Description
Alongside music, technology and women's rights, another subject exploding in during the Twenties is the field of archaeology. Details on the construction of Stonehenge emerge early in the decade, while Percy Fawcett , last of the great British explorers, is hellbent on finding the Lost City of Z down in Brazil. (White) models and actresses dress up in (probably inaccurate, but admittedly boss) costumes inspired by Ancient Egypt and Mezoamerica . This skyrockets with the discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922. The Egypt Revival fad heavily influences the fashion and Art Deco styles of the entire era. Seeing Tut's tomb ransacked naturally gives Queen Kidagakash Nedakh reason to worry about her own hidden kingdom. Her concern is validated when, in that same year, German scientist Adolf Schulten suggests looking in Spain for the basis of the Atlantis myth .
So Kida and her husband Milo venture up to the surface to scope out the possible threat. Milo claims to have been studying his profession abroad, and introduces his fellow intellectuals to his new wife “Kitty.” Naturally, they end up in Atlantic City, New Jersey, because of course they do. Kida is surprised by how much the world has changed since she was last at the surface, and has an amount of empathy for the conservatives who miss the “old ways,” before the new “decadence” took over. However, that empathy only goes so far, with the flappers’ more enlightened views on women’s rights being more in line with Atlantis’s. Still, Kida plays the part of a prim and proper aristocrat, when she and Milo visit the classy speakeasies of the scientists and socialites showing interest in the Lost City of Atlantis. When asked if she’s “Old Money” like everyone else at the part, or if she’s one of “those crude New Money types,” Kida can honestly answer that her family has been wealthy for millennia. She leaves out the detail that it’s her nuclear family she’s talking about.
After another epic adventure, Kida and Milo ultimately get Dr. Schulten to agree that Atlantis is better left a legend for now, and he convinces the scientific community that Plato based the city off of the ancient harbor city of Tartessos . Sadly, they are not as successful convincing Percy Fawcett to let well enough alone, and the renowned explorer ends up vanishing three years later in 1925, along with his oldest son and the rest of their party, while seeking the Lost City of Z down in the jungles of Brazil.
Kida sadly compares the recklessness of the Roaring Twenties to the prosperous times of her own kingdom, just before it sank. She tells Milo, Audrey and the others that while she's enjoying the speakeasies and giggle-juice, she can't help but be reminded of another glorious empire that tanked overnight.
AN: Because the ladies of “Atlantis” have less iconic and detailed outfits in canon, I used this as an opportunity to do some dress stiles I probably wouldn’t with some of the other animated heroines. I would up loving how both came out, and minimal touch-ups were required for this revamp of the series.
Here's the old version:
More Prohibition Princesses
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Prohibition Princesses on Archive of Our Own (relax, it's the clean side of the site)