#give me like a day and i can get the Essay w laurens input

[transgenderoliverritz]

something about the way that oliver sees himself as nothing. but his ability is everything.

the dichotomy between oliver and his ability needs to be studied (has been studied. by me. lauren shippen approved dissertation).

he's so much more vulnerable in tct because his ability is not really There. not the parts of it he likes. and that's why it's soooo easy for blackwell to get to him, yknow? he not only promises oliver a world where his ability IS the only thing that matters, a world where he can just be his ability and he'll thrive, but he also gives oliver some kind of reason to still latch onto the remaining pieces of his ability that are there in tct. and oliver is so desperate to feel that.

it's why he chases the opportunity to build the artifact in episode 4 and why he can't make himself quit when it starts working. it's the first time he's made something in at least a year. and without that, it's not just his ability that's broken.

this is HALF coherent i just woke up. but oliver study ✨✨✨