Let's Talk About: DOllie

All non-DC watchers, this is a wall of shipping feels, so you can feel free to ignore.
All DC watchers, this is a wall of shipping feels, so you can also feel free to ignore.

In the event anyone who made any of the GIFs used sees this journal, please let me know so I can properly credit you for the use of the GIFfiles?

To be honest with you, this post/journal has been a long time coming. I knew that one day I would eventually get around to creating a post specifically for this, the original OTP of OTPs.
Now, I have quite a few OTPs as it is, and more than a few thoughts on most of them.

But when it comes to an OTP of OTPs, that I'm a bit more picky about.
And DOllie was my original OTP of OTPs, and in many ways, it still is.

DOllie: A Brief Introduction and Overview

Now, even most casual DC Comics fans are aware of this ship. It's been around for so long it's really kind of hard to overlook or ignore. Whether your flavor of shipping name is "CanArrow" or my personal preference, "DOllie", the pairing is that of Black CanaryxGreen Arrow, otherwise known as Dinah and Ollie, simply put.



There have been a great many pairings between superheroes throughout the years that DC Comics has been around. Sometimes it has been superheroes with civilians (like Superman and Lois Lane), sometimes it has been superheroes with antagonists (like Batman and Catwoman), and sometimes it is superheroes with other superheroes... like Green Arrow and Black Canary.
Interestingly enough, in many ways (despite the various writers who come up with some very OOC stories and other stupid crap that DC throws out to anger its fanbase,) DOllie seems to be the most balanced, well-written and stable of all of the relationships that the characters in the Justice League are known for. And this is one of the many reasons that I love this pairing. But before we get more in-depth about the ship itself, let's take a look at the two characters involved.

Dinah Laurel Lance, the Black Canary



Also at times referred to as "the sonic siren", Dinah Lance is a wonderful female character.  A Metahuman who has inherited her superhero identity and ultrasonic scream (called The Canary Cry) from her mother, the first Black Canary, Dinah is a strong, confident woman who can throw down with the best of them and makes even the guys think twice about sparring with her. Sure she's no Wonder Woman or Power Girl; she doesn't have super-strength. But having trained with Ted Grant, aka Wildcat, her mother's old friend from the JSA, Dinah is nearly matchless at hand-to-hand combat and a very clever opponent.
But she's more than just a strong superheroine. Dinah's also a patient, compassionate, and utterly loving person. She's extremely open-minded and empathetic to others around her, no matter what their life circumstances, and she tends to be both very loyal and fiercely protective of those who earn a place in her heart. She can of course, be pushed to even her limits, but the fact remains that she's a very caring, big-hearted person who takes what life throws at her in stride without faltering.
Oh, and the ultrasonic scream is pretty damn cool.

Oliver Jonas Queen, the Green Arrow



Often also referred to as the Emerald Archer, Oliver Queen was a spoiled, egotistical, jet-setting rich child until he was shipwrecked on an island, where he was forced to learn to survive. Years later, Oliver has become a self-styled freedom fighter whose motif resembles Robin Hood with more mind-boggling trick arrows than you can shake a quiver at. A fierce archer with a penchant for fighting dirty, Oliver is still a very flawed person in spite of his transformation. His flaws actually almost outweigh his virtues (certainly he has a great number of them) and Ollie will actually admit to and own up to his own shortcomings and failures, stating that the reason he has no set "Rogues Gallery" is because he himself is his own greatest enemy.
And yet in spite of his sins, Oliver is still a great many other things, positive things too. He is a very liberal individual, believing that the well-being of the common man is more important than most people (including his peers in the Justice League) stop to consider. Embracing the "Robin Hood" attitude, Ollie fights for the people and is very compassionate and people-oriented. He won't let others get away with sweeping their own shortcomings under the rug, but he tends to be far less judgmental of others' actions because he himself acknowledges he's not perfect. He also, in spite of his tendency to often become self-absorbed, can be stupidly loyal to those he truly loves and considers his family, going so far as to end up half-dead in attempts to save them.

DOllie: An In-Depth Look



Let's be real here; when you look over them as characters overall, one might wonder how these two ever ended up together.  They're definitely largely different in some ways, particularly in how they tend to interact with other people. Dinah comes across as an angel in fishnets and a biker jacket, whereas Ollie is, well... he's Ollie.



And yet the more deep you look into their relationship, the more you'll start to realize just how it is their dynamic tends to work.
For one thing, they're not at all the conventional couple. Society has set up for decades an expectation that in a relationship, it's the man who is the strong one, the man who protects the woman and defends her honor, and the man who is the one driving the motorcycle while the woman rides in the back. And while we are more recently coming to shatter this expectation of roles since the turning of the millennial, Dinah and Ollie have been breaking this "couples mold" for years.
Dinah, we come to realize, is not only physically stronger than Ollie, she's also the better fighter. Heck, she can practically bench-press him if she really wanted to. Plus, she's the one who owns and drives the bike while Ollie sits in the back.  




And the best part about this is the fact that not only is Oliver okay with this whereas most men might feel emasculated, he actually prefers and embraces the fact that his "pretty bird" is the stronger one in this relationship. Dinah of course is more than okay with Ollie being open-minded rather than shirking from her like most guys would. And to her credit, she does allow Oliver to have moments where he attempts to be a chivalrous boyfriend, because he IS a hopeless romantic when he's in love.
I couldn't find the scans from the tumblr post, but there was one post of scans from a comic where Green Arrow and Black Canary are in a bar, discussing something they're working on, and a bunch of leery-looking drunks come over and hit on Black Canary. Green Arrow attempts to step in, saying the lady is spoken for, and asks them to kindly leave. The drunks mock him, ask Black Canary why she isn't with a real man, and then she promptly wipes the floor with them. After she finishes delivering a can of butt-whoop, she turns back to Green Arrow, and we learn that she often will allow him the chance to feel like he's being a good boyfriend by trying to defend her honor... even though more or less, SHE ends up defending HIS.  



Not to mention, there have been times where even Dinah has pointed out in-story that while others look on their relationship and may consider it shallow, the truth is that the two of them sort of unconsciously give one another what they need in a relationship: patience, support, understanding, love and passion, and at times when they need it, their independence and space, as well as empathy and compassion.

And it goes beyond that as well. Dinah has seen all of the ugliness in Oliver's soul bared openly. She has seen his flaws, his shortcomings, all of it brought to light and laid open before her... and she loves him regardless of it all, even when at times his actions might hurt her.
Oliver in turn constantly strives to be better than he is, to overcome his own weaknesses, BECAUSE of Dinah. He himself has often stated she deserves better than him, and that it amazes him that she would continue to love and stay with him when his sins number pretty high.



And ultimately in the end, that seems to be what it boils down to. Apart from the open communication and the well-oiled dynamic the two create together, Dinah loves Ollie unconditionally, because she knows that he's not perfect but that he is still a good man underneath it all. And she winds up bringing out all the best in Ollie all at once, just by being with him, and also inspiring him to be better than he already is.



And in a way, isn't that what many people in relationships should strive for? To find someone who sees all of you, flaws and virtues alike, and doesn't love you any less for your imperfections? And should we all not also find the person who we love so deeply and selflessly that they constantly inspire us to improve as people?

TLDR: I HAVE A LOT OF FEELS FOR THIS OTP, OKAY?

And now that I've given you some food for thought, I'm going to leave you with perhaps one of my favorite pieces of cover art ever with these two, because it's hilarious, cute, and sort of accurately sums up just about everything I've stated about them here.