History Fanfic / VigilantesDawn

* NonIndicativeName: Laurel notes the League of Assassins isn't a proper name for the organization, as they are essentially vigilantes, not hired killers.

* ShipSinking: If it wasn't already established by Oliver and Laurel's devotion to each other, [[invoked]]WordOfGod outright stated that there won't even be so much as a hint of Olicity in the story. She clarifies that while Felicity will still be attracted to Oliver like any normal heterosexual woman would, she won't be interested in a relationship with him due to a combination of him already being with Laurel and recognizing all the baggage he has and being unwilling to deal with it.

* INeedAFreakingDrink: [[spoiler:Tommy needs to drink a bottle of Scotch- his typical drink when dealing with bad news- when he finds Malcolm’s video message revealing that Thea is Malcolm’s daughter]].

* PlatonicLifePartners: Laurel describes her relationship with Nyssa as this, equating it to her sisterly relationship with Sara. Presumably, the reason why it never went further than friendship is due to IncompatibleOrientation. [[spoiler:Thus, when Laurel's deception was revealed, Nyssa took it almost as bad as she did Sara's departure in canon]].

* SuperMobBoss: Commented on by one of the epigraphs of the sequel, a [=YouTube=] created in 2078. Apparently, normal organized crime such as TheMafia doesn't survive the rise of superheroes. While organized crime does still exist, it's been taken over entirely by supervillains and their "rotating casts of minions".

* EncyclopediaExposita: Every chapter starts with an {{Epigraph}} from a fictional work of history called ''Age of Superheroes: The Dawn of the Vigilante'', written by Diana Queen, one of Oliver and Laurel's descendants. The epigraphs explain that many of the more personal details discussed in the book come from the unfinished memoirs of Laurel Lance.

** [[spoiler:Tommy figures out that Laurel is the Black Canary and Oliver is the Hood when he realizes that Sara trusts the Black Canary implicitly - and there's a very small pool of people that Sara would trust like that.]]

* ShipSinking: If it wasn't already established by Oliver and Laurel's devotion to each other, [[invoked]]WordOfGod outright stated that there won't even be so much as a hint of Olicity in the story.

** Though Thea ends up doing her community service at an animal shelter in the Glades, and isn't with Laurel when it happens, Roy still tries to steal her purse, Thea gets him caught and then ends up not wanting him charged because of his sob story. As in canon, they still end up dating, more or less as they did in canon.

** One of the epigraphs note that vigilantes that lack powers often have to make unsavory deals for the sake of the greater good.
** Tommy and Joanna genuinely do like each other, but have purposely and indefinitely stalled the progression of their relationship due to all the possible consequences that may come of a romantic affair if it doesn't work out.

* YoureNotMyFather: A variation features when Sara and Tommy find evidence that Malcolm is Thea’s father. Despite the DNA test results confirming the biological link, both agree that Robert Queen was Thea’s true father in every way that matters, and telling her about her relationship to Malcolm will accomplish nothing.

** Though the circumstances are very different, Team Canary Arrow still break into Merlyn Global to get Felicity access to Merlyn's servers.

* InsecureLoveInterest: Oliver, as per canon. Laurel actual deconstructs the idea, calling it toxic; according to her, love isn't a "prize" to be "won" for being virtuous.

* NotSoStoic: When [[spoiler:watching a video where Malcolm admits his affair with Moira and expresses hope that Tommy won’t think less of him for it, Sara is struck by the notion that Malcolm seems to genuinely regret what he did and truly hopes Tommy won’t think less of him for it (although she also muses that by this point Malcolm’s done too many other things Tommy would hate him for that this one would barely register)]].

* YouAreNotMyFather: A variation features when Sara and Tommy find evidence that Malcolm is Thea’s father. Despite the DNA test results confirming the biological link, both agree that Robert Queen was Thea’s true father in every way that matters, and telling her about her relationship to Malcolm will accomplish nothing.

-->"Because that man, Laurel, is [[spoiler:Al-Saher]]."

* DidntThinkThisThrough: Laurel fakes her own death in Russia to escape the League -- but then blows the ruse sky high when she very publicly returns from the dead by being rescued from Lian Yu alongside with Oliver Queen. Her internal monologues both before and immediately after the arrival of [[spoiler:Nyssa]] make it clear that she really didn't have any sort of plan to deal with the the League, instead hoping that her very public return from the dead would make going after her too risky, for the sake of their anonymity. [[spoiler:It doesn't work. Thankfully, however, between Nyssa's desire to see Laurel alive and happy, and fortunate timing, Laurel manages to strike a deal for an official release from her oath]].

* TheChessmaster: Observed and deconstructed in the future epigraphs regarding Malcolm Merlyn; while he was a dangerous foe who planned for various contingences, once his plans faced a significant derailment in the form of Oliver and Laurel's costumed identities, he had trouble properly compensating for their presence and thus compromised his own plans.

* RealityEnsues:
** The Lances' divorce. Even without the angst of indirectly causing one of her daughters' "deaths", one could hardly expect Dinah Lance to be willing to deal with Quentin's alcoholism while in the midst of dealing with her own grief.
** One of the epigraphs note that vigilantes that lack powers often have to make unsavory deals for the sake of the greater good.
** Tommy and Joanna genuinely do like each other, but have purposely and indefinitely stalled the progression of their relationship due to all the possible consequences that may come of a romantic affair if it doesn't work out.

* ForWantOfANail: Switching Laurel with Sara initially seems to have caused only some minor changes, but the ripples eventually begin to snowball into greater changes.
** The most obvious change is that Laurel, not Sara, is the one who received training from the League of Assassins and becomes the first bearer of the Canary mantle. In exchange, Sara is the one to "run to the law", by becoming a detective like their father. Tommy also never develops feelings for Laurel, only seeing her as a good friend.
** The switch seems to imply that Laurel was given different missions from the League than Sara, leading to her last mission in Russia. During that mission she spotted Oliver, which prompted her to fake her death and ditch the League for him. Together, they easily managed to kill Kovar and then spent the rest of their time on Lian Yu while Anatoly arranged their "rescue".
** Since Laurel returned with Oliver, his relationships with his friends and family are considerably warmer since she is better able to act as his conscience and is not an ElephantInTheLivingRoom like Sara was. This especially applies to Quentin, who, in canon, took years to really soften on Oliver.
** Another vigilante means that Oliver is better able to balance between his civilian life and his vigilante life. For example, after Helena's assassination of Paul Copani, Oliver stays with Moira instead foisting the responsibility on Thea, thanks to Laurel taking care of the investigation for him.
** Since Laurel takes care of Helena, Oliver never meets nor becomes romantically involved with her, and kills off Frank Bertinelli a season prior to his canonical death. Helena also never receives any vigilante training, and the Triad remains untouched.
** A minor example: as Laurel never went to law school, she never met Joanna De La Vega. As a result, Joanna works at Merlyn Global and is better acquainted with Tommy (who she may or may not be romantically involved with).
** [[spoiler:Because Laurel came home with Oliver, the League gets involved with the affairs of Starling City in Season One rather than Season Two, with Nyssa making an AdaptationalEarlyAppearance]].
** Laurel and the Dark Archer immediately recognize each other as former members of the League, which gives Oliver and Laurel an early lead on his identity [[spoiler:after Nyssa enters the scene]].
** Laurel is there to provide backup for Oliver when he goes to interrogate his mother as the Hood, and thus after he is shot, Oliver escapes thanks to her help, not Felicity's.
** Rather than glomming onto the Hood for rescuing him from the Savior, Roy finds himself inspired by the Black Canary and wishes he could help her.
** Because of the changes to how the characters learn the details of the undertaking - mostly stemming from the good guys finding out that Merlyn is the Dark Archer early thanks to [[spoiler:Nyssa]] and the heroes' actions as a result - the Undertaking kills only [[spoiler:318 people all told]] instead of the canon 503.

''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/14164845/chapters/32649324 Vigilantes' Dawn]]'' ([[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12887327/1/Vigilantes-Dawn FFN Link]]) by Kylia is an ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' ForWantOfANail FanFic. The premise is simple: what if it was Laurel, not Sara, that went on the ''Queen's Gambit'' with Oliver?

* WatchingTheSunset: [[Spoiler:After releasing Laurel from the League in exchange for her and Oliver bringing Merlyn to justice, Nyssa and Laurel watch the sunset for a moment while talking, Laurel's obligation to the League finally ended.]]

** Because of the changes to how the characters learn the details of the undertaking - mostly stemming from the good guys finding out that Merlyn is the Dark Archer early thanks to [[spoiler:Nyssa]] and the heroes' actions as a result - the Undertaking kills only [[Spoiler:318 people all told]] instead of the canon 503.

* DiesDifferentlyInTheAdaptation: Frank Bertinelli dies at the Hood's hand a season earlier than he canonically did.

* [[BigBrotherInstinct Big Sister Instinct]]: When Laurel hears that Vanch intends to kill Sara, she is so enraged that's she willing drop her no-killing policy.

** Felicity Smoak still gets recruited to Team Arrow, and is ultimately interested in working with them for the same reason - find Walter.

* ShipTease: Despite Oliver/Laurel being set in stone at this point, there are some implications that Tommy felt something deeper for Laurel prior to the ''Gambit''. It seems, however, that he's given up on those feelings by the time his friends return home.

* WhamLine: [[spoiler:After saving Malcolm's life from the Triad's assassins, Laurel, Oliver and Sara return to the Foundry to find Nyssa waiting there. She points to the news broadcast saying the vigilantes saved Merlyn's life, and says this:]].