#ziva david is alive

[krystalmethany]

Not me hoping on Tumblr to check on the geriatric TIVA fandom after the news today. Is everyone okay? Did you take your multivitamins? Are we breathing?

[why-did-you-just-lie-to-mcgee]

[delicatefalice]

IMA AND DADDY 🥹

[tivaisendgame]

Tiva in every episode

NCIS 3.01 - Kill Ari, Part 1

[television-overload]

First of all: Wow. I'm honored. What a compliment.

Second: NEW TIVA FANS, HERE WE GOOOOO EHEHEHEHEEEE

(comment on my Season 3 fic)

[hay-389]

Alright, nothing can top the fact that we are getting Ziva and Tony back on our screens together, like an actual couple, with their daughter!!!

This is the best news we’ve had in 4 years. 😭

[tardisslayer]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN TIVA NCIS SPIN OFF AFTER SO MANY YEARS I WISH I COULD TELL 14 YEAR OLD ME THIS SHE WOULD GO COMPLETELY INSANE (I am actually currently going completely insane)

[jacensolodjo]

I've been thinking of continuing my Ziva David Lives gif series but alas. I don't have much motivation to do it lol

[ncisfranchise-source]

Paramount’s upcoming action-packed show “NCIS: Tony & Ziva” will have issues of trust at its core, stars Michael Weatherly and Cote de Pablo said at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival, where the “NCIS” franchise is celebrating reaching 1,000 episodes.

The series, set to stream on Paramount+, focuses on their “NCIS” characters, Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David, after they have left the agency, and are bringing up their daughter, Tali, in Paris. When Tony’s security company is attacked, they must go on the run across Europe, try to figure out who is after them and maybe even learn to trust each other again so that they can finally have their unconventional happily ever after.

In “NCIS,” Ziva was thought to have died, and Tony left the team to go raise Tali. Years later, Ziva was discovered alive. How did that affect her relationship with Tony and Tali?

Speaking at a Monte-Carlo press event Saturday, De Pablo explained they had joked that the title for the show should be “NCIS: Trust No One.” “I think the idea of trust, and the idea of how this relationship moves forward is something that was intriguing to us as actors,” she added. “We’re trying to address the idea of trust and we’re trying to address how they move forward parenting together with this child and trying to make things work and having a lot of challenges thrown at them.”

Weatherly added that for Tali what happened with her mom would be tough to accept. “When you think about Tali, who is really the third character in ‘Tony & Ziva,’ the idea for her to think that her mother was dead, and then her mother is alive, but was running around the world and didn’t come home to protect her … Trust doesn’t mean truth, doesn’t mean honesty. Just because I’m telling you the truth doesn’t mean you can trust me. And I think that a lot of the relationships inside … I won’t give away anything […] You have a daughter who’s going to question the story. ‘No dad – you told me she was dead, and she just walked through the door.’ ‘Yeah, but your mom had reasons …’ ‘No, no, no. The facts are the facts.’

“And then what are your relationships like? Where do you stand with the truth? And who do you trust? I mean, these are like the core principles of the show.”

De Pablo and Weatherly will serve as executive producers on the show, which reunites them on screen for the first time in 10 years. John McNamara (“Trumbo,” “The Magicians”) wrote the premiere episode and will serve as showrunner and an executive producer, alongside Laurie Lieser, Christina Strain and Shelley Meals. The series will be distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

The show, which has received a 10-episode order, will be shot in Europe later this year. “Tony and Ziva live in Paris, and we will be shooting in Budapest, because the Olympics are in Paris right now and that would be complicated,” Weatherly said. “But the show will have a lot of international locations that we will reveal later, and international casting that is going to be absolutely stellar. We’re a part of that as executive producers.”

Shooting outside the U.S. was always a priority for the pair, even though they thought the studio would want it to be set in the States, Chicago for example. “At the beginning, I was very adamant about that, like, ‘No, I’m not interested if that’s where they want to go,'” De Pablo said. “I really think the show should be taken out of the United States. It would separate us from the agency, and it would give us a chance to sort of reinvent it in a completely different way, from a different standpoint.”

Weatherly said it took the studio a while to come around to the idea. “It took some time to get them completely there because it is such a departure. It’s streaming. It’s not an evergreen procedural. It’s not structured the same way. Will the audience show up for that? Are we shooting out of our weight class here with a different kind of story? Is it not going to feel like the other show? All of those troubles. And John is not from the ‘NCIS’ universe. So we’re introducing a new voice. And I think those things that might a few years ago have been to our detriment became assets when people started really understanding streaming, and really understanding Paramount+ as a platform.”

He explained that viewers who discover “Tony & Ziva” will then be able to explore the 1,000 episodes in the “NCIS” universe, which encompasses the mothership as well as spinoffs like “NCIS: Sydney,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “NCIS: Hawai’i” and “NCIS: New Orleans.”

He added: “I think that we’re going to be bringing people into a world that might feel small, because it’s just Tony, Tali and Ziva. But it’s Europe. It’s love. It’s the universe. And we have to save those things.”

Talking about their relationship, De Pablo said: “You know what I’ve always said about working with Michael is it’s always refreshingly unpredictable. I think he also likes my … you know, the fact that I love to play. Even though sometimes I come across as very, sort of, put together, my favourite thing is to go into kid land and play. I think we relate on that level. We are both, at our core, kids. We love playing. I respect the boundaries and the structure of that. He has a tougher time with the structure and the boundaries. But at the end of the day, we both like to play.”

[ejzah]

A/N: A little ficlet during Deeks’ time at FLETC.

***

You Can’t Make an Omelet Without Breaking a Few Legs

Deeks winced, struggling to keep one hand braced against the bandages partially wrapped around his chest while holding the rest of the roll in the other. Ridiculously, the effort of attempting to wrap his own torso had left him sweaty and in pain, but he put that mostly down to the bruise, possibly fractured, ribs.

During yesterday’s hand-to-hand combat, the instructor had asked Deeks to assist with demonstrating some advanced techniques with Ivan, one of the academy combatants. He’d managed to rise above his disastrous defense attempt from the first week, and was among three or four cadets who were regularly picked to show the intricacies of the skills. In a way it was flattering. At the same time, it also put Deeks in the spotlight more often than he’d have liked.

Normally, he walked away from combat with a few extra bruises, and gratitude that he regularly fought some of the best opponents around. Normally, Ivan didn’t misjudge a punch, and fall, his full body weight landing directly on top of Deeks.

Deeks didn’t remember all that much from the few minutes directly after that, but when his vision returned enough to see, the instructor and a couple dozen other cadets stood over him in concern. He’d managed to avoid a trip to the infirmary by assuring everyone that he’d be fine once he had a chance to walk it off. The instructor reluctantly accepted that, but insisted he take the rest of the day off.

He’d honestly thought that a couple of ibuprofen and some sleep would take care of most of the pain; he’d gotten banged up enough in the last 20 years and survived with less after all. However, the pain and discomfort only got worse throughout the evening and night. By morning, he’s barely slept and had to admit that something was definitely wrong.

Getting checked out was out of the question. He had too much riding on passing FLETC to get kicked out for bruised ribs.

Groaning, Deeks finally secured the other end of the bandage, and gingerly flopped back on his bed.

Kensi would be calling soon, and he knew she’d pick up on even the slightest hint of pain in his voice. And she’d probably try to convince him to get medical care.

He heard the sounds of people getting up and moving around the building. A few moments later, a heavy fist pounded on his door a couple of times. “Yo Deeks, you alive in there?” Jake called out before hurrying on his way.

The thought of getting up and going to classes, pretending his entire body didn’t ache, and god, more combat made him want to curl up in a ball. It wouldn’t be easy, but it would be worth it in the end.

His phone rang, and he strained to reach it, centering himself before he answered.

“Hey baby.”

***

A/N: Title stolen from Ziva David

[4acesofspades]

Hear me out, guys.  Eliot Spencer from Leverage and Ziva David from NCIS.  Before either of them met their current crew, before they were changed for the better.  They’re still wild, still dangerous, still morally reprehensible.  And they’re both still a little bit afraid.  

Eliot probably works for Moreau at this point, Ziva for Mossad.  A wild chance finds Eliot seriously hurt, probably concussed, and face down on the banks of a river.  Ziva’s trying to get somewhere, she doesn’t have time to stop.  But of course she does.  

And from there we find them sharing safe houses.  She’s stealing his hair ties, he teaches her how to cook.  Or maybe neither of them know how to cook yet and everything they make together is trash.  She tries to get him to arm himself, “so you come home alive,” but he refuses, and one day he comes home shot and together they learn how to suture bullet wounds.  Or maybe she already knew, from before.  

They can’t tell each other about their work, of course, but they don’t have to because they understand that.  Maybe they’re the only two people in the world that really get the importance of that kind of silence.  And so they create a world filled with something that resembles safety.  They watch movies together.  They go on runs together, they plan for a future they know they’ll never have.  They pretend they’re normal people living normal lives.  

All of it is a sham, but maybe they can convince themselves they’re not monsters.  

[hopeless-nostalgiac]

Find the Word Tag

Rules:  It's simple, see if the words exist somewhere in your writing and  share a snippet. WIPs, published works, heck I even count author's notes  sometimes. IMHO, variations on the words are allowed (shook instead of  shake, cloudy instead of clouds and the like), and even synonyms (storm  instead of thunder) if you really can't find something. Just share your  snippets with your friends, tag some people and give them some new words  to look for if they want to take up the challenge!

I decided to take part after seeing @loudlooks’s post. The words are: mirror, ball, blood, movie, hot

If anyone else wants to play: river, morning, tear, chair, warm

mirror - “Tender Curiosity” wip (I lie to myself about this one and say I’ll someday continue beyond the chapter and change I’ve had for it since like 2013)

Hands braced on the edge of the counter, Tony fought off his own wave of nausea, sucking in breaths, shallow and short. Each exhale scrambled his mind of unwanted images, each inhale swelled his exasperation. Heat seethed through his veins. It was misplaced, yet it took more effort to stave off than it would have to embrace, explode from the room, and leave the ex-Mossad assassin to her secrets, just the way she wanted it.  If this was what came with their relat--friendship these days, maybe he didn’t want it after all. 

A chance look in the mirror brought into view the tremble of her chin. Her eyes darted to the ceiling, fending off another round of waterworks. “Though I cannot say that this was…” She paused to swallow the sob in her voice. “Planned.”

The tears she refused to shed in his company extinguished the burn of his anger to smoldering coals. He never could stay mad at her. Irritated?  Sure, they drove each other crazy.  Real anger?  No.  It was a weakness, Tony knew. Getting close clouded judgment. Probably why Gibbs had a rule about it. Getting close was a risk. 

It just didn’t feel like those things as he eliminated the distance between them, resting a gentle hand on her shoulder. This felt right.

ball - “The Buttercup Theory” idea/wip 

You really hadn’t lived until you experienced Ziva David meeting a puppy. It was like watching a hulking WWE wrestler cuddle up with a teacup kitten.

Okay. Maybe not that drastic. It was pretty freaky, though.

Freaky enough that Tony’s insistence that they leave, that Gibbs would be expecting them back far sooner than later, lost momentum. He couldn’t look away as she crouched to her knees in front of the small crate, an incongruous fixture in the sterile kitchen of his bachelor pad. 

“Oh my goodness, look at you,” Ziva cooed at the ball of fluff huddled inside the metal contraption. Literally cooed. His partner for a pigeon. 

“Who did you just become?”

The brunette glanced up, her gaze shining from beneath the visor of her NCIS cap. “You did not tell me you were thinking of getting a puppy.”

“Because I wasn’t.”

“It is not exactly the best timing, Tony.”

“Agreed.”

“Yet now you have a puppy.”

“I don’t have a puppy.” 

The sparkle dimmed in Ziva’s eyes.

blood - “New Year Normal” wip (trying desperately to get this done rn)

“You are cranky, Tony.”

“You are blunt as ever, Ziva.” His crossed arms mirrored the knot of his grimace. “And I’m not cranky because I’m not a 3-year-old who missed his nap.”

“Then you are jet lagged.”

“After 15 hours at 30,000 feet? No, you think?”

She ignored his sarcasm while inspecting the underside of an end-table drawer. Clear. “You should eat something. Your blood sugar is low.”

“What do you know about my blood sugar?” 

“I know when it is low, you are cranky.” Ziva tossed him an apple from the complimentary bowl of fruit. “Eat, or one of us will not leave this room alive.” 

Tony caught it on a fumble. “Well argued, my ninja, but I’ll take my chances.”

He set the apple aside and scrubbed his hand from forehead to nape, ironing his sandy locks this unkempt way and that, not seeming to notice or care that his hair looked a mess in the end. It matched the shadowy scruff ringing his jaw, the puffy half-moons of fatigue beneath hazel eyes. 

The breakdown of his normally fastidious appearance—his armor—left no doubt. Anthony DiNozzo, Jr. was out of sorts.

movie - “Land I Grew” wip

Leaning back against the counter, Tony dragged so hard on the bottle that the plastic crinkled and caved in on itself. 

“Where’s your TV?” he asked after swallowing hard. 

“I do not have one.”

“That’s cold.”  

“I am not you. My life does not revolve around movies—”

“Ziva.” He lifted the half-empty bottle to eye level. “I meant refreshing.”

“Oh.” She crossed her arms.

Tony guzzled, stray droplets splashing onto the day’s growth of stubble around his mouth. His pink tongue flashed out from between parched lips, like a cat unwilling to waste a drop of precious milk. Or: a man never satisfied. 

She would be thirsty as well, if she had run from his apartment to hers. They were clear across the city from each other now.

“When did you start running?”

“Like, 20 minutes ago. It’s not my best time, but--”

“Tony.”

“I had a lot of stress to burn off this summer.” His answer hovered between nonchalance and restraint. “No couch?”

hot - “Contaminate My Heart” (aka my tiva shower fic that I drafted during covid lockdown but then had a crisis of confidence and so it’s sat ever since)

Any rebuttal she might have formed evaporated in the blast of heated rain, striking her just right, dabbling neck and shoulders and arms, coursing rivers in the thin gaps separating their chests. A chill born of the time spent between showers rocketed outward from her belly button, spreading and vibrating off her skin. Her eyelids drooped. 

“Good?” He knew it was. She did not care, draping her arms around him. 

“Yes, my shower went out before I had a chance to finish.”

“Huh, usually you’re the first one done.”

Only then did Ziva break the trance of sensation. Tony’s grin greeted her, smug and goading. 

“I did not realize we could lie, mon petit pois.” 

His grin widened, or it seemed that way as he leaned forward, blurring at the edges of her vision. Hot breath exhaled across her forehead, a masquerade of delayed laughter. Or desire. 

“You can do whatever you want…to me, sweetcheeks.”

[why-did-you-just-lie-to-mcgee]

i think it's really cute that each fandom has their little special tags, and how you grow into it from the generic ones to more niche ones - but the absolute best thing is that the universal rule is to warn for spoilers

[delicatefalice]

SEASON FOUR SECRET SUMMER OF SEX CONFIRMED IN THE YEAR OF 2024

[beeps-mess]

I worry for you, you worry for me

Wherever Ziva David went, flowers followed.

(These are all just little bits of stories, a good amount of them ignoring canon stuff, not in any particular order. Title is from a Noah Kahan song.)

AO3 Version

The day after Kate Todd was laid to rest a vase of daisies showed up on Gibbs's dinner table. He found no note so he had McGee find him a book on flower meanings the next day, which he sat and read through for hours. The book was sitting on his workshop table in the basement, never moving but also not collecting dust. Nick opened it once when looking for clues to where Gibbs had run off to with a dead woman, finding a page folded down. 

"Daisy. 

Innocence

Loyal love 

The promise to never tell."

—

Abby had seen many people come and go in her time at NCIS, but one of the biggest losses was Ziva David. The last time Abby saw her out of work they were watching a movie together, one neither of them could focus on, not with the knowledge this would be their last for a while. Abby knew the horror of losing a parent and understood why Ziva was leaving, but that didn’t make anything easier. She held Ziva’s hand tightly that night, her heart aching anytime she looked up from her spot on Ziva’s shoulder to see her friend crying.

The next morning Ziva David was gone from her apartment. The only sign that she was there, to begin with, other than the piles of clothes she had left at Abby’s was a flower. A pink carnation to be precise, the card laying next to it making Abby cry a bit harder. Abby pulled on Ziva’s favorite sweater and spent the rest of the day reading about flowers.

“Pink Carnation.

I’ll never forget you.”

—

 When Ziva left for Israel after her father's death Tony was delivered a vase of yellow and red tulips. His tears fell on the note left which explained the flowers' meanings. Years later Tony walked in one morning to an envelope left on his desk, a pressed sweet pea inside. The news reported the death of Ziva David the same day. The pressed flower is framed when he moves to Paris with Tali and Senor.

 "Yellow Tulip. 

  Having a sunshine-like smile.

  Red Tulip.

  A declaration of love."

"Sweet Pea. 

 Goodbye 

 Thank you for a lovely time."

—

Tim and Ziva had an interesting relationship. At the start, Tim would avoid her, not used to having Ziva around instead of Kate. But slowly, they grew closer. Close enough to the point where he would go to her after a rough case that drained him, trusting her to let him recharge without the questions and instead just be there for him physically. Close enough that when she pushed herself too far Ziva would always end up on his doorstep, on his couch, rewatching their favorite movies over and over. They grew into a brother-sister relationship. 

When the news broke that she had died he sat there silently while Tony and Gibbs yelled. He let his ears ring and let a hole open up and swallow him. Yes, he still had the other people in his weird family, like Tony and Gibbs along with his lovely at-the-time girlfriend, but none of them were Ziva. Tim broke. He helped chase down whoever was needed during the day and then went home, sitting on his couch in silence. His life turned upside down and the person he went to for comfort regarding chaos like this was gone. 

As he rolled over one morning after not getting any sleep he noticed a new smell. Curious, he poked his head out of his bedroom, peaking around to find a vase of hydrangea and goldenrod. Confused, he walked closer to find a note, left in the same handwriting as the ones he had scattered around his apartment reminding him to do things. Unlike the previous notes she had left to the other men this one was part of a poem, because Tim already knew the meanings of the flowers, for Ziva had learned about them from Tim. He concluded that Ziva David was alive because no one else would know the lines he needed to hear, the lines that Ziva had written herself for Tim, her brother. He put it in his wallet next to the old and worn original piece of paper on which she has written the line down. 

"Although the world is silent around you

 I know you

 I see you

 I hear you."

—

The week of Ziva David's supposed death was hard on Jimmy. The father of one had pushed all of his emotions to the side to offer comfort to and help anyone who needed it. When Tali arrived he buried himself in the work required to help Tony become a knowledgeable father. Then, he went home and made sure to hold Breena and Victoria tightly. When his girls went to bed he would spend the rest of the night going through old notes he and Ziva would leave for each other along with photos they would very not sneakily they would snap of the other. He spent hours recalling memories that week. 

 At the end of the week, Jimmy was so exhausted he almost didn't notice the pot of zinnias on his desk. Almost. He put his coat back on the chair and picked up the note left next to the potted flowers. The card was written in familiar handwriting, one he had spent the week rereading. Jimmy dropped the card and slid into his desk, finally letting his tears fall, but now, not of grief but yet of joy. His friend was safe. Jimmy Palmer had not lost another friend. 

"Zinnia. 

 Lasting affection

 Thoughts of an old friend."

—

NOTES: The flower meanings were found across the web, and this is the link for the poem referenced. Expect more NCIS stuff from me soon, this show has me in a chokehold.

[ear-worthy]

Off Duty: NCIS Rewatch Video Podcast Debuts

Rewatch podcasts are almost always a safe investment for a podcast network or indie podcaster. First, you have a built-in audience that loves the TV show, even if it's been off the air for quite a while. Second, the rewatch podcast has several content options, such as reviewing each TV episode on the podcast or having people who worked on the show be interviewed. Or both. The Psychologists Are In with Maggie Lawson and Timothy Omundson is one of the best TV rewatch podcasts around. That rewatch show has the benefit of two of the principal cast members as co-hosts. Even better, Lawson is terrific.

So it's no surprise that Spotify has announced the launch of a new weekly video podcast, Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch, with hosts and NCIS castmates Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly – set to debut on Tuesday, June 4, 2024. The podcast will reunite the fan-favorite actors from the NCISverse as they rewatch, reminisce, and reveal more from the popular TV series. 

 Here's the marketing pitch: "In each weekly podcast episode, Cote and Michael will invite a special guest to join them as they rewatch iconic NCIS episodes. Former franchise cast and guest stars making appearances include Sean Murray, Sasha Alexander, Eric Christian Olsen, Jon Cryer and many more who will join the hosts to reminisce about the show’s undeniable impact in television and pop culture, and reveal exclusive behind-the-scenes moments from making the cherished TV series."

 NCIS co-stars and apparently, lifelong friends, Michael Weatherly and Cote De Pablo, are hosting the quintessential NCIS rewatch podcast. They played two of NCIS's most memorable characters, agents Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David, AKA "TiVa". Each week, they will break down an episode of NCIS and host a special guest, including stars and key behind the scenes folks from across the NCIS universe, to reminisce about the show’s impact and reveal behind-the-scenes, never-before-shared moments from the making of this beloved franchise.

Weatherly was on NCIS for 13 seasons, when he left to star in his own CBS TV series, Bull.  In January 2018, CBS settled for $9.5 million with actress Eliza Dushku after she was fired from a recurring role on Bull after informing producers of Weatherly's inappropriate behavior on the set. According to documents from the official mediation, Weatherly was recorded on video making comments about spanking Dushku over his knee, soliciting a threesome, alluding to sexual assault in his "rape van," and other inappropriate remarks. 

After the settlement was reported, Weatherly publicly apologized for the comments, yet Dushku responded that Weatherly broke the terms of their settlement by speaking to the press and characterized his apology as "more deflection, denial, and spin."

Then in 2021,CBS announced that Bull showrunner Glenn Gordon Caron and costar Freddy Rodriguez would be leaving the series after a workplace investigation was conducted by CBS. A rep for CBS Studios declined to share the findings of the investigation at the time, and they've still not been disclosed.

 Cote de Pablo played former Mossad agent Ziva David from 2006 until 2013 when she left the show for what she later said was dissatisfaction over the direction of her character arc. In the season 13 finale of the series, it was stated that her character had apparently died in an explosion in Israel. Yet three years later, she was miraculously alive (please thank soap operas for character resurrection).

 You can watch the series trailer HERE. 

If you're a NCIS fan -- and there are a lot of them -- check out Off Duty: An NCIS Rewatch. You have to give the show credit. In 21 seasons, the show has cycled through a lot of characters -- it just lost Katrina Law as Jessica Knight this month -- andstill garners excellent ratings.