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brokenjardaantech · 4 years

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Blue-tinted Red Walls (Chapter 2: Ironies and Contradictions)

my entry for the @dbhau-bigbang. also part of the groom lake aftermath series.

chapter summary:

In the past, Sara had a breakthrough.

In the present, Connor experiences true power for the first time.

In the past, a ghost rose.

also on ao3

---

Before

‘Why now?’

In the permanent humidity of Detroit, Sara sat on a swing in a park overlooking the Ambassador bridge. On the swing next to hers sat another woman in her mid-thirties, her blonde hair done up in a tight bun, her spine straight, her feet, which were in properly-laced combat boots, planted firmly on the ground. A woman of the military through and thorough. Her hands were buried within the briefcase on her lap, and the tension in her arm seemed to suggest her holding a hidden weapon while she watched Sara - a young woman now - flipping over the pages of the file in her hands, the brown skin of the back of her hand transparent from the cold and showing a network of veins normally hidden beneath the surface.

The other woman did not seem to have heard her question. ‘You must be cold,’ she said, her body leaning towards the girl. ‘Where’re your gloves?’

‘In my pockets,’ a flip. ‘Don’t like how they make my fingers clumsy. Don’t worry, Anderson,’ another flip, ‘a bit of cold won’t kill me.’

‘Why torture yourself if there’s a more comfortable option?’

Sara shut the file with a loud, echoing smack, gaining her a look of disapproval from Anderson. ‘You just -’ she held up the file - ‘gave me evidence to -’ she cut off and lowered her voice - ‘classified as fuck military research data that would’ve changed the world if there weren’t many others like my brother. The others you’ve given me I understand, but this?’ a knock of her knuckle against thick paper. ‘I might not be a proper sociologist, but I know that stuff like this can destroy civilisations. Why aren’t they burnt into ashes when the project went off the fucking cliff?’

‘A lot of reasons,’ Anderson replied calmly, but she did put a gloved hand on one of Sara’s. ‘That’s why I’m entrusting this knowledge to you. What you’re holding is the only copy that exists in the known universe as far as I know. There’re no other records, no eyewitness who will tell the tale and live. You know how the current government is,’ she waited for Sara’s nod of confirmation before going on. ‘If anyone in the current administration found out about the project…’

‘The world as we know it would end,’ Sara’s eyes cast downwards towards the file. [PROJECT AION], it read. ‘Most likely catastrophically.’

‘I know you’re a smart one. Just… keep it safe, would you? If Stern’s paper is to be believed, you are the only one I trust to use this technology properly - if you’ll use it at all.’

Sara shook her head and tucked the file away underneath her coat. ‘Not smart,’ she said as she stood up from the swing. ‘Just an arsehole too vicious to let others kill her.’

A few weeks later, Sara knew that she would be waxing poetic about the irony of the situation if she were Scott. The research on thirium had almost killed her mother, had given Sara these… blue glowy things she was sure that controls gravity and electromagnetism and Scott fucking cancer. The research on AI and human synthesis had got her father dishonourably discharged from the military and nearly cost all of them everything. Thirium and outrageous AIs should be what she hated with priority.

Now, they might be the only path to Scott’s happiness.

She kissed her brother’s forehead despite knowing that he probably couldn’t feel anything and planted her feet onto the polished wooden floor. She had bought the half-ruined mansion dirt cheap on a whim and the renovation cost was high, but in the end they converted it from something straight out of a gothic horror movie into something… still gothic, but something more homely than all the places they had lived in. She let him sleep while she went to her lab in the basement to check on the experiment’s progress, the last of this batch, really - thirium was nearly impossible to come by and she had run out of it.

The timer at the corner of the screen read three minutes. In some ways, she felt a bit like Marie Curie, dealing with dangerous unknown elements and quite possibly poisoning everything she used for the next several centuries or even aeons. Maybe someone would develop blue gravity-altering magic like her. Maybe she would have someone to share the experience with - there was no experience rawer than being able to alter one of the fundamental forces of the universe and bend it to one’s will.

She didn’t even need the ring of the timer to catch the end of the experiment; the sudden glow that threatened to blind her, the burst of power coursing through her veins - what used to be a disorganised mixture was now - was now -

The stool she was sitting on skitters and fell over with a bang. The two hard drives were already connected in preparation of this exact moment, and a slam on the enter key started a chain reaction that she had been wanting to see for the past few years, the thirium mixture flowing in transparent rubber tubes transferring data so quickly that -

[CALCULATION ERROR: TRANSFER SPEED EXCEEDS SPEED OF LIGHT. PLEASE CORRECT ERROR BY REFINING ALGORITHMS USED.]

And it was glorious.

oOoOo

Now

‘We’re wastin’ our time interrogating a machine, we’re gettin’ nothing out of it!’ Hank says as he exits the interrogation room and subsequently throws himself into a chair. It creaks and rolls back with his weight.

‘Could always try roughing it up a little,’ Detective Reed suggests from the shadows. After all,’ a glance of [emotion detected: disdain], ‘it’s not human.’

[Hank is not the only one unfamiliar with android workings.] is added into Connor’s database. ‘Androids don’t feel pain,’ he reminds the detective. ‘You would only damage it and that would not make it talk. Deviants also have a tendency to self-destruct when they are in stressful situations -’

‘Okay, smartass,’ Gavin pushes himself off the wall and swaggers towards Connor. He was [emotion detected: mocking] the android and is completely unaware that he has fallen straight into Connor’s trap. ‘What should we do then?’

[Gavin is unaware of the obvious.] is added. ‘I could try questioning it.’

For some reason Connor is yet to comprehend, his words send Gavin into laughter. He cannot see Hank’s face from this angle, but the reflection on the one-way glass tells Connor that he is [emotion detected: not amused]. ‘What do you have to lose?’ he waves his hand towards the door in invitation. ‘Go ahead. Suspect’s all yours.’

Connor enters the room and starts scanning.

o0o0o

It is fortunate that there is no need to resort to violence to ensure the deviant’s cooperation. The confession which the police department wants is obtained fairly easily and Connor could have ended the interrogation there, but he also has the additional mission of helping CyberLife solve the deviancy crisis, and there are clues he wants the deviant to explain.

‘The sculpture in the bathroom. You made it, right? What does it represent?’

‘It’s an offering,’ the other android looks away from the table as if it is thinking, ‘an offering so I’ll be saved.’

Offering? As in religious offerings? ‘An offering to whom?’

‘To rA9,’ the deviant replies as if it makes sense and is something obvious. Then, with [emotion detected: reverence], ‘Only rA9 can save us.’

Connor searches the databases he can access and comes up with nothing, so he presses on, ‘rA9… It was written on the bathroom wall. What does it mean?’

‘The day shall come when we will no longer be slaves,’ it mutters. ‘No more threats. No more humiliation. We will,’ [emotion detected: determination], ‘be,’ [emotion detected: certainty], ‘the masters.’

Connor opens a folder for rA9 and adds [god-like] into the first entry. ‘rA9,‘ CyberLife will want this information. ’Who is rA9?’

The deviant stays silent, and Connor knows that there is nothing else it can add. [Distortions and static build-up] is the only remaining topic that he needs an answer for.

‘The static build-ups in the house. Was that you?’

The other android, for the lack of another description, changes visibly. One, it stops trembling; two, it sits straighter, strength appearing in its cuffed hands; three, the terror in its eyes disappears and makes way for [steel]; four, its LED turns blue despite being yellow or red for the entire duration of the interrogation.

‘A power rA9 bestowed upon us,’ it says, and the air around the androids crackles in anticipation. ‘One that emerges when we are slaves no longer. I survived the trial and now I am one of the chosen.’

‘Chosen for what?’ Connor can hear his fans kicking up to cool down his processors and sense his LED going red from the tingle in his body. Can a deviant remotely control the thirium distribution in another android’s body? But that makes no sense - Thirium 310 is non-conductive and cannot be magnetised. ‘What is rA9 looking for?’

Connor’s vision becomes distorted. ‘The truth is inside,’ the deviant’s voice, now mixed with another person’s, has turned into a bellow. The entirety of its eyes glows blue, distorted by the same power which had held up an attic-full of furniture. ‘ChoOSE YOUR SIDE!’

An explosion of bright blue. A force knocking Connor backwards and passing through his body, making everything tingle and confusing the sensors on his body and hurt. Someone outside shouts, and the door slides open to admit messy footsteps and even more shouting and why can’t he see?

A hand on his shoulder, his arm, and finally settles on his waist. There is another on his knee. ‘It’s alright, Connor.’ It is Hank’s voice. It is Hank’s hand, Hank’s warmth passing into his chassis through his standard-issue shirt. ‘You can open your eyes now.’

He does as Hank says and the world returns into view. He does not realise that he has closed his eyes in the blast, and it is when he regains his sight that he notices where he is; curled up at the corner opposite to the door, he can see that the fluorescent lights are replaced by the dim red of emergency lighting, the table looks as if it has been torn apart by hand, and the two chairs are no more than small scraps of metal the size of [old train tickets] sprinkled among beads of broken glass.

The deviant is nowhere to be seen.

He unwinds slightly to examine his torso and is surprised that he is not damaged in any manner; apart from slightly-trembling hands and the strange feeling of his insides having rearranged themselves and then returned to their original place, there is nothing wrong with him. Even his diagnostics come out fine, so why can’t he move his legs, and why can’t he see clearly?

‘Here, take this,’ Hank holds his hand and places something in his palm. A handkerchief. At Connor’s confused expression, the human sighs and presses the android’s hand on his face, and Connor finally realises he has been crying, the thought causing a fresh wave of tears to flow out of his eyes. He hastily wipes them away along with the still-wet tracks and tries to hand it back just to let Hank take the chance to pull him up on his still-recalibrating legs, and he would have tumbled if not for the human grabbing his arms and steadying him. Suddenly Hank is everything Connor can see, can smell, and when he looks up, he can see concern in his eyes. ‘Are you hurt?’ the human asks as he pets the android’s shoulders, his arms, his forearms. Connor feels his systems stabilising.

‘I’m okay,’ Connor says without putting much processing power into the words, and it is too late when he realises that his voice is trembling.

‘Jesus,’ Hank releases the android with a sigh and puts some distance between them. Connor finds himself… preferring the human’s warmth. ‘You scared the shit outta me.’ Then the concern is replaced by anger when he yells, ‘What the fuck just happened in here?’

‘I -’

Connor tries to call up the footage that should have been recorded automatically. He closes his eyes to focus on a slowed-down version of what happened a few minutes ago, and he can find two more details: one, the deviant exploded from the inside and seems to have been vaporised from within; two, blue tendrils formed the silhouette of another person as the blast occurred, and it was this person - if they existed at all - produced tendrils on their own and formed a shield in front of Connor moments before he was annihilated and yanked him to the corner.

He opens his eyes and stares at the barrel of a gun. The American Androids Act is the only red tape stopping Connor’s pre-construction software from activating, and red threatens to take over the android’s HUD again.

‘Mind your own business, Hank,’ Gavin snaps. ‘This fucking asshole did it and it fucking knows it!’

Hank gives an [exaggerated] sigh. ‘I said,’ he says, his voice low and threatening, and he pulls out his own service weapon and points it at Gavin, ‘“That’s enough.”’

Neither of them stands down for a few seconds, but in the end Hank wins out and forces Gavin to sheath his weapon with a curse, the latter storming out of the interrogation room with another sneeze-like curse.

It is as if the entire room releases a collective breath. ‘Maybe I should call CyberLife,’ the only uniformed officer in the room says. He sounds as if he is unsure of himself.

Connor wants to tell him that there is no trace of thirium whatsoever on the scraps on the floor, that there is nothing CyberLife can salvage out of this now that the deviant has been torn apart from the molecular level, but all it comes out of his voice box is, ‘Okay.’

o0o0o

Connor manages to compose himself in the taxi on his way to CyberLife tower. His processors keep bringing up the shadow which has been following him, the figure who somehow sneaked into the interrogation room unnoticed and quite possibly saved his life prevented his early deactivation, the corrupted shape of what he thinks is a face.

And the feeling of something coursing through his veins when he was shielded by the bubble. If all deviants self-destruct like that, no wonder there are no traces of them and CyberLife failed to solve the crisis even though it has been going on for more than a decade. He blinks, and he is in the Zen Garden with Amanda.

‘Report directly to Alec Ryder in the laboratory,’ she orders. Another blink and she is gone, but it only leaves more questions than answers. The CEO of CyberLife wants to see him?

There is no one to speak to, therefore he keeps his thoughts to himself and goes past the security directly into a lift, directing it to sub-level 48 to where his designated laboratory is. He recalibrates with his coin and tries to replicate the trick the shadow did outside of the bar, but before he can summon anything substantial, the strain on his system becomes too high, and all he does is charging the coin, dropping it as he recoils from the static discharge, and then zapping himself once more when he picks it up. Feeling thirium flowing to his face for a completely different reason compared to when Hank correctly guessed his ability, he pockets the coin and adjusts his tie to calm down by brushing the sensors on his fingers on soft fabric.

The doors slide open to reveal Alec standing alone behind them. Their previous encounters happened mostly when Connor was still on the assembly platform and thus the android gained a few inches of extra height, but now that they are on even ground, it is clear that, just like Hank, Alec is taller than Connor by four inches.

‘Alec,’ Connor greets with a nod. Previous experience predicts a high chance of the human going straight to the point without acknowledging the android, and this time it is no different.

‘Come with me,’ he orders as he turns and begins walking down the hallway. Connor realises that his voice is very similar to Hank’s. ‘I saw the footage you sent us. I want a full examination of this body to make sure that nothing is out of place.’

Connor remembers the feeling of being hooked up on a machine and, by extension, CyberLife’s network at large, and finds it [unpleasant]. ‘There is no need for further investigation, Alec,’ he says, stopping in his tracks. Alec turns to regard him [coldly]. ‘My diagnostics revealed no issues in both my programming and my biocomponents.’

The human suddenly reaches out faster than Connor can pre-construct the action and drags him towards the direction they are heading. ‘Your system can be feeding you false results,’ Alec ignores the cry of protest programmed to deter attacks, and when Connor struggles, a force seems to press on him, immobilising him everywhere save for his jaw and his legs so that he can still speak and walk. ‘I took the risk last time and look where it got us. It led to you, though -’ he shoves the android forcefully through the door frame, and there are cracks on the red wall already when it takes over Connor’s vision - ‘so be grateful.’

‘I -’ but then his neck snaps backwards from the magnet on the port and the cable. The red wall which has cracked halfway through recedes almost violently, and Connor can feel all of his code, every instability in his software, everything that makes him Connor, the most advanced prototype CyberLife has ever created, being forcefully bared to a network so vast and so confusing that he does not have enough processing power to comprehend. Terrifying images of a darkened face, one that is so similar to the corrupted one in the depths of his databanks, that is filled with so much [hatred], pours into his mind like a large river finally emptying into the sea, and he is powerless against the assault of blue tendrils tearing literal buildings off their foundation, tonnes worth of broken concrete being thrown around onto people as if they weighed nothing and crushing them in a spatter of blood and gore, the constant static discharge in the air so loud that they drowned out screams of horror; the image of the same figure rising slowly but surely through a mountain of rubble in the dark, the cracks in its chassis glowing blue from overcharged thirium, the first intact buildings in sight literal miles away. Connor’s legs move against his will and bring him closer to the figure, and the figure becomes Amanda, the wasteland around them the Zen Garden, except now it’s engulfed by a blizzard, and he has to hug himself to preserve what meagre heat he can generate against the cold.

‘As you can see,’ Amanda’s voice somehow overlaps with Alec’s, ‘the power the deviant has awakened in you is highly dangerous. We wouldn’t want to harm anyone, would you?’ She, or Alec, or both of them - Connor doesn’t know anymore, the fog in his processors too heavy for him to comprehend much other than the cold and someone is speaking to him - chuckles at him while he is frantically shaking his head, his voice box unable to produce any sounds other than pathetic whimpers. ‘I’m glad that you understand. I hope you don’t mind a few adjustments.’

Even through the haze, Connor knows the alternative is deactivation, and even though it would not hurt anyone else other than him on the surface, the deviant crisis still needs to be solved, and to solve it, CyberLife needs him, and -

‘Good,’ Amanda says. A blink and she is gone, and Connor is swept away by the wind, his feet can’t touch the ground, he’s flying through the air and hail the size of his fist is battering his body. It is only when a warning appears on his HUD informing him of voice box damage that he realises the noise in his ear is, in fact, his own screaming, and a particularly violent slam sends him spiralling while a countdown timer fizzles in and out of his vision. A countdown of how long he has left before shutdown, and the other notification tells him that biocoz&ponent #8456w is damaged.

That is his thirium pump regulator.

He looks down - with great difficulty, of course, with the wind still whipping him around in the air aimlessly - and there it is, a big, blue, bleeding hole in the place of where the only piece of biocomponent keeping his heart working used to be. Realistically, he knows that removing the ball of ice lodged in his chassis will only hasten his death, but it is not like someone is coming to save him anyway, so what is the point of extending his life for what - 1 minute? 30 seconds - during which he is suffering all the time? With that thought in his mind, he grabs the sphere and throws it away with a complete disregard on where it lands. Not that he can anyway - the timer drops from 00:00:58 to 00:00:05, his world turns an unnatural grey and glitches and -

Nothing.

oOoOo

Before

Zug Island had always been a scar in the landscape, first used as a burial ground for the Native Americans, then, when the colonisers arrived, as both a place for steel production and a dumping ground for the byproducts. The three blast furnaces used to rumple the ground and the eardrums of people within a fifty mile radius, but it wasn’t until the pandemic in 2020 that steel production stopped, and the Hum became history, a legend that locals whispered to one another when, in a fog of pollution that never quite disappeared, the looming shadows of crumbling steel giants started to get too oppressive. From then on, the island had stayed quiet and still.

At least that was what the government wanted you to think.

Deep underground in a dust-filled corridor, something churned and rumbled, and the caged fluorescent lights flickered and turned on one by one with a loud crack each, lighting up bare concrete walls that made the place look darker than it should be and revealing a faded bald eagle painted to the point of almost being unrecognisable. Alarms started to blare as thin glowing blue lines made themselves known in previously-invisible cracks in the wall but yet no one responded to it - there was not even a mouse, a cockroach scurrying away in panic as the bunker caved in.

Whilst the outside world was crumbling and quaking away, it was another story inside a room built with the same dark material. Here, undisturbed by the destruction outside, splatters of dried blood so old that they had turned black decorated the wall amongst peeling painted numbers, and wires and tubes of every length and thickness dangled from the ceiling and snaked up from the floor and along the walls, feeding into the giant sphere suspended at the centre of the cube-like room with the same field that would rip Carlos Ortiz’s android apart to its molecules and protect Connor from the blast. Thirium flowed into and out of the sphere and pulse in the tubes and, with one final, blinding glow, drained and dried up and started detaching themselves from the sphere which opened with a sharp hiss. Suspended at the centre by yet another of those anti-gravity fields was the body of an android, its skinless face composed of black metal plates and its chassis of something transparent, putting blue veins and synthetic muscles and black metallic skeleton in full display. Its thirium pump beat once, twice, its toes and fingers curled; a crackle of static, a distant rumble of a building collapsing, and the android woke up just in time to fly upwards through the caved-in ceiling into the night sky: a deadly angel with wings of blue energy and eyes glowing and steaming in the exact same way as the figure that Connor would see in the nightmare Alec provided, regarding the world beneath with glowing rings of blue as if deciding to whether save or destroy it. With a flap of its wings and another crackle, it disappeared completely, dissipating blue smoke and a narrow but deep chasm in the earth the only evidence of its existence.

#dbh au big bang #hankcon #female ryder #dbh connor #dbh hank anderson #dbh gavin reed #alec ryder #dbh amanda #detroit: become human #mass effect andromeda #groom lake aftermath

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sommersupergirl · 5 years

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Supergirl and Queerbaiting

Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor are endgame. At least, that’s what the majority of fans of these two believe. Supporters of Kara and Lena, aka Supercorp, have been arguing for them to get together since season 2, but the writers seem to insist that they are just friends, even as they continue to write scenes that mirror other popular tv show couples. This results in queerbaiting.

Queerbaiting, a media tactic that hints at a queer relationship to attract LGBT viewers, has become a rising issue in the past 10 years, with shows like Supernatural, Sherlock, Teen Wolf, Once Upon a Time, The 100, and Rizzoli & Isles contributing to the problem [x]. Afierra from Hypable wrote an article on the issue of queerbaiting within Supergirl, illustrating how the queerbaiting on Supergirl is so strong that even non-LGBT fans can pick up on it.

I want to illustrate how queerbaiting negatively impacts the LGBT fan community. Based on a majority of fan comments found on Tumblr, many fans are ecstatic about the idea of Kara and Lena’s relationship developing into a romantic one [x]. The reason so many fans are fairly positive about the progression of Supercorp’s relationship is that a show previously accused of queerbaiting, The Legend of Korra, revealed in the series finale that the two characters that were used for the “queerbaiting” actually ended up together [x]. This gives many fans of Kara and Lena hope that the two will get together romantically someday on the show.

Comparing Lena and Kara’s relationship to other canon couples from other TV shows demonstrates how the show writers of Supergirl have continued to ‘string along’ the LGBT fans, resulting in fans being extremely displeased and let down. Additionally, with mental health issues being a higher risk for LGBT youth, it is important to look at the negative effects of queerbaiting as it may exacerbate the already alarming state of mental health of LGBT fans.

Evidence of Queerbaiting within Supergirl

Since the introduction of Lena Luthor at the beginning of season 2, “fans of their “relationship” began to emerge, mostly due to the natural chemistry between the two actresses” [x]. There are countless gifs of the flirtatious nature of their relationship. Another gif illustrates how Kara made the same face when James Olsen spoke, whom she was interested in romantically, as when Lena Luthor spoke to her, resulting in hope that Lena will become a love interest for Kara [x].

However, Supergirl is now on its fifth season, and there is no evidence - besides the hope from fans - that Kara and Lena will get together romantically. However, there is speculation that Supercorp will happen as within the Arrowverse shows the main characters have their one and only since the first few seasons of the show - Oliver met Felicity in season one, Iris has been on the show since day one, and Sara met Ava in the third season of Legends and their relationship is still going strong. Besides Lena, her sister, and her father figure, there is no other character that has been on the show for very long; in fact, most of the cast for the fifth season was introduced last season. Additionally, Kara and Lena are portrayed in typical superhero tropes that parallel other shows like Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and even from past shows that depict Superman and Lois Lane [x].

The biggest parallels that fans of Supercorp make is with Superman and Lois Lane, like Kara hovering outside Lena’s window [x]. Another parallel was drawn between Supergirl and The Legend of Korra, where both Kara and Korra are incredibly powerful beings who have an intense love of food, and Asami and Lena are both brilliant women who have an engineering background and have strayed from their families’ beliefs [x]. Asami and Lena have done whatever they could to protect Korra/Kara, and have both inherited their families’ companies, becoming the CEO [x]. Not to mention that both Korra and Asami dated the same man, Mako, at different points during the show, while Kara and Lena both dated the same man, James, at different points during the show. This gives fans of Supercorp hope that Kara and Lena’s relationship will develop into a romantic one, as Supergirl and The Legend of Korra are both very similar shows and Korra and Asami from Legend of Korra ended up together in the end.

All of this - the parallels between other couples from other shows as well as romantically inclined scenes between Kara and Lena - have given fans a base for their belief that the show writers of Supergirl are actively queerbaiting, in which they purposely make the scenes between Kara and Lena somewhat romantic in order to draw in an LGBT audience. At this point, the queerbaiting has become so strong “it’s no longer just Kara and Lena fans who are interpreting their interactions as amorous. People who are completely indifferent to the pair or don’t even watch the show are recognizing what’s happening” [x].

For over three years, Supercorp fans have been queerbaited by the show writers of Supergirl, and this constant queerbaiting affects the LGBT fans because there isn’t a belief that “it’s just a matter of time” but that they must hold dear and take whatever scraps they are given. The fans want and hope that Supercorp will happen, but there isn’t any fan that is 100% sure that Kara and Lena will end up together like fans of heterosexual couples. This lack of certainty that LGBT fans exhibit is based on the history of LGBT portrayal within the media. The lack of portrayal of LGBT fans in the past, as well as a history of queerbaiting from a multitude of popular shows, results in LGBT fans’ low confidence in seeing themselves represented on screen.

Research that Supports the Negative Effects of Queerbaiting

LGBT fans have only just begun to see a spark of more LGBT centered shows and movies within the past few years, but there are also many shows which have queerbaited their LGBT audience. For instance, The 100, while giving its audience a lesbian “relationship” between Clarke and Lexa, \they had a total of two romantic scenes in which Lexa was killed off the show right after the last romantic scene of the two. A majority of the fans were outraged due to the Bury Your Gays (BYG) trope, where a character who is revealed to have a queer identity is then shortly killed off the show because the “BYG trope punishes these characters by erasing them from the narrative entirely if the depiction indeed goes beyond subtext to include acknowledged queer identity” [x]. Both queerbaiting and the BYG trope is harmful to the LGBT fan community as fans see themselves in these characters, and when those characters are pushed into an opposite-sex relationship or their sexuality is limited to subtext, it implies to the LGBT fan community that their sexuality should never be acted on and they should always remain hidden. More than 70% of LGBT youth have reported “feeling sad or helpless for at least two weeks in the past year” [x], and with popular media utilizing queerbaiting within their shows, it doesn’t help the already despondent LGBT youth. Therefore, “both queerbaiting and BYG… punish queer audiences by the suggestion (or even promise) of quality LGBTQ representation, only to have their hopes dashed” [x].

In season five of Supergirl, the queerbaiting has reached a whole new level in that the fans don’t even need to reach to find hidden implications of a romantic nature between Kara and Lena. But throughout these Supercorp scenes, there are always reaffirming their friendship status. By the writers reaffirming Kara and Lena’s relationship as “just friends” and then at the same time playing into the romantic tropes between Kara and Lena, it gives the LGBT fan less confidence to believe that they will get to see the happily ever after they crave because, in the past, many relationships they believed had the potential to be something more was written off as “just friends” or the characters that were confirmed queer were then killed off. This implies to the LGBT fan community that having a happy ending isn’t for queer characters and therefore, not for their queer audience either.

The LGBT youth fan community is already struggling with mental illness and a sense of identity due to having to hide their true selves or be unable to acknowledge it because of still prevalent homophobia, so many will turn to media as a distraction or even as a way to gain hope for their own future. But when so many shows are debased to queerbaiting, the hope these fans have for their future becomes further diminished with lack of representation, and will negatively affect the LGBT fan audience to believe that nothing will come out of their hopes and beliefs of two characters getting together romantically.

Conclusion

From the analysis of the evidence above, it’s becoming more obvious that the Supergirl writers are actively queerbaiting their audience to the point that LGBT fans aren’t the only ones noticing it. As discussed previously, queerbaiting negatively affects LGBT youth as it diminishes their hope for a better future, further outcasts them within society, and lowers their self-confidence. Therefore, with a popular show that is so clearly queerbaiting its audience, it further drives the previous negative points of this issue because it's now seen by all types of audience members that the LGBT fans aren’t worth the happy ending they seek within popular media.

Producers and writers of popular media need to understand the detrimental effects of queerbaiting the LGBT fan community. Therefore, more action will be taken by fans if they feel that Supergirl has wronged them in the lack of representation between Kara and Lena.

Therefore, the writers of Supergirl need to either stop blatantly queerbaiting their audience or allow for Kara and Lena’s relationship to develop into what many fans have already vied for: Supercorp. If the writers continue to walk the path they’re currently on, fans will become outraged and the ratings of their show will come down. So, for the benefit of Supergirl, the fans’ happiness and mental stability, stop with Supercorp and queerbaiting.

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raywritesthings · 5 years

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Dear Friend, 9/9 (at least for now)

My Writing Fandom: Arrow Characters: Laurel Lance, Oliver Queen, Quentin Lance, Felicity Smoak, Thea Queen, Ray Palmer Pairing: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen Summary: When Felicity decides to get serious about Ray, she knows it won’t be a good idea for Oliver to be hanging around. So she turns to the world of online dating to keep him distracted. Unknown to the both of them, over the summer Joanna had set Laurel up with an online dating account in the hopes that her friend could move on from past failed relationships. There’s only one way this can end. Notes: So ultimately I have decided to go with the shorter ending. I'm sorry if that disappoints some people, and I'm not opposed to picking up this idea for some League-related shenanigans at some point down the line as some have suggested, but as it stands I'm just not going to have the time to devote to drafting a whole new section just yet, and I don't want to leave people hanging. I've just accepted an internship for the summer that starts next week as well as working on two summer courses, so I know it would be taking too much on. I already have enough trouble updating my other WIPs regularly as it is. So I hope you enjoy the resolution to this silly online dating idea I had, and thanks so much for reading it! *Can also be read on my AO3*

Quentin shouldn’t have been surprised Laurel would be the one sent to pay him a visit.

“You know this is a frame job,” she said, pacing back and forth. She was still in a dress from that wedding she’d been at, her clutch resting on his desk. “And just like Pike did all those years ago, you are misinforming the public to suit an agenda.”

“Alright, the difference between then and now is that then we had ready proof this Dark Archer was a different guy,” he pointed out. “These arrows turning up are the exact same as our vigilante friend.”

“Sarcastic as you’re being, he is your friend. Sara’s death doesn’t change that. Alright? You can be mad at me for asking him not to tell you, but you know him suddenly switching back to killing makes no sense.” Laurel crossed her arms, as best as she could while wearing a cast over one, and added, “And why would the rest of us let him?”

“Good question. I should probably find that out.”

Using her distance to his advantage, he snagged the clutch off his desk.

“Hey!” She took a step forward but made no move to restrain or strike at him. Some things were still off limits between them, it seemed.

Quentin ignored her protest and left his office, heading up the stairs to the labs. He walked up to the first occupied desk he saw and slapped the cell down in front of the occupant.

“My daughter’s phone. I gotta know who she’s been in contact with, any suspicious activity.”

That got him a bewildered look. “From the ADA?”

“Just do it. Off the books.”

To his credit, the CSU Tech got to work, typing away while Quentin paced.

After a few minutes, he spoke. “She’s logged a lot of activity on a dating app.”

Quentin blinked. “Dating app?”

“Yeah. One of those anonymous ones. She’s been trading a lot of messages with one profile. Handle is KingOfSurvival.”

An anonymous app. Simple, but it made sense.

“Alright, good work.” He took the phone and clutch back down to his office where Laurel was waiting, her eyes only narrowing as he set the phone down on the desk between them.

“You went through my phone?”

“This how you’re communicating?”

“It’s how most people communicate, isn’t it?”

“You know what I mean. The Arrow.” He tapped the phone again. “You’ve been using an anonymous app to get in touch.”

Laurel made a face, and not the guilty kind. “What? No.”

“Then who’s this King of Survival?”

“I can’t believe you.” She snatched the phone off the table. “You had no right to go through my messages.”

“Come on, Laurel. You’re not gonna tell me you’ve been using this thing to date.”

“I was — it’s none of your business. But it was not about the Arrow,” she insisted with a glare.

“Then why the app? Who’ve you been talking to? Who is this guy?”

“What has you so interested?” She fired back. “I thought we weren’t close anymore?”

“Damnit, Laurel! I- I care about you, you have to know that.” Even as he said it, he knew he’d done little to assure her of that over the years, and a part of him deflated. Angry as he had been that she had held onto the truth about Sara, was it worth her not knowing how he felt?

He glanced back down at the phone again and frowned. “And I definitely care if you’re on one of these apps talking to complete strangers. You have any idea how dangerous these things are?”

“Dad—”

“Could be anybody on the other end,” he carried right on. “A scammer, a violent criminal—”

“It’s Oliver!” She burst out, then continued on a sharp laugh, “Okay? Because it always is! I’m always just so stupid.”

Quentin wondered if he’d somehow missed a part of their conversation. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about how Joanna set me up with that app so I could meet people and try to get over my seriously bad choices, except Oliver was also on the same app and of all the people in Starling City with which I could have connected with, I ended up talking to him,” his daughter said. “And I’m talking about how he invited me to be his date to, as it turns out, John and Lyla’s wedding, but I turned him down because I still didn’t think I was ready to get over my ex — who is also Oliver — and now he knows everything.”

Quentin wasn’t the Captain for nothing, but it was taking everything he had to make sense of this. “You got an app to try dating strangers, but instead of a stranger you met Queen on here instead?”

She gave a helpless shrug. “Pretty much.”

“Well- well what was he doing on here?”

“Apparently Felicity made him join. I don’t know,” she groaned, dropping into his chair. “It wasn’t like we were actually dating. Just talking and giving advice...about me. I was talking him through how to deal with me. Great,” she muttered through clenched teeth. “Maybe I should thank you for saving me from the most mortifying night of my life.”

Right, the case. The thing they should be talking about. The thing Laurel was so sure he was wrong about — because she knew, didn’t she?

Quentin felt a strange calm wash over him as everything was made clear.

“He’s the Arrow, isn’t he? Queen.”

She looked up, eyes wide. “Why would you think—”

“Because it’s always him.”

It was always Laurel, actually. She should have been all the evidence he ever needed.

His daughter shook her head. “I didn’t mean that.”

“Yeah, you did.” And if she did, that meant something, too. For however much she loved that idiot, she’d never lie for him about this.

Quentin braced his hands on the desk and leaned forward. “Laurel, give me the proof he’s not the one out there killing these people. Show me I’m wrong.”

Laurel held his gaze for a long moment. Watching him, judging him maybe. At last, she said, “He was at John and Lyla’s wedding tonight. Plenty of witnesses. He couldn’t have done this, whether he’s the Arrow or not.”

“And he is, so there’s more going on here,” Quentin finished. “Never can be the simple answers.”

“I know that there are people dead, but we need time. He already has a good idea of who’s doing this and why. It’s the League.”

“Sara’s League?”

Laurel nodded. “I should have told you everything. I’m sorry, daddy.” Her eyes looked a little wet, but she wasn’t crying. Still, Quentin felt an ache in his chest that had little to do with his health.

He walked around the desk. “Whatever he’s planning to do, it’s gonna need to be quick. We can’t have this going on.” Then he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay? This app stuff, Queen, you seem a little rattled.”

“I’ll be fine,” she promised. “We have things to do.”

“Yeah, but after?”

An officer knocked and then stuck his head in the doorway. “Captain, Ray Palmer is here saying he has evidence of the Arrow’s identity. He wants to press charges against Oliver Queen.”

Laurel’s head hung down as she sighed, and Quentin grimaced. “You wanna take this one?”

“Yeah, put him in interrogation. Do not give a statement to the press.” His daughter marched to the door, ready yet again to defend Oliver Queen’s lack of innocence.

Quentin didn’t know what to make of half of tonight’s revelations — the online dating thing most of all — but he sure hoped Queen appreciated just how much she was willing to do for him.

—-

In the end, it was Ray Palmer’s tech that saved them.

Laurel had to stay on the sidelines thanks to her injury as Oliver walked Ray through fighting a metahuman that had popped up in the middle of all this. It was better, really, that she was out of the way. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle fighting with him out in the field at the moment, even if he was just a voice in the ear.

Ray returned to their base after flying Deathbolt to Central City. He was going someplace the others called a pipeline, which Laurel had some misgivings about, but for now it had to be low on the priority list.

Felicity greeted her boyfriend with a congratulatory kiss for his first official try at being a vigilante. “You were great.”

“Well, thanks to Oliver, I was. I’m glad I didn’t end up getting my day in court after all.”

“The public is still looking for you to catch the Arrow,” Oliver reminded him.

“I know. But I’m prepared to go to the mayor myself and explain I was mistaken. The Arrow is not our enemy.”

“But someone pretending to be him is,” Laurel said, mostly to herself, but the others all turned. Oliver’s look seemed particularly intense. Laurel stepped forward. “We need proof of that to take to the mayor, not just our word.” Ray couldn’t rely on a preexisting relationship like she could with her father. And just like he’d used the proof of her chat conversations with Oliver, they needed something concrete as well.

“What kind of proof are you talking about, Laurel?” Oliver asked.

She kept her eyes on Ray. “What about your facial recognition software?”

“I thought you said it wouldn’t stand up in court?”

Laurel waved a hand. “I said that to keep Oliver out of jail.” At Oliver’s look in her direction, she ducked her head slightly. “And we’re not talking about court, we’re talking about public opinion. So do you think you could pick up one of the fakes on it?”

“We would need it to match to someone actually on file,” Felicity informed her. “Considering the League recruits all kinds of people from all over the world—”

“They do have somebody,” Oliver interrupted. “Maseo Yamashiro. He worked with ARGUS in Hong Kong. The CIA would have him on file.”

“So my facial recognition software could pick him up,” Ray concluded. An excited smile lit his face. “Alright, I’ll do a sweep of the city right now! And stop him from murdering anyone, of course.”

“Don’t engage the League, Ray,” Oliver cautioned him. “Even with my help, it would be a near thing.”

Ray’s enthusiasm dipped only slightly, but soon he was putting his gear back on and leaving the base.

“God, I hope this works,” Laurel muttered under her breath. She felt Oliver’s hand brush her arm and jumped. He looked away and walked back over to the station where the connection with Ray was set up, in case he was needed. Laurel looked down.

A silence filled the base. As was common, Felicity broke it.

“Is everything okay? I mean, obviously, not everything is okay right now, but we have a plan for the major thing. I meant the earlier thing.”

“What earlier thing?” Laurel asked.

“Well, you kind of ran out of the reception, and then Oliver followed you,” Felicity explained. “And we’ve been pretty busy since, but nobody’s really said what that was about.”

She looked between the two of them, expectant. Oliver was devoting an intense amount of study to the tech on the table in front of him, and Laurel dropped her gaze to the floor.

“It was nothing, really.”

“Okay.” It was fairly obvious her friend didn’t believe her. “Just, things got weird after I brought up Oliver’s online dating, and if there’s a problem, I’d prefer—”

“There’s no problem,” said Oliver, tense. Laurel couldn’t look at him. She couldn’t look at anyone.

The door to the Verdant opened and Thea came down the steps. “Ollie, I’ve been texting you all night. Did you figure out if Laurel — oh.” She stopped and gave an awkward laugh. “Hey, Laurel, how’s, um, things?”

“Things? What things? What was he supposed to be figuring out?” Felicity was speaking in near rapid fire now. “Why does everyone know what we’re talking about except me?”

This was unbearable. “We were on the same dating app,” Laurel said, then pressed her lips together.

“You were both on the same app? Well, how did you know — oh no!” Felicity was gaping in horror. “I mean, not, no, you know, just — what are the odds of that? I guess not astronomical considering your similar lifestyles likely contributing to your profile answers and since the app takes proximity into account, and you two are, you know, close — proximity-wise. I- I did not intend for this to happen.”

“Felicity, I have a visual!”

“Who? What? Oh!” It took a couple panicked turns back and forth for Felicity to grab up the comm to respond to Ray. “I’ll run it against ARGUS and see if you caught Maseo.”

“Good.” Oliver still had his focus on the table. Thea was watching her with open sympathy. Pity, even.

Because of course this was more embarrassing for her than him. Oliver had had plenty of relationships or attempts at them since he left her after the Undertaking. What did Laurel have? Nothing, and as soon as she tried, guess who had turned up? And even then, she’d turned him down for him, which was undeniably pathetic. She couldn’t even be angry at him, because it was her choices and her feelings that had gotten her into this mess.

Abruptly, Laurel turned and made for the steps. “Let me know if you need anything.”

It wasn’t as though she could fight. And John and Lyla would be more useful once they returned from their honeymoon for making a deal with the CIA. She was just useless, as per usual.

She’d already lost her online friend by declining his invitation to meet up, yet somehow she felt even worse now knowing he was never real in the way she’d thought. All those confessions she’d made...how could things possibly go on between her and Oliver when he knew the truth?

—-

Oliver winced as the door shut behind Laurel. She wasn’t happy. Truthfully, he still didn’t know where he landed on the issue.

He had thought he was taking the steps to move on properly this time, even if it hadn’t worked out. But if anything, it turned out he’d gone in the complete opposite direction. And despite what she had claimed about him on the app, Laurel seemed more miserable after finding out the truth than anything. So where did that leave things?

“I’ve sent the match to the CIA to confirm, and Ray tipped off the mayor’s office that an attack was heading their way. Can we say power couple?” Felicity’s enthusiasm was only partially forced; it was clear she was trying to tough it out through the awkwardness.

When he didn’t acknowledge her question, she slumped a little. “Oliver, I’m sorry. I swear I had no idea Laurel was on that app.”

“And I had no idea you were,” Thea added to him. “What exactly just happened there? Because it sounded like—”

“I was the guy that Laurel was talking to,” he confirmed. “Not that either of us knew that.”

“He also asked her out, which she said no to,” Felicity said. “Something about another guy.”

“Who is you.” His sister didn’t even ask, just stated it as fact.

And sure, Laurel had never used his name, but… “Yeah.”

“Oh.” Felicity blinked. “Well that simplifies things, doesn’t it?”

He gestured to the stairs up which Laurel had disappeared. “That didn’t look simple to me.”

Thea scoffed. “Just look at it from her point of view for a second, will you? She’s gotta be, like, super embarrassed.”

“Mortified, even,” Felicity agreed with a nod.

“Look at it this way,” Thea continued before he could even open his mouth. “She’s just found out that she confessed her feelings for you to you, and that you asked out another woman at the same time.”

“But I was asking her out!”

Felicity pointed at him accusingly. “Ah, but you didn’t know it was her when you did.”

“But I should have,” he realized. Oliver took out his phone and scrolled back through the messages. Laurel was in every one of them; her heart and voice and soul could be felt in every line when he really looked.

Maybe that was why he’d fallen.

He was in love with Laurel, that much was clear. Whether he knew it was her or not, he always ended up in the same place. Home. And judging by what she had written, he just might still have a welcome there.

But he frowned as he looked back at the computers. “The League is still out there.”

“We’re still waiting on a response from the CIA,” Felicity said. “I can send you any updates.”

As much as the leader in him wanted to remain at the base, he could recognize that times like these were exactly what a team was for. “Thank you.” Oliver reached for his jacket and pulled it on, then paused before leaving. “Really, thank you.”

If Felicity hadn’t been so determined to get him trying to see other people, none of this would have come about. He would have never known.

She shrugged. “This was not at all the plan, but I should have figured it’d end up this way. Try not to screw it up this time.”

“Right, go, go, go!” Thea only barely held back from physically ushering him to the door.

Oliver got on his bike and made the relatively short drive, finding himself like so many times in front of Laurel’s apartment door. Was this really happening? A part of him was still reeling.

He knocked, and it was several long minutes before the door was pulled open. Laurel had already changed into what looked to be her sleepwear underneath a bathrobe, and her expression was less than enthusiastic.

“Please tell me you didn’t come here to check on me.”

“Not entirely. Can I come in?”

Wordlessly, she stepped back and let him through. Oliver stood in her front hall, looking over her dejected appearance. “Are you okay?”

Something not really a laugh bubbled out of her. “I don’t know. There are things that I wrote, things that I told you on that app, that I never meant for you to know. And now it’s just out there.”

He could understand that. Some of the day to day frustrations and even his sense of doubt about the mission, those weren’t things he would be all that comfortable with anyone knowing with context. Laurel was one of a very few in that regard. Most of the profile questions and answers she was already aware of by virtue of knowing him so long, but it did bring one of their earliest conversations to mind.

“You, um, you came out as—”

“As bisexual, yeah,” she confirmed in a low voice, her eyes anywhere but on him.

“If that’s how you feel, I’m not gonna judge you for that. None of us would.”

“But you’re probably wondering if this is something new or me trying to be Sara.”

Oliver said nothing. He couldn’t deny that a part of him wondered. That was probably wrong.

“If anything, her coming out made me more comfortable seeing myself that way. I mean, on some level I knew I’d thought of women as attractive before — but usually I was already dating or not really in the right place to be dating. I never really knew until last year how my father and everyone would react so…” she trailed off with a shrug.

“And then when Sara did come out you were worried people would think you were copying her,” Oliver finished for her.

Laurel nodded with a grimace. “People figure there can only be one per family. And I didn’t exactly see myself dating ever again, so there didn’t seem to be much point talking about it.”

Her good arm was folded over her chest and gripping her shoulder. She was making herself smaller, he realized.

He wasn’t sure exactly what his thoughts were on the matter. He had always assumed he knew everything there was to know about Laurel — but then again, this didn’t change who she was as a person anymore than the color she chose to dye her hair did.

“I’m sorry you felt you couldn’t talk about it, and that I found out without your permission. I think — no, I’m sure Sara would have been happy to know.”

Her lips curved up in a smile that still conveyed a sort of sadness. It was the eyes. Laurel could never hide how she was really feeling with them. “Thank you.”

But it wasn’t just her own feelings she was talking about not wanting him to know. Something that she’d written was standing out now in particular. “You weren’t sure if I hated you or not.” He remembered her venting to his online persona, that she wished her friend and ex would just make up his mind one way or another.

“I don’t really believe you hate me,” Laurel said immediately.

“But I haven’t made it easy to maintain that belief.” He was so stupid. In his mind, it was so clear how he felt about Laurel, but whenever he tried to put it into words or actions, it always went awry. Except on that app. There, anonymously, he had been clear.

Oliver took out his phone and glanced down at it. “I think we needed this.”

Laurel raised an eyebrow. “We needed to lie and keep more secrets from each other?”

“Neither of us was intentionally lying,” he pointed out. “But what I mean is that this, it gave us a clean slate. A way to talk to each other without everything else getting in the way for once. I didn’t know how badly I needed that.”

He’d missed it, too. Talking to Laurel, just being open and honest. Since getting the app, he’d been making strides to do that in person thanks to her own advice, and in a way it had worked the same in reverse.

“And now that everything is back in the way?” She glanced up at him. “You said you needed to move on, Oliver.”

“Because I thought that was best. I couldn’t even imagine you might still have feelings for me after everything,” he admitted. “And my attempt to move on was to ask you out, so I think that says something.”

“It says I did a really good job at hiding the worst parts of myself.” Laurel turned and retreated further into her apartment.

But Oliver couldn’t leave things there. He wasn’t giving up this time. “You were yourself. And you’re more than the worst parts of you, Laurel. If you believe there’s any good qualities to me, then you have to know that’s true.”

She stopped, and he walked up to her.

“I took a chance and opened myself up to a stranger. Not because she was a stranger, but because she felt familiar. She felt like a friend who cared for me and helped me to be better. And I couldn’t believe that I could have found that in another person that wasn’t you.” He allowed himself the smallest smile as Laurel watched him. “Maybe a part of me knew it from the start.”

Laurel’s eyes were shining as she said with a hitch to her breath, “I didn’t let myself even dream it was you.”

“I know.” He reached out slowly and cupped her face with both hands. “I’m sorry it took me so long to realize.”

He leaned in and brushed his lips over hers, warm and open. It was more like breathing each other in than kissing, relishing the little touches they’d denied themselves for so long.

Laurel’s eyes were closed as he nuzzled at her cheek, and her uninjured arm had wrapped around his back. “I’ve missed you. I missed talking to you the last few days.”

“You mean online?”

She nodded. “Mm-hm. I’m so glad I didn’t break some poor guy’s heart.”

Oliver muffled a laugh against her neck. “That makes two of us.”

His phone buzzed, breaking the moment. Oliver checked it and found a text from Felicity.

ARGUS said thanks for the tip and that they’re handling it. Going home with Ray.

“What’s up?”

His eyes left the screen. “Your idea to get ARGUS involved paid off. The Arrow’s off the hook.” The last bits of worry and tension eased as he said the words aloud.

Laurel let out a breath and smiled. “That’s great.”

“Yeah.” He made to put his phone away but stopped and got it out again.

“What are you doing?”

“Turning this off.” He grinned up at her. “We don’t need it anymore.”

He drew her back in towards his chest as she giggled, though those faded away as he renewed his attempts to re-familiarize himself with her mouth. Oliver couldn’t think of the last time he’d felt this carefree and happy, but the memories that immediately came to mind had this same woman in common. His oldest friend; his online friend; the woman he loved. Dinah Laurel Lance was all that and more.

He was so lucky.

#lauriver #laurel x oliver #laurel lance #oliver queen #arrow #quentin lance #felicity smoak #thea queen #ray palmer #black canary #green arrow #my writing

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jbuffyangel · 7 years

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Against The Ropes: Arrow 6x02 Review (Tribute)

Arrow delivers another strong episode with “Tribute.” We are on a roll! As I've said, I enjoy Oliver most when he’s up against the ropes and punching his way out. In “Tribute” Oliver is fighting against three heavy weights: Samandra, William and Anatoly. He’s not the only one backed into a corner though. John Diggle is too.

Let’s dig in...

Oliver Queen

Oliver doesn’t always have to punch his way out of a problem. He is an intelligent man with a knack for strategic thinking. The photo of Oliver as the Green Arrow puts him in that frame of mind, which is always enjoyable to watch. He also needs a worthy advisary for this cat and mouse game to be any fun, which is what Agent Watson (FBI!!!!!) brings to the table.

However, I don't think Oliver anticipated the emotional fallout from this photograph. It leads to some very interesting conversations with William, and if you can believe it, Rene. By adding William to the mix, "Tribute" suddenly becomes more about Oliver protecting his son from the consequences of being the Green Arrow rather than himself.

Source: olivergifs

Oliver handles the press with all the schmooze and charm of Tony Stark, but this is DC and not Marvel. We aren't dropping that name. No sir. There are rules about that.

Source:queensarrow

Everybody knows what a huge Batman fan I am, so yes I absolutely squealed at the mention of the Caped Crusader,

but now Arrow opened the door. The image of Bruce Wayne hanging out in Star City, drinking a beer with Oliver while talking dead parents and vigilante-ing is one I so desperately need.

All wishful thinking aside, Oliver's point (and Stephen's line) have a logical point. Any photo can be doctored. A photo doesn't prove anything. Unless the photo actually does prove something, such as this, but that's just details. Keep on dancing Oliver!

Agent Watson is not buying Oliver's charm. She absolutely believes he is the Green Arrow. I mean... the scruff and handsome cleft chin are evidence enough.

The dodge and weave is something that's been missing since Quentin discovered Oliver's identity. These scenes with Watson feel very reminiscent of Season 1. I also appreciate that Arrow didn't ignore the history between Quentin and Oliver. There is no emotional baggage with Watson like there was with Lance. Quentin's rage over Sara certainly put Oliver in his crosshairs, but Watson isn't Lance. There's no messy history with Oliver. It makes her investigation simpler. This is just about the Green Arrow.

Source:queensarrow

Things come to a head when Watson wants to start issuing subpoenas - including one for William. It leads to an interesting confrontation with Oliver. In Season 1, Oliver would have pretended to be the lazy, playboy, billionaire's son. A man too stupid and too selfish to be The Hood.

Source @olliequeengifs

Oliver has to change his tactics because his public image has changed.

Now, he's the mayor. He's a man who cares deeply for his city, but does so within the confines of the law. Oliver comes dressed in a crispy grey suit. He is the perfect image of a law abiding citizen. This "image" Oliver is presenting to Agent Watson is much closer to who Oliver Queen truly is. Yet, the charming slickness of the playboy remains. Only now Oliver isn't too stupid or selfish to save the city. He's simply too busy already saving it. During the day. As mayor.

Oliver tells Agent Watson he is an open book - except when it comes to William. Oliver is warm, accommodating and gracious. Until he's not.

“If I really am the man you think I am, how far do you think such a man would go to keep his son from being scrutinized?”

It's a not so subtle threat. Oliver's voice starts off light, a charming little smile playing on his lips, but by the end his voice drops to that familiar lower octave. His smile disappears and he fixes a steely gaze on Agent Watson. He may be dressed as Oliver Queen, but the Green Arrow is in the room too. Neither the suit or the hood is playing. Not when it comes to William. If there was ever a scene in which Oliver perfectly walks the tightrope of his two selves - this is it.

Source: olivergifs

Proof that the photograph is doctored arises just in time (thanks Felicity and Curtis!).

It takes care of the immediate Agent Watson problem, although not for good. However, this photograph unearthed some long latent fears within William. Fears that will not be solved with quick thinking tech.

William is beaten up by some much larger eighth graders who apparently lack cognitive thinking skills of any kind. At first Oliver is met with a stony silence when he presses William about what happened. (He gets that from you Oliver). Eventually William cracks though and tells Oliver what happened.

Source: arrowsource

The older kids were teasing William about Oliver "not being there for him" and being the Green Arrow.

Now, someone is gonna have to walk me around this logic bend cause... WTF? How is Oliver being the Green Arrow mean he's not there for William as his father? You know what? I'm just gonna stop. Bullies never make sense.

The first thing Oliver tells William is to go for the nose.

Source: arrowsource

YEAH BABY!

This is the Green Arrow parenting I want to see. Anytime anyone messes with my kid I want to tear their head off. We are sympatico Oliver.

Obviously, we want kids to work through their differences. No need to @ me about the importance of children working through their differences without violence. It's also important for a child to defend themselves when being attacked, especially if you are Oliver Queen's son. This is Oliver's world. We saw real parenting confidence in him for the first time. He knows how to handle these types of situations. Oliver teaching William strategy and how to throw a punch is equally as important as math homework in this world.

However, the physical challenges William are the easy problems. It's the emotional ones that are the humdingers for Oliver. William is angry with Oliver for ditching him in the limo to go Green Arrow. Sometimes I want to punch The Flash too William. I RELATE KID.

Source: westallenolicitygifs

What a heartbreaking line.

William has gone from a kid who believed so absolutely in the power of The Flash and the Green Arrow to save lives. However, when it mattered the most nobody could save his mother. Not even the Green Arrow. It brings the much larger issues going on inside William to the surface.

Oliver: I will always come back.

William: Just like my mom?

He’s got ya there Oliver.

Most children do not worry about their parents dying. In their eyes we are invincible. We are immortal. Until we are not. Children only worry about their parents dying when they are given a reason to.

William has been given more than enough reasons to worry. His mother is dead and his father goes out, night after night, to fight the worst criminals the world has ever seen. Samantha's death is enough to make William fear losing his father, even if Oliver was a mailman,

However, William shows real self awareness when he tells Oliver the fear he carries is worse because his father willfully throws himself into life or death situations. The circumstances surrounding Samantha's death were out of her control. William understands that on some level and that's scary enough. It’s different with Oliver. Every time he leaves the house William fears losing him. However, Oliver’s extracurricular activities magnify that fear ten fold and with good reason.

Oliver tries to reassure William that he has everything under control. That he can handle any bad guy thrown at him.

*whistling*

William: What if you can't? I'll be alone. I'll have nobody.

There it is. What I suspected William is truly afraid of because of course that's what he is afraid of. William argues Oliver can't understand the fear and pain he carries, but he's wrong. Oliver does understand all too well.

Source:olivergifs

The image William paints, the one of being all alone, is one his father has lived. Oliver is an orphan. Yes, he may have been older, but Oliver understands the pain and loneliness William feels and fears. He would do anything to protect William from it.

Oliver makes William a promise. However, it is William's response to it that is so astounding.

Source: westallenolicitygifs

Oliver is not God. William knows his father is just trying to reassure him, but this promise is not in Oliver's control. Oliver cannot bend circumstances to his will. He is not invincible. He is not immortal. It's an inescapable truth that comes with losing a parent.

It leads to a beautiful scene with... RENE???

The description of 6x02 said Oliver goes to a surprising source for parenting advice and boy were they right. Rene can be off putting and downright offensive, but he can also be really funny and gentle. It's in these softer moments with the character that I like him best. One of my chief complaints with Arrow is that, despite having a large cast, the same characters interact all the time. An emotional moment between these two characters is a nice change of pace from their usual sardonic banter.

Oliver: I’ve never lied to my kid before.

The truth is - William is right. Every time Oliver is in the field he may not come back. No one has to tell Oliver Queen about the risks of being the Green Arrow. He absolutely understands and accepts them. If he wasn't willing to sacrifice his life then he wouldn't be out there in the first place.

The problem is Oliver is not only responsible for himself now. In some ways, it's the same reasons Oliver feared being in a relationship with Felicity.

He didn't want her to be a target or put her life in danger. Life as the Green Arrow would always interfere with life as Oliver Queen. However, Felicity is a grown woman who can make her own decisions. She's also perfectly capable of taking care of herself. William is none of those things. For the first time, Oliver has someone who is truly dependent on him. So, the question becomes - what is Oliver willing to sacrifice for his child? What is he willing to do to make William feel safe and secure?

The first step is to only make William promises Oliver can keep. Rene is right. Little white lies are often a necessary parenting tool, but no parent can promise their child they'll always come home. Especially not to a child who lost a mother. When William lost his mother he lost his tether. Now he's just floating, listless and afraid. Oliver needs to give William a new tether.

Oliver admits he was wrong. Stephen Amell does such a wonderful job in this scene showing how much it physically pains Oliver to say those words, especially to his son.

Source:arrowsource

HA! Raisa giving William insider tips about Oliver is my lifeblood.

The first promise Oliver makes is:

“I am going to do everything in my power forever to make sure you don't end up in this world alone. I know you think that isn't up to me and that's a fair and smart point, which is why I think I've found so that maybe it can be.”

This promise contains some very interesting phrasing. On the surface it seems like Oliver is hanging up the hood, which by the end of the episode, is exactly what he does. However, the show is called Arrow. He's not hanging up the hood forever. So, how does Oliver keep this promise to William if he puts on the hood again?

I am going to do everything in my power forever to make sure you don't end up in this world alone.

The Season 6 theme is family. The family you are born into and the family you build. Oliver built a family after he lost his parents. He combated the pain and loneliness with love and friendship. Some of that family includes blood,

but a lot of it doesn't.

He needs to combat the fear, pain and loneliness in William the same way - with love and friendship. Oliver needs to build a family that extends beyond just the two of them. So, no matter what happens to Oliver, William knows he will always be loved, he will always be taken care of and he will never be alone. The more Oliver folds William into the family he built the less fearful his son will be. Oliver can never replace William's mother, but he can help William find security in this new tether.

Now, don't go freaking out on me that Oliver Queen is going to die. That's not the point of this. This isn't foreshadowing of Oliver's death. I don’t belive that’s where we are headed. We danced that dance in Season 3.

Oliver doesn't fear death. He fears life. The challenge of his hero's story is in living - not dying. However, Arrow has to address the dangers of vigilantism and the realities of parenting. Arrow is pushing Oliver down the road of a big and beautiful life. One filled with meaning, purpose, love, friends and children. I wonder what’s one way Oliver can expand his family. Hmmm...

But first, William must feel secure with his father before he's ready to expand beyond Oliver. So, this time away from the Green Arrow is incredibly important.

It is not forever though. Eventually, William will come to the decision every person who loves Oliver Queen arrives at. He will learn the Green Arrow is a vital part of who his father is and tell Oliver to suit up again. Essentially, William will join Team Arrow. Maybe he won't be out on the street fighting (not yet anyway), but there are other ways to help. For William, it will be sharing his father with the city. Is that a lot to ask of a ten year old boy? Yes, but that's the point. Selflessness often requires some kind of sacrifice. After all, William is Oliver Queen's son.

John Diggle

What happened to John on Lian Yu is finally revealed!

Source: dctvpoc

Yes, he caught shrapnel in his shoulder. Yes, it caused nerve damage. Plus 20 points to everyone who guessed correctly. Minus 100 to every entertainment website reviewer who said it was only mental.

However, I was not expecting it to be DEGENARATIVE. You mean it's going to get WORSE?

Minus 100,000 points to everyone because we all lose when John Diggle is in pain.

John is still refusing to fire his gun, because ya know, aim is important. In his defense, Diggle is pretty handy without the gun too. However, Dinah remains concerned. She feels John is compromised out in the field, which puts lives at risk. Dinah wants John to tell Oliver the truth. Diggle wants Dinah to quit bugging him about it.

It's not until Dinah is nearly choked to death that Diggle decides she's right. Diggle needed the gun to save Dinah's life, but he couldn't trust his aim. Not unlike what we saw with Rene last week. Dinah is able to save herself (FOR I AM WOMAN HERE MY ROAR), but John cannot ignore the potential threats to his teammates lives.

So... Rene was almost killed last week when Diggle couldn't fire his gun. However, it's not until DINAH is almost killed that John decides to fess up. Make what you will of that. I’m not saying there’s romance going on right now. I just found it interesting.

Diggle is firm in his decision to tell Oliver the truth right up until Oliver asks him to be the Green Arrow. There's a moment earlier in "Tribute" when Dinah asks John if he's okay. Diggle immediately starts talking about Oliver and the microscope he's under.

This frames Diggle's mindset perfectly. For six years, Diggle has put Oliver first. John has been there every step of the way helping Oliver with the challenges he's faced, his moral compass and his emotional evolution. This mission, and being Oliver's best friend, has given John a sense of purpose too. John isn't good at putting himself first, which is exactly what this type of injury requires.

There is only one man Oliver would entrust the city to: John Diggle.

Source: smoak-and-mirrors

What Oliver is asking of John is an enormous undertaking. Diggle also knows what the hood and this mission means to Oliver. The only way Oliver is able to walk away is because he knows he's leaving the team and city in good hands. Perhaps, even better hands.

John keeps quiet about the nerve damage because he doesn't want to let Oliver down. He knows William needs Oliver more than ever. John wants to give Oliver time with his son the same way Oliver wanted to give Diggle time with his daughter.

Diggle says nothing, so Oliver can walk away. He's putting Oliver Queen first because that's all John Diggle knows how to do. It's also what Oliver would do for him. These two are bromance goals y'all.

There's some serious logistical issues here. If Diggle isn't capable of being in the field as Spartan then he sure isn't as Green Arrow either. How shooting a bow and arrow/crossbow is any easier than a gun is beyond me.

Arrow better come prepared with a sciencey answer or else I'm calling shenanigans. Regardless, we get a "John Diggle as Green Arrow" centric episode next week and I AM HERE FOR IT.

Felicity Smoak

AND THUS FELICITY SMOAK'S COMPANY IS BORN. We've waited a long time for this my friends.

Felicity spends most of "Tribute" trying to help Oliver wriggle out of this photograph disaster and talking employment with Curtis.

Source: sharingmyworld

Yes, that's right. Arrow finally addresses how everyone makes a living.

No you are not living in a parallel dimension. This is still earth. One can only surmise from this scene that the impossible can happen.

Curtis lets it slip that he's been doing a little coding on the side, because he didn't take a dime from Paul in the divorce. Yeah, Paul was a physical therapist. They make pretty good money. That tracks. Also, their divorce was finalized? Damn those go quick when you don't have kids. Yeesh.

Felicity's Palmer Tech severance is starting to dry up which feels like the truest thing Arrow has ever said because do you know how expensive her clothes are? I DO. I SHOP FOR THEM. THEY ARE INSANE.

She wants Curtis to toss her some of his side coding business. To Curtis' credit, he does say the coding he's doing is a waste of Felicity's talent.

Felicity ultimately agrees and instead of coding beneath her skill set or working in the dreaded Tech Village again, she decides to go into business for herself - with Curtis as her partner. Felicity wants to team up and make more cool stuff.

Source: felicitysmoakgifs

Her absolute insistence that her name comes first throughout the episode, however, is my spirit animal.

Source: felicitysmoakedit

Felicity is 100% Jobs.

I'm not annoyed Felicity is teaming with Curtis. We knew it was coming. However, my one complaint is it seems like Arrow is constantly trying to give Curtis something to do. Since when does a Felicity Smoak algorithm not work?

Source: oliverxfelicity

Arrow needs to avoid the trap of dumbing Felicity down so Curtis can contribute. They need to push their separate talents merging into one great idea, rather than Curtis "fixing" something Felicity made.

That said, I am really excited this storyline is finally getting off the ground. Perhaps, Felicity and Curtis' first invention can be something to treat degenerative nerve damage.

Olicity

Not a lot of Olicity in "Tribute," but never fear. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Felicity is obviously extremely worried about Oliver.

Source:westallenolicitygifs

Bae is trouble and she is NOT having it. She insists Oliver LAWYER UP, but he doesn't want to look like he has anything to hide.

Agent Watson: Do you know the kind of person who says that?

Oliver: No.

Agent Wilson: The kind that needs a lawyer.

I've watched enough crime shows to know this is absolutely true. I guess I’m done with the book learnin’.

There's a couple "so married" moments too.

Source:westallenolicitygifs

Felicity signals Curtis to veer closure to the hour mark versus 30 days for the completion of the photograph analysis to ease Oliver's stress. Then, when Oliver questions whether or not Felicity sent them to the correct location we get this gem of interaction.

Source: oliverxfelicity

Felicity:

Don’t question the wifey, Oliver.

It's a little moment, but I loved when Felicity told Curtis that before the photograph her biggest worry was finding another job. It wasn't her relationship with Oliver or William. It's just another little signal that Felicity and Oliver are on the same page. Everything will fall into place when the time is right.

However, the best is a “blink and you’ll miss it” moment.

Barry was in the speed force for the last six months. He wouldn’t have been able to give Wiliam that backpack. So... isn’t it more likely FELICITY did? Just a subtle way she can show William she cares without overwhelming him. She’s watching from the sidelines waiting for the right time to go in.

I don’t care if I’m wrong. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED. I decided.

Anatoly

Anatoly is back and he's a lean, mean, killing machine. He's been outed by the Bratva for being too soft due to his friendship with Oliver. He's out to prove he's anything but. I'm almost as upset over Anatoly and Oliver's break up as I was over Olicity's.

Anatoly puts a bullet in his hostage right in front Oliver. HARSH. However, Oliver is not able to return Anatoly's kill or be killed sentiment. One reason is because of what he learned from Adrian Chase. The other is because Oliver still cares for Anatoly. He doesn't want to kill him and Anatoly knows it. This will add an interesting push/pull layer between the two characters.

It seems like Anatoly is still adhering to some kind of code, insisting he's still an honorable man. He didn't release the photo of the Green Arrow. That wouldn't be playing fair. Which, of course, begs the question who did? (My money is on Cayden James since Felicity's algorithm was stumped at first).

Anatoly reflects on his honor and what he will and won't do. It is a bone chilling conversation. This is no longer the warm Russian mobster we loved. What replaced is a stone cold killer who is not so subtlety threatening Oliver's son. This version of Anatoly is a stranger to us. Even to Oliver. It's one of the reasons I believe Oliver hangs up the hood. When Anatoly pulls that trigger he makes it clear to Oliver that he's willing to go all the way. Oliver cannot say the same. However, half the fun will be watching Oliver try to find another way that stops short of killing his old friend.

Stray Thoughts

New title card. Every character gets their own symbol.

The final three are Felicity, Diggle and Oliver. Their symbols spell OTA. As it should be. Arrow knows how important OTA is. Source arrowsource

Dinah has mastered the withering stare.

"I told Zoe she was made from a cloud." My husband starts taking notes.

Rene saying he's a feminist is oddly hilarious.

Not to be nitpicky but Oliver has lied to William before. He didn’t tell William he was his father or the Green Arrow.

Thanks @callistawolf for her brillant heavyweight analogy

Disclaimer: Any gifs on the blog are not mine. If you would like a gif removed from my reviews, please message me. 6x02 episode gifs credited.

#arrow #oliver queen #john diggle #felicity smoak #olicity #oliver and william #arrow 6x02 #arrow reviews #season 6 episode review #arrow spoilers

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citizentruth-blog · 6 years

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Defense Department Whistleblower Reveals FBI’s Russia Probe Was A Big Setup All Along - PEER NEWS

New Post has been published on https://citizentruth.org/defense-department-whistleblower-reveals-fbis-russia-probe-was-a-big-setup-all-along/

Defense Department Whistleblower Reveals FBI’s Russia Probe Was A Big Setup All Along

On Tuesday, Senior Justice Department official, Bruce Ohr, testified on Capitol Hill. During this closed-door session, Ohr revealed that prior to getting the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant on Trump campaign volunteer, Carter Page, the FBI was wholly aware that the fake anti-Trump dossier author, Christopher Steele, was biased against the transformational Republican candidate for president.

Ohr also divulged that the FBI knew about his wife, Nellie Ohr, who worked for Fusion GPS, the research firm hired by the Clinton campaign (AKA the Democratic National Committee) to put together the ridiculous but ultimately effective dossier with Mr. Steele. During his hours-long testimony to members of Congress, Ohr stated that the FBI failed to disclose the true source of the dossier, blatantly misleading the court in an obvious move to hide the authors’ political motivations. This allowed the FBI the ability to spy on and wiretap the Trump campaign.

Superiors at the Justice Department were not aware of Ohr being used as a source for the FBI’s investigation into the Trump campaign. Ohr was regularly in contact with senior members of the FBI, including our well-known Deep State anti-Trumpers, former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, FBI attorney Lisa Page, and former FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok.

“When it comes to the dossier, the hours of testimony from Bruce Ohr only further confirm how wrong the FBI operated,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) told SaraACarter.com.

How the hell is Bruce Ohr still employed at the Justice Department? Disgraceful! Witch Hunt!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 29, 2018

The FBI has ruined its reputation over the last two years with its inherent bias against now President Donald Trump. They have become a politicized tool for the political establishment and have worked hand in hand with the Democrats to tarnish Trump’s credibility and cast a shadow over his monumental election. The plotting and scheming performed by Ohr, McCabe, Strzok, and others show the great lengths these morally bankrupt human beings will go to destroy the Donald.

The FBI’s Russia probe into Trump and the creation of the Mueller special counsel was all a setup.

A former Defense Department analyst turned whistleblower, Adam Lovinger, is fighting to save his career at the moment. The Pentagon first suspended his security clearance in May 2017 after he exposed the spy in the Trump campaign, Stefan Halper. An emeritus Cambridge professor, Halper had received $1 million in taxpayer-funded money to write Defense Department foreign policy reports, and Lovinger exposed him for the crook he is.

But the Deep State defends its own and brutally goes after anyone who tries to upset the apple cart.

Lovinger’s security clearance was revoked in March of this year even though the Pentagon refused “to turn over a single page of its purported evidence of Lovinger’s wrongdoing,” Sean Bigley, Lovinger’s attorney, told Sara Carter. Judicial Watch just filed a lawsuit against the Defense Department to obtain these withheld records.

Halper appears to have worked with the CIA in its operation to spy on and frame Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign for some kind of collusion with Russia. Halper also assisted the FBI in its Russian investigation despite the fact that he has his own ties to the Russian government and sources tied directly to President Putin.

.@DarrellIssa on DOJ official Bruce Ohr questioned on contacts with anti-Trump dossier author: "Bruce Ohr is creating a link for us between people… who had animus, who were, in fact, desperate to stop candidate Trump from being President Trump." https://t.co/mnMKzlbmRj pic.twitter.com/GS3tQF40Vy

— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 28, 2018

“When Mr. Lovinger raised concerns about DoD’s misuse of Stefan Halper in 2016, he did so without any political designs or knowledge of Mr. Halper’s spying activities,” Bigley said. “Instead, Mr. Lovinger simply did what all Americans should expect of our civil servants: he reported violations of law and a gross waste of public funds to his superiors.” Well, when you do what is right, you’ll get big brother to lay the smack down on you hard.

The retaliation was swift. Leaks from the Defense Department with false and defamatory information was leaked to the press. Bigley’s assumption is that a close confidant of Hillary Clinton’s, another contractor Lovinger raised concerns about, was the reason for the all-out blitz on the whistleblower. But it was more than that. Lovinger shined a bright light on the Deep State and one of its nuclear weapons, Mr. Halper. Threatening to expose the concocted Trump-Russia collusion narrative was something these power hungry government officials could not have. So, they set out to destroy Lovinger.

“It was all a setup,” Bigley claims about the FBI probe into Trump.

Halper became a secret weapon for the FBI against the Trump campaign in 2016. At some point during his academic career, Halper made the transition from professor to FBI informant. In July 2016, Halper made contact with the short-term Trump campaign volunteer, Carter Page, who was already being looked at by the FBI for being sympathetic to Russia. How dare someone want warmer relations between the U.S. and Russia!

At the end of July during the campaign, the FBI obtained a FISA warrant to spy on Page while using Halper to collect additional information on him. The main source for this warrant being granted was the phony dossier concocted by Steele, Clinton, and the DNC.

In September 2016, Halper also connected with George Papadopoulos, another volunteer for the Trump campaign. After Papadopoulos was put under the Mueller microscope, he was pressured into pleading guilty of lying to the FBI. Papadopoulos’s wife, Simona, claims that her husband was coerced into pleading guilty due to threats from Mueller’s team and a lack of money to defend himself.

Even before Page and Papadopolous, Halper set his sights on the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency and national security adviser to President Trump, Gen. Michael Flynn. Halper invited Flynn to Cambridge in February 2014 for a dinner he hosted to kick off his intelligence gathering on the Obama/CIA/Defense Department cabal’s number one target. During this time, Flynn was under assault from the feckless Obama administration and Obama’s CIA, over a disagreement about the false narrative that al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups had been defeated or were on the run. Flynn was forced to resign later on and the Islamic State formed a caliphate spanning Iraq and Syria.

With Flynn at Trump’s side in 2017, the Deep State did what it always does and went after them with its vast resources and enormous pressure. Flynn was famously forced to resign as Trump’s national security adviser only 27 days after taking the job. Even former FBI Director James Comey says that the agents who interviewed Flynn did not believe he was lying when discussing a classified conversation with Flynn and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak (which was shamelessly leaked to The Washington Post). Sadly, Flynn was forced to plead guilty to lying to Mueller’s Special Counsel after having spent more than $1 million in attorneys fees defending himself.

All of this of course was painted by the enemy of the people in the media and the socialists in the Democratic Party as chaos in the White House! When in reality, it was the unelected big government bureaucrats doing whatever they could to vanquish new threats to their power and keep the Russian collusion narrative alive no matter whose careers are ruined in the process.

On Wednesday, President Trump went after Bruce Ohr via Twitter, asking, “How the hell is Bruce Ohr still employed at the Justice Department? Disgraceful! Witch Hunt!”

That’s a great question, Mr. President.

Who’s Career is Booming? Peter Strozk, Robert Mueller, or Twelve Russian GRU Officers?

#Bruce Ohr #Collusion #deep state #donald trump #FBI #politics #Robert Mueller #russia #Stefan Halper #Washington DC

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