TrueMyth

This literally sounds to me to be the exact narrative slot that they hoped Ray would fill (minus I guess the comic book hero destiny and additional rivalry with Oliver with with his company). But it is exactly the thing that they didn't sell me on with Ray.

OMG, that's AMAZING! Do you have a Tumblr so I can properly promote this wonderfulness? Found you!

Dude... It's Not Easy Being Green. (I've always wanted a fanvid to that song.)

I have no idea of this BR of whom you speak. *sticks fingers in ears and hums*

Interesting to me that neither girl "mask" actually wears a mask. The promo sounds same-old, same-old, but I continue to be thrilled for Caity that she is headlining her own show two years after being killed off on Arrow.

I thought he was using his bow when he was doing the proto-vigilante thing between season 3 and 4 flashbacks. He also somehow used his bow and arrows when torturing for ARGUS in season 3, though those skills against a stationary target from point-blank range would be very different from the shots he was making in season 1. I could see the Bratva teaching him some knife skills, particularly throwing knives, which are close enough to darts for me. But I've had to make my peace with the flashback continuity ever I asked MG about Oliver's Chinese proficiency in season one not being addressed when he was living in Hong Kong, and he basically said "What Chinese proficiency?"

It's okay, I'm just drooling at that view again.

Yes, I see it more as compartmentalization of emotions that then burst out as cruel, sharp bits of sarcasm as @Angel12d mentioned. She does grieve, such as the much maligned crying in season 3, but then she seems fine in the next scene (which is where I think some of that criticism comes from, as it may look disingenuous). I always took this as a "keep calm and carry on" level of stoicism. I have a similar approach to things. I rarely let my inner turmoil show in public and one of the ways I know that I need to take some time to check in with myself is when I catch myself being mean or short with people. She does take time to process (her way through a pint of ice cream, for example), but we rarely see that processing or hear it referenced in seasons 3 and 4 when her life has had some pretty massive turns. Additionally, though the 3x05 flashbacks were a bit unclear to me, I always assumed that there were a few weeks between Cooper's "death" and her bagging up her old, goth self for the new, blond model. At least that's more time than Laurel took to process the death of a boyfriend before moving on in some way. Ugh, writers.

Can you elaborate on what established character trait you are talking about? I hated Raylicity, but mostly because I really disliked Ray. I didn't have an issue with any of Felicity's choice besides not being 100% clear on WHY she was interested in Ray. As @Starfish35 mentioned, the writers do slack on giving us her PoV at times. Besides her blurts when she finds someone attractive, she's actually a pretty compartmentalized character, so it wasn't until her hospital scene with Donna when she listed the reasons she "should" like Ray [1) Brilliance, 2) Geek knowledge, 3) Looks] that I understood why she was dating/sleeping with Ray for sure. Once I had that for sure, I had no issues with her characterization.

I really enjoyed it. Mostly for Maze; her scenes are all gold.

I think the number order is built for shock value, not top to stay and top to go, which is why Oliver is the first "duh, can't kill him." I do think Felicity can do no wrong because EBR always finds a way to make me connect to who she is and what she is feeling even when the writers aren't giving her any view point voice. It's reductive and annoying to reduce the pro-Felicity camp to the "Olicity only" camp. Honestly, if they don't actually address Oliver's choice to lie to Felicity before they get back together, I'll may turn anti-Olicity. I really do wonder what "bad-writing" he's talking about. Is it the fact that she's no longer the comic-relief? What has she done that is inconsistent with why she was "once-great"? Ugh.

If they let Sara kill Malcolm in the future it will make me 95% okay with his continued presence in the Arrow present. That said, I've always assumed that they were waiting to have Oliver kill him at the end of season five as a sort of full circle completion of the quest he started in season one.

Does anyone remember, at the end of the Flash, when Barry cuts in and saves his mom, is his younger self there? I could see how seeing your mother threatened by blurry men in the middle of the night, even if she lives and you have both parents growing up, could stick with a little boy. Such a little boy might still find himself investigating strange crimes as they pop up or being interested in the Starling City vigilante, thereby not changing his introduction in season two that much. It would also explain how he still ends up missing the accelerator opening and being in his lab at the right time to give him his powers. It's a tad hand-wavey, but I think it works.

I actually went looking for FS/MM fic, but there are only two. One is unfinished at seven chapters and the other is also Slade/Oliver, which does not float my boat.

Sadly more proof that Oliver is a horrible boyfriend with the number of times he ran off on the city, and even let her change her name to honor some other guy, which is basically the same as getting a heart tattoo, right? Is that really love, Oliver?

The ConCrit debate has really blown up on my Tumblr feed, and the author has even quoted portions of the precipitating comment. Here's her most recent discussion of why readers should withhold all criticism. Here is the offending comment. Many Arrow fic writers have reblogged and added their voices to a call for no criticism unless explicitly solicited in author's notes. It seems that's where this fandom at least is going. I've no idea what the norm is in other fandoms. I've always found writing and reading more of a dialogue between authors and readers, and treasured the ability to get into discussions with authors about stories that have made me think, which is why the metaphors of crafting and baking don't mirror my personal understanding of fanfic. I do not think readers should be needlessly cruel or ALL negative. Just as you don't want to discuss highly passionate topics such as politics or religion with someone who simply states, "you're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong." However, I can see that some writers view their stories as amateur artistic creations and expect a different approach. I'm contemplating how to phrase my author's note to make clear I welcome critical discussion without opening myself to wannabe betas.

There was a lot of the Arrow cast, particularly Amell, singing the praises of BamBam as a director. It makes me really hope that he's learning things. His second episode wasn't quite as bad as his first one out, after all. I'm trying to make sense of how much the cast seem to love him compared to what I've seen him produce. I really want to hold out hope, but I don't want to get my hopes too high.

Emily also said something about her cracking jokes in public and crying in private. Felicity can be pretty masterful at compartmentalizing emotion and using humor as a shield. The question for me will be how many of those private moments are we going to see our is this something that Emily will be trying to play in subtext? Wendy also mentioned Felicity being affected and wanting to play that, so I'm hoping we'll see SOMETHING of Felicity's private feelings. On Flashpoint, I go back and forth, because I really do enjoy well done time travel. If Barry is going to "fix" Flashpoint universe at the end of the first episode, in someways, I could get behind the first episode of Arrow taking place in a bubble of that new universe. What I'd like to to see would be Felicity and Oliver being mostly good partners in the lair, dealing with the criminal of the week or whatever, then one of the final scenes be Felicity heading home, only to have Oliver there, and they kiss and we find out, they DID get married last year in this reality!!! Only to have the time wave wash over and "correct" and now Felicity is with a different guy, a stranger we don't know, and she gets a call from Barry saying he really needs some advice. I mean, that would be horribly painful, but it would be a wink to the Olicity fans on the same order as the fake marriage. The real problem with it though, would be just how tied up it is with The Flash. I do agree that you should NOT have to watch The Flash to understand the plot of Arrow. I agree that Barry being the temp-BF and most of the meaningful scenes happening on Arrow is a better way to manage it.

I think the big difference there is that this is another show and another character who is making this impact on Arrow. Both Eureka and Fringe had in-show characters make choice that led to the shift, right? Another show that comes to my mind is Primeval which was built around time travel. At the end of one season, a group returns from a trip to realize that things are slightly different, and the biggest difference of all is that one character has been erased completely... a character who was half of one of the big 'ships of the show. The actress returns as a different character with similar, but not identical world views and that 'ship has to reboot because of it. I actually really enjoyed that part and thought it was a bold move. But I didn't sign up for time travel on Arrow. I need any permanent changes to 1) Not mess with the core things that I personally enjoy about the show (this is different for everyone, so it will be impossible to tick everybody's boxes), 2) Introduce interesting things for the actors to play. I can't think of a specific example right now, but I wouldn't say no to a different version of Thea, or Diggle, or Lance that gave something fresh to the actors. Speaking of that, did anyone notice how little Paul Blackthorn had to say? As upbeat as most of the cast was this Con, he seemed pretty subdued. I was also sure that he'd be working with the Mayors office, but he's apparently unemployed? That makes him, Felicity, and possibly Curtis who we don't know how they are paying bills (I suppose Felicity still gets revenue from PT, but I suspect the writers are dropping that entirely given how weird they seem to play with business realities). Diggle, too, when he returns, and if he goes back to the Team, I hope he officially joins the Mayors security detail.

So the last words Laurel says to him is not to go out alone, but it takes four months and Felicity to get him to bring in a team. Such a legacy they paint for her! I hope someone asks what Lance is up to this season.

I suggest Superflarrow. Legends of the superflarrow?

Yes, there is EBR, whom Cody gave his seat up to, Arthur Darvill, and John Barrowman who came in with leopard-print pumps in Stephen's size.

Stephen's tag line read "Savior of DCTV" for a sec.

That goes with my observation of the difference in the crowd reactions at the award show compared to the Tumblr numbers. Clexa was the only 'ship close to threatening Olicity, but the crowd was basically silent last night when they were called. I think the reporter was going off that without checking the numbers.

Yep, was just watching that video clip. I got confused with the earlier body double attack in the alley. Okay, well. I bought the excuse of Thea not wanting to live in the loft since she was KILLED there, but if she really wants to start fresh and get away from the crime-fighting, I hope they break down Laurel's set and either don't show us Thea's place or redress it well as a new place. Man, how many times has Laurel's place been broken into? Her home insurance must have been horribly expensive.