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readyplayerhobi · 3 years

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Jung Hoseok and the Magic to Happiness | 02

; Hufflepuff Teacher!Hoseok x Reader

; Genre: Fluff, future angst, future smut

; Word Count: 6.5k

; Synopsis: An unexpected issue with your Ministry of Magic job leads to you taking the role of Transfiguration Professor at Hogwarts. It’s here that you meet your best friend’s younger brother for the first time in years, the Hufflepuff Head of House, Jung Hoseok. While you contend with seeing him once again, Hoseok tries to show you that he’s very much a man and no longer the gangly teenager you once knew.

; A/N: After almost three months of no writing...I finished this chapter :) I hope you enjoy...please leave me feedback in the form of comments or an ask. The long break has made me worry about a bit about whether people will even read my stuff anymore lol

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The next two months pass by with only a few growing pains in terms of teaching. You’d discovered pretty quickly that a group of twenty students could easily turn into pure and utter chaos. Particularly when one of them accidentally turns another into a turnip.

That had not been the best first-week experience if you were being honest.

There had been a few minutes when you’d been convinced

But you were certainly getting used to everything. It was odd being on the other side now, being the one who commanded attention from the students. You had an almost desperate need to be liked by them at first, but the other professors had quickly dissuaded you from that. They were not your friends, and you’d learnt that if you gave them an inch then they’d take a mile.

It had been pleasant though, and you were certainly enjoying everything. There was nothing better than the smile on a student’s face when they got a spell right, with the knowledge that you’d been the one to teach them that.

The comments you’d been told on your first note about the house stereotypes had also proven to be true. You’d never seen so many Slytherin’s chatting happily with Gryffindor’s and so forth. Whole friendship groups were made up of varying houses and none appeared to be left out. Nor had you seen any house related bullying as there had been in your day.

Once typical insults of a Slytherin being home to a Death Eater had vanished for the most part. The one time you had seen it, hurled by a Hufflepuff of all things, had resulted in complete outrage amongst all the students. It had warmed your heart to see the younger generations working in far better harmony than yours or your previous generations ever had.

Chaeyoung had become the equivalent of your work best friend, bringing her marking over to your office and spending time chatting happily with you. Seokjin had also become a close friend or at least as close as someone could get in only two months. The two of them were fascinating, coming from vastly different lifestyles.

Her family were practically magical royalty in France, though she’d moved to the UK whilst only a child to live with her grandparents after the deaths of her parents. As such, she’d ended up attending Hogwarts and had been in the year below Hoseok. Despite her initial French upbringing, she had no hint of an accent though she’d spouted fluent French to you when you’d queried her language abilities.

She also spoke Spanish, which had led to her initially getting a job as a translator at a magical exporting company. It had amused you thoroughly that it had been based in Devon, along the southern coast of England with France just over the narrow Channel Sea. Chaeyoung had laughed at the time, acknowledging that the mild weather was much nicer than the temperamental mistress you had to contend with here in northern Scotland.

It hadn’t proven to her liking though, and she’d soon ended up applying for the vacant History of Magic position. She’d been quick to explain that she’d taken up an extra qualification in her chosen area and that she wasn’t just randomly picked. You knew from Jisoo that muggles had a different way to education, but there were no real universities here in the wizarding world.

Chaeyoung studied hard enough and was very knowledgeable about her chosen area, so you didn’t see too much issue regarding it. And she was a popular teacher, helping to turn a subject that many would often find dull into something fun and interesting.

Seokjin, on the other hand, was older than you. He was 36, with a wife of ten years and two young sons. He’d trained in astronomy in the Ministry and had brought his skills to Hogwarts three years ago. You’d ended up bonding together over your dual experiences in the Ministry; both lamenting over the different departments and positions you’d had yet the same bureaucratic headaches.

He was a joyful sort with a smile always on his face for you and his students along with a genuine passion for the stars and the universe. You knew that he made it a goal to read much of what the muggles were doing, his fascination with the fact that they’d been to space bordering on an almost obsession.

It was no surprise to you that these have been the two that you had ended up so close with. Both had the experience of working outside of Hogwarts and that seemed to make you all different from the other professors. Everyone else had interned here immediately after finishing before taking on their chosen role.

Jimin came from a long line of auror wizards and witches that stretched back centuries. This meant that he had extensive knowledge of the Dark Arts inherited from their wise teachings. His mother and father still worked in the Ministry, which meant that he’d slipped into the Defence Against the Dark Arts position with ease.

Which was a good thing as it had remained an awkward position after the Second Wizarding War. It was a role that was often hard to fill as some many witches and wizards felt that it would be best to ignore that the Dark Arts even existed. If no one knew about the Dark Arts, and all the horrific violence and devastation that had occurred with them, then there wouldn’t be any need to defend it.

That was, of course, a most ridiculous idea and Hogwarts had firmly resisted any such attempts to whitewash both the history and the concept of the Dark Arts. By not acknowledging what happened, and teaching to both understand why it happened alongside how to protect against it, then it would just happen again.

But it remained an exceptionally unpopular position due to the intimate knowledge of the Dark Arts required. To know how best to protect against the Dark spells, you had to know what the Dark spells were.

You had experienced at least three professors during your tenure as a student.

That had all changed five years ago though when Park Jimin had finally taken over when his predecessor had packed it all in to go and study the famous dragons in Romania. The handsome silver-haired professor was young, but he had won over the staff of the prestigious school with his astonishingly good spellwork.

The fact that he had also made short work of their hearts was because he was also incredibly good looking, much to his benefit when it came to dating you were sure.

Jimin wasn’t just a pretty face though; he was the best dueller in the school. From what you’d been told, he had yet to be bested. Which honestly, was to be expected from someone with such a prestigious bloodline as his.

But not only that, he’d proven to be sweet and kind to his students with a backbone of steel as well. While there may be no true bad blood between houses now, Slytherin still garnered an air of suspicion from other houses even to this day.

Given the preponderance of dark witches and wizards that the house had produced over the years, it was a well-earnt suspicion, unfortunately. Still, you didn’t believe that the bad decisions and choices made by people long ago should have any bearing on your current students; all of them born long after those terrible events.

Jimin had proven to be an excellent example of why you should never stereotype people based on what others had done. In your opinion, he was an exceptional teacher and had taken on the helm of the Defence Against the Dark Arts role with the clear mindset of not only helping to protect his students but also to try and prevent them from making poor choices.

It was a tough subject to teach as it meant constantly walking a narrow line while also steering students true through narrow and murky waters. There were plenty of students who might find themselves a little too fascinated in the concept of the Dark Arts, after all.

According to Chaeyoung, Jimin tried to combat this by making sure to teach them about the history of the Dark Arts. From what you understood, he held no punches in making sure they all knew the horrific acts of murder and sacrifice that had been committed to preventing students from romanticising a dark part of wizarding history.

Not only that, but he made sure to teach about the most infamous dark wizards in history; the Death Eaters and Voldemort. This was all to ensure that they did not repeat the mistakes of the past. He took his role seriously, whether it was through spellwork or simply enriching the minds.

Despite his relative youth, you’d come to know him as passionate and hard-working with a true love for his students. Whether they be in Slytherin or Gryffindor. It was just one of the many things that you had come to grow to love about Hogwarts in your short time here so far, the way the school had adapted and grown so quickly.

Hogwarts was a castle that had been built from stone carved centuries ago and housed ancient treasures of the wizarding world, but the Battle of Hogwarts had been a turning point for many. No longer did it constantly look at the past with pure pride, and to many - ignorance, but instead looked to the future as well.

It sought to teach well-rounded wizards and witches that would enrich the community. Which meant it had attempted to modernise itself as much as it could. Of course, it didn’t match the sparkling modernity of steel and technology that the muggle world had developed over the last two centuries but it was improving itself and working to develop new magics that would mirror some of the advancements that the muggles had made.

Perhaps the only thing you’d found a little awkward to embrace was teaching itself. You’d been eager to begin but had quickly realised that teaching was much more complicated than you’d imagined. For all of the good things that Hogwarts was doing lately, it seemed odd to you that they didn’t even bother teaching their professors to teach.

A few discussions with some of the others had revealed that they also had this issue when they’d started. It seemed to have been easier for those who hadn’t spent too much time away from the school after they’d graduated but it had been a long time since you’d been schooled here. Teaching methods had changed and you’d struggled to maintain a healthy balance of actually teaching, answering questions to help students, having open hours to encourage students who were struggling to have extra tuition and finding time to mark the essays that you handed out.

In short, it had been a very steep learning curve for yourself. Thankfully, your students had given you the benefit of the doubt, which meant they’d been very accepting of any mistakes you’d made. You’d also worked with the other professors to establish a good teaching plan for each of your lessons while also cross-referencing to ensure students weren’t loaded with too much homework.

It was more work than you’d expected, which made you understand how naive you’d been. But you found it to be satisfying work and the reward of seeing students learn and retain their knowledge throughout their lessons was better than anything you’d done in your previous job. And that was to say nothing about the pure wonder and joy on the faces of the first-year students when you had begun their education.

Underlying all of your experiences so far though was one Jung Hoseok. Whilst you’d become quick friends with Seokjin and Chaeyoung, Hoseok was a strange enigma to you. He was friendly and always willing to help you whenever you got confused over something or were feeling a little stressed.

His job as the Care of Magical Creatures professor meant that you rarely saw him during school hours. A large portion of his time was spent outside in the Forbidden Forest or in the custom-built buildings that housed many of the fantastical creatures that he cared for. You knew that he did have a classroom though. It wasn’t anywhere near yours but it held a lot of the smaller creatures that didn’t do so well in the Scottish climate.

Hoseok’s commitment to his job was commendable as he often spent a lot of hours outside. Which meant that as the months slowly shifted to winter, he was finding himself in the cold and rain a lot more often than not.

More than once, you’d spotted him outside when peeking through one of your classroom windows and noted him completely drenched as the rain poured down. It made you cringe each time you saw it, knowing that his robes would be heavy with water. But he never complained about it, even though he was the only professor who also had to work on the weekends.

On top of that, he was also busy with being the Head of Hufflepuff. From what you understood from your talks with Jimin, it meant always being available outside of learning hours for his House students. Whether they wanted to talk about a problem they had or simply needed advice, he was there to help them with whatever they needed.

It also meant that he had to attend every Quidditch game, and you wondered how he managed to cope with such a full schedule. You felt exhausted after a week of just your normal work but knowing how much extra he put in was mind-blowing.

Despite this though, you’d noticed over time that Hoseok always made sure to be present for every meal in the Great Hall. And much like the first meal you’d shared at the top table, he always sat next to you. You hadn’t thought anything of it until Seokjin had casually mentioned one day while you’d been at Hogsmeade with him and Chaeyoung that he’d never sat in that place before.

His old spot was actually on the other side of the table, next to Taehyung and Jimin. Seokjin hadn’t even thought anything of his comment but it had caused you to pause, wondering why Hoseok had felt the need to change his position. At the time, you’d simply shrugged and pointed out that you’d known him when he was younger and that his sister was your best friend.

It only made sense that he wanted to be there to help you out and make sure you were okay.

But that excuse started to falter when you thought about the fact that he never mentioned Jisoo to you. Hoseok didn’t mention anything of the past that you both shared. Instead, he would talk about Hogwarts now and your jobs or ask about what life was like at the Ministry when you’d been there. Those topics often led off onto little tangents and you’d both find yourselves chattering away with each other as the meals went on.

The others would get involved too when they could, but there was something...singular about Hoseok’s focus. And that was to say nothing of how he always made sure to walk you back to your quarters after dinner. There was never much talk that happened then, instead, the two of you simply enjoyed the architecture and decoration of Hogwarts as you found different ways to get back, the company exquisite in its silence.

A comfortable silence that you hadn’t found with many other people.

Chaeyoung was convinced that Hoseok liked you. You’d tried to debunk that theory by pointing out that he’d fancied you when he was younger and it was probably just the allure of an older girl who was more accessible to him than others. You were always around given your friendship with his sister and he’d probably just transferred his teenage hormones onto you at the time.

If anything, he was probably embarrassed about how obvious he was back then. Poor Hoseok had never been subtle in anything.

Despite your defence, Chaeyoung had simply given you a look that you hadn’t been able to interpret. Nor did you understand the subtle glances and smirks that she exchanged with Seokjin whenever Hoseok sat next to you at the dining table. It was like there was a silent conversation happening between the two of them about you, only you weren’t included in it.

Thankfully, you weren’t the type of person to be too influenced by other’s thoughts and opinions. So you didn’t let Chaeyoung’s opinion on the subject impact upon your burgeoning friendship with Hoseok. So even though there was a voice in the back of your mind telling you that there was something more, you ignored it and chose not to ruin the fledgeling friendship you had.

You’d felt a sense of relief though that Chaeyoung had been too busy with marking papers to attend dinner last night, which meant that she hadn’t been able to overhear your conversation with Hoseok last night. The two of you had been discussing his lesson plans for the next few weeks and what creatures his students were going to be studying.

He’d suddenly gotten an odd look on his face before grinning. If there was one thing you had learnt upon being back at Hogwarts, it was that Hoseok’s smile was perhaps one of the prettiest things you’d ever seen. Which was why you’d smiled back at him immediately, even though you had no idea what he was so happy about.

But he hadn’t made you wait and had instead asked if you were tonight. You’d acknowledged it and confusion had been written all over your face but he’d just given an enigmatic shrug. All he’d said after that was to meet him at the entrance of the Forbidden Forest an hour after dinner.

Which was why you were now standing in the dark. Your robes were wrapped tightly around you but it did nothing to stop the way you shivered, jaw tight as a cold wind rushed through the trunks of the trees before you. Part of you wanted to run back to the castle if only to grab your winter coat, but you didn’t want to look like you’d stood Hoseok up.

Though you did wish he’d turn up quicker rather than later.

Huddling under your cloak more, you clasped the edges together with your hands and pushed it up to cover your mouth and nose. It didn’t do a whole lot against the cold, but it was better than being exposed to it. Even though the wind wasn’t strong, it was still enough to cause your robes to flap, the sound loud against the quiet of the grounds.

The only other sound right now was the wind as it howled through the Forbidden Forest, making the already dark and ominous area look even scarier. Even though you were now an adult, there was an underlying fear of the forest before you. Perhaps it was because it had been firmly ingrained in you as a student that this area was off-limits or something.

Still, you wouldn’t want to go walking around in it on your own anytime soon.

The sight of the trees suddenly moving ahead of you made you gasp quietly, body freezing in position as you squinted to try and see what it had been. You knew that the forest was full of many magical creatures; not all of them gentle and kind.

Swallowing hard, you stayed in place to try and avoid attention, gaze skittering around as you tried to find that shape once more. A branch cracking caused you to flinch, your hands tightening into fists around the material of your cloak and you had to clench your jaw to stop any noise from escaping.

The black shape formed once more ahead of you and you almost shrieked in fright, getting ready to run away until you saw a sudden flash of brighter colour. Frowning, you let your hands unclasp themselves until you realised it was a yellow scarf and realisation flooded through your body.

“Bloody hell!” You cursed, the syllables being spat with indignation. Hoseok looked up in surprise, his own eyes widening in surprise before concern etched itself onto his face when he saw the dual outrage and fear on you. Striding forward, you met him just as he was about to cross over the boundary of the trees onto the grounds of the castle and poked at this chest, a scowl on your face.

“You didn’t think to warn me you were going to be coming from the forest! Merlin’s beard, I almost ran away because I was afraid it was something that was going to hurt me.” Hissing at him, you realised belatedly that you had to look up to him to do this. Damn him and his growth spurt.

Still, he at least had the decency to look a little sheepish.

“Sorry, I didn’t think it might seem a little scary. I was just coming back from checking on the centaurs; I haven’t been able to meet them in a while and wanted to see if they were okay.” His explanation was logical but it still made you scowl.

“Why aren’t you carrying a light or something?! Do you always just gallivant around the Forbidden Forest in the dark? Aren’t there dangerous things here?” You pepper him with the questions quickly, each one causing his brow to rise higher incrementally. It’s a good job that it’s dark because you don’t notice the way the corner of his lips quirks up in amusement at your tirade.

“I don’t use one in there, not normally. I know my way around very well. I have worked in this forest for years now. But I do have lanterns dotted around in case I need one and I can always use a lumos spell, like now. I figured you wouldn’t want to journey in the dark.” At that, he pulls his wand out of a pocket in his robes and mutters the spell, the tip lighting up with bright white.

Narrowing your eyes at the sudden influx of light, you’re momentarily startled by just how handsome Hoseok looks in the light. It casts an almost blue glow to him, his normally sun-kissed skin looking paler than you’ve ever seen it before. The shadows on his face only serve to highlight the sharp angles of his features while his eyes almost glitter.

It’s only then that you realise you’re staring, quickly averting your gaze away and focusing them on your hands instead. At that moment, another harsh wind blows through and you shiver in response, your shoulders lifting as you try to curl in on yourself.

Gripping your cloak once more, you’re too distracted to notice what Hoseok is doing. The only sign is the light going a little wonky for a few moments before you’re startled by the sudden feeling of softness on your neck.

Letting out a small ‘eep’ of surprise, you jerk away only to see Hoseok staring at you with wide eyes, his scarf no longer wrapped around his neck and instead being held out to you. The Hufflepuff colours look washed out in the odd light and you pause, giving him a confused look as you glance between the scarf and him.

Brows raised, he lifts the item before giving you a slow smile. “You’re cold. You can wear this if you want. It’s not as chilly in the forest but I don’t want you to get poorly because of it. I should have warned you, sorry.”

It seems like all he’s done is apologise so far and it makes you feel bad, causing you to nod your head and take the scarf from him. Wrapping it around your neck, you immediately feel a little warmer and you can’t help but take a deep inhale of the scent woven into the soft fibres. It’s a more concentrated form of what you get to smell every meal time; citrus and something with a slight hint of spice.

For a second, you wonder if it’s a cologne it’s bought himself or if perhaps it’s something a woman bought for him. It suits him, either way.

“Are you ready? You don’t have to come if you’re feeling uncomfortable or anything…” Hoseok trails off, biting his lip in an almost nervous way that makes you feel a little odd. Pushing the thought away, you hum and glance behind him into the forest. Your curiosity was too much and so you nodded firmly, giving him a gentle smile before gesturing for him to start walking.

Without another word, he turns around and begins to walk once more. You notice casually that he’s following a path cut into the forest, the ground level and even compared to the wildness all around you. Alongside the sound of your boots on the dirt, you realise that there are a few other noises all around you.

The gentle hoot of an owl is overwhelmed by a shriek far away, causing a chill to run up your spine. Shuffling forward a little quicker, you almost reach out to Hoseok as a tinge of fear takes over. As if he can tell, he turns around and gives you a concerned look.

“What was that?” Whispering, you glance around and wonder if you should talk loudly. Hoseok looks in the same direction as you do before shrugging slightly.

“Could be anything. This forest is full of creatures, both magical and mundane. Might be a bat or could be something else. Don’t worry though, there’s not usually anything dangerous around this part of the forest. It’s too close to the edge and the creatures that can do the most harm prefer to remain deep within the forest.” It’s almost casual the way he slows to walk alongside you, giving you the safety of his presence but you notice it all the same.

Not that you comment on it, of course. But you appreciate it nonetheless.

Giving him a noncommittal sound, you continue until he takes a sudden turn off the path. The forest floor is dense with foliage and tree roots, causing you to trip a few times. Hoseok helps you along, reaching you to hold your arm to keep you upright when you trip over one too many roots and you get the sense he’s enjoying this.

Maybe it’s because he lets out a soft chuckle when you swear loudly, scowling down at the deeply embedded rock that you’d accidentally kicked. Despite the fact your best friend’s little brother is leading you deep into a scary, dark forest, you don’t feel any concern about him. What could be in the forest, sure, but not him.

He gives off a sense of security that surprises you. All those years ago, Hoseok had been the perfect example of an annoying little brother to Jisoo. Always irritating her and doing things with the sole purpose of being a pain, which in turn meant doing those things to you as well. But now he seemed dependable and you got the sense that you’d want him with you if anything bad happened.

“Okay, we’re almost there. Now, I need you to stay very calm and don’t make any large or sudden movements. You might scare her.” Staring at him in alarm, you suddenly realise that you’ve not even questioned what he’s wanting to show you. Not that he’d have told you, you’re positive of that, but his instructions make you feel a little uneasy.

Upon seeing your face in the light of his wand, he gives a small smile and rests his hand on your arm reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, I promise, you’re going to like this. You’ll understand what I mean.” Frowning at him, you watch as he starts forward once more and realise he’s heading into a little clearing. Sighing deeply, you realise that you don’t want to stand there on your own so you follow him slowly, almost hesitant to see whatever he’s bringing you to.

You swear, if it’s one of those obscenely large spiders that’s supposed to live in this forest then you’re going to jinx him with something he’ll still be suffering from in a year.

The clearing is small and almost circular, though the position of some trees makes it seem a little broken in places. Long grass that is almost bouncy cushions your feet and you wonder if flowers would grow in the daylight, the canopy of trees above broken and allowing more sky through than elsewhere.

During the day it would get a lot of sunlight, but at the moment you couldn’t help staring in awe at the moon as it glowed brightly, it’s full body visible against the black of the sky. A few stars twinkled serenely alongside it, looking peaceful and creating a beautiful image.

A pale, ghostly colour catches your attention from the corner of your eye and you find yourself pressing to Hoseok a little closer. His back is strong and solid against your hands as you tense in concern, peeking around him to try and catch what it was.

What you see causes you to gasp out loud, letting go of Hoseok’s robes abruptly as you take a wide step away from him to get a better view.

Long, sinewy legs move through the forest in an almost dainty manner, picking their way through the undergrowth with care and precision. There’s almost no sound as the creature moves towards the clearing, only the softest rustle of leaves that can’t be avoided. It’s fascinating how quietly it can move given its size and you wonder if it’s some magical ability that allows that.

Within moments, the shape coalesces into a clearer image as it passes through the edge of the trees on the other side of the clearing. A silver coat practically glows under the moonlight, giving the creature an ethereal feel that makes you feel that it’s not even real. That you’re just seeing an apparition instead of a real animal.

The horn on its head is long and spiralling, ending in a deadly point while the pale white mane and tail flow in elegant waves towards the ground. Golden hooves paw softly at the grass, glinting slightly.

A unicorn.

“Merlin’s beard…” You whisper, pressing a hand to your mouth before looking at Hoseok. “A unicorn...that’s a unicorn!”

They were rare creatures, even rarer now due to being hunted over the centuries by both muggles and wizards. Muggles thought them a myth now while you knew the rumour of the powerful properties that unicorn blood had. You hadn’t even known the Forbidden Forest had unicorns in them.

“It is. I haven’t named her, seems a little wrong to name her. They normally don’t really like men but I found her when she was injured two years ago. She was dying and I helped nurse her back to health. Unicorns have great memories and we’ve kind of become...friends? Or as much of a friend as you can be to one.” He finishes, smiling as he watches the unicorn snort almost in agreement.

Her eyes are a deep black in the moonlight but you note they look almost friendly and kind. Hoseok’s hand on your back pushes you forward slightly, causing you to start and look back at him with wide eyes.

“Move slowly...hold your hand out to her so she can see it and smell it. Be careful and like I said...no sudden moves. You’re a woman so she’s more likely to accept you anyway, but she’ll let you know if she’s not happy.” Gulping, you nod and take a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, you try to stop the trembling in your limbs.

Whether it’s from excitement at finally getting to see your favourite magical creature in the flesh or fear of being gored to death by that dangerous horn, you don’t know. But you follow Hoseok’s words, trusting him to be right.

Slowly, you walk forwards with your hand out, palm side up. Each step you take, you stare intently at the body of the unicorn to try and catch any movement that might be viewed as hostile. Given she had four legs, there was no way you could outrun her but you’d at least like to say you had a head start.

Despite your worry, she makes no threatening moves. If anything, she seems cautiously curious; her ears pricked forwards towards you and her eyes remaining focused solely on you. Not a muscle in her body moves, only the chilly wind blowing through her mane and tail.

Finally, you’re almost within touching distance of her. But instead of carrying on, you stop. Something inside you tells you that it’s a good idea to do that, to let her come to you and accept you. So you remain standing there with your palm held out to her, watching her closely.

Nostrils slightly darker than the rest of her body flare wide a few times, likely taking in as much air as she can to smell you. It isn’t enough though and she slowly extends her neck out, her refined head stretching out until you can feel the hotness of her breath. Not moving, you let her investigate until finally, she takes one careful step forward and presses the velvety softness of her muzzle into your hand.

Smiling, you let her increase the pressure before turning your hand and gently stroking her. There’s a moment of almost curiosity in her eyes, not that you can tell what a unicorn is feeling, before she lets out a huff of air and leans her head into your touch, obviously enjoying the feeling.

Your smile turns into a wide grin as you run your hand along her face slowly, letting her get used to the feel of you before you gently scratch at her chin. Almost instantly her ears flatten and you feel a pang of panic, but she just lifts her head and lets out a nicker of contentment, giving you a better position.

“She likes you.” You hear from beside you, and you turn to see Hoseok patting the unicorn’s neck.

Turning away from you momentarily, the mare lets out a soft whinny as she looks behind her into the forest. Frowning, you crane your head to try to see what she’s looking at. Soft footfalls being and you look at Hoseok in confusion, tilting your head at the sight of his grin.

Before you can ask him what’s going on, there’s a high pitched neigh and the mare turns her head back to you, butting at your hand gently. Glancing to her side, your jaw drops once more and you can’t help but squeal lightly.

A foal is standing next to her, it’s coat fluffy with baby fur and a beautiful golden that contrasts completely from its mother. There’s no horn on its head, only a tiny nub that will one day grow long and tall. Gangly legs look too long for its body and the short, fuzzy tail make you coo in delight as it flicks it from side to side eagerly, those big eyes staring at you as it almost dances in place.

Looking at its mum, you almost ask for the permission with a hand raised in the foal's direction and you could swear the unicorn almost nods. Slowly, you move towards the foal and stroke along its short neck, marvelling at how soft and fluffy it is. The foal snorts, its entire body wobbling from the movement and you giggle in delight, completely awed by the sight of them both.

“She had this foal only a month ago, so he’s still pretty small. But he’s a sweetheart and so friendly. As you probably know, he’ll keep that gold coat for two years before paling out to silver.” Hoseok says casually, still stroking the mare and smiling at her fondly.

For a few minutes, you’re too busy playing with the foal to pay attention to his words but they finally sink in.

“What do you mean, as you probably know?” Neither of you had discussed unicorns so far during your mealtime talks, so you didn’t know why he’d think that. Sure, you’d been taught about unicorns in school but that had been so long ago and it hadn’t even been a full class on them.

Your love of them had meant you’d learnt much more about them, absorbing all the information you could find in books when you were a teenager. The fact that you were finally standing here, stroking not only a unicorn but also her foal was something that you’d always wished you could do. Given how rare they were though, you’d never expected it to happen.

“Well, they’re your favourite magical creature, right? Or they were, anyway.” He frowns slightly, unsure if he’s got something wrong and you simply stare at him for a moment.

Had he remembered that from when you’d been at Hogwarts? Given your love of them, it was only natural that he’d known about them back then given how often you’d spent time at his house to have sleepovers with Jisoo. But you’d have thought he’d have forgotten all about that by now.

Jisoo didn’t even remember this as you’d both grown over the years, the obsession of teenagers mellowing out. Unicorns remained your favourite magical creature, but you didn’t hold that deep passion that you did back then. The fact that Hoseok had remembered stunned you into silence for a moment though, causing you to frown down at the foal.

“Yeah...yeah, they are. I...I mean...thank you. For remembering and showing me this, this is amazing. I’ll never forget this, Hoseok.” You’re not entirely sure how to thank him properly, because you don’t know of anyone else who could show you a unicorn like this.

Before you can say anything else or Hoseok can respond, you’re both distracted by the way the foal lets out a squeal and butts his head into you lightly before jumping away. Taken aback, you watch him for a moment for he does it again, his impossibly slim legs wobbling slightly as he trips on a rock.

“He wants you to play,” Hoseok says softly, smiling as he watches you both. Glancing to him, you raise a brow before grinning back at the baby unicorn. Tilting your head at him, you purse your lips before jumping forward and raising your hands in claw motions. Almost immediately, the foal leaps forward before darting back to you and you giggle, already planning your next move.

Yeah, okay, you might be thirty-three years old...but you were going to play with the baby unicorn.

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littlehollyleaf · 5 years

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Your Riddler Oracle Au (that you will never write) seriously sounds amazing. You could even add the tragedy kink in with Eddie becoming more and more enticed with the dark side (a 'personal trap' (description stolen from Norman Bates) because of his abusive upbringing) and both Batman and Foxy end up worrying about him as he slips more and more. Kinda like a telltale thing with John Doe, but dealing with Foxy way more, because of the years of love they had. Sorry, too much nerding of your au. 8P

(Au anon being overly annoying over here) it can even include Eddie becoming somewhat enamored with Ozzie, or the idea of Ozzie, similar to that Harley Quinn parallel post you put up earlier. Basically tempting that part of his mind to the dark side.

HI ANON I AM FINALLY REPLYING!

Firstly I just - god bless you for being so excited about my daydream ramblings

I ramble more OVER HERE with more AU thoughts/plotting that touches on Ed being tempted by darkness a little. Cos in my scenario I imagine him still trying/wanting to kill Tom Doughty - it’s just lucky that Foxy stops him in time. Plus I’d keep the whole bit with Eddie in Arkham torturing Bruce and Foxy, so he’d be tapping into his darker, slightly sadistic desires there (though in my scenario I picture him being influenced/brainwashed by Hugo into doing that - which, hi hi, has now been stolen as a plot by the show perhaps?? :p).

In the link above I stop my imagining at the end of S02, but listen... I HAVE SO MANY MORE FOXMA CANON-AU IDEAS, FOR REAL. IT KEEPS ME ENTERTAINED DURING BORING DAYS OKAY??

So, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, but you inspired me to write them down.

Please forgive me for the insanely extensive ramble!

So, as I hint in the link, I was thinking -

S03 Eddie as Chief of Staff to Ozzie plot al a canon

For purposes of ~drama I like to daydream that Eddie is on compulsory sick leave from the GCPD because whatever Hugo did to him at Arkham has been fucking him up a little - causing him to have violent episodes, hallucinations..... basically I guess the mental break that happened after he killed Tom in canon

Foxy has been the wonderful, caring, loving, supportive boyfriend we all know he would be and helping Ed as best he can through all this

Oh they are also totally living together now

But Ed is scared to talk to Foxy about all the dark impulses that Hugo’s tinkering has brought to light in him because Foxy is (so he thinks) all pure and stuff and Ed doesn’t want to burden him or risk scaring Foxy away

Plus Ed is going crazy not being able to work

So one day when he turns up at the GCPD trying to convince Jim to let him come back and is refused (politely and with sympathy) he just SNAPS and RAGE QUITS and stomps out... only to be found moping on the sidewalk a while later by Ozzie

Now Ozzie, like in canon, has grown rather fond of Ed due to Ed nursing him back to health after being shot by Galavan and ofc in this world from Eddie going to visit him in Arkham and then trying to save him from Hugo

So on learning that Ed has been, so Ozzie spins it, ‘fired’ for being ‘violent’ or whatever, Ozzie immediately offers Ed a job helping in his Mayoral campaign

Probably Ed and Ozzie end up having a little chat about violent impulses and the like too, because it’s easier to talk to an infamous violent criminal about such things than it is with a seemingly innocent, saintly boyfriend, causing Ed to immediately warm to the idea of working with Oswald and maybe by doing so being able to unburden himself of his troublesome thoughts/feelings and... maybe even find some possible outlets for them...? ie. being enticed towards darker acts like you suggest anon!

When Ed reveals this to Foxy though, Foxy is... NOT HAPPY with the idea of Ed working with a criminal like Ozzie. Partly because he does not approve of the idea of Oswald as a Mayor and partly because he fears it won’t be good for Ed’s mental health

Which leads to a HUGE FIGHT with Eddie claiming that Foxy is being unfair about Oswald and treating Ed like he’s a child who can’t make his own decisions and the more Foxy tries to explain that’s not true the worse it sounds and the madder Ed gets. Plus any defence of Ozzie is met with disdain by Foxy. Until eventually they build up to some kind of ultimatum where Foxy tells Ed that ofc he’s capable of making his own decisions, but if he agrees to work with Oswald then Foxy can’t in good conscious continue with their relationship!

So a furious Ed is just - FINE THEN! And packs up his stuff and leaves.

And you can tell that both of them regret this RIGHT AWAY - Ed hovering outside the door on the verge of returning, Foxy with his hand on the doorknob poised to go after Ed and apologise

But in a tragic twist of timing they fail to make up - just as Eddie is about to return some neighbours walk by and see him with his suitcase and he feels compelled to walk on, then just as he’s out of sight Foxy plucks up the courage to open the door only to find Ed gone, noooo

Leading to Eddie turning up at the Van Dahl mansion suitcase in hand (maybe wet too, let’s imagine it raining!) where he tells Ozzie - yes I’ll take the job, but, I also kinda need somewhere to stay...

This is where the nygmobblepot - enticement towards darkness part really comes in!

Ozzie welcomes Ed in with open arms ofc and his journey to becoming Mayor plays out pretty much as in canon, with Eddie doing his supportive stuff and dipping into ‘lightly’ criminal behaviour to do so

Ozzie completely falls for Ed along the way, makes him Chief of Staff etc.

Ed is maybe, slightly, starting to develop deeper feelings for Ozzie too... and maybe there’s a bit of a ‘rebound’ aspect to it, but maybe not... plus Ozzie HAS been constantly accepting of Ed’s ‘darkside’ without judgement, which endears him to Ed, as well as the opportunities Ozzie may have provided to allow Ed to indulge said darkness (letting Ed help with interrogations and the like)

(also a lot of the warmth we saw build between Ed and Ozzie in S02 would totally have happened here as well - so they’ve got that history)

Meanwhile Foxy has taken over Ed’s job at the GCPD and watches Ed’s advancement on the news with growing concern... but also a little pride? Because... Ed seems happy... and healthy... and... maybe Oswald isn’t doing a TERRIBLE job as Mayor? (since Foxy wouldn’t know about the ins and outs of Ozzie also running the criminal underworld and how ever more deeply involved Ed is becoming with that)

UNTIL

That fateful day Ozzie plucks up the courage to confess his feelings and Ed stops off at a liquor store to purchase a bottle of wine.......

Only ofc it’s not Isabella Ed runs into

So Ed finds Foxy while buying wine. They end up talking through the night. Both of them apologise for past behaviour. Foxy even reluctantly compliments Ozzie maybe. They both admit they miss each other. Feelings are rekindled. Kisses. They agree to try again.

Ed on learning the time, as in canon, rushes back to a frantic Ozzie and reveals that he and Foxy have decided to rekindle their romance and ISN’T IT GREAT?? :p

All the stuff about ‘second chances’ that Ed applied to Izzy in canon now fits rather nicely with him and Foxy :)

Ozzie’s jealousy progresses as in canon... to its inevitable conclusion (maybe there’s even a moment of crisis where Ed tries to break up with Foxy out of fear that he will hurt him, like he feared with Izzy, but Foxy also calms Ed’s fears... albeit without creepy cosplay... but maybe with rough sex though...? Foxy showing Ed that he’s not an innocent snowflake and can handle it if Ed needs to be a little dark...??)

OFC IN THIS SCENARIO OZZIE FAILS TO ACTUALLY KILL FOXY!

BUT - there’s a brief time where Foxy SEEMS to be dead (perhaps a mangled body was found in/by his crashed car that there is enough evidence to SUGGEST is Foxy for everyone to believe it... but actually it was a homeless man Foxy was giving a lift to a shelter or something... look you can’t expect me to think of ALL the details!)

AND OKAY HERE’S THE THING - while Ed thinks Foxy is dead, his whole development into The Riddler PLAYS OUT JUST AS IN CANON after Izzy died

So that’s - going through discovering Foxy was ‘murdered,’ blaming Butch, the whole bit with him and Tabby and the mini-guillotine, learning it was Ozzie who did it, teaming up with Babs etc against him, all the way to the docks and everything

Until we get lost and confused Ed post-Ozzie’s death going on his academic killing spree and sending riddles to the GCPD

Unhappily for Ed he only has poor Harvey to play with, since Jim is off doing important Court of Owls related plot business and Foxy is ofc unavailable

During it all Ed has some AMAZING hallucinations of BOTH OSWALD AND FOXY though... I confess I haven’t thought those through... but they DEFINITELY HAPPEN

How Harvey gets on with the chess and ‘belly of the beast’ stuff idk... maybe Lee helps... but somehow he muddles through to the finale with Eddie dangling him over the stairwell and asking his final three riddles

EXCEPT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GAME A WILD VERY MUCH ALIVE FOXY APPEARS AND BEGS ED TO STOP

Ofc Ed just thinks he’s hallucinating at first until Harvey exclaims his shock at Lucius being alive

Cue an intense, emotional conversation. Foxy, as in canon, twigs that Ed has killed Penguin. Ed counters, desperately - he killed you! Foxy is sympathetic. Loving. Reassuring Ed that he isn’t dead (he’s been in a coma listed as a John Doe or something, shhhh, details), that they can make this right

You can see Ed wants to believe this so badly... but he is torn... he’d built himself up into becoming a criminal, felt like fate had pushed him into it, he’d felt READY to be that man

How? he cries. How can we make this right? It’s not just Oswald. I’ve done things, killed people. I’ve killed people, Foxy, and I liked it!

It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, Foxy would insist. You’re still my Ed. My Riddler. Please, you don’t have to do this.

And Foxy would move closer, reaching out.

And Ed would be on the verge of taking Foxy’s hand.

...but that’s when the rope holding Harvey would snap.

And a pained Ed would shake his head and back away - I’m sorry. I’m sorry, it’s too late!

Leaving Foxy to catch a falling Harvey while Ed runs away

I’m sorry I know this is too long and ridiculous but it’s been on my mind for SO.LONG and I’ve got a whole Court of Owls bit as well

In an effort to slot this whole AU into the canon as much as I can I picture Ed going on to try and be a criminal like he does in the show - green suit, robbing three banks in one night and all that (but I’m vetoing the use of the name ‘Riddler’ at this point)

Meanwhile Foxy is, just, distraught back at the GCPD - INSISTING to Jim and everyone that Ed is not himself, that he needs help, that they need to find him, that if they just find him he can talk Ed down he promises

And Jim is sympathetic probably, reassuring Foxy that the GCPD is doing all they can, that they all care about Ed (which may or may not be stretching the truth some at this point) and will do their best to bring him in without hurting him (Kristen, who is still alive, is also on Ed’s side maybe?)

Then we’ve got Babs drawing Ed into the Court of Owls stuff

And Ed in this AU is... much more obviously conflicted about his current life choices and acting reckless/suicidal (because dramatic death seems like an easy way out of his current emotional struggles)

So, as in canon, he jumps at the chance to poke at a dangerous, secret organisation

The whole thing with the Mayor and Jim at the GCPD plays out and Jim lets the Court capture Ed (which Foxy is PISSED to learn about after the fact because W.T.F Jim you promised you would bring him in safe! why didn’t you tell me? I could have talked him out of it if I’d been there!)

Cue Ed discovering Ozzie is alive and the two of them teaming up to bust out together

Cut to Foxy returning to the GCPD late at night - he’s forgotten a file he needs, he’s been very distracted lately

Only when he enters the building he finds - ED, in full ‘not-Riddler’ outfit, sitting at one of the desks

Foxy assumes Ed has come to see him, but what he doesn’t notice is that Ed is as surprised to see him as Foxy is to find him

But before they can have a real conversation - Jim arrives

And Foxy, like, PANICS and jumps in front of Jim, yelling at Ed to run, to just go, he’ll stop Jim, Ed just needs to get out before he’s caught (Foxy has grown less enamoured of the plan to have the GCPD catch Ed since Jim let the Court take him)

Except Ed just puts a quiet hand on Foxy’s shoulder and tells Foxy he’s sweet... but actually it’s Jim he’s come to see, dun dun!

TWIST - it turns out that Ed has been WORKING WITH/FOR JIM ever since Babs approached him about the Court

Eddie had found Jim and offered to become a spy on the Court if Jim promised to clear his criminal record in return

Meaning the whole ‘letting Ed be captured by the Court’ was really a ruse Jim and Ed had concocted together to get Ed inside the Court

Brief comedy moment where Jim is all - nice to see where your priorities lie though, Lucius - about Foxy trying to help Ed escape justice :p

Foxy is all - ?????? about all this ofc. But focuses on how dangerous it was for Ed to let himself be captured by the Court

Ed just shrugs off his possible death - it’s the only way he could see to untangle himself from the criminal he’d become, to stand any chance of him and Foxy getting back to how they were

There’s a quick debrief with Jim - unfortunately Ed learnt little, only that Ozzie is still alive (which Jim already knew at this point) and that the Court are planning something big

Foxy wants to take Ed home at this point - end the whole thing. But Ed thinks he should go back to Babs etc - that he might be able to learn more while still a criminal

(also secretly Ed is still reeling over Ozzie not being dead and there is a dark part of him that very much wants to try and kill Ozzie again)

Then we have Jervis and his blood being needed to cure the virus the Court unleashes

In canon Ed helps Babs take Jervis from Jim, then Jim bargains with Ed, offering him Ozzie to get him to hand Jervis over....

I’m fuzzy on how this would work in the AU... maybe Ed actually helps figure out that Jervis’ blood is key to the cure?

...I think...he would have to NOT be involved in Babs kidnapping Jervis, because he’d WANT Jim, Foxy etc to get Jervis’ blood, WANT to help cure the virus

But Babs ends up with Jervis anyways

So in this scenario Ed calls Jim to let him know he can get him Jervis..... BUT.... in the meantime Ed has discovered Jim has Ozzie and his dark impulses get the better of him - he refuses to hand Jervis over unless Jim delivers Ozzie

He tried to kill the man I love, Jim, Ed insists.

So Jim, making very sure not to tell Foxy, agrees

We get the warehouse scene (...maybe without the hand grenade around Jervis... maybe not :p)

Followed by Ozzie knocking Ed out, the car, Ed seemingly escaping...

...and on to the second docks scene

EXCEPT EXCEPT EXCEPT

When it comes to the pivotal moment when Ed has the chance to shoot Ozzie again and get it right this time...

...HE DOESN’T

He thinks of Foxy and of the better man Foxy sees in him and realises that’s the man he wants to be

I can’t, he says. If I do this, Lucius and I are over. I can’t be this man and still be with him.

He gives Ozzie back the gun

Ozzie gives him a curious look

You really love him, don’t you?

Ed nods

Ozzie nods back, understanding. Then lifts the gun and pulls the trigger

It’s unloaded ofc - and Ozzie explains about taking out the bullets, nods to where Freeze and Ivy are appearing behind Eddie

Ed asks if Ozzie is going to kill him and Ozzie says he considered it, that he considered worse - it all depended on what Ed chose to do

But since Ed chose to spare him, Ozzie spares Ed as well and tells him to go back to the man he loves - something sappy about life only giving you one true love and Ed is lucky to have found his

Maybe Ed looks at Ozzie thoughtfully (slightly longingly?) for a moment and says something about - maybe, in another lifetime...

Cut to Foxy returning home after... helping with the virus cure... whatever he was doing at the end of S03!

Ed is waiting for him inside. In the dark, so Foxy is surprised by him when he turns on the light. Because Ed is embracing his Extraness now :p

INTENSE EMOTIONAL CONVERSATION

Foxy has discovered that Ed asked for Oswald and Jim gave him up and confronts Ed about it

Ed says he took Oswald to the docks to shoot him... but like, leaves it a little unclear for a bit what actually happened because he wants to know how Foxy would react to him having killed Ozzie, for real this time

And here’s my kicker - Foxy disapproves... but he accepts it. Is willing to still be with Ed, even knowing Ed has committed premeditated murder in what is arguably sound mind (his killing spree after Foxy’s ‘death’ being something Foxy has been justifying as a result of mental illness)

Which is, ofc, a hell of an emotional boost to Ed!

Cue angry, relieved punching when Ed reveals the truth

...some stuff with Ed insisting that he’s different now - they can’t go back to how they were, there’s a ‘darkness’ in him and that’s not going to change

Foxy telling him he understands.

Something like - this is Gotham, living here, you need some darkness in you or you won’t survive...

....some kind of fancy wordplay anyways that shows that Foxy can handle darkness and isn’t exactly all light himself

Which leads to kinky sex

THE END

only not ofc :p

because you have all of S04...

I don’t have a full plot for that, but I imagine Ed getting involved with Ozzie’s battle with Sofia somehow, because Ed withstanding torture for Ozzie and Ozzie giving up his revenge for Ed is just.... TOO GOOD and I need it to exist in this AU as well...

I have out of context ideas about Ed helping with Martin as well still, and he, Foxy AND OSWALD end up all living together with Martin for a bit (or at least Martin lives with Ed and Foxy and Ozzie comes to visit)

...which ties in to my secret Endgame Scenario where, in the midst of proper Batman times, Ozzie EVENTUALLY (after lots of criminal shenanigans) ends up going (mostly) legit and he, Eddie and Foxy develop a working poly relationship... but that’s in the far future :p

(also I’ve got a whole ~THING where Eddie finds out Foxy works for Batman - cos it’s not Foxy’s secret to tell, right? so I figure he would feel honour bound to keep the fact Bruce is Batman even from his boyfriend... only Eddie is not dumb and notices Foxy working later than he should and maybe Foxy’s excuses don’t hold up and whatnot and long story short Eddie becomes, reluctantly, convinced that FOXY MUST BE HAVING AN AFFAIR, even though it doesn’t fit his character AT ALL and by all accounts shouldn’t make sense... so anyway, yeah, he confronts Foxy, and Foxy CAN’T tell him the truth, so with Foxy refusing to explain himself Eddie is forced to conclude that his suspicions must be correct and it’s all just awkward and upsetting...

...only obviously Ed finds out the truth soon after - I keep picturing a scene where he comes upon Barbara Gordon at the GCPD (which Eddie goes back to work at fyi - teaming up with Foxy there for a bit till Foxy goes back to Wayne Enterprises). He finds her trying to hack into Batman’s radio, because she’s a fan. And because Eddie needs a distraction from his homelife (and is also a fan) he helps her and they succeed, only to listen in to Batman having a conversation WITH FOXY, leaving Ed all - ??????!

and ofc he hijacks the line and is all - FOXY THE FUCK?!

...followed by a shocked (slightly awed) - FOXY OMG ARE YOU HAVING AN AFFAIR WITH BATMAN??

to which Bruce and Lucius are both - aaaaah! wow, omg, fucking NO!

...and yeah, that’s how Ed finds out his boyfriend works for the Bat and ultimately leads to him (and Barbara) joining the team :p)

Soooo... yes... there we go. A more detailed look into my ‘Ed and Foxy were friends at uni’ foxma AU version of Gotham/Batman, including Eddie having an ongoing, complicated relationship with Oswald which involves him constantly struggling with his darker impulses and being tempted to... less than lawful/ethical/moral behaviour.

(I feel like maybe sometimes as well, when Eddie is working alongside the Bat Fam, he maybe... quietly orchestrates things so certainly particularly vile villains end up, um, ‘unalive’ ...but in ways that aren’t obviously deliberate... or maybe even occasionally, secretly teams up with Ozzie to help bump off various people...

oh shit and yeah that’s the other thing - in this AU, when Eddie becomes Oracle!Riddler... mostly I just take it as read that Ozzie 100% knows it’s him from the get go... but he just... never says anything... and even though he knows that technically he could probably go after Eddie and try and torture the identity of Batman out of him, Ozzie just... doesn’t... because - love, you know? ;p)

God this is way too long, I’m so very sorry...

#sometimes I write stuff #sometimes... I probably shouldn't #whoops!#foxma #(never been this dedicated to an AU before #they don't tend to interest me typically)#Anonymous

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modmad · 7 years

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holy shamoly there are so many things to play with here AAA (also Gladstone doesn’t have friends like OOF anon ouch right in the kokoro)- imma waffle about possibilities for a bit so feel free to read or ignore

Oh man I’m super into this thank you anon whoever you were.

This is the original from the comic scan! Regarding your observation of it not relating to marriage, I think that’s covered by the Don Rosa original explanation in Sign of the Triple Distelfink that it was designed specifically for the coming of a new child. Taking that packaged on top of the fact that it was in fact his mother who received that particular hex effect, and that Gladstone inherited it after the fact, I suspect there’s room for a shift in how the luck functions. Also this is like, happy fun duck comics land so I’m not gonna get too bogged down in technicalities (also going to talk about the theme of isolation in this later).

I do like that you pointed out it has stuff to do with familial love and is different from the symbol for friendship- that works all too well! Gladstone loves his family a lot, but even then his actual friendships with and within the family aren’t all that great! He loves Scrooge, and doubtless (deep down) Scrooge loves him, but they don’t always see eye to eye and in terms of ‘friendship’ it isn’t easy to say that they have a good relationship. Same with Donald; ultimately, they’re cousins, and would never hurt each other seriously in any way, but they fight all the time! Donald in particular is very open about the fact that he hates Gladstone, and while I don’t believe I’ve ever read Gladstone saying he hates Donald, he certainly enjoys being his rival and getting on his nerves!

The one-instead-of-three tulips is particularly laden with possibilities; with how you described them, I would say it fits Gladstone very well! Gladstone has absolute faith in his luck; in fact it’s when he doesn’t that it sometimes stops working for a time. If we take that as ‘faith in what one does’, that erases ‘faith in oneself’ and ‘faith in ones fellow man’- which half works, because he doesn’t trust others (perhaps with the exception of his family, but even then in O Lucky Man we see he was suspicious of Donald using him too), but then Gladstone is very arrogant and confident, so does that negate the first? So perhaps we have to cancel out ‘faith in what one does’ and THAT fits in the sense that, even if it always benefits him, he doesn’t have any control over his luck and effectively is hostage to its whims. Moreover, as in this particular comic, it’s suggested that he feels frustrated and guilty that it doesn’t matter whether or not he tries to achieve something good, it just happens to him. Basically, the thing that he lacks is faith in his worth as an individual: however, is that ‘faith in oneself’ or ‘faith in what one does’? I’m not actually sure! But he certainly doesn’t have faith in all of those three aspects, so one tulip sounds just right.

In terms of the birds, that is to say the ‘distelfinks’, there are several ways to interpret their positions and behaviour, but I can only make these guesses as an outsider based on what you’ve said and other symbolisms I’m more familiar with (there are so many little tie-ins to heraldic, alchemic and tarot symbolism with this image but I’ll try not to deviate).

From your statement it’s unusual for them to be facing each other, and hex signs are usually applied to households, marriages, or friendships; i.e. situations that involve multiple people. This along with ‘inward facing’ creatures to me implies a statement on inwardness, and an inward channeling of the power it is meant to summon. Gladstone’s luck may have a slight umbrella effect, but what is repeatedly enforced in the comics is that it only benefits him. There’s some amount of his luck ‘rubbing off’ on people, whether by literal touch or simple proximity, but the hex only affects him to the absurd degree we’re used to (which makes it entertaining as a character feature, but has proven to be distressing both for him and others).

We can, again, take this imagery as a depiction/description of Gladstone’s selfishness, or it could be a conscious decision on the part of the hex maker to restrict such a high level of supernatural luck to one entity only. Imagine if that level of luck happened to everyone who was within shouting distance of Gladstone, or everyone who happened to walk past that particular barn, or stayed with people who’d made contact with him etc. The results would be impossible! Dangerously so. With inward facing distelfinks, it leads to a supposition that the only beneficiary of the hex is someone who it explicitly refers to; it worked for Daphne, obviously, as she was the person it was made for and was born directly in front of that symbol, and it works for her son who was born on her birthday. My redraw excludes that specification of the ‘newborn child’ image in the heart, and I’m starting to think that I’ll have to fix that! Because this is so obviously an inherently important aspect of the symbol- this hex can only be received as a birthright. In this sense, the spell is purposefully isolating itself from outsiders, and that reflects perfectly with how Gladstone has done the same to himself; in that vein, it could be said that Gladstone’s self centred personality is not only inevitable as a side effect of being so lucky, but is a necessary form of self-defence to cope with the mechanics of his luck.

As for ‘staring down’ at the tulip and the heart (which I take to be a symbol of the hex’s receiver), it could again be seen as a literal depiction of the distelfinks having a position of superiority and control over the subject. In my redraw I attempted to keep it close to the original, but I took the liberty of making it look even more like the tulip is viscerally connected to the heart. It could be seen either as a tulip growing out of the heart, or being forcibly inserted into it by the distelfink- either way it is a slightly uncomfortable concept. It also struck me that the birds were clearly holding onto the tulip, and the centermost bird is in a slightly aggressive stance- leaning over the flower, looking right out at the viewer. In other symbol language, a symmetrical creature gazing front on to the viewer is often a warning or a confrontational statement; again, a form of exclusion, and a statement of something that should not be interfered with. I wish I knew what the four flowers in the design were, and whether they have some inherent symbolism too...

SO yeah that’s my little analysis. It has to be said all of this is complete speculation on my part! Whether Don Rosa had any of this in mind when he was making the design is anyone’s guess, but he has a long history of depicting very accurate research and I strongly suppose that he knows a lot more on distelfinks than I ever will. Whatever the case this sign is certainly one that could stand more exploration in the canon! There’s just so much to play with!

Anyway, this was fun- now I have to work. Oops.

#TL:DR uhhhhhhhhhHHHH THERE'S A LOT ACTUALLY #Gladstone Gander #the sign of the triple distelfink #Don Rosa #I got wayyyy carried away whoops #THANK YOU ANON

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cryptoquicknews-blog · 5 years

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New Post has been published here https://is.gd/anywam

Bitcoin Futures Expired Last Week, Did It Affect $10 Billion Plunge of Crypto Markets?

This post was originally published here

On Jan. 29, the valuation of the crypto market plunged by more than $10 billion within a 48-hour period, from $121 billion to $111 billion.

Major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) recorded losses in the range of 5 to 10 percent against the United States dollar, demonstrating poor momentum.

Throughout the past several months, the cryptocurrency market has demonstrated volatility in a low price range, unable to break out of key resistance levels.

What were the major factors of this week’s drop?

While some analysts have said that the drop was triggered by technical factors over fundamental, speaking to Cointelegraph, former hedge fund manager and investor Danny Les stated that the crypto market has been in a bear market for over a year and conditions will not change until the market establishes a proper bottom.

“Technical or fundamental, it makes no difference. I’ve been saying this for over a year now, we are bearish and will continue to be bearish until the market finds a point where buyers are waiting en masse.”

In mid-December, the price of Bitcoin achieved a new yearly low at $3,122, and at the time, analysts including Three Arrows Capital CEO Su Zhu said that big buy walls in the low $3,000 region will prevent the dominant cryptocurrency from plunging to $2,000.

10% down from here (3.3k), buy walls on @coinbase are now the largest (in $BTC notional ) since mid-2015. Similar for @Bitstamp. pic.twitter.com/NmMpZXazgX

— Su Zhu (@zhusu) December 12, 2018

As Bitcoin neared $3,100, the buy walls on fiat-to-crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Bitstamp led the asset to initiate an immediate bounce and it eventually recovered to mid-$3,000.

Similarly, as Bitcoin approached $3,300 on Jan. 29, the asset recovered to the $3,400 to $3,500 range with relative strength.

Bitcoin is still en route to $2,000

The crypto market is set to experience the longest correction in its 10-year history, and based on the intensity of the sell-off of major crypto assets in the past several months, the bear market will likely extend across the first two quarters of 2019.

In November 2018, Willy Woo, the creator of Woobull.com, said that the correction is likely to last until the end of second quarter of this year or longer.

“Putting together the blockchain view, I suspect the timing for a bottom may be around Q2 2019. After that we start the true accumulation band, only after that, do we start a long grind upwards.”

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Les suggested if Bitcoin drops to $2,000, it would mean a 90 percent drop from its all-time high at $20,000, surpassing the average drop from the all-time high at around 85 percent in previous major corrections:

“On the contrary, I actually think the closer we get to $2k, the more buyers lie in wait. I legitimately believe what my good friend David Belle thinks, the floor will be around the $1.5k-$2k area and at that point a lot of money will be waiting to enter the arena.”

Did Bitcoin futures make any difference?

Last week, CME Bitcoin futures contracts in the U.S. market expired. The futures market has often been used as a short-term price indicator of Bitcoin, as it was said that the expiration of futures could incentivize investors to attempt to manipulate the market.

In the early days, the San Francisco Federal Reserve reported that the launch of CME Bitcoin futures led to the decline in the price of cryptocurrencies.

“The rapid run-up and subsequent fall in the price after the introduction of futures does not appear to be a coincidence. It is consistent with trading behavior that typically accompanies the introduction of futures markets for an asset.”

However, futures contracts in the U.S., at least for now, are all cash-settled and as such, the supply of Bitcoin futures contracts is fixed, which restricts the effect it could have on the value of BTC. Bakkt, which is set to launch later this quarter, will become the first physically settled Bitcoin futures market in the U.S.

Jake Chervinsky, a government enforcement defence and securities litigation attorney at Kobre & Kim, explained that physically settled contracts like Bakkt could have an actual impact on the price of the asset in the future.

“Noteworthy is the fact that Bakkt will custody and deliver real bitcoin. That means institutional inflows would reduce supply and thus (maybe) increase price too. This is different from other regulated futures markets like CME and CBOE, which only deal in cash-settled futures.”

Les similarly stated that the Bitcoin futures expiration in the U.S. likely had a minimal effect on Bitcoin. Historically, Les said that the CME Bitcoin market, which was highly anticipated by investors in the cryptocurrency sector, did not sway the price of the asset in a major way.

“I don’t think futures closing made a difference. Just like when the CME Bitcoin markets kicked off and everyone expected it would have a huge effect on price. It didn’t. Same applies here as far as I’m concerned.”

Because the futures market is of significant size for traditional assets like gold, many investors attempt to correlate the expiration of futures and the performance of Bitcoin.

In the long run, if Bakkt sees a rapid increase in volume and, as a result, other large futures market operators — such as ErisX, CME, CBOE and potentially even the Nasdaq — experience exponential growth, the correlation between futures and the Bitcoin price on exchanges could increase. But, it is currently not big enough to move the price of BTC.

When the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected nine Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that were based on the futures market in August 2018, the commission the also stated that the Bitcoin futures market is not big enough to handle ETFs. The commission said:

“[The ETFs] have not met the requirement that a national securities exchange’s rules be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices. Among other things, the Exchange has offered no record evidence to demonstrate that bitcoin futures markets are ‘markets of significant size.’”

In the short term, at least, the crypto exchange market will likely have a larger impact on the price trend of crypto assets over both over-the-counter (OTC) and futures markets.

What lies ahead for the crypto market in 2019?

There are catalysts on the horizon that could potentially allow the cryptocurrency market to recover.

As Cointelegraph reported, Fidelity Investments is said to be planning on March to be the launch date of its Bitcoin custody, which could lead some of its 13,000 institutional investors to invest in cryptocurrencies.

Fidelity said in a statement obtained by Bloomberg that it is already engaging in discussions with some of its clients.

“We are currently serving a select set of eligible clients as we continue to build our initial solutions. […] Over the next several months, we will thoughtfully engage with and prioritize prospective clients based on needs, jurisdiction and other factors.”

Bakkt and the Nasdaq are also set to release Bitcoin-related investment vehicles and products by the end of the quarter.

But, because the cryptocurrency market moves by cycles and the market has demonstrated a free fall without much resistance, a slow, gradual downside movement to a region where big buy orders are filled remains the most probable result. Les stated:

“Bearish and with a slow, gradual slide down to the area I mentioned [is] where I think liquidity lies in wait. Sure, retail will move the price up and down in fairly obvious ranges but the really significant action will begin around the ‘Belle Zone’ as I like to call it.”

Potential impact of major Bitcoin investment vehicle launches in 2019

Speaking to Cointelegraph, Les said that if Fidelity Bitcoin custody launches in March, it will likely not have an immediate impact on price, and the same could be said for Bakkt and Nasdaq. Rather, it will allow investors to be more confident in the cryptocurrency sector and the asset class, which may lead investors to establish orders in a low enough range.

Vinny Lingham, a general partner at Multicoin Capital, said this week that the crypto winter could easily turn into a nuclear winter if Bitcoin drops below key support levels.

If we break below $3000 for Bitcoin, “crypto winter” will become “crypto nuclear winter”… https://t.co/sS83cl6Em1

— Vinny Lingham (@VinnyLingham) January 28, 2019

If the product launches of Fidelity, Nasdaq and Bakkt come in a period wherein the general sentiment around cryptocurrencies has not recovered yet, it may have a minimal impact on the price trend of cryptocurrencies, according to Les:

“All of this […] (CME, Bakkt, Fidelity) is positive news for what is clearly an emerging asset. If anything I’m more concerned that it’s taken so long for these products/services to be offered. […] Is Fidelity offering custody going to have an impact on price if it launches in March? I say no. However what it does do, is make me even more confident that when price reaches the ‘Belle zone’ the fact institutional investors will find it more comfortable to participate because of fidelity will only serve to help toward a large scale entering of the market.”

As Gabor Gurbacs, the head of digital assets at VanEck, told Cointelegraph in an interview in November of last year, institutional investors are less interested whether the price of Bitcoin is $3,000 or $10,000. Instead, it prioritizes the structure of the market and the selection of investment vehicles they can use to safely invest in the cryptocurrency market.

Products like Fidelity’s custody and Bakkt’s futures market could be considered as a foundation to support the next wave of retail and institutional investors. But, in the immediate future, they are not likely to sway the price of major crypto assets by large margins.

The crypto market has already started to recover

In the last days, following a steep sell-off on Tuesday, the crypto market rebounded by more than $4 billion.

Ripple (XRP) initiated a solid corrective rally by more than 10 percent and Tether (USDT), which briefly became the fourth-largest cryptocurrency in the global market by surpassing EOS (EOS) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), dropped back down to sixth.

While the sudden recovery of the crypto market relieved some pressure on the price trend of major cryptocurrencies, overall, the market remains bear-biased. The crypto market could see some positive price action in the short term, as some traders have suggested throughout this week.

But, until Bitcoin surpasses key support levels at $4,000 or even $5,000, it will be too early to call for a proper bottom in the cryptocurrency market.

#crypto #cryptocurrency #btc #xrp #litecoin #altcoin #money #currency #finance #news #alts #hodl #coindesk #cointelegraph #dollar #bitcoin View the website

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raevfitta · 7 years

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Things that are different in Sweden: Defending your PhD Thesis

So as the memories start to haze over, I am going to try to recount the steps that got me to where I am today: the process of finishing your PhD in Sweden. (Shout out to @tiikerikani so I can borrow her Things that are different in Finland theme, based on What's Different in Canada.)

So this is going to be about my road to defending my PhD in Economic History at Uppsala University. It will be a very long and sometimes rambling post. I started my program in September 2012 and defended in March 2017 (about four and a half years - so a success). This will be my reflections on the process of being a Canadian trying to navigate this strange and quasi-medieval system. Since my department is small, some of these things along the way are fairly specific to it. BUT if you want to read about what makes Sweden really unique, just scroll to the bottom and start reading at “The Public Defence: From Planning to After-Party” part of this - that part is more comparable to the regular Swedish experience.

Before the PhD...

So in 2010, I was accepted to do my Masters in Sweden. It was the last year for people outside of the EU to get the chance to do their Masters for free. I had done my Bachelors in History and Scandinavian Studies so I already “knew” Swedish before arriving. Needless to say, I likely wouldn’t have been able to get to the point of finishing my PhD without the chances to both learn Swedish AND to be able to do my MA tuition free. Right now, Sweden is still “working on” making Masters programs more accessible to foreign students again. You get better opportunities for housing, and they are trying to figure out how to make the education cost seem justifiable. If you want to do a Masters, and really want to come to Sweden, the cost might be worth it.

I finished my Masters in May 2012 and received an A on my MA thesis. This is another step that you need to have in order to get accepted to this longer PhD process. Having a strong thesis is primarily what programs (at least in the humanities and social sciences) are looking for. The extra criteria (grades in your course work, for example) are not really considered. Since I didn’t have a Bachelors thesis, I needed to have a fairly strong Masters. From what I have heard from the selection committee, that is how I was picked for one of four spots.

What about the residence thing?

I’m not Swedish - I’m from Canada. I got accepted fairly quickly into a PhD program (I finished my Masters in May and got news of my PhD spot in June or July) so I did not have to worry about the issues of a work or study permit. Since I started studying in September 2010, I had until then to figure something out. The migration board in Sweden is notoriously random when it comes to extending permits. I have never had a “major” issue (other than one time it took damn near three months for a decision) and now have permanent residency. Again, this process is fairly individual. I suspect that the reason it is easier for PhD students to get permanent residency now (it is fairly recent reform, passed in the last two to three years) is because they are demanding international Masters students pay. Permanent residency means that I am not TOO panicked about the job thing now (just highly panicked not overwhelmingly panicked). Needless to say, I will be very glad come September when I don’t have to head down to the immigration office.

The whole PhD process from the daily tasks, to the course work

My year was highly competitive. There were four positions with faculty funding available and there were apparently 20-30 applicants (some of them were the random applicants that were discounted right away but there were many MANY competitive people in the running.) I was the only non-Swede accepted in my year, but there were two other international people at my department. Needless to say, my department uses Swedish as a daily language. If you get accepted to a PhD program in Sweden, you are expected to learn Swedish. You aren’t demanded to learn it or required to show that you can speak Swedish, but there are always debates from department to department about how to deal with this “issue.” Coming from the University of Alberta, where there was a fairly diverse grad student population having to learn and prove they can speak English, this aspect still feels soft to me in Sweden. The TISUS is required to study at the undergrad level, but not the grad level. In a way, this is to allow foreign funding to come to departments - the TISUS is offered rarely when compared to the TOEFL but then again Swedish is a small language. But I think that if you want to have a life in Sweden, you need to learn the language. It will help you over time, especially when it comes to people sending emails without an English translation, trying to get other work, making friends, etc. People will either act bitchy about this or try to help you. I am at the point where I am fluent but get easily frustrated when some one doesn’t understand me. Sometimes, Swedes ask me if I am Norwegian when I speak since I sound “right” but also “not right” at the same time...

Another reason that it is important to know Swedish (and English) is the course work. My PhD is in Economic History - a small department with limited course options. All of my courses had a Swedish component, either reading or speaking instruction. I was (thankfully) allowed to write in English. This is where the language thing gets murky again - I think that departments should be stricter on PhD students learning Swedish but at the same time, I take the English way out for things. I guess this mainly connects to the academic languages in Sweden being Swedish and English. So if you want to take courses, or teach courses, you should learn and use high-level Swedish. They will be easier on your written Swedish (lol see some of my emails) mostly because they are fairly crappy at English some of the time. This is another thing I am a bit critical of - Swedish PhD students writing in (poor) academic English because they think some one will be interested in their very, very Swedish subject. There are dissertations in my department that I have no IDEA why they are (barely) written in English. It will only get worse for our department (see later on in this rant about our proofreader retiring...)

My course work was larger compared to other departments - we had to take 90 credits in my year (now PhD students only need 75...). Most courses are work 7.5 credits so this is a year and a half of ONLY course work. Your dissertation, then, is only worth 150 credits compared to how they are weighted in other departments (for a total of 240).

You are primarily expected to take courses at your department or faculty, or the equivalent department/faculty at another Swedish university that your department has an agreement with (we are part of a national network with economic history departments in Lund, Stockholm, Göteborg and Umeå). But since my dissertation topic was not necessarily “economic” and more “history” I read courses at the history department in Uppsala because I could justify it, as well as took a Latin course through the languages department. The only course I took at Stockholm was a Nightmare™ quantitative methods course. My other courses at Uppsala were an intro course (which included the presentation of two texts to the Higher Seminar), a qualitative methods course, a theory course, two introduction to economic history seminar courses, a course about the history of economic thought, and the above mentioned courses. We also got points for active participation at the higher seminar, which involves coming to a certain number over the course of four years and being an opponent to another PhD student.

One of the courses that are important to take as a PhD student is the pedagogy course. It is not mandatory, but if you take it as a PhD student the department pays for you. The course I took for my pedagogy points was the online version so my experience is different than others who have taken it. My course stretched from November until April, while the standard classroom version is five intense weeks over about a month and a half (the standard 7.5 credit course set up here in Uppsala.) The pedagogy course mixes students, researchers, and even professors from all departments. If you want a promotion, for example to docent/associate professor, you need to have these points. There are people taking this course that have been teaching for 20 years. Needless to say, I never had the nightmare scenario of some one actually coming and watching me teach on some random course. We had a couple of Adobe Connect seminars and online group work. The course is basically a “make work” course - you are given some tools that will help you with teaching, but none of the actual basics (how to write a syllabus, how to write an exam, how to supervise a student) are taught there unless you go digging for them. I recommend getting this over with if you are given the chance - you will need it if you want to stay at the university in the future.

Don’t you need to write a thesis too?

Oh yeah, that. When I applied to my program, I got in more based on the strength of my Masters thesis than the potential of my project. I tossed out something that I didn’t really think that much about and some how got in. I guess the main thing I walked in with were ideas about my source material, my research question, and the contexts for my time period and sources. I had an outline and plans to continue with some of the theories from my Masters, essentially. I knew I wanted to focus on newspapers and media transformation in the early modern period, also connected to the transformation of the public sphere and the state. I knew that my project wasn’t that strong, but I came in with an idea and my final dissertation is still related to it. At least at my department, they did not have heavy demands on the research proposal attached to the application IF you had a strong Masters thesis. HOWEVER I was not attached to a project. Some PhD spots are associated with project funding from researchers at the department. These projects are a lot more restrictive when it comes to your research focus, naturally.

My department also had some strange ideas about supervisors. We had to CHOOSE our supervisors. This was the hardest for me, coming from another subject and faculty (and country). I had no IDEA about the research focus of the people in the department. This is where my struggles as a PhD student began - I am shy and was still very shaky in my Swedish when I started at the department. I asked the ONE person I knew well there and she sent me to one of her former supervisors and that was a mistake for me. I did not feel like this person understood what I wanted to do, nor did the random researcher we got as a secondary supervisor. I struggled my first year basically because I felt that I couldn’t discuss my research with my supervisors. I was floundering. Luckily, in my first year, I had the majority of my course work and could gather quite a bit of my sources and start into my previous research. My first year, for the longest time, seems like such a waste compared to other people mainly because I feel like I could have done MORE.

It was only when I changed supervisors that I found out that the supervisor I ended up with had suggested he could take me from the beginning at the supervisor meeting. When PhD students apply, the department has several committees that discuss the acceptance process. Part of that is talking with a group of those with positions at the department about possible supervision. Previously (before I started) students were assigned supervisors from the beginning based on the competence of the supervisor (primarily associated with methodology or time period). I don’t know if I would have been more successful if I started with my supervisor, but I really hated my first year. It was lonely, depressing, and I got very little actual research done. The fact that my project is now FINISHED just shows you how you have to work through these doubts and issues. If you are unsure about your supervisor, you are allowed to change. You shouldn’t jump ship at the first sign of troubles, but if you cannot work with a person, you will not finish. This is a demanding process that people will get MAD at one another for a time but you should have some sort of positive relationship with your supervisors.

Another reason I struggled in my first year was the shared office situation. I did not walk into my PhD thinking I would have my own office, but it had been a while since I worked in an office environment where people would be walking around, talking, and coming in and out of a room. I ADORE my office mates and NEVER thought they were bad or strange people but I really just struggle being around people. I sat right next to the door so I would always jump when people would run in and out. We sat there for nearly two years before getting two-person rooms. I also feel like I got very little work done in that situation. It was hard to focus and I generally felt like the department would just tell me to suck it up if I complained. I brought up these things at the regular “performance reviews” with the director of grad studies and generally tried to show I could work through the issues, but still raised the fact that they said we would eventually get more individual rooms. When I moved to the two-person room, my work ethic and attitude changed. But when I got my OWN office, I really turned everything around. I had my office for a year, essentially from my final seminar to my book being sent to publication, and in that year, my dissertation became a book. I really compensated for the time I had trouble focusing my working extremely hard in my last year. This is probably not advisable...

Thesis timeline

I mentioned above the final seminar. My department has a fairly good system for helping PhD students remain on track to finish within the “four-year funding” window. Of course it doesn’t work for everyone, and doesn’t go for all departments. The history department, for example, is just starting to implement this idea of a final seminar to actually FORCE PhD students to present and follow a timeline. If you start to fall behind, find yourself unfocused and struggling, these steps feel insurmountable. One of the important things to remember about writing a PhD is that it will be hard and demanding. You have many responsibilities and many of them depend on only YOU. If you want to teach, you need to show an initiative for it - you won’t be handed it. If you want to present at conferences, it will be up to you. Needless to say, the department tries to force you into being organized with your time and that is really a positive if you are like me and need structure.

In the first year, we presented two papers at the higher seminar. In the first term (Winter 2012), I presented my thesis proposal (a longer paper, based on what I presented with my application). In the second term (Spring 2013), I presented an empirical “test” of that proposal (ie, I tried to show that my crazy idea of reading economic news in newspapers was actually viable). Neither of my papers were very good and were heavily criticized but most papers are. People will make comments like “why can’t you do it THIS way” (in other words “DO IT MY WAY”) and “why can’t you make this more THIS WAY” (in my case about writing about things during the 18th and 19th century was not seen as a good thing...and I should make it more about the modern world aka time after WWII) Seminar environments are not for the weak so needless to say I cried quite a bit after each seminar. But I still took the advice and criticism and thought through the problems with my papers. These were some of the first steps in creating my thesis.

At some point during the second or start of the third year, you are expected to have a half-time seminar. At this point, you should have the majority of your courses completed as well. I had my half-time seminar in December 2014 (Winter 2014 term, so during my third year). Now, at this point I had changed supervisors at the start of the 2013 Winter term. I got a real boost from them and actually began crafting a REAL introduction chapter. Some half-time seminars have longer texts. Mine was essentially two and a half chapters (my introduction, which eventually became two chapters), an empirical chapter (now my third chapter), and some tossed together conclusions (I don’t think that any of them survived to my final version.) We had an external opponent, but only from another department. Again, this seminar was not well received but I got some good comments and ideas (from my opponent rather than my department) for how to move forward. NONE of these seminars are “graded.” You are expected to present a text of a certain length and show progress each time. This is like the course work - you either pass or fail. There are no A-D grades at this level (and at most departments at Uppsala, they don’t give these grades anymore.)

It was also during my third year that I started teaching - this involved helping my supervisor with his Master course and getting more supervision. I started supervising undergrad students already in 2013, but in 2014 I got a little bit more responsibilities and pedagogic work. My supervisor had surgery at this time so it was a good solution to him being “sick” and me needing teaching hours. Needless to say, the Winter term of 2014/Spring term of 2015 were a bit of a mess. At this point, we also changed rooms (in the Spring term of 2015Jan-Feb. 2015). I think it was at this point that I REALLY began to have more confidence and take things more seriously. Sitting with only one other person was SUCH a relief for me. My roommate was hardly there and when she was, she was super focused and didn’t need to gossip all of the time. At this point, the new PhD students were becoming established and had this “open door PhD room attitude” of people running in and out, discussing politics more than thesis work. I was soooo thankful to not be in that group, to say the least. My office made didn’t have any awful habits, so I was able to start following my time line and was at the office more. My Swedish was better and I was making progress with my writing. My supervisors and I drew up a plan for the “final stage” and things started to feel “real.” I got more teaching by working with Erasmus students at seminars and starting to feel like a “real” grad student.

My final seminar was during my fourth year (Jan. 2016). We had found an opponent that was based on my source material. Now, even this “draft” was not complete. I had my (very) long introduction, two empirical chapters, and conclusions that were just ramblings basically. The main role my opponent played for this draft was because he knew my sources and could critique them in a way my supervisors couldn’t. To me, this was really helpful compared to some one going over my theories. So, after this, we set up the final stage for preparing for my defence with the head of the department and the director of grad studies. I also moved into my own room (essentially on the day of my final seminar) so I was really starting to feel like there was light at the end of the tunnel.

The final course I needed to complete was my pedagogy course and it mercifully ended in April. Once my courses were completed, we started making the final planning. Again, keeping track of my courses was mainly my responsibility. I told my supervisors about it, but they had no real role in finding or fixing courses for me. Some supervisors (especially if they are really specialized in the field) offer “reading courses.” This is also a solution for PhD students who can’t (won’t?) learn Swedish - you basically read a bunch of books selected for you by your supervisor and you write a paper about it.

The pre-defence

The final step before you can officially book a defence date is to have the professor reading. This is more like defending in North America except that you don’t have an external opponent or a committee at this point (so nothing LIKE North America). You’ll notice that I don’t have anything in here about comps or candidacy or things like that. Everyone I talked to about comps look at me like I am from Mars (and I just say know - I am from the Anglo tradition...). I guess since we need to present often at higher seminar, this acts as a form of comps. But it is by no MEANS as stressful or complicated as comps...reading courses, in this regard, replace this component, as well.

The final seminar acts as the external aspect of your defence, although that opponent has no real say of whether or not you can “technically” move forward. My professor reading was booked for the summer of 2016 (I needed to send my text Aug. 15!). The readers we selected were (lol) my supervisor’s former supervisor and one of his former PhD students. The professor’s reading is where you get the final check to defend. I worked essentially non-stop in the summer of 2016. I also got the position of Erasmus coordinator at the department, so that guaranteed extra prolongation (I had money until Sept. 2016 but with this and my other teaching, I had almost full paycheques until about November.)

At this point, I don’t know if my supervisors “actually” believed in my or they really DID believe in me. We had many MANY discussions that required me to go home and think about what I did and didn’t do. Rewriting this manuscript was about working very, very hard to put together an (almost) book. But (they told me afterward) when they got my manuscript for the professor’s reading, they realized that I had done it. I would make it. My conclusions were still weak (as hell) but I had done what I needed to do. Everyone says “kill your darlings” in writing and that is damned true. You need to be succinct and to the point, along with being summarative and critical of previous research and yourself. I did not listen to my supervisors about EVERYTHING they said, but I did take their advice. I think the most important thing about writing a dissertation is learning how to put, in your own words, the combination of your research, your analysis of the sources, your analysis of the previous research, along with your supervisors’ advice into something unique and clear. I know my dissertation isn’t perfect, but finding that combination is what writing a dissertation is about - not everyone can change the world, but you need to know what PART of the world you can change and write from that perspective.

The professor’s reading will tell you essentially what timeline you are working with to reach your defence. At my department, other PhD students have had to have SECOND professor’s readings. I remember nervously asking if I needed to send my changes again and they said it wasn’t necessary. This really surprised me because I had had SO MUCH criticism at the higher seminar. When I brought that up to my reviewers, they said that in my earlier texts, I hadn’t been that CLEAR in what I wanted to do. The judgement I got was that I could be finished within “several weeks” so that meant a couple of months. They had many recommendations (some I followed, some I didn’t...). It was here that the final process began towards printing a book and having a public defence.

My main supervisor couldn’t be at my professor’s reading, but my secondary supervisor was. He was from another department (history) so, for me, he was a source of sanity in another subject (economic history) that I still struggle so say I am a “master” of. We had an excited little conversation after and he pointed out what was wrong with my concluding chapter (he said it was a combination of my partner’s ideas - he’s a professor in history - and my main supervisor’s ideas.) So that meant in order to be “me”, I needed to redo all of it.

I think that when it comes to writing a thesis, this is another thing to think about. If something isn’t working, just start from scratch. Don’t delete it all (of course) but start with a new introduction. Put your ideas in another order and don’t try to REWRITE your way out of it. I am so thankful for having supervisors who could “see” when I needed to just start over again and not rewrite until it turned into pure garbage.

The Public Defence: From Planning to After-Party

After the professor’s reading, we confirmed with my opponent that I would be defending at the start of the Spring term of 2017. We didn’t have an exact date yet, but that part took a while to iron out (see later on: the party aspect, the having a morning defence slot...). The start of the Winter term of 2016 was a countdown to many, many things.

Finishing the book was something else that you don’t really get in other traditions. You aren’t finishing something that you take down to the bookbinders to make six or seven copies. You are finishing a book that will be published and can be bought in STORES. IT HAS AN ISBN NUMBER!!!

At my department, our resident proofreader and paginator retired JUST before I would finish (I can’t go into the nightmares she had with the guy that defended just before m). Since I had worked with InDesign in my previous life, I was able to paginate my own book. Some people have extra money for printing their books (at publishers that aren’t our university press) so they are able to get professional firms and proofreaders. For me, I asked my friends to read through chapters while also working intensely on it. My supervisors left me to finish a bulk of this without rereading it (again for the billionth time). The last things they read were my introduction and conclusions (naturally).

Once we decided a date (we figured this out in September-October after much disagreement because I would be defending either during spring break for Uppsala schools or spring break for Stockholm schools, along with one of my supervisor’s 40th birthdays...), I contacted the publishing office at the university. They gave me the final timeline for when things needed to be sent in to them. This was when the January deadlines were given to me to send my book to the printers (you send one PDF that you get back and are allowed to make changes to and then another that comes a week later that you CAN’T make changes to - if you find anything wrong at this point, you can request an extra sheet to be printed that they slip in at the start of the book), the date when my book would arrive, and the date for my nailing .... all leading up to the defence.

Since our books are published before the defence, this part of the journey is quite different than systems for PhDs in other countries as well. This part was also the most stressful for me - because you can still fail even if you have your book published. All of the seminars and professor’s readings are there and are MEANT to catch these things - ultimate weaknesses in your research that means you have not fulfilled the qualities for completing a doctorate. Your supervisors also argue on your behalf to the department about finishing on time BUT if you have a really weak thesis and force it into publication, you are on your own with it comes to passing or failing. Some people try to do this - they don’t listen to their supervisors or the people around them and defend even though it is a bad idea. After you have “nailed” your thesis, you can’t take it back - it is out in the world for judgement.

So when you are defending your thesis in Sweden, you are really just performing something more ceremonial. If you on the verge of failing, your opponent or committee will step in during the three weeks between publication and the defence and quietly tell you to unbook your party and essentially that your defence will not go well. Sometimes, the defence itself is called off.

It is still very stressful and very draining, but once your book is printed you have “basically” passed if you have followed all of the advice and directions along the way. I generally believed that something would go wrong with mine (something with my methodology or sources) and I would have to call the whole thing off. I still think about that.

We had our last supervision on Dec. 19 and I was “on my own” for completing the deadlines set up by the publishing office over the next month or so. This meant making sure I had the list of other dissertations at the end of the book, and had, well, a finished book. I needed to check that the pictures I would be including could be published, as well as pick cover art and write an abstract and a summary for the backside. I followed the style of previous dissertations mainly because my department doesn’t have a proper guide for styles. THAT part was the final stress for me. You don’t know how to format your footnotes and you don’t know how to format your references if you aren’t given proper direction. Since you only get one shot at finishing this, you really need to put a lot of time into this final stage of writing: style. Another word of advice: learn a footnote program and make friends with it. My notes and references were never properly organized. I am SURE I still missed referencing some one I noted in a footnote.

Once my rewriting was complete, I moved my files from Word to InDesign. This was how I made my final changes and it felt “finally” real that I would be finishing soon. If you have graphics in your thesis (or just care about how text looks on a page), this program (or an equivalent) is SO much easier than Word. If you are going to lay out your own thesis, try to learn a good lay out program beforehand. Learn what orphans and widows are. Care about how spacing looks.

I took some “time” off around Christmas but I was really focused and made my January deadlines. Throughout this time, we had also made the arrangements for the party. Defences in Sweden are also associated with having a party to celebrate your achievement. You are expected to invite your entire department, family, friends, opponent, supervisors, etc. I had made the reservations for the location at the same time my date was confirmed with the opponent and committee. Once my book was set to print, I was able to change gears and focus on planning the party. I selected a menu I hoped would be okay for everyone and thought about who to invite aside from my department. I also started planning the invitations and the song books...

It takes a few weeks for the book to be printed, but three weeks before the defence you have a public “nailing” of the book. You get to be Martin Luther, essentially. My books came on a Tuesday, and I nailed my book on a Friday at the university library rather than the main university building, since it is currently under construction. My book is 254 pages long so I was really thankful that the guys at the library receiving dock have a drill available for it. Once your book is delivered to your office, you bring ten (plus one) copies to the mail room at the university library (in the basement, to the side, with a door that is marked “Exit only for PhD students”). You then get a slip that says you have done the final job and you take the “plus one” book up to nail it. It took quite a bit of arm strength to get the nail into the board and the book. Apparently you could hear my nailing three floors up in the microfilm room....

After the nailing, you are expected to distribute the book. I sent a PDF to my opponent once that was done (essentially the one I converted before sending it to the printers around the end of January) but now I had a book to send. I sent my book to universities (and technical schools) throughout Sweden, but I also distributed it to colleagues at my department as well as “former” colleagues at the History department. People were invited to my “nailing coffee” or spikfika to get their books and invitations to the party. We bought Ukrainian champagne and I baked cupcakes, but most people at my department get the coffee cart from the cafeteria and buy princesstårta. I wanted something that was more “me” so that was what I did. It was slavic and pink. This is three weeks before the defence so now the weeks are just going to fly by.

People need to pay to attend the party. This meant I needed to wait for people to both RSVP AND pay. The venue needed the numbers the week of the party but it was still hard to wrangle about 70 people into paying attention to deadlines. I was also teaching quite a bit at this point, and my family arrived. If there is ANY advice I can give to people, it is try not to defend at the same time as a bulk of your teaching. I hardly had any time to reread my dissertation.

I talked to my opponent the week of my defence. We went through what we were going to talk about and any thoughts I had about my work. I told him about what I had been criticized about before. Opponents for PhD defences need to be external - this means from another university in Sweden or an international opponent. I ended up having a Swedish opponent and we decided to do the defence in Swedish (not my first choice....). I talked to him about this as well. This is another reason to learn Swedish - if your opponent is also Swedish, you might be asked to do this for the ease of the opponent and committee. Your committee is made up of an external, some one from another faculty, and some one from your department (some committee have more members - there is space for five names on the sheet and reasoning why you need the extra people). My supervisors helped me form the committee so I didn’t need to run around and begging people to be on it.

Your committee and not your opponent decide if you pass or fail. The opponent is there to examine your thesis, but your grading committee decides whether you pass or fail.

So the day of my defence arrives. March 3. I had managed to book a morning defence. Another tip: book a morning defence. Like I just said, the grading committee are going to need to meet to discuss your work before the party. They generally prefer to do it over lunch so having the slot from 10-12 is preferable. You get two hour defences at Uppsala, not the million hour ones in other countries. At my department, we also traditionally book on Fridays (the History department also does this for most defences.) You cannot defend at the same time as some one else from your faculty, so that means there are only two slots available (morning and afternoon) for each faculty. I was able to get the morning slot only because another girl had to drop out (she booked both the morning and the afternoon and didn’t tell me, even though I asked her, that she would be giving up the day.) I almost had to book the afternoon and that would have made a bunch of people upset. Instead I got the auditorium I didn’t like...

We arrived on campus about an hour before the defence and my opponent (by coincidence) was right behind us. I recognized him (we had met once years ago) and sort of stared at him as he followed us in the doors. He was very very nervous so he eventually admitted he recognized me and we brought him up to the department. We set him up in an empty office and I double checked that the flowers and water were purchased (usually one of the admins take money from petty cash and do this.) I went down to the auditorium and checked that the computer worked, and if we needed microphones. I grabbed them from reception, but we ended up not using them. They are actually more annoying than they are beneficial.

By this point (about a half an hour to go), my supervisors arrived (I was annoyed they weren’t there sooner...). Everyone met my family and we got set up. We came down to the auditorium and set up my opponent’s powerpoint and waited for other people to start arriving. I had no idea what was going to happen, what I should do, and how I should act.

I have been to other people’s defences at this auditorium, but have never taught in it. There are three spaces large enough for defences on my campus. Some people are allowed to defend at the main university building if they request it, but I have only been to one defence like that. Thank GOD my one supervisor was there because I had NO IDEA how to turn on the computer for my opponent’s powerpoint. I had to log in as myself and was so worried that my desktop (with all my teaching powerpoints) would show up on the big screen.

Everyone got settled. I was starting to run out of copies of my dissertation at this point so I only bough like five copies down. Another piece of advice: try to get 200 copies printed. I got 180 and only have just over 20 left for, you know, the rest of my career (unless I buy more...). You might need to pay a little (the faculty has a ceiling for how much they contribute to printing if you don’t have outside funding) but it will be worth it to have more copies.

We started my defence in English for the benefit of my family (and also because the moderator thought the defence would be in English and had prepared in English....) but then I was able to say a few words. This is another good thing to do: your opponent will be doing most of the talking so it is good to have SOMETHING to say. I was able to bring up two of the mistakes I had made (and noticed) that were big enough to name (I had some errors in my citations, for example). At this point, everything was rolling in Swedish.

My opponent gave a summary of my book (which lasted about 20 minutes or so) and then I was able to comment if it was a correct interpretation. To me, it was. Then he started to analyze each of my chapters. There was a main concentration on my introduction and some on my methods, before moving into my three time periods in my three empirical chapters. This is where the memories start to get hazy. My defence just seemed to fly by. I didn’t know where to look so I just kept my eyes on my opponent and at my notebook. He mainly looked at his screen and then at me. There were no real “arguments” between us - and no real disagreements. He did point out some weaknesses (I could have brought up more of the critical mercantile perspective shown in my sources) but we were able to have a fairly balanced conversation. There were some things I couldn’t answer - here is more advice: if you can’t answer it, just say your opponent did a good job pointing that out and move on. Don’t try to talk yourself out of a hole because then you are just babbling.

The two hours were over very, very quickly. My opponent summarized the dissertation and then the committee was allowed to ask questions (just a note that my opponent wasn’t able to get through everything he wanted to say...). I got three fairly random questions from my grading committee: the external asked why I didn’t have more summarizing tables of my results, the non-faculty member asked why I didn’t include the Swedish original quotes (SOMETHING I WANTED TO DO BUT EVERYONE TOLD ME TO TAKE THEM OUT) and finally the person from my department asked if I could’ve added an extra time period further on into industrialization (again, the constant complaint of making things more “modern” from my department.)

Then it was over. People applauded and I gave my opponent a quick hug before everyone came down to congratulate me. Already, people were saying what a good job I did. I am not sure if this was because I was so familiar with my text, or because I had not spent TOO much time preparing. If I had read through my book a few more times, I might have started to second guess myself more.

The last people to thank me were my supervisors and my family. My supervisors were SO proud and I could tell. This was when we all sort of parted. My family and I went up to my office and grabbed our coats to go for lunch, and the committee, my opponent, and my supervisors went for the grading lunch.

We made our way into town and about only just more than an HOUR after we had parted, my main supervisor called me to say I had passed. This was a part I didn’t know about. I wasn’t aware that you were told BEFORE the party. So it doesn’t seem like there were too many disagreements between my committee and my supervisors regarding me passing, given how short the time was.

We went home to change and make the final table arrangements. Traditionally, you are expected to place people at the tables rather than let them sit wherever. I sat next to my opponent on one side, my main supervisor on the other, and my other supervisor across from me. My family was placed throughout the table, mixed with my partner’s family and professors from the departments (we counted and over HALF of the people at the party had their PhD and nearly 20 others were PhD students so this was a very, very educated crowd.)

I had printed out the traditional song books before the party as well (the day before - from the printer at the department next door to mine since some one had borked our colour printer.) I only had a few songs since I am not much of a gasque/nation song person (I love snaps but not really snaps songs). My party was at a student nation (see: Things that are different in Uppsala ... some where online...) so I thought I should have SOME songs.

When we got to the nation (I had my party at Uplands), we were able to make the table rearrangements and put the song books and names on the tables. We were there more than a half an hour before the guests but there was still quite a bit to do. We then went to the downstairs area and waited for everyone to arrive around 6.30. Champagne was passed out and shortly before we went to eat dinner at 7, the committee member from my department announced I passed. NOW the celebration could really begin.

The party was filled with really moving speeches. Pretty much all of them made me and many others cry (especially my supervisors and my mom and uncle’s.) Everyone gave their speeches in English so that was really important to me. My supervisors gave the first speech, and then the order sort of blurs for me. One of the members of the history department gave a speech (I was the first one from my master’s programme of ALL the years to finish a phd). My PhD colleague, who will defend next after me, gave a lovely speech. My mom gave a speech, and so did my uncle. My committee member gave a speech, and so did the head of the department. My opponent also gave a sort of “on the spot” speech about fake news and relevance of questions about the media. My partner gave a speech, and so did the wife of my toastmaster. A friend of mine, who is away, sent a video so we played that. The computer was going the entire time in the background so there were ALWAYS pictures of cats shown throughout the meal. A colleague from the history department sang a Stan Rogers song and I made people join in for the whole thing just as the meal ended.

It was a long but also great day. We had a little time left at the nation, and then came back to the apartment for an afterparty. My opponent even came and it was just fantastic. I basically held him hostage until 4 a.m.

So, if there is any way to summarize this whole thing (aka tl;dr): doing a PhD in Sweden is different than in North America or other traditions. In addition to this whole not having to pay tuition, along with getting paid for four years, you get a book published BEFORE you defend. You have a giant party rather than just a dinner with your family and (maybe) your supervisors.

I’m right now stuck in this “post-defence depression” that feels very empty and lonely so it sort of helps to reflect on these “brighter” moments...I almost want to tell people to not defend and in a way I understand why so many people draw out the process for so long.

I’m going to recount what it is like to “convocate” here in May. There are canons and castles involved!!!

#PhD #Thesis #Dissertation #Sweden #Uppsala #Grad School #Study Advice

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bellphilip91 · 4 years

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Reiki Energy In Legs Easy And Cheap Tips

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#Reiki Energy In Legs Easy And Cheap Tips #What Is The Reiki Master Symbol Used To Treat

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legit-scam-review · 5 years

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Bitcoin Futures Expired Last Week, Did It Affect $10 Billion Plunge of Crypto Markets?

On Jan. 29, the valuation of the crypto market plunged by more than $10 billion within a 48-hour period, from $121 billion to $111 billion.

Major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) recorded losses in the range of 5 to 10 percent against the United States dollar, demonstrating poor momentum.

Throughout the past several months, the cryptocurrency market has demonstrated volatility in a low price range, unable to break out of key resistance levels.

What were the major factors of this week’s drop?

10% down from here (3.3k), buy walls on @coinbase are now the largest (in $BTC notional ) since mid-2015. Similar for @Bitstamp. pic.twitter.com/NmMpZXazgX

— Su Zhu (@zhusu) December 12, 2018

As Bitcoin neared $3,100, the buy walls on fiat-to-crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Bitstamp led the asset to initiate an immediate bounce and it eventually recovered to mid-$3,000.

Similarly, as Bitcoin approached $3,300 on Jan. 29, the asset recovered to the $3,400 to $3,500 range with relative strength.

Bitcoin is still en route to $2,000

In November 2018, Willy Woo, the creator of Woobull.com, said that the correction is likely to last until the end of second quarter of this year or longer.

“Putting together the blockchain view, I suspect the timing for a bottom may be around Q2 2019. After that we start the true accumulation band, only after that, do we start a long grind upwards.”

Did Bitcoin futures make any difference?

In the early days, the San Francisco Federal Reserve reported that the launch of CME Bitcoin futures led to the decline in the price of cryptocurrencies.

Because the futures market is of significant size for traditional assets like gold, many investors attempt to correlate the expiration of futures and the performance of Bitcoin.

In the short term, at least, the crypto exchange market will likely have a larger impact on the price trend of crypto assets over both over-the-counter (OTC) and futures markets.

What lies ahead for the crypto market in 2019?

There are catalysts on the horizon that could potentially allow the cryptocurrency market to recover.

Fidelity said in a statement obtained by Bloomberg that it is already engaging in discussions with some of its clients.

Bakkt and the Nasdaq are also set to release Bitcoin-related investment vehicles and products by the end of the quarter.

Potential impact of major Bitcoin investment vehicle launches in 2019

Vinny Lingham, a general partner at Multicoin Capital, said this week that the crypto winter could easily turn into a nuclear winter if Bitcoin drops below key support levels.

If we break below $3000 for Bitcoin, “crypto winter” will become “crypto nuclear winter”… https://t.co/sS83cl6Em1

— Vinny Lingham (@VinnyLingham) January 28, 2019

The crypto market has already started to recover

In the last days, following a steep sell-off on Tuesday, the crypto market rebounded by more than $4 billion.

But, until Bitcoin surpasses key support levels at $4,000 or even $5,000, it will be too early to call for a proper bottom in the cryptocurrency market.