#100 plus notes

Seeing interactions between characters we care about individually? whose scenes conjure up memories of everything they have done for each other, everything they have been for each other? It was like a revelation. I didn’t realize just how little I have cared about interactions involving NTA until I felt my heart start beating again when Roy showed up.

No member of NTA (or Emiko, or any character added after season 4, if we’re honest) has been given any sort of character foundation, nor any emotional connection to any of the characters we already cared about. When they deliver their lines, they honestly could be anybody. So it’s no accident that when Oliver and Rene interact, or Dinah, Curtis, or any of them - I simply don’t care. Because I’m only watching with my head, and not my heart. 

I’ve seen a lot of people worried about the fandom disappearing after Arrow ends, and I’m not going to lie - I’ve been through it with other fandoms. It will happen, to some extent, despite all the promises to never leave. 

Sorry I just depressed myself again. 😬 THAT IS NOT MY POINT.

My point is that we have better tools to stay in touch with each other now than we ever did before. Whereas fic and community used to exist only on scattered fandom-specific platforms that relied on various scattered factions of the fandom itself to stay alive, this is not the case anymore.

We have AO3 now, which will live on as the central place for Olicity fic even if the amount of readers and writers decrease. It will continue as long as one person keeps writing, and one person keeps reading. And, it will be there for new fans who found the show late. For fans new and old who continue to want quality Olicity content. There’s no expiration date on that.

And we have Tumblr - again, a central community for fans that will exist and support us as long as there’s even one of us left. (Again, in contrast to all those old fansites that got completely abandoned and went offline, leaving no place for the remaining fans to congregate). As long as there is tumblr and hashtags, we will find each other and be there for each other.

AND!! The point of this post lolol. We have DISCORD. Which is an even more social, real-time way for us to make and maintain fandom friendships. 

EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU, OLICITY FAM, WHO FEELS LIKE YOU ARE GOING TO BE LEFT BEHIND - YOU ARE WELCOME TO JOIN US. THIS IS A SAD TIME AND WE NEED TO BE HERE FOR EACH OTHER.

Right now we have about 20+ people in our discord fam, but we would love to welcome more of you! You don’t have to know me, or know someone already in there. Many of us didn’t know each other until we joined. But we have a LOT of fun, and, again, the Discord chat will live on forever.

If this is something you’re interested in, please please message me or @msbeccieboo for an invite!

JOIN US! Bring you 50 closest fandom friends! 

THERE ISN’T A SINGLE ONE OF YOU OUT THERE WHO IS TOO POPULAR, OR TOO UNPOPULAR, TO BE A PART OF THIS. Everyone is welcome.*

Honestly, fandom is only great because of the people in it, and YOU ALL MAKE IT GREAT! 

We need to talk about how literally everything about it proves that in the flash forward future,

Felicity is not dead

she is not “dark”

she is not alone

First off, can we all agree that if Felicity were really to go dark, she would never-in-a-million-years style herself “The Calculator?” Like, never. She has enough daddy issues. If she ever became a villain, she would NOT take a parallel path to his. I mean, even excusing everything else, she’s just more creative than that (and I think she has expressed some serious disdain for the name in the past). 

Therefore, the only conclusion we can draw is that she chose that name because of its association. The Calculator (Noah Kuttler/her father) is certainly googleable, dark-internet-searchable, mythic in certain circles, and - most importantly - personally connected. So it’s a clue. It’s not seriously Felicity’s villain name.

Secondly, the tennis ball arrow passcode thingy. I DON’T NEED TO SAY ANYTHING, OBVIOUSLY.

Therefore, the only conclusion we can draw is that Oliver - who he is and who he was - is/was still very important to Felicity. She still loves him. Which means that if he is alive and able to be with her, he’s with her. (And he’s definitely alive. And if he can’t be with her physically for whatever reason, THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL THAT THEY’RE AT LEAST NOT IN CONTACT.) 

Also therefore, the tennis ball arrow passcode thingy existing in that lair proves that Oliver - what he stands for - is centrally important to whatever her mission she is on in that secret lair. In other words - her mission IS NOT EVIL.

THIRDLY AND MOST IMPORTANTLY. The fern.

Two things: The fern exists, and the fern is dead.

We know that the fern itself is symbolic of several things: 

Oliver himself: the fact that he is dark but he “thrives on low light” - his light being Felicity

Felicity herself: she is the spot of brightness that can thrive in dark conditions

Overall, then, it represents Oliver and Felicity’s relationship - the symbiotic nature of their love for each other

JUST THE FACT that the fern is there, then, SHOWS US IN VERY OBVIOUS TERMS that (up until it died, which couldn’t have been that long ago and might have only happened since Felicity was “murdered”) what Oliver stands for is still very important to Felicity, that she was still lightness in dark conditions, and that she still loves Oliver.

AND THE FACT THAT IT IS DEAD is clearly an obvious attempt to suggest that everything it stands for has likewise died. That she has lost her light, that she has lost her love, that she has actually died. 

It should come as no suprise: There is a wealth of trans artists writing songs based on, and beyond, their experiences as trans people. Those tracks can be found in genres as diverse as blues, pop, punk, hip-hop, rock, indie, gospel, and folk.