#anti ota fandom

[jbuffyangel]

Hot and Cold: Arrow 1x22 Review (Darkness of the Edge of Town)

There is no episode that exemplifies the disjointed nature of Season 1 more than “Darkness on the Edge of Town.”  We have Exhibit A: an OTA field op and the smoaking hot chemistry of Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards igniting in an elevator shaft of all places.

And Exhibit B: the other show. A frigid black hole I feared we’d never escape from.

Let’s dig in…

Olicity and OTA

Let’s start with the positive since there is soooooo much freaking positive! It can take time for a television series to find its footing in the first season.  Unfortunately, nowadays if the audience isn’t binging the entire season in 24 hours, the show gets canceled. But blessedly, this was 2013. Network TV was still the supreme ruler, and Arrow was pulling big enough numbers for the CW to allow for some leeway.

Twenty two episodes of leeway. Arrow finally found its groove and latched on to the mystical “it factor” that keeps an audience watching - Oliver, Felicity and Diggle. The chemistry and dynamic between these characters and the actors who play them is undeniable and it creates an action packed, laughing out loud, and sizzling hot episode. The writers are having FUN in “Darkness on the Edge of Town" and it shows, which means we get to have fun too.

Oliver decides to question his mother regarding the Undertaking, but she refuses to confess. So, Oliver and Diggle take a more brutal approach. The Hood kidnaps them both and beats the crap out of Oliver until she coughs up the information. It’s always hilarious when this show acts like David Ramsey can fit in Stephen Amell’s suit.

The burgeoning relationship between Oliver and Felicity is very much in its infancy. Oliver is fully in denial about feeling any type of way toward his IT girl. Never is that more apparent then when Oliver and Diggle return from the confrontation with Moira. Diggle gets a few solid whacks in, which I’m sure felt amazing given the absolute jackass Oliver was being the past few episodes.

Felicity has a much harder time concealing her feelings towards Oliver and it’s clear she worries about him. She is always the first to ask if he’s okay, offer a supportive ear to listen or shoulder to cry on. However, Oliver seems to draw a line in this episode when Felicity reaches to touch the bruise on his face. That small step was too much. He physically keeps her at arm’s length because the intimacy of Felicity’s concerned touch is not something Oliver is ready for. There is still a very big wall hiding all that pain, regret and unworthiness.

Source: @lyricalarrow

Admitting he remembers the exact day they met, however, is absolutely no problem. We shall come to discover just how much Oliver remembers about that day in later seasons. I have a lot of male friends and I guarantee you I don’t remember the day we met. However, the day I met my husband is burned into my memory.

The team determines the only way to stop Merlyn from leveling the Glades with a man-made earthquake machine is to find the location of the device. Unfortunately, Felicity is unable to hack Merlyn’s system so she needs direct access to his mainframe inside Merlyn Global Headquarters. LET'S DO CRIMES!

Oliver makes an appointment with Tommy (more on that later) while Felicity continues to up her adorability factor by dressing up as Big Belly Burger employee delivering lunch to a security guard otherwise known as John Diggle.

The burger is laced with benzodiazepine, so it knocks out the other security guard and gives John free reign to control the elevator & cameras. Do we know how Diggle is able to pose as a security guard? No. Do we care? Nope. Let the hijinks commence!

Oliver and Felicity make their way to the elevator, but not until Oliver unloads an unwelcomed dudebro hitting on Felicity.

Jealousy looks so good on him. The way Stephen Amell plays this scene, with his nails-on-a-chalkboard look at the word “sweetie” to robotically knocking the papers out of the elevator, is physical comedy at its best. Something Amell rarely gets to do, but he’s great at it.  

The mainframe is on the twenty fifth floor, but the elevator only goes up to the nineteenth, so Oliver and Felicity have some climbing to do. It seems Felicity is thinking of a certain kind of climbing as well and really who can blame her?

Source: @lyricalarrow

Oliver lifts her WITH ONE ARM out of the elevator, which is so freaking hot I cannot.

Then, very gently, bends down to wrap his arm around Felicity’s waist and loop her arm around his neck. Oliver is moving with the precision of a jungle cat, but it also feels like an incredibly elaborate way to grab hold of someone. It has a very superhero sweep-her-into-my-arms sensuality to it. The mission is giving Oliver plenty of reasons to touch Felicity and he doesn’t seem unhappy about it, particularly when he softly tells her, "Hold onto me tight."

Is it warm in here? Holy Moses, Oliver Queen. Get control. This man is a god to women, so he clearly understands the connotations of, “Hold onto me tight.” There’s a thousand different ways to say that platonically, but nope! Oliver charges headlong into the blinking neon lights of SEXUAL INNNUENDO.

Felicity’s Freudian slip didn’t feel so Freudian either. She knew exactly what she was saying and leveled her full meaning in a single look. I thought the elevator was going to combust from all the heat. If you are looking for the text book definition of undressing someone with your eyes than look no further than these two. They way they hold the gaze. WOW. Can we have all the nakedness now?!!! It’s a sin against science for Oliver and Felicity not to bang regularly BECAUSE THE CHEMISTRY.

THIS IS NOT THE BEHAVIOR OF A MAN MADLY IN LOVE WITH LAUREL LANCE.

This scene has the classic Superman and Lois Lane feel to it.

Source: @olicitygifs

Oliver is doing his vigilante thing, but his partner in crime isn’t the leading lady of Arrow. It’s a supporting character who’s feeling less and less supporting with each episode.

Unfortunately, Felicity is about to be discovered while Oliver is held up by Malcolm Merlyn, Thea and Roy Harper. This is a very popular day to visit Merlyn Global. Oliver’s frustration under his cool and calm exterior builds the tension nicely and we do wonder how Felicity is getting out of this jam. Never fear! It’s John Diggle to the rescue. Top notch comedy from both Rickards and Ramsey.

Source: @olicitygifs

Their first official team mission outside of the bunker is a wild success. Felicity still has to search through all of Merlyn’s data to determine the location of the device. Despite all the heat, hilarity and hijinks on this side of the show, Oliver makes an abrupt decision regarding the other side of the show that makes absolutely no sense.

Lauriver and Merlance

Still feeling warm friends? Well don’t worry. I have a nice bucket of ice cold water to dump on you.

As predicted, Oliver’s love confession messes with Laurel’s mind and obliterates any clear path back to Tommy. He drops this bomb on her and they have not spoken for a WEEK. Of course, this is all Laurel has thought about and she makes a rather elaborate speech admitting she has feelings for Oliver too.

Yeah, none of this is a surprise. Tommy knew Laurel had feelings for Oliver. We knew Laurel had feelings for Oliver. Hell, even Oliver knew. The only one who wasn’t admitting it was Laurel, so at least she’s finally being honest about things. You don’t get a love triangle if the central figure in the love triangle doesn’t have feelings for two people. The issue is who does Laurel love MORE.

Laurel: Maybe Tommy was right. Maybe he and I weren’t meant to be.

She had a clear answer last week. It was Tommy. She absolutely wanted to get back together with him, but Oliver decided honesty was the best policy on this one subject only. This line enrages me because Oliver has distracted Laurel from the man she is truly meant to be with. I will die on this hill, friends. DIE. ON. THIS. MERLANCE. HILL.

Laurel: Tommy’s a good guy. Are you?

Oliver: I didn’t have an agenda. I didn’t mean to make it more difficult to fix things with Tommy.

Oh for fucks sake. Yes, you did Oliver. That’s exactly why you said it. This is just a straight up lie. Oliver absolutely wanted to confuse Laurel. He just doesn’t want to look like the bad guy for doing it. This is some A+ Ollie behavior.

After Laurel makes a wonderfully impassioned and heartfelt speech about her feelings for Oliver, after probably obsessing about it for seven days straight, Oliver dumps her. AGAIN.

Oliver: Nothing’s changed. My life hasn’t changed. I haven’t changed.

I am infuriated on Laurel’s behalf with this flip flopping back and forth. The time to make this speech was last week in the hospital hallway. That was the moment to let her go and put Laurel on the plane with the man she belongs with, but Oliver couldn’t do it because it was too damn hard. It was just cruel and horribly unfair to both Tommy and Laurel because Oliver has absolutely no intention of being with her. But now it’s too late. The information is out there. You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube, my dude.

Laurel pays her father a visit to basically get his permission to date Oliver again. Yeah, let’s make the man who lost his daughter to Oliver’s selfishness sign off on banging his other daughter again. This show.

Quentin’s speech is equally as empty as any speech Laurel’s made about seeing the change in Oliver because we, the audience, have not been privy to those moments. We’re just supposed to take their word for it even though the last time Quentin saw Oliver Queen he was trying to arrest him for drug trafficking. But sure, Quentin thinks he’s “changed.”

In order to make this storyline work, you have to give proper attention to the Lance family interacting with Oliver and the writers do not seem interested in doing that. All the important emotional growth takes place off screen and we’re supposed to accept it as fact because the characters tell us.

Meanwhile, they are organically growing the relationship Oliver has with Diggle, Felicity, hell even Roy! So we know the writers are capable of SHOWING these moments of character evolution. They just choose not to when it comes to the Lance family. It’s why the show feels so completely disjointed.

Oliver pays Tommy a visit and wants to have a chat.

Source: @queensarrow

So it's safe to say Tommy is still pissed.

Oliver encourages him to work things out with Laurel – kind of?

Oliver: Lord knows, I am guilty of a lot of things between us, but not you are her.

What’s infuriating about this conversation is that Oliver still refuses to accept any kind of responsibility in their break up. Oliver pretends to be a friend to the all feminists and touts Laurel’s independence and free will. She makes her own choices and she chose Tommy.

Tommy’s point is clear, even if it is self pitying; Laurel is not dealing with all the information. If she did have all the information then she would choose Oliver. From Oliver’s standpoint, it doesn’t matter because he can’t be with her.

That’s not reassuring to Tommy nor is it supposed to be. If the elements keeping Oliver and Laurel apart were removed (the Hood) then Oliver wouldn’t think twice about making a move on Laurel. And Tommy knows this. These are not the actions of a best friend, which is why he’s so pissed.

Now, Tommy’s big mistake was throwing in the towel too early. He should have NEVER given Oliver an opening with Laurel, but he did and it set them on this path. No we have to watch it play out.

Oliver: I promised myself that when I crossed all of these names off the list, I’d be done, but taking down these people, it doesn’t honor him. I was just treating the symptoms while the disease festered. I stop the Undertaking… I wipe out the disease.

Diggle: What are you saying Oliver? You would hang up the Hood?

Oliver: Merlyn’s plan is what I returned from the island to stop.

Does anyone else have whiplash? Oliver does a complete about face and determines he can be with Laurel since he only needs to cross one name off the list instead of dozens. He’s just missing one step, gee what could it be? Oh! I know. OLIVER STILL HAS TO CROSS MERLYN’S NAME OFF THE LIST AND STOP THE UNDERTAKING. Talk about counting your chickens before their hatched.

A hero’s journey is a very specific type of story. Joseph Campbell outline seventeen stages in 1949 and Christopher Vogler created an updated version in 2007 for screenwriting. I’m not going through all seventeen steps, but we can skip to the very last one regarding this storyline.

Freedom to Live/Return with the Elixir – meaning the hero has faced their internal and external struggles, has conquered the demons around them and earned the right to live as they choose. From a spiritual sense, the hero lives without fear of death.

It’s similar with Vogler’s elixir stage. From a community perspective, the hero has found the magical way to heal their wounded land. They are bringing hope, life and freedom back to their loved ones. In doing so, it gives the hero a personal victory. They’ve earned the right to experience peace and joy, which can be represented in a wide variety of narratives.

Oliver is hero. Arrow has made his endgame very clear - save Starling City. Has he saved the city? Has he stopped Malcolm Merlyn? NO. So why is his leather clad ass running all the way back to Laurel Lance to enjoy the fruits an elixir he has yet to procure? If Laurel is endgame, this makes absolutely no sense. This is too fast. It’s too abrupt. It doesn’t feel earned because it hasn’t been earned.

Clearly, the initial plan was to put Oliver (Green Arrow) and Laurel (Black Canary) on parallel, if not intersecting, paths. I’m not saying Oliver cannot be with Laurel as they evolve into superheroes together. But this is the first freaking season you guys! He hasn’t done a damn thing yet! Neither has she. And yet, here Oliver is, knocking on Laurel’s door, looking for some fruit.

Oliver: Ever since I’ve been back, we’ve been doing this dance. We come together and then I pull away.  Something pulls me away, but I think finally that something might be over.

Laurel: What are you are trying saying?

Oliver: That you know me better than anyone. And that you are more important to me than anyone. I just hope I didn’t wait too long to say it.

If Laurel has no clue Oliver is the Hood then can he really claim she knows him best? It sounds good to say, and probably what Laurel is dying to hear, but it rings hollow because there’s no evidence of this anywhere on the show. Laurel was wrong about who Oliver is all season. We are just supposed to accept some verbal acknowledgment of change, that she knows him better than anyone, but without any television scenes to back it up. That’s not how storytelling works, Arrow writers.

Sorry to beat a dead horse, but I warned you I wasn’t done with this topic - Oliver is still lying to Laurel. There should be more talking. What are those things pulling you away, Oliver? Why are they over? Are you a hooded, crime fighting, serial killer who has been mysteriously stalking me all year? Those are just some ideas off the top of my head. There is no person on this planet that Oliver needs an honest conversation with more than Laurel Lance, but nope. They jump straight to sex.  

Let’s talk about the sex. This has been built up all season. These two characters belong together. They are bulldozing over Tommy Merlyn to be together because they are this passionate romance that time cannot quell. It should be like the fourth of July in Laurel’s apartment right now.

Source: laurelscanary

Instead, of heat we get frigid. Fish have hotter sex.

I’m willing to acknowledge "Radioactive" was the hit song of 2013 and every show on the CW was using it. It has a very sexy beat and big crescendo. It sounds like a good song to use during a sex scene.

Except for the fact that it’s called RADIOACTIVE with lyrics like, “This is it, the apocalypse.” This is not the romance your Plan A couple usually requires in a scene like this. They had Blake Neely for a composer. Where’s Oliver and Laurel’s love theme? We'll probably get it in the season finale but anything would be better than "Radioactive."

Source: laurelscanary

Next issue. Black socks and jean shorts?  Wardrobe – what were you thinking? Nobody felt the need to tell Katie to take off the sox? Details matter!!

Source: laurelscanary

Stephen Amell and Katie Cassidy kissing are like watching two pieces of flat cardboard trying to hump each other. Can they choose a direction? Are we biting or no biting? Are we using tongue or no tongue? Can Oliver unbutton his shirt or does Laurel need to help? Is Oliver going to drop Laurel while trying to get her sweatshirt off? It was just so awkward from start to finish. ZERO SPARKS.

Source: habibialkaysani

And for the coup de grace, they leave the curtains pulled wide open, so Tommy can see them screwing from the street. The look of utter devastation on his face is heartbreaking and that’s the final image they leave us with as their love scene fades to black. Oliver and Laurel reuniting are not framed as a good thing. It’s framed as a betrayal, because that’s exactly what it is.

Source: @queensarrow

Even worse, Felicity finds the device while Oliver and Laurel are asleep and HE LEAVES. No note. No, honey I have to run out and save the city real quick, but I’ll be back for round two later. Nothing. But please, tell me again how much Ollie has changed.

When I watched this episode live I was horribly disappointed the big reunion with Laurel and Oliver fell flat. This was really my last gasp trying to be a Lauriver shipper. And I use the term “trying” loosely. I was more or less looking for any redeeming qualities in this love story, but after this hypothermic love scene I was officially out. I could not ship these two. I could never forgive them for betraying Tommy. But I feared Arrow would never move on from Oliver and Laurel.  

Of course, their real intention becomes all too clear later. Arrow was trying to blow them up to make way for something infinitely better.

 Theroy

Speaking of flipping back and forth, these two break up every other week. Roy is clearly committed to finding the Vigilante, which leads them to Merlyn Global and a run in with Oliver, the disapproving older brother. Again, Stephen Amell’s acting is superb.

I loved the way he said “What” to Thea and the firm alpha male handshake he gives Roy, warning him to stay away.

Obviously, Roy accomplished his goal. He found the Vigilante. Roy just doesn’t know it. He thinks Oliver Queen is too much of a wimp to ever consider him as the man in the hood. Thea was good and ticked off with that “wimp�� remark. Enough to dump Roy. She will not tolerate any slander of her brother. #QUEENSIBILINGSFOREVER

But this is like the fifth time these two broke up, so it’s losing the impact. This isn’t all about the Hood’s identity and thanking him for saving Roy’s life. He wants to BE the Hood, so Roy can protect the people he loves and never lose anyone again. The question is – who did Roy lose? Unfortunately, Thea storms out before we get an answer, but hopefully one is coming in the season finale. (No I do not remember who).

Long story short, yes I like these two, but the faster the Arrow writers move the characters into the Hood storyline the better. Otherwise they are just marooned on their own show like Laurel Lance Island.

Stray Thoughts

Yao Fei died! It’s so sad and traumatic. I forgot he’s shot in the head. Really didn’t need to see that twice.

Fyers is shooting down a commercial airliner to destabilize the Chinese economy. It’s always about money for these assholes.

Walter wants a divorce and I would say their differences are irreconcilable. Moira is getting what she deserves. You can’t kidnap your husband for six months and then offer him tea and crumpets when he comes home.

"Who the hell is Felicity Smoak?" Uh oh. Quentin has Felicity’s name. That ain’t good.

“Is the other archer working for Merlyn?” Please don’t make Diggle look this dumb again.

Merlyn versus Oliver battle was EPIC! The fight scenes this season are so stellar.

“Psychopaths are color coding themselves. That’s helpful.” HA!

Listen to the Watchover podcast reaction to 1x22!!!

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

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

[waitmyturtles]

Hey,

I'm not 100% sure how this works. Also this is more of an opinion than a question. I just feel the need to brain dump. You are under no obligation to reply. 😁

I fear that First and Khaotung are being wasted at/by GMMTV. They're both stellar actors and seem to have the sensibilities to tackle more serious material.

I feel like coming off Not Me, the themes in The Eclipse kinda went over my head. My fear was and still is that I didn't understand all the nuances. And that's why I felt like the show was lacking. Also I think the very first preview set it up as an entirely different show (more supernaturalmystery/thriller) in my head, so there was a disconnect there as well.

Their next project was Moonlight Chicken where both of them shined as actors but negligibly as a BL pairing. Having said that, they seem to be on very solid ground in the BL fandom - I am referring to their fan meets.

Only Friends was a masterclass of acting as far as FirstKhaotung were concerned (i was all about Ray and Sand), but I think the overall reputation as show that fell flat on its face overshadowed or at least took away (for me) from the gravity of FK.

And now we're here. With The Heart Killers and I am very wary of how Ota all going down. I see that the final trailer got over million views and I'm happy for them, but based on I think the absolute travesty that was OF, my expectations for this show are on the ground.

I really want more of an insight into how projects are picked up and distributed inside GMMTV (if you ha e any, I'm dying to know). I feel like they would benefit greatly from being on a show like PS I Hate You or something like Peaceful Property.

It feels like they're backsliding in terms of material given. Which I am sure is a) not their fault and b) me possibly being weird and dramatic in the wee hours of the morning. But I wanted to get it off my chest and I was reading your previous reviews when I felt, and then gave into the impulse to write to you.

Also I'm a MaxTul girly too and somehow, you made me want to give Make it Right another chance.

Have a great week ahead and keep up the absolutely exceptional work! ❤️

NIHILISTIC! It's great to hear from you! And thank you for the compliments!

TW for girlies out there who are not Nihilistic: this post will contain criticisms of The Heart Killers trailer. Read at your peril, delicate hearts!

I'll go backwards to save the biggest stuff for last. If you write anything about Make It Right, please tag me! @bengiyo and I always give a little DJ air horn to each other when we've nabbed another one into the broader cultural reconsideration of this AMAZING show. MaxTul, man. Nobody beats them! (Okay, almost, Tul admits he wasn't the strongest actor, but. We'll let it slide, dahling!) Chemistry, humor, pride representation, everything, they're great. I yelped when I saw them in Triage!

Okay, so you are a FirstKhao girlie, and you're worried about what The Heart Killers bodes. (Out of transparency, I have The Heart Killers tag filtered because of Only Friends PTSD. I'm gonna filter my own post!) For you, Nihilistic, I just watched the trailer for it.

I will get to all your questions about the GMMTV model in a moment.

Now, out of even MORE transparency, I am watching the MESS that is Kidnap right now, and listen, it's NOT GOOD. I'm fucking not even writing about it anymore, I'm just reblogging the sessy gifs. I am watching it to support Ohm Pawat, and am hoping that this partnership with Leng Thanaphon will hopefully lead to better scripts.... somewhere. (Or at least, better scripts for Ohm at a place like One31 or Channel 3. I also hope Ohm keeps up his anti-branded pair stance, but if GMMTV forces him to pair permanently with Leng, it won't be a fucking surprise, and more on that below.)

To focus specifically on THK for a sec: the THK trailer evoked a lot of what's gone utterly wrong in Kidnap for me. I think writing Thai BL/Series Y scripts to be different, fresh, and innovative, is just going to be really fucking hard, especially for stories featuring branded pairs that MUST end up together in the end. Because we, the viewers, KNOW that they MUST end up together in the end, what kind of mystery and conflict can a script convincingly evoke to keep us, the viewers, engaged and interested in the drama?

A few of us Ohm girlies were excited that Kidnap could have had non-romantic plot points (CRIME!!!) to drive concurrently with a romance plot. There are Series Y that have done this BEAUTIFULLY, particularly Sammon's stories of Manner of Death and Triage.

I'm sorry to say that I didn't get that from the THK trailer, and that THK smells a lot like Kidnap to me. The trailer itself is giving an indication that the "jobs" these guys have as double agents are going to be compromised due to them falling in love. And after the debacle that was Jojo Tichakorn's Only Friends -- a show premised on the exploration of mean, icky, really horny humans, a great place to start an interesting show! -- knowing that THK will HAVE to end up in a romantic place, with FK and JoongDunk being in memorable and memeable entwinements... that's a lot to ask of a show that already isn't making sense by drive, emotion, and tone in its trailer alone. What matters more to these characters? Their work, or their need to be in monogamous relationships? Seems like the latter to me by way of the trailer, which makes me wonder what the point of the plot is. (Joong's chest, probably.) (Gahddayum.)

(I haven't watched the latest episode of Jack & Joker, btw, but I understand that THIS WEEK's episode is ALSO going through something similar, with dead-end and uncommitted plot points all to get to a kiss. Oy.)

To summarize these points and to touch at your question about how GMMTV chooses scripts: GMMTV has an economic model to sell in giving happy endings to their branded pairs, which I wrote about at length in my Old GMMTV Challenge rewatch of The Eclipse. No matter where a script goes, the ending must be memorable and monogamous to satisfy the retweeting hunger of the branded pairs' fandoms, in order for GMMTV's artists to increase online engagement and to maintain earned media values to sell products.

The wonderful @flowerbeasblog noted to me recently that Tha Sataporn, the CEO of GMMTV, said in an interview that as the productions of Series Y in Thailand continues to increase, there is a greater need for more scriptwriting talent across this niche genre, creating competition for more excellent writing. (By comparison, in the States, when streaming services like Netflix and Hulu starting commissioning more original series just about a decade ago, the demand for scriptwriters and excellent writing also went up by incredible scale -- only to come crashing down recently with pandemic and strike-related losses in revenue.) GMMTV's recently announced script competition, Y Find, updated itself last week with a notice that the company would need more time to sift through scripts to judge. In other words: the demand for creative plots is so high at this company that they are literally fielding entries from the general public.

At the same time, Tha Sataporn has been blunt in indicating that "good shows" are not the priority of his GMMTV, and that talent, management, and engagement are his indicators of success. So, economically -- as long as a show hits that happy ending, and gets the girlies excited online with commentary and purchasing power, then the studio has won, in GMMTV's eyes.

ULTIMATELY, Nihilistic: what we are dealing with regarding your concern, as fans and/or critics of Series Y shows, is a conflict of values, among critical fans like ourselves, other fans who only watch shows for romance and shipping, and the economic bottom lines of the studios/agencies themselves. Some of us just want narratively good scripts, like Bad Buddy or He's Coming To Me. Others are content with having a show end with their fave pairs confirmed together in the end, no matter the process of how they got there. Those are different values we hold in watching shows. I appreciate that while you're a fan of the FK branded pair, that you want stronger scripts for them. I do, too, but that's not a value that every fan -- and GMMTV itself -- holds. And I believe that's why we've been seeing more and more mediocre scripts from that studio in particular.

I actually want to note maybe something positive about FirstKhao. Other than The Eclipse, it seems like they haven't been locked into high school or university settings. Only Friends, Moonlight Chicken -- these are shows that show First's and Khao's characters as young adults, and THK is going there, too. I hope they can avoid the university settings as they continue to work.

Is stellar acting wasted at GMMTV? Oh, yes. Besides First and Khao, who I truly think are good actors, we have Gun Atthaphan, Nanon Korapat, and Ohm Pawat -- these three guys are on my list of the best Thai actors out there who have done BL, and they haven't had great scripts in years. (Gun, arguably, has had the best pickings of decent shows recently in Cooking Crush and The Trainee, but they weren't high art; and Nanon's Dirty Laundry was the last Jojo script I was truly impressed by.) All three of these guys were in MOVIES at one point. Those ambitions, on behalf of these actors by GMMTV, seem to have gone by the wayside in preference for a huge economic push to boost branded pair-based series insteads, with their plot holes and guaranteed romances.

I hope the genre's tide turns for the sake of quality scripts, especially at GMMTV, but my hopes are low for this agency at the moment. My joy in Thai shows recently has been in watching past shows for my OGMMTVC. I've been on a lakorn kick lately, having watched The Miracle of Teddy Bear and I'm looking forward to watching Khun Chai soon. Other agencies and studios, like One31 and Channel 3, are breathing down GMMTV's neck and producing more interesting shows, sometimes with branded pairs and sometimes not. Triage only came out two years ago, and that show's trilogy (along with Manner of Death) will end with this year's airing of Spare Me Your Mercy, starring the very likely one-time pair of Tor Thanabob and JJ (Jaylerr) Krissanapoom, two gigantic artists in Thailand who are circling BACK towards the much smaller genre of Series Y for SMYM's sake. I have VERY high hopes and expectations for that show -- and that show is well out of the purview of GMMTV.

I think what you're smelling about the THK trailer is right, Nihilistic -- to me, the trailer isn't cohesive, and jumps already to its forgone conclusion of a romantic end. Unfortunately, for those of us familiar with Jojo Tichakorn's work, we know that if he was given more leeway, he'd likely come up with something more interesting. But now that he has to work with branded pairs -- who are shipped in the eyes of their fan beholders -- he's got a lot less room to be creative and interesting, which ultimately stifles the otherwise excellent acting we'd see from these young men.

[macman521]

Arrow’s OTA isn’t soo great on they're own because they never were. Here are a few examples:

Season 1: They were unable to stop the destruction of the Glades. They were too late to stop the second earthquake machine and as a result, 503 people including Tommy Meryln were killed.

Season 2: It was them against an entire army of superpowered soldiers at Deathstroke’s command. Three vs that many clearly wasn’t the best call. They needed the help of Lyla, Roy, Sara, Nyssa and the Leauge of Assasins to take down Slade’s army, Yes Felicity injected the cure to Slade and Oliver was able to stop him but they never would have gotten close to him without help.

Season 3: Again, the three of them required help to stop Ra’s al Ghul and stop the Omega Virus from spreading. They needed Thea, Laurel, Nyssa, Ray, Malcolm, Quentin and the SCPD to stop this threat. Oliver was able to stop Ra’s but he still needed help saving the city.

Season 4: Oliver literally needed to learn magic from some mystical women to defeat Damien. They also got help from Thea, Curtis, Malcolm, Lyla, Quentin, AND LITERALLY ALMOST ALL OF THE CITIZENS OF STAR CITY to defeat Damien and H.I.V.E.

Season 5: Two members of OTA were captured and along with others. Oliver got help from Nyssa, Malcolm, Slade, and Captain Boomerang (even though he betrayed him afterward). Eventually, with the help of Thea, Dinah, Curtis, Quentin, and Rene, they were able to free themselves but still failed to stop Adrian from blowing up Lian Yu and which led to the death of Samatha Clayton.

Don’t say OTA is better off just as them. Right now they are clearly outnumbered and will need the help like always. They really never were that special.

[fandomlife-confessions]

[10ratsinahat]

Kfjdnd I remember that I used to be a yoi blog but now I'm just full on voltron. Lmao. Oof. Reminder that my ota//Yuri blog is @fullofotayuri

[tae-shimura-is-my-wife]

Perhaps even more so than GinTsu, I really hate KonTae. I hate how the fandom and it's shippers act like Otae is a shallow b*tch for not giving Kondo a chance, or alternatively, say she secretly loves him even though she was more concerned over Shinpachi being traumatized at the gorilla wedding. If Sacchan is a stalker, then the hypocrite fandom needs to condemn Kondo for the same thing.

ANTI KNTAE CONTENT BELOW, SCROLL, BLOCK ME OR BLOCK THE ANTI TAG!

Ahh kntae! A ship that until today idk why it is so popular 😊

The ppl who hate Otae for not reciprocating their feelings are so... UGH! Kondou invades her privacy and break her boundaries, but she needs to love him because??? He loves her so much??? The vibes are so ew...

Ppl think that she loves him because that wedding scene??? She wasn't giving a f about Kondou there, as you said. And there's some other scenes where SHE'S JUST BEING GENTLE WITH HIM and they say it's an evidence of her crush on him 😭😭 funny that when it comes to ginsachi they don't say the same thing. Or maybe is because they think she's a tsundere with him, when she isn't! Tae already expressed her care for him! She never negated that liked platonically plz him or something like that, she only beats Kondou because he goes beyond limits! Nothing related to tsundere at all.

Sacchan = Kondou. But the fandom isn't ready for this conversation...

[ukaiknowsbest]

Hey, do you happen to have any gintae fic recs?

The fandom/fics list in ffnet and ao3 is already so small so imma list here the works that I constantly go back to mainly because their characterization is smth that I take reference from.

1. it's the darkest of all before the dawn by episode342

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28647528

-this was the work that I kept looking at as I was watching the show for the first time. It’s short but a good primer of gintae dynamics.

2. Setting Sun by Anti-Emo

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13007014/1/

- GinTae officially start dating. I like the characterization in this one. Especially Shinpachi’s.

3. Shelter by murasakiana

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/9738792/1/

- in which otae has a bad day where she’s feeling sad and insecure which resulted in her clashing with gintoki. There’s a bit here abt Gintoki describing what Otae means to him, which I still think abt a lot.

4. Killing a wasp doesn't mean you won't be stung by grilledjellyfish

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/4648763/1/

- shinsengumi is in trouble, they go to yorozuya for help. GinTae is so quietly boss in this.

5. When Megane Says "Dondake!", Expect A Miracle by makino_2

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8511814

-lemon and a little smu/tty. I also like how they were portrayed here.

6. unsaid by citruspeel

-futurefic (tho im not sure how far in the future). Gintoki and Otae gets to stay at a proper ryokan, just the two of them. Hurt/Comfort and Gen. Very touching fic about Otae seeing Gintoki's scars properly for the first time.

There are a lot more good fics in our small niche in gintama fandom tbh. I'm just gonna start you with these six coz i think a lot abt them. There are good au fics and Otae badassery fics which I haven't mentioned. If you wanna be more specific about the type of gintae u want then maybe i can help.

...

That being said I'd like to promote this GinTae 10 years later futurefic series that is still a massive work in progress of character studies. It revolves around the question "What will Gintoki do if Otae proposes marriage to him but not romantically?" It is called:

IT MIGHT TAKE A DECADE

you can read it here: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2704447

it's already around 15 chapters. Loosely based on Edo Period customs too. I'm still new to this sort of thing so it may read a bit awkward at some points but I poured quite a bit of my Otae research (and love) into the writing.

[queencanaries]

Do you know what? I’m glad Olicity are getting back together. Because when they do and the ratings don’t boost back up from it, then all those fuckers can be proven wrong once again because the drop in ratings DID NOT come from a fucking break up it came from killing/removing a character from the show permanently which didn’t just tell fans of that character to go fuck themselves but told fans who tuned into Arrow because it was based on the comics that they’ll never get what they want out of the show because it’s so far up the ass of an original one-dimensional character and a forgettable team of three called OTA.

[allimariexf]

Olicity Fandom’s Top Arrow Episodes: Poll Results and Fandom Rewatch

Hey everyone! About a month ago, I created a poll HERE where I asked the fandom to rank their top episodes of Arrow. Well, MORE THAN A HUNDRED OF YOU VOTED! and here are the results, the definitive list of our fandom’s Top Arrow Episodes:

1. 2x07 "State v. Queen" 

 2. 5x20 "Underneath" 

3. 3x20 "The Fallen" 

4. 3x05 "The Secret Origin of Felicity Smoak" 

5. 2x23 "Unthinkable" 

6. 1x15 "Dodger" 

7. 3x01 "The Calm" 

8. 4x01 "Green Arrow" 

9. 3x23 "My Name is Oliver Queen" 

10. 2x08 "The Scientist" 

11. 6x04 "Reversal" 

12. 1x14 "The Odyssey" 

13. 2x14 "Time of Death" 

14. 2x22 "Streets of Fire" 

15. 4x09 "Dark Waters"

(For more information about the process of how we reached these results, see the post HERE.)

So many of you may be wondering: now what? Well, I’m glad you asked. The  goal of this poll was to determine which episodes we will be watching next on our Fandom-Wide Episode Rewatches. And YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN US, starting with:

1x14 "The Odyssey" (because we elected to watch the list in chronological order)

on SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23 at 7 PM UTC (that’s 2 PM Eastern, 11 AM Pacific). 

For more information on how to join in, READ MORE under the cut! 

Here’s the thing…for over a year, we have been holding WEEKLY Olicity Fandom coordinated group rewatches. Basically, it works like this:

1. join our Discord server* (basically, Discord is a group chat platform that is free, reputable, and available on desktop and mobile. If you want more info, it’s very googleable.)

for more info on OUR Olicity Discord server, see my posts here and here

*in order to join the server (which is invite-only, to keep out trolls and antis), you must agree to a few simple rules: 1) be an Olicity/Felicity/OTA fan, 2) consent to NSFW content, and 3) agree to treat people with respect and NOT CREATE DRAMA because we are lovers, not haters ;)

and if you agree to those rules, direct message me, or @1-crazy-dreamer or @lucyyh or @stephswims to get an invite!

2. at the appointed time, we queue up the episode on our own devices and then all hit “play” at the same time, watching the episode live “together” while we chat on the discord server.

As stated above, our next group rewatch will be 1x14 on SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23 at 7 PM UTC (that’s 2 PM Eastern, 11 AM Pacific). PLEASE JOIN US! 

(Now I’m going to tag a bunch of you who may have missed the announcement on Discord, just in case ;)

@fallen-karmacode @babblingblondegenius @bookolicitynessa @cainc3 @tdgal1 @crazycrystal10 @cruzrogue @crys4728 @emeraldoliverqueen @epj27 @feilcityqueen @felicityollies @geneeste @helooksather @hope-for-olicity @igotnothingclever @jules85 @juvinadelgreko @machawicket @smoakandmirror-blog @memcjo @msquared79 @olicity-beliver @olicityotp-always @onceuponarrow @msbeccieboo @smoaking-greenarrow @smoakmonster @swordandarrow @tangled23works @zynthi-i

Also: apologies if you’re on our server and I didn’t tag you; either I assumed you’re already well aware of the next rewatch, or I didn’t know your tumblr tag. EVERYONE is very welcome to join us! 😘😘😘

[unusual-raccoon]

Fandom: Arrow

Rating: General Audiences

Relationship: Earth-2 Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen, Earth-2 Laurel Lance & Oliver Queen

Characters: Earth-2 Laurel Lance, Oliver Queen

Additional Tags: Pre-Relationship, but they’re crushing hard, Laurel Lance is the Black Canary, Fuck OTA, Anti-OTA, Vigilantism, Season 5 AU

Word Count: 3,252

[jbuffyangel]

Best Friends: Arrow 1x19 Review (Unfinished Business)

“Unfinished Business” takes a hard look at Oliver’s friendships with Tommy and Diggle, as one relationship crumbles and the other finds stronger footing – after a few missteps.

Prepare yourselves. I might write about the flashbacks this week because Shado provided an information download which was sorely needed.

Let’s dig in…

Oliver and Tommy

Oliver revealed his true identity to Tommy three episodes ago and it feels like their friendship has been a bomb waiting to explode ever since. A girl who partied at Verdant dies from a Vertigo overdose, which puts Quentin hot on Tommy’s trail and Oliver hot on The Count’s. This poor girl sadly is the catalyst for the explosion between Tommy and Oliver we’ve been waiting for.

The “evidence” that convinces Quentin Tommy is dealing Vertigo isn’t exactly irrefutable. The girl texted Tommy before she died, which Tommy easily explains because he receives texts from hundreds of people every night trying to get into the club. Her request for a “hook up” is not for Vertigo as Quentin believes.

The second piece of evidence raises the eyebrows, but Tommy has an explanation – albeit a shady one. There is ten thousand dollars missing from Verdant’s operating budget. Quentin believes Tommy used it to buy Vertigo, but he used it to bribe the zoning commissioner into skipping their inspection. Bribery isn’t great, but it’s a far lesser crime than dealing a deadly drug. L*urel could drive a truck through all that room for reasonable doubt.

This episode is another Merlance highpoint. L*urel believed in Tommy one hundred percent and he called her baby. Just leave me to my grave to die a happy woman.

After Tommy refuses Quentin entry into Verdant without a warrant, the detective comes back with one and it leads to a heart stopping moment. He wants to specifically look at the sub level not listed on the inspection’s floor plans. Ever the dutiful detective, Lance pulled the county records and knows it exists.

In my mind, I know this is not the way Oliver’s vigilante hideaway is getting discovered, but the panic in Oliver’s eyes always sends me to Stressville USA. Especially when he types the code!!! He’s shooting those panicked looks at Tommy who is as cool as a cucumber.

Quentin enters the The Hood's bunker and there’s no bunker! How Tommy moved all that equipment and replaced it with bottles of booze I will never understand. We simply have to believe in the magic of television y’all. Tommy is not going to rat Oliver out and he quite literally saves his ass.

Something Oliver should have known, but his lack of faith in Tommy is evident. It’s something Tommy cannot tolerate, not after everything that’s happened between them. He cannot believe Oliver thought he was dealing drugs out of the club.

Oliver doesn’t understand why Tommy wasn’t honest about the bribe. Oliver loses me right off the bat. Team Tommy all the way. Let’s list out the things you have not told Tommy, Oliver and we’ll see who has the longer list. YOU HID YOUR SECRET SUPERHERO LAIR IN THE CLUB YOU OPENED WITH TOMMY AND NEVER TOLD HIM ABOUT IT. A bribe is chump change in comparison to that lie.

Tommy: Let me ask you a question, pal. What have I done in the last six months since you’ve been home that would lead you to believe that I would sell drugs?

Oliver:  In the last six months? Nothing. But before I left you played hard. You played with bad people who were into bad stuff.

Tommy: So, did you Oliver. But I changed just like you did. Now you put arrows in people who do bad things.

Oliver gets owned in this argument, because Tommy is right. He refuses to see that Tommy has truly changed, but still expects Tommy to understand he has.

Source: @htbthomas

Oliver’s changes are a tougher pill to swallow. Tommy cannot understand how Oliver can kill people so easily and, quite frankly, wasn’t one hundred percent sure he wouldn’t end up with an arrow in him if he told Oliver about the bribe.

Is this insane for Tommy to be wondering? No, I don’t think so. We know Oliver doesn’t kill easily. We know he’s fighting a nightly war and there is a steep cost to this mission.

However, Oliver has not opened up to Tommy about what happened the five years he was away and he’s not Mr. Joe Here’s What I’m Thinking about being The Hood today. Killing is something Tommy cannot understand, but Oliver expects him to accept it with little to no explanation. Then he has the nerve not to trust Tommy? Seriously?

Source: @htbthomas

What Tommy thinks of him is a verbal gut punch to Oliver, but he deserved it. Unfortunately, this fight is not one Oliver can fix with a simple apology. Tommy has reached his limit and who can blame him.

Tommy: This club is important to me, but to you it’s just a front. You want me to keep your secret, help you be this thing you’ve become, but you refuse to see me for what I’ve become. I’ve got just a bit too much self-respect for that. I quit.

BOOM. YASSS MY SON!!! Way to stand up for yourself Thomas. I was so proud of him telling Oliver where to stick it.

Tommy: I’d prefer we skip the I-told-you-so’s, but the nightclub wasn’t really working out. I guess I need something more boring, stable… I guess what I’m saying is - I need a job.

TOMMY WHAT ARE YOU DOING??!!! WORST. DECISION. EVER.

Tommy is back in the arms of the Big Bad Malcom Merlyn. For one brief shining moment, Tommy stood tall on the moral high ground, but not five seconds later comes plummeting back down to work with the sludge of the earth.

Source: @fogsblue

Tommy has every right to be pissed at Oliver, but his father is not the answer. That man is a hellscape. Whatever positive changes Tommy has made he is in real danger of a serious backslide. Now that Tommy is on the outs with Oliver, Merlyn can lead his son right to his very own villain origin story. And Tommy may lose sight of who he really is.

Oliver and Diggle (Felicity)

Oliver is firing on all cylinders tonight with his bros. After accusing his best friend of being a drug dealer, Oliver pitches a hissy fit over Diggle not being available the second he’s needed.

John is distracted because he’s consumed with avenging his brother’s death and killing Deadshot. While Oliver was trying to stop a hostage situation with a man high on Vertigo, Diggle was handing over information on Deadshot to a friend from ARGUS.

Hello Lyla! This is her very first Arrow appearance. These two had more chemistry in this single scene than any scene with Diggle and Carly.  I don’t know what obsession this show has about siblings dating the same people, but it’s enough already. I have to deal with this crap on The Vampire Diaries.

Oliver is furious Diggle ignored Felicity’s phone call. John hilariously tells Oliver not to get his panties in a twist. He’s completely fine. Oliver pretty much puts his hands on his hips and says, “You couldn’t have known that!” They sound like an old married couple.

John is a little put out Oliver is not more understanding. He thought Oliver would understand his vendetta against Deadshot, since Oliver is walking around with a whole damn list of names from his father! But that’s right. It’s a mission. Not a vendetta. Where’s Helena? We need her around if we’re debating this again.

Diggle chooses to be more specific and reminds Oliver The Count almost killed Thea, so his fervor over getting this drug and criminal off the streets may be a little personal too. Oliver says nothing because it’s true.

Diggle: I can’t move on with my life knowing that he’s still out there. I thought if anybody got that it’d be you.

Oliver doesn’t say anything here either because that’s true too. #TeamDiggle.

Felicity and Oliver discover there’s a new antipsychotic drug added to Vertigo, which makes Oliver believe The Count didn’t break out of the asylum like he thought. Maybe he faked his escape like he faked the crazy.

Close, but no. The Count really is three paper plates short of a picnic. It’s his DOCTOR and a very burly orderly who are manufacturing Vertigo. Honestly, I did not see that one coming.

It’s a Vertigo episode, so Oliver is getting drugged, but this time Diggle does show up to save him. He takes out the horse sized orderly, and Oliver kills the doctor with three arrows. It’s not often The Hood requires more than one to get the job done, but his vision was a bit wonky, so he used three just to be on the safe side.

Both the orderly and the doctor had to die because they knew Oliver Queen was The Hood. Those are the rules. The interesting choice Oliver made was not to kill the Count, who is babbling like a toddler on a telephone.

Arrow uses this moment to draw a very important distinction between Diggle and Tommy. After the boys return home, Oliver wants to know if Diggle is ok. He’s the killer in this family, not John.

Diggle: I’ve killed before Oliver. It’s just been a while.

There is no judgment from either man. It’s just quiet acknowledgement that killing is necessary sometimes. But that doesn’t make it easy.

Tommy’s anger towards Oliver makes him blind to his humanity. Oliver is not a psychopath. He does not kill for the enjoyment of it. He is doing what is necessary to save the city from some really bad people. Tommy takes it too far believing killing is easy for Oliver. He’s furious Oliver doesn’t see the change in him, but the truth is Tommy doesn’t see the change in Oliver either.

This is something Oliver never had to explain to Diggle. John does see the change in Oliver. He stood by quietly as Oliver grappled with killing The Count. Diggle didn’t make any speeches. He simply left space for Oliver to make that decision on his own.

If Oliver chose to kill The Count, John would’ve understood that choice as well. He wouldn’t call him a murderer. John encourages Oliver to make different choices, but he also meets Oliver where he’s at. Maybe Oliver would open up more to Tommy if he offered less judgment like John Diggle.

Diggle is curious why Oliver didn’t kill The Count and he tells him the truth. There just didn’t seem to be a point with the Count chained up and lost to madness.

There are two things Oliver is not saying. He was convinced earlier in the episode that he made the wrong decision allowing The Count to live and was just a teensy bit mad.

Source: @lucyyh

But he couldn’t fire the arrow in the end.

Felicity’s gentle reassurance that locking The Count up was the right call hit her intended mark. If killing is truly a last resort, then Oliver has to utilize other methods of dealing with criminals. Oliver has shown more restraint ever since Felicity joined the team. He hasn’t stopped killing, but he does listen to her.

Source: @lucyyh

The second is Oliver believes killing an unarmed man in that condition would be wrong – like stabbing someone in the back. He’s not a threat in that condition and The Count truly didn’t have anything to do with the Vertigo being unleashed on the city again. There are rules to war and those rules keep his humanity intact.

John Diggle has Oliver’s back, so in return Oliver will have his and is making Deadshot a top priority. Couldn’t we have just done that from the beginning and skipped their couples fight?

Neither Oliver or Tommy can see the other for who they truly are. Yet, people Oliver met barely a year ago have more faith in him than his childhood best friend and vice versus. Sometimes history stops us from allowing change in the people we love.

You can see why Oliver is keeping his identity secret from his family and L*urel. It's not just about their safety. He's afraid they will all react like Tommy.

But there's no baggage with Diggle and Felicity, so Oliver has a clean slate. They can see Oliver for who he truly is. It's becoming clearer with every episode that Diggle (and Felicity) are Oliver's best friends.

Shado

Like Felicity, Shado is a breath of fresh air to Team Island. She is beautiful, kicks ass and knows a thing or two about a bow. Oliver has been helpless majority of the time. I am not expecting him to become a super secret agent man like Slade Wilson in a couple of months, but he does need to perform a function on this team other than dead weight.

Shado takes it upon herself to teach Oliver how to shoot, but she does not start with the bow. She begins by telling Oliver to slap a bowl of water. Like the idiotic American he is, Oliver is annoyed, but doesn’t really have anything better to do, so he slaps the water in the bowl. By episode end, his hand is strong enough to pull the bow string. This woman accomplished more in a day than Slade Wilson did in months.

She also provides some much-needed Yao Fei backstory. He was general in the People’s Liberation Army (the Chinese communist army).  The military committed a massacre and chose Yao Fei to take the blame. They sent him to Lian Yu for the rest of his life. Fryers knows this and wants Yao Fei to take the fall for whatever he’s going to do.

And we thought The Count was nuts.

Source: thearrowgifs

As for Shado, she spent years searching for her father. A man told her he knew where Yao Fei was, but kidnapped her instead and brought her to Lian Yu as leverage over Yao Fei. It took nineteen episodes to get that information. Yeesh.

Shado: I’m worried, this island, what he must have had to do to survive. That it changed him.

If this sounds ominous it’s supposed to. Not all change is good. That’s true for all of us - even Oliver Queen.

Stray Thoughts

“You could’ve just said he was nuts.” I like sassy Quentin.

Maybe it’s my whole Buffy history, but Shado and Slade sparring felt very sexually charged.

Budget cuts and the CAMERAS are the first to go in jail?!!!

This will always be one of Diggle's best lines.

TOMMY HAS FELICITY’S PHONE NUMBER. Oh, the fics this detail launched.

What did we ever do in the bunker without this perfect gumdrop of a human being?

“What’s happening now isn’t your fault.” Felicity should’ve tattooed this on Oliver’s arm. It would save a whole lot of time.

“My mom does yoga.” Ollie is just so… Ollie.

1141 is the passcode to the bunker. The Green Arrow was created November 1941 (11/41).

Listen to the Watchover podcast reaction to 1x19!!!

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

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

[msbeccieboo]

Arrow 7x15 brain dump

Oh my gosh this episode was an absolute gift!!  Especially after the news we got last week, this fluffy beast of an episode could not have come at a better time (for me, at least)!  I’m not sure if part of the reason I enjoyed it so much was that we didn’t really see it coming?  I thought it would be sort of a filler episode that we typically get around this point in a season, that the OTA snippets we saw in the trailer would be about it, but boy was I wrong hahaha!!  I am still a mess!  There is so much to unpack here, I can’t form fully cohesive thoughts still, and this is shaping up to be another whopper, sorry 😬😬😬….

Olicity

Fresh off the pregnancy reveal to Oliver from last week, our ship is still a-sailing!! The heart eyes are back, the eye contact full-stop is back, the supportiveness (”We’re a team, too” “Always”😭😭😭) , the united front.  The little touches are getting there (we’re working up to that sex scene, I can feel it 🤞🤞🤞).  Oliver even looks better in this episode!!  Now, this could be the SCPD-issue tight t-shirt (it’s certainly not the hair), or just his more all-round peaceful demeanour that he seems to have achieved through baby/Felicity joy.

Source:plotbunnyshipper

Continued below the cut.

We got so much Olicity this week!  Multiple times! Olicity, all the time!  The first proper Olicity scene, has Oliver being all Zen-like over the SCPD set-up, meanwhile, Felicity already knows it’s gonna be a shit show.  Our girl is a genius, what more needs to be said? Turns out Oliver is so gung-ho with the SCPD because he wants to do everything he can to make their city a safe place for “our baby” (complete with little adorable smile) HCOJIDNFJKDNVJBDBV!!! This scene also has Oliver offering to make food for our starving/nauseous pregnant Felicity (squeeeee) and a DOUBLE KISS!!!!

Source: oliverxfelicity

Then we got a scene with an increasingly-frustrated Oliver (the Zen didn’t last too long) over the aforementioned inevitable SCPD shit show.  Where Felicity got to give a pep-talk resulting in this delightful exchange:

Source: oliverxfelicity

We got the eyes, the compliments, THE MINT CHIP!!  Scenes out of fanfic have arrived people!!  We see that Felicity has been busy getting the Arrow Cave back up and running, and we get some quality Green Arrow/Overwatch comms action too!!

Then, we get the absolute heart-warming/breaking scene at the end of the episode, which again the fandom could have written for us!!  Felicity is adorably checking out her non-existent bump, asking Oliver if she’s showing, to which he wisely says no 😂  Then they talk about baby names!!  Who would have thought this day would come??!?!!  Oliver is adorable in offering up the name Mia, as many predicted, in tribute to Moira.  I loved how Felicity had a far-away look in her eye, describing the name as “sweet and fiery” (well we got fiery, and a little bit of sweet haha).  Oliver just made me weep in his earnestness and sincerity here; all he wants is to make his children’s lives better than his has been. 

Source:olicitygifs

Then they lament how the children will “always have each other and they’ll always have us”.  Well if that didn’t shoot me straight in the gut!!  Because we have seen the future and 😭😭😭 *ugly sobbing ensues*.

Flash Forwards

These just keep getting better and better.  I know they’re still a bit divisive, but I’m seeing more and more people squeeing along with the likes of me at them haha!!  This week focused entirely on William and Mia (YAAAASSSS), and sees them at the Star City Bazaar doing a spot of Antique shopping, namely looking for a cassette player to play their “old tape from the 80s” 😂😂😂. Wow, way to make me feel ancient lol.  Will being the naïve cupcake that he is, bungles the transaction leaving Mia to go and beat up the vendor.  I loved seeing William hold her back, hilarious!  SO MUCH OLIVER!!  This is something Will tells her after, and it absolutely devastated me (and Mia, by the looks of her reaction) that she didn’t know the iconic “You have failed this city” line.  How is this not a thing of legend in Star City???  The answer to that hurts me too much so I will skip over for now!

Source: oliverxfelicity

Anyway, thanks to William’s techy genius (“like, literally” 😍 he is such a mini Felicity), they manage to cause a distraction, allowing Mia to knock out the vendor and for William to get the tape player.  That’s team work, guys!  Bonus lolz to Will’s saccharine “thank you” as he walks off 😂  Back at Mia’s base they eventually decide to play Felicity’s tape (“What are you waiting for?” “I dunno, what are you waiting for?” I STAN THESE SIBLINGS SO HARD)  And then here is where I died.  Firstly, Will’s nerves at hearing Felicity’s voice after 20 years 😭, Mia’s reassurance that they will listen together, and then Felicity’s message itself.  

Source:feilcityqueen

Felicity is alive bitches!!  After a delightful Felicity-ramble, she apologies to them both for keeping them apart, stating that “We did it because we love you” WE!!! Present tense!!!  Oliver lives too!!!  This is my happy place and I am staying here for as.long.as.I.possibly.can.  

She then directs them to give the team some coordinates then get the hell outta Star City.  I loved how there was no deliberation at all from the siblings, “So we’re ignoring her?” “Definitely”.  And they’re off to The Glades...duh duh duuuuuhhhhh!!!

OTA/Delicity

OTA is well and truly back this episode, following Dig’s apology last week.  There wasn’t masses of Diggle in this episode, and that is one thing I would have liked to have seen from this episode, but to be fair we have been so well fed that I will not complain!!

They told dig!!!!!!

Dig can tell that there is something Olicity aren’t telling him, and the kind of bashful joy on Oliver’s face is just so beautiful and heart-warming! 

Source:oliverxfelicity

Dig is so pleased for them!!  I love Uncle Dig!  And as always Uncy John has some sage advice for our OTP.  He tells them that in order to clean up the city for their family, without sending Oliver back to the Big House, that they have to find another way.  This is a motto that Arrow lives and dies by, but it felt all the more poignant here for some reason, maybe because OTA were finally coming back together?  Maybe because we’re aware now that the team as we know it is soon going to drastically change?  Maybe because the fracking show is ending soon HFDOVHUIERGBVSDVIFDVJDSHVODNVKODW!!!  Anyway, I had feelings about this whole scene (cue Beccie in floods of tears, again).  *whispers I would’ve really liked a hug here ok*

As if that beautiful OTA scene wasn’t fabulous enough, we got bonus Delicity!! I think this was so needed, given their particular distance so far this the season. Dig is still kissing arse a little bit (rightfully so), and not only offers felicity some sweets to help her morning sickness 😍 but offers her some reassurance that she’s got this.  “You were absolutely amazing out there, your tech was phenomenal”.  My Delicity heart is soaring!!  He goes on to point out just how brilliant her security system is (extra kudos for Felicity shading Curtis lol), and that it could be the basis for something much bigger….Smoak Technologies anyone??

Source:felicitysmoakgifs

Team Arrow/SCPD storyline

The training montage at the start of the episode was everything!!  Felicity’s in particular facial expressions were absolutely hilarious; the utter horror of not being able to hack, and using outdated computer systems were just delightful! Even Wild Dog got a quality quip in there about having their own uniforms.  

I really wasn’t looking forward to this aspect of the episode, as I just find the whole SCPD angle annoying and ridiculous this season.  Luckily, this episode was a means to an end, and finally addressed the problematic nature of mixing the Police with the Vigilantes in this way.

The SCPD didn’t seem to want to learn anything from Team Arrow.  Where is the sense in having these people join the force if they aren’t going to provide some unique skills and training?  And the first thing they do is strip them of their weapons and their suits (ahh, if only literally….*ahem*).  They do have a point when it comes to gathering evidence legally, not using coercive ‘interview’ techniques and so on, but presumably, by some kind of TV magic, they were able to successfully convict plenty of criminals caught by Team Arrow previously…so what has changed?  

The evil little Mayor keeps popping up this season, trying to undermine the Team. Oliver never seemed to have this much clout with the SCPD when he was Mayor Handsome.  So why does Mayor Tiny spend so much time there?  Clear off!  Her interference, and the apparent loss of Dinah’s cry, leads to Dinah having a crisis of confidence, briefly picking the SCPD over the Team.  Wild Dog gets all up in her face with a sense-making motivational speech, which he seems to be doing a lot of this season…who knew he had it in him??  Anyhow, Dinah eventually comes to terms with losing her cry, and decides to continue being the Black Canary.  This plot point seemed superfluous to me.  Sara nor Laurel had a meta-cry, and they turned out alright as Canaries…..wait….never mind.  If only they had some friends with medical and meta-human expert knowledge and technology (looking at you Larry)?!?!

Anyway, I enjoyed the twist that Team Arrow had actually been working with the SCPD during the final mission scene, following Dig’s advice that they needed to become ‘something else’.  DD blackmailed dirty Mayor tiny into giving Team Arrow free-rein under the SCPD umbrella still, and repealing the anti-vigilante law.  Yay team Arrow!!  No more SCPD storyline!  All’s well that ends well!

Black Siren/Emiko

I think they took up an acceptably small portion of the episode, and it was just about enough for my liking.  This reaffirmed that I only really care about BS when she’s in scenes with Felicity, but it was nice seeing her try to do the right thing with solving Diaz’s murder.  As many predicted, Emiko killed Lizard Boy, as she is working for Dante.  Even doing this didn’t endear me to Emiko any more I’m afraid.  I just don’t care about her, sorry.  The showdown between BS and Emiko has potential to be interesting, and could lead to conflict between BS/Felicity/Oliver/Emiko in coming episodes, but my babies don’t need any more conflict, just let them be pleeeaaaase!!

The surprise that no one saw coming (I didn’t see anyone call it; well done Boss Beth!), was the appearance of baby Bronze Tiger, Connor ‘Hawke’ Turner.  Connor Hawke from the FFs is Bronze Tiger’s son, adopted by Dig and Lyla?!?!?!  Fab idea, writers!  This likely means that Ben Turner is going to die imminently, which is such a shame because he had so much potential in the prison arc!!  I loved seeing him again in this episode!

Looking ahead

THAT TRAILER GUYS!!!!!  MSDOI;’#GFHGSD;VNSD’K[GSDJVANVNFDK!!!!!!! I was not ready.  None of us were ready it seems!!!  We’re gonna see Mia’s birth this season!!!!  Oliver will be there!!  There’s a photo of Olicity and baby Mia!!!!  AAAAAAAAAGHGHAGHAGHAGHA!!!

Source:olicitygifs

The Team is back!!  But now we see this joint ‘black ops’ type scenario joining Team Arrow and the SCPD together, along with the repealing of the Anti-Vigilante law, the landscape isn’t tying in with the FFs. How do we get to the point where Vigilantes are utterly outlawed and hated by society, when they have done so much to help the city over the years?  What changes?  Is this why Oliver is ‘gone’?  Why Felicity appears to have to give birth to Mia in some abandoned farmhouse somewhere? Where Mia has to be kept hidden? Where Mia and William can’t know of each other’s existence, or be spoken of in the same sentence (seriously….the TEARS!!)?  Where Mia can’t even go by the name Queen for her own safety?  I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS!!  I think Emiko could be at the bottom of this somehow.  She’s literally doing nothing else interesting.

Either Oliver and Felicity, or Rene and Dinah must be on the outs from the Team soon, to explain the latter’s unawareness of Mia.  Could this be this why only Rene and Dinah have been set up in the FFs so far, because this is the only place we will see them next season? (Assuming they are coming back for S9).

I am so unbelievably excited for next week now.  It’s gonna be dark, I know, but I’m hoping we get a decent amount of questions answered, and see Future Felicity and Diggle!!  (I’d love to see future Oliver, but not holding out hope for that just yet).  I was looking forward to the all-future episode anyway, as I’m living for Mia and William right now, but now???  Bring.it.on!

As always, huge thanks to the amazingly talented gif-makers in our fandom. Kisses and jazzy-hugs all round 😘😘😘🤗🤗🤗

[fandomlife-confessions]

[10ratsinahat]

.

[geneshaven]

An MG Rant

Okay, so I’ve been reading certain articles about Oliver being killed off, either at the end of this season or the beginning of next season. It is not good news if true. However, if it is true, I have to lay this at only one person’s feet---Marc Guggenheim.

This man, since season 4, has been on a one-track demolition agenda---to dismantle everything that made Arrow a one of a kind show. When Beth took over as showrunner and was left with what we thought was MG’s final blow to the ruination of the show, a lot of us thought, thank god, the dark days are over. Now we’ll get back to greatness. Beth will fix what Marc sabotaged. The new writing staff will infuse new direction into the scripts and get back to the basics of what this show started out as---a hero’s journey and the love that makes that heroism strong. There was excitement again, (at least for me) and all would be set right.

To be fair, I have to give Marc one prop.  He did have Oliver and Felicity get married in season 6. It should have happened in season 4, with all the pageantry and celebration and wedded bliss, and it would have if the BMD didn’t upend the applecart and spill its rotten fruit at the fandom’s feet. I don’t know where his mind went, but for some reason, he decided that Oliver and Felicity weren’t in the cards anymore and separated them for nearly two years. Sure, they were still together as Green Arrow and Overwatch, but any of the intimacy and romance that they shared up to that BMD was taken away, and the direction of the show that had to do with Olicity became a nightmare for the characters and for the actors who played them. Not to mention the fans, those who fell in love with Olicity. All we wanted was for Oliver and Felicity to have a happy ending. To be in love and to stay that way. It was deserving after all they went through. They built a history together and became strong as friends, lovers, and ultimately, husband and wife.

It was all a sham. Because Marc decided that he wanted to throw more contrived drama at them. Not that they didn’t have any already. Season 3 was a good example of this. Yet somehow, as Oliver and Felicity drove off into the sunset after that season, I began to think that maybe it was too good to be true. Did they not already pay their dues as a couple? After the Undertaking and Slade and Ra’s, wasn’t that enough to cement their happiness together by surviving it together?

When Season 7 started, I felt an optimism about the show I hadn’t felt since Oliver proposed to Felicity in 409. Yet lingering over all that was Oliver’s lie to Felicity about William. So much for character growth. To have Oliver lie to the woman he loved, to the woman he fought so hard to win---to simply have him mislead and mistreat Felicity in that way almost erased everything that built them up as a couple. It was just too much to take. And if you add Billy and Susan to the mix of nauseating writing we were given---it felt like I was watching another show, watching characters I thought I knew morph into strangers.

Then we were force-fed NTA, and John Diggle turning into a pod straight out of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. OTA seemed to become a casualty, a means to an end---that end being an anti-fandom motif. Marc became openly hostile toward the fandom, almost punishing us for questioning his writing choices. Having Oliver and John fight over who would be a better Green Arrow, a better hero, took away the whole concept of having one another’s backs. It was not fun to watch. Then NTA, and basically everyone in the cast (except for Felicity) began to shit on Oliver. Hell, even characters from other shows jumped on the ‘let’s bash Oliver Queen bandwagon.’ At times it became surreal. If Marc’s intentions were to generate anger and maybe have people chose sides---he succeeded beautifully.

If Oliver is slated to die, I’m not sure what the last 7+years  was all about. It’s lazy writing, like Oliver’s journey was only a dream and that he wakes up to find himself still on Lian Yu. I guess I was wrong thinking that Beth was the show’s savior. Marc never really left. He has somehow been pulling the strings, not really showing his hand in anything until Elseworlds cropped up and we were once again force-fed the dark, dystopian future I suspect he has wanted all along. The show is hardly recognizable from that ride into the sunset. I can only hope that maybe this future is only a dream. I am not sensing any kind of a happy ending here.

In my opinion, the true nightmare that is currently happening to Arrow is Marc Guggenheim. 

Rant over. 

[heterophobicloki]

I can’t believe in the year 2017 I have to make this post, but anyways

the first saramila week to pop up was @saramilaweek, and the runner of the week made a rule to not participate if you make nsfw of characters who are minors or if you ship yurio with adults (including otabek) and even explained why it makes them uncomfortable (if you dont want to read the link, it basically adds up to “it brings back bad memories and its unhealthy”) They added this rule for their own health and safety

@milasaraweek is literally an affiliate of ota/yu/ri week and was made because they were so personally offended by someone not wanting them to participate in a week and instead of thinking “huh wonder why oh right because my ship makes them uncomfortable oh well i can go on with my life/maybe rethink my ship” nah you make a week with the same premise, and it’s a “controversy” or whatever to talk about, so I know @milasaraweek isn’t going to say anything or reply to this post. They’re probably just gonna block me. Good.

Someone’s health is more important than you feeling left out about you not being allowed to participate in a ship week because of another ship you have. No matter what intentions you had for your alternative week that basically just caters to ota/yu/ri shippers, the first blog had valid reasons to “exclude half the fandom” and now receives hate. 

Making copy ship weeks or character weeks or whatever specifically to cater to fans that were “excluded” (you know... for the week runner’s own health/safety/comfort/etc.) is pretty disrespectful. I don’t want to ask for too much, but could you at least make a note that @saramilaweek made the week first, just so no one tries to credit you with coming up with the week? It’s a really simple thing, honestly. 

So, in conclusion, just so there is no confusion, @saramilaweek was first, and didn’t want yurio shippers to participate because of personal reasons. @milasaraweek was created for ota/yu/ri shippers who felt left out. That’s it that’s the controversy. 

Although if I can say one thing good about the alternative week, at least they didnt plan it on the exact same days with the exact same prompts like some other fandoms i know