besides - to add to this post - the only thing that felicity might be (might cause i dont know anything about computers) unrealistically (by real life expectations) too good at it ONLY her area of expertise as a superhero. tech stuff. computers, technology. the lady has been building things too since she was a kid, so it’s no surprise she could help with the Atom suit - even though it wasnt about code. things like that. it’s basically a genre thing, like you said. (and a sexism thing - blatantly so, like you said)
that said, demanding that felicity not be ‘perfect’ at everything willfully ignores the fact that as a character, she is actually a very human and very flawed character? that lady has real issues - issues that dictate her actions, help or hold back with her life, her relationships.
felicity will always be the one to look out for herself. she grew up that way; she doesn’t expect anyone to protect her, she will always protect herself - it’s her knee-jerk reaction. she will leave you before you have a chance to leave her, because in her mind, you will. until very very recently she thought there was something wrong with her and that she wouldn’t ever be loved - because of her dad couldn’t love her enough to stay, who would? if her mom couldn’t understand her enough to accept her the way she is without trying to change her , who would? (perception is not reality - donna does accept her wholly, but felicity didn’t realize that until very late)
and felicity - that part that makes felicity always seek confrontation and a resolved of a problem (’i have one more question’ in 2.23, the way she rushed at oliver when she found out he’d had that ring so long, the way she can’t keep chasing mysteries) - has it’s flip-side too: she will seek confrontation even when she intellectually understands that the other party might need space - like she did with that damned paternity test. even though oliver always gives her that space and she sometimes is wise enough to demand it (i need air). sometimes she cannot reciprocate.
felicity is compassionate but she also demands. god, i love it so much that she demands the best for herself. that she is willing to take care of people, but she will never stand for sacrificing herself to do it. even when it’s someone she loves, you know. even when maybe compromise between both parties might have solved their issues.
felicity doesn’t like compromise very much. she’s not so good at talking. she’s callous. she doesn’t care if you’re dead or alive, she will be irreverent if you’re an asshole, according to her moral standard.
she advocates for the preservation of life, but she won’t give a fuck about murder if it will save teh people she loves. that’s not hypocrisy though - that’s a deep willingness to get her hands dirty and a slightly crooked understanding of the worth of human life. to felicity, if you cross certain lines you are utterly and unremorsefully expendable.
felicity gets real fucking mean when she’s hurting and she will go for below the belt because felicity has a vindictive streak, i think. one that battles with her empathy and compassion but that wins out the more she’s hurting.
felicity will refuse to settle, for anything and anyone. even when it would do her some good to stop and FEEL for a bit, think for a bit, not react to her triggers immediately, before bolting. my bb felicity has such troubles with just letting people love her, but she needs such love in her life, she’s starved for it and that contradiction is so beautiful. felicity buries things, she has issues that go back years because she never spoke about them to a soul. felicity has WILD self esteem issues (those pokes about oliver sleeping around with all the gorgeous women weren’t there just to be funny or make oliver look like a man whore. they had nothing to do with oliver at all.)
felicity is SO PRIVATE, so stubbornly independent, so scared of actually having someone in her life she can trust - that she will see a forest-fire even when there’s only a spark.
oliver is not the only one who’s afraid, who has emotional trapdoors in his mind and stairwells that lead to nothing. diggle is not the only one who has rigid lines of thinking. sara is not the only one that is awash in grey. (lmao, sara is so different from felicity there, because sara is, in her heart, a such a powerful force for good and she wants so SO BADLY to be a hero. felicity isn’t so very concerned about that at all. she just wants to get the job done and keep her people safe)
felicity smoak is perfect, because she is so imperfect. she is human and a labyrinth. and no, arrow doesnt do such a consistent and good job of showing this, but it does the bare minimum .
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