem and productivity in his personal life, which allows him to outwardly be more charming/less sleazy to others, build the quality of his grocery store, and improve his overall reputation. In some ways, the change is internal, yes, with regards to his confidence and ambition. But he's still just as lecherous as before, not even a little bit remorseful about his blackmail/his selfish justification as it being "justice", revels in having Mera in his power and slowly converting her into being his willing partner.

Option B: the inner change becomes genuine as Mera's goodness rubs off on him. The problem is, I just can't envision how this could happen in the course of the plot.

Hum, my issue with option A is his motivation. I mean, if he has Mera - sexy, passionate redhead sea goddess - in his grip, why does he care about being seen acting decent.

 

[LupusDei]

Hum, my issue with option A is his motivation. I mean, if he has Mera - sexy, passionate redhead sea goddess - in his grip, why does he care about being seen acting decent.

Because he becomes more successful by acting decent, as most people. The relationship is his coping, management mechanism, partly by accident. It just so happens, that while he is in that relationship, his urges are satisfied and not in the way of acting more decent towards most others. That is noticed and brings success. That success is noticed by him in turn, and learning feedback loop is engaged. But it can only function because the disruptive elements of his personality are managed by the relationship with Mera, even if without Mera's consent.

 

[Emptysodabottle]

Because he becomes more successful by acting decent, as most people. The relationship is his coping, management mechanism, partly by accident. It just so happens, that while he is in that relationship, his urges are satisfied and not in the way of acting more decent towards most others. That is noticed and brings success. That success is noticed by him in turn, and learning feedback loop is engaged. But it can only function because the disruptive elements of his personality are managed by the relationship with Mera, even if without Mera's consent.

Bingo. Having Mera is of course his main benefit and priority, but improving his standing in the community is just a happy bonus he stumbled onto by sating his urges.

 

[Emptysodabottle]

@DarkSollat you seem to know your New 52 Aquaman lore. Can you think of any scenes in between the Mera/Randy scenes that could help with the immersion of the story into the bigger lore?

 

[Rob_Royale]

I'm left wondering if you've gone this far to come up with an entire series to tell this story, why not go just a step further and come up with a non-copyrighted set of characters? Queen Xyz in the land of Qrs have these sexual adventures. You can describe them any way you want. These no real reason to use DC characters.

 

[Emptysodabottle]

I'm left wondering if you've gone this far to come up with an entire series to tell this story, why not go just a step further and come up with a non-copyrighted set of characters? Queen Xyz in the land of Qrs have these sexual adventures. You can describe them any way you want. These no real reason to use DC characters.

Because that's what my fantasy is: it involves these particular DC characters. And per post #3, copyright won't be an issue.

 

[DarkSollat]

I'm left wondering if you've gone this far to come up with an entire series to tell this story, why not go just a step further and come up with a non-copyrighted set of characters? Queen Xyz in the land of Qrs have these sexual adventures. You can describe them any way you want. These no real reason to use DC characters.

Dude, sexfix are massively popular! Fictional characters tend to be hot, who doesn't want the story of all those busty superheroines having all kind of sexual adventures? Also, it creates a sense of familiarity with the characters: those are the same people we know and like, and now they fuck and we can watch them!

@DarkSollat you seem to know your New 52 Aquaman lore. Can you think of any scenes in between the Mera/Randy scenes that could help with the immersion of the story into the bigger lore?

Hm, you mean bigger Aquaman lore, or bigger DC-Universe-at-the-time lore?

In the first case, I think your story would be set during either The Others or Throne of Atlantis storylines. In the former, Mera could be convinced that Arthur cheats on her with Ya'Wara (or he really cheats, as we're changing the story anyway), and she succumbs to the blackmail more eagirly, seeing it like her way of paying him back. If the latter, it's more comedic approach where every heroes fights Atlanteans and wonder where Mera went; or more fucked up, when Randy teases her about it, e/g/ "You see? All of your friends are there, trying to save us, but you cannot help them! You were mean to me, and now you're paying for it, and Earth'd be doomed because you were a bitch."

In the second case, I don't remember the state of the universe so much to be able to tell. At least no without investigation.

 

[Emptysodabottle]

Dude, sexfix are massively popular! Fictional characters tend to be hot, who doesn't want the story of all those busty superheroines having all kind of sexual adventures? Also, it creates a sense of familiarity with the characters: those are the same people we know and like, and now they fuck and we can watch them!


Hm, you mean bigger Aquaman lore, or bigger DC-Universe-at-the-time lore?

In the first case, I think your story would be set during either The Others or Throne of Atlantis storylines. In the former, Mera could be convinced that Arthur cheats on her with Ya'Wara (or he really cheats, as we're changing the story anyway), and she succumbs to the blackmail more eagirly, seeing it like her way of paying him back. If the latter, it's more comedic approach where every heroes fights Atlanteans and wonder where Mera went; or more fucked up, when Randy teases her about it, e/g/ "You see? All of your friends are there, trying to save us, but you cannot help them! You were mean to me, and now you're paying for it, and Earth'd be doomed because you were a bitch."

In the second case, I don't remember the state of the universe so much to be able to tell. At least no without investigation.

More about bigger aquaman lore. I’m trying not to reference other DC folks except in a passing line or so.

I’d agree, it’s set sometime after “The Others” but before “Throne of Atlantis.” I’m thinking in future chapters, we will pass the Throne of Atlantis timeline, as it will result in Arthur going back to Atlantis alone, leaving Mera alone in Amnesty Bay for a time, which opens up more possibilities. The alternative is to have the timeline be after the end of Volume 8 of New 52, before the “Rebirth” series, with the important change that Arthur and Mera give Tula the regent position more permanently, so they can focus on living in the surface world as part of their push to mend diplomatic relations with the surface.

Hmmm, I like the direction, but I want to not touch the big events if I can. I want them to happen “as is” as much as possible, with little change. Rather than taking place directly in the story, they’d be more like a background reference. This story would always take place in the “off screen” in between comic issues.”

For example: in one scene, Mera is talking with Arthur about how “the others” have been doing since their adventure 1 week ago. When the subject of Ya Wara comes up, Mera remembers that her first reaction to her was that of jealousy towards her and Arthur, over a relationship that was ultimately platonic and harmless. Mera feels guilty and hypocritical about having such a reaction, given that now, she WAS cheating on Arthur, even if it was coerced.

Example 2:
From Randy’s point of view: he sees old footage of Mera fighting the Trench creatures in a local news piece on speculation about Mera/Arthur. He is aroused, seeing firsthand footage of just powerful she could be, tearing apart creatures that savage, like it was nothing. And then he laughs, knowing that same powerful woman had bent over a desk and let him fuck her only weeks ago, and had multiple orgasms etc etc.

 

[Emptysodabottle]

So, I sent the author another prompt for one of the upcoming chapters. Doesn't really have to do with the worldbuilding premise of the thread, but I figured it would be good to give you an idea of how Mera comes to go from blackmailed and reluctant to very much consensual.

Here it is a small piece of it:

Mera was nervous. Randy had set a day for them, but she had told him she needed to fight the villains, and they would have to postpone. Surprisingly, he had said yes, though he said so with a leer which made her stomach crawl. He had accepted her proposed date of meeting after she returned, seemingly with no vindictiveness, but she regardless is unsure what to expect.


When she arrives, he is genial as usual. Before they start, however, he states he wants to show her something. He opens up a porn website, and she initially thinks if he’s going to show her a position or act he wants try with her. Instead to her horror, he opens a video: she quickly recognizes it’s a side view of her getting fucked by Randy over a table, in the same hotel room currently sat in. The camera view does not show her face, so her identity is safe. But she is still humiliated and horrified, hearing her own craven, helpless moanings of pleasure, actually seeing her own actions from a spectator’s point of view bringing out some suppressed guilt in her, and most of all, her indiscretion is now on the web for anyone to see, anonymous or not.



She confronts him over the meaning of this: he reports that he had meant to tell her he had taken a small video of their liason last week, not as blackmail material, just for his memories “after this is all over.” And…as insurance if she tried to kill him or turn him in after their deal was done.

But, he states, since she delayed their visit a little, “I spilled just a little of our secret…a fair trade.” He assures her though that he will take the video down now that she’s here. Before he does, however, he playfully cajoles her, stating how despite it being a super short and simple clip, it had thousands of views and a five star rating! He tells her to read all the positive comments in the video. Mera does reluctantly, wearily noting that all the comments were the same disgusting, pig like comments on her body and her sexual acts…just as bad as Randy.

One comment, however, sticks out to her: “it’s rare to see in porn the two performers enjoying themselves for real. Super in sync with each other too. Very hot!” It touches her inner confusion about how sexually in sync they are despite how different they are in everything. Randy, silently noting she saw the comment and satisfied with her reaction on her face, then takes down the video as promised. He then hands her a USB with a copy for herself, “all 35 minutes of usable material” he winks, and adds that in this video, he added a confession to his sexually blackmailing her. So now, they have an understanding, that its mutually assured destruction if either tries to say anything after the deal is done.

Mera is in shock still, and does not resist as Randy finds her bodysuit’s zipper and takes it off of her down to her waist. He gently draws her down to her knees and brings his cock out, stating he wants to try titty fucking again. Mera slowly obeys and brings her sumptuous boobs around his cock. As he starts thrusting, we see inside Mera’s head, the words from the review “enjoying themselves for real” echoing again and again in her head. She closes her eyes and purses her lips as he cums on her face, just like the end of a porno…

We cut to Mera later that night, sitting in her living room while Arthur slept in bed.

She reflects that for 72 hours, her naked body, with Randy’s monster of a thing inside it, had been open to thousands on the web to see. She has mixed feelings about it. Embarrassment that her wild abandon being clearly observed and commented on by many viewers. Terror that however unlikely it was, someone in that window of time had figured out it was her.

But also…in a way, just as the video was a small slip of the truth, a tiny bit of her burden of her secret was off her shoulders. That people saw her fucking Randy and had judged them not on who they were, but only the fact that it was clearly enjoyable. And that comment she read bounces over and over in her head.

She had thought that during their last meeting, what Randy said was crazy...her and Randy having some sort of perverse, special sexual connection? She thought he was just trying to justify his criminal behavior. But…some complete stranger, simply by observing a video of the event, had sensed the same. And it gets her thinking more about whether it’s true? And that even if it was true, did it make what they were doing…what SHE was doing…less wrong?

 

[Emptysodabottle]

@LupusDei and @DarkSollat :

I’m wondering if I could get a couple more pieces of input: I’m trying to find in-character ways of getting Mera to slowly succumb to Randy over the course of the story chapters. This would happen over several encounters, so it doesn’t necessarily need to be a big pivotal thing for each one, it could be small little talks, or events which whittle away at her resolve. Do either of you have some good ideas on how this could happen?

The post above this one is one example I came up with, but I’m needing a few more to fill it out so it feels more organic, more believable that this heroine eventually decides to consensually get together with this blackmailing sleaze of a man.