EmeraldArcher

I'm getting ready to have the first of 3 more surgeries this year, and I started thinking about when Oliver, Diggle, Sara, and Felicity were talking about their scars. None of my other scars have bothered me too much because only the one across my throat from my cervical spine surgery is visible--all the rest are on my back or abdomen. However, by the end of the year, I'll have scars on each wrist and longer ones down both forearms, which will be much more visible than any current scars, plus another one near my clavicle/shoulder. Guys, I think I might actually be turning into Oliver Queen, but without the awesome abs or mad archery skills! And, I will have gotten my scars from a gazillion surgeries instead of at the hands of bad guys. And, I'm still a girl and have never even been a billionaire. I also don't have any tattoos or green leather. But, I think anybody would reasonably mistake me for Oliver Queen because of all of these damn scars. Anybody got advice for a pseudo-Oliver Queen who hasn't ever been particularly concerned with her appearance but is now freaking out a little about looking like the Bride of Frankenstein, but without that awesome hair?

I don't think they're done with Olicity at all. Felicity started to have slip-ups again about her attraction to Oliver, she admitted her part in their break-up (still hate that she did!), and the last shot was of the two of them standing side by side. Like @Chaser said, Olicity is talked about more than any aspect of the show. And, like @SmallScreenDiva noted, Olicity-heavy and positive premieres have been their highest rated.

@AyChihuahua, who was the fic author? The story was already deleted when I clicked on the link up thread. Your post about being disappointed made me think this was a well-known author for whom this seemed like an anomaly.

If they really want get back to what made Arrow must-see TV, then this "most vicious oner" MUST be done completely shirtless!

I had the impression that they're similar just from reading the description in the link in the Spoilers thread. This is my only place/source for anything related to Arrow, as I keep myself really insulated from anything else out there. I was just assuming that they would have made comments about LL's story line instead of anything less flattering to KC. So, I wasn't aware of anything specific when I mentioned it up thread.

I don't even want to speculate that we'll speculate that! As in, NOOOOOOOOOO! I know we will though, because I read the description about one of the new guys being Jewish, and my very first thought was, "They [the show--not anybody here] had better not even HINT about him being a remotely possible love interest for Felicity." Which is such as crazy thought, because it's never even been hinted that she looks for guys within her own faith or heritage.

My point stands. Although she died before they could reveal which villain she was aiding, LL's supposed incompetence was definitely in the spirit of "somehow working against Oliver." And, I will never believe that her desire to force her way into Oliver's inner circle wasn't a part of her secret vendetta against Oliver for never choosing her. Nobody is that incompetent or that clingy without some nefarious plan in the works! LOL! ;-)

Yeah, I read the description as confirmation of the rumors and assumptions about BTS stuff leading to LL's demise instead of the lines about story. Seriously? A DA ally for Oliver who tries to get justice in the system and is willing to go outside the law? They already had LL for that. I agree with @HighHopes that I wish we had more women on the show, but #Poppy makes me cautious about wanting them in the BF.

@GirlvsTV and @Velocity23, I feel for you, and I'm on the other end of the hair spectrum. Mine is naturally straight without any texture or body or anything, and during this time of year, I only have to run my fingers through it a few times before it starts to look oily and gross. Summer hair is not my favorite. Ugh.

Although I've not attended a con and probably never will (not big on crowds), I've been really fascinated by the ongoing conversation. As someone with no experience with these sorts of things, I would think that moderated interactions would have the highest likelihood of success of ensuring a satisfying experience for both the fan and celebrity. It wouldn't even have to be overtly moderated, but I think that having someone other than the celebrity responsible for ensuring the fans' experience seemed worth the money would mitigate some of the complaints from the most recent con with EBR, KC, and WH. Of course, with KC, the first step is to get her to the con on time, from what I've read here. But, the whole thing with the 3 ladies paying more attention to each other while on stage in front of people who paid to hear them talk to the audience is really bad form. I also find it mind-boggling that people paid to be on that stage would be texting, but distraction has become socially acceptable almost everywhere. If I had organized the con, which I believe is a business venture, then I would have certain requirements of the celebrity participants. When the celebrity is participating in a scheduled event, I would be clear about my expectations for providing good customer service to the fans in attendance. For example, at the EmeraldArcher Con, I would provide a moderator for the panels to keep the celebrites focused and engaged on the audience. The mods would be trained to refrain from interfering as much as possible with the organic interactions occurring between the celebrity and fans, but as soon as problematic behavior started (such as anything that excludes the fan from the experience), the mod could get the celebrity re-focused. An EmeraldArcher contract would be explicit about which events the celebrity has agreed to attend for marketing purposes, and there would be a steep financial penalty for breaking the terms of the contract, including tardiness. My contract would also forbid texting during paid appearances, such as panels or smaller group sessions. As a business person, I would require the celebrities to be in "work" mode so that they would be focused on the fan experience they've been paid to provide. I would provide customer satisfaction surveys instead of relying on social media posts and rumors, and I would only invite back celebrities who were likely to be a good investment and who behaved professionally--showing up on time, remaining sober during paid appearances, and staying for the agreed-upon and publicized duration. However, nothing in my contract would specify expectations reliant on personality, mood, or comfort level. Expecting someone to allow you to hug or touch them in any way simply because you've paid money smacks a little of prostitution to me (admittedly, the tiniest smidge, but still). People who've paid for a photograph with a celebrity should really only expect a photograph with a celebrity. Anything else they're willing to do, such as requested poses or allowing you to touch them, should be completely at their discretion and comfort level, not yours. I feel like another factor in unsatisfactory fan experiences at cons is the expectation that someone who is an actor is also an entertainer. John Barrowman's behavior at cons sounds awesome and a lot of fun because he is an entertainer. Like, an honest-to-goodness Entertainer with a capital E. He acts, he sings, he jokes, he writes--he's the embodiment of an entertainer. He seems to get as much out of the experience as the fans. On the other hand, people like KC, EBR, WH, CH, and GG are actors, but not necessarily Entertainers. Perhaps they just don't perform as well being themselves as they do their characters in scripted scenes. EBR is awesome at being Felicity, but maybe she's not awesome at being Emily in front of a roomful of strangers who expect her to perform for them. And, that's OK, because if the experience is structured enough, she might find comfort in knowing exactly what is expected of her and thrive within that space. I guess my impression is that what fans are really complaining about when a con doesn't meet their expectations is a lack of good customer service. And that sucks whenever you've paid a lot of money and then you either didn't get what you paid for at all or the quality was sub par. I think con organizers should take more control over the events by ensuring that the celebrity guests understand and fulfill their obligations as paid participants. Fans pay too much to attend and the celebrities get paid too much to appear to not treat these cons as serious business.

Please do!!!

To all of our friends here in the LGBT community: I'm your ally and stand with you. I will work with you to create a better world in which you can live authentic lives without fear. My heart goes out to you today as you learn the news about the massacre in Orlando. I hope you're safe. I hope you know that you have allies. I hope you know you're loved and valued.

@tarotx, this is everything!

From the short clip, which is all I've seen, it seems more like KC is empowered by the mod's comment instead of trying to diffuse it. It's like her "no, she's great. I love her. She's my friend" is just insincere protesting--not one word of that sounds sincere. And as soon as the mod says "She's irritating," KC changes direction so fast from "I love her. She's my friend" to "She is. Bitch stole my man." Um, feeding a crowd exactly what it wants is rarely an attempt to diffuse a situation, even when you tack on an awkward laugh at the end. It's hard to believe that this is the same KC who's given interviews about portraying a strong woman and girl power and all that. Oh, right. Even those statements were clearly at odds with her own head canon.

Eh, get new writers then. I just love the characters and the way they're portrayed. I'm always excited to see Lyla, and I love those rare scenes between her and John. And, if I can get baby Sara involved in stunts like her recent motorcycle escape, then I'm even happier!

Why? WHY? Why do all of these fantastic-souding spin-offs have to just be teases??? I really want Felicity and Friends and The Diggles!

You're out for pizza with your husband (who has put another moratorium on all things Arrow--and he means it this time), and you accidentally order "green olivers." You can only look sheepish as your husband says it's not cool because you're being either (a) uncharacteristically passive aggressive or (b) clinically obsessed. You quickly change the subject, knowing it's definitely (b).

Your statement (I added bold formatting) reminds me of a conversation I had with a female colleague years ago about our shared histrory of watching soaps. She was the first to articulate something that resonated--the serialization of soaps allowed us to really invest in characters because we saw so much of their lives. I started watching with my grandmas before I started kindergarten, so by the time I quit them in my very early 20s, I had seen generations of soap families. I don't really miss soaps at all, and I don't think super hero shows have replaced soaps in my entertainment preferences. I think it's more that I'm a Gen-Xer who's jaded enough to really crave heroism. I'm drawn to heroes' stories, and I especially love redemption stories. I love heroic vigilantes because I can live vicariously through them and combat the injustices in my world. I'd love to be stealthy and a seemingly unbeatable fighter with a mad specialized skill (like archery), and I'd love to wipe out those who prey on and hurt the defenseless. But, I'm never going to be that, so watching it play out over and over in diverse heroes is utterly awesome. I also love the human side of the heroes. I appreciate their struggle and sacrifice. I know a lot of people on here abuse Barry for always crying, but I sometimes wonder if they wouldn't have been so hard if Felicity hadn't been targeted for crying in S3 by other online fans. Personally, I don't mind it at all when Barry cries or seems a little lost. I can imagine how incredibly overwhelming his life must seem, and how heavy his responsibilities as a hero must feel. In the same way, I don't begrudge Oliver his broodiness or hesitation in accepting his own hero status. If the writers would explore their heroes' humanity just a tad more to balance out the action and intrigue, I think these shows could be so much better. I wonder how much generational status factors into fandom, or at least motivations for fandom. For example, I think Gen-Xers, whose grandparents were "The Greatest Generation," grew up idolizing their grandparents as being part of a generation defined by sacrifice and heroism. My grandpa just passed away at age 95, and he told me stories of surviving the Great Depression as a young boy and about his service during WWII, especially in the Battle of the Bulge and liberating the prisoners in the concentration camps. As much as those experiences have been romanticized by movies and TV, their grittiness and the audacity to live through them in order to survive stand out to me, and I see those elements in my superhero shows. I know there are also Millenials on here and out in the world who equally enjoy the genre for other reasons, but I'm just trying to tease out (maybe for the first time), why I'm so drawn to epic hero stories.

Ugh, I can't believe I'm saying this, but have you tried turning it off and back on again? An Apple Genius swears that should be the first step when our devices go wonky.

Thanks, @wonderwall! An irony so clear it should slap them in the face is that these fanboys often acuse me of being an Arrow fangirl because of SA's abs!!* HA! Female superheroes in comics are absurdly under-dressed, with the tiniest waists, longest legs, and disproportionately largest breasts, with hardly a scrap of clothes to cover the lady bits. It's my experience that male fans aren't the only ones who want to squash fangirls. Females who have no interest in comics/superhero/sci-fi fandoms have also tried to make me feel weird for being a fangirl. It's sadly a conditioned response for women to suppress other women who pioneer in traditionally male spheres. Het women strive to be attractive to men at all costs (sometimes exorbitant costs) and have historically been (or seemed) more severe on other women than men in order to elevate their own status among the men. Bah! I do have an odd question--do any of you think that there is a connection between the demise of daytime soap operas and the rise of fangirls? Comics and comics-based shows definitely have soap-opera qualities (as openly discussed by Arrow EPs). Do you think more females gravitated to the comics genre when the major soaps disappeared from daytime TV, or do you think that something else (such as the Internet, social media, greater availability/access) better explains the Fangirl Movement? *Clearly that ship sailed sometime in S2, and yet here I still am. :-)

Wow! I really love this discourse about fandom and fangirls! I teach at a university, and I out myself as a fangirl all the time. It used to shock people a little bit, I think, that I would discuss my fangirling with anybody from students, custodians, colleagues, administrators, and donors. Whenever I'm in a situation in which I'm asked to "tell us about yourself," I include being a fangirl and omit being a mom or a wife or any of the other expected demographic information I'm supposed to volunteer. However, I don't fit the fangirl demographic they envision--I'm well-educated, hold multiple senior leadership positions, dress professionally, have only a single piercing in each ear, and don't doodle anime characters on the back cover of a My Little Pony notebook that I carry with me ironically (I don't even own a notebook and can't draw to save my life). The same (white het) male colleagues who can bash BvS, quote Deadpool, and assign every person in the department an X-Men code name barely tolerate my enthusiasm for comics-based shows and movies. I didn't grow up reading the comics, so I'm not invited to the club. Oh, and I'm a girl. A fangirl. I just continue to say "Fuck 'em" and carry my fandom on colorful tote bags to class. (Sorry that my paltry contribution to your excellent discourse was more testimonial than insightful commentary, but I had a lot to get off my heaving, fangirl bosom.)

A short fic based on an Arrow fan girl's life: "Never a Queen" by EmeraldArcher One week post season finale, a forty-something Arrow fan girl was already pining for her favorite show, but the Season 5 premiere was still an unbearably long time away. She tried to fill the void by reading fan fics on AO3, but none of the new stories were doing it for her. So, in a brilliant stroke of genius, EmeraldArcher decided to spice up her life by reenacting some romantic Olicity scenes from the hundreds of fics she'd read in the last year. The perfect opportunity to recruit her husband into playing Oliver to her Felicity came the next day when they were making Chicken Cordon Bleu for dinner. As soon as her husband placed the pan full of chicken into the oven, she sashayed up to him, throwing her arms around his neck. "Kiss me until I forget my own name," she begged seductively, imitating Felcity from an Established Olicity-tagged fic. "Ha!" He laughed, dodging her kiss. "How about just until I forget your name?" ~The Bitter End~ ;-)

I feel like I missed out on Laura Hurley's season finale commentary, so I went looking for it. What I found is pretty funny--a video is included with an article for Cinemablend describing how Willa Hollard took LL/BC's death the hardest among all of the character deaths so far. I assumed that the video showed footage of Willa Hollard being interviewed. Nope! It is a video of someone reading Luara Hurley's article very rapidly as footage from Arrow is shown. The part that is too funny is that it is footage of SL/Canary, not LL/BC!!!!! I know that the person reading on the video couldn't possibly watch Arrow, but it was still great for a laugh! I'm not even sure what it was or why it was included with the article. http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Arrow-Death-Hurt-Most-According-Willa-Holland-141817.html PS. The video has an AT&T add that includes images of potential phobia triggers, including several 8-legged freaky things (I can't even type it, I'm sorry).

Wow! That definitely is not the same Harry Potter-themed wedding my son went to! Theirs was very low key on a shoestring budget, but awesome nonetheless. I would have loved to go to (or have) the wedding from that article though! That's amazing.

This makes sense to me! I agree with @catrox14 that it's stupid to evoke the concept of "true fan" because that phrase is exclusionary and divisive (much like the traditional fan boy culture sneering at the emergence of fan girls and their perceived fan girl culture), but I totally get where you're coming from, @wonderwall. People who make make death threats against actors or detail sexual assualts they'd love to commit on fictional characters because they hate them so much are terrible human beings, not deserving of being called "fans." Many of us here, myself certainly included, are not fans of LL or KC. And yet, none of us, to my knowledge, conflated LL with KC (I have separate problems with each), nor have we posted vile things about either on SA's, MG's, or KC's social media. There are some LL/KC fans here, too, and I don't think any of us non-fans have questioned their "True Fan" status just because they favor a different aspect of a show we all enjoy. Perhaps we've been held in check by the fact that this site is heavily moderated, but I think we gravitate here because it is heavily moderated so we don't encounter the vile, pervasive misogyny found in most fan sites, whether we're fan boys, fan girls, or just simply fans.