#ulf scribbles

[ulfie-by-osmosis]

Conversations with dean and cas, part one. 4x07 It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester.

(Please do not repost as your own.) (Please do not use without permission.)

[presidenthades]

I am doing very minor revisions of Daemon’s Handbook (mostly formatting and continuity errors), and I wanted to do some behind-the-scenes commentary before too much time passes and I forget my original thoughts. Here’s Chapter 4!

(Note that these commentaries aren’t canon to the verse until/unless the author writes them into the series. I might change my mind on a few points later, but these are the thoughts I had while writing.)

I originally wanted to write about Jace entertaining a slew of suitors while Aegon is jealous, but if you’ve read the whole fic, you know I saved that plot line for Luce and Aemond instead. (You might notice that I recycled some of the suitors on Jace’s list for Luce too.) But it makes me wonder what this verse’s jealous!Aegon would have looked like. 👀 I like to think he would have gotten on Sunfyre, stolen Jace from Driftmark, and run off to Lys.

Daemon’s commentary about the suitors shows how poorly he thinks of pretty much everybody who isn’t his family. 😂 Also, his fleeting scheme to marry Jace to her hypothetical much younger half-brother is *the same thing* that Otto proposed re: Rhaenyra and Aegon, which I find hilarious. Great minds think alike? Maybe?

Daemon’s thought about his potential son superseding Jace as Rhaenyra’s heir is controversial. In the show, when Viserys proposes the Rhaenyra/Laenor match, he says that their firstborn child, regardless of gender, will inherit. But later, when Rhaenyra proposes the Jace/Baela match to Rhaenys, Rhaenyra says that Baela’s sons will inherit. I’m inclined to think this is a writing discrepancy, considering the many writing issues during S1. I’ve seen people interpret it as Rhaenyra being less progressive than Viserys (she’s reverting to male primogeniture while Viserys supports absolute primogeniture), but I don’t think this interpretation matches what we’ve seen of the show characters. For the purposes of this discussion, let’s say Daemon thinks male primogeniture is still the de facto method of inheritance, with Rhaenyra as an exception. But what Daemon thinks isn’t always what’s right/true, so maybe Rhaenyra herself would strongly disagree. We won’t know until/unless I write her POV.

I think it took readers until Chapter 7 to realize that the tipsy dragonseed guard who lets Luce escape the castle is Ulf White. I intentionally refrained from name-dropping so it wouldn’t distract people, and I don’t think Daemon would know the name of *every* man-at-arms on Dragonstone.

Likewise, the village blacksmith who points out Luce to Daemon is Hugh Hammer. Hugh doesn’t have much of a reason to get involved, except to potentially curry some favor with Daemon by helping him out.

The ship that Luce is trying to board, the Violande, is the ship that, in the book, Rhaenyra takes to Dragonstone after she flees King’s Landing after the Storming of the Dragonpit.

Daemon’s fears about what Otto might do if Jace married Aegon aren’t completely unfounded. In Episode 9 of the show, Otto is willing to assassinate Rhaenyra and her children. Whether Otto would find that necessary in this verse is a different question. But, as we see later, Daemon is off in his assessment of Aegon; there’s no way this verse’s Aegon would do anything to hurt Jace. But Daemon doesn’t know that, so as far as he’s aware, he’s right to distrust Aegon.

Daemon kind of forensically pieces together Luce’s papers to get an idea of what she was doing the night before, but for clarity, here’s roughly what happened. First she has a nightmare, which involves being eaten by Vhagar (Luce does not have dragon dreams; I just wanted to allude to Lucerys’s canon death). She wakes up, stuffs her face with jam tart, and scribbles a cathartic letter that she has no intention of sending. Then she calms herself down by drawing some knitting patterns and transcribing Aegon’s song (that he wrote for Jace) for the lyre. Finally she writes a letter that she actually wants to send to Aemond, which she WOULD have sent the next morning (so he could hopefully show up in time for her nameday) if they hadn’t received news that Aemond lost his eye. 😢 There’s probably a lesson here about not holding onto grudges for too long.

In an early draft of this chapter, I had Daemon flying to King’s Landing so he could personally mess with Aemond, but then I remembered ravens exist. 🙃 Ultimately it’s better this way, because Aemond would have gotten suspicious if Daemon hand-delivered the Bad Letter. Also, the original version just doesn’t make sense anymore. Daemon was supposed to go to the Red Keep’s black cells to find the cutpurse who attacked Aemond, which would lure Aemond from his sickbed because Aemond doesn’t want his uncle to deal with his attacker before Aemond gets the chance (murderous preteen 🖤), then Daemon teaches Aemond some creative knifework before handing him the Bad Letter; the “door opens” part of Helaena’s prophecy was originally referring to the Black Cell door. But see how nonsensical that scene sounds now? This is why we edit and revise and murder our darlings 🥴

Chapter 5 commentary here

[just-a-sewer-goblin]

I was thinking about Collars of Duty again and I wanted to ask if there was any lore you felt like sharing! I know with AUs there's often a lot of background information the writer has in mind, but it's never explained in the story because it's not totally relevant (world lore, hybrid lore, etc).

Also! You mentioned having to cut Farah from the story, so I'm really curious what roles you see the rest of the Modern Warfare cast having in this universe!

As always, I hope all is well and you have a great day!

*vibrating, visibly trying to seem normal although I look insane* Ah, so you want to know more? Let's see what I've got.

*rifles through my notebook that's filled with sticky notes and indecipherable scribbles*

I actually want to tell you more about the Farah idea, because even though it didn't happen I thought about it a lot.

So I always knew that Alex Keller was gonna have a cameo because I adore the guy and I always had the vision of him as a golden retriever hybrid. But why would he be at the center?

Well his in game story gives the perfect opportunity: The explosion he gets caught in where he loses his leg. In game he's kind of assumed dead at first and stays in Urzikstan.

I could not have that happen in my story as it would make no sense for him to appear in an American rehabilitation center if he was left behind under the assumption that he was KIA. So Alex actually gets extracted and taken back to the US where he ends up with reader at Rehybrid.

So far so Collars of Duty. I really like his bond with Farah and I really wanted her to appear as his handler in my fanfiction. But how was I supposed to make that happen in a way that changed as little as possible about the story?

I considered having Farah come to the US undercover to get Alex back to Urzikstan. She was supposed to be at Rehybrid as a handler, as the handler who trains to get Alex back in the field, and then he'd disappear with her one day and it would have been a minor plot about him secretly going back to Urzikstan with Farah to join the ULF.

That only lead to more questions and dead ends tho: Why would Farah leave the ULF for months just to go get an american hybrid? Sure he'd helped her people and told her he'd join the ULF but at that point they don't yet have the bond that's apparent between them later when he's the second in command. And even if they did, Farah would never leave her country behind to play undercover agent for one soldier, when her absence could mean heavy cosequences for the ULF and her country. Also if Alex actually joined the ULF before the explosion he would have been treated as a deserter and not been at Rehybrid.

So ultimately the idea got scrapped and we don't have a cameo of the Woman. The Legend. Farah. And Alex did not verbally/officially joing the ULF before the explosion so he's not seen as deserter at that point.

The changes I had to make to have Alex appear already hurt a lot and I just could not bring myself to change Farah's character enough to have her appear too.

Sorry for the long ass ramble about a plot point that didn't even happen but I just love this story so much. Also sorry if some of it is worded awkwardly or confusing.

Thank you for the ask, nonnie, I appreciate it! I recognize you from previous asks and wanted to offer you to pick a name I could refer to you by? Only if you want though. Have a lovely day!

Also everyone is welcome to ask about specific characters/worlbuilding/plot points that you'd like me to expand on.

[artmagenta]

Spectators (Z2311)

[harrisonarchive]

George Harrison, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Pete Best, and Roy Young on stage at The Star-Club in Hamburg, (May?) 1962; photos by Doris Kaempfert (?), © K & K Ulf Kruger OHG/Redferns, Bert Kaempfert Music - K & K/Redferns via Getty Images.

“When The Beatles’ manager, Brian Epstein, secured a recording contract with EMI in 1962, he sent a telegram to the band in Hamburg, Germany: ‘Congratulations boys. EMI request recording session. Please rehearse new material.’ The Beatles replied to the telegram with postcards. Paul McCartney wrote, ‘Please wire GBP 10,000 advance royalties.’ John Lennon scribbled, ‘When are we going to be millionaires?’ But George Harrison made the following request: ‘Please order four new guitars.’ While his band mates visualized piles of money, Harrison could think only about guitars.” - Andy Babiuk, Harrison by the editors of Rolling Stone (2002) (x)

[thelastranger]

prompt: One of the twins(Ulf/Wulf) does double agenting, he meetings the other in battle, arguing intensifies.

This takes place during a hypothetical Stern Chase because someone said what if the people who destroy the boats are a former brotherband and I think that's a cool idea While on the hunt for the pirates, Wulf starts thinking about how Zavac was so effective in infiltrating places and how he could do the same. He brings up the plan to Ulf and Lydia, but gets shot down almost immediately. It's too dangerous and the Heron can't afford to be a crew member down. In the harbor where the pirates are supposed to be, the Herons arrive early and stake out in an inn. In the middle of the night, Wulf slips out and leaves the inn, heading towards a dingy tavern by the dock. When Ulf wakes up to find his brother gone in the morning, In the morning, by pure chance before the Herons find him again, Wulf runs into the pirate crew and manages to convince them that he is an exiled Skandian who also wants revenge. The pirates gladly accept him into the cree after he points out the Heron in the dock, allowing the pirates to slip away without a fight. Ulf finds a scribbled note in Wulf's unmistakable handwriting that says "go to the next port" at the tavern and whoo boy, there's a fight coming. He still can't believe there is any way that Wulf would abandon the crew in the midst of a crisis. Time passes, something, something and a fight occurs. Here are some theoretical lines of dialogue.

——— "They trust me!" hissed Wulf, trying not to actually hit his brother. Ulf does not seem to have the same reservations about fighting his brother. His sword strokes are brutal and sloppy, his anger sapping his technique. "And how are we going to get you out alive? It's an extra complication. You abandoned every-" "I'm sorry Ulf, but I have to do this" Wulf hit his brother over the head with his scabbard, knocking Ulf out cold. As Wulf runs towards the Wolfwind, he takes a half hearted swipe at Hal, who looks less than happy to see him, but doesn't say anything. Ulf surely communicated his plan somehow, otherwise Wulf is sure he'd be strung up on the mast and forced to give answers. ——— Harald clapped Wulf on the back. "How'd it feel, getting back at your old country men?" Wulf grinned, but the grin didn't reach his eyes or match his tone. "Never felt more alive."

[letsbenditlikebennett]

Beyond the Veil || Solo Scene

TIMING: Current SUMMARY: Ariana digs into Lydia’s subreddit as she tries to figure out how she’s going to save Ace (aka Sammy aka Lydia’s human)

It’d been three nights since she had last seen Ace. She’d gone back to their spot every night since, hoping against all reason that he’d be there again. Ariana had been so weary in letting him leave in the first place, but she knew there was no stopping him. Whatever hold Lydia had on him was strong and there was no saving him until she could figure out how to break that. It left her heart aching no matter how busy she tried to keep herself. Nothing could take away the lingering feeling of worry that she simply couldn’t shake. Well, nothing outside of seeing and holding him in her arms again. Some sort of tangible proof that he was alive and healthy for the moment. That she hadn’t waited too long. 

She paced around their spot for a few hours before she let out a defeated sigh and made her way back to the trailer. Night after night of little to no sleep was catching up with her, but her mind couldn’t relax. Now was as good a time as any to dive into that subreddit that Ace had mentioned. Hopefully it would be more enlightening than the books she read. As she paused her steps to tiredly rub her eyes, she knew a whole pot of coffee would be necessary to get through all the digging she’d likely need to do. After all, she promised him she’d save him. She promised him everything would be okay. These were promises that she was determined to keep because the alternative was far too grim to even think of. 

Once she quietly let herself back inside the trailer, she brewed some coffee and set herself up with her laptop at the table. A glance at the clock told her it was one in the morning as she dove headfirst into Lydia’s section on subreddit. Prior to learning that Lydia had Ace, she hadn’t really cared to learn all that much about her. She was cordial enough when she joined that soccer game with Simon, but she seemed a little uppity for Ariana’s taste. Now every bone in her body felt rage just thinking of what she may be doing to Ace. As far as Ariana was concerned, it didn’t matter what Lydia was. Ace deserved better. 

She found herself in an endless loop of scrolling. The photos from the 1970s caught her attention. She only looked a few years younger than she did now and that was nearly 50 years ago. That definitely took human out of the equation, though she’d been sure she was fae for a while now. The article showing that photo said her name was Vicky Andrews and she was on the set of some old Hollywood film that Ariana had never heard of. She squinted, looking it over as closely as possible. The photo was blurry, but that was definitely Lydia. The thread went into a debate that quickly shut down, but she found that hardly mattered. This subreddit was mostly humans who wouldn’t even be able to understand how that was possible. She scribbled down the name Vicky Andrews. If that other book was right, finding her true name could give Ari a huge advantage. 

Several other names were thrown around from Allison Jacobs and Sarah Baker. Both were connected to other forms of art. Allison being a renowned poet and Sarah being a skilled painter. She remembered some of the books referring to the Leanan-sidhe as some sort of muse that usually drained artists somehow. Ace being an artist would check out. He always vaguely smelled of clay. The small smile on her face remembering his comforting scent quickly faded when she realized what that could mean. No, it had to be something else. No one could possibly be doing that to Ace. Not Ace. How could anyone look at him and want to hurt him? All she had ever seen from him was kindness and laughter. Even when he was upset with her, he was never cruel. The idea of him slowly just fading away made her stomach turn. “Fuck,” she whispered under her breath. 

As she continued scrolling through the subreddit, she occasionally jotted down new discoveries about Lydia and when she released certain books. Any other aliases were also written down, she’d try them all to see if it gave her any sort of power over Lydia. She glanced back at the clock and saw it read three in the morning. She grumbled. She was definitely going to be in rough shape at soccer camp tomorrow and opted to just pull an all nighter. This time she searched displays at current galleries. She didn’t find anything pottery related as much as she hoped she would. He’d never explicitly told her he did pottery, but she could figure out as much based on the way he always smelled of clay. Part of her longed to see some of his work. See something more personal to him. See some of the parts of himself he wasn’t free to share. She’d found some that were sold to local businesses that Lydia’s name seem to be very vaguely connected with. The one that spoke to her most had vaguely moon-like designs across it. Thinking it could possibly be something Ace made only stung. 

She was a leanan-sidhe. She had to be. He was an artist and she was his “amazing” muse. The thought of the word amazing describing Lydia as amazing only caused her to dramatically roll her heavy eyes. She poured herself another mug of coffee and cupped it carefully. What exactly did that mean for Sammy? She had only the vaguest of notions what being a leanan-sidhe meant. Some books called them some type of succubus. Others called them muses. The more disturbing ones said they kept the bodies of their victims to keep them looking young. She slammed the lid to her laptop down. No. No no no. Absolutely not. Ace wouldn’t become a body. She’d go to a real source. She’d figure this out and he’d be free to live his life. 

Maybe he’d even stay. She’d be lying if sometimes her mind didn’t drift to a daydream of them working side by side on their crafts every time she smelled him. Her mind could so easily smell the clay and sawdust filling the air. It was a good dream and the only way it could come true was if she managed to somehow break him free from Lydia. Her heart was thudding quickly in her chest, worry filling her, but the click of a door open broke her away from her thoughts. She quickly wiped her eyes, unsure of when tears even began to fill them, and flipped the pages in her notebook. No need to get Layla or Ulf involved in this. Not yet, anyhow.

[newstfionline]

Iraqi Christians return to territory liberated from ISIS with hope, trepidation

Ulf Laessing, Reuters, April 14, 2017

With the Islamic State expelled, Iraqi Christians are trickling back to the ransacked town of Qaraqosh, beset by anxiety for their security and yet hopeful they can live in friendship with Muslims of all persuasions.

The town, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the battlefront with Islamic State in the northern city of Mosul, shows why Christians have mixed feelings about the future of their ancient community.

In the desecrated churches of Qaraqosh, Christians are busy removing graffiti daubed by the Sunni Muslim militants during two and a half years of control--only for new slogans to have appeared, scrawled by Shi’ite members of the Iraqi forces fighting street to street with the jihadists in Mosul.

But nearby a shopkeeper is doing a brisk trade to Christians, Sunnis, Shi’ites and Kurds alike, with this kind of commerce perhaps offering a glimpse of how Iraq’s fractured communities could again live together peacefully.

Encouraged by security checkpoints and patrols by a volunteer force, up to 10 Christian families have returned to what used to be the minority’s biggest community in Iraq until Islamic State seized it in 2014.

Iraqi forces pushed the group out of Qaraqosh in October, part of a six-month offensive to retake Mosul. But residents are worried that the Shi’ite slogans signal a new kind of sectarian division.

“We are afraid of this, of tensions,” said Girgis Youssif, a church worker.

“We want to live in peace and demand security,” said Mr. Youssif, who returned after fleeing to Erbil, about 60 km (about 37 miles) away in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Shi’ites in the Iraqi government forces and paramilitary groups, mostly from further south in the country, have scribbled such slogans on buildings all over Mosul, too.

Soldiers have also hoisted the flag of Ali in the city and on their on military vehicles. Shi’ites regard Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed, and the prophet’s grandson Hussein as his true successors.

Two Shi’ite flags also fly over Qaraqosh.

Most Sunnis, who are the dominant community in Mosul, have shrugged off the Shi’ite slogans as the work of a handful of religious zealots but Christians take them as a signal that their future remains uncertain.

Those families who have returned to Qaraqosh--once home to 50,000 people--are trying to revive Christian life dating back two millennia. However, most stay only two or three days at a time to refurbish their looted and burnt homes.

“We want to come back but there is no water and power,” said Mazam Nesin, a Christian who works for a volunteer force based in Qaraqosh but has left his family behind in Erbil.

Numbers of Christians in Iraq have fallen from 1.5 million to a few hundred thousand since the violence which followed the 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein. Many Baghdad residents who could not afford to go abroad went to Qaraqosh and other northern towns where security used to be better than in the capital, rocked by sectarian warfare after the US-led invasion.

But with the arrival of Islamic State, residents abandoned their homes with some applying for asylum in Europe. Germany alone took in 130,000 Iraqis, among them many Christians, in 2015 and 2016. But most ended up in Erbil with relatives or in homes paid for by aid agencies.

Supermarkets and restaurants remain closed in Qaraqosh, with windows smashed and burnt furniture strewn across floors.

One of the few businesses to have reopened is Steve Ibrahim’s alcohol shop in the town center; in the absence of cafes it has become a meeting point for local people.

They lost everything when Islamic State, known by its enemies as Daesh, wrecked their business. Now they have invested about $400 to refurbish the shop--new tiles shine on the walls--and customers are coming from beyond the town and from across the communities.

“I sell drinks to Christians and Muslims alike,” he said. “Many people come from Mosul or other towns.”

Many of Ibrahim’s customers ignore Islam’s forbidding of alcohol consumption. Whether more Christians can live permanently in Qaraqosh depends on whether the security forces win their trust.

Army and police have tried to ease fears by stationing soldiers in front of churches, and even helping Christian volunteers to set up a massive cross at the town’s entrance.

On Palm Sunday last weekend, soldiers escorted a procession in preparation for Easter, Christianity’s most important festival, and provided chairs for worshippers during Mass.

Some Christian policemen joined in, singing “Hallelujah” with civilians. But walking along rows of burnt out homes and supermarkets, others were still afraid.

[ulfie-by-osmosis]

remake of an old piece

(Please do not post as your own.) (Please do not use without permission.)

[ulfie-by-osmosis]

The Man Who Would Be King, written + dir. Ben Edlund

-watercolours and coloured pencils note: wincesties dni (x)

[ulfie-by-osmosis]

A rough watercolour painting of S6 Raphael my beloved - was gonna post this yesterday for @spnarchangelweek but forgot it was elsewhere :P The first one is a scan of the original thing, the second one is an edit I made for funsies because I cannot get enough of Raphael.

[Please do not use without permission] [Please do not repost as your own]

[ulfie-by-osmosis]

the mish who would be king

[ulfie-by-osmosis]

that scene from On the Head of a Pin for the homies that want a painting reference. this is just a photo edit, so feel free to use it for whatever without credit.

[ulfie-by-osmosis]

Not really satisfied with how this came out, but I can always resketch (and at least the idea isn’t lost in the depths of my brain) - ignore the timestamp <3

[Please do not use without permission] [Please do not repost as your own]

[artmagenta]

Great tit. (Z1566)

[thelastranger]

Tracking Down Ulf

For Ulf, there's no dramatic place to find him like the bowels of Skandia for Stig and Hal or guy to track down like for Lydia. It's as simple as finding the address Ulf had scribbled on a scrap of paper that Jesper had laying around on his messy desk and knocking on the apartment door hours later.

Someone calls out a lazy "come in" in response and Jesper pushes open the door, noting an elaborate lock and alarm system, one that Ulf could break into in a minute. The apartment is wide and airy, though little sunlight comes through the windows. The white walls and open floor plan only accentuate the massive amount of colorful art pieces that are tossed haphazardly around. There's marble statues, copies of various state declarations, and a piece that Jesper swears is a Pollock. 

Ulf is lazing about on his sofa, in an apartment that is too big for one person, but he gets up when he sees his friend. 

"Jesper!" The two men hug and slap each other on the back. Ulf takes a step back and looks Jesper up and down. "You seem to have been doing quite fine for yourself, huh?"

Jesper can't contain his grin. "Speak for yourself. What type of painting is that? Picasso? Monet?"

Ulf gives a modest shrug that Jesper knows all too well conceals a smug celebration under it. "I earn a decent living."

"I'll say. Where'd you get that piece?" 

"Bought it from an eccentric collector who felt it was worth a fortune." Given that Ulf is a master forger, Jesper highly doubts that this piece is anything but an Ulf original and he's proud of his friend for that.

"What all do you know about the Hallasholm Museum of Natural History?" askes Jesper as he settles into the puffy armchair Ulf waved at. Ulf brightens at the question. 

"There's this brilliant forgery of some ancient king's letters that no one has noticed yet and whoever did it is my hero. Medieval forgers were top level; wish I could've met the guy. They've also got some great lock systems there."

"How do you feel about jewels?" 

"I'm more of an art man myself but I may know someone who could do it," Here Ulf paused, choosing his words carefully and keeping his face deliberately blank. "I assume that's what you're asking."

"Oh it is." 

Ulf glances to the back of the room where there's a door at the side. "Whatever you need, you know you can get it from me." A beat passes and Ulf nods as if to reaffirm his statement. Jesper appreciates the candidness from his old friend and he knows it's time to wrap up this visit so the magic could get started. 

"I'm going to need replicas of these jewels. And your expertise in lock picking of course." A piece of paper was handed to Ulf and he whistled at the sight. 

"It'll take time. That's a lot more than expected."

"You've got three weeks."

Ulf grinned. "Done."