thisemeraldarcher

[thisemeraldarcher]

"I know you didn't mean to hurt me, and that should count for something, but it doesn't. It just doesn't."

"When did it ever?" Ollie shot back bitterly. There were tears in his eyes, but those alone didn't quite save Dinah from his overall savage expression. It got like this sometimes, their fights as explosive as the times they made up. His fingers curled into fists as he looked at her, but they both know if ever did actually go as far as to lash out she would knock him on his ass faster than he could cry for mercy.

"Fine then. Fine. I'll just - go." He turned, steeled himself, and stalked out towards the door. If that's what she wanted, that's what she'd get. He'd lived on the island. He could live on the streets if need be.

[thisemeraldarcher]

"we're out of our minds, but pour me another, ollie. maybe it'll fix it."

Ollie snorted at the request. Still, he poured out another two fingers of whisky for Hal and shoved the glass forward. He wasn't yet blackout drunk, but the world had gotten softer around the edges. The fire was warm, the night air cold as he slumped back against the log. His back hurt.

"I'm still sober, baby." He murmured as he let his hand fall against Hal's knee. Too intimate a gesture, but he'd never really put that much thought into it. Or into the fact he was buzzed and they were alone in the midst of the wilderness. He chuckled and turned his green-eyed gaze onto Hal.

"Or are you trying to tell me you've had too much?" He shifted, and pawed with his free hand at the glass as if to steal it from Hal.

[thisemeraldarcher]

“  what the fuck happened to you?  ”

"I lost a fight with a fence post. What's it to you?" Oliver snapped. His green eyes shone from behind his mask, a certain bitter sneer on his face. He had yet to straighten up, one hand still braced against his knee as he looked up. Defiant to the end, in spite of the fact the world continued to spin before him.

One too many concussions? Likely as not.

He pushed himself up with a groan and spots began to flash before his eyes. The glittering stars faded as he tightened his grip on the bow. He was going to go down swinging if he had anything to say about it.

[thisemeraldarcher]

Poem by Langston Hughes

[thisemeraldarcher]

Give me the Ollie, Dinah, and Hal Throuple the world deserves.

Roy might be horrified, but he'd get used to it in time.

[thisemeraldarcher]

Rereading Hard Traveling Heroes and making that everyone's problem.

[thisemeraldarcher]

There was resistance, though perhaps not as much as Hal expected. Ollie was drunk. The blond tried not to drink, not after he'd gotten caught in alcoholism's dark grasp more than once. The fact that he had been drinking again to the point that he was visibly tipsy generally was a warning sign.

Hell, both of them remembered the way it tended to end in blows - and Oliver rarely fought fair. A knee to the nuts. Teeth in a shoulder or throat. He aimed for pain and blood and he had no qualms about going that far. It was only later, alone and sober, that he'd regret what he had done. He'd punish himself for it right back into the bottom of a glass.

He breathed hard, green eyes narrowing at the mention of Dinah's name. That lowblow landed precisely the way that Hal had known that it would. He ground his teeth as he stood up closer, his chest puffing up in a tell-tale way. One hand landed heavy on Hal's shoulder to shove him back a pace as Oliver strode closer.

"Do you want to ask that again? You might want to think about it before you do, Harold."

@thisemeraldarcher, continued here.

"why wouldn't i like it, ollie? what exactly are you implying there?" the expression hal has on turns from deadpan into a scowl. he knows queen is hardly the gentlest man on earth when it comes to wording, but knowing him as well as he does, he expects this to be some tirade about his sexuality. the fact he's discreet doesn't mean he denies it, but to mr. loudmouth it hardly seems to matter.

... he's not going to throw that metaphorical punch yet, though. even with the finger against his chest, he reminds himself ollie is drunker than he is and the ring should keep him sober for longer anyway. one hand comes to the one on his chest to lower it slowly, predicting resistance.

"crush isn't the word i'd use, that's all. we aren't mooning teens anymore. haven't been for a while now, either." he keeps their eye contact regardless of how spiteful and clearly tipsy the other man is. "besides, what would dinah say?" a low blow, maybe, but the two of them have always seemed to have it more together than carol and him.

it's only fair he is the one to bring that up now.

[thisemeraldarcher]

I really should get back to writing here shouldn't I?

[thisemeraldarcher]

"I barely even got started," Oliver protested in spite of the empties they'd already accumulated. Nevertheless he set the bottle down, wary of the ring that seemed permanently on the other man's finger these days. It didn't mean he had to like the decision anymore than it meant that he wasn't already drunk.

The slight glassy sheen to those green eyes was familiar enough to Jordan. As was the index finger that found its way firmly against his chest. "And you haven't even had all that much. You just don't like what I said." He shot straight enough, and he knew what he was doing jamming his finger where he was. Pugnacious as ever, chin raised and expression defiant.

"Just one more thing you're never going to admit to yourself, isn't it, baby? You know what they say about the Nile, hm?" He barked a laugh as he shook his head. "Christ. Hardly even worth trying."

I have a crush on you.

@thisemeraldarcher

jordan watches the archer with a muted, puzzled expression, clearly disbelieving. there are things between the two that are better left unsaid for the most part, as it may happen in most relationships where you've seen the good and the bad of the other person. a lot of things, in fact, but instead of thinking too hard about it, hal chooses the easiest out, one they have at hand right now.

gaze falling on the beer in his hand, then the one on oliver's own, he sets his glass down. "i think you've had enough for the night, ollie. i think we both have."

easier to state the seemingly obvious than address the real, tangible way he feels something tighten in his chest at the deflection.

[thisemeraldarcher]

// I finally think I added back everyone who followed me. Mais, if I missed anyone don't hesitate to reach out. Tumblr is glitchy and I am not the best at technology.

[thisemeraldarcher]

Sometimes he thought that he knew Dinah best by her absences.

It wasn't so much the indentation that her body left on the mattress, although certainly that was part of it. The scent of her shampoo no longer filled his nostrils, and the steady sound of her breaths was gone. He'd fooled her a few times, let her think that he slept when really he didn't. He was a habitually light sleeper. For years the slightest shift would get him awake like a shot, alert for some unseen threat in the wilderness. This wasn't the island though, it hadn't been for well-over a decade. Still, some habits remained.

Instead of waking into panicked alertness he would simply wake. A subtle shift and his arm would wind around her. Or her ghost. He'd simply blink in the darkness and then listen, alert for the sound of some show on the television or footsteps as they padded on the stairs. He wouldn't bother her, not until she returned to the bed. Only then would he roll over and finally wrap his arm around her as he did now. He didn't so much make room as he just curled his own body around her. He let her feel the muscles of his chest, the tickle of hair against her skin. He pressed a warm kiss to her temple, and then beneath her ear as he breathed her in.

“You ate chocolate without me? You wound me.” He rumbled with a small smile. He just settled back down, liking the way her body fit to his as he relaxed. Too awake to fall back asleep, feigning the fact he was still half-dozing. “Thought I might've snored too loud again.” The words were light, but nonetheless probing. What had happened to wake her up? He wanted to know. He didn't want to outright ask.

Then again, she never stepped into those traps as easily as Hal seemed to. Damn it.

"Can't sleep?"

He's already reaching for her, muscled arms wrapping around her waist. Suddenly she feels home, and most importantly, safe. She hummed in content, leaned her head back a little so she can feel his hot breath gliding in the crook of her neck. It's all very familiar, but she would never trade that feeling for anything in the whole world.

Dinah wasn't going to let him know she couldn't sleep, but he figured it out by himself. Sometimes it's some nightmares crawling back in the darkest parts of her mind, sometimes it's purely business wise with the Birds or the JL, sometimes she has no reason whatsoever to not be able to sleep. It was one of these nights luckily... nothing cloudy around.

It's been two hours she was moving back and forth in bed, until she decided to go watch tv, drink a glass of water, then milk, then another of water and finally she ate a whole bowl of M&M's. Now she was back in bed, but she wasn't feeling sleepy.

"Uh, no. Hate that. it's only 2 am." Her hand went to bush against Ollie's cheek as he rested his chin over her shoulder. "What about you ? Did I wake you up by my absence ?" She unzipped her hoodie, revealing a white tank top and slid off her yoga pants to remain in panties. "Make room for me ?"

@thisemeraldarcher

[thisemeraldarcher]

this is a social experiment reblog this if u were rping on tumblr before 2016

[thisemeraldarcher]

@sonicanary you're the reason I'm getting this ad.

[thisemeraldarcher]

Send a N S F W headcanon you may have for my muse and see if I like it

-> He likes going full commando under his Robin Hood suit

That's just canon.

[thisemeraldarcher]

@1rstflight

"I don't understand why you bother," Ollie muttered as he took another sip of his beer. He was drunk, or at least well on his way to it. All the same as he looked up at Hal the familiar sharpness could be seen there in his green eyes. You just had to look. Had to squint the way he was now.

"She sent you, didn't she?" He lowered the now empty bottle and slowly pushed to his feet. "She sent you out here? Why even bother coming after all this time? We aren't children anymore, Hal. You of all people should know that."

He tossed the bottle down into the dirt, but the thud wasn't as satisfying as he wanted it to be. He was getting old. Slow. He tilted his chin up as he stared into Hal's eyes, fire still burning there in his own emerald depths.

"Don't you dare pity me, Hal."

[thisemeraldarcher]

Anyone want a starter from this old hippie?

[thisemeraldarcher]

The scent of salt in the air used to be a calming thing to him. Now, it just reminded him of the hot feeling of tears streaking down his face. Not that he let people see - not that he wanted people to see. It was just one more thing that Dinah had torn out of him through the long stretch of years between them. He let his hand slide over her forearm, and then the delicate bones of her wrist.

He wondered what she made of him now. He was just a man, after all, in a field that was full of people who were so much more than human. Hell, look at Hal and what he had become. His jaw set bitterly beneath his beard, more white in it now than blond. He gently let his calloused fingers settle against her. He wondered if she knew how much nerve damage he'd incurred over the years of drawing without a glove. He wondered if it mattered to her all that much.

"I'm not trying to leave you hanging," the words were quiet as he stared out at the rippling water. He imagined he could see a pod of dolphins in the distance. The cold air felt good against his bare skin, but Dinah was still warm against him. Ever present. "I don't want to prove you wrong." Yet the words dangled a bit as he turned his head in an effort to meet her gaze. "What are you... trying to say, pretty bird? That I should let you fly free?" There was the slight edge in his words, that wariness that never quite went away.

He didn't want her to leave. He also knew he was damn well helpless against it if that was the path she wished to take. He wouldn't -couldn't - stop her. It wouldn't be fair to try.

@thisemeraldarcher is getting a starter anyway from his wife.

"We can't keep doing this." The words died on the end of her lips as she pressed them against the crook of his back, right on his bare backbone. Quickly her arms went to wrap around his torso from behind, as he was staring at the ocean from their balcony. It was their little shelter. But it hurt each time. Each time a little more.

Dinah figured he wouldn't understand quite right away her words if she left them vague. ( he was only a man after all ). The blonde sighed, eyes closed, but kept hugging him, because letting him go was the last thing she wanted. "You and me, Ollie. I'm getting old." That was true, she was no longer in her twenties, and even less in her thirties. " We're either good together, or bad for one another. But I'm tired of that knife hanging upon my head, waiting for you to make a bad step to prove me you're not worth me. " ( I deserve better ).