#* in character ┊ zoey bartlet.

[imawkwardlysoc]

chapter 11 is out y’all!

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

[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 😊

[storyofwhoiam]

Regency era verses

Since I have a bunch of new followers/folk with Bridgerton verses going on for their characters, I'll point out that amongst some canon characters, I also have Regency verses for a whole bunch of other muses too. I'm always up for flinging any of my muses into different verses but you can find all the ones I've written up already over here. Including but not limited to:

Allie, from a ruined middle-class family, turns to sex work under Marie Winter's influence after she's left homeless.

Bea, rumoured to have been involved in her abusive husband's mysterious death, flees to London with her daughter Debbie.

Franky, a notorious highwayman, who later opens a tavern after her release from prison.

Graham, a discreet financial advisor, manages wealth and estates for noble families.

John, a talented Mayfair gardener, runs a thriving business catering to the elite.

Justino, heir to Viscount Rosa, his main priority is hosting extravagant parties.

Leo, an equestrian, winning prestigious horse races across Europe.

Matt, heir to a disgraced estate, indulges in reckless behaviour and neglects his responsibilities.

Marie, a powerful figure in the city's illicit trade, running brothels under the guise of being a widow.

Zoey, the youngest daughter of Duke Josiah Bartlet, wants a love match not an arranged marriage.

[mihrsuri]

Superlatives of my Stories: 2023 Edition

I stole this meme from @petralemaitre

Leitmotif of the year: You get to be a survivor of sexual assault! You get to be a survivor of sexual assault! You get an OT3 and a Found Family! Or ‘that is yours, I am not’ across multiple fandoms.

My best story of this year: I think probably There’s Blood (On The Side Of The Mountain) which is the West Wing ‘CJ was kidnapped not Zoey’ AU, written from the POV of an outsider OC - it unfurled exactly how I wanted it to - an atmosphere of ambiguity as to what happened, what’s happening and what’s going to - also very narrowly focused.

My favorite and/or truest story of this year: My absolutely favourite thing I wrote was a tie between two Grishaverse stories - a Hunger Games AU and Get Wrecked Tante Heleen (tm) - Never Again (It’s Not An Act Of Love) & Karma (Is My Family)

They are both stories about found families, about how the narratives of those who abuse and hurt you aren’t true, about love as partnership - all kinds of love as well, about the gift of choice. Also stabbing some fuckers.

Story of mine most underappreciated by the universe, in my opinion: I think they’ve all been incredibly appreciated considering - actually possibly uneasy (with the semi divine) which is about Rings of Power Gil-galad and his attitude towards Elronds biracial identity which wasn’t not me as a biracial person having Feelings about it.

I would also always always love more comments on the Tudors OT3 Verse. More content in the OT3 verse in general but I understand it’s niche content.

Most fun story to write: Every single bit of You Belong With Us which was an absolute joy - there was so much love and trust and happiness (and then an undertone of sadness at not being able to express that love openly that I hope came through as well)

Story with the single sexiest moment: For me personally it’s House This Love (Of Ours)

Most "Holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" story: Did I write Scarlet Pimpernel OT4 fic with a definite villain Chauvelin who is in love with both Blakeneys? Yes. Did I also manage to write (fictional versions) of Robert Dudley/Elizabeth I knife kink fic? Also yes. I maintain both of those are fine ;).

The Thomas Cromwell/Anne Boleyn/Henry VIII Harem AU is the most Dead Dove Do Not Eat in all honesty - I was having a lot of very personal trauma feelings in that one.

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: I wrote the Bartlet Daughters in I Tried To Rewrite It (But I Can’t) and I think that really made me think about both Ellie and Elizabeth Bartlet in a way I never had before - even though it’s obviously an AU verse it got me to recognise things about them and about the way they approach their parents high profile in very different ways.

Hardest story to write: It could have been the Knife Kink fic (because kink (all kink) is a giant personal trigger for me) but I think it might actually have been the OT3 verse fic because there’s so much thought and preparation that went into it - though the actual writing of the story isn’t actually the hard part.

Biggest disappointment: have not in fact written more of Crown Of Ashes, the Tudors OT3 Verse AU AU of ‘what happens when Mary Tudor gets everything she thinks she wanted and it turns out it absolutely sucks and turns to ashes for her’

Biggest surprise: Did not expect to be writing knife kink and also did not expect to fall headfirst back into writing West Wing fic but for the latter I have to credit the lovely Discord People and also @miabicicletta in particular.

Most unintentionally telling story: It is almost certainly In Our Bedroom (After The War) or the giant Grishaverse Cuddle Pile ficlet.

Best title: Only Wore This Doublet (So You Could Take It Off) is the aforementioned Elizabeth I/Robert Dudley knife kink fic and honestly I am so proud of that title. A+ use of Taylor Swift lyric.

Story I haven't yet written, but intend to: The Sam/Donna/Josh fic told in social media posts.

*

[thestarwarslesbian]

How my west wing AU is coming along-

So Far so good.

I wrote the chapter 1 summary yesterday.

The entire White House staff bristles with activity when it’s learned that the President (Breha Organa) injured herself during a bicycle accident, and her absence becomes a factor as chief of staff Mace Windu must juggle a host of impending crises, including a mass boat lift of Cuban refugees approaching the Florida coast and the reaction of conservative Christians to a controversial televised comment by deputy chief of staff Padmé Amidala. Meanwhile, Cody Fett, the trouble-prone deputy communications director, unknowingly spends the night with a call girl (Satine Kryze) and then makes another critical error during a children’s White House tour. 

I just finished assining characters.

Main cast 

Cody Fett [Sam Seaborn], Deputy White House Communications Director 

Luminara [Mandy Hampton], Media Consultant 

Thorn Fett [Charlie Young], Personal Aide to the President 

Fox Fett [C. J. Cregg], White House Press Secretary 

Riyo Chuchi [Toby Ziegler], White House Communications Director 

Mace Windu [Leo McGarry], White House Chief of Staff 

Padme Amidala [Josh Lyman], White House Deputy Chief of Staff 

Breha Organa [Josiah Bartlet], President of the United States 

Bail Organa [Abbey Bartlet], First Lady of the United States 

Recurring cast 

Anakin Skywalker [Donna Moss], assistant to Padme 

Ponds Fett [Margaret Hooper], Assistant to Chief of Staff Windu 

Depa Billaba [Dolores Landingham], President Organa's executive secretary 

Yan Doku [Danny Concannon], senior White House correspondent for The Washington Post 

Leia Organa [Zoey Bartlet], the youngest of the President's three daughters 

Calab Dum [Mallory O'Brien], Leo McGarry's son 

Adi Gallia [Admiral Percy Fitzwallace], Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 

Shaak Ti [John Hoynes], Vice President of the United States 

Satine Kryze [Laurie], law student and part-time high priced call girl Sam sleeps with in the pilot. 

Hera Sendulla [Gina Toscano], the Secret Service agent assigned to Leia 

Bo-Katan Kryze [Joey Lucas], a Democratic political consultant 

Thrie Fett [Andrea Wyatt], Congresswoman from Maryland's 5th district and ex-husband of Riyo Chuchi 

[twwpress]

Weekly Press Briefing #94

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 7 - April 13, 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 7, Episode 17: Election Day Part II aired on April 9, 2006.

Photos/Videos:

Here’s what was posted from April 7 – April 13:

Allison Janney posted screenshots from this week’s Palm Royale episode. 

Dule Hill posted about his daughter Kennedy’s partnership with Backlot Coffee. 

Dule Hill posted promo about his upcoming PBS arts and travel show, The Express Way, which airs April 23rd at 9/8 central. 

Elisabeth Moss posted a promo video for her upcoming FX show, The Veil, which premieres April 30. 

Marlee Matlin posted photos from her trip get her 18th tattoo.  

Mary McCormack posted a video of herself and John Slattery telling one fighter pilot’s story in honor of National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day. 

Melissa Fitzgerald posted a promo graphic for The 50, a film featured at All Rise’s 2023 conference. It is now available VOD on Apple or Prime. 

Donna Moss Daily: April 7 | April 8 | April 9 | April 10 | April 11 | April 12 | April 13 

Daily Josh Lyman: April 7 | April 8 | April 9 | April 10 | April 11 | April 12 | April 13 

No Context BWhit: April 7 | April 8 | April 9  | April 11 | April 12 | April 13  

@twwarchive: April 7 | April 8 | April 9 | April 10 | April 11 | April 13 

Editors’ Choice: 

No recommendations this week. We'll be back with more stories soon!

Fics:

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

Josh/Donna

Self-Evaluation by Telperien | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

all i know is a simple name (and everything has changed) by JessBakesCakes for sam_writes_fics | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

Other Pairings/Gen Fic

Regarding Jamie: Sound and Fury by mlea7675 | Rated G | Helen Santos/Matt Santos | In Progress

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

you just got me started by taliamytalia | Rated E | Josh Lyman/Sam Seaborn | Complete

Tuesday, I’m in love. by muldxr for wabadabadaba | Rated T | Joey Lucas/Josh Lyman | Complete

This Seat Taken by Forgott3nQu33n | Rated G | Will Bailey/Kate Harper | Complete

The First Lady by unseenacademic | Rated T | | Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet | In Progress

Multiple Pairings

What Sons Do by kcat1971 | Rated M | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss, Helen Santos/Matt Santos, Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet, Ainsley Hayes/Sam Seaborn, Zoey Bartlet/Charlie Young | 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?

[thebreakfastgenie]

Since you have more than a concept… ☔

☔ Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

I have so damn many. You know what. Fuck it. It's been this long, even if I'm still planning to write Jed Bartlet's funeral, which I am, I can explain it here.

It's exactly what it says on the tin. It's set in March 2011, although I was very tempted to move it to election day 2010 because I want Josh Lyman to suffer as much as possible. I chose 2011 because I wanted it to be early in the second Santos term; I wanted the death to feel a bit premature. Because I'm a bad person.

It follows the week of Jed Bartlet's death, from his death on Tuesday to his funeral on Sunday, and everyone being back at work on Monday. I did some research at one point to make this work with lying in state but I forget what I figured out.

The fic opens with Josh answered the phone in the middle of the night. He tells Donna "it's the First Lady," and she thinks it's for her because he clarifies that it's Abbey. Abbey tells him that Jed died, and that he's the first person she called after the girls. He died suddenly and unexpectedly; he wasn't sleeping, so he'd gone into his study, and Abbey went to check on him. He said "Abbey, something's wrong" and went into respiratory arrest. Abbey called for help and tried her medical skills, but he didn't make it. Abbey keeps repeating "we were supposed to have more time." After talking to Josh, she hangs up to call CJ, and Josh and Donna decide they can't go back to sleep. Josh prepares to tell Santos first thing in the morning.

The rest of Tuesday is various conversations informing everyone else. Wednesday through Friday get various people to New Hampshire. CJ is the first one, she goes right away and leaves the baby with Danny, who will join her in a couple days. Josh has a conversation with Zoey, because he hasn't seen her cry. Zoey tells him she cried for two day straight but then she saw her mom, sisters, and Charlie (who she's married to) crying and pulled it together.

All the canon couples, including Will and Kate, are still together, although they have a complicated semi-long-distance arrangement because he's in Congress in Oregon. Sam is married to his offscreen fiancée, who does not appear. She can't go to the funeral because of work, but it's implied their marriage may be in trouble.

Josh has a bit of a breakdown about his fears of dying young the night before the funeral, and the conversation turns to whether he and Donna want kids.

Just about every character ever shows up for the funeral, including both Hoynes and Russell. Mallory brings the napkin and has a nice moment with Abbey.

After the funeral, the main characters all have a wake at a local bar. They peel off for various reasons (Charlie wants to get back to the family, for example) until it's the original group left and when Donna goes to hail a cab, it's just Josh, Toby, CJ, and Sam. They all get very, very drunk.

Liz is considering finally divorcing Doug.

Toby goes to Andi's house after leaving New Hampshire, and ends up crashing on her couch. They take the kids to school together in the morning, and Andi asks Toby to get coffee. It hints at a future for them, unconventional but together, if Toby slows down and stops asking her to marry him.

Will and Kate get engaged while drunk, and Monday morning decide to think about it, but mutually agree to get serious about their relationship.

Donna orders breakfast for her and Josh, and shows him the birth control pill she didn't take.

I'm not sure I ever worked out CJ and Sam's final scenes. It ends with everyone getting on with their lives and certain things having progressed. The summary is "everyone comes together to bury a great man."

[clintbeifong]

@hollygl125 thanks for the ask!

The West Wing

The first character I first fell in love with: CJ. I was waiting to fall for Josh or Donna, but then oops the six foot tall disaster bisexual stole my heart.

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: Leo! I don’t usually go for the grumpy old man trope but damn I love that grumpy old man.

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: Abbey Bartlet.

The character I love that everyone else hates: Danny Concannon. I’ve gotten the sense that he brings up strong feelings over whether he should have ended up with CJ. He had me at “goldfish.”

The character I used to love but don’t any longer: Will. Started interesting; turned into a prick.

The character I would totally smooch: CJ

The character I’d want to be like: Joey Lucas. She’s so on top of things.

The character I’d slap: Josh in season 6-7 when he just can’t get on the same page with Santos.

A pairing that I love: CJ/Danny

A pairing that I despise: Despise is a strong word, but I never cared much about Zoey and Charlie.

CSI

The first character I first fell in love with: Grissom! The first scene of CSI I ever saw was Grissom’s interrogation at the end of 3x15 “Lady Heather’s Box.” I was immediately enthralled with how collected (and not quite smug but...something?) he was and I needed to see more of this show STAT! (I did.)

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: Lady Heather

 The character everyone else loves that I don’t: Nick maybe? I mean he’s fine I just don’t always find him all that interesting.

The character I love that everyone else hates forgets: The funky little mortician with the casket-reselling scam that the gang consults every once in a while in the early seasons. That’s like Pushing Daisies shit, I love it.

The character I used to love but don’t any longer: I don’t think I liked anybody less since I’ve gotten back into the show. (I only truly watched through season 8 though).

The character I would totally smooch: would rather watch Grissom and Sara smooch each other, but Sara if necessary

The character I’d want to be like: Grissom

The character I’d slap: I would not slap Grissom but I would like to shake him vigorously by the shoulders during season 4. Would slap Ecklie.

A pairing that I love: GSR!

A pairing that I despise: I don’t care about an other CSI ships enough to despise them including Grissom x Heather! I think their dynamic only makes both characters and GSR more fascinating and I do not care if they slept together during Lady Heather’s Box.

[dorkydiaz]

The West Wing for the ask game ?

Favourite character: donna Funniest character: bartlet (they all are fucking hilarious tho) Best-looking character: zoey 3 favourite ships: josh x donna, charlie x zoey, cj x danny Least favourite character: mandy Least favourite ship: cj x toby (THOSE ARE SIBLINGS) Reason why I watch it: comfort show <3 also the writing *chefs kiss* Why I started watching it: my mom. literally, this his her show, these are her blorbos, its the show she is always watching. when she started it she was watching on a ipod nano (yes) and it just slowly became part of our family's life blood ig.

[imawkwardlysoc]

chapter 12 out now!

[unseenacademic]

Abby Bartlet 12, 15, 18, 24 for the character ask meme?

Thanks for the ask! Abbey, my Queen! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character? I have soooo many! Here's one of my favorites: Abigail Ann Bartlet, M.D. has never seen Grease 😂😂 Have another one, silly one: she has a terrible handwriting (she is a doctor), and Jed teases her about it all the time 😂 Okay, another one, this one is a bit sad: Abbey's birthday is in February, not March, (she's an Aquarian through and through!), so DIW takes place the night before her birthday. She has to appear before the NH medical board on her birthday. This one is sweet and fuzzy: she decided she was going to marry Jed the first time she saw him flip his jacket on. 💜

15. What's your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn't matter if it's canon or not.) Abbey and Jed are my OTP!!!! I love them so much!!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭 And I can't ship either of them with anyone else!

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire? Maybe admire isn't the right word, but I love her relationship with other women, CJ and Amy and perhaps Debbie get to spend most time with her (they appear in like two scenes with her each, don't you just love when men write women *le sigh*). I also love her relationship with Leo, you can see how close they are and that they've been friends for years. I'm also one of the few people who understands Abbey's side during Zoey's kidnapping and the aftermath, so her sudden hostility towards Leo makes perfect sense to me, even though it makes me sad. Now, I know this is a strange one, but there's something about her relationship with Josh that I simply love! Due to his own weird relationship with women in general, Josh is one of the few people who really tends to talk down to Abbey, so she has to put him back into his place. I really need to write (another) fic with Abbey and Josh 😅

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them? This one was really difficult. I decided not to elaborate, because my mind works in weird ways, so I'll just list the characters here: Daenerys Targaryen (ASOIAF), Minerva McGonagall (Harry Potter), Goldie O'Gilt (Don Rosa/Carl Barks comics), Peggy Carter (MCU). More character asks

[ao3feed-danganronpa]

Fandomronpa 120: Breaking Into The Multiverse

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/xTXUdwf

by HiThere_100

16 Each Characters Were Trapped By 2 Stuffed Dolls Which Are MonoRaccoon And MonoUnicorn

Words: 348, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Danganronpa

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Major Character Death

Categories: Other

Characters: Seek (Roblox: DOORS), Yor Briar Forger | Thorn Princess, Cirno (Touhou Project), Suitcase (Inanimate Insanity), Huggy Wuggy (Poppy Playtime), Zoey Bartlet, Toriel (Undertale), Osana Najimi (Yandere Simulator), Mario (Nintendo), Brick McArthur, Poppy (Poppy Playtime), Freddy Fazbear, Kaito (Vocaloid), Hinata Hajime, Koizumi Mahiru, Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF)

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/xTXUdwf

[everythingisawayoflife]

Random West Wing Headcanons

Donna hates the word moist. One time, she brought it up around Charlie and he spent the entire week finding every situation to use it.

Just to annoy the staff, Jed leaves taunting post-it notes…in latin. He wrote one to Sam that loosely translated to a “your mom” joke. Sam didn’t even know he was capable of those.

It’s no secret Josh Lyman doesn’t know how to take care of himself so one day he comes into work sick. No one says anything cause they know he’s just gonna ignore whatever they say. He’s waiting for the president for a morning meeting and he falls asleep lying on the couch. Jed walks in not even ten minutes later and instead of waking Josh up and sending him home, he gets Charlie to get a blanket and just lets him sleep the entire day away. Jed takes his international meetings in the Roosevelt Room and his staff ones in the Oval Office, everyone is just forced to be extra quiet by him. Donna eventually takes him home and watches him for a little after the day is over. (that was kind of self-indulgent lol)

Donna used to have a very bad habit of writing on her hand. Sometimes the ink of a pen or a sharpie would come off on whatever papers she was handing Josh.

Sam complains his office is crooked. It’s not, but he does it anyway.

CJ keeps chapsticks in her office. Not for her but for anyone who needs them. You can walk in and she’ll have a bucket of mint Blistex as if they were Dum-Dum lollipops

Josh has accidentally called Jed and Leo ‘dad’ on separate occasions.

Donna keeps a miniature version of the “I WANT TO BELIEVE” poster on her desk. It’s in a picture frame.

On a late night at the office, Josh and Donna were working in silence until Donna asked Josh what his biggest regret was. Without hesitation, he said “Sending you to Gaza.” She didn’t say a word, just reached out and held his hand. She didn’t let it go until they called it a night.

Leo secretly enjoys soap operas. His favorite is Young and the Restless. He exposed himself when Margaret and Carol were talking about it and mentioned a wrong plot point and he couldn’t help but correcting them. When he has free time on Tuesdays, he and Margaret discuss the newest episodes.

Zoey is a really bad gift giver.

Charlie is really good at painting nails. One night, Ginger was going through a really bad breakup and he offered to paint her nails. He keeps a few bottles in his desk and is a really good manicurist.

I wrote this when I planned Josh and Donna’s wedding, but Abbey is Josh and Donna’s number one shipper. At one point in the second year of Jed ‘s first term, she tried a number of schemes to get them together.

Josh’s favorite song is Build Me Up Buttercup. Nobody knows why.

Margaret is really into astrology and when she gives Leo his morning notes, she attaches a copy of his horoscope.

The Santos family basically consider The Lymans (that is to say, Josh, Donna, and their kids) as real family. They celebrate holidays together and their kids play together, even after Matt’s fulfilled his full eight years. They live in the same neighborhood.

Donna actually harbored a secret crush on Josh when she first met him. Over time, she thought it went away. Clearly, that’s not the case.

Sam and Ainsley secretly dated for about two years and was able to keep it under the radar the entire time. No one found out until a month after they broke up.

Toby has a really nice singing voice. Almost no one knows about it except CJ

As the President’s Chief of Staff and the First Lady’s Chief of Staff, Josh and Donna like to play small and harmless pranks on each other on a slow day

there was indeed a betting pool on when josh and donna would get in a relationship (this is really starting to sound like a josh and donna headcanon post and i might be doing that next). abbey, of course, won.

Josh’s kids love to sit on his lap while he works and they are often found asleep at his desk (him included). Donna has countless photos she put in a scrapbook. There’s a whole chapter dedicated to it.

matt is actually a really good at baking. he makes a most excellent key lime pie.

jed and abbey are honorable grandparents to literally any kids that the staff has. like josh & donna’s kids, toby and andy’s, and etc have pictures on the bartlet fridge

kate loves lauren bacall movies

will and kate dated for four years and then on election night when santos ran for a second term, he proposed to her…she said yes

bartlet teaches the kids random presidential facts and words in latin just to confuse their parents

kristin chenoweth exists in tww universe and everyone loves to tell annabeth she looks and sounds like her but annabeth doesn’t believe them yet she goes along with it anyway

[iceman-maverick]

randomized west wing fic: ellie bartlet + toby

ellie bartlet + toby ziegler, "i'm tired and i'm scared"

preview: Her dad’s greatest accomplishment was pretty much the worst day of her life, and Ellie’s really getting tired of pretending otherwise.

word count: 2k and change rating: gen warnings: zoey's kidnapping; this is basically an episode fic of the season 5 ellie episode i think its 5.14 or 5.16 i can't remember, the one with the muppets lmao pairings: background abbey/jed, toby/andy, zoey/charlie author's note: obsessed with how this series is literally just me writing character studies of the women of west wing who have under 10 minutes of screen time.

The muppets stick around for the press conference, but they’re gone before Ellie can get a picture with Elmo which is only a minor tragedy as far as she’s concerned. She’s always been more of a Fozzie Bear kinda gal.

“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do for you?”

Ellie sort of makes it a point - if not the guiding thesis of her entire existence as a First Daughter - to spend as little time as physically possible at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Like she told her dad earlier, this isn’t her world. She’s not one of them. Sure, she gets the gist of...politics and why it’s important and what he does...to an extent.

Like, he’s the President, it’s pretty much self-explanatory. He presides over things like the military and the free world, and well, muppets apparently.

But Ellie simply isn’t built for this. She’s terrible with faces and names and titles. She knows the name of senior staff, of course she knows that, and she knows Charlie and Donna and Carol and...yeah that’s pretty much it. She was semi-familiar with Hoynes’ staff but that was just because her mom dragged her to all those campaigning events. She’s never met the new VP, but she knows her mom can’t stand him, so she’s not exactly angling to rub elbows any time soon.

Ellie’s not built for politics, but at least it’s a mutually agreed upon detrimental relationship. She’s only had a handful of brush-ups against reporters or her dad’s opponents and they’ve pretty much all ended in complete and utter disaster.

Liz has managed to avoid the worst of it; Ellie can’t even think of a scandal that hit her beyond that whole alt-right Christian group mailing Annie some awful dolls or something. It was a while ago, though, pretty early on into the first term. And then Zoey of course is a natural at public life, all charm and wit and perfect smile and girl-next-doorsy cuteness. Christ, she was dating the Prince of France, or whatever the hell his title is - not that it matters much anymore.

Zoey’s been the perfect First Daughter, and even after the hell of the last few weeks, even after the PTSD and the therapy and their parents’ semi-almost-kinda-definitely-for-a-second-there divorce, even after all of that, Zoey’s somehow still leaps and bounds more poised and collected than Ellie could ever hope to be.

Ellie likes data, science, medicine, research, her lab - her sanctuary. Concrete numbers and self-evident truths with no room for political spin or lobbying. She’s at her happiest when she can go about her day undisturbed. Charting, grabbing lunch with her friends, finishing rounds early, pouring over Dr. Foy’s notes late into the night.

Normalcy.

Complete and utter normalcy, which isn’t something she ever thought of as a blessing until the inauguration. Starting medical school when your father is Governor isn’t ideal, but all it takes is a match with a hospital seven hours from New Hampshire and things pretty much sort themselves out. There’s no time to talk about things like hometowns and family and political affiliations when your pulling graveyard shifts.

Being the President’s daughter is a bear of its own, though. A secret service detail isn’t exactly subtle. She hadn’t really thought it through when her parents sat the family down to tell them about Leo’s insane idea. Even when the campaign took off, Ellie didn’t put much stock into it, just kept her nose in her books and tried to keep away from the reporters.

If she’s being honest, she didn’t really think he was ever going to win as bad as that sounds. She hadn’t given it so much as a thought, and boy did she regret that now. Liz had the wherewithal to get her affairs in order before everything got going, while Ellie just focused on specialties and post-docs. She never thought about what her life would look like if he won. She certainly didn’t consider the fact that it would mean a title of her own, secret service codenames, campaigning expectations, reporters camping outside her apartment day and night every time the NIH puts out so much as a press release on the common cold, and oh yes! Political kidnapping, that’s now something that’s on the table. Has been the whole time apparently.

Her dad’s greatest accomplishment was pretty much the worst day of her life, and Ellie’s really getting tired of pretending otherwise.

All of this is to say that while Ellie may not be an enthusiastic participant, she’s still a First Daughter and so she can tell when something’s out of place.

“No, that’s okay,” Ellie tells this lady for the third time, “Thank you though!”

The lady’s pretty, and she seems nice enough, but she’s in a miniskirt and a low cut blazer. It’s four in the afternoon in the West Wing, and she’s dressed like an Upper East Side high schooler. She really is nice though, Ellie can tell from the way she smiles as she sorts through the papers on Toby’s desk.

Toby’s always sort of scared Ellie. He’s never been anything short of professional towards her but he’s grumpy and prone to yelling, and Ellie never really knows what he’s talking about. Her father adores him, so does her mom, and oddly enough so does CJ.

Ellie loves CJ, she’s her port in the storm at the White House. The only one on staff that treats her like a normal human being and not a walking political timebomb. Josh is great, and you know not exactly tough on the eyes there either, but Ellie’s never seen him when he wasn’t one call away from hyperventilating. He stresses her out while CJ seems like someone Ellie’d like to have a wine night with.

And CJ loves Toby so Ellie guesses there must be something that she’s missing. Ellie’s clearly got this man all wrong if he can be stomping around the West Wing with an assistant dressed like this lady and nobody’s batting an eye.

“He should be here any minute,” the assistant smiles again. She’s awfully smiley, Ellie wonders if her cheeks hurt at the end of the day.

“You know what” Ellie dusts off her hands as she pulls herself off of Toby’s couch. She turns her back to the door as she pulls her coat on. ”I really do have to get back to my lab, I can just leave a message it’s honestly no big-”

“Hey, Ellie- woah! Didn’t mean to scare you.”

Toby’s normally angry and grumbling and shaking his head at whatever insufferable nugget of wisdom her father has managed to come up with. Toby normally is dark and brooding, and slightly off putting. The sulking cat to Josh’s hyperactive golden retriever.

And now he’s smiling at her with shining eyes.

His shoulders are relaxed, he looks good. Great, even. Happy. Right- The babies! She’s not sure if she has it right - honestly that whole week is a total blur lost to a haze of panic and dread and grief -, but she’s pretty sure that Congresswoman Wyatt had the babies the night Zoey was taken.

He named the little girl after the agent that died trying to protect Zoey that night.

Molly, Molly Wyatt-Ziegler.

“It’s okay,” Ellie laughs awkwardly. Everything she does these days feels awkward.

“What can I do for you?” He’s behind his desk, immediately demolishing the hard work his assistant put into organizing the stacks of paper.

“I just-” She coughs, again feeling uncomfortable. She shifts her feet and clears her throat.

She’s still shaking from earlier. Her stomach’s been flipping nonstop since the press ambush, and she somehow managed to get through a full statement on a podium without vomiting, but now, standing in her father’s staffer’s office, she thinks she might just keel over.

“I wanted to thank you,” She finally gets out.

Toby stops what he’s doing to briefly look up at her. He’s not smiling anymore, too focused on his tasks for that, but he nods cordially enough in her direction.

“My dad told me that you got stuck with sorting this whole,” Ellie waves her hands, “mess. And I just wanted to thank you for that,” She coughs again, nervous habit, “among other things.”

His pager beeps, but he doesn’t move from standing hunched impossibly over his computer. Moments later his phone rings loudly, startling her once again. It rings three times before Toby lets out a bellow for his assistant, who is apparently named Rina. She calls out an apology, though she doesn’t sound all that apologetic from where Ellie can hear, and takes the call from her desk outside.

“Among what other things?” Toby asks, now fiddling with his pager.

Ellie gulps before saying, “Well, um. You were good with the whole-” She loses her nerve, and rocks back on her heels.

This was such a stupid idea. She should’ve hightailed it out of here the second she was off the podium and never looked back. This is so bad, he’s just blinking at her owlishly and she’s probably beet red and sweating and God it’s pretty hot in this office now how did the guy in the Big Bird costume possibly get through this day when she can’t seem to manage 30 seconds.

“How are you holding up?” He asks sincerely, thankfully shifting his eyes away from her.

Silence hangs in the air as Ellie tries, without much success, to get her breathing under control. She bites at her lip for a moment. He begins typing.

“I’m tired,” she blurts out eventually, “and I’m scared. But that’s pretty much been my resting state since Dad won Illinois,”

Toby chuckles at that, and pulls out his wallet. He walks around his desk and hands her a photo of two babies in little hats.

“That’s been my resting state lately, too. The tiny hats help somewhat.”

She laughs at that, and tells Toby that his babies are beautiful.

She thanks him for keeping the wheels turning as their family fell to pieces. She thanks him for counseling her father, and for standing by him when he invoked the 25th. Ellie’s no communications expert, but she’s pretty confident that Toby’s gone above and beyond with the media responses and official language and everything else to keep the pressure off of the family as they work toward some form of new normal.

Toby may as well as single handedly wrote her father into the Presidency, but Ellie thanks him for helping her little sister in the ways he can.

She doesn’t stick around for much after that, quickly hands him back the photograph and waves Rina, miniskirt and all, goodbye. She considers stopping by Josh’s office, but a monsoon of tiredness suddenly crashes over her. She heads to the lobby, and is escorted away to the car without much fuss.

She should’ve said goodbye to her mom, should’ve stayed for dinner with her father, should’ve tried harder to get Dr. Foy a picture of Elmo - he has a four year old daughter who positively loves Sesame Street. There’s a lot of things she should be doing, but instead she rests her head against the cool glass of the backseat window and tries not to think about how it's bulletproof.

She’s tired and she’s scared, and she’s pretty sure that’s never going to change, or at least won’t anytime soon. But as she drifts off lulled by the steady hum of the engine, she finds her shoulders a little bit lighter.

It’s exhausting being a First Daughter, and it’s terrifying, and it’s dangerous, potentially deadly. But for every nightmare it brings, it also brings CJ, pulling a beautifully crafted statement seemingly out of thin air. It brings Charlie, the best son her father’s never had and whose leagues above every other schmuck Zoey’s brought home. It brings Rina who won’t rest until Ellie’s been properly greeted with tea, a book, a blanket, no seriously, is there anything at all I can get for you sweetie? It brings Josh who never stops to chat but always kisses her on the cheek and tells her she looks fantastic.

And it brings Toby, with his sad eyes and beautiful words and unwavering faith and above all his babies and their tiny, tiny hats.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown of First Daughter, but Ellie’s beginning to see the value of spreading the weight around.

[twwpress]

Weekly Press Briefing #51: June 11th - June 17th

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 June 11 - June 17, 2023! Did we miss something? Let us know; you can find our contact info at the bottom of this briefing!

Challenges/Prompts:

The following is a roundup of open challenges/prompts. Do you have a challenge or event you’d like us to promote? Be sure to get in touch with us! Contact info is at the bottom of this briefing.

The Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda Josh/Donna prompt fest (hosted by @jessbakescakes and @thefinestmuffin) is open for claiming; fics reveal on June 24th. Details here.

Photos/Videos:

Here’s what was posted from June 11 - June 17.

Amy Landecker posted a photo of herself and Bradley Whiford at last year’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards in celebration of his nomination for a Supporting Actor Emmy for his role as Commander Lawrence in The Handmaid’s Tale. 

Richard Schiff posted photos of himself with Lisa Edelstein in promotion of their short film Swipe NYC.

Bradley Whitford posted photos of himself on the WGA picket line with his Perfect Harmony co-stars.

Dule Hill posted a promo video for his show The Wonder Years; the second season is now available to stream on Hulu. 

Josh Malina posted a video of the Leopoldstadt cast walking to the Tony Awards together. 

Josh Malina posted a video of his Leopoldstadt colleague Brandon Uranowitz winning a Tony Award. 

Josh Malina posted a selfie with David Krumholtz, who originally played Hermann (the character Malina now plays) in Leopoldstadt. 

Josh Malina posted a silly photo of himself claiming that he’s staying humble after Leopoldstadt’s Tony wins. 

Josh Malina posted a photo of himself napping with his dog, Gus. 

Kim Webster posted a video of herself and her friends taking shots with Geena Davis.

Marlee Matlin posted a photo of her brother and his husband, along with well wishes for their first anniversary. 

Rob Lowe posted a video of himself and his wife getting ready for a date and joking that they were going to prom. 

We missed some videos from May that feature Martin Sheen. Huge thanks to the newsletter reader who sent them our way! 1 | 2 

Donna Moss Daily: June 11 | June 12 | June 13 | June 14 | June 15 | June 16 | June 17

Daily Josh Lyman: June 11 | June 12 | June 13 | June 14 | June 15 | June 16 | June 17

No Context BWhit: June 11 | June 12 | June 13 | June 14 | June 15 | June 16 | June 17

@jdsgifs: June 11 (1) | June 11 (2) | June 11 (3)

@twwarchive: June 17

Editors’ Choice: 

In honor of Father’s Day, we’re sharing some of our favorite fics that focus on fatherhood and found family dad vibes! We’ve tried to include a lot of fluff, but please be aware that because family relationships can be complicated, there might be some angsty and potentially triggering content here, so please read tags and notes and take care of yourself first. 

Favorites by Jxjxjx | Rated G | Jed Bartlet & Charlie Young, Zoey Bartlet/Charlie Young | Complete | Jed and Charlie talk before Charlie gets married

 i knew the love of a father runs deep by sam_writes_fics | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | She sees something light up in her husband’s eyes. She’s seen the look before – when he proposed and she said yes, when they finally said ‘I do’, both times when she told them they were having a baby – and every single time it makes her heart flutter.

 His Boy by The_wastedworld | Rated G | Josh Lyman & Leo McGarry, Jed Bartlet & Josh Lyman, Jed Bartlet & Leo McGarry (Gen Fic) | Complete | Post Bartlet shouting at Josh in 3x22, Featuring Leo defending Josh, a discussion of how much they both love him, and a slightly screwed up timeline. Also featuring a slightly mean Bartlet, but he apologises

 when i'm in my sweet daughter's eyes (my heart is now ruined for the rest of all time) by JessBakesCakes | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | The first day of school in the Moss-Lyman family is, as seven-year-old Nora puts it, a big freakin’ deal. Josh has come to enjoy it as much as the girls do – watching them all take on another school year with (mostly) wonder and excitement fills him with pride.

// the Moss-Lyman family's first day of school

 For the Redemption and the Battles by shutterbug_12 (shutterbug) | Rated G | Andrea Wyatt/Toby Ziegler | Complete | At Hanukkah, Toby teaches a lesson.

One Quiet Day in June by GinnyK  | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | This was my answer to a Father's Day challenge, many, many years ago!

i'm gonna love you til my lungs give out by payback16 | Rated E | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | Sixteen years together and he still feels like pinching himself every morning he wakes up to a head of blonde hair tucked under his chin. Three other blonde little heads are sleeping just down the hall and at the thought he pulls his wife in tighter, endlessly grateful for her and the family they've created together.

or: father's day 2022 with our favorite dad

 Fathers by Nkala99 | Rated G | Gen Fic/No Pairings Listed | Complete | Jed Bartlet usually tried to maintain a professional distance with the men and women who worked for him, but the longer he spent time with them on the road during his campaign, he couldn’t deny that he was coming to care about his team.

Father's Day by Lulu [archived by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist] | Rated T | Gen Fic/No Pairings Listed | Complete | Leo, Mallory, and some friends get together on father's day.

Fics:

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

Josh/Donna

Errors and Omissions by Chinesepapercut | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

Fragments of Days Gone By… by JayeReid1 | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

Domestic Days by spooky_spacegirl | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

C.J./Danny

Off the Record by  onekisstotakewithme for daylight_angel, miabicicletta, Luppiters, hondagirll | Rated T | Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg | In Progress

12 Months by Jxjxjx |  Rated G | Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg | In Progress

Other Pairings/Gen Fic

 it started off with a kiss... now it ended up like this by imawkwardlysoc | Rated G | Sam Seaborn/Original Female Character | In Progress

Wait For Me by imperfectirises | Rated M | Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet | In Progress

Not Making Plans by Mabis | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Sam Seaborn | Complete

north potomac, maryland by rearviewmirror | Rated G |  C. J. Cregg/Toby Ziegler | Complete

Multiple Pairings

Operation in the Desert by mlea7675 | Rated T | Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet, Helen Santos/Matt Santos, Josh Lyman/Donna Moss, Ainsley Hayes/Sam Seaborn, Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg, C. J. Cregg/Toby Ziegler, Will Bailey/Kate Harper, Zoey Bartlet/Charlie Young, Leo McGarry/Annabeth Schott | Complete

Yes, You are better than my old boyfriend by Proportional Response | Rated E | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss, Dr. Freeride/Donna Moss | Complete

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?