#josh/Donna

[lithiumseven]

Josh and Donna sharing a beer during the Stackhouse filibuster is everything to me. Her reaching behind herself for it and making impatient gestures, him trying to take as big a sip as he can before he passes it over, the fact that they’ve clearly done this before, ugh it’s incredible

[lemotmo]

20 Questions for fic writers

Tagged by @warpedpuppeteer. Thank you for the tag and the challenge! :)

1-How many works do you have on ao3?

- 36 works in total. 6 for my current fav ship: Buddie

2-What’s your total Ao3 word count?

- 332,354 words written.

3-What fandoms do you write for?

These days only for 911, Buddie fics. But I used to write for SGA (McShep), Without a Trace (Danny/Martin) and The West Wing (Josh/Donna).

4-Top 5 fics by kudos?

All of them Buddie fics! :)

Three years (180 kudos)

Too Little Too Late (226 kudos)

To Boldly Go (256 kudos)

The Comfort of a Home (408 kudos)

Stuck (on you) (885 kudos)

5-Do you respond to comments?

I do, but sometimes it takes a long time to get to them. I have so little time in my daily life that it's a struggle to find time to reply. But I do get to them... in time. So be patient please if you are someone who has commented and you haven't heard back from me yet. Know that I appreciate each and every comment. I read them, but I just don't always have time to reply on the spot.

6-What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oooh, well there's four fics that come to mind here:

You Only Disappear (Without a Trace, Danny/Martin)

It ('Without a Trace' set in the 'Stargate Atlantis' universe, Danny/Martin, TW body horror)

Experiment (Stargate Atlantis, McShep, TW murder/suicide)

Buck is Here (911, Buddie, TW MCD)

7-What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Well, I have a lot of fics that end happy, but three fics come to mind here:

The Road to Nowhere (Stargate Atlantis, McShep, Cowboy AU)

The Sound of Science (Stargate Atlantis, McShep, The Sound of Music AU)

To Boldly Go (911, Buddie, Star Trek AU)

8-Do you get hate on your fics?

Not so far no. Never had any hate.

9-Do you write smut?

Well, yeah if the story asks for it. But only when it fits the narrative. I don't go into too much details though. I like to keep things 'light' and 'fluffy'. :D

10-Craziest crossover?

Well, I would say:

The Sound of Science: a fusion between 'Stargate Atlantis' and 'The Sound of Music'. XD LOL!

To Boldly Go: a fusion between 911 and Star Trek. Basically it's a Buddie story set in the Star Trek universe, but Star Trek characters don't really show up.

11-Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not as far as I know off. I don't know if my writing is good enough to steal though. It's important to stay humble. :D

12-Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

13-Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, when I was in 'The West Wing' fandom (in the beginning of the 2000's) I wrote about three longer Josh/Donna fics together with a fandom friend. I have lost contact with her since, but I will never forget about her.

14-All time favorite ship?

Oh wow, it's very hard to pick one, because all of my ships hold a special place in my heart.

Josh/Donna from 'The West Wing' was my first online ship. I made fanart, wrote fanfic, met great people. In those days fandom was mostly found on the Yahoo-groups. They eventually went canon in season 7, but I had moved on from the show by then because of how bad the writing got in later seasons. So, I missed the big reveal as they went canon. I'll never not regret it.

Danny/Martin from 'Without a Trace' was a magical ship. My second online ship. I met so many great fellow fans and friends back then. We even met up in Rome and London with a whole bunch of us. Great times on LiveJournal as well.

McShep from 'Stargate Atlantis' was my most prolific ship. I wrote so much fic and made oodles of fanart for those men. Those were the heydays of LiveJournal fandom.

Buddie in '911' is so special to me. I've been in this fandom since season 1, online since season 2. I have met so many great people in this fandom. The best thing of all is that this is the first ship that actually has a great chance of going canon, while I'm still actively watching and enjoying the show. YAY!

15-What’s a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I have this dystopian Without a Trace fic half written in my documents. It has been sitting there for years now. It has the possibility of being so great, but I don't have the will to finish it anymore, because the fandom is mostly non-existant these days. Maybe I'll turn it into an original work of fiction one day. Who knows?

16-What are your writing strengths?

Writing dialogue. I actually hear the characters talking in my head. I just write down what they are saying and it always works out.

17-What are your writing weaknesses?

Finding the time to write! But mostly the grammar, especially the tenses. As a non-native speaker it is a struggle to keep on writing in the correct tense and it's very difficult sometimes to know when to switich to another tense if it's appropriate. It's highly frustrating. I reread and edit my stories up to 10 times sometimes to catch all the grammatical errors. And even then there are still a few that I miss.

18-Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

For some reason I can't read/write non-English fics. I hate fics in my own language. Since the shows I love are English speaking shows, I need to read/write English fics.

19-First fandom you wrote in?

The West Wing.

20-Favorite fic you’ve written?

That's a hard question, because they are all my babies. I can definitely see that my writing has improved over the years though. So I tend to like my last works better than my first works, even when I do still appreciate them for what they are.

I guess the fic I'm most proud of writing is 'To Boldly Go'. It took blood, sweat and a lot of tears, but I got through all 16 chapters in the end. It took a couple of years to finish though. :D

Tagging: I'm not tagging anyone in particular. Anyone who sees this, feel free to do it for yourself. Tag me so that I can read it. 🫶🏽

[hollygl125]

When I met Donna, 25 years ago, I opened up Aaron’s wonderful pilot script and read the first line of my scene and thought, “Oh. O.K. I get it. Donna loves Josh.” And that was it. The center of my wheel, the fulcrum from which it all spun for seven years. Every issue I fought for, every question I asked, came essentially from that flame, the need to impress or protect, to be seen or appreciated by him. Donna loves Josh. And it was easy because flirting with Brad, falling in absolute pretend creative love with him and the rest of the cast, was the privilege of my professional life. And really that’s the fun of acting. Letting it all get messy and fluid, your feelings caught up in a tangle of joy, passing the fireballs of words back and forth, not knowing what will happen next.

[poetryincamelot]

the WAY josh/donna reminds me of merthur's dynamic!

[elise-51-blog]

Ten Fandoms Ten Ships

(Mostly in no particular order except current obsession sits at #1)

This is fun, you should do it, tag me friendos!

@prince-of-elsinore I need to add quotes and stuff, but this is it for now :D

10. Dr. Joel Fleischman/Maggie O'Connell (Northern Exposure)

9. Roy DeSoto/Johnny Gage (Emergency!)

8. Buster Posey/Tim Lincecum (Baseball RPF)

7. Josh Lyman/Donna Moss (West Wing)

6. Jamie Lannister/Brienne of Tarth (Game of Thrones)

5. Clark Kent/Lex Luthor (Smallville)

4. Guy Gardner/Kyle Rayner (Green Lantern comics)

3. Jason Todd/Dick Grayson (Batman comics)

2. Wincest (Supernatural)

Gallaghercest (Oasis RPF)

[twwpress]

Briefing #17 - October 16th - October 22nd

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 October 16 – October 22, 2022. 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.

Trope Soup: A Josh/Donna Tropes Fest is open for prompt submissions and claims. Fics were revealed on Saturday, October 22. The collection remains open to submissions. Learn more here.

The October 20 prompts in 20 days are up on Tumblr.

Big Block of Cheese Day is celebrating its one year anniversary with October’s prompts. 

 Photos/Videos:

Here’s what was posted from October 16 - October 22.

Allison Janney posted a photo from the Academy Museum Gala.

Allison Janney posted the trailer for her upcoming film, The People We Hate at Weddings.

Janel Moloney posted a photo of her son’s Flobsters.

Rob Lowe posted a photo of himself on a motorcycle taken while filming 911 Lonestar.

Richard Schiff posted a photo with The Good Doctor co-stars Freddie Highmore and Noah Galvin.

Donna Moss Daily: October 16 | October 17 | October 18 | October 19 | October 20 | October 21 | October 22

Daily Josh Lyman: October 16 | October 17 | October 18 | October 19 | October 20 | October 21 | October 22

No Context BWhit: October 16 | October 16 (2) | October 17 | October 17 (2) | October 18 | October 18 (2) | October 19 |  October 19 (2) | October 20 | October 21 | October 21 (2) | October 22 | October 22 (2)

@JanelMilfoney: October 16 | October 17 | October 18 | October 19 | October 20 

@down_brad_: October 16 | October 16 (2) | October 17 | October 18 | October 19 | October 20 | October 20 (2) | October 21 | October 22

Edits/Artwork:

#JOSHDONNA: mastermind by @EditsbyLu/@thehellisL [VIDEO EDIT]

#JOSHLYMAN: everybody agrees by @sinistercherubs [VIDEO EDIT]

 Creator Spotlight:

Each week, we will talk to a fandom creator and interview them about their work and their process. We’ll also give you the opportunity to ask them questions, too! Want to be a featured creator? Find us via one of the methods listed at the end of the briefing!

This week’s creator is @thefinestmuffin on twitter and thefinestmuffins on ao3. You can find the spotlight on tumblr or on twitter.

 This Week in Canon:

Welcome 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 5: The Crackpots and These Women aired on October 20, 1999.

Season 2, Episode 3: The Midterms aired on October 18, 2000.

Season 3, Episode 2: Manchester Part II aired on October 17, 2001.

Season 4, Episode 5: Debate Camp aired on October 16, 2002.

Season 5, Episode 4: Han aired on October 22, 2003.

Season 6, Episode 1: NSF Thurmont aired on October 20, 2004.

Season 7, Episode 4: Mr. Frost aired on October 16, 2005.

Editor’s Choice:

This week, we’re featuring some fics related to the episodes that came out this week in years past!

Season 1, Episode 5: The Crackpots and These Women: 

let me give you pinky promise kisses by fleurfemme | Rated E | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | Josh can't live with the guilt. Donna can't live without knowing how it would feel to kiss him.

“I’m not going to be brave,” he told her. “If something bad happens.”

“You don’t have to be.”

Voices of His Better Angels by nubianamy | Not Rated | Jed Bartlet/Leo McGarry | Complete | While the rest of the senior staffers eat chili, the President attempts to fix Leo's marriage.

to remember or to forget; by LookingForShadows | Rated G | Josh Lyman, Joanie Lyman | Complete | "What do you do with the memories of someone who's gone?" Josh thinks of his sister.

Season 2, Episode 3: The Midterms: 

sacred new beginnings by JessBakesCakes | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | But now, he doesn’t need her anymore – or he shouldn’t, anyway. So she’ll go back to her apartment, and he’ll go back to work, and things will go back to normal, whatever the hell that means.

There’s something about that idea that makes his stomach churn.

Season 3, Episode 2: Manchester Part II: 

Insomnia by orphan_account  | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | Deleted scene from Manchester Part II. Josh can't sleep, so he goes to bother Donna.

Season 4, Episode 5: Debate Camp:

Maybe She Always Knew the Ending by IDreamofAJ [archived by westwingfancentral_archivist] | Rated T | C. J. Cregg/Toby Ziegler | Complete | Maybe she never really wanted him.

Season 5, Episode 4: Han:

getting caught up in a moment by payback16 | Rated E | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | He looks up from the files on his desk and sees her leaning against the doorway, shrouded in soft light, a gentle smile playing at her lips, looking like she belongs there. Here. With him. It settles something in his chest.

or: donna ties his bowtie and promptly unties it

Season 6, Episode 1: NSF Thurmont:

all we know is don’t let go by mikaylawrites for defendingtheearth | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete | Donna nods, but a tear slips down her cheek. Josh reaches for her, wishing he weren’t wearing gloves so she could feel his skin on hers. She grabs his hand with both of hers, clutching onto him with surprising force until the anesthesiologist puts her under and her grip slackens. He watches her eyes close, unable to tear his gaze from her face.

The last thing he wants to do is let go of her hand, but one of the nurses gently tells him he has to leave. They guide him out of the room, and the moment the door closes behind him, Josh knows.

He’s in love with Donna.

In which the events of the Gaza arc bring Josh and Donna together rather than drive them apart (and Donna’s mental health gets the attention it deserves).

Season 7, Episode 4: Mr. Frost:

does she mouth “fuck you” forever by JediAnnieScrambler for claudiasjeancregg | Rated T | C. J. Cregg/Toby Ziegler | Complete | he tells her. she doesn’t want to hear.

 Fics:

Presenting your weekly roundup of fics posted in the tag for The West Wing on Archive of Our Own. If you are so inclined, please be sure to leave the authors some love in the form of kudos or comments. Be mindful of posted warnings/tags for each story.

Josh/Donna

if you were in an accident by helsinkibaby | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

Books, Board Games, and Bow Ties by mlea7675 | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

Congresswoman Lyman Meets the Press by mlea7675 | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

leave what's heavy behind by WitchyPrentiss | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

OMG! They Were Roommates! by WitchyPrentiss | Rated G | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

How Will He Find Me by Shinyrosa | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

Let’s Go Home by Shinyrosa | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

we are a wave of white noise by flowersinapril | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

darling, so it goes (some things are meant to be) by mikaylawrites | Rated M | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

You Deserve Better, Baby. by casliyn for thefinestmuffins | Rated M | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

got my heart set by fairwinds09 | Rated M | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress the kinktober drabbles by flowersinapril, hanyolo | Rated E | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | In Progress

the moon’s never seen me before (i’m reflecting light) by JessBakesCakes for thefinestmuffins | Rated E | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

what the head makes cloudy, the heart makes very clear by phos3 | Not Rated | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss | Complete

Jed/Abbey

out, out damned spot by jazzjo | Rated G | Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet | Complete

Miracle by imperfectirises | Rated M | Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet | In Progress

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

Inauguration by AndAllThatMishigas | Rated M | Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet | Complete

Other Pairings/Gen Fic

enumerated powers by jazzjo | Rated G | Evelyn Baker Lang & Christopher Mulready, C. J. Cregg/Evelyn Baker Lang | Complete

(taught me) how to fail by jazzjo | Rated G | Evelyn Baker Lang/Christopher Mulready | Complete

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

The Language of Tomorrow by silasfinch for justdreaming88 | Rated T | Ellie Bartlet/Original Female Character(s) | In progress 

We’re Not Done Yet by krazykitkat | Rated T | Danny Concannon/C.J. Cregg | Complete

Figures of Speech by Darsynia Rated T | Toby Ziegler/Original Female Character | In progress 

You’ve Got Time by youvebeenlivingfictional | Rated E | Josh Lyman/Reader | Complete

Pieces Form the Whole by eowyn_of_rohan | Rated E | Josh Lyman/Sam Seaborn | In Progress

Multiple Pairings

The Short List by mlea7675, Spybaby47 | Rated T | Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet, Alexandra Bartlet/Logan Huntzberger, Donna Moss/Sam Seaborn, Danny Reagan/C.J. Cregg, Helen Santos/Matt Santos | Complete

rewrite an ending or two by jazzjo | C.J. Cregg/Andrea Wyatt, Danny Concannon/C.J. Cregg

31 Days of Halloween by sam_writes_fics | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss, Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet, Josh Lyman/Sam Seaborn, C. J. Cregg/Toby Ziegler | In Progress 

Not Quite the Parent Trap by eowyn_of_rohan | Rated T | Josh Lyman/Donna Moss, Ainsley Hayes/Sam Seaborn | In Progress

air force ones by rearviewmirror | Rated T | Zoey Bartlet/Charlie Young, Josh Lyman/Donna Moss, Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet/Leo McGarry | Complete

Red, White, and Boo by fleurfemme (Scream crossover) | Rated M |  C. J. Cregg/Toby Ziegler, Josh Lyman/Donna Moss, Dewey Riley/Gale Weathers, Ellie Bartlet/Sidney Prescott | 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??

[joshdonnas]

"Are you even Iistening?" "No." "Do you wanna do this?" "I don't." "I did index cards." "How many?" "Eighty-seven." "Reduce it to three."

DONNATELLA MOSS AND JOSHUA LYMAN

Galileo (2x09) ❈ The West Wing

[g-luztrash]

"Never Doubt That A Small Group Of Thoughtful Individuals Can Change The World." - President Bartlet

Now available on my redbubble

[morganaconda]

[siriusly-sapphic]

The west wing + text posts (6/?)

[thebartlets]

unhinged West Wing + text posts Onion headlines (pt 6/?)

[not-bartlet]

i forgot how batshit insane this dynamic is, he's just stressed all the time running around and donna goes "btw i'm doing this random thing at your expense" and josh is always like "okayyyy ^_^"

[hollygl125]

Allison Janney, Rob Lowe, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, Martin Sheen, John Spencer, and Bradley Whitford in THE WEST WING (1999-2006), “Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc” (01x02)

After it, therefore because of it. It means one thing follows the other, therefore it was caused by the other. But it’s not always true. In fact, it’s hardly ever true.

[not-all-the-prayers]

The West Wing + The Onion headlines (?/?)

[lilydotroxanne]

The thing I adore about ww is the constant onslaught of odd facts from all characters, either due to the fact that they are inherently geeks, (Bartlet, Sam), the job requires they be overly informed (everyone, but CJ especially), and the fact that they are surrounded by each other sharing said info. The line “did you know” precedes some of my favorite bits.