#* in character ┊ jed bartlet.

[best-character-named-x-poll]

have you done your daily click

[w1zords]

so i blasted through season 1 of the west wing this past week and they are literally my family…

[azeutreciathewicked]

It's not hard to like a guy when he's doing well. The measure of a man is how does he behave when things are otherwise?

President Jed Bartlet, The West Wing.

It is in times of crisis that we truly know each other. And we learn who can be relied on to act, who is safe to trust in, and who has our backs.

This is both why fluff romance doesn't appeal to me - because the connection holds no weight until I see it stand the test of a challenge - and why I don't trust people until I see them under pressure or through a crisis.

I am learning quickly this past week whom I can trust and what people's mettle is. And for that, I am thankful.

[your-blorbos-are-queer]

jed bartlet from the west wing is polyamorous, demiromantic, and pansexual (headcanon)

submitted by anonymous

[wannaliveattheholidayinn]

it's my jewish ass and my favorite catholic characters against the world fr

[imawkwardlysoc]

chapter 11 is out y’all!

also wishing all of y’all a happy new year and best wishes!!!!

[queenofthemilkcowboogieblues]

The Person Behind the Camera by Shelb253947

Fandoms: The West Wing  

 Rated

No Archive Warnings Apply

F/M

Work in Progress

Tags

No Archive Warnings Apply

Josh Lyman/Original Female Character

Original Female Character(s)

Josh Lyman

Donna Moss

Leo McGarry

C. J. Cregg

Toby Ziegler

Jed Bartlet

Mallory O'Brien

Dolores Landingham

Slow Burn

Politics

Idiots in Love

Not Actually Unrequited Love

Dialogue Heavy

Summary

Photography is an important aspect of any Presidency as it not only helps to record memorable events that occur throughout the course of that President's term in office, but also plays a crucial role in shaping the President's public image to garner support. However, the field of photography, and more importantly, the individual's behind the lens are often ignored in favor of more prominent roles. This is the story of Winifred Ludwig, the Chief Official White House Photographer throughout the Bartlet Administration.

Language: English 

Words: 5,417 

Chapters: 1/?

[princesssarcastia]

i really hate reading them 99% of the time because they're so hard to do well. and because everyone else usually focuses on the things i find least interesting about it.

but it's sooooo fun to imagine what your favorite characters would do as feudal lords. it's a fascinating question: what would this character do with unlimited executive and probably military power over an area of land and its people? people who depended on them? would they be a good ruler? a bad one? would they take it seriously? do their inherent qualities make them better suited to that role than the modern era? or are they truly a product of the time and place they come from?

because I'm me, this thought exercise is a chance to daydream about "what if I held a gun to this character's head and forced them to get involved in politics?", really.

on one end of the scale you have anakin skywalker, who would....not....have done well as emperor, or frankly as any kind of feudal lord. maybe don't give him more power over life and death, or taxes, or food supplies. maybe don't.

on the other end of the scale, you have jed bartlet, who i truly believe would have been more comfortable with unilateral authority and a divine mandate. somebody make that man a king. let his staff profess their undying devotion to him on their knees, the way they so desperately, secretly wish they could in canon. i feel like it would Fix Them. Leo McGarry wants soooooo badly to swear his sword to Jed. you know it in your heart to be true.

[thebreakfastgenie]

If you don't mind sharing, I would love to know what you think people get wrong about Toby and Josh! (this is not a trap, I have no strong feelings and am genuinely just interested)

Yeah totally!! So I will say I think within The West Wing fandom on tumblr people get these characters more right than the general audience.

Toby is just an incredibly complex character. I go even farther than most (including, like, Richard Schiff) because I don't think Toby is cynical at all. Maybe by the end of the show, but certainly not when we meet him and not throughout the first four seasons. Cynicism isn't really allowed to exist in the Sorkin West Wing. Toby is the most idealistic character on the show and he is the way he is because he is constantly disappointed and frustrated. The world never lives up to his expectations but he never adjusts his expectations. It goes beyond hope, he really does expect better because he genuinely believes the world or in some cases a person, e.g. Jed Bartlet, has a potential it's not living up to. That's why we meet Toby as a professional political operative who has never won an election, who puts his job on the line and alienates all his coworkers because he's so committed to what he believes is right. Toby is an uncompromising idealist, which is an exhausting way to exist, and it makes him depressed, which is why Andi can't live with him even though I believe she still loves him. I hate that in season 7 Bartlet claims Toby thinks of himself as morally superior and that he always knew this would become a problem, because the dynamic we're given in season 1 is that Bartlet thinks of Toby as morally superior and relies on him for that perspective.

Josh is a wildly popular character and one of the more consistently written characters in the show so just about everybody gets the broad strokes of him right, but I think he's prone to flanderization and the complexities of him are frequently missed. Josh isn't someone who loves dirty politics. He isn't really someone who will do whatever it takes to win; he's willing to do a lot, but there are certain lines he only tries to cross when he's really desperate and each time it's framed as an unusual choice for him and he tends to reflect on it with some discomfort afterwards. Josh is the pragmatist who knows someone has to get their hands dirty, and he does it not because he wants to but to keep the president and Leo and anyone else he's working for clean. He's motivated primarily by loyalty, but that in and of itself is idealistic. He defends Hoynes because he does see a good side to Hoynes, a side the audience gets to see glimpses of later. Josh does leave Hoynes for Bartlet because he's tired of Hoynes not living up to the potential he sees in him and he's infected by Bartlet's idealism, but it's a decision he feels guilty about for years afterward. I think people have a tendency to exaggerate Josh's ego, too. He beats his chest (literally) in private but he doesn't want public credit; the reason he doesn't want to be "the guy" is he doesn't have the ego for it. Josh is not self-centered at all and I think that's a big thing people miss about him. And his tendency to screw up or shoot off at the mouth is real but also exaggerated and when it does happen it's just as much an expression of frustrated idealism as Toby's choices.

I think the really crucial part that's often missed is the dynamic between Toby and Josh and their respective roles in the Bartlet administration. The reason Bartlet for America and later Jed Bartlet's presidency is successful is a balance between Josh's pragmatism and Toby's uncompromising idealism. The campaign needs both and Bartlet needs both perspectives. Leo recognizes that and brings him both and Josh and Toby, for all they butt heads, recognize it too. That's why everyone on the show has such an underlying respect for each other. CJ and Sam are crucial to the team too of course they just don't have neat narrative foils the way Josh and Toby do in each other.

[yannaryartside]

THE VALUE OF PARTNERS

ANOTHER REVISION OF THE PUSHING ELEMENT

I have been thinking about my favorite partnerships on TV and what made those relationships valuable in the professional world of the characters, but also incredibly transformational on a personal level, all in the context of the "pushing" thing the show and cast keep bringing up.

In good shows centered around partnerships, the two characters should not only complement each other, but also be crafted so their personalities and motives serve as an element that force each other to go through major character development. Most of the time, these changes are gonna build the "theme" of the show.

This essay discusses how SydCarmy follows the principles of the other 3 dynamics. Spoiler alert for all the shows. Long post underneath.

A PARTNER COMPENSATES THE THINGS YOU ARE NOT GOOD AT

Leo McGarry is the chief of staff of president Jed Bartlet in the show The West Wing. These two are long time friends, and is Leo who convinces Jed to run for president. Since the beginning, Leo makes a lot of decisions for Jed, and he continues to do so when he assumes power.

"Because you are a crappy politician," said Leo when Jed asked him why he should let in decide in certain matters. That is true; Jed was an idealist and a professor of economics who could see the world of conflicts in his mind like a movie, but Leo was the only one who knew how to deal with the malice of the political world. These were not defects; it was only the way they were built. But Leo showed Jed the person he could be. Jed shows Leo how to believe that actual change can be made.

In a recent article I read about S3, they said this season will show why Syd is such a "nonnegotiable" part of the staff (like that was not obvious before, but ok) because it will show her as a balance to Carmy's tempest. They complement each other in other aspects:

Carmy definitely is not good at the logistics part of things, and Syd probably will force him to consider certain things in his future vision the way she did in s1.

Syd is definitely not good at trusting herself, but Carmy helps her in this aspect.

Syd dreamed about actual "progress" and "excellence," not just doing "better," because for Carmy, doing "better' with what his family had given him was already more than he dared to imagine. I wonder how he will carry getting a star as his own intention.

Syd brings the water to every conflict Carmy puts fire into.

Carmy can bring "wisdom" to Syd's fears rooted in lack of experience. Consider the actual mature perspective about Syd's problems with his father and the "then nobody comes" answer to her fears about the restaurant in the table scene.

A PARTNER FORCES YOU TO TRANSFORM/ SHOWS YOU WHAT YOU COULD BE

In Elementary, Joan Watson is the sober companion of the drug-addicted detective Sherlock Holmes. As their personal relationship, respect, and care for each other grow, they form a professional partnership.

None of them could have become the ultimate version of themselves without each other.

Joan, with her friendship, encourages Sherlock to heal from the wounds that were the biggest threats to recovering from the addiction that ruined his life and professional career, not to mention their friendship, and the others she brought into his life gave Sherlock his first real chance at happiness.

Sherlock points to Joan how much she wants to obey society's rules for a woman to the point of not recognizing what she actually wants to do with her life. She mentors her into becoming a detective and helps her to recognize how boring she is of a mundane existence.

In the past and future of the show, Carmy and Syd are the characters who force change in each other the most, which is a constant catalyst for character development. Regardless of how much they wanted to change, the fact that they have given change a go is probably the biggest indicator of how much they want to make this work. They are each other's door to the ultimate version of themselves.

Carmy very much forced Syd to be a leader. She didn't feel prepared to form the brigade. Regardless of how much he created a scenario for the staff to resent her, the show wants to teach us that this was a deep fear of hers, and she needed to go through with it to not fear it any longer, all while Carmy was absent. Ironically, even when he actually wants to be present for her at the opening, we all know how that went. It will be interesting to see how much they will support each other next season. But in Carmy's eyes, Syd can see the person she was afraid she would not be able to become, the leader she needs to be if she wants to pursue this dream.

Carmy doesn't know how to operate outside the elements that made his home and past jobs so toxic. He is shaped by knives, but he has a deep gentleness inside and cares for people, which responds to Sydney's efforts for fairness and growth. In her eyes, he can clearly see the person he would like to become: a fair leader, the one he didn't have at home or at work.

There is also a final dark tone at this point: Carmy is pretty much the staple of the psycho chef that she has been afraid of her whole professional life. Working with Carmy (especially in S3) will definitely put her in a position of what she will do with that. It will "force" her to change, whatever that does to their professional and personal relationship.

A PARTNER MAKES YOU SEE THE WORLD IN OTHER EYES

Finally, this one is more rooted in the romantic/friendship aspect.

In the show Castle, a partnership forms between the closed-book detective Beckett and the eccentric mystery writer Castle. Their dynamic is rooted in their deep respect for each other and a ton of romantic/sexual tension. However, their conflicts tend to revolve around their perspectives of the world, and they must change it because of each other.

Castle teaches Beckett to see the world with enjoyment and wonder, which is deeply healing for her after a long time of her life being dictated by past trauma. Beckett and her work allow the Castle to channel some dark instincts he had hidden from himself and show him the hero he also always had inside him.

I think Syd allows Carmy a freedom of form he had never known before; she shows him understanding (actual one, not superficial like Claire tried to do based on shared trauma), compassion, and clear limits that force him to grow. She is actually reliable to the point his family never was. She never guilt trips him and has formed a good communication system and (most of the time) expectations.

Carmy admires Syd's honesty and freedom of spirit, and I think Syd admires Carmy's resilience. They have always wanted to be the best friends they can be for each other, which can be world-changing for both.

CONCLUSION: what does this mean for the pushing allegory

I guess it depends on how you use it. None of these characters came into each other's lives in a gentle way; the changes they were forced to make because they were in proximity to each other came with a lot of internal conflict. That is the point.

But "pushing": would have never gone far without the other half of te partnership accepting the new truth the partner was bringing in.

Because real change is only possible from within.

So the "push" is actually just an invitation, and it can only be that to be meaningful, healthy, and long-lasting. Let's see how the push goes in season 3.

Thank you for reading.

[unseenacademic]

Abbey Bartlet for the character questions thing. Please & thank you.

Thank you, friend! 💜💜💜💜💜💜

favorite thing about them: I love that she's a pint-sized, badass nerd, who's smart and witty and looks absolutely amazing wearing her tight skirts and high heels and showing (more than) "a little décolletage".

least favorite thing about them: That she isn't in every episode. Or her hair in late season 4/season 5.

favorite line: Oh, this one's difficult! Let's go with "No need to call the steward, I'm board certified in thoracic surgery."

brOTP: Abbey & Millicent Griffith, the S(t)urgeon General. Millie's Ellie's godmother and she remembers Jed's college grades, so they're obviously close friends. So much potential there but sadly, men don't care about writing female friendships 😭😭😭😭😭

OTP: Abbey/Jed Jed/Abbey, two halves of one heart, one soul and one giant, nerdy brain!

nOTP: Any ship that isn't Abbey/Jed. I don't ship either of them with anyone else, including Leo, together or apart, sorry.

random headcanon: Abigail Bartlet, M. D. has never seen Grease 😂😂 and her college GPA was higher than Jed's.

unpopular opinion: Abbey Bartlet isn't Betty Rizzo. No similarities there, except, y'know, the fact that they were both played by the same actress. Oh and I really like her post-Zoey's kidnapping arch.

song i associate with them: Wow, I'm terrible at this. Okay, so it's not even the whole song, just the chorus, and it's this particular live performance, but Lana's sad "Tell me I'm your national anthem" just transports me directly into the first half of season 5.

favorite picture of them: Look at my avatar 😊

[sam-loves-seb]

weely tag wednesday

thanks for the tags @energievie @metalheadmickey @deedala !

which character from any media would you like to have as a father? jed bartlet (the west wing)

if money, laws, time, and effort were no object, what animal would you want to have? probably just a cat tbh i'm not a big animal person (i think they're neat, i just don't really have the desire to own any of them)

what is your Chinese takeout order? pork fried rice and chicken fingers

what's your favourite emoji? this one: ✨

would you rather have a library, greenhouse, or home theater in your house? a home theater. a library would be sick but i read mostly ebooks so i think a theater would get more use out of me.

what childhood tv show do you think of the most fondly? Spongebob Squarepants. me and my sister used to watch this every single night with our dad when we were little, but if we wanted to stay up and watch it we had to be all ready for bed by the time it came on

what was your tumblr like when you first joined? it was a lot of reblogs of aesthetic photographs because it was 2012 and i was 14. not long after that tho it turned into a sebastian stan fan blog which is how i got my url, and over time that slowly morphed into the multi fandom madness you see today

what clothing style do you love but don't feel compelled to replicate yourself? god i don't know, my closet is a little bit of everything because i always wanna try a new style when i see it. i honestly don't think i have an answer for this one, i really do love fashion and my style is constantly changing

if you were plopped into a fictional world, which one would you know the layout of the best? i have no idea. acotar maybe? solely because i've read those books so many times? yeah i guess i'll go with that

what is your favourite piece of art? café terrace at night

do you have a water bottle? what does it look like? i have a light blue wide mouth nalgene water bottle that is covered in stickers and has two friendship bracelets dangling from the cap strap. it's giving major camp counselor vibes.

what fanfic trope is a quiet fave? look, if i go on a quiet hunt for fics tagged aftercare every now and then, that is between me and god so shut the fuck up about it

do you carry a daily bag? what does it look like? what's the weirdest thing in it? nope. i don't have an office bag bc i wfh and on the weekends i absolutely despise carrying a purse. i have one of those phone cases with card slots on the back and it holds everything i could possibly need.

if you had to ship Mickey with another Gallagher, who would it be? sexually i think it'd have to be lip, but if i could platonically ship him with someone i think i'd pick fiona. idk i just think they'd get along better than anyone would think.

what is a fanfic trope you didn't expect to like and then very much did? friends to lovers kinda snuck up on me in my adulthood. i used to be very against it as a teen, but now that i'm grown and have actually seen the trope done well in fics and in media, it's one of my favorite tropes of all time.

Do you think s11 Mickey can still carry s11 Ian? yes 100% absolutely and anyone who says otherwise is lying. (did we all see noel's s11 body? we saw the abs right? mans was ripped in the last season even tho the writers like, never showed it, and it is my personal mission to avenge this wrongdoing) i'm kidding about the lying part but yeah, he absolutely can still carry s11 ian, being able to lift his husband is the only reason he still goes to the gym

who got custody of the killing bat when they sold the house? debbie. i think carl wanted it, but he already has a gun so he gave it to debbie instead.

tagging: @suchagallabitch @gallawitchxx @callivich @michellemisfit @iansw0rld and anyone else who wants to play !

[socialoutsider1a]

I love exploring the possibility that my favorite characters have dark sides which would make them the most dangerous ones in their respective shows.

*Dark/Evil Jubal Valentine- The Assistant Special Agent in Charge and second-in-command of the FBI's New York Office, Jubal is also a recovering alcoholic who's haunted by his past. I think that behind the seemingly easy-going nature is a man who should not be underestimated and who has a hidden dark side. I often think of what could have been if Jubal had never gone into law enforcement as Dark/Evil Jubal could manipulate people into working for him and even become a much bigger threat than all the criminals the three teams go up against.

*Dark/Evil James Wilson- Head of the Oncology Department at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, he's also the best friend of Dr. Gregory House although in my opinion, they're actually lovers. Dark/Evil Wilson could easily seduce his targets and then destroy their lives, even going on to become the most dangerous individual in the entire House MD universe. Wilson would also be capable of corrupting House and the two men would become an unstoppable criminal team.

*Dark/Evil Rodney McKay- Chief Science Officer of the Atlantis Expedition and a member of the Expedition's flagship team, AR-1, Rodney is the one the Expedition usually expect to save the day but what pisses me off is the fact that on the TV show, he was also used as a punching bag. Dark/Evil Rodney could use his knowledge to easily take over Atlantis and the entire Pegasus Galaxy with John Sheppard his lover/slave.

*Dark/Evil Daniel Jackson- A member of Stargate Command's flagship team, SG-1, Daniel is a man who has always had that potential dark side, one that if unleashed could make him an unbeatable opponent with us even getting to see it during the Stargate SG-1 Season 4 episode, "Absolute Power". He could use his own knowledge to conquer the SGC and take over the Earth as well as the Milky Way galaxy with Jack O'Neill and Cameron Mitchell as his lovers while the rest of his SG-1 teammates are his slaves.

*Dark/Evil Josh Lyman- The White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Jed Bartlet and later the Chief of Staff for Matthew Santos, Josh is yet another favorite character of mine whose potential for darkness is strong. Dark/Evil Josh would be a huge threat in the West Wing universe to such an extent I don't think anyone would realize it until it was too late. Dark/Evil Josh would have Donna Moss and Sam Seaborne as his lovers with everyone else working for him.

[twwpress]

Weekly Press Briefing #97: April 28th - May 4th

Welcome back to the Weekly Press Briefing, where we bring you highlights from The West Wing fandom each week, including new fics, ongoing challenges, and more! This briefing covers all things posted from April 28 - May 4, 2024. Did we miss something? Let us know; you can find our contact info at the bottom of this briefing!

Challenges/Prompts:

There are no open challenges or events on our radar this week. Do you have a challenge or event you’d like us to promote or know of one we’re missing? Be sure to get in touch with us! Contact info is at the bottom of this briefing.

This Week in Canon:

Welcome back to This Week in Canon, where we revisit moments in The West Wing that occurred on these dates during the show’s run.

Season 1, Episode 20: Mandatory Minimums aired on May 3, 2000.

Season 2, Episode 20: The Fall’s Gonna Kill You aired on May 2, 2001.

Season 3, Episode 18: Enemies Foreign and Domestic aired on May 1, 2002.

Season 4, Episode 21: Life on Mars aired on April 30, 2003.

Season 5, Episode 20: Talking Points aired on April 28, 2004.

Season 7, Episode 20: The Last Hurrah aired on April 30, 2006.

Photos/Videos:

Here’s what was posted from April 28 - May 4:

Allison Janney posted a promo video for Dule Hill’s new PBS show, The Expressway (and Bradley Whitford did too!). 

Allison Janney posted stills and video from the season finale of Palm Royale.

Amy Landecker posted a photo of herself and Brad with Luci Baines Johnson, former president Lyndon B. Johnson’s daughter, in Texas. 

Dule Hill posted photos of himself in D.C. advocating for the arts with The Creative Coalition. 

Josh Malina posted a photo of himself with his parents’ Omer counter. 

Josh Malina posted a clip of himself from The West Wing doing an unnecessary trick with a phone receiver. 

Marlee Matlin posted a photo of herself and her husband with their new granddaughter. 

Mary McCormack posted a fun fact from behind the scenes of The West Wing. 

Peter James Smith posted a photo of himself and the cast of Nora with Allison Janney and I, Tonya screenwriter Steven Rogers. 

Peter James Smith posted photos of himself and his castmates from the set of the play he’s in, Nora. 

Richard Schiff posted stills from The Good Doctor shouting out guest star (and his daughter) Ruby Kelley. 

Rob Lowe posted a photo of himself with horses while filming on location. 

Donna Moss Daily: April 28 | April 29 | April 30 | May 1 | May 2 | May 3 | May 4

Daily Josh Lyman: April 28 | April 29 | April 30 | May 1 | May 2 | May 3 | May 4

No Context BWhit: April 28 | April 29 | April 30 | May 1 | May 2 | May 3 | May 4

@twwarchive: April 29 | May 1 | May 3 | May 4

Fics:

Presenting your weekly roundup of fics posted in the tag for The West Wing on Archive of Our Own. 

Josh/Donna

Somebody loved by Shinyrosa | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

Fairytale Ending? by Tyrols | Not Rated | Josh Lymn/Donna Moss | In Progress

Other Pairings/Gen Fic

The Weight We Carry Is Love by piratequeenofgreenthings | Rated T | Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet | In Progress

An Intriguing Variable by silasfinch for justdreaming88 | Ellie Bartlet/Original Female Character(s) | In Progress

The Race by Goochie0014 | Rated M | No Characters/Pairings Listed | Complete

Multiple Pairings

War & Peace by miabicicletta for krazykitkat, onekisstotakewithme | Rated T | Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg, Josh Lyman/Donna Moss, Andrea Wyatt/Toby Ziegler, Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet | In Progress

THE WEEKLY PRESS BRIEFING TEAM CAN BE REACHED VIA THE FOLLOWING METHODS:

Twitter: @TWWPress

Email: weeklypressbriefing@gmail.com

Feel free to let us know if we missed something, if you have an event you’d like us to promote, or if you have an item that you’d like included in the next briefing!

xx, What’s next?

[mihrsuri]

Character Ask Game: Abbey Bartlet: 1, 2, 5, 25? 💜💜💜💜

1. Why do you like or dislike this character? I LOVE HER HAIR. I LOVE HER SHOES. I LOVE HER WIT. (I love that she probably did in fact take one look at young Jed Bartlet and went ‘I want to climb him like a tree’ and then she did).

2. Favorite canon thing about this character? Her intellect and her fierce ambition and love going hand in hand.

5. What’s the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now? Thinking back to my 12/13 year old first impression I think I remember liking her but I was very CJ Cregg Focused. These days I am still CJ Cregg focused ;) but Abbey Bartlet is just…I love her confidence, I love that she’s so absolutely sharply sure of her intelligence and ambitions and also that she is allowed to be violently protective (metaphorically violent) but also that we get to see things get to her, get to see how much sexist bullshit she deals with (although thinking about it 12/13 year old me had read about Hillary Clinton and probably did have some feelings about that) and how great Stockards performance is.