EmeraldArcher

Thank you! We can’t believe how fast the decades have gone by. Hope the Arrow family is all doing well! I really enjoyed being part of this community.❤️

Happy Anniversary, Olicity & WestAllen! The double wedding happened on my 25th anniversary! ❤️

That's so awesome, @Mary0360! I was just bragging to my husband about them naming the big 150th after me and then scrolled further down and saw your post!

Just dropping in with heartiest 1st anniversary wishes for Olicity and WestAllen today, November 28th! As you might recall, DCTV gave me the best anniversary present ever with the double wedding on my own 25th anniversary--it's canon!!

@Kymmi, I'm so sorry to hear you've had such a rough time! It's sounds scary and draining in every possible way. I hope you have a good support system who can help you through this, and I'm sending you healing vibes for a swift and complete recovery and restoration of being yourself again!

Wow! That's so awesome! My future son-in-law is musical, and I raised my kids on Les Mis (seriously), so it would be fun and meaningful! Love it! Thanks so much for the idea! Thanks, @BunsenBurner! It's a neat idea to pamper the guys, especially as there isn't a bride in this wedding.

Thanks, @tv echo! So much has changed since we got married 25 years ago--our anniversary is the same as Olicity & WestAllen's!! We'll have to check out The Knot. That's gorgeous! Congratulations on your new ring and the fabulous experience of getting a great deal! How sweet! My son is not musical, but will dance with enough liquid courage. A new family keepsake sounds like a neat idea. We're estranged from all but our small family unit, so creating our own keepsakes would be wonderful and liberating.

I can't call him his "fiancée" yet because the proposal hasn't officially happened. :-) His boyfriend asked for our blessing this weekend, and the proposal is in the very near future. Our son has already talked to us about the wedding, so the proposal is just a formality. If I could fly her here, I'd hire @Mellowyellow to bake the cake! Her desserts always sound so yummy! @statsgirl could do the pre-wedding counseling with the guys to make sure they're on a solid foundation; @KenyaJ could prepare the pre-nup; @tv echo could survey wedding trends from articles and interviews, organize it all, and then archive it for the guys to refer to; @BkWurm1 could help with the seating chart and ensure everybody gets along; @Delphi can show the guys how to use a straight razor for a great shave on their big day; and @apinknightmare can give a toast with the perfect blend of snark and wisdom. And of course, @quarks can assure me that no matter what little snafus happen, it will be a glorious wedding because Laurel won't be there to ruin it! :-) [I hope I've correctly remembered each of your occupations/talents.]

Hello! I've missed all of you, but have only had time to pop in every several weeks to skim through the Arrow news. I don't even have time to read fic anymore(!) even though I used to read several Olicity-related chapters every day. My professional life is everything I've ever wanted, so I guess the trade-off isn't too bad. Am hoping to get some ideas from you, as you have combined life experience of approximately 3257 years. ? My son and his boyfriend are getting married next summer, and as he is the first of our children to get married, I'm hoping for ideas about favorite new traditions or meaningful moments we might include in the lead up and on the big day. We're unlikely to have extended family on my son's side attend, so it would be wonderful to have some gestures--grand and small--in mind to mitigate what I'm sure will be a painful absence. There are always so many wonderful perspectives and cultural richness on here, so I thought I'd ask this awesome community.

That's just what heroes do.

@Hiveminder, this ranks among my favorite posts of all time. Thank you!

We saw it today--awesome in every way. Easily my favorite Marvel movie. Love that it's getting such great reviews and that it's bringing in huge numbers this weekend.

Ray and Alena would be awesome! She's crazy-smart, and her edginess distinguishes her from Felicity (although they are a lot alike), which would be a great foil to Ray's unfailing cheerfulness. Since she's Felicity's only in-show friend outside the Arrow team, I want good things for her. Would Ray's romantic history with Felicity be too much of an ick factor? (I realize that you're discussing Mellowyellow's fic, but now I want it for real!)

I'm sad to learn that Rose Marie passed away today. Any other The Dick Van Dyke Show fans here?

@Delphi, thanks for the recommendation!

Unfortunately, he doesn't go to a barber. His hairline has receded as he's aged, so he just does that sexy barely-a-buzz cut himself at home. I grew up with male relatives with male pattern baldness, and I'm so glad that men today just embrace it. I've witnessed my dad and uncles doing hair pieces, combovers, and the long ponytail down the back with nothing on top. Yeah, I'm not too thrilled about the idea of a straight razor, but he's wanted to shave with one for so long. I think he's just nostalgic for a time he's never lived in. Apparently, straight razors are making a comeback for their superior shave. I'm just glad he isn't into hipster beards--no thanks!

You guys are so great at giving recommendations, I thought I'd ask about something I'm considering getting my husband for Christmas . . . Do any of you use or know someone who uses a straight razor for shaving their face? My husband expressed interest in it--to my horror, because that always goes wrong in the movies. I'm looking for advice on brands/companies, blade specs, soaps/lotions, accessories, or anything else you might have some experience with. For example, do I need to get him a towel steamer? There is such a wide range in prices for a razor/brush/stand combo (i.e., $40-$600) that I'm not sure where to start.

I'm probably jumping into this long after you've all moved on, but I don't often read the social media stuff. That said, I thought RG's entire response was sexist as fuck. Any man who describes women as "special creatures and beings" who "we [men] have to protect" is a sexist dick. Women are human beings, not special creatures. Women don't need to be protected--they need not be assualted, abused, harassed, and raped. An ally doesn't deny agency. An ally doesn't point out Otherness. An ally doesn't fucking stereotype. I'm disgusted that it's on RG's behalf that SA et al. exert their outrage.

Although I understand your perspective, I focused on "I'm a better human being . . . " I was so grateful that he didn't say "better man" and chose "human being." Women never say they're trying to be a "better woman," and I get tired of the loaded, gendered implications of "better man." Well done, Oliver.

My husband and I celebrated our 25th anniversary on the same day that WestAllen and Olicity got married!! Pretty epic anniversary present from the Flarrowverse! Maybe we'll triple-date next year on November 28th to celebrate! :-)

MIT is great, but Carnegie-Mellon is actually also consistently ranked at the top, which surprised me. There is currently a 4-way tie for the #1 rank in Computer Science graduate programs among MIT, Carnegie-Mellon, Cal-Tech, and Berkeley. Those are just U.S. schools, though. Oxford is the #1 school outside of the U.S. and comes only after MIT for undergraduate Computer Science programs. MIT has the best brand recognition to those outside of STEMM, but other schools might be ranked higher depending on a student's focus area. For example, Purdue has a very highly ranked and competitive Engineering school. And sometimes, the #1 researcher in the world in any given field works at a no-name university. I happen to work with someone ranked #1 in all metrics, and he's in a Computer Science focus area. He recruits some of the best students in the world, and they usually have salaries of $200k+ waiting on them when they graduate.

Hi, Everyone! I haven't been as active on the boards this season because I've hit the jackpot profession-wise and am ecstatically building my empire, but I really miss being a part of this cozy community. I still try to skim the threads to stay caught up on spoilers, and I've loved the Olicity-ness of this season. It's been enough to make me sell out despite my resolve to quit after Baby Sara's erasure--shipper 4-eva! I feel like I've been catching up with old friends as I binge-read your posts every now and then. Tonight, I realized that I haven't read anything from @wonderwall in awhile; I was looking forward to her triumphant commentary about Olicity rising. Is she still here? I would like some advice from anybody who might know about wooing a celebrity to visit a university. Given my field, I would love to invite Alan Alda to campus to give a public talk, but I'm not sure what the best way to reach out is. He just published a book this summer--do I contact his publisher and frame it as a talk about his book? Do I invite him via the Alan Alda Center at Stonybrook? Or, do I reach out to his agent? Is there an option that would be lower cost than another (e.g., book tour stop versus guest seminar)? I don't know where to start or what to offer. Lastly, @Soulfire, thank you so much for the gorgeous gifs you provide every week! They've been the perfect little Olicity nuggets to sustain me until I eventually get around to watching the episodes.

I'll just dream about the 1% possibility of straps sliding down then. (Ugh--I didn't even think about it being a racer back tank. Way to kill the daydreaming, @bijoux ?)

Just noticed that her tank top strap looks like it's fallen down her right arm--you can see the slant of pink on her back, and there isn't a pink strap on her shoulder near her blue bra strap . . . It's hard to tell with her hair down because the shadow on her back could be the strap. But, he seems to be arriving, so it doesn't seem like it's slipped down during making out. Must study very intensely. Also, I agree that Oliver's scruff is the perfect length. His degree of hotness directly correlates to the length of his scruff. He looks older and sloppy when it's too long and like a baby-faced serial killer when it's non-existent. His hair is a great length, too.

Buck Rogers