#ainsley hayes

[joshdonnas]

The West Wing being a #mood. (part 1)

[the-last-kenobi]

being a west wing fan is such an ordeal like why are my blorbos a bunch of white middle aged democrats and baby dule hill

[dearemma]

[astrid-delacour]

[interesting-conversational-style]

Everyone’s all “the later seasons of The West Wing suck” but that completely dismisses that “you’re a smart, savvy woman who could easily consider world domination as a next career move” COMES FROM SEASON 7

[rushman2-0]

Donna Moss this, CJ Cregg that, I wanna know your favorite random featured female guest star with 10-20 episodes over multiple seasons

For our favorite ladies with less than 10 episodes, go here

[ninewheels]

The West Wing but it's just the bits my partner @miss-nerdstiles and I are constantly referencing

[hotchkissroyale]

Called It (TWW Fanfic)

Called It: F/M & Gen, Sam/Ainsley. On the flight to the wedding of Sam Seaborn and Ainsley Hayes, Josh realizes he knows less about their relationship than he thought. A drabble.

Excerpt:

His laugh leaked past his hand as he took another drink, pausing as the whiskey trickled down his throat. “You really didn’t know?” Donna, sitting two seats over, leaned towards them, a carefully controlled look on her face. “He really didn’t know.”

This was written from @twwpress Wheel of Destiny Drabble Challenge. My prompts were Writer's Choice of Season, Wedding Fic, and Air Force One.

[twwpress]

Weekly Press Briefing #50 - June 4th - June 10th

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 4 - June 10, 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 4 - June 10.

Allison Janney posted a photo of her dog and coffee mug. 

Richard Schiff posted a photo with his castmate Lisa Edelstein promoting Swipe NYC, a short film they both appear in.

Bradley Whitford posted a photo of his pets. 

Dule Hill posted a promo video for his show The Wonder Years, which returns June 14. 

Josh Malina posted on-stage and backstage photos from his 100th performance of Leopoldstat on Broadway 1 | 2 | 3

Josh Malina posted a photo of a letter he wrote to Playbill about himself (under a false alias) in 1989.

Josh Malina posted a photo of the cast of Leopoldstadt Broadway wishing everyone a happy Pride Month. 

Marlee Matlin posted photos and video of herself on the picket lines in support of the WGA.

Marlee Matlin posted photos and a birthday wish for her friend Jack Jason.

Rob Lowe posted photos of himself and his son Johnny golfing.

Rob Lowe posted a video of his dogs.

Rob Lowe posted a promo photo with his son Johnny for their Netflix show, Unstable.

Donna Moss Daily: June 4 | June 5 | June 6 | June 7 | June 8 | June 9 | June 10

Daily Josh Lyman: June 4 | June 5 | June 6 | June 7 | June 8 | June 9 | June 10

No Context BWhit: June 4 | June 5 | June 6 | June 7 | June 8 | June 9 | June 10

Edits/Artwork:

#ABBEYANDJED: i gave so many signs by @livsbensons [VIDEO EDIT]

#JOSHDONNA: right there where we stood was holy ground by @JessBakesCakes [VIDEO EDIT]

 Editors’ Choice:

Crackfic, humor, and (apparently!) Sam ending up with at least one concussion: this week we’re recommending some of our favorite funny fics!

Conspiracy by hufflepuffhermione | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | “What do you think all the conspiracy theorists out there will make of this?” Will asks.

“I think they’ll be disappointed that the White House is wasting its time and energy on getting these two idiots together instead of executing, you know, actual conspiracies."

-

After witnessing the snowball incident, the whole White House staff decides that the Josh-and-Donna thing needs some outside interference.

 Concussed by jariadiamond | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Sam Seaborn | Complete | He never thought that in his life he’d think of someday making a speech that begins with “Thank you, Sam, for walking into a tree.”

 VC-25A by Punk, Sab | Rated G | Gen Fic (No Pairings Listed) | Complete | CJ, Sam, Ainsley, filet of sole, Toby, a raft, some other people, and a room with a glass door, in the great tradition of experimental dinner theater.

 I'll Have What She's Having by thefinestmuffins | Rated M | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | “I’m just saying,” Josh says around a mouthful of burnt burger, “Meg Ryan’s a professional actress. Like, a famous movie star. Of course she can fake it.”

“You don’t think other women do, and get away with it?” Donna stabs a fork into her salad, flickering her brows at him. “You don’t think I could?”

Josh splutters his Yoo-Hoo so hard that he has to sop it up with a napkin. “I never said that!”

 Political Science and First Impressions 101 by Palgrave (goldenrod) for Ayadec (Crossover with Community) | Rated G | Gen Fic (No Pairings Listed) | Complete | The President of the United States visiting a community college? Good idea. The President visiting Greendale? Less so.

 all i’ve ever learned from love by hanyolo for mikaylawrites | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | “Are you seeing him again?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

“It is when the guys you date are idiots.”

Donna stops so suddenly that Josh walks into her, a furious expression on her face as she whirls around to look at him, but he doesn’t miss the hurt in her eyes, the sadness that has him feeling like a massive jerk.

“As though the women you date are any better,” she snaps, before turning on her heels and storming into Toby’s office.

Josh doesn’t follow her this time, his head ducked and his shoulders slumped as he trudges back to his office.

And when Donna finds him at the end of the day to tell him she’s leaving, he doesn’t have the energy to tease her about her lightly curled hair, the knee length blue dress he’s seen on wear on countless dates before.

// donna gets a boyfriend. josh gets jealous

 Shenanigans by Nkala99 | Rated T | Gen Fic (No Pairings Listed) | Complete | A Congressman, a reporter, and the White House Deputy Chief of Staff go to a bar . . .

Fics:

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

Josh/Donna

I Thought You’d Like to Know by Shonio | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

The Theory of Entropy by Jane_3yr3 | Rated M | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

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

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

The Next Thing by outtabreath | Rated M | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

Eighty Eight Minutes by outtabreath | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

Changing Conditions by outtabreath | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

this is the wonder (that's keeping the stars apart) by joshatella (shuuuliet) | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

Our Time Now by starbuckmeggie | Not Rated | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

C.J./Danny

a flamboyance of flamingos by miabicicletta for onekisstotakewithme | Rated T | Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg | Complete

your love is a secret I’m hoping, dreaming, dying to keep  by Luppiters | Rated G | Danny Concannon/C. J. Cregg | Complete

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

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

Other Pairings/Gen Fic

Adorable, Yet Ill Adored by HotchkissRoyale | Rated E | Ainsley Hayes/Sam Seaborn | In Progress 

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

Favorites by Jxjxjx | Rated G | Jed Bartlet & Charlie Young (No Pairings Listed) | Complete

Multiple Pairings

A Silence Full of Sound by mandolinrains | Rated T | Leo McGarry/Original Female Character(s), Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

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 | In Progress

There are no second acts in American lives (except when there are) by norahb | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Original Female Character, Josh Lyman/Donna Moss, Sam Seaborn/Original Male Character(s) | In Progress

dearest constellation, heaven surrounding you by rearviewmirror | Rated T | Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet/Leo McGarry, Jed Bartlet/Leo McGarry, Abbey Bartlet/Leo McGarry | 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?

[hondagirll]

I will never forgive Sorkin for not making Emily Procter a main cast member. I know he regrets it, but he doesn't regret it ENOUGH.

I agree!!! The character of Ainsley is amazing and she should have been promoted to series regular. A travesty she wasn't.

[joshdonnas]

In which Ainsley makes an innocent question and gets subjected to The Joshdonna Show ™️ (featuring Sam).

17 PEOPLE (2x18) | The West Wing (1999-2006)

[emeraldgreaves]

i know i am *decades* late, but not keeping ainsley hayes on the west wing was a crime

[providing-leverage]

I hate it when I reread my WIPs and they are indeed in progress

Ah my poly West Wing fic I started in a mad haze this summer where Sam/Mallory/Josh/Donna/Joey/Amy/Laurie live in a house together in New Hampshire and are in love. Then Sam meets Ainsley and is head over heels but mentions that he's married after hooking up with her and does not get time to explain that Mallory is chill with it and off to visit her pro hockey player boyfriend at the moment because Ainsley kicks him out.

All of this is supposed to lead to Ainsley eventually moving in with them and dating Sam and also falling in love with Donna

[msmarycrawley]

Fictober Day 9

Prompt: “How would that even work?”

Fandom: The West Wing

Pairing: Sam Seaborn/Ainsley Hayes

Rating: General

Summary: For the first time in ages, Ainsley Hayes is truly speechless.

Ao3

In retrospect, she should have known something was up when Sam was on his best behavior all night. The date was perfect: the weather was beautiful, he took her to a fancy Italian restaurant with amazing food and they didn’t argue once.

That didn’t stop Ainsley’s surprise when, on a walk around the National Mall after dinner, he stopped, turned around and got down on one knee.

She giggled with uncertainty and opened her mouth to try to speak, but nothing came out. The wind whipped her hair around her head, and she tucked strands behind her ears. Eventually, the words arrive. “Sam… what are you doing?”

“What does it look like?” He said with a smile, slowly removing a small black velvet box from his suit pocket.

She gasped and put a hand over her mouth. “Oh my god!” Tears started automatically blurring her vision and she wiped them away as fast as they fell. “Sam, oh my god! Are you serious?”

He took a ring out of the box. “Ainsley Hayes, w-”

“Wait,” she sputtered. “How would that even work?”

From what little she could see, Sam looked confused but endeared. “What do you mean?”

“With my family and your family, and like, you’re a Democrat and I’m a Republican and-holy shit this is so huge-” Ainsley was almost sobbing; she felt completely mortified and elated all at once.

Sam stood up and walked to her. He kissed her forehead and held her face in his hands, tilting it up to look at him. He was crying a little too.

“It’s been two years. I love you, my mom loves you, you’re the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with. The rest we can deal with when it comes. We’ll make it work, I promise.”

Ainsley nodded and sniffed, taking deep breaths. He was right- they could do this. She looked out at the near empty path before them. A path they’d walk as fiances in just a few minutes. “I love you too. Okay, d-do your thing.”

Sam got back down on one knee and held her hand. She gripped it tight. He opened the ring box again and Ainsley saw up close how gorgeous it was.

“Oh my god-” she started to say.

“Ainsley Hayes, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

“OF COURSE!” She blurted out. Sam beamed, and they hugged each other close.

The perfect end to a perfect night.

[interesting-conversational-style]

Josh Lyman is gesticulating wildly

[triviareads]

carrying on the tww theme from that last ask, opinion on jed, toby and ainsley. also francesca and kate from bridgerton? sorry to bombard you with characters, all of these are some of my favourite characters from these fandoms

Bartlet is... a man of his time politically speaking. Not the most progressive. Something I thought a lot about during the Trump years was Bartlet's refusal to succumb to the waves of anti-intellectualism and how much I admired him as a character for that. The notion that having an education alone gets you dismissed or makes you the target of vitriol because you're a "liberal coastal elite" or whatever is something that used to bother me but Bartlet kinda taught me to accept it for what it is.

Toby makes me laugh. Until he doesn't and by the end I just felt sad watching his character arc come to a close. As for Ainsley, love her (even though I wanna cry a little at how irrelevant an "honorable" Republican that puts country above party is), love her chemistry with Sam, I have many many thoughts on her views on the ERA which I won't go into here.

Regarding Kate, I think she's a character that's very easy to latch onto for many, and her book iteration is especially relatable. Same for her show version, but in different ways. She speaks her mind, refuses to be cowed by her love interest, and is devoted to her family. Is she my favoritest of them all? No, particularly because my favorite heroines tend to be based on how entertaining I find them, not how relatable they are. But writing Kate makes her more compelling in my eyes. The basic formula I follow when writing her is a looooot of teasing/arguing/goading between her and Anthony. It's like, pretty much foreplay. She's always a little stubborn and family-oriented, though my versions of her tend not to feel a whole lot of shame (especially sexually) or second-guess themselves unless she's deluding herself about what she feels for Anthony.

As for Francesca, she's a character I think leaves the most to the imagination, and what we see of Francesca in WHWW proves that she's a very cool gal, different from her family, and DTF in a way most of her family isn't. So in my head, she's the one with the most potential, especially as a romantic heroine (which imo Julia Quinn didn't explore the full potential of). That's why I wanted to explore what her first meeting with John might have been like, and the potential of what could have come of her relationship with Michael if John had lived.