#cj cregg you will always be famous

[southofeerie]

"somebody's going to emergency, somebody's going to jail" is one of the best west wing episodes - the focus on taking things for granted and learning they were false (sam's dad's fidelity, gault's innocence, the maps, and having time to make a difference as president), the chaos twins classic moments (cant stop laughing at josh glancing at cj when the cartographers say that size is perceived as power then leaving to find toby), the little hints about bartlet being almost ready to discuss the MS (thus removing another thing that the senior staff took for granted- his health and that he wasn't lying). gah! so good. toby's story line is also very fun, and a good brief look at activism culture back then (but also please tell me about his sisters who took him to protests in '68??)

[pottdplant]

…. there’s a red head in the west wing (the show) …… and she’s the press secretary

why does jen psaki look like sarah snook

[aerielz]

OH MY GOD SO MANY AMAZING AU IDEAS also “AUs I am waiting for someone else to write because I barely have time to breathe as it is” is the MOST RELATABLE TITLE god. so basically talk about any of them but specifically the daemon au!!!! and the oceans 11 au because that’s the first thing i remember you posting about and is kinda how we became friends. also it’s FUCKING AMAZING- jed and leo being Like That, abbey IS tess she just is!!! and oh my god senior staff heist. yeah this one’s my favorite

This got lost in my inbox I'm so sorry! AND YEAH THANKS FOR LETTING ME HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO ON ON AND ABOUT THIS. You're a darling <3

Daemon/HDM AU:

This is what happens when your friends force you through His Dark Materials but you're still not ready to let go of TWW.

- CJ's I think it'd be a hare. A quick hare that's smart as a whip, sassy af and always having ideas that scream "are you just trying to get yourself into trouble?". It's the part of herself that CJ almost never lets out, and it's the part of her that's a little like Josh and that gets him. A hare, with big ears that listen to everything, who pays attention to everyone around them, and is always trying to get the last word in.

- I think Josh would have something big and imposing for a daemon. But something so strangely elegant, for those who don't know him too well... A feline for sure. A Lynx, perhaps. All that stealth and patience and that... I don't know, regal thing that Josh keeps hidden underneath the brash-and-bold of the early seasons, and that later comes out because brash and bold is not really all he is, is it? He's definetly fierce and a bit wild (wild thing), and he can be ruthless, but he's also constantly looking for a safe place to just cuddle up to someone who's gonna scratch his ears.

- once I was complaining on ao3 about not being able to write Sam and a reader told me "I think of him as a golden retriever" and yep. Sam's daemon is a golden retriever, I can't unsee this anymore. They're both sweet and loyal and can be a little bit of an asshole (when they make a mess by doing things you thought they'd never do, and you took their eyes from them for like a second but now-- yep, yeah look at the mess they made).

Ocean's 11 AU

THE ONE THAT STARTED IT ALL. The one that still makes me want to quit real life just to write it.

- ABBEY BARTLET IS TESS BUT SHE'S A TESS THAT TAKES NO SHIT AND LEAVES NO PRISONERS. And who also Did Not Leave For A Man. She's just... Not around. She's out there, maybe overseas, building her own empire. And just imagine-- the heist is going terribly wrong and in comes Abbey Bartlet, like she does after the shutdown mess, calling shots and asking where the fuck is Josh Lyman.

- because Josh Lyman is a wildcard but he Knows His Shit. He's the mastermind behind a thousand great hits. He treats heist like both an art and a sport and he likes the challenge of the grandiose, elaborate, stings. Not that he feels the need to slap his name on every famous painting he ever planned the theft of, but he loves knowing he was the one who did it under everyone's nose. He's learned everything he knows from Leopold McGarry, who's a true legend, but he's still lacking Leo's finesse. He has a tendency to miscalculate just how pissed off people will be, which means if he's in, then they bring around--

- CJ Cregg, grifter extraordinaire better know as The Jackal. She can ruin your life, take your money, and make you thank her for it. The most fun person you'll ever meet, and a great friend of Josh's, who can, more often than not, anticipate when his plans have fails that might make everything to awry. She's a little bit like Sophie from Leverage, I guess? If you haven't watched that show omg GO WATCH IT it's so fun, I miss it a lot hehe.

- never accept Toby Zeigler's invitation to play poker. Or anything involving a deck-- because he's a man who knows his cards. He always has a deck in his pocket, and when in conversation he's always flipping it into different cuts and tricks. A cardistry master, slight of hand like you wouldn't believe. There's some history between him and CJ, maybe, but no one ever asks.

- I love the idea of Donna being the CZJ of this au, I'm not gonna lie, but... She's got that clever as the devil and twice as pretty vibe going, and I can totally see her striking a friendship with Josh after she swipes his wallet and he's like WOW OK WHAT? And then they become inseparable because Donna manages to talk Josh down from sheer stupidity in a way that even CJ can't. And and and and JUST IMAGINE THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE 'FAKE RELATIONSHIP' TROPES, MAN. They have to pretend to be together for a job and-- Josh doing big things just to impress her.

- Leo and Jed being Old Friends who quit the game ages ago but now came back for some reason? Idk. The only reason I haven't written this au yet is bc it needs plot and I can't find one (SEND ME IDEAS!!!!). Anyway, they got that Danny and Rusty thing where they're both such good friends and they trust each other and they're FAMILY and God this is actually a mix of Leverage and O11, isn't it.

Anyway. This is it. I guess? As far as I know, this is what's going around in my brain when it comes to this two AUs. If anyone has ideas or comments or whatever, just leave me an ask!