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arrthurpendragon · 1 year ago

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MY ANGEL <3 Thank you for the opportunity to infodump about my current muse lol. Right now my girl is Lydia Forbes (played by Katie Cassidy.) She has a vampire diaries verse but right now I’m all about her Marvel verse (bc ofc I am.)

Ive wanted to make a Scott Lang OC for ages but could never think of a good story to go along with it (aside from my emo Scott/Leila AU which is not MMCU canon). But recently I finally figured out how to work Lydia into the story organically!

So basically: Lydia is the daughter of a former family friend of the Pyms. She actually is introduced in a Steve/Leila centered fic (still pre-relationship) as a member of the Trust, the superpowered gang that Leila used to run. She has the power of sonic screams (very apt use of faceclaim lmao.)

Basically, either during the Battle of New York in the Avengers OR the Harlem Incident in The Incredible Hulk, Lydia’s younger sister died in the chaos. What also happened is that the stress caused Lydia’s powers to manifest. But because of her sister’s death, her parents became vehemently anti-superpower. Lydia was afraid of what they’d do if they found out, so she dropped off the grid and eventually became a part of the Trust because she didn’t know where else to go.

Her first arc actually takes place in the Daredevil corner of the universe. Unsure exactly what happens, but the Trust is working for Kingpin (how the Trust works is basically, larger crime bosses will pay the Trust for their members to perform certain illegal or sketchy tasks–heists, bodyguards, whatever. Kingpin has hired a few Trust members, including Lydia, for reasons I’m unsure of currently.)

Lydia has qualms about this and ends up in a precarious alliance with Matt. They have a kind of almost-thing, not unlike Matt and Claire, but Lydia ultimately ends up fully turning good and leaving the city for San Francisco instead to start fresh.

She gets involved in the Pymtech heist in two ways. One, she ends up living with the X-Con squad in their shitty apartment (telling them she’s also an ex-con, which she is not) and when Hank reaches out to her, she recommends Scott as the new Ant-Man, kicking off Hank baiting Scott into robbing him.

Then later she ends up robbing her mom’s house–her mom used to be the head of security for Pymtech, way back in the day, and Darren has become paranoid enough to bring in some legacy security measures, so Lydia and Scott have to break into her mom’s house to get schematics from when she ran Pymtech security.

There’s a running gag up to this point that none of the X-Con squad knows anything about Lydia or where she came from or what she did to go to prison. So during this heist, with Scott and Lydia in the house and the rest of them listening over comms, Lydia’s mom comes into the room and flips the lights on and they turn around and Lydia says, reluctantly, “Hi, mom,” and the boys lose their fucking minds about it. Lydia and her mom start arguing (I think they are still estranged, but her mom does know about her powers atp) and Scott is trying to become one with the wallpaper and over the comms the guys are like “Scott stop breathing so loud we are trying to hear what’s going on”

Also at some point prior to this, Kurt hacked into the prison records to try to find out what Lydia was in for, and said he couldn’t find a reason she was in prison. So eventually everyone finds out that she’s not, actually, an ex-con (“When I break the law, I don’t get caught.” –Lydia) And Scott’s like that’s not true, Kurt found your records in the [prison name] system! And Kurt’s like actually I never said that.

So Scott’s like ??? And Kurt’s like “She is young women who choose willingly to live with three older–how say…sketchy, men. I assume she have reason.” And Scott’s like “Hey, we’re not sketchy! We’re not sketchy, right?” And Luis is like “I mean…” and Dave is like “eh.”

ANYWAYS. Hank does make her a suit with a collar that helps her control her sonic screams and allows her to shrink. (I’m trying to do research on How Sound Works(™) to know what her screams would be like when she is tiny.) And she, Hope and Scott become a team (I’m thinking of her superhero name being Cicada around this time, although she was Scream Queen in New York) and Lydia and Scott start dating around this point.

In Civil War, Scott actually does ask Hope and Lydia to go with him. Hope refuses but Lydia agrees, and they both get arrested and put on the raft. Steve frees them, and as in canon Scott turns himself in and gets house arrest, but Lydia is worried about what they’ll do when they find out her powers are hers and don’t come from the technology, so she chooses to go on the run.

While Scott’s under house arrest, Hope and Hank are also on the run as in canon, and during that period of time they make their peace with Lydia–they reach out to her because they need her criminal contacts to be able to find the things they need to build the quantum tunnel. So by the time Scott gets involved again, Lydia’s cool with them but they’re still mad at him, and Lydia has to kind of mediate for a lot of the Ant-Man and the Wasp plotline.

(Also Lydia’s “on the run from the law” makeover look is Katie Cassidy with the platinum pixie cut she had in later seasons of Arrow.)

Anyway, at the end Lydia gets snapped so she can’t pull Scott out of the Quantum Realm, then comes back for the End Game battle, etc. There’s a lot of gaps here that I’m still working out but overall I’m really excited about her right now! (I also feel like she has a complicated history with Hope somehow, but I’m still figuring out what that is–regardless, they make peace during the first Ant-Man movie and are close friends after that.)

(I want to give Hope her own OC love interest, I’m just not sure who right now.)

(I’m also excited because Katie Cassidy and Paul Rudd would look so good together like why lie)

One element I really like about her relationship with Scott–I characterize Scott in my fics as having a dark side. I rewatched all his movies the other day and everything and I really do think that looking at canon, you can make a good argument that Scott struggles with anger issues and impulse control issues. Meanwhile, I think Hank and Hope know that Lydia was involved with some shady stuff in new york, but they don’t know the full extent of what she was complicit in.

So I like the idea of them kind of being able to show that side to each other that they aren’t necessarily proud of and kind of understand each other on that level. Alexa play Dark Side by Kelly Clarkson.

Anyways thank you for letting me ramble about her and them I love you <3 Also sorry if some of this didn’t make sense lol

The "Scott stop breathing so loud" broke me! lol. This sounds epic! I think you have more planned out for an OC in one ask than I do for all of my OCs combined! lol. (I'm exaggerating, but you're thorough)

All the kudos going forward creating!

Love you!!!

#ari🌻

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jbuffyangel · 4 years ago

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The Bermuda Triangle: Arrow 1x13 Review (Betrayal)

Time to deal with this love triangle and all the ways it is awful.

Let’s dig in...

L*uriver vs. Merlance

I frequently say to myself as I rewatch Season 1 that the triangle makes sense in theory. The writers have all the components, albeit clichéd, that should create a love triangle full of juicy drama.

Man wrongs woman in another life thereby destroying any future together

Woman falls for secret identity without realizing it is the same man who hurt her

Man “gives up” woman for her own good

Man and best friend are in love with the same woman

Best friend changes his ways and becomes the perfect boyfriend

Woman no longer wants best friend and instead lusts for secret identity bad boy

And round and round we go. The problem is this doesn’t really tread any new ground. How many times have we seen this type of love triangle play out? MANY TIMES. Not saying a tried and true trope can’t be repeated, but if you’re going to use it then try to inject some new life into it.

Arrow stays stubbornly in between the lines on this one, which means there are no real surprises. We know exactly where this is headed. Everyone is just waiting for L*urel to choose Oliver. Hell, even Tommy knows it is coming someday.

This brings us to our second problem. L*urel choosing Oliver is so inevitable it doesn’t require a lot of character growth for either of them. L*urel and Oliver have not dealt with ANY of the issues that caused their demise. Yes, Oliver cheated on L*urel, but there were reasons why he cheated. Those have yet to be discussed.

We’re supposed to accept that since Oliver is wearing the hood and is out saving the streets as the vigilante then he is “worthy” of L*urel again. We’re supposed to be waiting with baited breath for L*urel to discover Oliver’s secret identity, realize he’s the man in the hood she’s been lusting after, and fall back into his arms where she belongs.

I think not. Don’t get me wrong. I love me a good triangle. I loved The Vampire Diaries. Two brothers in love with the same woman. Interesting. Woman looks exactly like the lost love that destroyed their bond a hundred years earlier? MORE INTERESTING. And kinky.

I enjoy exploring the varying ways love is expressed in different relationships and what it can reveal about the characters. There isn’t always a right or wrong choice. There’s just a choice and it reflects the kind of love you need to live.

But I understand the complaints about love triangles. Oliver, L*urel and Tommy are the PERFECT validation of those complaints. It’s a tired way to insert some drama that has a completely predictable ending. The even bigger problem is there’s barely enough heat to melt an ice cube. L*uriver is frigid. Merlance is better, but they certainly aren’t an inferno.

“Betrayal” does an excellent job of highlighting all the love triangle problems which plague Season 1. We’re all waiting for L*urel to see that Oliver is a changed man. If only she knew he was The Hood! Her anger and hurt over Sara blinds her ability to see those changes. He needs to wear the mask, so L*urel can see who Oliver truly is. God that sounds good doesn’t it?

IT’S NOT GOOD.

Sara was a symptom of much bigger problems between L*urel and Oliver. He did not want to be with L*urel, so he blew their relationship up in a fairly spectacular display of self sabotage.

Why doesn’t Oliver want to be with L*urel? Well... welcome to Oliver’s mind. He’s been asking himself that same question for the last five years. If he wanted to be with L*urel then he would have never left town. He would have never cheated on her with Sara. Then Sara would be alive. His father would be alive. EVERY ounce of guilt Oliver Queen carries is connected to that one single choice of leaving L*urel.

So, it’s fairly easy to understand why Oliver thinks being with L*urel will fix everything. If he can fix things with L*urel then he’s truly forgiven. It washes away the sins of the past. It’s like it never happened. At this point, this is what Oliver wants more than ANYTHING. He can’t bring Sara or Robert back. But he can resuscitate his dead relationship with his ex-girlfriend. Close enough. The man isn’t choosey after five years of misery.

Unfortunately, Oliver hasn’t changed at all when it comes to L*urel Lance. Oh I know BUT THE HOOD. Listen y’all, throwing on leather accessories and playing Robin Hood doesn’t equate to relationship therapy. Sorry writers. I need more than crime fighting to believe Oliver can be the perfect boyfriend now.

He continues to make all the same mistakes. OLIVER IS STILL LYING TO L*UREL. He lies to her every day. He lies when he’s wearing the hood. He lies when he’s not wearing the hood. LIES LIES LIES LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIESS. Oliver continues to hide who he truly is from L*urel. Different outfit. Same problems.

This brings us to SO. MUCH. MISOGYN. Lance is using the phone The Hood gave L*urel to trap him. Whenever we are looking at betrayal and the Lance family it’s important to grade on a curve. It’s a dirty move on Quentin’s part, but far from the gold medal of betrayals this family achieves.

Source: @laurelsource

Everyone finds out that L*urel is working with the Hood and by everyone I mean Tommy. Quentin follows L*urel with a battalion of police officers to her meeting with The Hood. He’s gathered information on a newly released crime boss, Cyrus Vanch. When Oliver realizes they’ve been busted he holds L*urel by the throat as cover so he can jump off the roof. BuT tHeIr LoVe Is iS hEaLtHy.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource

As L*urel rants to her current boyfriend (yes I use the word “current” on purpose), he pieces together that she’s been lying to him about working with The Hood.

Source: THEARROWGIFS:

L*urel: He's been lying to me for weeks.

Tommy: Yeah feels like crap doesn't it?

Are we surprised L*urel fails to see the hypocrisy in her little rant?

We are not. This is why Tommy was always the better man for L*urel. He actually had a pair and would call her on her BS. Oliver was incapable of doing until well into Season 2, but I digress.

So, Tommy goes to his best friend Oliver for relationship advice. I know this is a television show, but why in the ever living mother of Zeus do L*urel and Tommy think OLIVER is the best person to ask for relationship advice?

Oliver: Tommy, every time you want to talk to me about something, and that something is L*urel, you look like you’re about to tell me you have some terminal disease.

Me: He does have a terminal disease. It’s called L*URIVER.

Tommy: She’s been working with The Hood guy.

Oliver: What? You’re letting her work with that crazy person? She could get hurt Tommy.

Tommy: I’m not letting her do anything. I only just found out about it.

I know this episode aired in 2012, but talk about some patriarchal bullshit. The entire episode is filled with language like this. Quentin, Oliver, Tommy and The Hood all act like L*urel needs their permission to go to the bathroom. New flash fellas: If L*urel wants to engage in nightly rendezvous with a serial killer that’s her business.

L*urel says something to similar effect, but is summarily blown off by whatever male she’s speaking to. She meets up with The Hood after he and Lance save her from Cyrus Vanch.

Source: BJ-HUNNICUTTS-BLOG

It seems The Hood didn’t think through all the ways talking to L*urel on a phone and meeting her secretly on rooftops would put her in danger.

Source: BJ-HUNNICUTTS-BLOG

L*urel: I knew the risks.

The Hood: Now I know them and I’m not willing to take them with you.

L*urel: What does that mean?

It means he wants to bone you, L*urel. Get a clue.

Holy hell, these conversations make her look stupid. L*urel, do you know a lot of six foot men with similar build and facial hair to Oliver Queen?

Maybe she would take issue with his infantilizing if she stopped speaking like a three year old whenever The Hood is around.

Source: LAURELSOURCE

She has this dazed expression too. I know L*urel is so overwhelmed with all the ATTRACTION and LUST that her eyes dilate and the bosom heaves, but I’m starting to think a taser gun is how they forced Katie do scenes with Stephen.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource

The point is nobody is all that interested in L*urel’s agency – INCLUDING L*UREL. I understand “secret identity” is a very common trope in hero’s stories, but it never makes any sense to me. Shouldn’t the “true love” be the first person to know who the hero is and not the last? Oliver keeps saying he can’t tell the people he loves who he truly is because it will put them in danger. So, he doesn’t care if Diggle gets killed? His logic makes no sense. If this was truly about protecting people then why did he need a partner?

And no – you can’t use John can protect himself. We just watched L*urel throw down with that umbrella. She was lethal.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource

Oliver is the king of compartmentalization. He does not know how to merge his two selves yet. He cannot fathom showing Thea, Moira, Tommy and L*urel his darkest self because that means being honest about what happened the five years he was away and what it did to him. That will be a hard pass from our leather clad hero.

My other issue with the love triangle (in addition to all the lying and misogyny) is Oliver comes off like an asshole. He manipulates Tommy with statements like, "L*urel is lying? That doesn't seem like her” and “ have an honest chat with her” like there is something in their relationship causing her to lie or that Tommy is responsible for L*urel’s behavior. He’s slowly pecking away at the Merlance walls until it crumbles. DIRTY POKER OLIVER QUEEN.

But then we arrive at this gross fest:

Tommy: There’s some sort of infatuation thing going on here. We both know that she has a pretty strong track record of being attracted to guys who are dangerous, who break the rules. Show me a more dangerous rule breaker than The Hood.

Oliver: I just think you need to have an honest chat with her. Find out the real reason she’s keep secrets.

Tommy: I just can’t believe that L*urel of all people would lie to my face. I guess that’s the way it is with the people you are closest to.

Oliver: I know, but talk to her anyway. And fix this before it becomes something that’s unfixable.

Did this conversation actually happen?

Does anyone else find it weird that Tommy and Oliver psychoanalyze L*urel’s dating preferences?

And even weirder they are ACCURATE?

Credit where credit is due. L*urel likes bad boys right up until they become good boys. Then she’s off to find the next asshole that will lie, cheat and disappoint her. (We could do an entire novel’s worth of L*urel Lance’s toxic dating choices).

Even worse, Tommy concludes she has the hots for The Hood like it’s nothing. Like it’s completely normal and okay behavior.

Holy hell man! Tommy, maybe L*urel has beaten any self respect into the ground, but IT’S OK TO EXPECT YOUR GIRLFRIEND TO NOT BE INFATUATED WITH OTHER MEN.

What’s really gross is Oliver lies straight to Tommy’s face (no differently than L*urel did) while using the secret identity to engage in inappropriate flirting with his best friend’s girlfriend. He uses the hood to say things to L*urel that he would NEVER say as Oliver Queen. And L*urel never tells The Hood she has a boyfriend or to back off. In fact, she encourages the behavior. THIS. IS. CHEATING. Maybe not physical, but it sure is emotional.

Let’s also never forget L*urel started sleeping with Tommy as a way to stick it to Oliver. She wasn’t expecting to develop real feelings for Tommy, and I do believe she loves him, but that doesn’t erase the toxicity of this cycle that somebody needs to end.

There’s just no good here, my friends.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource

The writers are relying on an empty “they are supposed to be together” promise without providing any evidence why. Neither L*urel nor Oliver has changed in a meaningful way to support giving their relationship another try. The problem between them wasn’t whether or not Oliver fought street crime. The problem was honesty. Between all the lying and just-on-the-line cheating, I’d argue they bring out the worst in each other. Nuclear winter has better chemistry. Need I go on?

Ok. I will.

The only one who has shown any growth is Tommy. This is change L*urel encouraged in Tommy, but then he became dependable and honest, so she started lusting after The Hood. Both Oliver and L*urel are lying to him about a variety of things. With friends like these who needs enemies?

L*urel is treated like some prize, but is she a prize they really want to win? Neither man is given a reason to love L*urel beyond she’s who they are supposed to want.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource

Don’t get me wrong. I am a Merlance shipper, but it is hard to root for their ship at this point. If the writers just left them alone and let them be adorable then it would be fine.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource

BUT. THEY. KEEP. INSERTING. OLIVER.

And where is L*urel’s character? We’re thirteen episodes in and she’s too busy flip flopping personalities for me to nail her down to one specifically. For arguments sake, let’s say the hot and cold behavior IS one of her main traits. It only surfaces in relation to Oliver. L*urel flips on him which causes her to flop on Tommy. L*urel’s actions are simply a reaction to Oliver. That’s not agency. That’s a prop.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource

It’s almost like the writers can’t be bothered with more. She’s a justice seeking, self sacrificing attorney who works pro bono. TA DA! Character is complete. Nothing more to see here!

Well, if that’s the criteria then why isn’t Joanna in the running for hero’s true love? Throw Annie Ilonzeh in a room with Stephen Amell. Let’s see if the chemistry is any better.

The writers haven’t constructed L*urel’s character beyond a hockey puck for Tommy and Oliver to pass to each other until we reach the inevitable conclusion of L*urel “choosing” Oliver. It’s like watching a train speed toward a brick wall. I know the crash is coming, but I’m not apprehensive about it or grotesquely fascinated or even scared. I’m just want out of this Bermuda Triangle.

Quentin and L*urel

The only real interesting facet of L*urel’s character is her relationship with her father. I love the raw pain between them. It is always just under the surface. The writers throw those problems like grenades in their scenes together. Katie isn’t given much to work with, but her best material is always with Paul Blackthorne.

Source: LAURELSOURCE

Quentin using his daughter as bait was brilliant, but shadey. Super shadey. It also had the unintended consequence of getting her kidnapped by a mob boss. Oops. I sort of love that Quentin had to eat crow and call The Hood for help once he figured out there was a dirty cop feeding Vance information.

L*urel is in a rage after being held hostage by The Hood. (He can use her as a human shield because he loves her. No problems here. Nope nope nope!) Quentin really hoped L*urel would appreciate his fine detective work, but she’s pretty pissed off about all the guns pointed at her. She feels her father has lost his perspective on this particular case.

L*urel: Are you gonna find another criminal? Someone else to blame for mom leaving, for Sara dying, for your drinking?

The gloves come off! Daaaaaamn. The booze? We’re going there? Meow.

I agree Quentin Lance has an addictive personality. He directs his rage and grief into an outlet he can control. Hmm… who else does that?

However, L*urel’s indignation is a little much. She is cavorting with a known criminal. The same criminal her father is investigating. L*urel does nothing to help the investigation and one could argue she impedes the investigation. This is called obstruction of justice, Counselor. L*urel actually commissioned the crime The Hood is perpetrating this week, so she could also be charged as an accessory after the fact. Maybe even aiding and abetting. So, her horror at the police pointing guns at her is somewhat ludicrous. Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.

Source: LAURELSOURCE

L*urel spends much of the episode fighting the rampant patriarchy and misogyny of the men around her by firmly accepting the danger of working with the vigilante. She is prepared to take those risks.

Source: LAURELSOURCE

But then L*urel is appalled the second she’s put in any danger and holds all the men responsible for not keeping her safe.

She can be mad her dad lied to her, but stop clutching the pearls. If L*urel wants to play the vigilante game then she is going to be used as bait and occasionally get kidnapped. That’s what everyone means by danger, girl. You’re either in or you’re out. If you’re in then you don’t get to blame anyone else for danger knocking on your door. Own your choices honey. THY NAME IS AGENCY.

Oliver and Diggle

This is week 323 of Diggle arguing that Moira is guilty as sin and Oliver ignoring the massive pile of evidence supporting that belief.

Ok, it hasn’t been that many weeks, but it feels like it. Thou Shall Not Question Diggle. He is always right, but Oliver digs his stubborn heels in. So, John offers to drive Moira around for a week and bugs her. As one does.

Oliver: You bugged my mother?

This is how OTA shows their love, Oliver. Diggle knows Moira is a slippery snake and can wiggle out of any question Oliver asks her. She even burns the copy of the List Felicity gave him after Oliver confronts her with it.

Moira insists she never associated with the people in Robert’s book and knew it only as a list of people who owed him favors. Oliver believes his mother is trying to protect her children from Walter’s fate.

So, John gets Moira ON TAPE discussing The Undertaking with Malcolm Merlyn and the sabotage of Robert Queen’s boat.

We’re going to ignore that Moira’s voice is perfectly identifiable, but Merlyn’s is about ten octaves lower. The point is these are information diamonds Diggle unearths and Oliver FINALLY agrees to pay his mother a visit as The Hood.

Flashbacks

The best part of the flashbacks is meeting all the people who helped Oliver Queen become The Hood.

Source: @olivergifs

Hello Slade Wilson! He’s a massively important character in Arrow and it is fun to rewatch how he came into Oliver’s life.

Slade and his partner, the man who tortured Oliver, are Australian Intelligence who came to Lian Yu to free Yao Fei. Slade and Yao Fei have been monitoring an air field so they can escape the island, but he cannot take it alone. There is always a reason behind all of Yao Fei’s actions, but it takes Slade a minute to figure out why he sent Oliver.

Slade: You have no skill. No strength. No training. To say you fight like a girl would be a compliment.

I’m equally indignant and amused by that line. Slade doesn’t believe Oliver will be any help to him because well… he met him. If Oliver is ever captured again he could reveal Slade’s location. So, he decides to behead Oliver. It’s the nice thing to do. It won’t hurt a bit. What can I say guys? It’s Lian Yu! These are how the memories are made.

Oliver dislocates his shoulder and punches Slade in a vain attempt to defend himself. Yao Fei may be a softer judge of character, but he’s not wrong about Oliver’s survival instinct. Slade sees the fight in Oliver’s eyes and finally understands why Yao Fei sent him. They need Oliver to survive as much as he needs them. He might not be much to look at now, but Slade Wilson is just the man to harness Oliver’s will and turn him into the fighter they all need him to become.

Stray Thoughts

David Anders is like my personal Kevin Bacon. He's in everything I watch. #Arrow #TVD #Alias #OUAT

I was never all that jazzed when L*urel was the damsel in distress and I love that crap. Another clue I didn't ship it. Source: LAURELSOURCE

Do people on this show not realize you can’t touch evidence? JFC.

Twenty four arrows in the quiver. Good to know.

“It doesn’t mean I have to read the bastard his rights though.” IF YOU WANT THE CHARGES TO STICK YOU DO.

I am so confused on what type of law L*urel practices. Her firm works for a victim’s advocacy group, but she also prosecutes criminal cases. This feels like a radiologist performing heart surgery.

KC is just really bad at action scenes. It's always so awkward.

Musings of the Kiddo

Kiddo: Does he ever run out of arrows?

Me: He has extra in the car.

Disclaimer: Any gifs on the blog are not mine. If you would like a gif removed from my reviews, please message me.

If you’d like to support the blog, please buy me a cup of tea!

#arrow #arrow review #arrow 1x13 #arrow reviews #anti laurel lance #anti lauriver #merlance #anti katie cassidy #quentin lance #arrow rewatch #arrow season 1 #season 1 episode review #season 1 episode reviews #tommy merlyn

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quitereal · 4 years ago

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and just while I’m ranting, thoughts on the fate of the green arrow & the canaries spin-off below the cut

Honestly, I know they’re saying it got cut because of the pandemic, but I honestly think it had to do with the “three co-leads” bullshit they were trying to pull. Why does a show need three nearly identical co-leads, when through the backdoor pilot, Mia was the only one who was actually necessary? I never said anything bad about it before because I didn’t want to hurt the show’s chances of getting picked up if there was a negative fan response, because I’ll honestly watch anything with Kat in it, but Julia & Katie just did not need to be there. They didn’t add anything, the only purpose they served was being Mia’s “call to adventure” and frankly, that could’ve been handled a lot more organically. Bringing Laurel & Dinah to the future was clunky and really nonsensical, when we already have a team of heroes that they spent two seasons getting us attached to.

They should’ve stuck with the Future Team Arrow spin-off, that was the team the fans got attached to, we got invested in their connections, and let’s face it, they were diverse af. We had a black man, a latina woman, a gay man, and a strong female lead in Kat. They had good chemistry, they made perfect sense, and they carried on the legacy of the original Team Arrow. Instead, they decided at the last minute to shoe-horn in two more white, straight, cis female leads? It makes no sense from any perspective. Except for a very rabid sliver of the fandom, fans HATE Laurel. I hate Laurel, and Dinah was only introduced to try and be a more likeable version of Laurel. Honestly, the show would’ve been fine with ONE Black Canary to serve as a mentor role to the team, but making it “Green Arrow & the Canaries” with both of these pointless characters just makes me wonder who exactly Katie Cassidy is blackmailing over at the CW.

And don’t give me the “the spin-off was Katie’s idea!” Yeah, a Black Canary spin-off. They tried to make it happen, they hinted at it in the second-last season, but it didn’t resonate with fans, so instead they hi-jacked the idea that did, the FTA spin-off, and bastardized it to give Katie a leading role. The fact is that Katie Cassidy can’t hold down a franchise, which is why they tried to pair her off with Kat, who clearly can, and they blew up the whole concept. I can’t help but feel like if they’d stuck with the FTA dynamic, they spin-off would already be filming right now, but changing it to include Katie Cassidy as a lead just fucked the whole concept. Let’s be honest, Laurel’s been a skid mark on Arrow since the very beginning; she took the character of Dinah Lance who was vivacious and beloved in the comics and turned her into a bitter, unlikeable shrew with zero chemistry with absolutely anyone on the show. I don’t know why they keep bringing her back, but I honestly think if they had kept Katie Cassidy tf away from this spin-off, it’d already be underway.

That said, Kat’s got a brilliant future ahead of her, and I really hope she doesn’t find herself tethered to Katie Cassidy again. If the CW has any sense whatsoever, they’ll find another role for her. She’s an amazing actress with a loyal fan-following, and she’s unproblematic af. I can’t wait to see what she’s in next.

#rant #anti katie cassidy

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fandomlife-confessions · 6 years ago

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#anything goes week #emily bett rickards #anti katie cassidy #fandom life confessions

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theflashcwconfessions · 7 years ago

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Anybody thinking Candice's immature social media behavior is very similar to Katie Cassidy's identical behavior off set of Arrow?

Anonymous

#the flash #anti candice patton #anti katie cassidy #confessions #the flash cw #arrow #anti laurel lance #anti black canary #anti black siren #anti iris west #anti westallen

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oneofthosecrazycatladies · 7 years ago

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Arrowverse Re-Watch: Arrow season 1, episode 3 “Lone Gunmen”

***Disclaimer: I recommend you read the tags before digging in to this review.

So I’m doing my annual Arrowverse re-watch (where I go back and watch all the Arrowverse shows in chronological order) and this year, I decided I would make these reviews/commentaries about each episode as I re-watch them.

So here goes… WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Request for season 7: Can we see Oliver doing this thing that he’s doing right now again? Standing shirtless and bathed in a single spotlight while he pulls a chain that lifts some pretty heavy-looking weights. God just look st those muscles ripple as he moves. (I don’t have a gif for it, just watch the episode and see for yourself.)

God and that ass!

Stephen, I’m so sorry for objectifying you. You’re a wonderful actor and you seem like an amazing person.

(Okay, hopefully that will ease some of my guilt.)

Okay but what the fuck even is this pool?

Look at how tiny it is!! Who has a pool that small?!

Okay and here’s the pool from a different angle.

I just cannot get over the pool guys. A pool that small is just impractical.

Okay I feel like I should talk about these voiceovers because there’s something really interesting about them.

So if you go back and watch the first three episodes, you’ll notice that Oliver does a lot of voiceover all throughout the episode. But after this episode, there are no more voiceovers except the “My name is Oliver Queen” thing at the beginning.

Now I could be (and probably am) way overthinking this and reading too much into it but...at the end of this episode is when John finds out Oliver’s secret and then he becomes Oliver’s partner in the next episode.

So it’s like the voiceovers are because Oliver is working all alone, but then once he has a partner he doesn’t need the voiceovers because he’s not alone anymore.

Does that make sense? Probably not...but it makes sense to me and that’s all that matters I guess.

Anyway, from a storytelling/character development point of view I find it really interesting.

How can he look so good in just a plain white t-shirt?

(Also, I miss seeing Willa Holland’s name in the credits.)

LL: I hate Oliver and I wish that he had died on the island!

Also LL: *trolls the internet for articles about him*

Me:

Also, does anyone else notice that she’s chewing on a blue pen while she’s trolling?

Now I know this couldn’t have been done on purpose since this episode was supposed to be Felicity’s one and only appearance but because the red pen has become such a big thing in the Olicity fandom...

...it’s just interesting that LL would be chewing on a blue pen.

Oh my god look at Oliver ninja his way up that wall. This man is remarkable.

I love Quentin in this episode so much! And the reason for that is because, even though he hates the Hood, he’s not so blinded by his hatred that he would just ignore contradictory evidence in order to catch the Hood. It shows how much he truly cares about justice and not just letting personal feelings get in the way. Of course, this will totally change in the next episode (as the Lances turn), but I’m just gonna ignore that for the time being and enjoy this version of Quentin.

This. Mother. Fucking. Pool.

Walter: So if I was taking out the competition, I’d have a lot of killing to do in a very short amount of time.

Walter Steele is honestly a legend. It sucks that we’ll probably never get to see him again. Ugh I miss him so much!

So Tommy and Olivear show up at Poison (the nightclub) and what are the odds that LL (and Joanna) and Thea are also at the same club at the same time? Only in TV land I guess.

Oliver: *finds out that LL (the supposed “love of his life”) is sleeping with his best friend*

Oliver: *literally no reaction whatsoever*

Later...

Oliver: *sees Felicity kissing Ray*

Oliver:

(I’m sorry I used this gif twice in one post [and so close together] but it was necessary.)

I’m just saying. If we are really supposed to believe that LL is Oliver’s once and future love, then maybe he should actually act like she is.

(On that note, though, I actually blame the writers for that because honestly I felt like Stephen was working his ass off to make the audience believe that Oliver was in love with LL while KC just gave him nothing in return. She played every scene between them so angry and bitchy even when it was totally unnecessary and didn’t fit with the tone of the scene [but more on that later].)

So LL is able to kick the crap out of Max Fuller in this episode and she did it just because his guys were beating up two people she doesn’t even really like? But literally one episode before this, when people broke into her home she just stood there not doing anything and then ran into the arms of her big, strong man.

Is LL a kickass, independent woman who can take care of herself or is she a helpless damsel in distress that needs Ollie to come and save her? I’m starting to get whiplash from all this character inconsistency.

Oliver Jonas Queen what the fuck do you think you’re doing? I know Yao Fei shot you but that was only to see if you were a threat or not. He saved your life and gave you food and water and shelter. How dare you run away from him.

Okay so I know a lot of people apparently do, but I have to admit, I actually don’t completely hate that frat boy hair Oliver has in these early flashbacks. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely prefer his present-day hair. But I don’t think the frat boy hair looks that bad.

(Then again, Stephen could probably make a mullet and a porn stache look good.)

When was the last time we saw the characters just hanging out at Big Belly Burger? That’s another request for season 7.

Argh! Oliver gets into a shootout with Lawton and Lawton destroys a perfectly good piece of technology!

Oliver Queen there is no Kevlar in that suit, you could’ve gotten seriously hurt or even killed or—

Oh hey, bb, what’s going on?

How’s your day?

I wonder how many times a day she has to ask “have you tried turning it off and then back on again”?

I wonder if she still owns this pink blouse and if it makes her smile whenever she wears it. Although, if you notice, in all 6 years of the show, she’s never worn the same outfit twice. It drives me crazy. I know that she has a lot of money from her days at Palmer Tech but it’s not unlimited. (Although apparently she and Ir*s clothes-swap now? For the record, I thought that sweater looked better on Felicity.)

And Felicity’s chewing on a red pen. Interestingly, it looks like it’s the same kind of pen as the one LL is chewing on, just a different color.

Also, I didn’t talk about this earlier when the scene actually happened, but I find it kinda great that this episode where Oliver finds out that Tommy and LL are sleeping together (and he has no reaction) is also the episode where Oliver meets Felicity. Honestly, if I didn’t know it was just a coincidence, I’d probably think the writers actually planned it all along because it’s just so damn perfect.

Okay so I know that Felicity mentions to William that she’s loved Oliver since this moment. However, since I don’t believe love at first sight is a real thing, I think that she wasn’t head over heels in love with him at this moment, but she could clearly see through all his bullshit and his Ollie Queen persona and she could see his heart. Which is why she helps him even though he’s lying out of his ass.

Because just think of where Felicity is in her life in this moment. Her father had abandoned her and never looked back and, at this point, she probably still believes that she’ll never see him again. She still has a pretty strained relationship with her mother. She still believes that Cooper is dead (I like to think that Cooper was the first guy Felicity was really in love with and that, after he died, she took a job in IT [despite being grossly overqualified] because she wanted something mundane and safe and she probably closed herself off to everyone; I can’t imagine she’s gone on many dates in the last 3 years). So I think Felicity’s pretty used to being lied to and yet, despite all that, she still decides to help Oliver anyway. Everyone always talks about this moment from Oliver’s perspective and how it’s the first time he genuinely smiles and all that, but I like to think about Felicity’s perspective. I mean, she hasn’t had the easiest life either and here comes yet another person with more lies and yet, deep down, she just has this gut feeling that he’s actually a good guy, so for the first time in probably a very long time, she takes a chance. She decides to open up her heart to this guy, whose practically a stranger, but she just knows. Because they’re kindred spirits really, and even though Oliver doesn’t know anything about her past yet, I think he can tell that too. Kindred spirits can always recognize each other.

Also, one more little note. Can we just talk about this for a second: So far, this show has been so dark—literally and metaphorically—and grim. And then...this beautiful bespeckled blonde bathed in bright daylight. Once again, if I didn’t know this was a coinincidence because this was supposed to be her only appearance, I would think the writers planned this all along. She’s the one that harnesses the light inside of him...and when they first meet its bathed in bright sunlight.

I just love this scene so much! In a way, it almost makes it better that all these things were basically accidents. Because it fits so well with the story. Oliver came back from the island with a very specific purpose and plan in mind. He never planned on meeting Felicity but now he can’t imagine his life without her. Emily was only supposed to be in one episode, but now she’s become such an integral part of the show.

This story Moira tells Thea about when she brought home a cat and Robert convinced her to let it go is so wonderful. But it also makes it that much more painful when Thea rejects Robert as her father and starts calling Malcolm “dad”. The whole time I kinda just wanted to scream at Thea and be like “BUT ROBERT LOVED YOU! He knew you weren’t his but he loved you and raised you as his own anyway!!!!!”

I was just so happy when that Malcolm/Thea storyline more or less came to an end and Thea started calling Robert “dad” again. I mean, I think Malcolm is a great character but I couldn’t stand it how he just got away with manipulating her. I don’t blame the characters, of course. I blame Guggenheim for his misogynistic writing. (And I’m pretty sure that MG is the reason Willa left which really sucks because not only did we lose a beloved character, but now MG is gone but we’ll never get to see Thea treated the way she deserves. It kinda makes me wonder if Willa decided to leave before she knew that MG was leaving too and if she would’ve stayed if she knew).

Okay I just gotta ask...with Felicity’s low ponytail and the way the hair totally covers her ears...did they do that on purpose to cover up Emily’s industrial piercing?

And if that’s so, why didn’t they just have her not wear the piercing for this scene? I may not have my ears pierced at all but I’m sure it wouldn’t be a big deal if she took the piercing out for, what, it maybe took an hour or so to film her scenes?

Ugh whatever. I’m just a very detail-oriented person so I always hyper-focus on these things.

Okay I’m sorry, but how did Quentin not recognize Oliver’s voice in this scene? It just doesn’t make any sense!

Tommy: By being better. By being someone that you deserve and that you wanna be with.

Oh Tommy, bb, you’re alreasy too good for LL, okay? She is the one that doesn’t deserve to be with you.

Yay John knows!!!

Okay that’s it for episode 3. To be continued with episode 4.

#arrow #arrow season 1 #arrow 1x03 #oliver queen #stephen amell #anti laurel lance #felicity smoak #olicity #quentin lance #walter steele #anti lauriver #anti katie cassidy #emily bett rickards #thea queen #willa holland #anti marc guggenheim

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