#KILL ROWAN POPE!

[thegayfangrrl]

DILF December bracket

Order decided (roughly) by percentage of the movie/show's A03 fics in which the character is tagged.

Round one:

Caractacus Potts (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) vs. Jean Valjean (Les Miserables)

Joel (The Last of Us) vs. Sam Sylvia (G.L.O.W.)

Ulysses Everett McGill (O Brother Where Art Thou) vs. Georg von Trapp (The Sound of Music)

William Adama (Battlestar Galactica) vs. Dan Connor (Roseanne)

Waymond Wang (Everything Everywhere All At Once) vs. Armand Goldman (The Birdcage)

Walter Bishop (Fringe) vs. Martin Crane (Frasier)

Harry Bright (Mamma Mia) vs. Stacker Pentecost (Pacific Rim)

Han Solo (Star Wars) vs. Elrond Peredhel (LOTR)

Ron Swanson (Parks and Recreation) vs. Gerry Quinn (Derry Girls)

Bernard Lowe (Westworld) vs. Clay Morrow (Sons of Anarchy)

Benjamin Sisko (Star Trek Deep Space Nine) vs. Bud Hammond (Political Animals)

Herman Boone (Remember the Titans) vs. George Banks (Mary Poppins)

Robert Neville (I Am Legend) vs. Daniel (Love Actually)

Konstantin Vasiliev (Killing Eve) vs. Tuvok (Star Trek Voyager)

Noah MacManus (Boondock Saints) vs. Dill Penderghast (Easy A)

Earl Johnson (Black-ish) vs. Rowan Pope (Scandal)

[trumpetnista]

My Final Thoughts on 7x08 (taken from Shattering’s latest A/N...)

Quinn Perkins' fate may just be sealed after all but at least Shonda didn't kill her baby. Of course, after 509, last season or not, killing yet another baby wasn't gonna happen but Quinn herself? She may very well be gone and even if she's not, I'm pretty tempted to sue ABC for emotional distress. Everyone (even Joke Bastard's crash test dummy looking and acting ass) was affected by the apparent loss of Quinn and that 21 gun salute funeral scene made me cry. It's like when Harrison died but a million times worse because that was on Rowan. What's happened is on Liv.

No amount of private guilt will count until she fesses up to her Evil and starts making up for it. What little humanity she did show was potent and heartwrenching but it's not enough. Neither was her going to Fitz for comfort like we knew she would, even though she was an absolute bitch to him for no good reason beforehand. She always lashes out at him, especially when she knows that she's done wrong and Fitz just...it's honestly sad at this point. There's a difference between unconditional love and taking emotional abuse and it seems that Fitz has reached that conclusion because even though he did take her in with loving arms (god, the scene was so sweet but so sad), he's on the verge of giving up on her for good and I ain't mad at it.

I said it on Thursday and I'm saying it here: unless Liv starts getting some professional help or even semi-professional help, Fitz needs to bounce and never, ever look back. Enough is enough. He may love her and she may love him but unless they're both human and acting like adults, Olitz just isn't gonna work. Fitz has put the work in to be a better man solo and within Olitz. He's always put the work in and I'm tired of Liv doing the bare minimum in response or worse, making one big positive gesture and then backtracking on it the second things get complicated. It's fucking bullshit.

Olivia Pope needs to own her Rowana sins. She needs to tell the whole truth to her remaining friends and family and face the consequences. Afterwards, she needs to put the work in to fix herself or she shouldn't get to be happy with Fitz or by herself, that matter. It's been 7 years of the same bullshit from her and I'm tired. It's probably an unpopular opinion but I don't give a fuck. I've stood by my convictions before and I'm gonna keep doing it.

However, there was good in the 7B premiere. Huck carried the episode (and figured out the ugly truth in like 30 seconds), the rest of them are about to find out because Quinn had the Intel hidden on a flash drive just in case, Cyrus faced more consequences for his Evil, Mellie was only around for like a minute, Joke Bastard has been reduced to Lady Rowana of the Sith's personal chauffer, Olitz made love like they did in 1x06 (sans the broken lamp and solid mental health, unfortunately) Quinn's baby girl is alive and beautiful (her name is Robin, BTW if you wanna cry a little inside) and the episode ended with Rowan getting the shit choked out of him by a very angry Charlie. It's likely the bastard isn't gonna die but it was gratifying to see. I haven't been that happy to see someone get fucked up since Joke got shanked in 4B. I am cautiously optimistic about 7B and the Series Finale in April but there are 10 eps left and anything can happen, good or bad.

[sapphim]

new year new worldstate ig. apparently I spent 2020 lockdown overhauling my multi-warden worldstate so thoroughly that it’s split into two entirely separate worldstates, so I’ve officially granted the now-redundant version of events to Sulina Mahariel for her solo worldstate.

old worldstate

warden: Sulina Mahariel (rogue, romances Zevran)

ruler of Orzammar? Bhelen

ruler of Ferelden? Alistair + Anora

dark ritual? yeah but it went more like this

hawke: Tabitha Hawke (blue, warrior, romances Isabela)

Carver? joins grey wardens. transfers to amaranthine after a short time.

Bethany? taken to circle.

inquisitor: Alden Trevelyan (warrior, romances Dorian)

inquisition commander? Sebastian

arcane advisor? Merrill (drinks from the well of sorrows)

pope wife? was Leliana but hmmmm might change it to Vivienne

sirs also appearing in this film: Nola Trevelyan (romances Leliana), Amelina Trevelyan (romances Sera), Evelyn Trevelyan (romances Seb)

hip new fresh worldstate for 2021

wardens: Sulina Mahariel, Eydis Aeducan, Rozi Brosca, Rafael Surana

sirs also appearing in this film: Gwendolen Cousland, Zethya Tabris, Spiro Amell, Rowan. Gwen and Zethya travel with the wardens. meanwhile, Spiro, Rowan, and Anders break out of the circle tower together and spend the entire blight having hijinks just out of frame.

sirs also eventually recruited to the wardens: Loghain, Zethya, Rowan, Anders obv, and Ellaran Andras pops in from Orlais after awakening.

recruitment and blight proceed as previously stated except: Gwendolen and her mother save Oren as well and he spends the blight with Eleanor and the Guerrins. Gwendolen’s gay ass gets talked into marrying her childhood crush Anora. Alistair still temporarily leaves the wardens over Loghain’s recruitment and stays behind in Denerim with Gwen tho.

ruler of Orzammar? Eydis Aeducan

ruler of Ferelden? Anora + Gwendolen

commander of the grey? Sulina Mahariel

dark ritual? nah, they have bodies to spare so I think Loghain takes the L

awakening? since Sulina’s free to go on honeymoon with Zevran, Alistair and Rafael get left in charge in her absence. since the entire blight was spent with Sulina + Eydis vying for dominance until realizing they were an unstoppable force if they could reach an agreement, Al and Raf made approximately zero important decisions during that time and have no idea how to start now.

(Sulina: “hey guys, what’d I miss?” Alistair and Rafael, frazzled: “uhhhhhh LOTS so apparently uhhhhhhh darkspawn can TALK NOW and uhhhh also we fought a ghost dragon? uhh oh and this is Nathaniel he tried to kill us and now he’s our best friend.“ Sulina: “...there’s a lot to unpack here but let’s just throw away the whole suitcase”)

hawke: Juniper Hawke (red, mage, romances Isabela + Seb)

Carver + Bethany? as in Tabby’s worldstate, unless I change my mind, which I very well might

Juniper as princess of Starkhaven is a holy terror lmao

inquisitor: Kataara Adaar (mage, romances Viv + Bull)

sirs also appearing in this film: Vaati Adaar (romances Sera), Rumour Cadash (romances Dorian), Shirae Lavellan (romances Lace Harding), Ellaran Andras (romances Solas)

inquisition commander? haven’t decided yet tbh

arcane advisor? Ellaran

drinks from the well of sorrows? Shirae Lavellan

pope wife? Leliana

[thebloodychampion]

STATISTICAL ‘WHICH CHARACTER’ QUIZ 

Cristina Yang (Grey's Anatomy): 85%

Severus Snape (Harry Potter): 84%

Stanley Hudson (The Office): 83%

Walter White (Breaking Bad): 83%

Rowan Pope (Scandal): 83%

Carolyn Martens (Killing Eve): 83%

Gus Fring (Breaking Bad): 82%

Toby Ziegler (The West Wing): 81%

Leslie Winkle (The Big Bang Theory): 81%

Dexter Morgan (Dexter): 81%

stolen from: @spxctrixmru

tagging: anyone

[tvandenneagram]

Scandal: Olivia Pope – Type 1w2

Olivia Pope is extremely principled and has an intense drive to do the right thing. Olivia is a self-professed ‘white hat’ and believes that her actions are always for the greater good. As she is a compliant type, she is focused on what she thinks is the ‘right’ thing. 1s are often described as fixers, Olivia’s job is literally to ‘fix’ situations for her clients.

At her best, she begins to become less serious and more relaxed in her relationships with others. She begins to stop being so black and white in her views, and more accepting of different viewpoints. When she is away with Jake, she feels more at ease and begins to feel content with her life.

At her worst, she becomes depressed and more withdrawn (disintegrating to 4). She becomes especially withdrawn after she is kidnapped and almost sold, and she stops believing in her principles and ideals.

However, she falls into the trap that many type 1s fall into: “do as I say, not as I do” She becomes extremely hypocritical in certain situations, and compromises her morals when she feels she is justified, yet scolds other for doing the same thing. Throughout the series, she becomes progressively more morally grey, and does many questionable things. Yet, she justifies it as being for the greater good and there being no other options.

When Fitz goes to war with West Angola to try and get her back from the kidnappers, she is outraged as she thinks he has done the wrong thing. She is unwavering in her morals and believes that killing innocents is always wrong. She also has a strong stance against lying, which she shares with many other type 1s.

Olivia has often been typed as an 8 or a 3 as she can present as aggressive and success oriented. However, I do not think her motivations are aligned with either of these types. She does not want power and control over others, instead she wants to make the world a better place. Her anger is also more indicative of a type 1 as it is righteously motivated and is more focused on the wrongdoings of others.  

1w2s are generally more overtly aggressive than 1w9s, so I believe she has a 2 wing. Additionally, she tries to help people become ‘better people’ and wants to ‘better’ the world through her firm.

Tri-type: 1w2 – 3w2 – 6w5

Some quotes to describe Olivia’s motivations

"My gut tells me everything I need to know."

"Whatever happens, we do not give up. It is my name on that door, and I do not give up."

“I am not a fantasy. If you want me, earn me! Until then, we are done."

"I am many things, stupid is not one of them."

“It’s handled”

“I’ll never allow a person to get in the way of doing the right thing”

“If I’m going to help you here, you follow my rules. It’s up to you—you know what’s at stake, you’ve seen what I can do”

“The men outside these oval walls, they want to take it all away from us because they are terrified, because they are outraged, because they have come to the realisation that all those centuries of misogyny and privilege and status quo are finally over. That is why you never listen to a man over me.”

“My white hat is bigger than your white hat”

Rowan: “he couldn’t live up to your expectations of perfection”

[multiverseforger]

The Magdalena is the title of a series of women descended from Jesus Christ via his marriage to Mary Magdalene. The Magdalena inherits great powers from the royal bloodline and acts as a warrior in the defence of the Catholic Church.[3][4]

The Roman Catholic Church has been the Magdalena's employer since the Middle Ages, raising her from childhood and training her until she is ready to carry out her role. The Inquisition, a secretive and powerful council of cardinals, oversees the Magdalena's activities and decides her missions.

Sister RosaliaEdit

Sister Rosalia was a former Magdalena who died when she was 33 years old. She was raped as a teenager by a masked assailant. She became pregnant as a result of the assault and gave birth to a girl. The child was stolen from her and raised in an unidentified convent.

In her last mission, she was sent to investigate vampirism in France. She was informed that vampirism is a retrovirus that forces vampires to consume blood to restore their hemoglobin. She decided that they were not evil and aided their escape. She was killed by the soldiers of the Inquisition, the Garduna, for trying to prevent them from slaughtering the vampires. It was hinted that Rosalia might have been infected with the virus and would rise three days after her death, mirroring the Resurrection of Jesus.

Sister MariellaEdit

Mariella, the adult daughter of Rosalia, was sent to kill Jackie Estacado with the Spear of Destiny, but unbeknownst to her she still wasn't fully trained and wasn't able to differentiate between right and wrong. After the Sisters of the Order of Magdalene performed the ritual which gave Mariella the ability to divine a person's sins, she and her Sisters were overpowered and defeated by Jackie, who made an example of them by crucifying them in the church. After recovering from her crucifixion and the fight with Jackie, Mariella learned where the Spear of Destiny was and prepared to retrieve it. While doing so, she encountered the Angelus and Appolonia Francetti in the Amazon rainforest and was again left to die after Appolonia used a portion of the Darkness' power to subdue her.

PatienceEdit

The third and current Magdalena is known as Patience, created by writer Brian Holguin. Patience was in her novitiate but she left her convent suddenly, forcing the Inquisition to send an agent, Kristof, to track her down when her time came to assume the role of the Magdalena.

Kristof found Patience living on the streets with a homeless girl named Rowan Barry. Kristof became Patience's mentor and gave her basic training. Patience was initially hesitant but later accepted her destiny when Rowan was abducted by agents of an evil force. The events lead to a disagreement with Kristof and the Inquisition, prompting her to declare herself independent of their control. She remains allied with them only when their goals do not conflict with her ethics.

Patience appeared again when Sara Pezzini, an officer of the New York City Police Department and wielder of the Witchblade, was attacked by a bloodthirsty demon posing as a young woman. Patience helped her to drive away the demon.

Benedetta Maria FerroEdit

Benedetta was a Magdalena of Spanish descent who tried to stop Jackie Estacado's ancestor, Miguel Estacado, from obtaining a treasure meant for the Pope. During her battle with Estacado, she was fatally wounded before plunging the Spear of Destiny into the hull of Estacado's ship. Before her death, Miguel took the spear, intending to return it to the Holy See, and left her to die, a decision he later regretted.

[duubellay]

Everyone and everything that you love is a weakness.

[storiescrafted-a]

MUSE INFO   —   MELODY ‘MELLIE’ MARGARET GRANT.

formerly found at: politicalgenius.

triggers that may apply:  death,  loss,  grief,  child death,  depression,  alcoholism,  overdose,  attempted suicide,  sexual assault,  infidelity,  abuse.   to be expanded upon as i think of more but hi she deserves hugs and a break.  

all information outlined below is based in the latest possible information   (   though some still has to be updated as i rewatch   ),   and can vary by verse.  a lot of it is headcanon based,  and has developed over my time writing mellie,  because she deserves the world and this garbage show really only gave her pain and zero (0) friends / people she could trust.

NOTE:  mellie has views that not all will agree with or like.  these don’t reflect my own feelings,  thoughts,  or opinions,  and anything that may come up will simply be me attempting to stay true to who my girl is!

BORN:  melody margaret eaves*. PLACE OF BIRTH:  asheville,  north carolina. DATE OF BIRTH:  december 5th, 1966;  age  —  53. EYE COLOR:  blue. HAIR COLOR:  brown. PARENTS:  beau eaves  (father,  estranged)*.   evelyn baker eaves  (mother, deceased)*.   SIBLINGS:  harmony eaves  (half-sister,  somewhat estranged). SPOUSE:  fitzgerald ‘fitz’ thomas grant iii  (divorced). CHILDREN:  fitzgerald ‘jerry’ thomas grant iv  (deceased,  2014),   karen grant,   theodore wallace grant. EDUCATION:  harvard undergrad,  yale law. PAST OCCUPATIONS:  attorney,  first lady of california,  first lady of the united states,  junior senator from virginia. CURRENT OCCUPATION:  45th president of the united states. POLITICAL PARTY:  republican. SECRET SERVICE CODENAME:  foxtail. SEXUAL ORIENTATION:  she’s a lesbian, harold.

QUICK FACTS THAT MOST WOULD KNOW!

graduated top of her class from both harvard for her undergrad,  and from yale law.

former partner at a prestigious california law firm,  a job she gave up to help fitz get elected governor.

while mellie is a republican,  it’s been noted that she’s the most progressive republican president in over 100 years,  and is pro-lqbt+,  pro-immigration,  pro-choice,  and has notably pushed through legislation for stricter gun control,  and worked toward middle eastern peace.

tbh she’s only a republican bc fitz is and she for political and image reasons she had to match him.

wrote a ‘tell all’ book about her time as first lady,  though only bits of it were published in a ‘leak’ in an attempt to get her better footing as a presidential candidate.

was the first person to air information about fitz’s affair with olivia pope   (   though she didn’t leak olivia’s name   ).

ex-wife of 44th president of the united states,  fitzgerald ‘fitz’ grant iii.

once she filibustered for 16 hours on the eve of the christmas holidays to save planned parenthood bc a man told her not to / bc her convictions are so good and i love her.

her son,  jerry,  died during fitz’s second campaign and she spent three months in a deep depression,  where she was regularly attacked by the press for regularly visiting his grave in her pajamas.   *   this led to a stalwart fight both as a senator and as president to support mental health and discussions and destigmatization of as many aspects of mental illness as she’s able,  particularly as depression is something she’s dealt with her whole life.

she didn’t win the presidential election,  she lost to frankie vargas,  who was assassinated almost immediately after being announced as the winner.  mellie was elected by the electoral college over cyrus beene.

her chief of staff was initially olivia pope,  until mellie forced her to resign.

her original pick for vp was jake ballard,  who was blackmailed out of the position and replaced by frankie vargas’ widow,  luna.  luna died the evening of mellie’s inauguration and was replaced by cyrus beene.

olivia was replaced as chief of staff by jake ballard,  who tried to push mellie out of office with the aid of cyrus beene.

jake was later arrested and sent to a maximum security prison,  and cyrus was forced by olivia to resign as vp.

was under suspicion of plotting to kill cyrus beene while he was her vice president,  though this was found to be a plot by cyrus to unseat her and get his shot at the oval.

underwent impeachment hearings during her first year in office,  though they were later found to be under false pretenses presented by jake ballard.

i headcanon that she convinces susan ross,  who ran against her for president,  to come on as vp;  and abby whelan,  who worked previously as fitz’s chief of staff,  to come on as her chief of staff,  as cyrus resigned,  jake was imprisoned,  and olivia refused to come back on.   *   this all depends on plotting bc depending on who i’m writing with,  things here could easily change

also this isn’t necessarily crucial to mellie,  but david rosen definitely didn’t die and is helping mellie to restore her public image post impeachment-hearings thank u.

near the end of her presidency,  mellie does a press conference where comes out as a lesbian and announces proposed initiatives to improve lgbtq+ support nationwide,  and she works hard to implement them before her last term is up.

in her main verse,  post-presidency she moves to new york city to live with her best friend and fellow lesbian,  minerva allory  (@crimscnmalice),  and her friendship with min in general is included heavily in mellie’s main default verse and it’s not something that’s at all secret so people Know they’re best friends and it’s soft and cute and Fine.

FACTS THAT PRIVILEGED PEOPLE MIGHT KNOW!

her marriage to fitz was arranged for political benefit,  as mellie’s father came from old money so her name was ‘good’.

had an affair with former vice president andrew nichols.

was a part of the team that conspired to rig voting machines in defiance county, ohio in order to get fitz elected,  along with olivia pope,  verna thorton,  hollis doyle,  and cyrus beene   (   commonly referred to as ‘defiance’   ).

her son was murdered by a secret service agent under orders from olivia’s father,  rowan pope.

was in a flirtatious relationship with president farid rashad of bashran before he was killed by olivia pope via her b613   (   an underground spy organization,  now dismantled   )   resources.

she legitimately has mason jars of moonshine made by her family stashed around the white house and she’s a barely-functional alcoholic and needs hugs.

[lovepersists2]

MUSE INFO   —   MELODY ‘MELLIE’ MARGARET GRANT.

formerly found at: politicalgenius.

triggers that may apply:  death,  loss,  grief,  child death,  depression,  alcoholism,  overdose,  attempted suicide,  sexual assault,  infidelity,  abuse.   to be expanded upon as i think of more but hi she deserves hugs and a break.  

all information outlined below is based in the latest possible information   (   though some still has to be updated as i rewatch   ),   and can vary by verse.  a lot of it is headcanon based,  and has developed over my time writing mellie,  because she deserves the world and this garbage show really only gave her pain and zero (0) friends / people she could trust.

NOTE:  mellie has views that not all will agree with or like.  these don’t reflect my own feelings,  thoughts,  or opinions,  and anything that may come up will simply be me attempting to stay true to who my girl is! 

BORN:  melody margaret eaves*. PLACE OF BIRTH:  asheville,  north carolina. DATE OF BIRTH:  december 5th, 1966;  age  —  53. EYE COLOR:  blue. HAIR COLOR:  brown. PARENTS: beau eaves  (father,  estranged)*.   evelyn baker eaves  (mother, deceased)*.   SIBLINGS: harmony eaves  (half-sister,  somewhat estranged). SPOUSE:  fitzgerald thomas grant iii  (divorced). CHILDREN:  fitzgerald ‘jerry’ thomas grant iv  (deceased,  2014),   karen grant,   theodore wallace grant. EDUCATION:  harvard undergrad,  yale law. PAST OCCUPATIONS: attorney,  first lady of california,  first lady of the united states,  junior senator from virginia. CURRENT OCCUPATION: 45th president of the united states. POLITICAL PARTY:  republican. SECRET SERVICE CODENAME:  foxtail. SEXUAL ORIENTATION:  she’s a lesbian, harold.

QUICK FACTS THAT MOST WOULD KNOW!

graduated top of her class from both harvard for her undergrad,  and from yale law.

former partner at a prestigious california law firm,  a job she gave up to help fitz get elected governor.

while mellie is a republican,  it’s been noted that she’s the most progressive republican president in over 100 years,  and is pro-lqbt+,  pro-immigration,  pro-choice,  and has notably pushed through legislation for stricter gun control,  and worked toward middle eastern peace.

tbh she’s only a republican bc fitz is and she for political and image reasons she had to match him.

wrote a ‘tell all’ book about her time as first lady,  though only bits of it were published in a ‘leak’ in an attempt to get her better footing as a presidential candidate.

was the first person to air information about fitz’s affair with olivia pope (  though she didn’t leak olivia’s name   ).

ex-wife of 44th president of the united states,  fitzgerald ‘fitz’ grant iii.

once she filibustered for 16 hours on the eve of the christmas holidays to save planned parenthood bc a man told her not to / bc her convictions are so good and i love her.

her son,  jerry,  died during fitz’s second campaign and she spent three months in a deep depression,  where she was regularly attacked by the press for regularly visiting his grave in her pajamas.

she didn’t win the presidential election,  she lost to frankie vargas,  who was assassinated almost immediately after being announced as the winner.  mellie was elected by the electoral college over cyrus beene.

her chief of staff was initially olivia pope,  until mellie forced her to resign.

her original pick for vp was jake ballard,  who was blackmailed out of the position and replaced by frankie vargas’ widow,  luna.  luna died the evening of mellie’s inauguration and was replaced by cyrus beene.

olivia was replaced as chief of staff by jake ballard,  who tried to push mellie out of office with the aid of cyrus beene.

jake was later arrested and sent to a maximum security prison,  and cyrus was forced by olivia to resign as vp.

was under suspicion of plotting to kill cyrus beene while he was her vice president,  though this was found to be a plot by cyrus to unseat her and get his shot at the oval.

underwent impeachment hearings during her first year in office,  though they were later found to be under false pretenses presented by jake ballard.

i headcanon that she convinces susan ross,  who ran against her for president,  to come on as vp;  and abby whelan,  who worked previously as fitz’s chief of staff,  to come on as her chief of staff,  as cyrus resigned,  jake was imprisoned,  and olivia refused to come back on.

also this isn’t necessarily crucial to mellie,  but david rosen definitely didn’t die and is helping mellie to restore her public image post impeachment-hearings thank u.

near the end of her presidency,  mellie does a press conference where comes out as a lesbian and announces proposed initiatives to improve lgbtq+ support nationwide,  and she works hard to implement them before her last term is up.

post-presidency she moves to new york city to live with her best friend and fellow lesbian,  minerva allory  (@crimscnmalice),  and her friendship with min in general is included heavily in mellie’s main default verse and it’s not something that’s at all secret so people Know they’re best friends and it’s soft and cute and Fine.

FACTS THAT PRIVILEGED PEOPLE MIGHT KNOW!

her marriage to fitz was arranged for political benefit,  as mellie’s father came from old money so her name was ‘good’.

had an affair with former vice president andrew nichols.

was a part of the team that conspired to rig voting machines in defiance county, ohio in order to get fitz elected,  along with olivia pope,  verna thorton,  hollis doyle,  and cyrus beene   (   commonly referred to as ‘defiance’   ).

her son was murdered by a secret service agent under orders from olivia’s father,  rowan pope.

was in a flirtatious relationship with president farid rashad of bashran before he was killed by olivia pope via her b613   (   an underground spy organization,  now dismantled   )   resources.

she legitimately has mason jars of moonshine made by her family stashed around the white house and she’s a barely-functional alcoholic and needs hugs.

[tabloidtoc]

People, April 29

Cover: Lori Loughlin’s Fall from Grace over the College Admissions Scandal 

Page 2: Chatter -- Kate Hudson on being a mom of three, Oprah Winfrey on high avocado prices, Anderson Cooper on Andy Cohen’s son Benjamin, Justin Bieber about fellow Canadian Shawn Mendes being called the prince of pop, Mindy Kaling warning her employees to keep up with Game of Thrones, Jennifer Garner on a possible 13 Going on 30 sequel 

Page 4: 5 Things We’re Talking About This Week -- Dwayne Johnson will release his own tequila, Kim Kardashian is studying law, a black hole gets its close-up, a Jeopardy! contestant scores big, Grease is getting a prequel 

Page 6: Contents 

Page 8: Star Tracks -- Dwayne Wade and Chrissy Teigen and John Legend 

Page 9: Jude Law in a Speedo filming The New Pope, Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal 

Page 10: Royal Kids -- Prince William and Princess Kate with kids George and Charlotte and Zara Tindall and daughters Mia and Lena 

Page 12: Coachella -- Kacey Musgraves, Cardi B and Offset, Selena Gomez, Rowan Blanchard, Kiernan Shipka, Hailey Baldwin, Winnie Harlow, Kendall Jenner, Vanessa Hudgens 

Page 14: Tiger Woods won his first major golf championship in 11 years, Sneak Peek at a Blue Bloods wedding with Tom Selleck, Will Estes, Vanessa Ray, Bridget Moynihan, Sami Gayle, Donnie Wahlberg and Christine Ebersole 

Page 16: Star Wars: Episode IX costars Daisy Ridley and Naomi Ackie and Kelly Marie Tran, Michael Gandolfini on the set of the Sopranos prequel, Katy Perry met Wicked stars Ginna Claire Mason and Jessica Vosk, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow 

Page 19: How Meghan Markle is changing royal baby tradition 

Page 20: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are officially single again 

Page 23: Heart Monitor -- Ben Affleck and Lindsay Shookus are over again, Emma Roberts and Garrett Hedlund heating up, Jennifer Lawrence and Cooke Maroney wedding planning, Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton going strong 

Page 24: Wendy Williams files for divorce amid scandal, Anna Faris on her life as a mom 

Page 26: Sandra Bullock’s Georgia getaway for sale, Carrie Underwood back to work after baby 

Page 28: The secrets of Ariana Grande’s stage style 

Page 30: Stories to make you smile 

Page 33: Passages, a fire at Notre Dame 

Page 35: People Picks -- Game of Thrones

Page 36: Sara Bareilles’ new LP Amidst the Chaos, The Twilight Zone 

Page 37: Penguins, Billboard Music Awards, Q&A with Ed Helms 

Page 38: Gentleman Jack, Bosch, Q&A with Torrey DeVitto 

Page 39: Cuz I Love You from Lizzo, Someone Great, One to Watch -- The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’s Tati Gabrielle 

Page 40: Books 

Page 42: Cover Story -- Lori Loughlin paying the price in the college cheating scandal 

Page 49: DWTS’ Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson wedding 

Page 54: Why Sarah and Jennifer Hart killed their six kids 

Page 58: Ricki Lake -- Joy after tragedy 

Page 60: Kiefer Sutherland -- TV star to country singer 

Page 63: A woman with depression let doctors flatline her brain to cure it

Page 67: Lionel Richie -- What I know now 

Page 72: Moms Helping Moms -- Cool gear for kids with special needs 

Page 75: Mother’s Day gift guide -- Eva Longoria 

Page 76: Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager 

Page 78: Miranda Kerr 

Page 82: Food -- please try a vegan diet, like this recipe for Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Green Pea Chutney from Priya Krishna 

Page 87: Second Look -- Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon 

Page 88: One Last Thing -- Elizabeth McGovern

[teafortwo29]

It’s a Scandal! How Kerry Washington’s political drama turned into a bloody mess

 Immoral support... Kerry Washington (centre) with the cast of Scandal. Photograph: Craig Sjodin/Lori Epstein/ABC

Jump the Shark The moment your favourite TV show went bad

Diane Shipley  1 Oct 2018

Scandal started off as a political thriller about Olivia Pope, a sharply dressed professional with a penchant for yelling “It’s HANDLED!” when asked to perform any task, from collecting a takeaway to covering up a crime. From 2012 to 2018, Kerry Washington played this powerhouse head of crisis-management firm Olivia Pope & Associates, whose employees included three lawyers and a former hitman.

Based extremely loosely on the experiences of Judy A Smith, a former deputy press secretary to George HW Bush, it was fascinating stuff. Each week, Olivia and her “Gladiators” tackled a different case, using spin and steam cleaning to help the rich and powerful cover up affairs, social media mishaps and, yes, the occasional killing. Some aspects of the show were hard to believe, from Olivia’s ability to keep her white sofa stain-free despite consuming a fishbowl of bordeaux every evening to her on-off affair with President Fitzgerald Grant (Tony Goldwyn), the whiny married man she rigged voting machines to help elect.

But for the most part, Scandal was smart, soapy fun, another hit for TV titan Shonda Rhimes, creator of Grey’s Anatomy and exec-producer of How to Get Away With Murder. It tackled the impact of racism, treated same-sex marriage and abortion as commonplace and was revolutionary in the history of TV: Washington was the first African-American actress cast in the lead role in a drama for 38 years (Get Christie Love!, starring Teresa Graves, lasted one series from 1974 to 75).

After two seasons, however, Scandal started to fall apart. We learned that Olivia’s dad, Rowan (Joe Morton), was the head of a shadowy government agency B613, which used torture to protect people in power. While Morton’s natural charisma and room-shaking baritone allowed him to just about pull off pronouncements such as “I am the hell AND the high water” while remaining on the right side of parody, the show became a literal bloody mess, filled with stabbings, shootings and throat-slittings as almost every major character committed murder without being caught. Viewers went from being on the edge of their seats to on the verge of vomiting.

This increase in violence was accompanied by wild tonal swings (including a widely derided, overly idealistic take on police brutality that saw a victim’s father hug the president) and ridiculous plot twists, including Olivia discovering her long-dead mother was actually alive (and an international terrorist), and the vice-president having Olivia kidnapped so he could bribe the president into starting a war.

There was some sweet wish fulfillment towards the end, when Fitz’s ex-wife succeeded him in the White House, but that was the catalyst for yet more betrayal and bloodshed. In the final episode, we flashed forward to see two young girls admiring a portrait of Olivia in the National Portrait Gallery, implying that she went on to be president, too. But given all the immoral and illegal things she’d done, it was hard to get excited. Looking back, the real Scandal was that anyone kept watching.

[archivestoriescrafted]

MUSE INFO   —   MELODY ‘MELLIE’ MARGARET GRANT.

formerly found at: politicalgenius.

all information outlined below is based in the latest possible information   (   though some still has to be updated as i rewatch   ),  and can vary by verse.  some of it is headcanon based,  and has developed over my time writing mellie.  anything noted with a * is based on personal headcanons.

BORN:  melody margaret eaves*. PLACE OF BIRTH:  asheville,  north carolina. DATE OF BIRTH:  december 5th, 1966;  age  —  52. EYE COLOR:  blue. HAIR COLOR:  brown. PARENTS:  beau eaves  (father,  estranged)*.   evelyn baker eaves  (mother, deceased)*.   SIBLINGS:  harmony eaves  (half-sister,  somewhat estranged). SPOUSE:  fitzgerald grant iii   (divorced). CHILDREN:  fitzgerald ‘jerry’ alexander grant iv   (deceased,  2014),   karen evelyn* grant,   theodore wallace* grant. EDUCATION:  harvard undergrad,  yale law. PAST OCCUPATIONS:  attorney,  first lady of california,  first lady of the united states,  junior senator from virginia. CURRENT OCCUPATION:  45th president of the united states. POLITICAL PARTY:  republican. SECRET SERVICE CODENAME:  foxtail (former), eagle one (as president). SEXUAL ORIENTATION:  bisexual. ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: biromantic.

IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS,  AS  (MOSTLY)  OUTLINED BELOW:   fitzgerald grant iii (ex-husband),  karen grant  (daughter),  teddy grant  (son),  olivia pope  (former enemy,  former chief of staff,  sort of friend?),  abby whelan  (current chief of staff,  friend-ly),  susan ross  (vice president,  friend),  jacob ballard  (former chief of staff,  non friend),  cyrus beene  (former vice president,  definite non friend),  david rosen  (attorney general,  friend).

IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS WITH THOSE DECEASED:   jerry grant  (son),  james novak  (friend),  elizabeth north  (sort of friend?),  evelyn eaves  (mother).  

IMPORTANT PORTRAYAL BASED RELATIONSHIPS:   owen grady  (advisor;  @raptorraised),  minerva allory  (best friend & ‘sister’;  @crimscnmalice).

QUICK FACTS THAT MOST WOULD KNOW!

while mellie is a republican,  it’s been noted that she’s the most progressive republican president in over 100 years,  and is pro-lqbt+,  pro-immigration,  pro-choice,  and has notably pushed through legislation for stricter gun control,  and worked toward middle eastern peace.

tbh she’s only a republican bc fitz is and she for political and image reasons she had to match him.

wrote a ‘tell all’ book about her time as first lady,  though only bits of it were published in a ‘leak’ in an attempt to get her better footing as a presidential candidate.

was the first person to air information about fitz’s affair with olivia pope (  though she didn’t leak olivia’s name   ).

ex-wife of 44th president of the united states,  fitzgerald ‘fitz’ grant iii.

once she filibustered for 16 hours on the eve of the christmas holidays to save planned parenthood bc a man told her not to / bc her convictions are so good and i love her.

her son,  jerry,  died during fitz’s second campaign and she spent three months in a deep depression,  where she was dubbed ‘mental mellie’ by the press for regularly visiting his grave in her pajamas.

she didn’t win the presidential election,  she lost to frankie vargas,  who was assassinated almost immediately after being announced as the winner.  mellie was elected by the electoral college over cyrus beene.

her chief of staff was initially olivia pope,  until mellie forced her to resign.

her original pick for vp was jake ballard,  who was blackmailed out of the position and replaced by frankie vargas’ widow,  luna.  luna died the evening of mellie’s inauguration and was replaced by cyrus beene.

olivia was replaced as chief of staff by jake ballard,  who tried to push mellie out of office with the aid of cyrus beene.

jake was later arrested and sent to a maximum security prison,  and cyrus was forced by olivia to resign as vp.

underwent impeachment hearings during her first year in office,  though they were later found to be under false pretenses presented by jake ballard.

i headcanon that she convinces susan ross,  who ran against her for president,  to come on as vp;  and abby whelan,  who worked previously as fitz’s chief of staff,  to come on as her chief of staff,  as cyrus resigned,  jake was imprisoned,  and olivia refused to come back on.

also this isn’t necessarily crucial to mellie,  but david rosen definitely didn’t die and is helping mellie to restore her public image post impeachment-hearings thank u.

FACTS THAT PRIVILEGED PEOPLE MIGHT KNOW!

her marriage to fitz was arranged for political benefit,  as mellie’s father came from old money so her name was ‘good’.

had an affair with former vice president andrew nichols.

was a part of the team that conspired to rig voting machines in defiance county, ohio in order to get fitz elected,  along with olivia pope,  verna thorton,  hollis doyle,  and cyrus beene   (  commonly referred to as ‘defiance’   ).

her son was murdered by a secret service agent under orders from olivia’s father,  rowan pope.

was in a flirtatious relationship with president farid rashad of bashran before he was killed by olivia pope via her b613   (  an underground spy organization,  now dismantled   )   resources.

in an on-and-off relationship with senator marcus walker.

VERSES UNDER THE CUT!

 first lady of california!

a verse following mellie’s time as first lady of california  *  can be a highly triggering verse,  just a heads up.

campaign 001!

a verse following fitz’s first campaign for president.

first lady!

a verse encompassing mellie’s 7 years as first lady.

junior senator from virginia!

a verse encompassing mellie’s brief time as senator.

campaign 002!

a verse encompassing mellie’s campaign for president.

president of the united states!

a verse encompassing mellie’s time as president  /  scandal s7 and beyond.

[trumpetnista]

CMW2/Trumpetnista: Safe (8/?)

Summary from FFN: NOW A WIP: She was Olivia Pope, not Alex Jones, not Julia Baker, and she was a mess;In this AU of 4x16, instead of Alex seducing Russell to feel alive again, Olivia decides on a better course of action, a course of action that starts with a phone call to Fitz;HEAVY SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4 WITHIN;Rated for language, imagery, and later Olitz lovemaking;4th in my 2016 SSS Project

Teaser from Chapter 8: It needed to go.

The couch needed to go.

It was a constant reminder of what had happened to her, now. It was poison.’

Yes, she and Fitz had their good moments on it. After hearing their first time on tape, he had held her for One Minute, comforting her and saying goodbye. When he came to her to run out the clock, the couch had been where he sat, looking at her with all the love in the world, all the trust in the world. She had fallen into his arms on the couch, letting herself be loved and letting go...

...but now? The couch had to go. The couch and the whole apartment, for that matter! Why was she still living there? Even before her abduction, there were so many bad times in the place, more than good. It had been a point of pride to stay put. Olivia had seen it as a sign of strength to stay but had it really been? It was something to think about. It was something to talk about, both with her therapist and her family. She had money. She had contacts. Finding a new place in or close to DC would be simple, even with the inherent hassle of moving.

She would have one less piece of furniture to deal with in the process...

Disclaimer for the full story: “Honestly, it’s not mine!”

@douxbebearchives

3 Days Later...

"I'll take care of him. Consider it Handled."

"Huck."

"He shouldn't have broken into your place. You're trying so hard to get better. You are getting better every day. You're learning how to be happy again and he wants to ruin it. He wants to drag you back down into the Dark because that's the only way that you let him be with you. Even if B613 and Rowan aren't a part of his life anymore, he won't ever leave you alone so someone needs to make him go away for good. I can do it. I'll be okay after, I promise."

"You're getting better, too and I don't want Jake to ruin your progress. He's not worth it."

"But you are. Besides, if I don't take him down, Quinn will after I tell her what happened. Charlie will help her get rid of him because he wants her to be happy and he really likes you. Marcus will run interference if anyone asks where he is and Abby still has her gun so..."

"Huck, don't do it. Please?"

"Ballard hurt you before. He put his hands on you and made you feel scared. He made you feel dirty and wrong. We all let him hurt you before and it wasn't right. It wasn't fair to you. We're supposed to be Gladiators. We're supposed to be a family. Family protects family. Always."

"I didn't protect my family when it counted most. I ran away."

"We forgave you and if Harrison was still here, he would've, too. He loved you. We love you."

"...I know."

"Do you?"

"Yeah. Try not to do it. You all can go talk to him but just...try. For me?"

"...okay."

Olivia sighed softly and tossed her phone into the duffel bag next to her. The breeze was refreshing against her skin and she closed her eyes, already feeling tears sliding down her face. After what happened with Jake, she had booked an emergency session with her therapist. Linda Marbury had seen her first thing and she had taken the rest of the day off afterwards. During that off day, she had given her apartment a deep clean, both to calm down and to check for surveillance equipment. Jake said that he had left nothing behind but she would be a fool to take him at his word. She had found nothing but it didn't mean that she wasn't being watched.

Local news had brought up the fact that she was in counseling but she had been prepared. There was no shame in admitting that one needed help. With how stressful life could be, especially in Washington, getting help and support was crucial. Mental health was just as important as physical health, if not more important. After all, if one's mind wasn't right, then the rest of the body wouldn't be either.

The statement, along with substantial donations to local outreach programs, had quickly turned the narrative around in her favor. Olivia was a Fixer. She was the best in the business for a reason and it was nice to remember that she deserved help, too.

Opening her eyes, she looked at the couch. It was waiting near the quarry's small lake, looking both huge and small. She had been meaning to get rid of it since her abduction but she hadn't the time or the strength. But now that she was healing, truly healing, getting rid of it was just as important as taking her medicine on time and removing the toxic people from her life.

She had blocked Mellie's numbers. She had also put a strict policy in place for keeping her or her representatives out of OPA. True to Fitz's warning, a series of voicemails had been left by the embittered woman, dripping with alcohol laced venom. She had Huck save each one of them, added them to the black Kill Folder, and moved on with her life. Mellie losing her Election wasn't Olivia's fault. It wasn't Fitz's fault. It wasn't Cyrus' fault or the American People's. The loss was no one's fault but Mellie's. She didn't want to wait and build her brand. She didn't want to put the work in that her opponent had. She had felt entitled to Power and rightfully got a wake-up call.

Olivia had taken to letting Cyrus go to voicemail, too. Unless it was about Ella's wellbeing, she wouldn't take his calls. He was looking for her to get back into Kingmaking. He was looking for her to be The White House's personal Fixer again and Olivia wasn't interested. She wasn't interested in being called 'The Help' ever again. If Fitz needed her, then he could and would call her himself so Cyrus couldn't use that avenue to get her anymore. She wouldn't let him.

Just because he wasn't actively interfering with her life anymore didn't mean that he was trusted. Trusting Cyrus Beene would be just as foolish as trusting Jake. She was a lot of things but foolish? Not anymore. If she was really going to heal, she had to be firm. She had to be brave. Having support from her friends and Fitz was excellent but at the end of the day, it was up to her.

Reaching down to the large speaker, she turned the volume all the way up. Fighting back bile, Olivia lowered the needle to the record player and waited.

After a couple scratches, the music began.

Yeah, everybody's got a thing But some don't know how to handle it Always reaching out in vain Just taking the things not worth having but

Don't you worry 'bout a thing Don't you worry 'bout a thing, mama 'Cause I'll be standing on the side When you check it out, oh

They say your style of life's a drag And that you must go other places Just don't you feel too bad When you get fooled by smiling faces

Don't you worry bout a thing...

It needed to go.

The couch needed to go.

It was a constant reminder of what had happened to her, now. It was poison.

Yes, she and Fitz had their good moments on it. After hearing their first time on tape, he had held her for One Minute, comforting her and saying goodbye. When he came to her to run out the clock, the couch had been where he sat, looking at her with all the love in the world, all the trust in the world. She had fallen into his arms on the couch, letting herself be loved and letting go...

...but now? The couch had to go. The couch and the whole apartment, for that matter! Why was she still living there? Even before her abduction, there were so many bad times in the place, more than good. It had been a point of pride to stay put. Olivia had seen it as a sign of strength to stay but had it really been? It was something to think about. It was something to talk about, both with her therapist and her family. She had money. She had contacts. Finding a new place in or close to DC would be simple, even with the inherent hassle of moving.

She would have one less piece of furniture to deal with in the process.

Come on, everybody needs a change A chance to check out the new But you're the only one to sees The changes you take yourself through Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Don't you worry 'bout a thing, thing Don't you worry 'bout a thing, thing Don't you worry 'bout a thing, thing Don't you worry 'bout a thing, thing...

After renting the truck and putting the couch inside, Olivia had driven to a small hardware store about 90 minutes away from DC. She had looked it up online, not wanting to deal with a large crowd. Not to mention that the sight of The Olivia Pope in a Home Depot or Lowe's would be instant Beltway gossip fuel. She didn't need that. She didn't deserve that. Over the years, she had become so protective of everyone else's privacy, everyone else's Reputation, that she had neglected herself. She had seen herself as a burden, as a Scandal, and it had led to some of the worst decisions she had ever made. That needed to change. Olivia needed to take control.

It was her life to live. It was her life to Fix so she could enjoy it again.

Don't you worry 'bout a thing Don't you worry 'bout a thing, mama 'Cause I'll be standing on the side When you check it out When you get it off your trip Don't you worry 'bout a thing Don't you worry 'bout a thing, mama...

The muscles in her body burned. Tears were falling and her body was shaking but with each blow of the sledgehammer, Olivia could feel more of the heaviness lift. The couch was going to be gone. She would never have to look at it again. She would still have the memories. She would still have the flashbacks and terrors but things would be better. Huck was right. She was trying. She wanted to be better. She wanted to be happy again. No one was going to stop her from being happy again.

Not Jake.

Not Mellie.

Not Rowan.

Not Cyrus.

And especially not herself.

Once she could lift the hammer no more, she let it fall to the ground and took in the sight in front of her. The couch was now a jumble of metal, fabric, and wood. There were cuts on her hands, small but stinging. She would take care of them soon enough. She wasn't done just yet.

Returning to the truck, Olivia got the red gas can and the engraved silver lighter. It had been a gift from Rowan. She couldn't remember exactly when he had given it to her but it was before she had realized the truth about him. She had found it during the deep clean of her apartment and it was only fitting to use it.

The remains of the couch ignited immediately and she threw the lighter into the flames, letting it all burn. Olivia knew that she still had a lot of work to do. She knew that her fight for joy was far from over but at the moment, she felt victorious. She felt vindicated and empowered.

She had taken back another piece of her soul.

She would never get them all back but that was fine.

She would always be more than a little broken inside but that didn't mean that she was unworthy.

It didn't mean that she was ruined.

There was hope.

As long as there was breath in her body, there was hope.

Don't you worry 'bout a thing Don't you worry 'bout a thing, mama 'Cause I'll be standing on the side When you check it out Oh don't you worry 'bout a thing Don't you worry 'bout a thing, mama 'Cause I'll be standing, I'll be standing by you

Oh Oh oh don't you worry 'bout a thing...

[storiescrafted2]

MUSE INFO   ---   MELODY ‘MELLIE’ MARGARET GRANT.

PERMANENT STARTER CALL   ||   PLOTTING CALL   ||   PINTEREST BOARD   ||   RELATIONSHIPS PAGE   ||   TAG.

formerly found at:  politicalgenius.

i hope everyone realizes almost no other muse info posts are gonna be quite so detailed i just have a lot of feelings.

BORN:  melody margaret eaves*. PLACE OF BIRTH:  asheville,  north carolina. DATE OF BIRTH:  december 5th, 1966;  age  ---  51. EYE COLOR:  blue. HAIR COLOR:  brown. PARENTS:   beau eaves  (father,  estranged)*.   evelyn baker eaves  (mother, deceased)*.    SIBLINGS:   harmony eaves  (half-sister,  somewhat estranged). SPOUSE:  fitzgerald grant iii   (divorced). CHILDREN:   fitzgerald ‘jerry’ alexander grant iv   (deceased,  2014),   karen evelyn grant,   theodore wallace grant. EDUCATION:   harvard undergrad,  yale law. PAST OCCUPATIONS:   lawyer,  first lady of california,  first lady of the united states,  junior senator from virginia. CURRENT OCCUPATION:   45th president of the united states. POLITICAL PARTY:   republican. SECRET SERVICE CODENAME:   foxtail. SEXUAL ORIENTATION:  bisexual. ROMANTIC ORIENTATION:  biromantic.

*please note that mellie’s maiden name,  as well as the names of her parents,  and the middle names of jerry and karen,  are all based on my own personal headcanons.  thank you.

IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS,  AS  (MOSTLY)  OUTLINED BELOW:   fitzgerald grant iii (ex-husband),  karen grant  (daughter),  teddy grant  (son),  olivia pope  (former enemy,  former chief of staff,  sort of friend?),  abby whelan  (current chief of staff,  friend-ly),  susan ross  (vice president,  friend),  jacob ballard  (former chief of staff,  nON FRIEND),  cyrus beene  (former vice president,  definite non friend),  david rosen  (attorney general,  friend).

IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIPS WITH THOSE DECEASED:   jerry grant  (son),  james novak  (friend),  elizabeth north  (sort of friend?),  evelyn eaves  (mother).  

IMPORTANT PORTRAYAL BASED RELATIONSHIPS:   owen grady  (advisor;  @raptorraised),  minerva allory  (best friend,  tbh;  @crimscnmalice).

QUICK FACTS THAT MOST WOULD KNOW!

while mellie is definitely republican,  it’s been noted that she’s the most progressive republican president in over 100 years,  and is pro-lqbt+,  pro-immigration,  pro-choice,  and has notably pushed through legislation for stricter gun control,  and worked toward middle eastern peace.

wrote a ‘tell all’ book about her time as first lady,  though only bits of it were published in a ‘leak’ in an attempt to get her better footing as a presidential candidate.

was the first person to air information about fitz’s affair with olivia pope  (  though she didn’t leak olivia’s name   ).

ex-wife of 44th president of the united states,  fitzgerald ‘fitz’ grant iii.

once she filibustered for 16 hours on the eve of the christmas holidays to save planned parenthood bc a man told her not to and i love her.

her son,  jerry,  died during fitz’s second campaign and she spent three months in a deep depression,  where she was dubbed ‘mental mellie’ by the press for regularly visiting his grave in her pajamas.

she didn’t win the presidential election,  she lost to frankie vargas,  who was assassinated almost immediately after being announced as the winner.  mellie was elected by the electoral college over cyrus beene.

her chief of staff was initially olivia pope,  until mellie forced her to resign. 

her original pick for vp was jake ballard,  who was blackmailed out of the position and replaced by frankie vargas’ widow,  luna.  luna died the evening of mellie’s inauguration and was replaced by cyrus beene.

olivia was replaced as chief of staff by jake ballard,  who tried to push mellie out of office with the aid of cyrus beene.

jake was later arrested and sent to a maximum security prison,  and cyrus was forced by olivia to resign as vp.

underwent impeachment hearings during her first year in office,  though they were later found to be under false pretenses presented by jake ballard. 

i headcanon that she convinces susan ross,  who ran against her for president,  to come on as vp;  and abby whelan,  who worked previously as fitz’s chief of staff,  to come on as her chief of staff,  as cyrus resigned,  jake imprisoned,  and olivia refused to come back on.

also this isn’t necessarily crucial to mellie,  but david rosen definitely didn’t die and is helping mellie to restore her public image post impeachment-hearings.

FACTS THAT PRIVILEGED PEOPLE MIGHT KNOW!

her marriage to fitz was arranged for political benefit,  as mellie’s father came from old money so her name was ‘good’.

had an affair with former vice president andrew nichols.

was a part of the team that conspired to rig voting machines in defiance county, ohio in order to get fitz elected,  along with olivia pope,  verna thorton,  hollis doyle,  and cyrus beene   (   commonly referred to as ‘defiance’   ).

her son was murdered by a secret service agent under orders from olivia’s father,  rowan pope.

was in a flirtatious relationship with president farid rashad of bashran before he was killed by olivia pope via her b613   (   an underground spy organization,  now dismantled   )   resources.

in an on-and-off relationship with senator marcus walker.

TO BE FURTHER UPDATED WITH HEADCANONS,  ETC.  AT A LATER DATE  /  FOLLOWING MY UPCOMING REWATCH.  THANK YOU.

VERSES UNDER THE CUT. 

▲  verse ╎ mellie grant ╎ first lady of california!

a verse following mellie’s time as first lady of california. 

▲  verse ╎ mellie grant ╎ campaign 001!

a verse following fitz’s first campaign for president.

▲  verse ╎ mellie grant ╎ first lady!

a verse encompassing mellie’s 7 years as first lady.

▲  verse ╎ mellie grant ╎ junior senator from virginia!

a verse encompassing mellie’s brief time as senator.

▲  verse ╎ mellie grant ╎ campaign 002!

a verse encompassing mellie’s campaign for president.

▲  verse ╎ mellie grant ╎ president of the united states!

a verse encompassing mellie’s time as president  /  generally scandal s7 

▲  verse ╎ mellie grant ╎ post canon!

anything that happens post s7.

[musesoftheminds]

The Crossover Review

Well, It’s been a while since i’ve been on tumblr but I can say that I am completely and utterly moved by this crossover episode that discussed racism, social reform, family and second chances.

Second Chances:

As i’ve discussed thoroughly on twitter with my reviews. The major arch of this final season is redemption. We’ve seen our protagonist plunge into the darkness of life and just when all hope seems lost she emerges clearly damaged but alive. This is where we find Olivia Pope.

Olivia is physically and metaphorically ‘suiting’ up to combat the day just like she use to when she was a gladiator and Chief of Staff only she’s clearly burdened by her past but nevertheless she faces herself in the mirror something she has failed to do much of this season. This moment echoes Olivia’s own desires to face herself in the mirror and for once not be frightened by what she sees.

As I was discussing Olivia’s moment with herself @cj_tvguy brought up an interesting tidbit that I caught, this parallels to Defiance, only this time the outcome is far more severe and real. Their is no family, no gladiators, no job, no jake -there are no obstructions this time to excuse Olivia’s behavior or inability to work within. It’s been over a couple of months since Olivia left the white house and finally for the first time we see her alone. Interesting thing about karma is that David was fired after defiance and became a school teacher, oddly familiar to Olivia’s own circumstances but the good news is that David went on to become The Attorney General.

Annalise came to Olivia Pope (The Gladiator, The Fixer, The Powerhouse) for help on changing this world and Olivia clearly struggles with agreeing to this fight as she feels she is no longer the person Annalise needs her to be, but after  viewing each case thoroughly, Olivia looks into the person behind the lawsuit and finds Annalise’s extensive history. Because this show always does best by displaying Olivia’s thoughts through her clients we see Olivia refuse Annalise and call her a ‘hot mess’ because of her past she refuses to give to Annalise a chance but midway through the hallway of Annalise’s hotel room she turns around and goes back to her room and tells Annalise she will help her under one condition.

Why does Olivia agree to help Annalise? Because she sees herself in her? Because she would like a second chance if someone offered it to her? Maybe those improperly imprisioned deserve to have a second chance?Perhaps it is all of those things that drove Olivia to agree. Now, while Olivia projected and was the harshest to Annalise (herself) she did agree to help and that requires being active, no longer hiding in the darkness of one’s fear. Taking on this lawsuit requires facing her past, her present and her future- Olivia will have to encounter those she loves and those she’s wronged in order to do some good.

The first person Olivia goes to for help is Fitz. As I said, Fitz was cold and emotionally distant from Olivia keeping obvious boundaries with her, rightfully.  Olivia has to understand the ramification of her actions; consequences that has went unattested too. Boundaries had to be placed in order for Olivia to understand the damage she has done, and for this I commend Fitz for helping and supporting Olivia but remaining at a safe distance. 

The White jacket is a reminder to both Olivia and Fitz of their shared value to save the world. Changing the world is something fundamental to Olivia and FItz’s core values-it was how they first connected and fell in love~ by this calling to help and scope the world into something real and true. Olivia wearing white is her subtle way of trying to be the person Fitz fell in love with  but the problem is that Olivia is no longer that person and Fitz is no longer the same man. Shonda has effectively destroyed our preconceived ideas regarding  olitz and has created something with a possibility of a real future.

This episode was a testament to Olivia’s strength and will to not simply survive but to actually and finally live. No one trusted or believed Olivia to be sincere when she began fighting for this social reform lawsuit, those who claim to know her all saw this as a tool to once again regain power. Mellie, Jake, Quinn, Abby, they all looked at Olivia’s past (the same way Olivia looked at Annalise’s) and saw that she was once again aiming to reclaim her throne, they judged Olivia not based on her actions or merit but her sins and past.

Every step Olivia made was a step towards reform. Agreeing to help Annalise was a form of helping Olivia as she had to confront pieces of her past (mellie, quinn), her present (annalise ) and her future (Fitz and Ophelia)

 Past:

Olivia knew agreeing to help would require humility and facing those she’s wronged. Olivia meets with Fitz first and though he’s distant he supports and agrees with Olivia and sets up a meeting with Mellie and of course, Mellie made sure to have Jake’s trifling ass in on the meeting, but Mellie quickly refuses to support this case with a lame excuse of it not being the “right time.”

Olivia holds a private conversation with Mellie and ask that she reconsiders and not punish innocent people because she has wronged her but Mellie refuses and tells Olivia that if she goes up against the white house she will now be an ‘adversary’ to the white house. Olivia remarks that it wouldn’t be her ‘first time’

Olivia could have easily left with her tail between her legs and went back to her teaching gig but she opted not too instead she chose to make an active decision to remain firm in her beliefs and in many ways prove them and herself wrong but man did they put baby girl through the ringer. Mellie calls her dog to use QPA to destroy Olivia and leak that she was actually fired, in other words the more Olivia tried to do the right thing the more resistants she had.

With Jake going to Quinn on help of ruining Olivia for good, I felt much anger and annoyance but then again Quinn has a right to be upset with Olivia considering she could have killed her and her child and not to mention the innocent lives she took. But Quinn and everyone else has been so focused on Olivia that she’s forgotten the person she once was, what QPA’S mission statement was about. With Quinn clearly in opposition of her, Olivia faces Quinn and reminds her about why she took over QPA. As Olivia walks away from Quinn she’s clearly shaken by the encounter but it doesn’t deter her from continuing to walk this path. It’s coming down to those final moments where Olivia must decide, who she is, where she is going and who she wants to be. 

Present:

Do you see how toxic that white house is? How toxic mellivia is? It’s a clear juxtaposition of Olivia and Annalise’s scenes and melivia. Mellie only liked what Olivia did for her which goes back to what Maya said ‘why are you worried about Mellie, she isn’t worried about you?’ Olivia and Annalise are a true representation of black girl magic and sisterhood; you call each other out on the others hypocrisy but you also uplift and encourage the other to excel. When Annalise was at her lowest, Olivia was at her highest, like the gladiator she is, Olivia took off her shoes and got on the floor with Annalise. Olivia has no idea how inspirational and powerful she truly is. When Michaela told Annalise about the women with power and who has a seat at the table, chills formed over my body, and I was as giddy as Michaela when she saw Olivia Pope. That’s the thing about Olivia, she has no idea just how valuable and magically she is, young black girls look to her as inspiration, someone who represents them in the world. I just wish Olivia knew how profoundly remarkable she is.

Olivia and Annalise were complete and utter magic to watch on my screen. Truly breathtaking capture of two alpha females both equally accomplished and fatally flaw, claw and scratch to reach the pinnacle that is the Supreme Court. Like many we judge others based on their outside appearance, and Olivia did the same to Annalise. In regards to Annalise, Olivia was most ruthless as Annalise created the perfect mirror to Olivia’s self.

The salon scene is a powerful moment of tv, just real brutal honesty. And for the first time we are seeing Olivia act like a person, with big rollers in her hair she’s vulnerable, with her armor off she’s laughing and conversing with the black hairstylist and Annalise until her secrets out and now she’s exposed to Annalise that she is in fact the reason why Mellie refused to support them. Both women read the other and Annalise scalped Olivia as she highlights Olivia’s own wealthy upbringing (rowan remarked this his daughter went to school with kings and queens) and attempting to think they are the same because she has black skin when Olivia has had every advantage to excel when others like Annalise had to work. But the conversation is true and real, black people and particularly black women are the most cruel to one another as we find each other to be our competition instead of seeing them as an ally. And we all have encountered a black person who acts superior to others of their own kind. Olivia is siddity and arrogant and we often criticizes Fitz’s upbringing for being rich, wealthy and white but we don’t acknowledge others own entitlement *mellie*

I thought I lived but watching Olivia Pope channel her Whitley Gilbert was the greatest  thing I’ve ever seen. She is so unapologetically bad and bojuee that I simply can’t. Olivia disrespected the mega bus, and bragged about her siddity ass unlimited platinum credit card and called Anna Mae a ‘broke ass’, my ass trying not to laugh at Olivia’s disrespectful ass

Why is she like this? Why do I love her as much as I can’t stand her? I just...I don’t know. Did anyone notice that this was the only time we really saw Olivia spit fire with fire? The fight was beyond brutal yet what Olivia needed to see and know about herself. Shonda is unraveling the very fabric of Olivia Pope and leaving only her core. Well done Shonda.

Olivia and Annalise were complete and utter magic to watch on my screen. Truly breathtaking capture of two alpha females both equally accomplished and fatally flaw, claw and scratch to reach the pinnacle that is the Supreme Court. Like many we judge others based on their outside appearance, and Olivia did the same to Annalise. In regards to Annalise, Olivia was most ruthless as Annalise created the perfect mirror to Olivia’s self.

Olivia had no idea who Annalise was, Marcus spoke so highly of the top defense lawyer of Philly and Olivia knows nothing of her or about her. What Shonda has done is actually truly brilliant as she has exposed the parts of Olivia  character that are questionable and has forced not only Olivia but ourselves to view how we treat one another and ourselves. Do we know about our black brother and sisters making the country better, or the discoveries black people have found? Marcus paints the story clear, we must come together and support one another otherwise we all fail.

 Projection and deflection are powerful tools Olivia has in her arsenal that she uses in times of strife and difficulty, every time Annalise opened her mouth, Olivia would judge her and say all the things she wishes to say to herself, yet as the episode progressed we saw Olivia listening more and acting less. When Annalise recommended that she be a part of the interview and Olivia opted to share the spotlight, yes. There’s enough room for them both to shine and excel, Olivia learned a thing or two about humility and while the world was targeting her and those she loved were rooting for her to fall she soar. Olivia didn’t lie, she wasn't spinning, she owned her truth as it is her greatest weapon and changed the story back to what matters~those improperly imprisoned.

Future:

Our past is everything we was. Our present is everything we are. Our future is everything we can possible be.The more we run from our destiny the closer we are to it.

Olivia and Annalise’s first time meeting was near identical to how Olivia and Fitz first met. And as Annalise saw through Olivia’s crap, Olivia became enraged and swarmed to FItz’s office venting about Annalise and how she needs to return back to Philadelphia almost eerily similar to how Fitz told Cyrus to fire Olivia for exposing and seeing through him. Or the countless times Olivia attempted to handle and fix Annalise with Annalise mirroring FItz’s own words when Olivia tried to handle him. While this episode reintroduced us to Olivia it also reintroduced Olitz in a way that has my heart fluttering and my stomach bubbling at the possibility of them.

The more Olivia fought she failed; Mellie, Quinn, the media, “Annalise” (herself) all  attempted to break someone who was honestly trying to do the right thing. Broken and down on her luck she’s clearly conflicted and upset and questioning why she even agreed to help until he walks in.

When Fitz begins to ask Olivia what’s wrong she shuts him down and he moves to leave but Olivia begins to speak and it’s there that she tells Fitz that she’s trying to be someone she no longer is, that she is no longer the person he ‘loves’ but Fitz differs again questioning Olivia as to who she is? And more importantly where in the hell is Olivia Pope?

Once again paralleling when she asked Fitz the same question (2x11). Being an outsider isn’t new to Olivia, she’s been hated by the media and others and she always sailed through the storm yet this time she can’t because she feels ineffective without her white house, and her gladiators. Those customs were such important pieces of the Olivia Pope armor that she doesn’t know how to define herself outside of them. She’s anchorless, simply floating without a sense of direction until Fitz reminds her of the person she’s always been.

When Olivia first came to Fitz for help, she told him that she needs his help to change the world and that he created this institute to make a difference and while it seemed as though Fitz wasn’t listening he very much was as he uses Olivia’s own words to inspire her to fight and remember who she is.

Saving a person doesn’t always require an emergency event. Sometimes a person just needs to see someone with a gentle heart, a pretty smile and a dash of hope to remind them of who they are. Power does not define a person’s ability to achieve. The white house is the biggest illusion power, the levels of deception of personal gains that come with acquiring that office is not something to be proud of or to gloat about. Olivia was always strong and powerful, she made the white house, the white house did not make her~it is why Mellie, Jake and Quinn worked so aimlessly to bring her down. One black woman is more fierce than an army of men. The trauma and emotional suffering she endured were not to prove her worth and strength, it was a warning. With the guilt and regret weighing heavily on her, Olivia was never truly herself until Fitz dusted her off and encouraged her to continue this pursuit of justice. That’s the thing, sometimes we don’t get what we want but we always end up getting what we need, and what Olivia needed was faith that all of this wasn’t for nothing, and that she wouldn’t have to do this alone. 

 Olivia tries to maintain her poise, but it has proven more difficult with each passing. Their eyes met and you can see her heart breaking and healing at the realization that despite everything she has said and done, he still sees her. For the first time in a long time, Olivia felt a tangible sensation she swore was lost long ago.

Hope.

When the time came for Olivia to meet the supreme court judge, she had the envelope to blackmail him into submission but she didn’t. With the folder in her hand Olivia gave the judge everything she had on his file, this time Olivia’s going to be honorable with hopes that the judge will be as well. 

Ophelia and Olivia:

 Annalise, bringing her family to D.C to watch and support her was an honest and true representation of family and more importantly of a black family something Olivai hasn’t felt nor seen since she was twelve. When their practice got cut short because Ophelia wanted Annalise to eat, Olivia saw the moment as ‘weak’ and a ‘distraction’ from the real goal but Annalise calmly and effectively told Olivia the importance of family. What is the point of this without sharing the glory with those who love and support you? This is something Olivia needed to see with her own eyes; representation, family. Rowan’s hold on Olivia is so deeply embedded in her DNA that she viewed a parents joy and happiness for their child as a sign of weakness...It’s honestly sad. 

While Annalise was busy fighting the supreme court, Olivia too was fighting her own demons; family. Something she has denied herself for years. Ophelia accidentally spilled her soup on Olivia and quickly took her to restroom to help Olivia clean up the mess physically and metaphorically, call it mothers intuition but Ophelia looked at Olivia and saw right through her facade, how she’s on the tv cleaning up the man president’s problems and the female president’s problems but while cleaning everyone else’s mess she forgot about herself. Ophelia’s words mirror Maya’s but Olivia wasn’t ready at the time and she didn’t view Maya as being a mother. Clearly moved by a mothers love, Olivia grabs Ophelia’s hands and tells her ‘she’s just being a good mom.’  Take care of you first; Olivia has been the mother taking care of everyone else that she has neglected herself and now like Ophelia she’s the one with the mess.There is an attention to hope, restoration and redemption that is radiating.

By no means is Olivia magically healed, baby girl still has more work to do on herself as we all do, but as the episode comes to an end, I believe Olivia and Annalise took something from the other that rings true to the value of black girl magic. Olivia began to listen and see human contact as a strength and Annalise learned to find strength within to overcome.

As the episode comes to an end we find Olivia with her back turned talking to Fitz on the phone, we haven’t seen her smile and laugh this brightly in some time and notice the subtle change in wardrobe as the story progressed. Though Olivia has her work cut out this was mostly certainly a promising first start as Olivia begins to repair herself and her relationships. 

My heart is still soaring from this episode.

Until Next Time...Muse

[nancysdaughter]

😡😡😡 Very Disappointed! Should have been 2 hrs. Should have been more....SOMETHING....but thank goodness for Papa Pope. “Rowan. Eli Pope is my citizen name. ROWAN IS MY KILL NAME” 👊🏾BOOM #nancysdaughter #moodyvirgo #scandalfinale #scandal