Author's Notes:
I needed to clear my head. So, I started a story in another Universe. The Arrowverse. This is AU mostly because I am a huge DCU fan and the TV Show butchered some of the characters. BUT… I did like some of them too.
2022/11/22: I updated this whole background story. I renumbered it as well. I made it 0X in the Series to allow me to place it at the END of the series. Lots up updates to the World Building stuff. The biggest change was in the name of the League of Assassins. From now on it is just the League. The League of Assassins is what the outside world calls the League. Minor spelling and grammar.
Chapter 1: Alternate Universe Quirks
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Endnotes:
Arrowverse - The version of DCU presented in the Arrow (2012)
AU - Alternate Universe
DCU - DC Universe
FanFic - Fan Fiction. Amateur writers write about their favorite shows, books, movies, songs, etc.
MarySue - A type of fiction writing where the 'MarySue' character is mentally sent to the past with their memories.
MCU - Marvel Cinematic Universe
OOC - Out of Character
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MY THOUGHTSWhen I started writing this story, I found that I had MANY, MANY options. Did I want to use a MarySue approach? After all, Oliver ends the series as the Specter with a fade-to-black scenario. Left to the imagination, it would be easy to bring Oliver back with his memories.
OR… I could have just started over and fixed the VERY obvious flaws and errors in the show. This has the benefit of fixing things without the memories clogging up Oliver's thinking process. I can also get rid of the events that made no sense to me. Especially when a character is OOC.
BUT… The show writers were horrible to so very many of the characters that they did highlight. They used quick fixes to cover up their mistakes which led to even more errors. Quick fixes like twins, 'magic drugs', magic, alternate realities, etc. (Seriously, twins is the easiest quick fix when you kill a character your audience loves and then bring them back in another season. AND Mirakuru? Slade is an Aussie? Insane writers! We already have the metagene, WTF!)
I love the DCU. But I have some issues with a few of the characters in it. I love Batman, but the man needs therapy. BADLY! It is insane. Seriously, child soldiers… What is he thinking? Then there is Superman… a man who is afraid to sneeze without taking out a city. Too much power by far. How is this idiot vulnerable to mind control so easily?
Still, I love the DCU. It has much more hope than the MCU. I like to escape from my reality and find hope. I don't do it to get depressed.
I finally decided to take what the Arrowverse had started and fix the glaring DCU errors (seriously, it is like these guys never read a DCU comic before). Since I needed to clear my head from my usual FanFic genre, I started to outline a story in the Arrowverse.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
I used some of the characters that were featured in the Arrowverse. I even used some of their histories. But I changed their motivations and quirks to fit the story. I enjoyed Arrow (2012) even while it drove me crazy with its wrongness.
That said, I also FIXED some of the characters that showed up in the Arrowverse to make them more in line with their DCU personality. I like some of the characters that the Arrowverse presented, but found that they would be better if they had their DCU personality in place. Slade Wilson is a perfect example. Arrow (2012) took a shortcut to explain his healing, strength, etc. Then they made him an Aussie. Seriously, bad work. I fixed him. The Terminator is back in form. A hired merc. American. Not Aussie. He has already lost his eye from Adeline.
Finally, the Arrowverse had some good ideas that the DCU got wrong or went in a weird direction with. For this reason, I MERGED the two to create a new AU version of the same. Ra's al Ghul is an example of this. I liked the Arrowverse Ra's. The DCU one was more stable but bent on world domination. Combine the two to get a more stable Ra's that is much shorter-lived and bent on keeping the balance between good and evil.
TIMELINE
The most important thing I can point out about this AU is this timeline. Our young heroes are only 20 with no real-life experience. Sara is still three years younger. Thea is only nine years younger. They were eight when Rebecca was killed.
1992 - Tommy, Laurel, and Oliver are born (This puts them all in the same classes for school)
1995 - Sara is born (Three years younger than Laural)
2000 - Rebecca Merlyn is shot and killed. Malcolm disappears after the funeral.
2001 - Thea is born (9 months after Malcolm disappears, 9 years younger than Oliver)
2006 - Malcolm returns to Starling City (absent 6 years) [1]
2010 - Tommy, Laurel, and Oliver graduate High School
2012 - Malcolm announces Undertaking to Tempest. The yacht goes down afterward. (Tommy, Laurel, and Oliver are 20, Sara is 17, and Thea is 11) [2]
[1] I think that it is unrealistic to train in the League (of Assassins) for only two years and achieve Horseman Status. In theory, it takes years to gain that kind of martial skill. But with determination and focus, it can be done much sooner. However, in my AU, Horseman are not just chosen for martial skills. They are trained to be generals. The Horseman is NOT the most skilled warrior, but the best commander for the team. Malcolm can be a good leader when he chooses to be. He can motivate and communicate well. He is good at tactics and strategy. His release was not a given. He had to convince Ra's to release him to return to his son.
[2] The Arrowverse Timeline was the result of poor writing skills. They wanted to match the age of the actors to the story. They failed. I don't have that issue. I need naive young adults. I can write about naive young adults. The best thing about writing is that your imagination can fill in the blanks.
NEXT
Each subsequent chapter is a character or organization profile for my AU. I used these as my reference when writing this story. I hope they help you to understand where the characters are coming from. This is not a criticism of other works. These are just my thoughts on paper. I know that many DCU fans will take issue with some of my choices. I'm okay with that. Please provide CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM. Don't just vent because your favorites were not featured. By Constructive Criticism, I mean that I am looking for issues I may have missed with my attempts to merge the two and make this story realistic. I am not all-seeing. I frequently find spelling and grammar errors in my works from over a decade ago. Yes, I re-read them constantly.
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End Notes:
References:
Arrowverse Wiki (2022). Arrowverse various links. Retrieved on October 9, 2022, from wiki/Arrowverse_Wiki
DC Database (2022). Various DC Character links. Retrieved on October 10, 2022, from
wiki/DC_Comics_Database/
Quotes (2022). Arrow Quotes. Retrieved on October 13, 2022, from movies/arrow_(2012)_100398
Wikipedia (2022). Truth Serum. Retrieved on October 11, 2022, from wiki/Truth_Serum
Word Hippo (2022). Chinese. Retrieved on October 10, 2022, from .com
Word Hippo (2022). Russian. Retrieved on October 10, 2022, from .com
Word Hippo (2022). Arabic. Retrieved on October 10, 2022, from .com
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Work Title: Arrow Enriched: Background, Part 0X
Summary: This is a summary of this Alternate Universe and how I got it. It includes Character and Organization Summaries for each character and group. How they develop differently from Arrow (2012) and the DCU; How they are the same; How I made them my own; Arrow Enriched Series: Part X
AO3 Sequel Information: None
AO3 Series Information: Arrow Enriched
Rating: AO3 [Teen (T)] [Teen (T)]
AO3 Archive Warnings: AO3 [No archive warnings apply]
Fandom Category: Arrow (2012), DCU Universe
Spoilers: None
AO3 Relationship Categories: AO3 [F/M]
AO3 Pairing: Slade Wilson/Adeline Kane, Malcolm Merlyn/Rebecca Merlyn, Robert Queen/Moira Queen, Robert Queen/Kazumi Adachi, Malcolm Merlyn/Moira Queen,
Characters: AO3 {List all}: Slade Wilson, Ra's al Ghul, Anthony Ivo, Robert Queen, Malcolm Merlyn, League of Assassins, ARGUS, Shadowspire, Maseo Yamashiro, Tatsu Yamashiro, Obeah Man, John Constantine, Franco 'Frank' Sanchez, Georgio De La Vega,
Original Character(s):
FF Genre: [NOTE: Limit 2] General
AO3 Additional Tags: Background, Alternate Universe,