Chapter 8: Athena 'Thea' Dearden Queen
DCU!Thea doesn't exist. Arrowverse!Thea was a plot driven MarySue character. If the plot demanded an action, then Thea was the character to cause that action. She is a completely original character. Given her role in the Arrowverse, I felt that AU!Thea needed to be her own CONSISTENT person. Not a MarySue.
To that end, I mixed Arrowverse!Thea with real life. No one in particular, but behaviors and actions I have noticed in those within that age group. I can guarantee that the loss of Robert, Oliver, Tommy, and Laurel on the yacht had a MAJOR impact to 11-year-old Thea. Thea was an entitled, sheltered, beloved, and impressionable child until she lost all the people that paid any attention to her. That scars her psyche.
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ORIGIN:
Athena Dearden Queen was born to Robert Alan Queen and Moira Ann Dearden Queen on 27 Jan 2001. She was the first miracle to happen after the tragic death of Rebecca Merlyn. Her birth was the start of happier times in the Queen household. She was given the nickname Thea by her brother Oliver, who had a hard time saying Athena. The name stuck and she never went by Athena.
Thea was initially raised by Raisa with Oliver, Tommy, Laurel and Sara in close attendance. Her mother never paid her any attention. She was always too busy to attend to Thea, but her siblings were there for her. She was raised to think that they were all her siblings. Her mother let her know that she could always be herself with her siblings, but to be cautious outside of the family. She has been cautioned from birth that others outside of the family may try to take advantage of her. This belief was reinforced by both Oliver and Tommy. Thea developed her social mask at the age of five.
As she grew, Thea became close to all of her siblings, but especially Oliver. She adored her big brother. Since her mother was often absent, Raisa was left to care for the child along with Oliver, Tommy, Laurel, and Sara. They actively encouraged her to pursue any dream she had. This belief was encouraged by Robert. He was certain that Oliver would inherit the company, so he wanted Thea to pursue her own dreams.
Thea developed an interest in Archery as soon as she was old enough to join the archery team at Berlanti Prep. She was a natural with the bow and further developed her skill in various competitions. While her mother was absent, her siblings often cheered her on at her competitions. Depending on how she did, Raisa always had a special snack for her on those days.
While Robert was always busy with the company, she often sought ways to connect to him. Robert seemed to understand her in ways that her mother never did. She felt loved by him. She never knew 'Uncle Malcolm'. He was missing the first five years of her life. He was horrible to her brother, Tommy, and distant the rest of the time. She only called him 'Uncle' because her mother insisted. She considered him a part of her public face.
With the loss of the Gambit, Thea was devastated. Sara and Raisa were the only stabilizing people in her life. Her mother was distant and depressed, but Sara made time for Thea. Sara spent her last year of High School spending extra time with Thea. Thea felt guilty for taking all of the older girl's time, but she needed the stability.
Almost a year after the loss of the Gambit, Thea started to act out. Her anger at her losses and her rage at being ignored by her mother caused her to start fights at school. She hoped that this negative attention would catch the eye of her mother. She was disappointed to have Walter come in her place. She began to resent her mother, even as she started to build a relationship with Walter.
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FAMILY:
Thea had a vague definition of family. She considered Oliver, Tommy, Laurel, and Sara to be her siblings. While Moira was her birth mother, Raisa was the one who has provided all the motherly attention to her. Thea was never told that Robert wasn't her birth father. He provided fatherly attention to her. Because of this, Thea didn't care about blood. She only cared about how you show your affection to others. That some strangers can become family.
RELATIONSHIP-FATHER:
Malcolm Arthur Merlyn (blood): Thea never knew about her blood father. Her mother kept her relationship to Malcolm a secret. The impression that Thea had of Uncle Malcolm was that he was cold and liked to belittle her brother Tommy. He largely ignored Laurel and Sara and only paid passing interest in Oliver. Because of how he treated Tommy, she hated him.
Robert Alan Queen (adopted): Thea always assumed that Robert was her father. Robert knew that she was not his by blood, but after a few years, he didn't care. He had taken Thea into his heart. He never contested having his name on Thea's birth certificate. He cared for and connected to Thea as his daughter. He poured all the attention he could not shower on Emiko on Thea.
RELATIONSHIP-MOTHER:
Moira Ann Dearden Queen (blood): Thea knows that Moira is her mother, but Moira was an absentee parent. Moira depended on Raisa to ensure that her children are cared after. Thea could never really connect with her mother. She went to Raisa with real questions. She only went to Moira if it was expected.
Raisa Bolomova (adopted): Thea knows that Raisa is not her mother, but if she had a problem that required a mother's advice, she went to Raisa. She showed Raisa all the love and affection that she would shower on Moira if she were present.
RELATIONSHIP-SIBLINGS:
Oliver Jonas Queen (half-blood): Thea was raised thinking that Oliver is her full brother. Oliver adored her and gave her a nickname. Thea returned that adoration in kind. She always got along with her brother, in spite of the age difference. Oliver always had time to spend with her and didn't feel silly, helping her.
Thomas 'Tommy' Arthur Merlyn (half-blood): Thea was raised thinking that Tommy was her adopted brother. Tommy was constantly present in her life until she started school. Then he was taken away by Uncle Malcolm. She resented Malcolm for taking away her brother from her. Tommy always spent time with her and Oliver and helped her to create adventures.
Dinah Laurel Lance (adopted): Thea was raised knowing that Laurel was not her sister, but she loved to spend time with Laurel doing girl things. Laurel always explained things to her so she can understand why something had to happen. She was also the one to explain about the public and private masks she saw on her brothers.
Sara Marie Lance (adopted): Thea was raised knowing that Sara was not her sister, but she adored spending time with the more reckless of her sisters. Sara was the one who helped Thea prank her brothers. Sara was the one who went on adventures with her. Sara loved to get dirty while playing. After the Gambit was lost, Sara was her only remaining sibling. Thea clung to her to keep her afloat.
RELATIONSHIP-GRANDPARENTS: Thea was born after Charles and Elizabeth Queen passed away. She never knew them. She only heard stories from her father. Likewise, she never knew her mother's parents. She never heard stories from her mother either. Even when asked, her mother would avoid the topic.
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MOTIVATION:
Thea was an 11-year-old child. Her motivations are those of a child who has had a catastrophic loss; her father, her brothers, and her sister. She was terrified that she would lose her mother to grief. Her only constant was Sara. She clung to Sara to help her through her grief even as Sara was also struggling with her grief.
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PERSONALITY:
INTELLIGENCE:Thea inherited intelligence and cunning from both her blood parents. She easily passed all of her classes in her younger years, but, like Oliver, she had no real direction. Robert encouraging her to pursue her own dreams and leave the company to Oliver. Her mother didn't encourage her at all. Raisa and Sara just want her to be happy. At eleven, she doesn't have a direction, but she likes archery. The physical challenge of besting herself. After the loss of the Gambit, she needed to physically exert her rage.
RESENTMENT:Thea developed a deep resentment of Malcolm. She believed that he was responsible for making Tommy's life harder. She hated how he had made demands of her brother, but she was too young to understand why those demands were made and why Tommy consented to return to Merlyn Mansion. Tommy told her that he would still come over after school every day. That alleviated some of her anger, but not all of it. She never connected with Malcolm, even after the Gambit was lost.
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POWERS/ABILITIES:
Skills: Archery (Mastered) [school competition],
Abilities: Intelligence (High),
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NOTES:
I can't stress this enough. Thea is ELEVEN at the start of this story. She was developing the personality that we eventually see on the Arrowverse. She was an Arrowverse original character. The parts of her that are OOC for Arrowverse come from In Real Life (IRL). If you have ever had kids, you know what I mean. Eleven is a tween. Yes, tweens are a whole class on their own in psychology. Depending on how the Tween years progress, the teens can get better or worse.
Because of how Arrowverse!Thea was presented, I was able to cherry pick the character traits that I wanted to develop. Since this AU project starts five years earlier, I have more flexibility with how AU!Thea develops those traits.
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