#this was a category i had a clear opinion on and that opinion was felicity > isabella >> monica >> ariana >>> zoe

[jakeperalta]

was about to finally put my phone down and refreshed the oscars updates one last time only to see that zoe saldana won so now I'm going to bed mad 😐

[stereogeekspodcast]

[Transcript] Season 5, Episode 10. 2025 Academy Awards Reaction

In this special season 5 finale, the Stereo Geeks chat about the 2025 Oscars! What were Ron and Mon’s reactions to the awards? Who were our favourites? Who won, and how did we feel about those wins? Tune in to find out.

Listen to the episode on Spotify.

Ron: Hello and welcome to a surprise episode of Stereo Geeks. We’re still thinking about the 2025 Oscars, so here we are chatting about it. I’m Ron.

Mon: And I’m Mon. 

Mon: While we will be talking about the Oscar-winning films, we won’t spoil anything about the films we’re discussing. 

Thoughts on the show

Ron: The 97th Academy Awards were described as the most open of recent years. There didn’t seem to be a clear winner by the time the Oscars came around. This entire awards season has been unpredictable except for maybe a handful of categories. I liked that the show started off with music but the musical interludes for the rest of the show could have been more engaging.

Ron: Conan O’Brien wasn’t the worst host but I wish he’d sped up that introduction. And I really needed a warning for those body horror scenes from The Substance. While Anora’s wins caught me by surprise, there were some good moments during the night. Paul Tazewell was the first Black man to win the costume design Oscar. He won it for Wicked. No Other Land won the best Documentary Feature Oscar. The film was directed by two Palestinians and two Israelis about the destruction and ethnic cleansing of Palestine. Their speech was heartfelt and powerful. One of the most important moments of the night, in my opinion. 

Mon: I agree with you about that. 

Mon: After a long time, I tuned into an Oscar’s evening with very little interest or excitement. Conan O’ Brien made some funny jokes. But there were some really weird choices. The song about not wasting time, which did waste time. The James Bond interlude, that was topped off with a bizarre, lacklustre dance performance and two boring renditions of Bond themes. Doja Cat was great though. But the night finished in less than four hours, which was great. This must be a record. 

Best Supporting Actors

Mon: Moving onto the categories. Kieran Culkin won for Supporting Actor. I wasn’t invested in any one winning, but he seemed to be exactly like his character? So he really did get an Oscar for playing himself? Bizarre. 

Ron: This category didn’t feel as heavily-contested as last year’s. Culkin seemed to be a shoe-in. I would have picked between Jeremy Strong and Guy Pearce. They really disappeared into their roles. Culkin was great to watch in the film but everyone’s saying that he’s basically playing himself.

Ron: Zoe Saldaña had been winning this category at some of the other award shows so it wasn’t that surprising that she won the Oscar. She’s the only Dominican to win an Oscar and she talked about being the child of immigrants in America. But I do wish she’d mentioned what’s happening to the trans community in the US. None of the Emilia Pérez winners mentioned trans people even once and it’s a film where the protagonist is trans! 

Mon: And it’s central to the story. Saldaña winning was somewhat of a surprise since I wasn’t expecting Emilia Pérez to win anything at all. But not a real surprise considering Saldaña’s been sweeping it this season.

Ron: This wasn’t a hotly-contested category either. I mean, The Brutalist is probably Felicity Jones’ worst performance ever and she got nominated. Isabella Rossellini was nominated for less than 8 minutes onscreen. It looked like they were grasping at straws for this one.

Best Animated Film

Mon: Flow won Best Animated Film. 

Ron: I can’t believe we managed to catch all the animated films. I thought the box office hits The Wild Robot or Inside Out 2 would have had a good chance. But I was 100% onboard for Flow and I’m delighted that this independent film from Latvia won. I loved that film. It was gorgeous, it was stressful, it had the cutest cat protagonist. It does so much without a bit of dialogue. How it was nominated alongside Wallace & Gromit, I can’t say.

Mon: Hey, Wallace & Gromit was kinda fun. But I’m so happy that Flow won. 

Best Original Screenplay

Mon: Anora winning Original Screenplay seems ridiculous to me.

Mon: You know which film was missing from this category? The Fire Inside. You watched it at TIFF last year and wouldn’t stop talking about it. I finally got to see it and I’m gutted it wasn’t recognized at the Oscars. 

Ron: This category did nothing for me. I didn’t want any of them to win. The best original screenplay should’ve gone to The Fire Inside.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Mon: So Conclave won Adapted Screenplay. How do we feel about that?

Ron: Conclave was good and tense but how did it win this category? I was torn between Nickel Boys and Sing Sing because they were two of my favourite nominees. They were gorgeous films and I cannot wait to read their screenplays. Particularly Nickel Boys; that’ll be educational for screenwriters.

Mon: How is The Piano Lesson not on here? I don’t get it. But, to be honest, Conclave is an interesting win. Coming at a time when the US is aggressively turning to Christian nationalism, anger, hate and discrimination, Conclave makes some interesting points. Not that the awful people in the US will watch it. 

Best Director

Mon: Sean Baker won Best Director for Anora. Yeah, I don’t know how to feel about all these Anora wins. Because I hated the film so much. It was unfunny, uninteresting, not unique, and, honestly, disgustingly gratuitous and exploitative. Apparently Mikey Madison was comfortable enough to refuse an intimacy coordinator, but it still came across as kinda gross. The ending undermined any message of ingenuity it had. Really not a fan. 

Ron: I think I should’ve watched Anora but it’s impossible to catch everything. We have day jobs. I also wish I could know how they choose the directors? There can only ever be one woman, if any. None of these directors were my choice.

Mon: Why were James Mangold and Sean Baker here, but RaMell Ross, who directed Nickel Boys, wasn’t? Please explain this to me!

Ron: I thought Nickel Boys was so creatively directed. But no nomination for the director? The only reason starts with an ‘r’ and ends with an ‘m’. Racism.

Mon: No other reason. 

Best Lead Actors

Ron: Adrien Brody won the Best Actor Oscar and I’m disappointed. He was winning throughout so it shouldn’t have been a shock but I wanted an upset. I don’t think this was a good performance. He was indecipherable half the time and was over-acting. I didn’t like this movie, so that doesn’t help. 

Mon: Am I right in saying that we were both rooting for Coman Domingo? 

Ron: Colman Domingo was my choice because Sing Sing was incredible on every level. But you know what, Sebastian Stan was ridiculously good as Trump in The Apprentice. He’s a great actor and I hope he’s recognized one day for another more deserving performance. 

Mon: Yeah, Stan is a really good actor. Contrary to popular opinion, just because someone’s in Marvel movies doesn’t mean they can’t act. Honestly, Brody plays the same kind of broken, tortured character in every role we’ve seen him in. I thought all the other performances were so much stronger.

Ron: Mikey Madison winning Best Actor was a surprise. I thought at least Demi Moore would win.

Mon: The Oscars tend to give it to young women actors in this category. That’s what it always seems like when I tune in, though I know a lot of stalwart actresses have got the prize. Madison isn’t bad in the role—she has to do a whole different accent than her regular one. But does the performance move the dial? Frankly, a lot of Best Actress performances don’t. 

Ron: Really thought it would be Demi Moore’s year. 

Mon: I honestly don’t think enough Academy members watched The Substance. 

Ron: I still can’t believe Pamela Anderson wasn’t nominated for The Last Showgirl. She was phenomenal even if the film itself didn’t work for me. She brought more to her character than the story did. But I would have nominated the entire cast of Piano Lesson. Danielle Deadwyler was extraordinary. John David Washington was equal parts driven and annoying. Everyone in that film was incredible.

Mon: Well, one of the best performances of last year didn’t even get nominated. There must have been a reason why The Fire Inside wasn’t selected. I mean, other than blatant racism. Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree Henry should have been amongst the nominees.

Best Picture

Ron: I didn’t have mixed feelings for most of this year’s Best Picture nominees; I had no feelings. Many of them I wouldn’t have cared to watch. But I was actually hoping for a shock win for Wicked. I had no interest in it at all but when we eventually watched it, the film won me over. Absolutely gorgeous visuals, a couple of songs you could bop to, believable chemistry between the actors. And the message about being true to yourself especially when you’re different. I loved it and celebrated the few wins they did get.

Mon: Personally, I was rooting for Nickel Boys. It was one of the more inventive directing efforts out there, with a heartfelt and heart-rending story at its core. 

Mon: Half the Best Picture nominees lacked a cohesive storyline. Like The Brutalist, Dune: Part Two, and A Complete Unknown. They felt a lot like a bunch of plot points thrown at the screen. But they got nominated. Weird choices. 

Ron: In the end, Anora won Best Picture. I didn’t watch it but it seems like an odd choice. It is an independent film so maybe we should be happy that a relatively small budget film won such a major award?

Mon: I’m all for indie films getting kudos. But this one? By the end of the night, we knew Anora was going to win. It had swept the other big categories it had been nominated in. I’m just… disappointed. That’s the word of the night. Like, I’m not seeing what’s so extraordinary about this film. Maybe I’m just being curmudgeonly. It was so irritating to watch! 

Ron: The scenes they showed during the Oscars made me cringe. I don’t think I could sit through the entire film. 

Mon: Oh, they were! And you know this just means we’re going to now get a stream of seemingly prestige movies about strippers and sex workers and they’re all going to be horrendous. I mean, this movie had the chance to push boundaries, but all of the dancers were conventionally sized and most of them were white. And now we’re going to be inundated with non-inclusive movies about an already exploitative industry. Remember Hustlers? That movie had a much stronger, important and universal story about women. That got so little love at the Oscars. Yet Anora wins. 

Ron: And you know those movies will never hire actual sex workers and give them a career. We’re unlikely to see diverse bodies and races in those films. 

Mon: So right. 

Final thoughts

Mon: I feel deflated after this Oscars. I know I shouldn’t, but after the promise of an inventive, creative film like Everything Everywhere All at Once winning a couple of years ago, it seems the Academy has gone back to its default of selecting and awarding relatively safe films in the major categories. By safe I mean the ones that appeal to old, white dudes. It’s just disheartening. What are these wins telling us? Yes. I’m aware an indie won big this year, but it wasn’t inclusive or body positive, so, really, I can’t get behind the Anora win at all. 

Ron: This wasn’t an exciting Oscars season for me. I wasn’t that invested in the films. The ones I fell in love with, like The Fire Inside, Piano Lesson, Sing Sing and Nickel Boys didn’t get the recognition they deserved. The Oscars still aren’t as diverse as they should be. With what’s happening in the US right now, I don’t even know what the next four years will look like for Hollywood.

Mon: That’s our Oscars 2025 round-up. We would have liked to get through all the categories but that would have been a much longer episode than we have time for.

Ron: And with that, we bid adieu to Season 5 of Stereo Geeks. We’re going to take a short break and be back in April with Season 6. See you then.

[mariailoveyou-guerin]

so #GoldenGlobe were today and let’s get into it how did wicket get box office over insideout2 let’s be fr it’s participation trophies bc some of these winners ain’t it and I’m like yall just giving to everyone there in most of these #GoldenGlobes2025 Demi over Cynthia be serious

but Adrian Brody now that’s a man that deserved it, he so talented youngest Oscar winner for a reason! Jolie losing (idk the winner so can’t speak on it) but Angelina losing Demi zoè winning okay 😂 sure #GoldenGlobes also Jessie losing but Stan winning it’s just popularity for

the moment like what’s happening only Jolie Adrian categories was given to deserved winners Emilia winning over a real pain? #GoldenGlobe see what I mean popularity contest in most categories! Cynthia was so robbed bc how did Demi win like Hollywood never stops being predictable

nickel boys robbed but it’s by a deserving movie so it’s fine unlike how wicket won over DW don’t even like the opinions much but it’s said box office it’s clear inside out 2 didn’t see it and know #GoldenGlobes2025 was gonna say mr mrs smith robbed but it’s by shogun so can’t speak

because I haven’t seen it yet and slow horses getting the recognition it deserves love to see it #GoldenGlobe Zoe winning over Felicity in acting category is the biggest joke the others like Ari she’s but F be so fr in acting woman cant even act she’s just like Z their token

they love to token a mixed girl who’s name starts with a Z, so I was right not seb being in 2 things alt why had to give for one of those performances #GoldenGlobes2025 makes sense they was just nominating anyone in that category Timothy Daniel seb 😂 ofc Adrian won easy by a

land slide because his only competition was Coleman/Ralph but their movies didn’t get as much attention/buzz I believe! #GoldenGlobe why is Emilie nominated for foreign but also other categories and winning in both? N 💰 so you telling me Kieran won over Denzel but Jessie didn’t

Over Seb and that’s how you know it’s joke because what? how did kieran in over Denzel unserious award show! At least I know he talented so not mad about but it’s just cuz of succession buzz from last year #GoldenGlobes2025 nothing more it’s so obvious bc over DW Edward Jeremy

A real pain getting snob but somehow Kieran the only time it wouldn’t be a snob wins? make it make sense? #GoldenGlobe challenge for score sure if u say so? when so many options love participation trophy show! I’m sorry but her hacks gone they only giving that show these awards

bc of the woman whom they all been watching for 50y and it was nice first 2 seasons but now it’s been idk I feel like 5y even ted the bear or Barry didn’t get that nor abbot succession ended that’s why it stopped winning but rest was fair #GoldenGlobe it’s not anymore at least

baby reindeer getting its deserved award #GoldenGlobe looking at the catogtied and it really was yt in everything especially male/female leads except the one category with our token Z girls! fact Eddie got nominated but Lashana didn’t really said 1-2 bw only + the token Z girls

how is lashana not nominated but Eddie was? both were amazing in that show guess they filled their quota for bw nominees but not yt people ones! said yall get 1 viola trophy and go #GoldenGlobe + Jake recognition yes + the insult to Colin like they did Denzel😂but at least he won

why was in same category with Ewan cooper? are they joking? just said popular shows/actors put them there! Lionel still getting robbed for his bear performances now it’s all of them not just him for once #GoldenGlobe my girl Liza Dekota did but he’s by mother Jessica so it’s fine

+ Jeremy didnt his category was easier to win at so not shocked also he deserved not just for this show but his performance as lip was so underrated and he never got the recognition he deserved for that so I’m glad he gets it #GoldenGlobes2025 Lionel will deserve it too them next

now why does every category except comedy look like this? and even then they just gave it to a yt bc of nostalgia most of these really are just that Zoe Demi Jodie Jean ect be make or female they really only gave viola one and said here be happy🥷 #GoldenGlobe #GoldenGlobes2025

[tequilaasquared]

I agree with ur analysis about the difficult decisions put b4 both wille and simon but for one thing? Why do you (and others) write Felice's development off so easily? We saw that she had been pushed and prodded into presenting herself a certain way and making herself available to wille bc of her mother. when she musters up the courage to make her own decision she clearly shows that she wants to be Wille friend. She makes a conscious effort to help and befriend wille (and Sara) she's no use

I’m not sure if there was a second part to this or not nonny but I agree with you!

I adore Felice and think she she has the best character development and progression on the show, not because she ‘becomes a better person’ or whatever, but because she learns to stop listening to her toxic mother and becomes her own person as you said. She’s obviously very popular, a people pleaser and protective of those who she believes are vulnerable i.e Sara and Wilhelm. When I mentioned her in my analysis it wasn’t to berate her - I think she definitely admires Wilhelm and would love to reach out to him and offer support. But in my opinion her infatuation with him, whilst probably partly attraction, originally stems from the fact that she knows a relationship with him would please her family. I could be remembering wrong, but it’s suggested that the family have everything in life but a title and she’s their lead in. Couple that with the fact that Wilhelm shows genuine kindness towards her during his short time at the school, and it’s obvious why she would fancy him. She doesn’t use him the way that others on the show do (so I didn’t mean to lob her into that category) , but it’s clear it’s almost exclusively his status and her family pressure that draws her to him. And whilst, by the end of the first season, we might see a potential friend in Felice for Wilhelm he still doesn’t. My desperate need for a second season does not solely revolve around Wille and Simon reuniting (though that wouldn’t hurt), but also to see a real friendship develop between Felice and Wille as their characters progress. They’re very opposites attract for me - Wilhelm is obviously incredibly shy and introverted whilst Felice is a social butterfly, Wilhelm finds it difficult to defend himself whilst Felice has learned to do this effortlessly etc. He obviously desperately needs someone like her to keep him from falling apart whilst at the same time she deserves a sweetheart like him for a friend. So yeah, give me more Felice!

[mshellbrat]

Hey guys! Here is the third installment of my “Here or There” verse. This is also my offering for @thebookjumper Olicity Hiatus Fic-A-Thon for the Prompt: Choose! I hope you enjoy and I would love to hear what you think. :-)

Summary:  What starts out as a marathon night with Thea, quickly turns into a truth session when the younger Queen refuses to play along with more of Ollie's lies. After brother and sister clear the air, Thea jumps on Team Oliver and helps big bro binge as much Buffy as he can stand. Oliver attempts to bridge the growing gap between himself and his favorite blonde genius.

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I own NOTHING!

Here goes...

“So....” Thea looked toward her brother with lifted brows, “why are we doing this again?”

Oliver stared back at her. “I wanted to spend some time with you. Is that not okay?”

His entirely too perceptive little sister snorted. “You wanted to spend some time with me watching,” she picked up the DVD set sitting between them on the couch in the casual family room of the mansion, “cult classic supernatural television?” Thea canted her head to the side. “That's what you're going with?”

Oliver kept his bland mask in place. It never worked with Thea, but other than the truth it was all he had. “I've heard it's a good show.”

“Did you hear that after or BEFORE the island?” Thea drawled. “Because this show both started and ended airing before you ever took that faithful trip.”

Oliver frowned. “Last week?”

Thea groaned and banged her head down on the back of the couch. “You are so HOPELESS! How are we even related?”

“Have you seen it?” Oliver asked.

“Yes,” Thea told him, “I have seen every episode of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', Oliver. It's a cult classic. It's like...a girl power right of passage!”

That didn't exactly sound appealing, but Oliver was determined to find some way to bridge this divide between himself and Felicity. If that meant sitting through some chick show, he could do it. He WOULD do it...because he wasn't about to sit back and let this Landon geek sweep his girl off her feet with 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' references. He needed to level the playing field.

Oliver painted on a big smile, shrugged, and stared down his stubborn sister. “Then you can explain what's going on to me.”

Thea turned her body on the couch to face him, crossed her arms over her chest, and lifted her brows. “Okay, Oliver, I will totally agree to play your guide to all things Buffy,” he started to relax and she shook her head, “IF, and only if, you cut the bullshit and tell me what's really going on and why you suddenly decided to catch up on an old television show when I know for a fact you haven't even seen 'The Avengers' yet.”

“Isn't that a comic book?” Oliver frowned.

“POINT MADE!” Thea jumped and pointed her finger at him.

Oliver straightened his mouth and tried to think of something to tell her. He didn't even fully understand himself what he was doing. He knew he wasn't ready to be...to admit how he felt about Felicity. He knew he couldn't give her what she deserved and that she would probably be better off without him. But he couldn't let her go. He had to fix this. He had to...to try. Maybe if he could show Felicity that he was trying then she wouldn't write him off completely. But how could he even start explaining that to Thea when she had no idea who Felicity really was to him? Hell, his sister had no idea who he even was anymore. She still thought he was that irresponsible asshole from before the island.

Thea glared at him. “Try the truth, Ollie. It's a new concept.” After waiting a long minute more, the brunette decided he was a lost cause. She climbed to her feet and looked down at him, but now her eyes were bitter and sad. “The choice is yours, Ollie, but I'm done playing games. I'm not about to let you pretend you want to spend time with me, when this is obviously just one more lie to add to the stack you've been feeding me for over a year now. This is just a waste of my time.” She turned to leave.

“THEA, wait!” Oliver stood up and started after her. He snagged her arm and turned her back toward him. “I'm not lying, okay? I do want to spend time with you.” He met her watery eyes and cursed himself once again for being a shit big brother. He tried to show her his sincerity. “I could watch this show by myself, but I didn't want to. I thought it was something you might enjoy...something we could do together.”

She eyed him doubtfully. “I did enjoy it...years ago.” She looked away. “Let's just say Buffy goes through a lot of crap and I could relate.”

His chest hurt just thinking about everything his baby sister had been forced to endure this early in her young life...and even worse knowing that there was still another shoe out there waiting to drop. Every time he thought about Merlyn and his MOTHER, about Thea and the secret that they were all keeping from her for her own good, it made him sick. No wonder Thea was so disgusted with all of them. No wonder she didn't trust them anymore. They didn't deserve her trust.

Well, Oliver decided, he could at least try to be honest about this. He took in a deep breath and blew it out. He closed his eyes. “There's this girl...”

Thea snorted. Her shoulders shook with laughter and she tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling. “Oh my god, Ollie! When ISN'T there a girl?” She smirked at him. “Is this about Sara?”

“NO!” Oliver forced. He shook his head, once again frustrated at himself for his own dumbass mistakes. “This isn't about Sara. There is no me and Sara. That's over. It never should've happened in the first place.”

Thea huffed. “This under the category marked 'duh'.” She tilted her head to the side. “How you ever thought that was going to work out well is beyond me. That relationship is guilt and pain and...yea more guilt and pain.”

“Thanks, Thea,” Oliver drawled. “I really needed to hear that right now. That's really helpful.”

Thea rolled her eyes. “So who is the girl this time?”

Oliver sighed and looked away from her stare. “I'd...rather not say.”

Thea studied his evasive expression. Oliver could practically see her running through options in that lightning-quick brain of hers. Then she blinked. “Oh my god, you are such a freaking cliché. It's the secretary, isn't it? You are chasing after your blonde bimbo secretary that mom hates!”

Oliver winced and bit back the wave of rage her description inspired. It wasn't Thea's fault. She didn't know Felicity. All she had was second-hand information and the opinion of their mother. He couldn't take out his frustration on his sister. He could, however, set her straight. “Felicity is a genius, Thea. An actual, graduated from M.I.T. at nineteen-years-old, smartest woman I have ever met, genius. She is NOT a bimbo. And she is only my executive assistant because I begged her to be. She's doing it as a favor to me.”

He turned away from his sister and carded his hands through his short hair. “Hearing you talk about her that way? I'm disappointed in you. You don't even know her.” He pinned her with his stare. “And I know for a fact that she's never been anything but nice to you. Because that's who Felicity is, Thea. Felicity is nice.” He took a step back toward her. “Felicity is beautiful, intelligent, thoughtful, and kind. She doesn't deserve your judgment or your scorn.”

Thea's eyes widened and she threw her hands up in the air. “Okay, okay...I get it. You like her and she's perfect and really really nice. I shouldn't have said anything against her. I'm sorry.” She paused and tilted her chin down and looked up at him through her lashes. “But you do have to admit that the circumstances are a little suspicious.”

“And that's my fault, Thea,” Oliver insisted, “not hers.” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “All of the rumors going around about Felicity, the way she's being treated and looked down on, that's all because of me. Because I'm a selfish bastard and I wanted her close to me. I didn't even think about how that would affect her.”

Thea blinked and frowned. “So...this has been going on for a while?”

Oliver blew out a long breath. “It's...” he ground his teeth, “I don't even really know when it started. She just...crept up on me.” He started pacing. “And now she's pulling away and I CAN'T lose her. She's...important.”

“So definitely before the whole Sara thing then,” Thea realized.

Oliver froze. He squeezed his eyes closed and looked down. “It's not like that, Thea. I didn't cheat on her. We weren't together.” But that wasn't the whole story and he knew it.

“Well thank god for small favors, because if she's as intelligent as you say she is, she's not putting up with that shit,” Thea said.

A laugh escaped Oliver's throat. “No, no, Felicity definitely will not put up with my shit, Thea. And that, among many other reasons, is why I can't even begin to deserve her.”

“Wow,” Thea stepped forward and slapped her hand against his back, “that's some hardcore brooding you've got going on there, brother dear. You must be really serious about this one.”

Oliver sighed. He turned and looked at her. “I want my friend back. I want my...my girl back. Even if I don't deserve her.”

Thea nodded. “And somehow this all comes back around to watching 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'?”

Oliver huffed a laugh. “She likes this stuff.” He reached down and picked up the DVD set. “All kinds of this stuff. She likes movies and television and games.”

Thea pursed her lips. “She's a geek?”

Oliver grinned. “Maybe, but she's a lot more than that.”

“But this is your way in, right?” Thea said. “You want to impress her with your vast geek knowledge?”

“She's talking to this guy,” Oliver admitted.

Thea laughed. “OH, oh, here we go!” She waved her hand eagerly at her brother. “Lay it on me.”

Oliver took in a deep breath and blew it out. “She met him on some internet dating site. He knows about this stuff and they're bonding over it.” He frowned and balled his hands into fists. “They have these debates about favorite superheroes and best vampire...or something.”

Thea kept laughing. “Well, that's actually Damon Salvatore, but if we're sticking to Buffy? Safe bet says Spike.” She grabbed the DVDs from Oliver and headed for the entertainment center. She flipped open the first case and popped out the disk.

“See!” Oliver pointed to Thea. “That's what I need! I need to know who that Spike person is. She likes him!”

“Of course she likes him,” Thea rolled her eyes, “he's Spike.” She plopped down on the couch and patted the seat across from her. “Now cop a squat, Ollie. I'm gonna teach you about the Buffyverse. I'll be your Yoda.”

Oliver sighed in relief and sat down beside his sister. He turned to look at her as she lifted the remote and booted the first disk. She held her free hand up in warning and cut her eyes his way. “And if the words 'who is Yoda' leave your mouth? I don't know you.”

Oliver threw his head back and laughed...a genuine laugh, a real laugh. A huge smile curled Thea's lips and as Oliver watched tears filled his sister's eyes. She dove forward across the distance between them and hugged him as hard as she could. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. Then he pulled her closer into the middle of the couch and maneuvered them until Thea leaning against him and they were both facing the television screen as the first episode started.

The next week...

“I just don't know, Sara,” Oliver heard Felicity talking as he made his way down the steps and into the foundry. “We have a lot of the same interests, but...”

“Don't you think you might be being a little too picky?” Sara asked. The blonde assassin was leaning up against Felicity's station. She threw Oliver a grin when she spotted him. “It was your first date, Felicity. You need to give the guy a real chance. He might have been nervous.”

Oliver glared at his ex. Sara had been overly supportive of this whole 'internet dating' thing. She was enjoying this a little too much.

“He told our waitress to scamper, Sara,” Felicity said, “like...scamper. Like she was a mouse!” The genius' blonde ponytail swayed to the side as she looked up at her friend. “It was rude. She was only doing her job. Also? I was afraid to eat anything after that because I don't like spit! And I do like food! This girl,” she waved down her appealingly curvy body encased in a tight bright blue dress, “likes to eat and I left hungry. I'm starving now and the boys will tell you that I DO get hangry.”

“I brought Big Belly,” Oliver spoke up as he walked over to join them. He held out a bag and drink to Felicity. “I got your usual.”

“Oh,” a wide smile curled Felicity's lips and her blue eyes sparkled up at him, “that was so sweet! Thank you, Oliver. You are my hero.” She turned and dug into the bag.

Oliver smiled smugly at Sara. The assassin stuck her tongue out at him. Then she looked back to Felicity. “But you did say he was hot, right?”

Felicity snorted. “Super hot...I mean like REALLY hot...like smoking hot (no pun intended).” She shook her head. “That man could start a heatwave in the middle of winter.”

Oliver frowned.

Sara snickered. “So, don't you think he's worth a second chance?”

Felicity chomped down on a fry and frowned as she considered it. “I'm not that shallow. I don't fall for men based strictly on their physical appearance.” She waved another fry at Sara. “There are a lot of ugly hot men in this world, Sara Lance. I appreciate a man's inner beauty. I mean the last guy I liked was Barry!” Seeming to realize what she'd just said, Felicity winced and hurried to explain. “Not that Barry's not hot! Barry's very very hot! I just meant that I can't go from witty and thoughtful and brilliant to...to scamper!”

Sara chuckled and Oliver swallowed his own laugh. Sara threw her hands in the air. “Okay, I said my piece. I just think you may be giving up too easily.” She threw Oliver a pointed look as she walked away.

“So,” Oliver cleared his throat and stepped closer to Felicity, “no more Landon?”

Felicity sucked on the straw of her milkshake unhappily, her shoulders slumped. “I guess not. It's kinda depressing, actually. I'm gonna have to start all over now.” She dug out another fry and popped it into her mouth. “And I was really looking forward to that Buffy marathon, too! We were going to write our favorite episodes on pieces of paper and draw them randomly out of a hat.” She looked up at Oliver and stuck out her lower lip. “It was my idea!”

Oliver took in a deep breath and blew it out. He leaned back against the desk beside her and shrugged. “Well, I could probably help you out with that.”

Felicity smiled up at him. “As sweet as that it, Oliver, I really don't think you can arrow someone just for being a jerk and ruining my fun.”

Oliver huffed a laugh and rolled his eyes. Didn't he wish he could go around arrowing every man that came near his girl. “No, I uh...I meant I could fill in as your marathon da...uh...marathon partner.”

Now Felicity's mouth dropped open. She stared up at him stunned. If her expression wasn't so damn cute, and if he wasn't so determined not to let this opportunity pass him by, Oliver would have made an excuse and hurried away to train with Sara and Digg. As it was, he waited anxiously for her reaction.

The blonde finally shook herself and spoke. “You...I mean, you don't have to do that, Oliver. I'm sure you have plans...or...something better to do?”

“I'll never have something better to do than spend time with you,” Oliver told her. He rushed on before she could react. “But I've only seen the first three seasons, so you can choose the episodes if that works for you.”

“You've only seen the first three seasons?” Felicity repeated. “You've...seen the first three seasons?”

“Yes,” Oliver nodded. “But I don't want you to miss out on any episodes you really want to watch.”

Felicity frowned at him again. Her forehead scrunched together in that way that he found so adorable. Then she narrowed her eyes and pointed her finger at him. “You cannot skip ahead and watch Buffy episodes out of order! There is a process, Oliver! Watching episodes all willy nilly will blunt the emotional impact and ruin your viewing experience!”

Now he frowned. “But you said...”

“I've seen them all before,” she poked him in the side with her finger, “multiple times! And I can't listen to 'Full of Grace' by Sarah McLachlan to this day without bursting into tears!”

“Okay,” he said. Was that a no on the marathon? He looked away and his stomach churned. He really wanted this. He wanted this time with her. He wanted a chance to...to try. He didn't know what he was supposed to do now.

Felicity heaved a loud sigh and shook her head. She turned back to face her station. “We'll just have to start at the beginning of the fourth season and go from there. It's a good one anyway. There's plenty of Spike, and yes we will have to endure Riley and the uber-boring that is Adam, but really 'Pangs', 'Something Blue', 'Hush'...these gems make everything else worthwhile.” She nodded and her ponytail flipped. “You have to take the bad with the good, Oliver. You can't just skip to dessert.”

What? Oliver paused and ran her words back through his mind. A smile curved his lips and he watched Felicity out of the corner of his eye. “So...this Friday then?”

Felicity nodded again and Oliver knew she was keeping herself carefully turned away from him. Her cheeks flushed pink. “It's a da...uh...it's a marathon! We'll work out the details later.” She motioned to where she could see Digg and Sara squaring off on the mats across the way. “You should go...do your thing. I need some personal time with my babies.”

Oliver smirked. “Okay, I'll go do my thing while you wrest information from your dread machines.”

He started to walk off to join his other partners. He heard Felicity groan loudly and bang her head down against her desk behind him. “He can not start quoting Buffy to me! That isn't fair!” Grinning ear to ear he kept walking.

Thanks for reading!

@thebookjumper @olicityhiatusficathon