The Fund for Distressed Donkeys by Jackie Thomas (PG?)
Greetings, epic_reccers, I'm Fi, theficklepickle, and I'll be here on Saturdays from now on. My first rec, in keeping with the silly/humorous theme, is an absolute classic! Enjoy!
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Title: The Fund For Distressed Donkeys by Jackie Thomas
Fandom: The West Wing
Pairing: Josh/Sam
Categories: Romance, Humour
Length: Medium (3600+)
Warning: None
Rating: Very mild slash - almost PG
Author on LJ: Unknown
Website: Wayfinding
Summary: It's Christmas Eve, there aren't any meetings, and Josh has to kiss Sam.
Review:
Let's be fair, I don’t think anyone would attempt to classify this story as anything but fluff. The plot has Sam and Ginger, at a White House staff Christmas party, selling kisses for charity - specifically, for a 'Fund For Distressed Donkeys'. The story revolves around who buys kisses, from whom, whether or not they pay for them (Toby? Toby!) and why. In the midst of all the mayhem, it's refreshing to see Leo being his usual curmudgeonly self and the President being safely absent; as Toby rightly points out they are 'laying the groundwork for some expensive and highly publicised sexual harassment suits' - not to mention, in Josh's words, 'sexual confusion and the end of civilisation'.
Of course, many of the characters - the women, at least - are certain that the person Sam would like to be kissing is Josh, and many of them also believe that Josh and Sam are a couple and that Josh is probably jealous. This would seem to locate the date of the action as early in The West Wing's continuity, round about the time of Bartlet's first Christmas in office or mid-way through the first season. As dedicated viewers will realise, the relationship between Josh and Sam was not quite as clear-cut later as it was then.
Well, naturally, Sam and Josh do eventually get to kiss - but not until Sam has had too much to drink and fallen asleep on Toby's couch. Toby, in despair, appoints Josh to drive Sam home - Josh has not been drinking - and the inevitable happens. It’s just one kiss, but it's enough to change things between them. The next time they kiss, however, they are awake and sober and more or less in command of their senses, and both aware that they have been building up to it for some considerable time.
Jackie Thomas has a light and sure touch with Josh and Sam. In fact, in the early days of The West Wing, she had me fully convinced that they were a couple. It was scarcely her fault that later developments in the series made Sam a less appealing character and effectively rendered most of her work 'alternate universe'. The Fund For Distressed Donkeys retains a lot of the initial optimism of this wonderfully diverse fandom and is a reminder of how much fun things were before MS, shootings and various other complications intervened to drive the characters apart.
Link: The Fund For Distressed Donkeys
- - - - -
Title: The Fund For Distressed Donkeys by Jackie Thomas
Fandom: The West Wing
Pairing: Josh/Sam
Categories: Romance, Humour
Length: Medium (3600+)
Warning: None
Rating: Very mild slash - almost PG
Author on LJ: Unknown
Website: Wayfinding
Summary: It's Christmas Eve, there aren't any meetings, and Josh has to kiss Sam.
Review:
Let's be fair, I don’t think anyone would attempt to classify this story as anything but fluff. The plot has Sam and Ginger, at a White House staff Christmas party, selling kisses for charity - specifically, for a 'Fund For Distressed Donkeys'. The story revolves around who buys kisses, from whom, whether or not they pay for them (Toby? Toby!) and why. In the midst of all the mayhem, it's refreshing to see Leo being his usual curmudgeonly self and the President being safely absent; as Toby rightly points out they are 'laying the groundwork for some expensive and highly publicised sexual harassment suits' - not to mention, in Josh's words, 'sexual confusion and the end of civilisation'.
Of course, many of the characters - the women, at least - are certain that the person Sam would like to be kissing is Josh, and many of them also believe that Josh and Sam are a couple and that Josh is probably jealous. This would seem to locate the date of the action as early in The West Wing's continuity, round about the time of Bartlet's first Christmas in office or mid-way through the first season. As dedicated viewers will realise, the relationship between Josh and Sam was not quite as clear-cut later as it was then.
Well, naturally, Sam and Josh do eventually get to kiss - but not until Sam has had too much to drink and fallen asleep on Toby's couch. Toby, in despair, appoints Josh to drive Sam home - Josh has not been drinking - and the inevitable happens. It’s just one kiss, but it's enough to change things between them. The next time they kiss, however, they are awake and sober and more or less in command of their senses, and both aware that they have been building up to it for some considerable time.
Jackie Thomas has a light and sure touch with Josh and Sam. In fact, in the early days of The West Wing, she had me fully convinced that they were a couple. It was scarcely her fault that later developments in the series made Sam a less appealing character and effectively rendered most of her work 'alternate universe'. The Fund For Distressed Donkeys retains a lot of the initial optimism of this wonderfully diverse fandom and is a reminder of how much fun things were before MS, shootings and various other complications intervened to drive the characters apart.
Link: The Fund For Distressed Donkeys