Chapter 3: Dinah Laurel Lance AKA al Aldire, Black Canary, Black Shield
When I started this project, I KNEW people would not be happy with some of my choices. Dinah Laurel Lance is a fan favorite in BOTH the Arrowverse and the DCU. I'm sorry if you don't like my version.
I like PARTS of the Arrowverse!Laurel. I loved PARTS of the DCU!Dinah. In general, her character as INCONSISTENT in both the Arrowverse and the DCU. This is how I tried to resolve these differences. Don't hate me.
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ORIGIN:
Dinah Laurel Lance was born in Gotham City, NJ on 15 Nov 1992. She is the oldest daughter of Detective Quentin Larry Lance and Dinah Trinity Drake Lance. To be different from her mother, Laurel went by her middle name. Her family moved from Gotham City to Starling City during the summer of 2000. She was enrolled in Berlanti Preparatory Academy where her mother was a teacher. It was at Berlanti Prep that she met Oliver and Tommy. She convinced Oliver's parents to allow her and her sister to stay with them after school. Robert and Moira came to adore Laurel and her sister Sara. They approved of the good influence she provided to their daughter Thea. Oliver and Tommy were less wild with the Lance girls around. This cemented the bond the Queens had with the Lances.
In 2006, Laurel started to date Oliver when she turned 16, but most of their dates included Tommy and Sara, even Thea if possible. This action made Laurel love Oliver even more, because his heart was so big that it wanted to include everyone close in all of his special moments. However, Laurel had figured out that Oliver was an insatiable flirt. It was one of his masks. He saw it as a way of making everyone happy and presenting a good image for his family. More than a few women were in love with his public image. Laurel knew that she owned his heart. She ignored the flirty behavior. She knew it had nothing to do with how much he loved her.
In 2010, Laurel graduated High School from Berlanti Prep with Oliver and Tommy. Laurel had already planned out her life. College, pre-Law, LSATS, Law degree, ADA, DA, and eventually she planned to argue a case before the US Supreme Court. She planned on changing the world with her legal arguments. She would use the law to ensure justice. Because her father taught her the importance of justice, not just the law.
In 2010, just after her 18th birthday, Laurel made love to Oliver for the first time. She gave her virginity to Oliver. For Laurel, there was no one she can see herself with except Oliver. At the time of the story, she had only had sex with Oliver.
In 2012, Laurel's plan was on track. She was ready for the next step in her relationship with Oliver. Laurel decided it was time for them (Laurel and Oliver) to move in together. She felt it was a natural progression of their 4-year relationship. They frequently spent time at Tommy's apartment. However, she witnessed how hesitant and resistant to the idea of moving in together Oliver had become. Laurel compromised by proposing Robert's yacht trip over the summer. She felt that this would ease Oliver's worries about living in close quarters with her. She knew that he lacked confidence in his decisions. She wanted to help him gain confidence. Oliver agreed. Tommy decided to tag along. The yacht sank and their lives were upturned.
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES:Laurel is a beautiful woman. Lithe with honey blonde hair dyed brown in college. Green eyes.
Scars:Minor Pre-Gambit scars. Childhood.
Tattoos/Brands:Post-Gambit Only: Brand: Shield (Upper Right on back) [given by LoA. Denotes acceptance of new life in the League], Outline of a Triangle (Upper Left on back) [given by LoA to denote bonding with Oliver and Tommy],
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FAMILY:
Laurel is the oldest daughter of Detective Quentin Larry Lance and Dinah Trinity Drake Lance. She was a full blood sister in Sara Marie Lance. Sara is three years younger. Laurel was around Athena 'Thea' Dearden Queen for Thea's entire life. She considered Thea to be her baby sister. Likewise, Laurel was drawn to include Tommy in everything. Just like she was drawn to Oliver. Once she started to date Oliver, she considered Tommy to be her adopted brother.
RELATIONSHIP - FATHER: Quentin Larry Lance. Laurel identified most with her father. She was passionate about justice and fairness. She was driven. She had meticulous attention to detail. All of these aspects came from her father.
RELATIONSHIP - MOTHER: Dinah Trinity Drake Lance. Laurel had a strained relationship with her mother. They just didn't get each other. They love each other, but don't know how to relate to one another. Dinah was a free spirit. She was intelligent and well educated, but she preferred the more liberal arts. Expression over concrete evidence. She became a history professor because of her passions.
RELATIONSHIP - SIBLINGS:Sara Marie Lance. Laurel had a good relationship with her sister, Sara. She worked to get Sara included in all of her time at Queen Manor. To ensure that Sara could spend time with her friends and her sister. This resulted in all of them becoming close. Laurel felt protective over her sister because she is the older sister. She felt this same sense of protectiveness over Thea and Tommy.
RELATIONSHIP - GRANDPARENTS:Laurel had a distant relationship with her grandparents. The Drakes write often, but live in Gotham. This was too far away for the Starling Lances to visit often. The Gotham Lances had passed away when she was very young. She doesn't remember them. She was more than content to have her schooling paid for from the Trust fund set up by her grandparents, the Drakes.
RELATIONSHIP - OTHER FAMILY RELATIONS:Jack Drake (Maternal Cousin), Janet Drake (Maternal Cousin-in-Law), Timothy Drake (2nd Cousin). Laurel was aware of her family in Gotham, but doesn't maintain contact. Jack Drake was a cousin of her mother and the main branch of the Gotham Drakes.
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MOTIVATION:
Before the Gambit sank, Laurel was a very positive person. She would light up the room when she entered. She had a very focused and planned future. She didn't let anyone or anything stand in the way of what she wanted. She was tenacious and dedicated to her cause. She exuded confidence in her abilities. She was secure in her relationship with Oliver.
After the Gambit sank, Laurel changed. She became very afraid. Ivo placed her in a position where she was physically and sexually abused. He eroded her self-confidence and her self-worth, even as he taught her new skills. She knew her situation would only get worse with Ivo. She took what little control she could to protect Tommy from Ivo. She lost confidence in her abilities and skills. She lost her passion for the law as she watched Ivo abuse it. She craved Justice for the wrongs done to her, Tommy, and the other prisoners. She grieved for Oliver for six months. Her joy at seeing him was diminished because she knew that he was now in Ivo's control.
Laurel's passion and focus became shielding Tommy from Ivo. It also helped her to focus on learning new skills rather than the grotesque experiments that Ivo was conducting or her disgust with herself for allowing Ivo to manipulate and abuse her. Even as she didn't see another option.
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PERSONALITY:
INTELLIGENCE LEVEL: Laurel was very intelligent and uses her mind to focus on the law, and later on computers and technology. She focused on how to use technology, hacking, and robotics to assist the League. She can be pragmatic. Oliver and Tommy frequently told her to dumb down her explanations to better understand her reasoning. They seldom disagreed once they understand.
CLEANLINESS: Messy. Laurel was often too busy to worry about how to tidy her living space. However, she was clean. She did not leave dishes in the sink or dirty dishes out in the open. She takes the time to clean them and put them away.
RESENTMENT:Laurel resented people who failed to take their actions into account. She moved to stop the pain they are spreading. This goes back to her sense of justice and fairness. However, she would forgive those people who truly regret their actions and state how they felt they have wronged another.
PERSONALITY TRAITS:
SHY:When it came to her youthful adventures, Laurel was shy. She would frequently plan her excursions to death to control the variables. She never liked to let loose and improvise. Laurel had been too focused on her plan to seek out additional adventure. However, Oliver and Tommy frequently disrupted her plans and took her on adventures. This forced Laurel to explore other areas. She was also vital in curbing the more reckless adventures of Oliver and Tommy.
CONFIDENT: She was confident in her abilities and was determined to master even more skills to achieve her goal. However, Ivo destroyed her self-confidence and her self-image when he abused her on the Amazo. She regained her confidence with the assistance of Oliver and Tommy.
AMBITIOUS: Ambitious. Laurel had very set plans. She had a path to move her on her ambitious plan. She only shot for the top. If she didn't aspire to the top, then that activity did not interest her.
EMPATHY: Empathy. Laurel is generous to a fault. She wanted to protect people using the law, and then later making herself useful in the League. This drew her even closer to Oliver who was just protective and generous on his own. However, due to the abuses of Ivo, she was more cautious in who and how she gave her empathy. She tried to protect herself from feeling too much while Ivo was torturing his prisoners.
CONTROLLING: Controlling. Laurel is uptight. Everything has to fit into her plan. She didn't do well if someone changed her plan, but she was learning to roll with the punches that Oliver and Tommy throw out. This allowed her to adapt to her new situation when the yacht sank.
HONEST: Honest. Sincere and frank. Laurel cared deeply and did not want to lie. She didn't understand how someone could allow resentment and frustration to fester without telling the other person they are upset. This was one reason why Laurel and Oliver had so many issues as kids. Oliver constantly hid how he felt. Laurel assumed that he was telling her everything. But she eventually recognized that he had to wear a public mask because of his position and his family. To protect his parents. To protect her and Tommy. Tommy would retreat into his shell. She knew that he did this to protect himself from the actions of others (like Malcolm).
OPEN-MINDED: Open-Minded. Laurel was very open-minded. She must be convinced to change her opinion, but she could have her opinion changed. She was easily swayed when logical arguments were presented. She would consider emotional inputs, but they didn't carry the same weight as truth.
SERIOUS: Serious. Laurel was very nice and formal with those people she doesn't like. She was frequently funny, direct, and caring with her loved ones, but her most common aspect was how serious she had become since the sinking of the yacht.
SOCIOLOGY:
RELATIONSHIP - ROMANTIC PARTNER:
Oliver Queen: Laurel loved Oliver with all her heart, but she got frustrated when he lacked focus and refused to do the work. Laurel found a way to ease him into moving in together. She used the yacht trip as a trial run on their moving in together. When she found Oliver again, she was worried that he won't want her anymore.
Thomas Merlyn: After the Gambit, Laurel became aware of how much she needed Thomas. How she wanted Thomas, but she was insecure about pursuing a deeper relationship with him because she had just gotten Oliver back. She didn't want to have to choose one or the other, but both. She loved Oliver, but she also loved Tommy.
RELATIONSHIP - CLASSMATES: Laurel's only true friends are Oliver and Tommy. The rest of her classmates at Berlanti Prep ignored her because she was middle class. They were more driven my societal classes than Oliver and Tommy. They were acquaintances at best. Oliver and Tommy loved her because she was able to ignore their societal position. She was never fake with them.
RELATIONSHIP - FRIENDS:
Oliver Queen: Laurel was a very close friend to Oliver. She considered him to be the love of her life. They could talk about anything, once Laurel made Oliver talk about it.
Thomas Merlyn: Laurel was a very close friend Tommy Merlyn. She bonded with Tommy as a child. She helped Oliver to bring Tommy back out of his shell after his mother died and his father abandoned him. She was driven to include Tommy in everything because of this introduction.
Thea Queen: Laurel became very close to Thea. She saw Thea as her baby sister. She was very protective of the younger woman. She loved taking care of baby Thea and nurtured Oliver's protective instincts over the child.
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POWERS/ABILITIES:
Weapons Skills:
Weapons (Preferred): Blowgun (Mastered), Darts (Mastered), Short sword (Mastered), Knives (Mastered), Quarterstaff (Mastered), Escrima sticks (Mastered)
Weapons (Mastered): Compound Bow (Mastered), Blowgun (Mastered), Darts (Mastered), Throwing knives (Mastered), Short sword (Mastered), Knives (Mastered), Claws (Mastered), Quarterstaff (Mastered), Escrima sticks (Mastered),} Police Batons (Skilled)
Skills: Legal aptitude (Attorney-Pre-law) [Excellent], Martial Arts [Mastered], Infiltration [Skilled], Computer Hacking [Expert], Computer Coding [Mastered], Robotics [Skilled], Macro-robotics [Skilled]
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NOTES:
When I started to write this project, I conducted research into the various aspects of Dinah Laurel Lance that was presented in both the Arrowverse and the DCU. I loved her drive and passion. Arrowverse!Laurel used this drive and passion as a lawyer. DCU!Dinah used it to hunt criminals for the police to capture. DCU!Dinah's martial arts skill was second only to Lady Shiva. I liked that this was a natural aptitude for her. DCU may have introduced her as a female for Green Arrow, but she became so much more than a side character.
AU!Laurel: The Laurel of this AU was very focused and driven. She was put through some traumatic experiences. This changed how she perceived law and justice. It caused her to cling to Oliver and Tommy more than she did in the past. Both to protect them and to protect herself. Her time with Ivo showed her a new way for her to focus her mind and skill using computers, robotics, and technology. Once she was free of Ivo, she flourished in her new skills in the League with Oliver and Tommy there to support her.
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