#felicity smoak thoughts

[amelia-queen-black]

Roy: I always keep a bat by my bed.

Diggle: I sleep with a gun under my pillow.

Sara: I sleep with knives.

Felicity: Haha, the three of you are pathetic.

Roy: Oh yeah? What do you sleep with?

Felicity: Oliver.

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

[fr1day-incredible]

Guys hear me out!

[biboybuckley]

thinking about the huntress returns and how fucking hard oliver tried to hide felicity from helena. how goddamn terrified this man was already of someone using felicity against him. how it wasn’t until helena did go after felicity that oliver agreed to take serious action against helena. how helena didn’t even hurt felicity but every ounce of self control oliver had disappeared. just. already, how goddamn scared oliver was of losing her. it was always always her. she was his one weakness, time and time again. yes, so was his family and other friends. but those were all pre-good relationships, the last remnants of his past life. dig came when he donned the hood, but he always knew dig could handle himself. that’s why he signed him on. he didn’t mean to sign felicity on- he didn’t want her involved in this, in danger because of him. but suddenly she was and without meaning to, he created his own greatest weakness. i just think that they. them. yeah.

[lazywolfwiccan]

Do you ever think about Felicity basically calling Iris fat by asking if she was pregnant

[lacrimae23]

chaotic random thoughts | olicity love life

olicity love life before them oliver be like: *confused* *indecisive* *lust* *new girlfriend every few ep* *missing out what's literally in front of him* *lost* *going with the flow?*

felicity be like: *sees oliver for the first time* also felicity: *yep, that's the one* also felicity: *i just have to wait for him a little while* also felicity: *gentlemen, please, do not bother* (barry and ray - crack in matrix code)

(// BUT i am not against felicity dating while oliver made it really clear he can't be with her, or oliver dating before them as a couple, for that matter; i love them as a pairing and i love them as a separate characters ❤️ (but yes - felicity's my queen))

[romancemedia]

I am only just now starting to realize how much Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds reminds me of Felicity Smoak from Arrow.

[jbuffyangel]

Shame: Arrow 2x04 Review (Crucible)

The bomb of bombs is dropped....

SPOILERS!!!

SARA LANCE IS ALIVE! The many lies of Oliver Queen begin to unravel and even Diggle and Felicity have difficulty understanding his motivations behind this whopper.  

Let’s dig in...

Olicity (and Diggle)

Oliver, per usual, is running late for a Queen Consolidated party due to a previous engagement with some gang members. Felicity makes excuses for him to Isabel Rochev as she listens on comms to the melodic sounds of gunfire and Oliver kicking ass.

The best part however is when he shows up at the party in a tux (SWOON) and Isobel notices he has blood on his face.

Source: @yet-i-remain-quiet

Felicity wipes the blood off his face, which is SOOOO MARRIED and why are they so perfect? This is classic "in a relationship" behavior before they're actually in a relationship.

Laurel is attending the party with Blood because… I honestly don’t know why. The party is to attract investors so why the district attorney and ADA is there beats me. Oliver, per usual, asks Laurel if she’s okay as she tosses back a glass a champagne like it’s water. In Oliver’s defense, she was kidnapped by the Dollmaker last episode so there is some cause for concern.

Why am I slotting this scene in the Olicity section? There is a shot of Felicity watching Oliver and Laurel and her expression is one of curiosity, concern… maybe jealousy?

Source: emilybettrickardslove:

It’s difficult to read, which is unusual since Felicity always wears her heart on her sleeve. Perhaps she is simply wondering the same thing the audience – where do Oliver and Laurel stand? Is he just a concerned friend? (Yes). Is there anything romantic in Oliver’s concern? (Nope).

Felicity interrupts them due to urgent Arrow business.

Source: @smoakmonster

It’s rare that Laurel and Felicity’s paths cross and there is an undercurrent of competitiveness between the two characters. I don’t know if that’s written intentionally but it’s certainly not warm between them. What I love is that Felicity asserts herself more than she did their first meeting in Season 1 and holds her ground and patiently waits for Laurel to leave.

The icy stare from Laurel Lance could freeze molten lava. I don’t know why Katie Cassidy chose to play the scene like this, but this is not the first time she’s looked at Felicity Smoak like an insect to be crushed, so forgive me if I don’t see these two going shopping together any time soon. Maybe it’s an actor’s choice or maybe she was instructed by the director to play the scene this way, but regardless if you are cold and unwelcoming to the universally liked character on the show, it does nothing to endear you to the audience.

It turns out my reasons above are not necessarily why Felicity was staring at Oliver and Laurel. Not the primary reason that is. She was staring at Laurel because Felicity finally pieced a mystery together.

Felicity: What if our masked friend that keeps showing up everywhere you go, you know her? What if we’ve been going about this the wrong way? We thought she was obsessed with you. I mean, she showed up in the DA’s office when you were there.  And in the chemical plant the Dollmaker was holed up in. But who else was at both those places? What if our masked friend isn’t following you?

Oliver: She’s following Laurel.

Oliver heeds Felicity’s advice and stakeouts Laurel’s apartment. The Lady in Black shows up as Felicity predicted and Oliver is able to capture her in some pretty nifty trick arrows. Felicity has also developed some tech to counteract the sonic thing.

Oliver: Why are you following Laurel Lance?

Lady in Black: I could ask the same thing of you. But I guess some things never change. You and her, always and forever.

This is an oddly personal remark from someone who is supposed to be a complete stranger. But she’s not a stranger.

The Lady in Black is Sara Lance. 

In all seriousness, this was one of Arrow’s bigger bombs dropped, but I honestly can’t remember if I was shocked to discover Sara was alive when I watched it live. The Arrow writers used Caity Lotz’s recast to their advantage. She looks completely different from the actress in the pilot. Now that her identity is revealed, they reshot the pilot scene of Oliver and Sara on The Gambit.

I do remember my heart sank when I found out Sara was alive. Why? I always felt the biggest obstacle between Laurel and Oliver reuniting romantically was A) he cheated on Laurel with her sister and B) Sara died because of that betrayal. Bringing Sara back felt like the writers were trying to fix the past to clear the way for Oliver and Laurel to be together. Particularly because they discussed in the premiere how much they wished they could go back.  

Yeah guys, I’m gonna be straight with you. I was wrong a lot in Season 2 when I watched it live. The writers did a number on me this season – they twisted me every direction possible.

Oliver has to tell Felicity and Diggle that Sara is alive, which means he’s been lying about how she died all along.

Felicity: Sara Lance? Laurel’s sister? The detective’s other daughter, the one that you took on the Gambit with you even though you were dating Laurel, which we never talked about �� I’m sorry, it’s just isn’t she dead? You told everyone that she died with The Gambit went down. That she drowned.

Source: Paige

Oliver Queen has many secrets, so many things he does not talk about, and to a certain extent Diggle and Felicity have accepted he needs to reveal those traumas in his own time. But this lie? This lie is a gut punch. This lie is not only difficult to accept it is difficult to understand. Felicity and Diggle's anger is palpable.

It puts a lot of other things that are never discussed on the table for Felicity. Her rambling feelings tumble out as she processes the truth, which is quite similar to what the audience was experiencing and feeling. I know it was for me. She brings up Oliver and Sara cheating on Laurel – another topic in a long list of things Oliver will not discuss.  It’s a glimpse into Felicity’s frustration with Oliver – there’s so many questions, so many things he doesn’t say, so many things she wants to understand. As close as Oliver is to Felicity (and Diggle) there is still an almost impenetrable wall.  This lie is not only a betrayal to the Lance family; it is a betrayal to Diggle and Felicity who have put so much trust in Oliver. Felicity is angry and rightfully so.

Sara’s arrival in Starling City forces the confession from Oliver, whether he likes it or not.

Oliver: When The Gambit capsized, Sara was pulled under. It was so dark and cold. And I thought she drowned.  About a year later, I saw her.

Diggle: You saw her where, on the island? She drifted to the Island too?

Oliver: Not exactly.

Felicity: Why didn’t you tell the Lances that she didn’t die in that boat? Laurel and Mr. Lance, they blame you.

Oliver: It was my fault. What happened was my fault.

Felicity clearly cares about Oliver and cannot understand why he would allow himself to be blamed for Sara’s death when in fact she did not die in the way everyone thought. Even in her anger and confusion, Felicity is protective of Oliver.

The answer for why Oliver never discusses the cheating, how Sara really “died” or why he’s allowed himself to be hated by the Lance family is so very simple. Oliver is ashamed.  Shame is powerful. It can make a person hate themselves. It can make a person lie to the people they trust and love most. It can be more difficult to confess our sins to those we love because we want them to see us as a good person. We want to be worthy in their eyes, even though shame makes us feel anything but worthy.

Diggle: Where has she been all these years Oliver?

Oliver:  I don’t know! Diggle, I swear to God. I was sure she was dead.

Source: bratvaolicity

Felicity’s anger is fading more quickly than Diggle’s. She’s truly not trying to make light of the situation. This question is deep with genuine empathy. The more Felicity learns about Oliver’s past the worse it gets. It’s not terribly difficult to understand why he does not want to talk about it. Despite her anger and frustration, Felicity can see that Oliver is a traumatized man in pain.

Diggle: Alright, so just to make sure I understand this correctly, after not drowning when The Gambit went down Sara didn’t exactly make it to the island with you where you would see her die yet again. Feel free to fill in the blanks.

Oliver: Not right now.

Diggle: You mean not ever.  Don’t you Oliver?

Felicity: Don’t you think her family had a right to know she made it to the island too?

Felicity and Diggle rarely push Oliver to speak about his years on the island, but they are pushing hard now because they feel they are owed answers. They feel the Lance family is owed answers. They are right. They do deserve the truth and Oliver feels their fair and understandable questions pushing up against his secret shame.  But it won’t make the wall come down. At the end of the day, Oliver is a traumatized man and when experiencing trauma the body has one of two reactions – fight or flight. For Oliver Queen, it’s always fight and he pushes right back.

Felicity gets the answer to her question. No, Oliver Queen does not have any happy stories. He bore witness to horrors and whatever hate or recrimination he must bear is preferable to truth. 

Oliver: And they were better off not knowing.

Angel: Some lies are necessary...

Buffy Summers: For what?

Angel: Sometimes the truth is worse. You live long enough, you find that out.

Source: @andjustforthismoment

We see Felicity’s forgiveness in this moment. There is nothing but empathy in her eyes.  She may not understand why Oliver lied. She may be angry and frustrated with his lack of trust in her and Diggle. But Felicity clearly understands Oliver is a man who has suffered greatly and at the end of the day she has nothing but unconditional love for him. 

Unfortunately, Oliver does not understand the only way out is through. The only way to heal from trauma is to share it with those we trust. We have to accept help. Human beings are not built to bear suffering alone. We need to share out pain with each other.

But Oliver is not ready to do that. In order to accept unconditional love, he must understand he is deserving of it first. But shame and guilt is all Oliver can feel right now.

This revelation does not stop Team Arrow from fighting crime. A local gang lord who calls himself the Mayor has military grade weapons that he is selling in Starling City. Every gun crate has a GPS, but the Mayor deactivated it. After Lyla provides Diggle with a similar GPS, Felicity is able to track down where it’s made – none other than Queen Consolidated.

Well she's certainly not too mad to flirt with him!

Source: @andjustforthismoment

Felicity determines how to turn the beacon back on and delivers the location of the guns.

Felicity: I believe you ordered a crate of stolen milatary weapons, Mr. Queen

Felicity calls Oliver “Mr. Queen" and he likes it. A lot. COMMENCE ALL THE EYE SEX.  The chemistry is INSANE.

Felicity and Diggle don’t push the Sara issue anymore. Their silent resignation is their acceptance that Oliver is not ready yet. But it doesn’t mean they aren’t getting through to him. We will see their impact with Oliver’s interactions with Sara.

Sara and Laurel Lance

If it’s possible, I would say Sara is even more traumatized than Oliver. We may not know everything that happened to Oliver the five years away, but he did make the choice to return home. He told his family he was alive. Sara may be in Starling City, but she has not come home.

She is equally as vague with Oliver as to her whereabouts the last five years. Other than a disquieting remark about Slade, she is fairly mum on the details of her past as well. What we do know is this:

A year ago Sara heard about a man in the green hood and knew it was Oliver. She previously thought he was dead.

Sara learned to fight AFTER the island.

She came back to Starling City after the earthquake to make sure her family was safe.

Sara’s primary reason for not wanting her family to know that she’s alive is because she is changed. She is not the Sara they will remember. But as Oliver points out, Sara hasn’t left Starling City yet. In fact, she’s come up with vigilante persona of her own.

This is how she met Sin – she saved her from being attacked by a group of men. These are not the actions of someone who’s ready to leave town. Instead she’s been living in the shadows and watching her family through windows. Clearly, she wants to come home but she doesn’t know how.

The other Lance daughter is not doing much better. I’m sure Detective Lance never thought he’d be asking Oliver Queen for help with Laurel, but after she is pulled over for a DUI he’s ready to ask anyone who can get through to her. Lance is convinced Laurel has inherited more than his sense of justice. She’s also inherited his drinking problem.

In the immortal words of Cordelia Chase, Laurel is “campaigning for bitch of the year” and lashes out at Oliver as soon as he broaches the subject of her drinking. She fills him in on all the dirty details of Detective Lance’s alcoholism and insists it’s his problem and not hers. But by episode end, Laurel has added pills to diet of booze and we’re officially in a full blown addiction storyline.

Oddly enough, it’s Blood who gives Oliver some insight into the Lance women.

Blood: Sooner or later we all go through a crucible. I’m guessing yours was that island. Most believe there are two types of people who go into a crucible. The ones who grow stronger from the experience and survive it and the ones who die. But there’s a third type. The ones who learn to love the fire. They choose to stay in their crucible because it’s easier to embrace the pain when it’s all you know anymore.

Clearly, Sara is the third type. We can reserve judgment on Laurel’s crucible for now since it’s just getting started. Oliver straddles the line between surviving the fire and remaining in it. The key in pushing Oliver over that line is his ability to open up to those he loves and share his pain. He has Diggle and Felicity begging him this episode to do exactly that.

Sara: We’re both ghosts. We died on that island.

Oliver: No we didn’t. We both lived.

It’s interesting Oliver used the term “lived.” Typically he uses “survive.” Seeing his own shame and pain reflected in Sara brings about some self realization. Oliver doesn’t have to stay in the fire anymore than Sara does. There are so many sins Oliver cannot fix. There are so many losses he can never get back. He knows the Lance family will hate him for lying about how Sara died, but what he wants more than anything is to bring Sara home. It’s not just for her benefit. It’s for Oliver’s as well. This is one wrong he can make right. He all but begs Sara and finally she relents. They take a step out of the fire together and walk towards the living.

But Laurel is consumed by her shame and continues to burn.

Stray Thoughts

Does Oliver shower between the hood and tux change?

 Diggle makes sure Lyla knows he’s single. It’s so slutty and I love it.

Oliver’s cash for guns reveals a cash flow problem, but I think Isobel is cheap and he’s more multi millionaire versus billionaire these days, which doesn’t feel like a real problem.

The DA was totally hitting on Laurel and she rejects him. GOOD. We aren’t moving on from Tommy any time soon. IT’S WHAT HE DESERVES.

So glad they are not going the love triangle route with Roy, Thea and Sin. Rather enjoy this little trio.

“Living is not for the week.” Anatoly is here! HURRAH!

Sara is wearing a Starling City baseball cap, so her mother was right about that photo.

Do I need to care more about the bones the island bad guys are looking for? I feel like I should care more about the bones.

Hey there Sara is on the freighter!

Blood is a villain. Not surprising. Anyone standing on that much moral superiority has to be evil.

The serum Blood use on the mayor ultimately fails and kills him. So, we have wacky evil science on top of the deeply disturbing hood.

Listen to the Watchover podcast reaction to 2x04!!!

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!

[ear-motif]

deranged thoughts from me!!1!

ok so in hannibal i think ears are used to portray a passageway to the heart/soul and are a symbol of life itself. We get that fun shot of traveling down Hannibal's ear canal when he listens to the opera and is made to cry from it - he considers music to be something profoundly beautiful and worthy just like he does culinary and visual arts. You can get to Hannibal's heart through his eyes, tongue, or ears. The next time we focus on ears is when Will is fighting Tobias and manages to clip him in the ear when fighting him off. This makes Tobias run off and leaves Will's ears ringing. Tobias was someone who, like Hannibal, held musical arts in high regard. I'm not really sure what clipping him in the ear couldve symbolized, maybe foreshadowing to his death? idk. Anyways.

We get to Abigail. Losing an ear isn't deadly; Abigail has her ear cut off and fed to Will and is more or less ok. But I think this symbolizes a partial loss of her soul. By offering up her ear to further the goal of manipulating Will so that their weird little family can work, she gives up her last hope of true independence to Hannibal. One window to her heart is cut off and forced onto someone who never asked for it, who doesn't want Abigail to lose her independence. The remaining window (ear) is being fully occupied by Hannibal; she's bought into his honeyed words fully, the other ear that could listen to reason being stolen from her. I think this could be used to foreshadow her death as well - she's lost half of her self, so she is all the more vulnerable to having her spirit snuffed out.

Also, as @valentinsylve mentioned, the mushrooms in Eldon Stammets' garden look like ears. Kinda ties into my thesis about how ears can be a pathway to the soul and therefore also connection, since that's Eldon's whole thing.

And as @felicity-smoak-is-my-goddess mentioned, Will gets sent an ear during his trial. I honestly don't remember the chronological order of events during s2a that well (but I'm rewatching it rn) but it could be symbolic of Hannibal offering a piece of his soul to Will, putting his life on the line to get him free by killing the judge (but I don't remember if it's Hannibal or Michael that sends him the ear, or maybe it's never revealed. If it's Michael, then yea its a display of how much Will's work means to him as emulation is the highest form of flattery and Michael is offering up some of his soul to Will as well)

Anyways url change incoming

[cardcaptorsakura96]

Taxes, Taxes, Taxes-Chapter 29

Fandom: Supergirl

Characters: Kara Danvers, Clark Kent, Samantha Arias, Lena Luthor, Lillian Luthor, Ruby Arias, Oliver Queen, John Stewart, Diana Prince, Bruce Wayne, Barry Allen, J'onn J'onnz, Alfred Pennyworth, Lois Lane, Cat Grant, Lucy Lane, Damian Wayne, Felicity Smoak, Streaky the Supercat, Martha Kent, Selina Kyle, Talia Al Ghul, Lucius Fox, Maggie Sawyer, Alex Danvers, Jason Todd, Otis Graves, Lex Luthor

Summary: What if superheroes had to pay a property damage tax every time they had a fight in the city?

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17, Chapter 18, Chapter 19, Chapter 20, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Chapter 23, Chapter 24, Chapter 25, Chapter 26, Chapter 27, Chapter 28

Note: Sorry for the long wait guys! I have been suffering from an assortment of medical issues the last couple of months and is still ongoing. I used to be able to do multiple stories in a week, but it just took me two months to come out with this chapter with everything going on. I won't be able to go back to how I was doing things weekly, but I hope to be able to come out with another chapter in a shorter amount of time. Thanks for your patience and I hope you enjoy what happens next!

Kara stared lovingly at Lena sleeping peacefully next to her. She lightly traced with her fingers the freckles along Lena’s back. 

I have never been this happy before!

Kara happily stared at Lena for a couple of minutes until Lena started to stir.

Lena yawned and asked, “Have you been staring at me all night?”

Kara chuckled and said, “No, only for the last half hour.”

Lena turned around so that she was facing Kara and caressed her face.

Lena smirked and asked, “Do you like what you see?”

Kara leaned into Lena to kiss her on the lips which caused Lena to purr in contentment.

After a couple of minutes, Kara leaned back and said, “I enjoyed every breathtaking sight of you.”

Lena blushed and said, “You know the way to a girl’s heart.”

Kara smirked and said, “I hope amongst other things as well after last night.”

Lena chuckled while she swatted playfully Kara’s arm and said, “You are incorrigible.”

Kara chuckled and cuddled up against Lena and said, “You know you love it.”

Lena smiled while caressing Kara’s face and said, “That I do.”

Lena leaned in and kissed Kara. They held in each other’s embrace until Kara leaned back and sighed. 

As Kara lazily started to trace the freckles along Lena’s shoulder, she said, “If it wasn’t for the STEM panel today, I would stay here with you all day.”

Lena smiled and said, “I would rather stay in bed with you too, but this is a good cause. I am honored that Barry asked me to participate in this.”

Kara smiled and said, “Me too. It is nice to work with Barry on something that doesn’t revolve around a crisis.”

Lena smiled and said, “Hopefully, this is a sign of more things to come. Maybe, Flash and Supergirl could do an event at the hospital.”

Kara pouted and asked, “Getting tired of little old me huh?”

Lena looked at Kara mortified and said, “It is nothing like that…We work so well together….It is just that I was talking to Sam and she suggested maybe building up a rooster of heroes for the hospital especially since you have a friendship with the Flash and possibly the Bat family….I knew I should have kept this thought to myself….Damn it…..”

Kara quickly placed a finger on Lena’s lips which startled her into silence. 

Kara smirked and said, “You are so cute when you are flustered.”

Lena pouted and said, “You’re teasing me aren’t you.”

Kara chuckled while pulling Lena in closer and kissing her on the forehead and said, “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t resist.”

Lena turned away and pouted more. 

Kara chuckled and cuddled Lena closer to her and asked, “Would it make you feel better that I have talked to Barry and members of the Bat-family and they have agreed to help with any event related to the hospital? All they would need is a heads up.”

Lena looked at Kara surprised and asked, “Really?”

Kara smiled while caressing Lena’s face and said, “Really. They all see how much good that you are doing in society and want to help.” Kara leaned forward and kissed Lena on the lips and whispered in her ears, “Plus, they see how crazy I am about you.”

Lena blushed and said, “I didn’t realize.”

Kara smiled while caressing Lena’s face and said, “I wish you could see  your own brilliance.”

Lena blushed while looking down shyly and said, “Keep saying things like that and I will end up with a big ego.”

Kara chuckled and said, “Let’s just start off by using our collective egos to inspire future girls in STEM.”

As Kara started to get up from the bed, she stretched, put on a robe, and said, “I can make us breakfast while you get ready.”

Lena looked at Kara coyly and said, “Or we could both take a shower together. Save on water and energy.”

Read the rest on AO3

[teamolicity13]

Title: Starlit Conversations

Parings felicity x Oliver Queen

Word count: Approximately 360 words.

Warning:

This chapter contains themes of vigilante justice, existential contemplation, and emotional vulnerability. There are no explicit warnings for graphic content or mature themes.

Summary In this chapter, Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow, and Felicity Smoak share a quiet moment on a rooftop, discussing the weight of their responsibilities and finding solace in each other's company.

Chapter 1: Midnight Musings

The city of Star City sprawled beneath them, its lights twinkling like distant stars in the night sky. Oliver Queen, alias the Green Arrow, stood vigilant on the rooftop, his thoughts drifting amidst the city's cacophony.

A familiar voice interrupted his reverie, accompanied by the soft padding of footsteps. "Hey, you," Felicity greeted, her presence a welcome interruption to the solitude.

Oliver turned to face her, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Hey, Felicity. What brings you out here?"

Felicity shrugged, a playful glint in her eyes. "Just felt like joining my favorite vigilante for a rooftop rendezvous. Plus, I brought snacks," she added, holding up a bag of chips and a thermos of coffee.

Oliver chuckled, his gaze softening as he looked at her. "You always know how to make an entrance, Felicity."

They settled down on the rooftop, the city's hum a distant murmur beneath the night sky. Felicity handed Oliver a cup of coffee, their fingers brushing briefly in the exchange.

"So, what's on your mind, Oliver?" Felicity asked, her gaze searching his face with gentle curiosity.

Oliver sighed, his shoulders sagging with the weight of his thoughts. "Just...everything, I guess. The city, the constant battle against crime, the never-ending cycle of darkness."

Felicity reached out, her hand finding his and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You're not alone in this, Oliver. We're in this together, remember?"

Oliver nodded, a small smile playing on his lips. "Yeah, I know. It's just...sometimes it feels like the weight of the world is resting on my shoulders."

Felicity's expression softened, her eyes filled with understanding. "I get it, Oliver. But you don't have to carry that weight alone. You have people who care about you, who want to help you shoulder the burden."

Oliver's heart swelled with gratitude at her words, the warmth of her presence like a soothing balm to his weary soul. "Thank you, Felicity. For always being there for me, even when I don't deserve it."

Felicity smiled, her gaze unwavering as she met his eyes. "That's what partners do, Oliver. We support each other, no matter what."

As they sat there together, the city sprawling below them, Oliver and Felicity found solace in each other's presence. In the quiet intimacy of the night, they knew that no matter what challenges lay ahead, as long as they had each other, they could weather any storm that came their way.

[amelia-queen-black]

Felicity: Truth or dare?

Oliver: Truth

Felicity: How many hours have you slept this week?

Oliver: …

Oliver: Dare

Felicity: Go to sleep.

Oliver: I don’t like this game.

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

[kitkatt0430]

5, 10, 26?

5.) Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?

So my first thought is no and I think that's how I usually answer this. But it may actually be a bit more complicated in a 'no but yes' sort of way.

So. Oliver/Felicity was not the original plan for the Arrow. Felicity wasn't even supposed to be a main character. She wasn't even supposed to be there beyond that one episode she first showed up in. But the actress made such an impression on the cast, show runners, and the audience that she became more important. And while a lot of people - including myself - assumed she was an original character for the show, it turns out she was supposed to be just another comics cameo shout out to a character not even Green Arrow comics adjacent. Apparently comics Felicity Smoak was Ronnie Raymond's antagonist and step mom.

O_o The more you know, huh?

Anywho, presumably the original plan for the show was Oliver/Laurel endgame. Like in the comics, where Dinah/Oliver - with Laurel being Dinah Laurel Lance, after all - being Oliver's partner both in vigilantism and romance. It... obviously didn't go that way with Laurel being brutally and unnecessarily killed off for shock value in S4. And that may have happened in part because of the popularity of the Olicity ship.

Backtracking a bit here, but Felicity's actress and Oliver's actor had great onscreen chemistry from day one. I can understand why the show runners chose to pivot to this ship, given that chemistry and the sheer popularity of the ship with the fans.

Oliver/Felicity pretty quickly became the most popular ship for the fandom and it still is. Not even Oliver/Barry - the second most tagged ship for the fandom over on Ao3 - has even a quarter of the fics that Olicity has. 12,600+ fics as of this moment and no doubt it'll continue to steadily go up. (for comparison, Olivarry has 1,600+ fics tagged)

Honestly, I shipped Felicity/Oliver pretty quickly while watching S1 too. I liked their dynamic, that she was the sunshine to Oliver's grumpy, she was willing to call him out even when he still scared her, and she - at the time, anyway - was willing to respect that she wasn't entitled to his secrets.

But time marched on. The show began to flanderize the characters to some degree even as they fleshed them out in others. Felicity lost her willingness to respect Oliver's boundaries, Oliver proved incapable of keeping character development from one season to the next... and as Felicity/Oliver moved from interesting chemistry to ship tease to official couple, they began to bring out the worst parts of each other. And my enjoyment that they were finally together soured.

How much of them being the official couple was because of the show runners picking up on the actors chemistry independently of the fans and how much was them seeing how much the fans wanted it so why not... we'll probably never really know for sure. But I suspect that fandom's shipping of the characters in the early days before Oliver/Laurel had a chance to truly be cemented was what both contributed to them being the official couple and thus killing my enjoyment of the ship.

(I suspect that Laurel/Oliver were meant to follow the path that Iris/Barry eventually did. Both Laurel and Iris were dating someone else in S1, a someone else who died in the finale after a reveal that they were related to the main villain in some way. In S2 Iris and Laurel are both learning to move on and find themselves without that relationship. But in S3 of the Flash, Iris and Barry finally hook up, but Laurel begins her vigilante arc in S3 that puts her at odds with Oliver while Felicity gets a love triangle with Oliver and Ray where Ray 'dies' at the end of the season... a little familiar sounding am I right?)

So fandom did not directly ruin the Olicity ship for me, but there is an argument to be made that it did so indirectly. So no... but also yes.

10.) Most disliked arc? Why?

It's so hard to choose because, sadly, there are so many.

It could be Mark Blaine trying to kill Khione to get Frost back, throwing a hissy fit when he's told no, and then creeping on Khione like she's Frost's replacement goldfish.

It could be the promise that S6 would give us an important Iris plot that turned out to being Iris side lined in the mirror world, stuck there while the real plot was going on else where, being forced to watch a duplicate most likely rape her husband, be about to break out of the mirror world herself only to be immediately turned into a damsel for Barry to rescue, and the creepy way she doesn't speak at all between waking up after the 'rescue' and going to kickstart the modified ASF to wake the original Speed Force back up... (Okay, yeah, this is probably arc I hate the most but...)

It could be how we were promised an important plot line for Cisco in S7 before he left the show and got what looked like the show runners forgetting about that until the last minute, giving us what could have been a fun episode if it were not completely ruined by Cisco's massively out of character decision to tell his besties he's leaving for ARGUS at the last minute. After making Cisco the one who stays at STAR Labs in the bad Savitar future and showing again and again how important his friendships are to him... to have him treat his friends like that was kinda shitty, tbh. Hell, most people treat bosses and coworkers they dislike better by giving the optional two weeks notice.

Armageddon. I think I've complained about that enough that my reasons for hating it are well known by now.

26.) Most shippable character?

Oh this is so hard to pick. I'm a multi-shipper so all the characters are imminently shippable to me, whether it's romantic, a QPP, or close friendships.

But if I try to narrow it down, it's either Cisco, Barry, or Hartley. I've written the most for a search on Cisco Ramon/* of my works, but Barry's a close second when I do Barry Allen/* but I think Hartley's got the most crossover ships that I ship regardless of whether I've written for it or not, such as Tommy/Hartley, Rip/Hartley, Ray/Hartley, etc. (Mick started on the Flash but he's primarily a Legends character. Does he count as a crossover ship? Yes but also no. And no but yes.)

Though of the ladies, I think Iris is probably the most shippable to me though Caitlin is a close second despite my arospec headcanons for her. Iris has a lot of chemistry with a lot of characters and while the number of romantic ships I enjoy for Caitlin is narrower, I'm more likely to contemplate different types of ships for her such as QPPs.

[lesbianmarrow]

do you have any femslash rarepair fic recs bc that is also my favorite kind of fic and i am always looking for more 👀👀

yesssss ehehehe....in the past ive never rlly kept track of fics ive read even if i liked them a lot but ive been trying to do it more. here are some ive read recently and liked

for star trek:

hold the girl by ericine - kira nerys/ro laren, 2k words, rated G - ive often found it difficult to imagine what a romantic relationship between kira and ro would look like, but ive always found the idea intriguing, and i really like how their relationship is imagined here

unsaid and done by ericine - ro laren/b'elanna torres, 2k words, rated E - i really liked the nonlinear-ness of this story, and these are two very fun characters to smash together. this story imagines that ro and b'elanna knew each other back when b'elanna was in the maquis pre-voyager and i thought that was a neat idea

for legends of tomorrow/arrow:

i'm a little mixed up, but i'm feelin' fine by pirateygoodness - sara lance/kendra saunders, 5.7k words, rated M - this is the lovebirds fic i am always recommending to people. it's bittersweet and oh it just makes my heart ache! ive reread it a bunch of times

i think it's best if we both stay by eliaalice - astra logue/spooner cruz, 4.5k words, rated T - spoonstra isnt reeeally a rarepair but idc i love them. this one is all about astra working thru her feelings for spooner and realizing that theyre not just best friend feelings. my sweeties

cute by gnimmish - sara lance/felicity smoak, 1.8k words, rated M - story about sara introducing felicity to her family, mostly told from her dad's pov. i just thought this one was rlly sweet

for xmen:

you're never gonna get a second take by moonrunes - xuân cao mạnh/ dani moonstar, 2k words, rated G - idk if karmirage counts as a rarepair anymore but im putting it anyways. big fan of xuân being horny for dani in a suit bc me too girl

untouchable by havok452 - kitty pryde/marrow, 971 words, rated T - really short fic that is inspired by & expanding on xmen unlimited 22 aka the kitty/marrow manifesto. i just love seeing marrow wrestle with her prickly painful feelings

if youve got any fic recs i would love to read them too >:)

[cruzrogue]

Catfished

Summary: Felicity/Oliver (olicity)

Catfishing is a deceptive activity in which a person creates a fictional persona or fake identity on a social networking service, usually targeting a specific victim.

Summary:

Felicity knows she’s being catfished as the guy behind the screen is using pictures of a guy who is known to be dead. Oliver finding himself using social media to connect to a girl who seems interesting while using his real image knowing everyone thinks him dead. She doesn’t call him out and he doesn’t own up to be the guy who really isn’t dead. Their online chats are innocent enough… that is until a close ally to Oliver calls him out when a picture of a spunky Felicity is found.

***Before posting to A03 Going to post first chapter here***

Chapter 1 Oliver’s secret

Oliver’s name is being called out. He’s in his own head and hasn’t heard the voice calling out for him. Instead…

A hidden photo that Oliver has had for a few years before his return to Starling City is clenched tightly. A photo of a girl that amazingly helped him in some tough times unlike the photo of his ex-girlfriend who brought guilt of things left undone.

Retrieving it from a page in his father’s book of names. He makes sure to hide Laurel’s image as Oliver doesn’t even glance at it placing it back within the pages. In purposely not glancing at that old image that brings a pull in his chest to think the sister of an old flame was lost like him. To find darkness and somehow return in different ways back home.

In the last few months since this lost sister of a woman he’s tried to make amends with is back. They’ve rekindled a relationship of sorts. Sara knows him enough. They have an understanding. Both seeking some comfort in each other. Otherwise, he feels like he isn’t worthy of any other companionship.

Oliver’s eyes scanning the simple photo from an array of pictures username SmokeNFox sent him it was this particular one he needed to print out. Glad he was able to find a printer back when he required it. A crack of a small smile graces his face as he recalls tiptoeing around the makeshift A.R.G.U.S. base to download from the social site to get this snapshot of an incredibly hot girl who texted some very outrageous things. Her pauses in conversation to vent how she can’t believe she wrote what she wrote. The sincerity not lost on him. He may have not heard her voice until his stint in Russia when they reconnected online again.

Oliver mentally documented her voice. Not in his wildest dreams would he think he’d hear it down eighteen flights of stairs from where Walter Steele mentioned Felicity Smoak would be someone to talk about electronics Oliver needed fixed.

SmokeNFox was at Queen Consolidated and to behold Felicity in person was… is the most incredible surprise the universe could ever throw at him. Reaching out to Ms. Smoak was no hardship at all. Her energetic personality ate him up alive. Trying to be aloof to her charm gets harder and harder and it irks him that John Diggle can read him out like that every single time.

At least John has no clue about his true first time he interacted with Felicity “SmokeNFox” Smoak.

Glimpsing at a face that brought a levity in his past journeys back to where he is now. After convincing Maseo in Hong Kong that he would not continue to jeopardize this man’s family. He got to sit down with a laptop which of course was being monitored but it was nice to have some technology at his fingertips. After the usual thing on checking up on his mother and sister and even Tommy. Since the whole ordeal of almost having his best friend killed it was good to know Tommy Merlyn was fine and alive back in Starling City.

Being lonely as evidently shown when Maseo and his wife Tatsu would leave him to the contraption that he is using to navigate the internet. A simple website of ambiguity. The thought of talking to someone outside the restrictive bubble seemed like a grand idea. It took a short bit to figure on a usable username. Kind of lame but doable. He logged in. Answering the site’s interests that he wants to partake in. Simple in fact. He is a male looking for a female. Basic stuff he thinks. Clicking buttons on what personality traits he seems to prefer.

His likes don’t always go hand in hand with what he accepts in real life but here he is in a world of make believe. He knows he wants to mingle with someone on par with what he always imagined would be the best thing ever. No strings attached. Just be raw as natural as he could be and know he couldn’t emotionally get hurt. A person on the other side of a keyboard could not elicit any deep feelings. Thus, Oliver decides to take a leap of faith and bare himself. What does he have to lose? He’s survived some dark shit so far.

And clicking the agree to terms. BeeMyQueen is now able to roam the site to find someone of interest to engage with. 

The voice calling out to him finally gets his attention.

He knows it is too late to hide what is in his grasp. It’s a wonderful picture he finds himself unable to tear away as it elicits a rare smile to form on his face. Glad this portrait of a girl has persisted the journey with him.  A spunky edgy college age girl is looking back at him. Those eyes always had him mesmerized.

Till finding Felicity in the flesh, he always wondered if that crazy stunt of talking to a random girl online was really of the girl, he’s had some far-out fantasies about in some darker times while trying to stay alive. 

“What do you have there, Ollie?”

Sighing at being unable to hide the picture as fast as he should have Sara is already snatching the picture from his now loosen grip.

Her gasp is all it takes to know he is in trouble.

“Hot damn! This can’t be the same girl.” Sara keeping Oliver from getting the photo back as she moves her body away from his, “Not our blondie.” She is making a whistling sound.

“Sara!”

His tone has her jest, “Does she know?”

“Know what?”

“You have a pretty exotic picture of her?”

“Nothing exotic about it.” He reaches over and lucky gets the picture of Felicity Smoak back into his possession.

“How did you come across getting that photo?”

“It’s a long story.”

“While we wait for the perpetrator on that list of yours, I think I can do with an over dramatic Queen story.”

“Fine, but you need to promise me you’ll never tell Felicity about this?”

“Oh, this is some deep…” Sara looking at his hand where a photo is clutched securely.

“Sara?”

“Ollie!” She replies while rolling her eyes.

“Felicity can’t know about this. It would make everything even more tense between us.”

“You have the hots for her.”

“It isn’t like that?”

Sara gives him a dire look as her hands plant themselves on her hips. Giving the illusion she knows more than he is admitting to.

“She deserves better.”

“Better than what?”

“Felicity is…” He takes a few extra seconds before adding, “She’s like sunshine on a darken day. I can’t hurt her. She’s special.”

“Special? And what? I’m chopped liver?”

He huffs, “You know what I mean.”

“Yep, I do. We’re comfort and we have an understanding. It is what makes us…us.”

“I won’t tell the story if you don’t promise to keep it to yourself.”

“Really… Ollie?” Seeing he isn’t budging. “Fine, Oli-ver.”

Oliver looks down at the picture of Felicity Smoak. One taken before she graduated M.I.T. in 2009.

“You promise?”

“My gosh, relax old man. I promise.”

It takes a dragged out look between them for Oliver to relax and begin a tale of how the picture of a Goth Felicity Smoak came into his possession.