#Abby whelan

[pxmlx]

I love traumatised characters; the ones that were so mistreated by the people closest to them that now they rarely open themselves up to others in fear of being hurt; the characters that are treated as sacrificial lambs; characters that are so misunderstood that even writers forget who they truly are, at their core; the characters that would sacrifice their lives for others without betting and eye, not because they are heroes but because they don’t think of themselves as worthy of outliving others; I especially love the flawed characters that are not afraid of being flawed! They are so utterly brilliantly, so beautifully human that it hurts!

[corposeco]

lots of cyrus bits. can you tell he's my favorite or nah

[booknerdinglasses]

Watching scandal for the first time…

1. HUCK IS SO HOT

2. Olivia deserves better.

3. Fitz should be better. He’s so petty and manipulative and yuck.

SPOILERS

4. Why the hell doesn’t Olivia hire David Rosen at her agency? He already knows everything anyway!!

5. Abby and David are so cute!!

6. Cyrus is a jackass but I love his friendship with Olivia.

[aesthetic-solar-space]

Olivia Pope Appreciation Post!

Olivia Carolyn Pope!

She not only worked at the White House, and created her own form, but she put presidents in office. She doesn’t just fix problems, she fixes people.

She seems to have been mentored by both Cyrus and Verna which after her vast education, molded her into who she is today.

Throughout the seasons we see Olivia go through hell in back not only for her clients, those she loves, but also for herself. She will do whatever is necessary and her gut is never wrong so with those two pieces together she dominates Washington D.C.

Through the seasons we do see Olivia I’m relationships, even though she says in season one she can never have normal.. the other major factor being “All Roads Lead Back To Fitz”

Edison Davis: off screen the two have a past relationship where they lived together in Georgetown and Edison even proposed. However it ended, and years later they begin to reconnect- but Olivia can’t open up to him, especially not about the past relationship she had that’s haunting her (Aka Fitz). Even with Olivia being an emotional stonewall Edison proposes again, and Olivia says No. this second proposal shows Olivia that she wants a difficult, painful love rather than an easy and normal one.

Fitz Grant: Fitz needed help with his election campaign while on the trail and Cyrus having met Olivia at law school, knew just the person to bring in. They very quickly and easily developed feelings for each other, and as much as they wanted to be together Olivia knew that an affair would be political suicide for Fitz. He was persistent though, and after being elected he told her that he loved her. Even after Olivia left the White House due to Mellie knowing about her and Fitz, there love ans tension never stopped. They didn’t become official and public until much later after Fitz divorced Mellie. However things weren’t perfect, when Fitz proposed she at first said no - then yes. Then later she gave back the ring. Fitz did however forgive Olivia and move her into the White House, however once again not so long after this - Olivia feels trapped and like she doesn’t want the life she’s living. So she leaves Fitz and the White House. From there the relationship went back to being an off again on again thing for awhile. When Fitz moves back to D.C. to help Olivia after his presidency is over, and she has left the White House which is now in the hands of Millie. It’s left open as to if they get back together officially or what happens. But in my mind they do in fact get back together and though there life would never be “normal”, Olivia learns that the difficult and painful romance she thought she deserved was also a soft and sweet - safe place.

Jake Ballard: The two met a few months after the death of Verna and the sparks ignited fast. From there it was an on and off again thing. The relationship is complicated in many ways in true Olivia fashion but a major one being that Olivia is often seen going back and forth between Jake and Fitz. Jake is shown to know Olivia more than she knows herself, to know her darkness and not shy away. She is very open and vulnerable with him. Once Fitz has been re-elected Jake and Olivia go to an island for two months and come back boyfriend and girlfriend and stay that way until something catastrophic happens in Olivia’s life. When it’s over she doesn’t want to see him or Fitz as she tries to think of them as her past while she tried to move forward. Awhile later Jake tells her about how he’s in love with her but that if she loves Fitz, she should be with him. She does just that but after her breakup, her and Jake rekindle, though everything seems to be just physical until Jake gets engaged. However the engagement is just a cover and he tells Olivia as much. Jake asks if Olivia wants to be with him, and she nods and kisses him. However Olivia receives a threat that Jake must marry Vanessa or he would be killed.

Throughout the show there were a few other small romances but overall those above were the big three.

Trivia

- She paces circles when she is troubled by something that she considers a real problem, they become perfect circles if she is really worried

- In highschool she was on the swim team

- She has one rule for all clients: “Do not lie. They lie, all bets are off.”

- She knows 18 languages, including Spanish, Farsi, Russian, Swahili, Cantonese, and Urdu

- The character of Olivia Pope is inspired by the real life crisis management consultant: Judy Smith

- The final scene in the Final shows a portrait of Olivia Pope in the second floor of the National Portrait Gallery which is only reserved for portraits of presidents of the United States of America. This leads us to believe that sometime after Mellie, Olivia became president.

[ayoarticulate]

Fortunately, nothing in this world could ever make me like Abby Whelan

[billygoat26]

Scandal spoilers

OH YEAH!!

I'm on season 4 of Scandal and I am STUCK TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHICH PART OF THE DAMN TRIANGLE I LIKE MOST...

IS IT OLIVIA AND FITZ OR OLIVIA AND JAKE-

Like- I hate Fitz. Get your fucking marriage together, check on your damn wife-

Jake- you did some fucked up shit too- I won't forgive you for the way you fucked up Cyrus's life but you're also not already married... that we know of at least.

Quinn... we don't talk about her. Fuck her. Not literally. (I'm looking at you Charlie)

Huck needs all the hugs in the world and a protection squad

Still dunno how to feel about papa and mama Pope (Though in the episode I'm like- in the middle of watching- papa Pope almost made me cry lol)

Cyrus... you fucked up too but HUGS! YOU NEED THEM.

Harrison... o7 Gladiators in suits

Abby is cool, she needs hugs too

B613 is scary

Mellie needs therapy and all the hugs and support

Fitz's dad better be rotting in the worst parts of Hell

James... o7

[songsaboutgirls]

she's so real for this

[mastermicd-arch]

@spynorth​​​ ♡’d for a starter (still accepting) !

she’d recognise that face anywhere. but as quickly as she’d recognised the face, her body stiffened, mind flooded with memories. she’d be damned if she left her exterior slip, having long since become an expert at holding herself together. working in washington dc would do that to a person. 

heels clacked against the pavement while her head remained high. it didn’t matter what abby was doing, it usually came with more poise than most. “you can’t be here.” she barely made eye contact with him as she spoke, digging through her purse for her phone. “you have to leave. now.”

[mastermicd]

@lingeringscars liked for a starter (still accepting).

"you shouldn't be up here." the offices of olivia pope & associates wasn't exactly a public, high traffic area. whilst they might not have worked to normal hours, even this was too late to catch anyone else. the only reason abby was still there was because she couldn't quite face going home alone –– everyone else was long gone, and she'd decided that dinner alone in her office was a better choice than whatever leftovers she had at home. "we're closed, you'll need to make an appointment another time." she repeated, though she'd always had something of a soft side when it came to the people who came through their doors. for the most part, anyway.

[judeinthestars]

After my favorite books of the year, here is my list of favorite audiobooks. Even if I didn't listen to as many as in 2021, it was a very good year. Quality over quantity.

[1jemmagirl22]

Okay, I’m about to describe a ship, pay very close attention to these very specific details. 

Darling precious brown haired clever soft nerd boy devoted to his work but madly in love with a bad ass over dramatic insanely beautiful wronged woman red head. Said soft boy is named David and he dies in a completely pointless and unnecessary scene that destroys the audience. 

What ship did I just describe? Answer multiple! 

That’s right, two! that description fits not just Genya Safin and David Kostyk from Shadow and Bone/Grishaverse, but also, also! Fucking Abby Whelan and David Rossen from Shonda Rhimes Scandal! 

When I say I hate how hyper specific this similarity is I mean it, while also, worshipping both ships.

[corposeco]

fav scandal motif

[foxymoxynoona]

Julia Whelan’s writing style feels similar to yours.. Her agent is Abby Koons (mentioned in her acknowledgements page for Thank You For Listening). Hope this helps!!! Good luck!!!

Thank youuuuuu I will look into both 🥰🥰🥰

[dcviated]

statistical character personality test. take the linked quiz from the perspective of your character, then select 5 - 10 results from the complete matches list that you feel resonate with your character the most.

Dana Barrett (Ghostbusters): 89% Sansa Stark (Game of Thrones): 88% Camille Saroyan (Bones): 85% Abby Whelan (Scandal): 84% Sailor Mars (Sailor Moon): 84% Helen Parr (The Incredibles): 84% Dr. Lisa Cuddy (House, M.D.): 83% Kim Wexler (Better Call Saul): 82% Katara (Avatar: The Last Airbender): 81% Lisa Simpson (The Simpsons): 80%

Tagged by: stole it from @more-than-a-princess again Tagging: waiting for YOU to do it

[thebaepatricia]

📚 June Wrap-Up: Books

This month wasn’t the best for me in terms of reading. I didn’t have any strong urge to read + there was no book I hyper-fixated on and excited me enough.

The only reason I was able to finish one more book (Thank you for listening) at the last minute was because I had the flu and I spent 2 days reading on and off. Don’t try it at home though, no sickness is worth upping your wrap up for! 😅

I saw a template before of monthly favorites. I wasn’t able to do it in the past wrap ups obviously so I’ll start this month.

And for June, my book of the month is... *drumroll*

The Foundations of Peak Brain Performance

⭐️ The Foundations of Peak Brain Performance by Louisa Nicola

In The Foundations of Peak Brain Performance, neurophysiologist, brain coach, and Neuro Athletics newsletter author Louisa Nicola discusses your brain and mental state in relationship to peak performance. Going beyond physical training and preparation, Nicola provides evidence-based guidance on how to keep your brain operating at the highest level possible using the same methods as elite athletes. In the course, Nicola gives an overview of what’s going on in the brain, laying out the basic biology and functions of the brain; discusses the importance of hydration in ensuring a healthy and effective brain; how sunlight can give your brain a boost; and practical tips for enhancing brain performance. She also shares exercises along the way to help you put what you’ve learned into practice right away. As scientifically rigorous and fascinating as it is accessible and practical, The Foundations of Peak Brain Performance is perfect for anyone looking to improve their cognitive performance — and understand the how and why at the same time.

It was short and substantial. The narration was also excellent!

Other People's Houses by Abbi Waxman

At any given moment in other people's houses, you can find...repressed hopes and dreams...moments of unexpected joy...someone making love on the floor to a man who is most definitely not her husband... *record scratch* As the longtime local carpool mom, Frances Bloom is sometimes an unwilling witness to her neighbors' private lives. She knows her cousin is hiding her desire for another baby from her spouse, Bill Horton's wife is mysteriously missing, and now this... After the shock of seeing Anne Porter in all her extramarital glory, Frances vows to stay in her own lane. But that's a notion easier said than done when Anne's husband throws her out a couple of days later. The repercussions of the affair reverberate through the four carpool families--and Frances finds herself navigating a moral minefield that could make or break a marriage.

First book done in June

It took me the entirety of May to read this slowly, but since I finished it just now, I didn’t count it for last month’s wrap up.

I went back and forth on how to review this book with justice but at the end of the day, I don’t really have much to say save for it being a “light, humorous read.” If you don’t have the same attention span I do, you can probably finish this in one afternoon.

It didn’t really stand out to me as I thought it would. And it definitely wasn’t as funny and memorable like Eleanor Oliphant, as some reviewers claimed. But then I’m biased, so it might be hard to beat that.

I will say though, every character felt like their own. There was clear distinction with their personalities, mannerisms, quirks, and reputation. In my head, I thought it would make a great series.

Thank You For Listening by Julia Whelan

For Sewanee Chester, being an audiobook narrator is a long way from her old dreams, but the days of being a star on film sets are long behind her. She’s found success and satisfaction from the inside of a sound booth and it allows her to care for her beloved, ailing grandmother. When she arrives in Las Vegas last-minute for a book convention, Sewanee unexpectedly spends a whirlwind night with a charming stranger. On her return home, Sewanee discovers one of the world’s most beloved romance novelists wanted her to perform her last book—with Brock McNight, the industry’s hottest, most secretive voice. Sewanee doesn’t buy what romance novels are selling—not after her own dreams were tragically cut short—and she stopped narrating them years ago. But her admiration of the late author, and the opportunity to get her grandmother more help, makes her decision for her. As Sewanee begins work on the book, resurrecting her old romance pseudonym, she and Brock forge a real connection, hidden behind the comfort of anonymity. Soon, she is dreaming again, but secrets are revealed, and the realities of life come crashing down around her once more. If she can learn to risk everything for desires she has long buried, she will discover a world of intimacy and acceptance she never believed would be hers.

(Audiobook review) This book is a gem 😘🤌🏼 So many memorable characters, amazing narration, substantial storyline. I can't believe I officially have a crush on a fictional character - for the first time ever! And to top it off, Nick can do a strong Irish accent. 🥹

[onlythegentle-survive]

ooh what have you been reading this month?

So far I’ve read 12 books this month, 2 of which have been 5 stars.

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher: 5/5 (she’s one of my favourite authors so this isn’t surprising)

Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler: 4/5 (but not reading again anytime soon)

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan: 2.5/5

Never Forget You by Fiona Lucas: 3/5

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard by Megan Clawson: 2/5

A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair: 4.5/5

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by S.A. Chakraborty: light 3/5

Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams: 4/5

The Flight of Anja by Tamara Goranson: 5/5

Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman: 2/5

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid: light 2/5

The Ferryman by Justin Cronin: 1/5 (most recently finished)

So they haven’t all been duds, but a lot of the ones that are 3 or lower have been disappointing because I went in expecting to love them. I love to read and I do a lot of it. I’m trying not to DNF as many books as I did last year, and trying to find at least one nice thing to say about each of the 2-or-lower-star rated books.