I feel like it is important to impart this on my fellow readers and gladiators.

I have been an active fanfic writer for Scandal since the show's first hiatus two summers ago. It was the first show I have ever felt the urge to write fanfic for, which is saying a lot considering I am an avid reader and television watcher who has geeked out over one too many shows and books.

However, the passion that once drove me to update my stories everyday, sometimes twice a day has waned. It should be noted that my first story, I wrote nine chapters in one day.

Part of my lack of motivation has a lot to do with what has been imparted on my screen for the past year or so.

Honestly, there is not much to Scandal anymore these days that inspires me. The lack of plot or character consistency, the inability for characters to actually behave like adults, the gross exploitation of female characters for Twitter mentions and most importantly, the cavalier way in which Shonda Rhimes and her stable of writers approach important issues has left me cold and indifferent to the show.

This will probably seem like the messy ramblings of a fan, but I feel like in need to get this off my chest. I am not a social media person, so I don't have many venues to rant.

So this will be long. I will start with who once was my favorite character, Olivia Pope.

Sigh...where do I even begin. Why? Just why? Why is she so terribly written? She has no clear motivations, no clear ambition, her back story can literally be chalked up to a one minute montage-kill folder sequence in the Season 3 opener.

There is no back story on her. No flashbacks to her days at Princeton, Georgetown or boarding school. The woman has no friends, social life or anything that would make her a human being. What kind of music does she like? What television (outside of news reports of Fitz) does she watch? Where does she buy all her faboulous (at least in season 1 and 2) is not a whole human being, but merely a plot device. She claimed she has "hopes and dreams" in one episode, yet we as the viewer are never privy to what they might be in concrete terms.

The only thing about Olivia Pope worth a damn is Kerry Washington's portrayal of her. Even in that regard, this season, it has felt as if she has phoned it in. Resigning her fate to the fact that her character is a wishy-washy petulant child with no focus and changes her conviction the way she changes her Prada pumps.

Do not even get me started on her parents. Rowan Pope, a homicidal, egomaniac who reinforces the worst stereotype of black men. He is a selfish, absentee father who is more focused on his own goals than the well-being on his child. If Shonda Rhimes wanted to write a father with an Intel background, why not make him merely the former Director of the CIA?

How compelling would it be for us to learn what it must have been like for a Black man to rise through the ranks of a covert agency that has been notorious of its WASPy beginnings and culture? The Intel apparatus is more fascinating as is without having to embellish. Especially a bullshit Intel organization that does nothing but clean up petty crimes around this fictitious D.C. A so-called Black ops agency that literally does no Intel collection, does not have missions involving terrorism, cybersecurity or anything relevant to "protecting the Republic".

I'm not going to write about Maya Pope because, frankly I don`t care about her. My level of indifference toward that character cannot be expressed.

Then there is Fitz...

A character who I once adored. He had a sense of nobility and goodness about him, despite his obvious flaws. A lot of that having to do with Tony Goldwyn's portrayal. This was a character that was clearly conflicted about his sense of duty versus his passions (i.e his love for Olivia). His struggles, insecurities and unwavering idealism made him my second favorite character on the show.

Now? If he is not being blamed for all of life's problems, including why it took so long forOutkast to reunite, he is a mute who is incapable of answering back to disrespectful people who's whole livelihood is dependant on him being President of the United States. Olivia and Fitz, unlike other characters are never allowed to be human anymore. That fell by the wayside mid-way through Season 2. Along with any wit, intelligence or charm the show once possessed.

Hell, Olivia and Fitz are not allowed to go through PTSD after dramatic, life altering events. You mean to tell me a man is shot four times, and he heals in four episodes? Where is the arc about him recovering in Camp David from life threatening wounds? Where is the episode about Olivia traumatized by being held hostage and suffering from nightmares because of it and Fitz and Olivia bounding over the phone over their PTSD?

How painful and moving would it be for Olivia to see the strong and virile Fitzgerald Grant III struggling to regain his motor skills post-shooting? Or Fitz in physical therapy or getting therapy?

Oh wait, we need another growling Mellie speech or breathless Cyrus soliqouy where they dignify their nonsensical bullshit warped view of their own self-importance.

On the subject of Mellie and Cyrus, two characters that I used to love, but I cannot stand, how does Shonda Rhimes go to bed at night writing these characters in good conscience.

One of the things I loved about Mellie initially was the idea that this sweet-faced political doll burning with political want. Now? She is this whiny, pathetic Blanche DuBois wannabe who is so blinded by her own sense of importance, it is a miracle she can see an inch in front of her. She has no platform. No "Just Say No" or "Let's Move". Does she even want to be President anymore? Or is Mellie merely Shonda Rhimes catalyst for women who have been scorned everywhere? How am I supposed to believe that this woman is being oppressed by the gilded walls of the White House when characters like Abby, Josie Marcus and Sally Langston exist in the same universe?

Where is her drive? How the hell am I supposed to believe that a beautiful woman with her background and upbringing (mind you, we know more about her than Olivia Pope) cannot stand on her own to feet?

How great would it be for Mellie to have made like Clair Underwood and turned her tragedy into a political platform? Or have her take up an issue like Charter schools? Have her take up a cause that is in direct conflict client of Olivia`s and have the woman duke it out over something other than Fitz. Which is not even a fair fight.

Why is Cyus even still employed by the Grant White House? For no other reason than most Chief of Staffs burn out after two years. How interesting would it be for Cyrus to team of with OPA, expand the business and him bring in political clients while working as a consultant? Or have him be the head of the RNC, clashing with the Grant White House over Republican candidates running for the midterms while Olivia is forced to choose between her lover and her mentor? Not to mention, Cyrus is no longer a nuanced character but merely a pontificating fool who sucks at his job, lacks the President's trust and is five seconds from twirling his mustache.

I won't even touch how poorly her rape in relation to her story line has been handled. It speaks for itself that "Everything's Coming Up Mellie" needed to be explained by the show runner over and over. If you need to explain so much of your television show on Twitter, you probably are not doing your job right.

If anything, that episode should have been about Abby and her abuse. It would have tied in perfectly to how Olivia and Abby met and lay the ground work for a deeper understanding of why Abby feels so indebted to Olivia. Plus it would be nice to actually get back story on OPA members not named Huck and Quinn. Huck and Quinn are so nonsensical written and this point, I don't care about them to write anything further.

David has always been a useless character to me. I never saw the point of him, and I always felt he would have been more effect as the only "normal" OPA associate than a District Attorney. I just don't by Joshua Malina as a hard-hitting prosecutor. Not to mention with the absence of Stephen Finch, there needed to be another character who played Dad to Olivia's Mom routine.

Then there is Jake, a character so useless he makes Cousin Oliver on The Brady Bunch seem necessary. What purpose does he serve? What depth does he give the storyline other than gratuitous shirtless scenes and lady boners to aging Gen Xers who want Noel from Felicity to finally get his due?

Do not even get me started on the lack of understanding of Washington D.C and politics. Why does no one have dinner parties or lunch meetings? People just storm into offices with no appointments, yelling at each other. Why does OPA never have cases involving international clients, lobbyists or celebrities? Why does it never snow? Why are there never midterm elections, campaigning done out the White House? Or why Jake in Season 2 was bring Fitz Intel directly when it would need to be vetted. Or that the Head of the CIAin a post 9/11 world (Osbourne) would not brief the president on the mole, but the Director of National Intelligence or the National Security Advisor. Or why the NSA did not pick up on Gerry's Twitter account but Abby of all people did.

Was that not what Thorngate was for? Or does Thorngate not exist anymore?

I digress. There are too many things wrong for this show for me to keep holding out hope that it will get better. As a college student who has worked in politics and hopes to pursue it as a career, this show is a joke. When you have walked in a Capitol building, you are exposed to so many juicy and interesting factors that would make for good TV.

However that would require planning, consulting with political consultants, research and a focus on good storytelling and characterization over plot twist, grating speeches and soap opera tricks. Gross "Whose the dad?" bullshit when a character has been raped? Two compelling actors who otherwise would have Emmy's out the ass if Aaron Sorkin, Beau Willimon, The Kings or Matthew Weiner were writing for them are being given stale Falcon Crest-worthy dialogue for what? Is it because Shonda Rhimes no longer cares about their characterizations? Or does she really consider the direction of the show in its current mode good?

I have had enough. I no longer care enough to churn out stories if the creator does not care either. Frankly, we are living in the Golden Age of television. There are a litany of other shows I have been getting my life from that has sapped me of any admiration I once had for Scandal. I may or may not continue writing fanfic. I have plenty of ideas with stuff I feel the show should have explored but missed the boat on. However, I cannot seem to get over my indifference to continue.

I am taking an indefinite break for writing for this show. Hopefully I will one day fall back in love with it. However, right now, it feels like work to write fanfic for this show. It feels like I would be picking up the slack for lazy writers and that is not my job.