#golden queen brotp

[goosin-around]

Rumple: Alright now show me your best evil laugh.

Young Regina: Ok!

Young Regina: *giggles*

Rumple:

Rumple: this is going to be a long day.

[vicontheinternet]

My moodboards

Laurel lance & Tommy merlyn & Oliver queen

[blasphemousclaw]

Idk if you plan on doing the "questions-about-character-x" list yet, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on Marika (maybe with a side of Radagon but mostly the golden strumpet).

• favorite thing about them

nothing hits me harder than characters who lash out because of the injustice or suffering they’ve endured… there’s something so cathartic about characters who make their pain and anger felt in the world in a tangible and consequential way. Marika is this character to me!! I think it’s so powerful to introduce her as an all-powerful goddess, keeping her at a distance as this enigmatic figure who shaped the world as it is today and then shattered it, and then to humanize her by showing us where she comes from and what she went through… she was never just a cold, distant, uncaring deity, but a person, with very human motivations and flaws. learning her backstory gives us so much context for why she did the things that she did and gives us the opportunity to feel close to her and empathize with her… I think she was always sympathetic in the base game, but she still felt so distant, so I really love how the dlc fleshed her out and made her character so accessible

• least favorite thing about them

this isn’t even about her, but about how the fanbase has responded to her writing in the dlc because like dear god

it almost makes me want to avoid content of her which sucks because I really like her LOL

• favorite line

“Hear me, Demigods. My children beloved. Make of thyselves that which ye desire. Be it a Lord. Be it a God. But should ye fail to become aught at all, ye will be forsaken. Amounting only to sacrifices...”

absolutely fascinating quote… we don’t really know the context, so there’s many different ways to interpret it… Marika urging her children to become a lord or a god is interesting, because when she deposed the Gloam-Eyed Queen and removed Destined Death from the Elden Ring, it seemed like she was fighting hard to stay in power and to become “Eternal,” but her children succeeding her would necessarily end her reign? This also almost seems like she’s encouraging conflict between her children… there can only be one god and one lord, after all. we don’t know when the quote was spoken, but it almost seems to reference Ranni’s sacrifice of Godwyn on her path to godhood on her own terms? is this a warning? is it a challenge? is it just the words of an extremely jaded and cynical goddess?

• brOTP, ОТР

ok I’m gonna do away with this format here because I just want to list some of her relationships that I really like without having to categorize them:

Marika and Messmer: the dynamic of Marika being a god-queen whose grace is blinding, and her son being born cursed with a serpent of the lightless abyss is so good… him taking up the crusade on her behalf, of his own volition, because he hates how he was born so deeply and will do anything to try to atone for something that isn’t even his fault, committing horrors in her name, is SOOOO

Marika and Radagon: I love pondering where one of them starts and the other begins, how they have opposite goals and worldviews but exist in the same being. really good

Marika and Rennala: I wouldn’t call it an otp but I like it as a ship. Marika being the one to steal away Rennala’s husband, but she actually IS her husband. unparalleled dynamic

• nОТР

there arent any Marika ships I’ve seen that I dislike

• random headcanon

I think she was horrified and disgusted by Morgott and Mohg AND she loved them still. omen babies would have their horns cut off, usually causing them to die, but omen babies born of royalty did not have their horns cut off, so they were allowed to live… I love the idea that Marika couldn’t bear to sentence her children to death, but she also couldn’t bear to look at them because of her past, so they were confined to the Shunning Grounds

• unpopular opinion

*cracks knuckles*

SO MANY people have the wrong idea about her. you’ve got people saying everything she did was justified, she didn’t go far enough, “total hornsent death” etc etc. and on the other hand you’ve got people saying the dlc writing is terrible because it’s excusing Marika for her crimes, it’s baiting you to feel bad for the hornsent and then pulling a plot twist that actually, they were evil and Marika was good the whole time!

both of these interpretations are flawed because the story is not arguing that the hornsent are fundamentally evil people, and it is not arguing that Marika is now blameless because of what she suffered. the story is rife with moments of sympathy for the hornsent’s suffering and examples of the crusade’s inexcusable cruelty, and so much of what’s in the base game showcases the cruelty that Marika’s Order has inflicted. just because the story is giving Marika a sympathetic reason for why she is the way she is does not mean that these facts cease to exist! sympathy for Marika, sympathy for the hornsent, and condemnation for the Golden Order’s and the crusade’s crimes can all exist in the story at the same time!!!!!

• song i associate with them

…how about this: if anyone has a song in mind, leave it in the replies or tags!

• favorite picture of them

Ranni holding her head u_u

[magpie-come-east]

Morgott for the character ask meme!

favorite thing about them

What drew me to him in the first place is how much I related to his character. When I was a religious teen I hated myself so much. I hated my appearance. I hated being a woman. I was in a constant loop of thinking of myself as this terrible waste of space that couldn't get anything right. Just damned to fuck up my entire life and then die and go to hell. Morgott isn't quite so pathetic as I was at 16-17 lol, but I saw a lot of my struggles in him. He believes he is born cursed, that no matter what he does he will be rejected by the Erdtree- an aspect of his religion and God- when he dies. He is misguided at best and vile at worst, but I completely understand why he is the way his is.

Also,

He's gorgeous

least favorite thing about them

The giant scabby looking red bump on his head is kinda gross : (

He doesn't return Mohg's calls enough : (

I wish he had more voice lines : (

I mean, maybe this is a cop-out, but there's pretty much nothing I dislike about Morgott. I love his lore, his fights, his stunning good looks (sans red bump). He's a remarkably fascinating character that has tragic and heroic aspects to him while also being a flawed and a worthy antagonist.

favorite line

"Have it writ upon thy meager grave: Felled by King Morgott, Last of all Kings." (A stone-cold reveal? Sexy voice acting? He hates the player so much it makes him look stupid hot?)

Shout out to "Whose hand graspeth thy leash, I wonder?" It's a cut line but it's Ummph

brOTP

Morgott and Mohg. The literal brothers of all time.

The importance and closeness of twin relationships is prevalent throughout the game. You cannot tell me Morgott and Mohg weren't once so, so close. They are amazing foils, too! Both of them exemplifying the extremes they were driven to by their upbringing. Neither have experienced good and healthy love, thus they search for it in unfortunate places. Both of them grew believing they were monsters, and both behave differently in consequence- with Morgott clinging to servitude and humility and suppression and with Mohg embracing everything being a monster entails. I love it.

I think they still care for one another a lot. Their ideologies just strain their bond.

OTP

Morgott x Tarnished or Morgott x Oleg

Please read Oleg's ash description if you haven't. That man was murdering for Morgott for the love of the game.

nOTP

Morgott x Mohg (romantic)

They're just better as brothers.

random headcanon

I have... many headcanons.

Morgott hates Rykard because he envies Carian siblings for being welcomed into Marika's lineage while he was rejected as her 'firstborn' (shhhh Messmer shhhh). Rykard also figured out he was Omen before the war and offered Morgott amnesty and allyship. Morgott was so offended he resented Rykard forever for it.

Morgott hired Oleg to help him secure his throne in the early days of his power. After all, he was an unheard-of Demigod that showed up out of nowhere to make himself King. He probably faced a lot of pushback. Oleg was there to kill the dissenters! (And kiss Morgott)

Morgott used the mimic veil to appear human to Leyndell. His cover story for his sudden appearance was that he was exiled with Godfrey to the Badlands as a young child. When Godwyn died Queen Marika called him back to the Lands Between, having earned his Grace. Thus, he took the moniker Grace-Given. (Ironically, this would make King Morgott semi-Tarnished in his own story).

Morgott was friends with Godrick before he took to grafting. Godrick was weak in body despite being a member of the Golden Lineage, and Morgott felt some kinship with Godrick's struggles with self-image and his lackluster presence as a scion of Marika.

unpopular opinion

I find it a little disappointing that in most fics where he is a central, vital character he ends up as the mere consort to the Tarnished Elden Lord. I know SOTE told us irrevocably that Godhood is not good at all for mortal vessels. But I kinda wish Morgott was allowed to be Elden Lord or a God more often. I find it cathartic when a person so spurned by the church and God of their faith is made into something holy and powerful.

Also, I think Morgott was the eldest child of the Golden Lineage, and that Godwyn never really knew him.

Morgott is definitely not a virgin.

song I associate with them

Take me to War by The Crane Wives! Dreams Wash Away by Joe Wong!

Forsaken by Savant!

Monster and Arms Unfolding by Dodie!

Torture by Les Friction!

Cirice by Ghost!

Favorite Picture

My commissioned piece for my fic Gilded Apotheosis. The art is by bora-in-tamriel

@barrowlands567

@bad-as-me (since you asked this too!)

[katyspersonal]

Queelign for the ask meme pls lmao

That terrible, terrible man....

(Asks from this ( x ) meme)

Favorite thing about them:

The way he is basically suppressed, or lost, little version of Messmer! It is not just that he modelled his weapon after his spear and aspires to be like him, but also the way he speaks of Marika and feels about her! He is very infatuated, loyal and oddly.... naive, considering the context! I absolutely feel like he reflects that more hopeful, more puppy-eyed child Messmer doesn't get to be. Untouched by curse or hatred of abandoned child. I love when character serves like a window into someone else too!

Ignoring this narrative nonsense that I am probably just hallucinating, I just love how sensitive he is. Seeing how he sounds passionate or pathetic or both, I expected him to be a young man, but he is listed as 'mature'! So he is like, around 40! I love me a male who doesn't lose his sensitivity with age... to better or worse. In a better turn of events, he'd be a great poet, I can tell this. :pensive:

Least favorite thing about them:

This is a pain to explain but whereas I love how religious-fanatical he is, I ALSO hate it? He captivated me from the first invasion (as much as I didn't want to admit it), but also I read Crusade Insignia description and was like "ohhhhhh FUCK I reeeeally hate this guy already!!!" hfhghh I suppose, it is fair to be conflicted? He falls for the type of the characters you love in fiction but would dread to meet in real life!!

Favorite line:

"Queen Marika, behold! I have excised another. Another cancer to thy joy." This kind of made me uneasy XD How he is this pathetic and this scary at the same time?

brOTP:

I feel like he and Moonrithyll would be friends! ….that are constantly bickering with each other. XD Whereas he is very fixated on Messmer and aspires to be like him, with Moonrithyll it is similar with Rellana! Rellana believes that sky and fire should be together, after all, and Moonrithyll respects trolls as descendants of Fire Giants more than she does as just loyal friends to Carians.

But whereas things between Messmer and Rellana are very good and settled, Moonrithyll constantly lets the attitude of "pledging to the Erdtree was a cringe phase for us, at least thanks to Messmer we are soooo back baby 😎" slide. Before Queelign. *million skull emojis* But despite them often fighting, they are not enemies. In fact, maybe frienemies? They have long conversations (mostly about their leages lol) that they enjoy a lot, and they have fun... until one of them says something they really should agree to disagree on already. -_- Queelign doesn't because he is too petty to not remind everyone how he is the only one to "really" respect Marika, Moonrithyll doesn't because she is honest to a fault!

OTP:

I actually really like to think about him and Messmer? Help me??

^^^ Messmer and Rellana are canonically a thing, apparently, so it is somewhere in AU drawer... but still!! There are just... a lot of things between them.

^^^ Queelign is the only Fire Knight that seems to have been "spared" by Messmer's curse; he doesn't have red hair and trademark red cape! And I like to think this is deliberate. That Messmer cherishes his "innocence", seeing him as little naive version of self. He could not take that away from Queelign, nor ruin the hair color so golden, nor he wants Queelign's heart to break upon learning that true nature of Messmer's Flame comes from something existing as anathema to the Erdtree.. He never got to be a person so blinded with faith in Marika's love, but he can allow Queelign to be this...

At the same time, Messmer pities him sometimes. He sometimes feel bitter and hurt when Queelign goes on the rant about Marika's "boundless love" and "sure return someday" and wants to snap at Queelign. He has dark enjoyment pushing Queelign to think of dread of Marika's hatred and neglect and watch him break down and cry, as Messmer is almost dead inside nor he physically can have tears. He wants him to cry for them both. He also wants to comfort him. He is uncomfortable with Queelign wanting to be just like him. He also finds solace in it because Queelign gets to be a version that isn't cursed. He cherishes his naivete. He also sometimes wants to obstruct this little sunshine and curse him too but restrains himself. There are many conflicting feelings.

And yeah, it looks a bit one-sided, right? :p Messmer has such an internal conflict over Queelign, whereas the other just admires him and thinks being like him is epitome of a proper Marika's follower. But all Fire Knights know Messmer very well, and he is not an exception. Queelign is very insistent on Marika's holiness and perfection with anyone else, but when Messmer allows his suppressed hatred and knowing Marika will never embrace them again slide? Queelign argues for his sake and not hers. He genuinely hates to see him despair. The contrast between Queelign being very sensitive and Messmer becoming oddly cold for a fire wielder is also fun x)

They have a lot of tension between them most of the time, but deep down they both know. Messmer is not stingy with affectionate words for people he trusts and values, and Queelign is no more afraid to disagree with him than one would with a very moody friend. He can tell that he has special rights even compared with other Fire Knights despite not being given direct "communion" with his flame, and when Messmer tells him it is because he cherishes him the way he is, Queelign believes that.

nOTP:

Either I live under a rock or fandom is yet to invent ships for Queelign to BEGIN with. xD I legit don't know which ship for him would be bad? I'll know it when I see it, I suppose...?

Random headcanon:

He constantly fucks up cooking. Like, there is no way he doesn't ruin his meals. When it is not misinterpreting recipe or adding too much due to simple clumsiness, it is that he got distracted or lost in thoughts about Marika's grace. 🙄 Every time he is determined that he WILL focus and do it right, and every time he fails. When things are inedible, like, it is charcoal or looks dangerous, he resorts to making puppy eyes to other Fire Knight so they share their food with them gghkugg They are used to it! Hilde even used to cook a bit more dinner than she needed, fully expecting him to drop by!

Unpopular opinion:

Look, I do like jokes about his haircut, I am not humorless! AND I love this cursed image from Reddit proving "that he only looks bad because of his haircut":

( x ) gfhghgb but- I disagree with allowing it to brush an interesting character aside!! Jokes are fun, but making whole character a joke isn't 😔💔 He deserves his place amongst other "fanatics who simpmaxx" like Lautrec, Alfred and Leda, and should have many bitches same as THEM!!

Song I associate with them:

Ironically, not the depth of introspection I see him reaching any time soon.

Favorite picture of them:

I can't really find Queelign fanart, let alone chosing a favourite tbh.. Myself, I have like, four WIPs featuring him, but you know me, I finish like two drawings per year at BEST. Scarlet Rot Depression eaten away my artist poweeerrrr...

Thank you for asking!! Lmao I can't shut up about this man

[princesssarisa]

Character Ask: Persephone

I already did this some time ago in a joint ask with Hades, but I'll share my answers again, just for Persephone this time.

Favorite thing about them: Her status as a nature goddess who embodies the changing seasons makes her a fascinating character. Not only does she split her time between the upper world and the Underworld, but as a result she has a dual personality – the gentle, sunny goddess of spring, and the stern, feared queen of the dead – which makes her unique among the Greek deities.

Least favorite thing about them: The fact that in some versions of the story of Minthe (the nymph who became the first mint plant after her death), she brutally kills the poor nymph out of jealousy of Hades' affair with her. Fortunately, not all versions of the myth go this way – in another version, it's Demeter who kills Minthe for boasting that she's more beautiful than Persephone.

Three things I have in common with them:

*I have both a light side and a dark side.

*I'm close to my mother.

*I like pomegranates.

Three things I don't have in common with them:

*I'm not married.

*I've never been kidnapped.

*I'm not a goddess.

Favorite line:

Her account of her kidnapping from The Homeric Hymn to Demeter:

"We were playing and gathering sweet flowers in our hands, soft crocuses mingled with irises and hyacinths, and rose-blooms and lilies, marvellous to see, and the narcissus which the wide earth caused to grow yellow as a crocus. That I plucked in my joy; but the earth parted beneath, and there the strong lord, the Host of Many, sprang forth and in his golden chariot he bore me away, all unwilling, beneath the earth: then I cried with a shrill cry. All this is true, sore though it grieves me to tell the tale."

brOTP: Her mother Demeter (in traditional versions of the myth where they have a warm, loving bond, not the versions where Demeter is controlling and Persephone is glad to escape from her), and the nymphs with whom she plays and picks flowers just before Hades kidnaps her.

OTP: Hades, in the versions of the myth where their marriage is ultimately happy.

nOTP: Her father Zeus. Brother/sister incest and uncle/niece or aunt/nephew incest might be normal for Greek gods and goddesses, but not parental incest!

Random headcanon: This isn't a headcanon so much as "which of the different versions of her myth I like best." I prefer the Homeric Hymn to Demeter's claim that Persephone spends just four months each year with Hades, and eight months with Demeter, to Ovid's claim that she spends six months with each. In versions where she's happily married to Hades, then I can accept the equal time split, but if we take the traditional view that she was kidnapped and married against her will, then I prefer for her to spend most of the year on earth and only a small amount of time in the Underworld. Besides, in my experience at least (though I know climates vary), autumn is a pleasant time, with comfortable weather and with so many fruits and vegetables at their best. It makes more sense to me that Persephone should still be with Demeter then.

Unpopular opinion: I'm open to different interpretations of her story. There's no such thing as "one true meaning" of any myth. I can accept versions where Hades is sympathetic, where Persephone falls truly in love with him (whether she starts out as his prisoner but then is slowly drawn to to him, a la Beauty and the Beast, or whether she goes with him willingly from the start), where she comes into her own power as his queen, and where she willingly eats the pomegranate seeds, knowing full well that they'll bind her to Hades, because she wants to stay. I see the appeal of taking Persephone's traditional story of helpless victimhood and making it empowering instead – which is valid, because she's always portrayed as a powerful queen in the myths of the Underworld set after her marriage. I see the appeal of not demonizing Hades either, and of telling a romantic love story rather than a story of a miserable forced marriage. But I also see the value of versions where Hades is the villain, where Persephone is brutally kidnapped and just as unhappy in the Underworld as Demeter is on earth without her daughter, where she's either forced to eat the pomegranate seeds or naïvely eats them without knowing what the result will be, and where the ending is bittersweet, as she divides each year between happy months with her mother and sad months in the Underworld. It is valid to read the myth as an allegory for the pain of a mother and daughter separated by the daughter's loveless arranged marriage, and/or for a young girl's death and her mother's grief. Myths can be retold in many ways, with many possible meanings. I'm open to them all.

Song I associate with them: None in particular.

Favorite picture of them:

This ancient statue:

Gian Lorenzo Bernini's famous statue of her abduction:

Dante Gabriel Rosetti's 1824 painting:

Frederic Leighton's painting The Return of Persephone, 1891:

From Disney's Silly Symphony The Goddess of Spring, 1934 (her movements are sometimes laughable, but her character design itself is pretty):

And from D'Aulaures' Book of Greek Myths:

[typingtess]

NCIS: Los Angeles Season 14 Rewatch:  “Dead Stick”

The basics:  Aiden Hanna’s jet crashes and the team works to find out why it happened.

Written by:  Lee A. Carlisle wrote or co-wrote “Golden Days”, “Reentry”, “Into the Breach”, “Concours D’Elegance”, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, "Sundown" and “Pandora’s Box”.

Directed by:  Dennis Smith directed “Fame”, “Standoff”, “Rocket Man”, “Cyberthreat”, “Exit Strategy”, “Patriot Acts”, “Out of the Past” part one, “The Livelong Day”, Between the Lines”, “Deep Trouble��� part two, “Black Budget", “Black Wind”, “Blame it On Rio”, “Defectors”, “Matryoshka” part one, “Granger, O”, “The Queen’s Gambit”, “Hot Water”, “From Havana With Love”, “Plain Sight”, the lighthearted “Monster”, “Superhuman”, “One of Us”, “Smokescreen” part one, “Decoy”, “Mother” (episode 250), “Alsiyadun”, “The Bear”, “Angry Karen”, “Signs of Change” and “Fukushu”.

Guest stars of note: Kavi Ramachandran Ladnier as NCIS Reserve Agent Shyla Dahr is back from season 14 premiere “Game of Drones”.  Richard Gant as Raymond Hanna returns from last week’s “Body Stitchers” episode.  Tye White as Aiden Hanna is back from “Watch Over Me”, the 17th episode in season 11.  Joanna Bacalso as Navy Lieutenant Commander Kristina Hirsch, Gabriel Burrafato as Navy Commander Jose Espinoza, Ryan Radis as Jake Primiani, Christopher Amitrano as Navy Maintenance Master Chief Brian Frazier, Sean Freeland as Marco Madsen, Brittany Freeth as Navy Air Controller, Erik R. Norris as Patrick, Linara Washington as Nurse Constance Harper.

Our heroes:   Work to learn why Aiden Hanna’s jet failed.

What important things did we learn about:

Callen:   Doesn’t think Aiden is at fault but needs to investigate fairly. Sam:   Son of Major, father of Sonic. Kensi:    See Deeks Deeks:   Absent. Fatima:  Praying in the burn room. Rountree:  Distracted by his issues with LAPD. Kilbride:  Running things in Ops with ease.

What not so important things did we learn about:

Callen:  Shares Raymond’s enjoyment messing with Sam. Sam:   May have found a caretaker for Raymond. Kensi:    Absent. Deeks:   See Kensi. Fatima:  Going out for a sad celebration with Shyla. Rountree:  Looking to the Admiral for guidance. Kilbride:  Offering guidance by telling Rountree the team has his back.

Where in the world is Henrietta Lange?  Nary a mention.

Who's down with OTP:   Who knows.  They weren’t here but there weren't there together, so that's good.

Who's down with BrOTP:  Very little BrOTP time though the three generations of Hanna men were great. 

Fashion review:  Callen wore a black polo-style shirt (really more Chris O’Donnell than G. Callen).  Sam in a dark blue long-sleeve tee.  Fatima had a grey sweater over a white mock turtleneck.  Rountree wore a pale purple Carhart long-sleeve tee (great color).  As always, the Admiral wore a blue three-piece suit, pale blue dress shirt, blue tie.

Music:  “Sunday Morning Underground” by Faustus is playing during the opening scenes at the beach.  “Initial Mailing” by Cargo is playing while Marco is being questioned by Fatima and Rountree.

Any notable cut scene:   Four straight without a deleted scene.

Quote:  Sam:  “Oh, Callen told me something interesting...Sonic.” Raymond:  “Now, see, I'm confused again.” Aiden:  “Uh, it's my call sign, Grandpop.  Your squadron picks it for you, usually after you've done something pretty stupid.” Sam:  “Yeah, like, say illegally breaking the sound barrier?  Something like that?” Aiden:  “Well, let's just say that my plane wasn't the only thing that went supersonic that day.  I have never seen my CO use that many curse words.” Raymond:  “My boy.”

Anything else:    Some previously-s with Aiden telling Sam he’s going to fly for the Navy, Aiden flying for the Navy, the Rountree siblings traffic stop from hell.

On the beach, a hustler is scamming a fisherman into getting a fishing license for a public pier.  As they negotiate, a military plane passes over them but the jet’s engine blows out and the plane starts to fail.  The plane crashes but the pilot ejects just before impact.  As his parachute lands, the fisherman races over to see the pilot, who is alive but not conscious.  The hustler isn’t thrilled, especially since the fishing liecens thing may have been less than legit.  Ambulances are heard in the background as the hustler pulls the fisherman away from the pilot.  Best not to be involved.

The pilot’s uniform nameplate reads “Hanna”.

Walking through the office, Shyla gets a number of messages and calls on her cellphone.  Looking for somewhere quiet to take the call, she walks into the burn room only to find Fatima praying.  Shyla is surprised Fatima would pray in a place like the burn room but “anywhere is a place of prayer” for Fatima.  Well, not bathrooms and graveyards. 

Shyla explains the calls are coming from her soon to be ex-husband.  They have been separated  for three-years but just started with the divorce proceedings.  While her ex isn’t contesting the divorce, he also doesn’t want it.  All the papers have been filed, just waiting for the court to say everything is in order.  The phone rings again so Fatima leaves Shyla to deal with the soon to be former Mr. Shyla.

In wardrobe, Rountree is rummaging through his stored pants.  He is searching for his wallet – he thought it may have left it in one of his undercover outfits.  The Admiral arrives and finds the wallet immediately on a nearby table.  Seeing Rountree is out of sorts, the Admiral asks him what is going on.  According to Det. Whiting, LAPD wants Rountree to speak to their PR department.  The plans is for LAPD to give paid leave to the officers involved in the traffic stop where Rountree and Jordyn were harassed.  While Rountree didn’t know what LAPD planned to do with the officers, paid leave “sure as hell” wasn’t part of the plan.

Knowing it isn’t his place to comment, the Admiral says that things may not get better even if Rountree pushes it.  “Crooked cops have gotten less for doing worse.”  Rountree knows that.  He also thinks that if he wasn’t a federal agent, LAPD wouldn’t be interested in doing anything at all.  Again, not wanting to tell Rountree what to do, the Admiral reminds Rountree that NCIS works with LAPD and LAPD could make things tough for Rountree.  “Tough is what I do,” Rountree tells him.  Then the Admiral thinks it should be easy for Rountree to clean up his mess in wardrobe.

An annoyed Raymond walks into the boat shed with Sam as Callen sits at the boat shed table.  Seems pancakes are Raymond’s issue.  Sam’s mom would make Raymond’s pancakes with premade mix while his caretaker makes them from scratch and says she makes them from the mix.  And if she lies about that, what else is the caretaker lying about. 

Callen apologizes for not knowing Raymond was coming – he only got two cups of coffee.  It’s not a problem for Raymond, he take Sam’s coffee.  The coffee isn’t the only thing Sam lost that morning – Raymond’s caretaker quit.  Sam can’t believe this is all about pancakes while Callen disagrees – breakfast in the most important meal of the day.  Raymond teams up with Callen to mock Sam. 

Walking to the back of the boatshed, Sam is looking for someone to take care of Raymond that day.  Callen helpfully suggests Agent Castor.  Raymond and Callen share their mutual enjoyment of messing with Sam.  Sam’s phone rings – Aiden is in the hospital near Point Magu.  Sam and Raymond are on their way while Callen tries to find out what NCIS knows.

NCIS doesn’t know much, according to Fatima, except Aiden’s F-35 crashed.  Fatima and the Admiral meet Shyla and Rountree in Ops, Callen is on the big screen with Lt. Commander Kristina Hirsh, a JAG Officer.  Lt. Hanna is fine, being held for observation overnight.  The Admiral asks about the cause of the crash.  Hirsh is tasked with finding out what caused the crash.  The cause of the crash could be as simple equipment failure or pilot error or something worse.  Hirsh mentions the F-35 taken down by the drone swarm in “Murmuration” last season – nice callback show!  Since both crashes were in the OSP’s backyard, she’s asking for their help.  She is going to question Aiden but will need help looking for evidence near the crash site.  Rountree is all in.

Hirsh tells the team that Aiden was on a test flight out of Point Magu when the plane crashed.  The plane barely missed an apartment building.  The Admiral sends Fatima and Rountree to the beach to interview witnesses being held there by LAPD.  Shyla is going to the boat shed to meet Callen and interview the maintenance supervisor who got the plane in the air.   Hirsh makes it clear, Special Agent Hanna can’t be involved with the investigation into Lt. Hanna.  “I’m sure he’ll have no problem with that,” the Admiral says.

Callen calls Sam, who understands he can’t be involved with the investigation but isn’t thrilled.  Sam is arriving at the hospital with Raymond.  He asks Callen to keep in him the loop.  Walking into Aiden’s hospital room, Sam and Raymond find Aiden with a walking boot on his right leg, some bumps and bruises but a big smile and a promise that he’s just fine.  Aiden just finished a call with Kam.  Raymond is thrilled to see Aiden and the feeling is mutual – though it isn’t ‘grandpa’, Raymond is “Major”. 

The bruises on Aiden’s face are from the ejection.  He has a concussion and a sprained ankle from the landing.  Aiden is trying to remember what happened when Lt. Commander Hirsh arrives.  She apologies for intruding while Aiden struggles to salute.  He’s quickly told “at ease”.  After introducing herself to Sam, she’d like to get started on Aiden’s official statement.

In the boat shed, Navy Maintenance Master Chief Brian Frazier is answering questions about his responsibilities inspecting all aircraft for Aiden’s squadron.  If there is an incident with a plane, all logbooks and maintenance records for an aircraft are secured so they can’t be altered.   The records are available to be reviewed at any time. 

Aiden’s plane is a newer plane.  It wasn’t due for a full maintenance review for another 100-hours.  The plane went through the proper pre-flight inspection before “Sonic” took off that morning.  “Sonic” confuses Callen and Shyla but Sonic is Aiden’s call sign.  Frazier was shocked to hear about the crash – Aiden is a great pilot.

Callen asks about it being a test flight.  It was and it is classified but the company behind what they were testing is Starling Aeronautics.  Frazier really can’t say much but things with Starling are overbudget and behind schedule.  Frazier’s CO would know more.   Shyla goes to get the Admiral involved with contacting the CO.

Aiden tries to take Hirsh through the flight with Sam and Raymond sitting in on the interview.  Things went off without a hitch flying to the area where he was going to put the plane through an exercise.  All systems worked perfectly.  Returning to Point Magu, he’s not sure what happened next.  His memory is fuzzy.  He knows he had to punch out but can’t remember why.  Raymond suggests working backwards from what he can remember – that works for Raymond sometimes. 

None of this is working for Hirsh.  She notes that the autopilot was shut off before the crash – does Aiden remember doing that?  He does not.  Hirsh brings up that Aiden received several LOI’s – Letters of Instruction – for “pushing the envelope”.  He purposely broke the sound barrier while flying over the continental United States.  Raymond is shocked, Sam says Aiden would never do that.  One look from Aiden and he did do it.  Sam is not pleased but Raymond reminds his son that he wasn’t always “Mr. Perfect” as a kid.  While Sam doesn’t see what breaking the sound barrier has to do with the crash, Hirsh tells him that Aiden’s performance, including past incidents of “flat-hatting” (showing off), are a part of the investigation.  The Navy just lost a $94-million plane.  Raymond wants to know if the afterburners are jewel-encrusted at that price tag. 

Saying she only allowed Sam and Raymond to stay for the interview because they are decorated combat veterans, Hirsh tells them they have to stay quiet.  Sam is offended Aiden’s integrity would be called into question.  Hirsh orders the two senior Hannas out of the room.

At the beach, Fatima and Rountree learn nobody noticed anything until the plane crashed.  No signs of a surface to air missile, which would have left a smoke trail, or a drone swarm.  Some witnesses saw the hustler leave in his van.  The beach has a license  plate reader – they may be able to find him.

In Ops, the Admiral speaks to Master Chief Frazier’s CO, Commander Jose Espinoza.  Espinoza explains that Starling is providing software that upgrade the electronic warfare capability.  The plane, according to Espinoza, is a “flying computer” that can be improved by software upgrades.  The Admiral asks if the software test could have caused the crash.  Espinoza does not believe it could – the software test was not a part of Aiden’s return to base.  The Admiral asks if there is someone he can talk to at Starling.  Espinoza will tell the software’s project manager.

Outside of Aiden’s hospital room, Sam is outraged by how Hirsh is handling the case.  Raymond is more on Hirsh’s side – she is doing her job.  Sam is surprised by Raymond’s attitude – why was he cracking jokes?  Where was the hardass that made Sam call him “Major”?  Raymond is letting go of things he held so hard when he was a younger man.  He’s sorry – sorry for what he did to Sam and what he did to Sam’s mother. 

Sam didn’t appreciate Raymond’s tough love at the time but it made Sam the man he is today.  And he loves Raymond for that.  Raymond tells Sam that seeing the man he’s become allowed him to loosen his grip and now it is time for Sam to do the same thing for Aiden.  Because Aiden can handle it.

Testifying, Aiden said he was struggling with the controls.  The plane was no longer performing as it should.  Hirsh asks why didn’t Aiden call in the plane issues.  Aiden tells her he did.  When she looks confused, he wonders if he didn’t.  Hirsh asks if Aiden was trying to liven-up an otherwise boring flight back to Point Magu.  The flight was being monitored at Point Magu and according to the data, everything was working fine until the autopilot was turned off.  If Aiden turned off the autopilot, the cause of the crash would be pilot error – a likely career-ender.

Hirsh leaves Aiden, she has some paperwork to do.  Raymond asks if she knows where the cafeteria is.  She does and wouldn’t mind some lunch herself.  The two leave Sam with Aiden, who is up and trying to pour himself some water.  Sam asks how things are going  - “badly”.  Aiden tells Sam if the crash is due to pilot error, he’s done.  But he can’t remember.  Sam suggests going through what happened but Aiden collapses. 

Sam gets Aiden back to his bed – the concussion is an issue.  Raymond’s dementia may have been from concussions he received in the service.  Sam had them too from football and to SEALs.  Nobody knows for sure what happens.  Raymond and Sam were told to shake things off.  Aiden has to learn from them and take better care of himself.

A very impatient Shyla is waiting with Callen for the Starling Aeronautics project manager in the boat shed.  Callen actually thinks they is good – project managers usually make NCIS visit them.  Shyla asks if Callen thinks Aiden actually caused the crash.  Callen turns the question on Shyla – what if he did think Aiden caused the crash.  A good NCIS Agent looks past what they think to look at the case from every angle.  Pilots make mistakes.  The F-35 pilot program only takes the best and while high-end pilots hotdog it from time to time, it is all part of the job.  So if it isn’t pilot error, what is it.  Callen admits he doesn’t think it is pilot error but that’s not their side of the investigation.

Wandering into the boatshed is Jake Primiani, complete with his Starling Aeronautics embroidered polo shirt.  He wants to get this over with – a tad nervous.

At the beach, Rountree asks Fatima if she thinks he’s making a mistake pushing for more punishment for Officer O’Neal.  Fatima doesn’t think he is.  He doesn’t know what to do.  He was so angry that morning when he thought he lost his wallet.  He’s had moments like that since the stop.  Fatima sympathizes.  Whatever Rountree choses to do, she knows he isn’t weak for making that decision.  He doesn’t want this to define who he is as an agent.  Fatima says he can’t control what others think.  Some will always think badly of him if he fights.  Others will know the principled person she sees every day.  She wants him to do the right thing for himself – “tree may bend but tree don’t break.”  Rountree likes that.

Fatima gets info on the license plate for the van.  She asks the Admiral to run a Kaleidoscope search for the van.  He can do that and doesn’t need the pat on the back Fatima offers.  He’s no CYO soccer brat looking for a participation trophy.   The van belongs to a Marco Madsen, the fish license hustler on the beach.   He’s just a few blocks away.

Primiani is nervous – the software is being run in flight simulators to recreate what happened to Aiden but nothing matches.  Shyla asks why the project is running behind.  Primiani says they were not given enough time – there is never enough time for a project like this.  The normal glitches and bugs happened early in the project and while it took time to fix them, the deadline stays the same.  Primiani needs to get back to Point Magu to prepare another flight.  Callen and Shyla release him.

Raymond is having a hard time with a vending machine.  He wanted a Twinkie is told the machine is now cashless after COVID, according to a nurse.  She gets him a Twinkie with her credit card and refuses to let Raymond pay for it.  She also gets one for herself.

In his room, Aiden asks how “grandpop” is doing.  Sam mentions Raymond’s good days and bad days.  Aiden has a flash of memory – the engine flamed out.  When the engine flames out, the autopilot automatically switches off.  Commander Hirsh said the data says everything was working fine but it wasn’t.  Sam goes off to find Hirsh.

Discovered in his van, Madsen tries to run from NCIS.  That goes poorly.  Rountree mentions the plane crash.  Madsen says yes, a plane crashed.  With some prodding, he remembers that the engine was flaming out.  This confirms what Aiden remembers and disproves whatever data was given to Hirsh.  While Fatima calls this in, Rountree wants to know about the fishing licenses.

The Admiral has another conversation with Espinoza.  Another flight is testing the software so Kilbride wants Espinoza to know that an eyewitness confirms Aiden’s account of the crash.  The engine cut out and only restarted when Aiden punched out.  Behind Espinoza, the Navy flight personnel at Point Magu lost contact with the pilot of the second flight.  The plane is losing altitude.  Kilbride gets Aiden on the phone to try to walk Espinoza through what happened on his flight. 

Aiden remembers who he almost got the plane restarted.  He gives the instructions to Espinoza to give to the pilot – “Kegger”.  While Kegger falls off the radar screen for a few seconds, the instructions work and both pilot and plane are saved.  Hirsh witnessed Aiden’s heroics.  She wants him to finish his statement.  Sam asks about Raymond but Hirsh last saw him with the nurse by the vending machine.

Arriving at Point Magu, Callen and Shyla want to talk to Primiani, who does not want to talk to them at all.  Plus there is no proof the software is the issue.  Callen wonders how two of the best trained pilots in the world flying two separate cutting edge planes nearly suffer the same “never-before-seen” system failure.  Primiani said they knew there was a flaw but it was patched months ago.  The flaw – the new system can override the flight computer.  But unless someone bypassed the fix, it couldn’t happen.  And he wouldn’t do that.  Primiani’s entire career is about making this system work. 

Asked about who else could override the patch, Primiani says the computers are all air gapped and stored at Point Magu.  Everyone on the flight and maintenance crew would have access to the computers but like Primiani, why would they risk their careers to override the patch.  There is one computer that just records who logs in and out of the computers.  Callen, Shyla and Primiani are off to check.

Walking into Ops, Fatima asks Kilbride for a “sitrep” – saying she always wanted to do that.  The Admiral is not pleased.  They have to investigate every Starling employee to see who could be either taking part in terrorism or industrial espionage. 

Sam finds Raymond and his newly found nurse buddy walking back to Aiden’s room.  The nurse is kind to Raymond and to Sam.  Sam is surprised Raymond let the nurse help him.  Constance, the nurse, is per diem at the hospital and does some side work in home healthcare.  She passes Sam a card as she leaves.

Hirsh tells Sam that the investigation is moving from Aiden to Starling Aeronautics.  Sam has been released from the sidelines and can return to work with NCIS.  Raymond is going to stay with Aiden, Sam is on his way to Point Magu.

At the Starling Aeronautics office at Point Magu, one of the computer hard drives is missing.  The Admiral wants everyone at Starling investigated but Fatima has found only one person with irregular financials – Master Chief Frazier.  Frazier is walking to his vehicle when Callen and Shyla try to stop him. 

Shyla calls base security as Frazier carjacks one of the base’s work trucks.  Callen jumps into the flatbed and while Frazier tries to get away, Shyla chases in the NCIS vehicle.  Sam is arriving at Point Magu as Frazier tries to leave.

Frazier gets out of the stole vehicle and puts his gun to his own head.  Shyla tells him not to do it.  Frazier says Starling knew about the troubled software and he tried to tell everyone about it.  He allowed the second flight go take off to prove that Aiden’s flame out was due to the software and not pilot error.  Sam talks Frazier out of killing himself, saying that he forgives Frazier for what happened as he knows others will.  Frazier puts the gun down and is arrested.  Shyla is shocked Sam can forgive but he is being gracious and is willing to try.

Back at Ops, Shyla and Fatima talk.  Frazier wasn’t being quite so selfless.  He was paid by one of Starling’s rivals to help tank the project.  Fatima asks about Shyla’s earlier calls.  The divorce is finalized.  She’s surprised you don’t get anything official – it is just over.  Fatima offers a celebration drink to make it official.  Unless Shyla wants to be sad because Fatima can do that too.  Shyla decides on celebration with a little sadness and they’ll be doing that once the after-action reports are filed.

A calmer Roundtree has a very neat desk except for his football for when his team beat the Admiral’s Tigers.  Rountree asks the Admiral what would he do if he was Rountree.  The Admiral makes it clear, it isn’t up to him, it is up to Rountree.  That said, he’d like to see “the bastard’s hide nailed to the outhouse wall instead of just a slap on the wrist.”   Rountree is worried about making NCIS’s job harder.  The Admiral makes is clear that Rountree is a part of a very elite team and every member of that team supports whatever Rountree does.

Sam and Hirsh talk – Aiden will be back in the jet as soon as the flight surgeon clears him from his injuries.  She also says that Aiden staying with the plane so long saved lives – he got the plane to fire and when it did, it missed an apartment building.  Aiden saved lives and will be getting a commendation for it.  Hirsh is impressed - was a “stick jockey” herself. 

In his room, Aiden is playing backgammon with Raymond.  Sam arrives with a Martin Baker Squadron patch.   Martin Baker is the seat ejection manufacturer.  Raymond breaks out his flask and is willing to share but Aiden has a concussion and Sam is driving so Raymond had a swig while the other Hannas have some water.

Sam brings up “Sonic” which confused Raymond.  “Sonic” is Aiden’s call sign – a call sign is given to a pilot by the squadron after the pilot does something dumb.  Like breaking the sound barrier of the United States.  Aiden assures the older Hannas that he wasn’t the only one to go supersonic that day – he never saw the CO use that many swear words.

What head canon can be formed from here:  For an episode that had a lot of family storylines – the Hanna men, Rountree and Jordyn’s nightmare experience, Shyla’s divorce – it was a rather sterile hour.  Not a lot of emotion or passion about Aiden nearly dying or Aiden possibly ruining his career.  Rountree who was so full of righteous indignation over what happened to him and to Jordyn is now looking to walk away.  And Shyla seems more bothered that her soon to be ex is calling than their marriage is over.  I would have liked a little more passion or fire in any of those storylines.

The episode had a season 12 feel – Sam was largely siloed with the family, Callen worked with Shyla, Fatima, Rountree, the Admiral and a little Shyla in scenes. 

The random JAG officer was well played but why not find Bud or Sturgis or some other JAG series actors to play that role.  Manetti was out, Tamlyn Tomita played a DHS Officer in season six on the show. Admiral Chegwidden's multiple appearances would have totally made this work.

The burn room was back!  I missed that place.  It was a great piece to the super-secret office set-up over the years.

Episode number:     Episode 306, season 14’s fourth hour.

[mariequitecontrarie]

Best Person

Summary: When Ruby delivers a huge vase of red roses to Gold's office, he believes the romantic gesture is meant for Belle--his new fiancée! Little does he know, Regina and David are competing to stand up in the wedding on the groom’s side of the aisle. A/N: Silly shenanigans in the Cufflinks verse. Thanks to @galactic-pirates and @maplesyrupao3 for being wonderful!

On AO3

“Thirteen roses.” Ruby Lucas sailed into his office and plopped a huge vase of flowers smack in the center of his desk. Gold looked up from the presentation notes he was reviewing and frowned. “Miss Lucas, do you mind?” he asked, waving in Belle’s direction. She was perched in one of the guest chairs across from his desk, her head bent over her own set of notes.

Belle raised her chin, her eyes flashing with mirth. “Be nice,” she mouthed, then blew him a kiss. Her fingertips were stained with gloss from her lips and left little pink finger smudges on the papers in her other hand.

A flush crept up his neck while he thought about all the wonderful things that mouth and those hands had done to him last night. “I don’t mind at all.” Ruby was talking again, reminding him she was still watching. “My desk is in the neighborhood.” “Yes, well.” He cleared his throat and flicked his wrist, pointing toward the door again. Maybe she would take the hint and leave. “We’re working.”

Ruby flashed a sly smile. “I don’t remember a presentation slide about weekend plans with Belle and her parents.”

His attention settled on the flowers again—a heavy crystal vase stuffed with plump red roses. Dread began to churn in his stomach. “She has a point, Darach,” Belle said. “What?” Gold could see Belle’s mouth moving but he couldn’t focus.

A more pressing problem than Ruby’s nosiness had presented itself in the form of the vase occupying most of the outer portion of his desk. He leaned forward in his chair to glower at the stunning crimson blooms. They still had dew on them. How disgustingly cliché. He recognized the florist’s tag—the flowers had been ordered from her parents’ shop. He’d bought arrangements there many, many times over the last year. The person who had sent these knew quality. But he hadn’t arranged for flowers to be delivered to Belle today. Had he missed some important date? She wasn’t ill, it wasn’t her birthday, and if she’d been promoted he would have been the first to know. Which left Gold with only one question: who would dare send a romantic arrangement to Belle French? She was engaged. To him. Jealousy curdled in his belly. Granted, he had asked for Belle’s hand only a few weeks ago, but couldn’t they enjoy their engagement for five minutes before he had to fend off applications for replacement suitors? Did people even send wedding objections in the form of flowers? He’d never heard of such a thing, but he wasn’t up on the latest in social non-graces. Later, when Ruby Lucas wasn’t watching his every move like a cat tracking a ball of yarn, he would ask Belle. “Thirteen roses. Really?” Ever curious, Belle leaned forward to stroke one of the blood-red petals. “We all know what that means,” Ruby announced.

Before he could inform them that no, everyone did not know, they were hooting and shouting “secret admirer!” “Someone has quite a crush!” Belle whistled and beamed at him. Belle’s delight was an unpleasant surprise. He didn’t see anything funny or charming about this situation, yet here she was, less than flustered to be receiving a romantic overture three weeks after she’d agreed to be his wife. Perhaps he was oversensitive but her casual attitude stung a bit. And he intended to discuss it with her like an adult—if Ruby ever left the room. He clenched his jaw while he waited, but Ruby was oblivious to his tension. She leaned over the arrangement to inhale the blossoms.

“Mmmm.” Ruby’s face lit in an appreciative smile. “I wonder who sent them.” Belle gnawed her lower lip the way she always did when she was mulling something over and his heart fluttered in spite of himself. “There’s a card.” Ruby pointed out. Belle turned to him before she plucked the small white envelope from amongst the stems. “May I, darling?” “Valentine’s Day is over.” He reclined in his chair with a huff. “But please,” he said, pretending to be magnanimous. “I wouldn’t dream of spoiling your fun.” “Some people celebrate love all the time,” Ruby offered. “Or send arrangements just because. A person doesn’t need an excuse to send flowers.” “Thank you for your observation, Miss Lucas. I’m sure commercial gardeners and florists across the globe appreciate your concern for their economic welfare. Now then, don’t you have some work to do?” He would rather his insecurities over Belle’s secret admirer not be fodder for office gossip. “This weekend when we were all having dinner together I was Ruby. How quickly they forget.” She grinned at Belle like he was a small child who had said something clever. Gold sighed. As a rule, he’d never mixed business and pleasure with anyone except Belle. But Ruby was Belle’s best friend and getting along with her was important. At least he didn’t dislike her. Ruby was sharp, hardworking, and a wonderful support system for Belle. Plus, Regina was always after him to be more sociable with the team no matter how much he resisted. Time and again he’d told her people wanted a leader they could respect, not someone who would take them bowling and host a Jell-O shot contest.

Whatever the hell that was. He coughed. “Don’t you have some work to do, Ruby?” “All caught up, boss. I think you’re going to be very happy with the press turnout for the new juice bar tomorrow.” “Fantastic,” he muttered. Pitching to the media, not subtlety, was Ruby’s area of expertise. The two women leaned over the flowers with an identical, fanatical gleam in their eyes. What was it about females and plant life? Perhaps it was the same as it was with women and shoes—a veritable mystery to the male mind. He busied himself with stacking the papers on his desk and slapped them against the surface with more force than necessary. Belle opened the small white envelope and read the card. “They’re from David Nolan.” She squealed. “How sweet!” “Sweet?” Gold dropped the papers he was holding and stood. He grabbed for his cane, his fingers squeezing reflexively around the handle. In less than a second he had rounded the desk. Belle and Ruby both stared at him with wide eyes, but he had already slid way down the ladder of reason. “What the hell is Nolan doing sending flowers to my fiancée?” he bellowed. “He’s married! You’re engaged.” He’d thought David was his friend. Perhaps not a close friend, but an acquaintance at least. The bastard had crossed a line. No, the line was a million miles behind, back in hell, where he was going to send him. “Darling, stop,” Belle said. She gave his shoulder a loving squeeze. “You’re going to break your fingers.” He slid away from her touch and cursed. “No, I’m going to break his fingers. Or”—he crushed his palm against the head of his cane—“maybe I’ll start with something else first. Something he’ll need if he ever wants to father any children!”

Intent on his prey, he stalked to the office door. But Belle was quicker. She ducked under his arm and stood in the doorway. “Wait. Wait!” She shut the door. “Why should I?” He crossed his arms. She was the one who thought the flowers were sweet. It hurt more than he wanted to admit. “Those flowers aren’t for me, Darach.” Her smile was patient, understanding. “Who the hell are they for then?” “They’re for you, Gold,” Ruby said. “Why do you think I brought them to your office?”

“Hey, Gold! Wait up.” David Nolan chased him down the hallway and fell in step beside him.

He gave the cover of his pocket watch a meaningful glance. He was due in the conference room in five minutes and he abhorred lateness, especially when he was meeting a client.

“You get the flowers?” David asked.

“Yes.”

“Too much?”

“Yes.”

“Shit.” David was walking fast to keep up, a white paper sack swinging between his fingers. “I knew red was the wrong color. “I should have gone with yellow, right? For friendship?”

He didn’t care, especially after the way he’d embarrassed himself this morning in front of Belle and Ruby. But Nolan looked so damned hurt by the brush-off he felt bad. He slowed his pace.

Gold imagined his future father-in-law trimming and watering his beauties in the cooler, one of his deep, rumbling belly laughs frosting the glass. Still, he found it hard to believe Maurice or Colette would commit such a faux pas as sending red roses from a married man to their daughter’s fiancé.

“Who answered the phone at the florist’s?” he asked.

“Anna,” David said, an expression of relief crossing his face. “I think she was new.”

He nodded. “Anna Bjorgman.”

“She didn’t give a last name.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Chattered and giggled so much you agreed to anything she suggested to get her off the line?”

David’s shrug was sheepish. “How’d you know?”

“That’s Anna. I met her at the Frenches’ house last week. She’s their new intern.”

In ten more steps, they were standing in front of the conference room where client James Midas was already waiting. David loomed in the doorway, barring Gold’s entrance. Blocking him from going places was becoming epidemic today. He would accept it from Belle, but not from this lummox.

“We’ve arrived at my destination,” he said, then tapped the floor with his cane, impatient.

“Right. Here.” Nolan thrust the paper bag at his chest.

Gold peeked inside. “It’s a blueberry bagel.”

“Your favorite, right?”

It was, but his breakfast of choice was beside the point. In the past few weeks, Nolan’s behavior had become increasingly strange. “What’s this all about, Nolan? First, you wash my car in the parking lot on your lunch hour, then you send flowers, now you’re following me around and buying me baked goods? This isn’t the way to ask for a raise.”

David huffed. “Why do you always assume anyone who talks to you or does something nice who isn’t Belle wants money?”

What else would they need from him? “Answer my question, Nolan.”

David shoved his hands in his pockets and took them out again. It was a nervous habit he fell back on whenever he was caught off-guard. “I just wondered if you’d given any thought yet to who would be your best man.” He toed the floor with his shoe. “You know, at the wedding.”  

Bewildered, Gold could only stare.

Last night, Belle told him wherever and whenever they tied the knot, Ruby would be her maid of honor. But he hadn’t given any thought to his attendants. Weddings were overpriced, overblown affairs. Whatever Belle wanted he would happily go along with but all he cared about was the honeymoon. Taking Belle on a tour of Europe and making love to her in as many cities as possible, now that was his idea of a party.

“I just proposed...Belle and I…it’s early to make plans,” he said, faltering.

Mary Margaret squeaked by to deliver Midas a mug of coffee, then nudged David on her way back down the corridor. She spoke to her husband out of the corner of her mouth. “Did you ask him yet?”

“Ask me what?” Just then, Midas met his eyes through the glass door and gave a little wave. Gold glanced at his watch again. “I’m late, Nolan. We’ll continue this conversation later…perhaps at a quarter to never.” He muttered the last words under his breath as he strode into the conference room.

“Midas, my apologies for keeping you waiting.” Gold set down the bag with the blueberry bagel to shake hands with one of the firm’s best and longest running clients.

“No trouble.” Midas stroked his golden beard. “Gave me time to think over my campaign, though if I didn’t know your distaste for politics I’d think I have competition in the race.”

Gold stopped nodding midstream. Midas was running for a state Senate position and the firm was assisting with public relations. “Competition?”

“I’d really like something like the billboard of you downtown.” Midas took an experimental sip of coffee.

Gold resisted the urge to loosen his collar. “What billboard?”

“‘What billboard’ he asks. Ha! You old dog!” Midas’ grin could have covered the broad side of a barn. “It’s the huge one in the center of town with your face and the slogan The Magic Man. Nice touch with the company logo. Tasteful design, too. Already offered my compliments to Regina.”

“Aha.” Gold flexed his fingers along the edge of the conference table, pretending for a fleeting moment it was Regina’s neck. “Regina’s talents are…without parallel.” As is her unmitigated gall, he wanted to add. As soon as this meeting was over, he was going to drive to the square and see this monstrosity for himself. Then he would have it torn down with a wrecking ball.

Midas nodded with enthusiasm, seeming to be unaware of the bite in Gold’s words. “If you could put together a plan and design samples featuring something along those lines. Electronic too, if you would. Cost is no object.”

“I’d be delighted.” Gold forced a smile. He would put the pricing together and then he would bludgeon Regina with the enormous vase of red roses occupying half the real estate on his desk.

While Midas continued to share his ideas, a noise in the corridor drew Gold’s attention. The genius in question was standing in the corridor next to David, her swelling voice and wild gestures indicating a heated argument. Regina bared her teeth in a hiss, her hands on her hips.

This was not good. “Would you excuse me a moment, Midas?”

He hurried into the corridor.

“This figures,” Regina was saying, her lip curled in a sneer. “I knew the minute I turned my back you’d pull something like this.” She glared at David then turned to Gold. “Charming as he is, he’s the wrong one for the job. It’s the twenty-first century. Who says the best man has to be an actual man, anyway?”

David crossed his arms. “I was the one who pushed him to go talk to Belle last New Year’s Eve.”

“And I’m the one who hired Belle in the first place!” Regina insisted. “It’s my company. That office of Gold’s they’re always pretending not to have sex in exists because of me. He should choose me to be his best person!”

David snorted. “You always have to be in charge of the party, don’t you, Regina?”

“I am the party!” Regina bellowed.

They continued to bicker and Gold begged the ceiling for patience. This is what came of making a marriage proposal in the workplace—a team of lunatics expecting to be involved in all aspects of the wedding. Was he going to have to clear honeymoon destinations with them, too? Perhaps they wanted to join them on the trip? Why not plan a company cruise while they were at it?

Tonight he would beg Belle to elope and marry him as soon as possible.

But Regina was poking David in the chest and before he whisked Belle to Las Vegas or a justice of the peace, he had to stop these two before they initiated a wrestling match in the middle of the hallway. Belle was so much better at dealing with people—preserving feelings, soothing ruffled feathers, breaking bad news to interfering idiots with such finesse they didn’t even know they’d been handled and shown the door.

He was about to text her for help when his phone buzzed with a message. It was Belle. He scanned the text then pocketed his phone with a weary sigh. “My office. Now.”

He ushered Regina and David inside and slammed his door with a snarl. “For fuck’s sake! This is insane.”

“Cursing is evidence of a lazy mind, Gold.” Regina wagged a finger at him.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!” he shouted.

They both snapped their mouths shut and stared, two sets of eyes as wide as the blueberry bagel Nolan had given him. The few employees talking outside his door scurried out of sight. A hush blanketed the office and only the mild whirr of the copy machine broke the strained silence.

“Is this a place of business?” he asked them.

“Of course it’s a business,” Regina said. “My business.” She flashed a tight, red-lipped smile and elbowed David in the side. “Mine, mine, mine!” David parroted, rubbing his ribs.

“Very well, Your Majesty.” Gold offered her a mocking bow. “In between the two of you commissioning me new suits, buying Belle shares in a publishing house, and all these other outlandish gestures, can we all agree that my wedding and Belle’s is our business?”

More reluctant nods from Nolan. Regina rolled her eyes, but she allowed a single sharp nod to communicate her understanding.

“Good. Then as we’re running a marketing firm and not a wedding planning service, perhaps interviewing potential groomsmen—” he caught the narrowing of Regina’s eyes—“groomspeople, can wait?”

“Yes,” they grumbled in unison.

He plucked a file from his desk, intent on returning to the meeting with Midas. “Let’s get back to work.”

“It’s just…” Regina trailed off.

Dammit, he’d almost made it to freedom. “What?” He paused with his back to her, his hand hot on the doorknob.

“You’re my oldest friend,” she said softly.

Oh. He released the doorknob and turned to face them.

David was slouched against the edge of his desk, looking like a kicked puppy. “When you asked my advice about Belle at the New Year’s Eve party last year, I thought we’d become friends.”

Nolan had offered the advice unsolicited, but as it had worked in his favor and he’d won the girl, now didn’t seem like the best time to point it out.

Regina and David bowed their heads, reminding him of fighting children who’d been separated on the school playground. And guilt began to dislodge his anger.

He could hear Belle telling him as misguided as their behavior was, it didn’t give him the right to be cruel. Shit. Being in love was turning him into a decent human being.

“The truth is you’re the best person I know,” Regina said. “All I want…” David cut her off with a meaningful cough. “All we want,” Regina amended, “is for you to be happy.”

David’s grin was boyish. “That’s it exactly.”

All at once, the ridiculous billboard, the extravagant gifts, and all the attention they were paying him began to make sense. They were trying to be his friend.  

Fresh out of snappy retorts, he sucked on the inside of his cheek. Until Belle had opened her heart and offered him her love, no one had cared about his happiness. Suddenly, friendships were more than an abstract concept in his world, something he could sneer at and pretend he didn’t need. It seemed he had friends of his own, rather than people who accepted him because he was Belle’s tagalong. It was a bit overwhelming.

David looked to be moving in for a hug. Oh, dear God, he needed to leave before he hugged him back or burst into tears.

“We’ll discuss this later.” He threw the promise over his shoulder and bolted for the door. One small olive branch was the best he could do.

“So we can expect a decision about your best person by the end of the day, then?” Regina called to his retreating back.

He grunted as he rounded the corner and scuttled toward the conference room, reclaiming his chair at the table.

“Say, Gold,” Midas said. “Heard from David Nolan you’re getting married. Congratulations! Regina’s baking the wedding cake?”

Idiots. He smothered a smile. Something had to be done if he wanted even a moment’s peace. There was nothing for it, he supposed.

He would ask them both to be in the wedding.

###

[kyliafanfiction-archive]

“I don’t want to hurt anyone”

“Hard to believe you’re from the same family.”

rofl

[hitchell-mope]

Character ask: uma, and rumple

Uma

Heterosexual polyamorous

Female

Huma. Giluma. Gilumarry

Ben

Umevie. Audruma

Harry does the actual cooking at the restaurant.

I lover her. But she’s not perfect

Rumple

Heterosexual

Male

None

Henry. David

Golden queen

He became bored with insanity pretty quickly. But still put on the act to maintain his reputation

Love him. But I don’t think he should’ve been redeemed

[bekksrich]

Rumple and Regina + parallels and similarities (requested by heddagab). BONUS of that awkward time they showed up wearing the same outfit:

[wierdogal]

GOLDEN QUEEN (Rumple/Regina) (BrOTP) feels from 7x21

Third feels post from part 1 of the OUAT Finale.

Note: I’m tagging this as Golden Queen but if there’s another tag for the non-romantic relationship between Rumple and Regina please let me know so I can tag this post properly.

Same disclaimer from my other posts. This is how I saw the episode and I know people watch TV relatively, they see what they see and I’m just venting out my feels because that episode gave me so much.

Please don’t hate on me or this post. Thanks! :) On with the feels!

First, Regina coming to Rumple’s rescue

The look Regina had was pure worry. She was worried if he was ok and if Facilier had done something to him.

Regina might love Facilier but she also cares for Rumple and that interaction just showed us how conflicted Regina was with the situation.

She immediately asked if Facilier had done this to him and she was pissed.

On the other side, Rumple recognises Regina’s feelings for Facilier and he was regretting being the one to tell her what had happened to Facilier.

Side note:  Like many, I feel if the show had gone on, Facilier would have had more roles to play but sadly it was not given to us. Kudos to Facilier though, I liked his character. He was all over the place...helping one second and screwing things up the next but this was a character that you would root for and not at the same time just like many of the characters on this show.

Second, “We don’t negotiate with villains. We kick-ass and protect the people we love.”

I’m so proud of Regina with that line. For a second, I was actually afraid that she would ask Rumple to do that.

But they have come a long way and they do understand each other. The second line isn’t just above Ella and Lucy, it’s about protecting their Rumple as well.

Third, “I’ll go.”

Ok, people will see this as distrust but Regina said, “You don’t have any magic. I’ll go.”

I see this as above, protecting the people we love. If Wish Rumple gets the upper hand in this confrontation, Rogers won’t be able to help in a capacity that Regina could, magic-wise.

Fourth, “Get out of here.”

Rumple was ready to stab Wish Rumple and get another version of the Dark One Curse. He wasn’t sure what would happen, just that Wish Rumple would be dead.

Rumple told Regina to get out because he knows what it’s like to receive the Dark One Curse. He went on a killing spree when he got the curse the first time. What would make this time any different? Especially with two Dark One Curses running inside him now.

He was protecting her.

Fifth, library scene.

Regina’s fleeting look to Rumple as Wish Henry writes Wish Rumple’s desire. She is hurting for him. :( Yeah, that was a kicker

I don’t expect a lot more in part 2. Like I said from my earlier post, the only thing I do expect from Part 2 is Rogers and Rumple as well as (hopefully) a Rumbelle reunion.

I’m a bit sad that we didn’t get a scene after the confrontation. Regina for sure would have read Rumple the riot act about making the rash decision of taking on Wish Rumple’s Dark One Curse to ride the realms of Wish Rumple. [This is pretty much a fic in the making.]

[grimoireoffolkloreandfairytales]

Fictional character ask: Guenevere

Favorite thing about them:

 So, thing with Arthuriana is, it is so old and varied and weird that there is simply no way to describe character properly. It is in  a  way worse than comics or greek mythology. So thing that is attractive about Guinevere there to me, who has been portrayed as everything from impeccable High Queen over unfaithful decadent seductress to poor young girl used by forces beyond her control,  is that in a way that through her you can see what is author’s opinion on women, or at least, what theme author is trying to cast light to about feminity and misogny, two topics that tend to be firmly tied up with Guinevere’s character

On character building level, I like it when Guinevere is clever, resourceful, pragmatic and competent queen, while also dealing with demands of her role, the near-saintly perfection and benevolence that is expected of woman in her position. Ways she finds means to use her reputation and position to exert subtle power, but also how she is exhausted by being put on pedestal and always judged. 

2. Least favorite thing about them:

I think that same thing that is favourite about Guinevere to me, is also somehow least favourite? Often it seems as if she isn’t allowed to be character in her own right, but more, a symbol for what author thinks ‘’good woman’’ should be, and it can get tiring.

From character perspective, I don’t like Guinevere who is passive and sentimental, but neither do I like Guinevere who is lascivious seductress.

3. Three things i have in common with them:

Hahaha very few things I think but let us try: I like Camelot, I am often confused by some of it’s resident’s goals, and I am sad that it fell (even if it had to)

4 . Three things i don’t have in common with them:

Many things haha but, I am not medieval woman, I am not royalty, I am not in complicated marriage

5. Favorite line:

Again, too much material to choose, and in much of stories there is no dialogue only narration of events

6. brOTP:

Developing bit of fondness for friendship with Dagonet and Dinadan, kay, and Igraine

7. OTP: 

Her and Arthur

8. nOTP:

Her and Maleagant, her and Mordred

9. Random Headcanon:

In several stories she is mentioned to be good at chess and similar games. Thus I headcanon that she is pretty intelligent and has good sense of strategy and ability to predict  and adapt well- but also her worldview is bit rigid, both due to her experiences and morals, and she can be thrown off when somebody does something completely weird

10. Unpopular Opinion:

I find endless adaptations of her adultery pretty boring and I am okay if it gets removed from retelling

11. Song i associate with them:

None I admit I am bad with music

12. Favorite picture of them:

Putting this under readmore because booy do I like visuals haha

Guinevere by Henry Justice Ford

Lancelot and Guinevere by Herbert James Draper

The Accolade by Edmund Blair Leighton

Queen Guinevere’s Maying by John Collier

Guinevere and her ladies in waiting in Golden Days by  Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale

Lady Guinevere by Howard Pyle

Guinevere the ‘’White Lioness’’ by  Andrea Süli

Guenever by Gi Avila

Guenevere by Oriana Menendenz

Guinevere by Marco Wulfr

Queen Guenever by Elizabeth  Peiró

Guinevere by Tate S

[eldragon-x]

two faves and a newbie: darius, raine and kris :0?

Darius

Sexuality Headcanon: ace

Gender Headcanon: demiguy

A ship I have with said character: None

A BROTP I have with said character: I want to say Eberwolf because that's his canon bestie but I'm almost more invested in the potential between him and Raine that sadly gets pretty much no exploration, and there's already so little with Eber too. But as it stands, I'll just say Eberwolf because we did get a scene in King's Tide that shows a deeper part of their relationship than the surface-level teasing that's usually shown and they have some good potential too.

A NOTP I have with said character: with Alador or Adrian, tho I'd say the ship with Adrian is worse but I dislike both of them and the one with Alador is the most popular Darius ship so it gets a dishonorable mention here

A random headcanon: His VA recently said that Darius would have a hawk Palisman and I've been obsessed with that since so I like to think he adopts a hawk Palisman from Bat Queen once things have settled down. Said hawk Palisman's previous witch died in an incident and since then they've had the ambition to protect people. Darius' own desire to do what's best for others causes the two of them to bond.

General Opinion over said character: The Owl House would be a better show if we got a whole episode dedicated to him, and between him, Raine, and Hunter he's the one character out of my current top favourites who I am fully confident will have his story end in a satisfying way and I think that about sums it up.

Additional thing that I don't know where else to put but want to bring up: I'd honestly rather have him end up as Hunter's mentor rather than his parental figure both beause I love the idea of the dynamic between Darius and the previous Golden Guard, and Hunter and Darius paralelling like that but also because I don't see Dadrius realistically happen even if it's a nice concept. Additionally, I'm just tired of so much Darius-related fan content revolving around Hunter but that just adds to it.

Raine

Sexuality Headcanon: lesbian

Gender Headcanon: they're canonically nonbinary and I don't have any specific hc on that

A ship I have with said character: Eeerugh none really. I mean there's Raeda but that's just mostly on the basis on it already being canon and I wrote this whole post about why I think Raine's story revolves a bit too much mostly around their dynamic with Eda but anyway,

A BROTP I have with said character: I believe in Raine and Darius highschool besties to enemies to maybe friends again but not really due to unfortunate circumstances

A NOTP I have with said character: I haven't seen any bad ships with them

A random headcanon: They're prone to overworking themselves and the BATs have to remind them to take care of themself and keep an eye on the time. Their sleep schedule is a mess.

General Opinion over said character: I love their personality, the fact that they use music-magic immediately put my attention towards them, overall very cool character but I just really wish their untouched potential wasn't untouched. Season three show me the BATs dynamic and how working towards overthrowing an emperor for most of their life has messed Raine up. They were willing to sacrifice their life, you cannot tell me they were healthy to themselves.

Kris

Sexuality Headcanon: aroace or bi

Gender Headcanon: canon nonbinary, specifically headcanon them as bigender

A ship I have with said character: none

A BROTP I have with said character: Their friendship with Susie is so good, I think about that scene where she and Ralsei try to comfort Kris after fighting Spamton everyday.

A NOTP I have with said character: with Ralsei

A random headcanon: I think Kris feels like an outsider not just as the only human in their hometown, but even among other humans. The bit where they see a picture of humans in a book and react by quickly closing it reads to me as discomfort and considering the only other two human characters in utdr ended up being adopted by Toriel and have an implied history of abuse, I think it's the same case with Kris. Anyway, they finally found a sense of belonging outside their family since the events of the game.

General Opinion over said character: Really enjoy how we always keep getting bits of Kris' personality and feelings even as the player has literal control over them, far more than we've seen of Frisk, and I'm looking forward to how that'll play out.

[makuta5200]

Owl house King

Gonna assume you mean Emperor Belos, sure thing

OTP for them: Perhaps the Queen from The Girl and the Robot or Morgan le Fay from DC.

BROTP for them: Kikimora in canon, faithful servant-leader dynamic. Andrias seems like an obvious pick as Disnet tyrant boys.

Other ships: Think that's about it for him, to be honest.

What kind of fic I’d write about them: Would definitely make one where he gets more time to share with Kikimora and appreciating her over Golden Guard

A favorite canon moment: When he throws Luz around and is just a creepymin. Gives him far more intimidating vibes upon first pass.

Color that reminds me of them: Gold and white.

Song that reminds me of them: "King Nothing," by Metallica.

A headcanon about them: He once loved music at some point in his life, but his degrading body and mental state made him forget what he loved.

A random AU I think up on the spot for them: Where he just goes... completely genocidal. Forget whatever sympathetic backstory they're trying to pull. Evil emperor kill EVERYBODY.

Anything else: Belos is so close to being great... but he misses the mark just a smidgen. I like him, but showing his face, the odd sympathetic scene with Golden Guard, the general vagueness of his whole being are all really odd things for a villain whose pretty popular. Kikimora is just more up my speed.

[ariel-seagull-wings]

FICTIONAL CHARACTER ASK: THE WICKED QUEEN (FROM SNOW WHITE)

TAGGED BY: @princesssarisa​

@sunlit-music​ @mademoiselle-princesse​ @superkingofpriderock​ @amalthea9​ @astrangechoiceoffavourites​ @lieutenant-hel-odinsdottir​

@parxsisburnixg​

Favorite thing about them: On one hand, i give all my respect to a lady that has knowledge of alchemy and sorcery.

Least favorite thing about them: On the other hand, she could use that knowledge to help people in need and become a good ruler instead of using it to try murdering a child.

Three things i have in common with them:

I like the combination of red, black and purple.

I believe that poison is indeed an elegant, discreet and effective way of killing.

I am a sorcery enthusiast.

Three things i don’t have in common with them:

I am not rich royalty.

I am too rushed to check my appearance in the mirror for so long.

I would have given up killing Snow White in the first try.

Favorite line:

Nothing beats the iconic:

“Magic mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all”?

brOTP: The Spectrum of the Magic Mirror is probably the only character she trusts enough to call it a friend.

OTP: Also the Spectrum of the Magic Mirror, the character to whom the Queen has the longest and deepest connection and is the one being that understands that her beauty is her greatest love.

nOTP: The Huntsman, Snow White, The Prince or any of the Seven Dwarfs.

Random Headcanon: Usually, when academics and folklorists analyze paralells between the myth of Eros and Psyche, they focus on the tales of the ‘Animal Groom Cicle’. Wich is a good, interesting focus, but i also think that this greek myth has paralells with the tale of Snow White, particularly in how the antagonism of the Wicked Queen against Snow White mirrors Aphrodite’s antagonism against Psyche for the title of The Most Beautifull, despite the fact that neither Snow White or Psyche wanted to bee seen as The Most Beautifull and this description of them was beyond their control. Another paralell between the Wicked Queen and Aphrodite is the apple iconography: Aphrodite received the title of Most Beautifull of the Goddesses when Paris gaved her the Golden Apple that was left by Eris, the Goddess of Discord. Another inspiration for the Wicked Queen could have been the historical figure of the hungarian Countess Elizabeth Báthory (1560-1614), who was condenmned to die in prison after being acused of kidnaping and cruelly murdering several young girls, and whom urban legends telled that she would bathe in the blood of those young girls to forever retain her youth and beauty.

Unpopular Opinion:

1º Similar to what @princesssarisa​ sayed about Cinderella’s Prince, you don’t need to make the Wicked Queen secretly a heroine and Snow White secretly evil to write a deconstrution of the fairy tale. Just write them as having started with flaws and qualities, and explore how a society that only values woman for their beauty and constantly turns them against each other sowered their relationship, turning the Queen evil in the proccess.

2º Some people consider her desire of being considered The Most Beautifull a weak motivation. But considering how the Dictatorship of Beauty Padrons is a real problem, that affects both man and woman in different ways, making people do horrible danmage against themselves and others in the name of an impossible ideal of “perfection”, i consider that the motivation of Beauty makes a villain very palpably treatening, specially living in a post World War II world where we know that Hitler and his followers destroyed works of modern art because they considerated it “degenerate” and tortured and killed millions of people in search of obtaining the “ideal blonde, blue eyed, tall, strong, muscled Arian man”. Considering that the origin of the most famous version of Snow White is Germany, i wonder how the Wicked Queen resonates with german people because of those paralells nowadays.

Song i associate with them:

Las Brujas, from the El Chapulin Colorado parody episode

Favorite picture of them:

This postcard by an unknown artist

These 1913 american illustrations

This illustration by Otto Kubel

This illustration by Katharine Cameron

This illustration by A H Watson

This illustration by Mauser Lichtil

This illustration by Ludvik Glazer

This illustrations by Anastassija Archipowa

This illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman

This illustrations by P J Lynch

Patricia Medina in Snow White and the Three Stooges

Maria Antonieta de las Nieves and Angelines Fernandes in the El Chapulin Colorado parody episode

Vanessa Redgrave in Faery Tale Theater

Diana Rigg in Canon Movie Tales

Gudrun Landgrebe in the 1992 german film adaptation

Sigourney Weaver in Snow White: A Tale of Terror

Miranda Richardson and Vera Farmiga in Hallmark’s Snow White: Fairest of them All

Sonja Kirchberger in Grimm’s Finest Fairy Tales

The 1937 Disney Animated Film Version