#told myself to not do more adopts and boom here i am like the fool i am sorry

[conflitdecanard]

Eeveelutions - Gen 1 

King Cheetah Jolteon - 25€ - CLOSED

Pink Coral Fan Vaporeon - 30€ - CLOSED

Dragon Flareon - 30€ - CLOSED

- PM if interested

- Payment via paypal and only in euros

- Get a watermarkless png after purchase

Adopt rules:

Name, gender etc is up to the owner

Do not resell for more than you purchased unless it comes with additional art

[boneandfur]

Time After Time 2/2

TWO

Note: the characters demanded smut. There is a link to the NSFW version on ao3 at that point. tumblr won’t let me load the moodboard. I’m very frustrated with this hellsite.

Women aren't doctors at the Front, Miss... what did you say your name was again? Ah, Miss Valentine. American. That explains it... But we do need good quality nurses... You'll be sent to France right away on account of your prior training... Jolly good, just sign the dotted line... 

"I assume you'll have the watered wine, Rookie." Ramsay leans across the table, lightly tugging the menu from Helena's numb fingers. Every little boom makes her shiver, though she's adopted the English habit of keeping a stiff upper lip. Her grandmother has told her stories to curdle your guts, about standing on a hill at Gettysburg and watching her lover ride hell for leather into battle. And I followed him, didn't I, chick? 

"What brought you here? To the Front?" Helena cocks her head at him, and Ramsay's brows raise nearly to his hairline. 

"You're bold as brass.” Ramsay snaps his fingers. “I like that. Knew it as soon as you stepped out of that line of nurses that you wouldn't turn into a shrinking violet at your first amputation." Ramsay turns to their waiter, a Frenchman of elderly years with an ear trumpet. "We'll take your best watered wine for the lady, and a bottle of whiskey." 

Helena coughs lightly, and addresses the waiter in seamless French. "(What is the special today?)" 

The old man looks sad. "(I am afraid we do not have anything special. Just some eel ragout, and fresh bread my wife baked this morning.)" 

"(Then we will take that, and your best bottle of Merlot.)" 

When the owner has gone, Ramsay smiles broadly at Helena, showing white teeth against three days shadow of a beard on his jaw. "By God, you're a marvel. Never learned much French myself, besides what I've had to behind the lines." 

"Oh, my governess despaired of me." Helena shrugs, but cannot help smiling in return. "I can speak enough French to get by, you know, but I could never pass for a natural." 

"Well, you are an American." But it does not sound like an insult.

The eel comes, and she eats ravenously, less like a lady and more like the girl who downed seven glasses of champagne and then raced her brother from Boston to Concord on horseback. 

And Ramsay drinks. Thoughtfully. Mindfully. She does not remember, afterward, nor for many years, what they said, only how she had smiled and smiled until her cheeks hurt, and the ticking of the pocket watch. 

One two, one two. Tick tock. Eleven hours. Ten hours. Nine hours. Eleven minutes and eleven seconds.

No more standing to in trenches,//Only one more church parade. 

"I had a patron who paid for me to go to medical school, a well respected chap named Naveen.” Ramsay nurses his whiskey, rolling the glass with purpose between his palms. “After school, I joined the army to make something of myself, and went to India. My wife deserted me for another man while I was gone. She didn't like the army life, you see." 

Helena reaches out, laying her hand over his. Ramsay startles, but does not move his hand away, and instead flips it over, laying his palm flat against hers and caressing her wrist with his rough fingers. She drags in a breath, the sudden widening of his pupils making her lower abdomen flutter. "I ran away from home. No one knows I'm here, or I'd be dragged back to Boston to marry a Stirling and pop out an heir and a spare before the war has even gotten started." 

"You don't even want to know about what this war will look like if it keeps going, lass." Ramsay drains his glass, and pours them both another. "I'd tell you to go back to Boston, but I can see by that look in your eye that you'll see this thing through. I respect that." 

Helena does not trust herself to speak. The wine is making her thoughts slow, but she does not want this moment to end. 

Ramsay rubs a hand over his jaw. "That was back in '09. I hung my boots up, moved to Scotland, and threw myself into practice in Edinburgh. Then that damn fool shot a Prince, and well, here we are." 

Steady, silent. Their eyes meet and the watch ticks on. Helena feels as though she is drowning. His mouth moves and she only feels the heat of his palm against hers, her cheeks ablaze. 

'Nurse! Nurse Valentine! Are you dumb or are you just deaf?! Hand me those scissors, and bring me another scalpel... These damned orderlies don't know what they're doing...'

Their eyes meet across the bloody operating table. The soldier is mercilessly unconscious, a bloody piece of shrapnel in his thigh. He'd been screaming since he came in off the ambulance, a boy of no more than nineteen, a Tommy named Elijah... 'Mum, Mum, water, water...'

'That's a Blighty, Rookie. Your first. Are you going to faint on me, lass?' Ramsay's eyes lock on Helena's. She feels the flint of his gaze go straight to her spine, and straightens up. 

'No, Doctor. I'll be fine, sir.'

'I told you Americans have brass, Ramsay!' The surgeon, Lahela, winks at Helena in passing, but she does not notice. Her gaze does not falter under Ramsay's. 'Pass me the tweezers.'

His mouth quirks, just a shade. 'Good girl.'

"...Good God, Rookie, will you drink the whole bottle? I promise my company isn't as bad as all that." Helena feels Ramsay tug at her wine glass, and relinquishes it. The lamp has begun to burn low, and from the outside of the cafe is the sound of drunken laughter. "You shouldn't walk out there alone. Come on, I'll walk you back to your billet." 

"I don't have one," Helena confesses. She pats her bag, shamefaced. "I spent my money for the hotel on books... I can sleep on the truck." 

Ramsay shakes his head. "No, no, that won't do. We can't have you more dead on your feet than usual. I have a solution. It's a bit unorthodox. Do you trust me?" 

Eight hours, three minutes, seven seconds. 

•••

Helena does not know why, but the lights from the star shells, all green and gold, make her grip Ramsay's arm tighter, and press against his side. At the corner, he stops and gazes down at her, a strange and wild new thing in his face, something she dares not name. 

Don't forget me, Helena Valentine. When this lousy war is over, I'll come back, you see... 

"Tell me..." Ramsay brushes a curl back from her brow, his broad fingertips sending a crackle across her bare flesh. "Why did you become a doctor, Rookie -- Helena?" 

"I read a wonderful book." Helena ducks her head, and looks up at Ramsay from under her lashes, illuminated by the lamplight. Behind them, to the east, she hears the screech of a Minnie, and his hands tighten on her fingers. "It was written by a Scottish doctor who had served in India, on the Northwest Frontier." Her gaze skitters away. 

People said when we enlisted,//Fame and medals we would win.

"Ah. I knew a chap who served there, in his younger days." Ramsay tucks her cold hand through his elbow. The snow is falling thicker now, and they are nearly to the hotel. A quick word from Ramsay to the proprietor -- she hears the words une chambre pour les jeunes mariés -- He knows French after all -- 

And before she knows it, she is sitting in a delectably steaming hot hip bath, strewn with lavender and rosemary. She washes her hair and cannot remember the last time she felt such luxury. 

Nine months, two days, thirteen minutes...

When this war is over, //No more soldiering for me. 

"You can have the bed. I'll bunk down with Medical Officers Gayle and Nguyen, from the -nth Platoon." Ramsay stands in the doorway, his cap in his hands, avoiding looking directly at Helena in her muslin shift. "We wouldn't want you to lose your reputation and have to leave the war so soon." 

"Stay." She feels her eyelids drooping, and pats the quilt next to her. "Please, stay." 

"You know I can't do that." Yet, she hears the floorboards squeak as Ramsay settles next to her on a chair. The inn rattles like a whizzbang and she grasps Ramsay's hand, clutching at it until the clattering of the teacups subsides. "Only a little longer, then, Rookie. Until you're safe." 

•••

Ethan watches Helena Valentine fall asleep. There is nothing he'd like more than to climb next to her in that big bed, to feel her lithe body against his. But it would be wrong, even though nothing will ever be right again after the war is over. But if he can keep her safe -- If I can keep her alive -- he dares not finish the thought. 

“You wouldn't remember me, Helena Valentine, but I was the guest speaker of honor when they hung the plaque for your grandfather at the Royal Hospital, in Edinburgh.” Ethan whispers the words, barely a murmur. The whiskey has given him courage, here in a small hotel near the Ypres front. 

Ypres, the Race to the Sea. Generals called it a triumph, but the only thing the war has given Ethan thus far has been insomnia for thirty-six hours, a hatred of mustard gas and a pair of fine German boots from over the top. 

“He was an old surgeon, a medical man, who fought in the American Civil War, but he did great things for Scottish medicine, too, back in his youth.” Helena's fingertips tighten on his palm, and Ethan fears he has said too much. But he goes on, like a schoolboy at the confessional, for who can say when they shall ever have this moment again? And hasn't the war taught him by now to leave nothing unsaid? 

“You must have been not more than twenty-one, then. You were still unmarried, with a vast inheritance that folks said you'd squandered on medical school. I knew right then and there that Jonas Valentine would have been proud of you. I wanted to introduce myself right there and then…” 

But I was too tongue tied by your beauty, and couldn't find the words. Later, when I saw you again in Ypres, I couldn't believe my own eyes. I didn't want to tell you how I felt then...

(But that will keep, until this war is over.)

Her grip loosens, and he knows she is sleeping. She sighs in her slumber when his lips brush across her dainty brow, and it is with everything inside of him screaming at him to turn around that he walks away. 

When I get my civvy clothes on,/Oh how happy I shall be.

•••

Forty-five minutes, thirty seconds. 

The books are too heavy. Yet, Helena, an oasis of blue with a red cross on one arm in a sea of green uniforms, settles in with Sherlock Holmes. Rookie... She snaps the book shut, watching the landscape go by from the army van. 

I shouldn't... We shouldn't. Ramsay cups both sides of Helena's face in his hands. The book drops to the floor. They are both damp from the bath, and his skin smells of cedar and lavender soap. 

copy and paste into your tab:  https://archiveofourown.org/works/29957496/chapters/73743633

Later, she will remember the exact way the quilt felt as he pulled it over her shoulders, tucking her in, embers in the grate and his lips ghosting across her forehead. 

•••

Twenty years on, when a new war is brewing, this is what Helena Valentine remembers: 

The air, so still and warm, with not a single lark singing. The earth smells of flowers and death, and she is sharing sterilizing duty with VAD Nurse Varma, whom she'd come over from London with. 

"I suppose you think you're better than me, being a real doctor and all, but..." Jackie's lips move, but Helena cannot hear what she is saying. All she can hear is a buzzing sound, a ringing in her head. 

One two, one two. 

Her hands tremble with fatigue over the medical instruments. 

Thirteen minutes and forty-seven seconds. 

Tick, tock. 

The table begins to shake and she looks at Jackie, their eyes wide as they clasp hands -- and then they are running -- and the bridge is shaking, it's shaking Dr Ramsay, you shouldn't be out here, it's wartime you know -- 

No one can know about this, about us. You know that, right? 

I know, Dr Ramsay.

He cups her chin in his hand. They say you're a grasping American chit, but you're my American chit now, and I won't hear anything against you. Oh -- and don't check your bag until you're on the truck back to the lines. I left something there for you. 

Then you have this -- keep it until the war is over -- it was my grandfather's and it's over a hundred years old and it's still ticking on. 

His mouth is warm on hers, tip of his tongue pressed against hers for a surprisingly electric surge.  

-- "Nurse Valentine! Valentine!" --

Helena wakes in the morning with the ashes cold in the grate, Ramsay's greatcoat draped over her. It smells of peat and whiskey, and the faintest whiff of mustard gas. Her thighs are wet and she looks under the quilts and realizes her cycle has started, and she does not know why, but she begins to sob, whether from relief or terror she knows not. 

One two, one two.

(Twelve hours, seventeen minutes, and thirty four seconds.)

Tick, tock. 

People said when we enlisted,/Fame and medals we would win,/But the fame is in the guardroom,/And those medals made of tin.

[hockeysweetheart]

My thoughts while reading The ballad of song birds and Snakes...   ( I’ll be refering Coriolanus to Snow in this because I am not about to write that name who know how many times) ( Please note Many many spoilers ahead)

How  do I say these names... Flips through the book yeah I’m screwed.. 

Trigis is Snow’s Older Cousin Didn’t see that coming 

What’s this... Am I actually Feeling sorry and bad for snow... ( lets see how long this lasts for)

Point 2 seconds  a little upset you have to mentor Lucy gray from District 12 then your over it once she shows her vaule... 

Lucy Gray  wow you sure know how to make an entrence.  I like you... 

Is she the first winner from District 12?  

Did that really happen... 

Roses on the roof really... 

Okay  that was kinda sweet (  showing up to the train station with the rose) 

Wait what it’s not the luxury that is seen in the other books.They are treated like well zoo animals.  anywhere outside of the zoo ( before a certain point they are in handcuffs  also they are literally all in the same cage at the zoo and people can visit them too) ( Not fed/ mot trained basically they go into the arena as they look and wear the same clothes too)  (( I am doing this in one big point so then I don’t do like 50 points on this) 

No wonder there is a law  “No fighting with the other tributes before the games start”  

Who the actual **** is this Dean Guy... 

Okay thats sweet Snow is actually trying to make Lucy Stand a chance....  Whats this Snow is actual kinda sweet what are you  doing to me.. 

Sejanus Is feeding them too... 

Okay the Picnic was kinda sweet.. 

He knows Marcus... Oh wait I forgot hes from District 2 

Well that escalated Quickly... 

How didn’t these games get cancled...  I said this to myself about 10 times... 

Okay you did what to that girl because she told a lie...

Dr Gaul I have so many questions but frankly I am scared for your answer..

Okay Kids lets go on a field trip  where you will die in a few days.. 

What is this arena... 

Boom....  

How is this guy on the loose... 

Then I realized the games haven’t even started yet...

About the public humlationn really  you treated them bad enough... but now the dead... ughhh 

Okay Snow is being sweet again. Why am I blushing.. 

Okay I am convinced this Lucy Gray is related to Katniss somehow... 

SUGAR COOKIES PEETA MELLARK....

Okay that was sweet for Trigis to help out for the interview cleaning her dress and making sure lucy was washed up a bit... 

Is it that hard to find a gutair.... 

It’s not over until the Mockingjay sings... 

Lucy Grays Interview  wow.. BRAVO BRAVO..

Wait a second. Snow you didn’t just say that You own Lucy Gray.... Just because  her interview was amazing... and she’s a bigger shot then you... Takes a sip of a drink... Well I should of seen this  coming.. 

Okay its okay to let Lucy Gray cheat in the games But when Katniss pulls out those berries its like oh hell no... 

Now I see why they check the Tokens from home befroe they are approved for the arena.. 

She really kissed you and we were about to whitness a makeout session... ( I almost yelled get a room) 

Now the games are gonna beggin actually  I was like is this a false start..  

Oh its Happening...  

Whats the point of throwing Marcus pretty much dead in like that... 

Who is Lucky Flickerman  and this guy with the camera in there faces...

What in the actual were those Parachute gifts...  

Guess there are no trackers on them... 

How in the hell. Did  Sejanus get in the arena... Why are you making Snow go and get him... Grow some and get in there your self...  I just defended Snow whats wrong with me... 

Snow actually Killed a tribute... what the....

Why is guy from 11 Making a morgue.... 

Laughing a little  when other tributes grab the gifts 

Oh a little Jealous of Lucy Gray and her District partner 

Okay did I really just read the words STAR CROSSED LOVERS.. your killing me here..

OH wait.... Okay that was kinda sweet.. What the mentor for the male of District 12 did to save Lucy... 

Well that Alliance is over... 

Rat Poison.... 

District 11 your no fool... 

So let me get this you can only send gifts if you can see them where the hell are all the cameras... 

Really messing with the snakes so they don’t attack Lucy... ugh... so you can win the prize to pay your way... Pops another bottle  

Lucy Gray looks like this snake whisper.... 

This morgue is weird... 

I like my town with a little drop of Poison...  

How the hell did she Poison that pond... 

Well Lucy gray is the winner... ( As expected..) 

Oh shit now Snow is in trouble...  

And how in the hell he got approved to be a peacekeepr in district 12... 

Okay it is kinda sweet he is going after someone he loves...

Snow  one step in District 12.. Oh my god air nature get me outta here... Me rolls eyes.... 

Thank god  Sejanus is here. 

Are you are you coming to the tree... 

Snow sees one Mockingjay and is like Oh hell no...  Me Katniss Everdeen .... 

Maybe once he sees Lucy he will change   

The only Days free is Sunday .... 

The Hob really... 

trading  Sejanus Ma’s goods... 

Hmmm they are kinda looking like the peacekeepers from 12 around Katniss’s time... Kinda chill.. 

Okay Maude Ivory shes cute.. The Covey Love them.. 

When you think oh they are finally going to meet face to face again Bam... Billy Tate and Mayfair Lipp ruin it..  ‘

You really went to the bakery...  HELLO DARKNESS MY OLD FRIEND.. 

During this point I thought Snow you have seen how food  doesn’t come by really good here....WHY HAVEN’T YOU FED THEM BETTER IN THE 65 DAMN YEARS.. .

Really  from the seam...  ( Starts to make a list of every possbile place that Belongs to Katniss Everdeen) 

Not only does Snow Find Lucy Gray in the medow ( Deep in the meadow) But with a goat too...    ( adds it to my list)   and shes Sing the song she wrote the hanging tree...  adds to my list....

And now they start making out/ Which basically almost ends up in make out session every single time they meet up..  ( Now i was okay with this since I am sucker for a love story)

Did Lucy Live in the same house as Katniss did....  

Snow also realized real fast how the Districts don’t watch the games too much...

Billy whats his last name and   Sejanus hmmm  Hiding a map but wait Snow saw it... That could of happened smoother...

Snow has this plan to Kill the mockingjay.... ( Sweetheart that didn’t work 65 years later).... 

They go to the lake in the woods on a sunday no less... damn 3 things to add oh my god Katniss everdeen list... 

Snow literally 2 seconds into the woods oh hell no... ROLLS EYES... 

Now your swimming in the lake and in the “house” Keeps writing down)...   and the Deep in the meadow song is sung... I am going to need a bigger piece of paper.. 

Finds Katniss plants... now at this point i am not surprised... 

Gets approval to Kill the Mockingjays because they care me BIG WOOF....

Trapping the jabberjays... why is snow so interested... Oh shit the scientist knows me.. 

Sees Lucy again at singing at the hobb but he has a little before the show if you know what I mean.. then he notices Sejanus  sneaks out ( which he clames he was going to the bathroom... which was  a lie) 

Maude Ivory is Wearing a buttercup dress... whats next Primrose  is gonna make an apperence... 

Snow really looking threw  Sejanus stuff... ( I was so like hes gonna take the money and run) 

Sejanus oh my dear Sejanus He played you like a fool ... He recorderd the whole damn thing... at least he cannot get worse then that... your kinda like the idiot in those movies that lays out the whole evil plot to someone to only 10 seconds later get caught for it....

What the actual BEEEP happened in that shed.. Please let this be the first and last gun Snow ever gets his hands on... 

The fact that Maude Ivory found the bodies is not okay... 

The gossip at the BASE is gold.. 

At least snow felt Guilt for his killings... 

are you are you coming to the tree 

Well  Sejanus Sorry to see you go..

Now a little make out session at the commarders party when the Covey sings...  She really wrote a song for him okay thats kinda sweet.. 

Now  Lucy asks Snow to run away with her.... ( Writes this down) And he says yes... he literally didn’t make it five miles...  but then he found out he passed a test the day of but attemps to run away with Lucy... but....  

Before this tho Snow sends all of  Sejanus Money to trigis ( oh yeah i forgot to add basically they are loosing there place) 

Now in the Woods...

5 seconds in snow is like oh hell no....

Lucy Figures out that Snow is the reason  Sejanus is dead... 

Lucy  says shes gonna get katniss plants and then she get the hell outta there this is after Snow finds the murder wepons... 

Snow gets bitten by a snake... ( Sips wine) 

Who in the hell Let Coriolanus Snow touch a gun...   he is shooting left and right... 

Lucy Grey GAME ON.... ARE YOU ARE YOU COMING TO THE TREE.... and then bam gone...

My reaction to those events was what the actual hell did i read there.. Oh it gets better... 

So snow makes it back thinking hes gonna die from a non poisnous snake bite... and hes outta district 12.. But back to the captiol to where Dr Gaul said you passed the test...  

Now here is the part I literally almost threw my book... 

When Snow used  Sejanus Parents to his full advantage... never telling them oh he is the reason there one and only son is dead.. and Basically the parents “Adopt snow..” pay for his schooling now, makes sure he is well fed and dressed..” I was beyond pissed at this point...  

So now my last point Snow said the games must go on which duhh ( since we meet Katniss everdeen ) and that they will be better and everyone must watch... and more twists and turns in it...

[hildagirl99]

Volume 4, Chapter 11: The traitor

Warning: violent scenes in this chapter

After Oswald regains his senses, he returns to the castle. He entered the council room, Fio was there, alone, facing the window.

"Well, Oswald, what a head do you have, have you seen a dead person?" Said Fio with amusement.

"Uh ... no no ... I ... I meditated a little." Oswald responds, whispering.

"A little rest will do you the greatest good."

"That's nice, Highness, but in truth, I have a bad feeling, someone wants you bad, pay attention to who you are talking to!" Said Oswald.

"I don't know what you smoke for your meditations, but stop, hehe." Said Fio shrugging his shoulders, laughing.

"Highness, I'm serious ..." Oswald said trying to be convincing.

Fio stops in his walk.

"Tell me then who could blame me?"

"You don't find that Lord Eustache is very strange, these last days? Finally ... at the beginning of the week, rumors circulate, things disappear ..."

"Assert that there is something for it?"

"No, I see, don't deny that you find it strange ..."

"Mmmh, I have to admit yes, he had asked me strange questions about Linda, as if he knew in advance that it was my aunt ... as if he had tried to warn me, but I do not see not the harm he did! He tried to warn me. "

"But open your eyes!" He turns around your mother, he has a strange attitude! He writes with his right hand while he's left-handed! And the D-mons seem terrified when we talk about him.

Fio is silent for a moment, then says:

"All right ... keep an eye on him, I'm starting to have doubts."

"Okay ..." Oswald said as he left the boardroom.

A little further, Cagney was sitting on the terrace, thinking about what happened last night with Fluffy, after discovering the truth that his parents were dead. He thinks he will never forgive him, he started to cling to him, not wanting to leave him alone, he needed a family. Until one of the three D-mons comes to interrupt his thoughts, it was Boom.

"What are you doing here alone?" He asked shyly.

"I need no help ... please leave me." Cagney snapped.

He notices that Boom was also alone.

"Where is your band?" He asks.

"They went elsewhere to watch someone and then I noticed you and I separated from them." Boom answers, putting himself next to him.

"I see, you're the wise man of the band, that's it, who tells me you're not going to trap me yet." Said Cagney.

"No, I don't want you, you know, I saw it all last night, for Fluffy."

At this moment, it passes under the balcony and hearing his name, he hides to listen.

"I tried to give him hope to find his parents alive, but I was sure of nothing ... I can understand that he wants me, I started to become attached to him and now, I do not know where he is, what he does, he needs someone, a family ... "

Hearing these words, Fluffy smiled.

"Would you like to adopt him?" Boom application.

"I ... I don't know, maybe, but I have to talk to my wife about it."

Suddenly, Fluffy had the feeling that he would find a good family! He wants to forgive Cagney until the conversation changes.

"I'm sure she'd agree, talking about your wife, you need to stay close to her."

"Why do you say that ?"

"Actually, Tic and Tac went to watch Lord Eustache, it's true that we were accomplices with him at first, but he holds us back as his hostages to get rid of you, we decided not to let ourselves go, but we have been on mission since the beginning, I can not tell you more, we are sure that Lord Eustache is not the one he pretends to be! He wants your wife! You must go find her! "

"Are you sure of that? Where is he?" Exclaims Cagney, widening his eyes.

"Yes ... I think he's going to the guest dormitory!"

At this, Cagney gets up and rushes to find Hilda.

"Be careful, sir Carnation!" Prevents Boom.

Fluffy, having heard everything, decides to follow him discreetly.

Meanwhile, Hilda runs along the dark corridors of the rooms, she wants to enjoy his last days on her homeland.

"Are we looking for directions?" Said a voice.

"Lord Eustache, I know it's you ..." Hilda said.

He appears at her side.

"What is your delirium to appear in the dark ..."

"I always preferred the shade to the light, that's what makes my charm." Eustache said getting closer to her.

She slowly departs and continues to walk.

"And to answer your question, I'm enjoying my last days, where I was born."

"Exactly, why not take advantage with me, from the beginning, you seem to avoid me while I hands you gently." Eustache said, bringing his hand to her face. At this gesture, Hilda pushes his hand violently.

"Sir, I am not interested, and I will not deceive my husband!" Said Hilda.

"You should let go a little more often, all the couples do it, you have to get bored in bed, with me you can free yourself." This one is positioned in front of her.

"Never, leave me, poor fool!" She said nervously.

"But you're looking for me, little tease, hehe, at 50, you're still fresh, ready to fuck." He grabs her arm and blocks her against the wall.

"No, let me go!" Hurts Hilda, she's scared. She tries to struggle but he has a big hold on her. She focuses to use her magic but nothing happens, she remains speechless.

"How sad it is, without powers to defend yourself, you are mine now!" Eustache said in a Machiavellian laugh and approached his face as he touched her body.

"Take off your dirty hands from my wife! Shouted a voice in the corridor and a huge liana struck Eustache in the face and fell unconscious. Cagney appears, eyes full of anger. Hilda runs towards him.

"Cagney ... he ... has"

"Don't worry I'm here, luckily I arrived in time, I knew it was not clear! It's one of the D-mons who warned me."

"Thanks honey ... but my powers, they do not seem to work anymore!"

"What do you mean ?"

"Look ..." she tries to make a star appear but nothing works.

"That's why I could not defend myself."

"Strange ... you have to warn Fio right now!" His right hand is not a trusted man, telling him what he's been trying to do to you. Said Cagney taking Hilda in his arms, he was very worried, and they rushed to warn Fio.

"What is it possible?" Said Fio, completely stunned.

"It's the truth, otherwise I will not be shocked or ruffled!" Said Hilda, still in shock.

"I know he's a little crazy, but from there, make sexual touching, it's not his style ..."

"Fio, you have to stop him and right now, if not, he'll do it again!"

"I'll take care of it, we'll have it by surprise, I need to be sure, you're not the first to complain about his behavior, Oswald said, and the D-mons too. "

"Highness, I'm going to confront him, stay behind me." Oswald said as he opened the door. Meanwhile, Eustache becomes nervous, his liquor in which he drank was empty and he begins to tremble.

"And shit ... and that jerk who's dead, his blood is no longer good ... I must quickly find someone else, the leader would not be bad ... haha ​​... I'll take his place and I'll take my revenge on the mountain."

He begins to limp and is soon to face Oswald.

"Here, my dear, what a good wind today?" He said trying to hide his tremors

"Please follow me." Answer Oswald.

"And why that?"

"You have assaulted Miss Berg in this hallway, His Highness will take care of your punishment."

"Assaulted ... pfff, right now the big words, hehe ... She warmed me too!" A woman like her, we can not resist. "

He does not know that in the shadows, Cagney, Hilda and Fio had heard everything.

"But who are you, damn it, it does not look like you!" Fio pops up.

"Oooh, Highness, I did not see you!" He said arrogantly.

"Enough, you've hurt my mother, your punishment will have serious consequences!" Fio said, frowning.

Suddenly, Eustache holds his head, and half of his face turns black. Everyone goes back to this scary appearance. Seeing a good opportunity, as a brute force, he throws himself on Fio, hands around his neck.

"Aaah !! Fio!" Hurts Hilda completely frightened.

"Arhhgg, let me go!" Said Fio pushing Eustache violently, Oswald catches him and slams him to the floor. A dozen guards meet the corridor and hold him by the arms. Eustache now had red eyes, seeming to drool as if he was furious.

Fio gets up quickly.

"You are not Eustache ... who are you? And where is he?" He yells.

He replies with a sneer.

"If you want to follow me, I'll show you something ..."

"I will not be alone, so what do you have to show me?"

He leads the rest of the group into a basement.

"I'm sure you hold the real Eustache! He's here?" Oswald asks.

"For once, you look less stupid than you look ..." responds the individual.

"Shut up and show us where he is!" Fio application.

Suddenly, a strong nauseating odor comes to the nose.

"My God, but it stinks here!" Said Fio, plugging his nose.

"It looks like the smell that bothered the staff, remember, I told you about it." Said Oswald

"Mashed ... there is a dead man or what?" Said Cagney.

"That's what you believe." Answer the false Eustachian.

He opens a door, next to the pipes, their hearts miss a beat when they see with horror, a body lying on the ground. He seems to be a corpse in a state of advanced decomposition.

"My God no !!"

The fake Eustache approaches the body, seizing it by the collar of the shirt and throwing it to the ground in front of them. This corpse was the TRUE Eustache!

"What did you do to him!" Fio screams.

"I was just taking his blood to keep his appearance and fool you! It is true that I mistreated him, but I would never have cut his veins if I needed him!" Replied the false Eustace, still in his madness and disfigured appearance.

Hilda hides in Cagney's arms not to look. Cagney was disgusted at the sight of the corpse and the fake Eustache who wanted to hurt his wife. Fio had lost his second adviser, his faithful right hand.

"Put it behind bars, you have better tell us your identity before your judgment!"

"You can always try, I will not speak." Said the individual by taunting him.

"All night, do you hear me? Crit Fio.

And the guards take him to the strongest prison, to prevent him from escaping without revealing his identity.

"And ... take Eustache ... we'll make him a funeral worthy of him." Fio said, lowering his head.

"Highness, I'm sorry for it ... you have to be strong now, I think he wanted to end his days to prevent this intruder from continuing to fool us with his appearance." To save us, if not, who knows what he could have done you. " Oswald said trying to comfort his boss. Fio could not help but drop a tear. His parents are coming closer to comfort him.

After the burial of Eustache, the night falls and promises to be long for the guards and Fio who try somehow to make the individual talk about his identity, which is content to release some laughter while remaining silent to questions .

"He is tough." Said Fio, exhausted.

"Yes ... he will eventually give in." Replies Oswald.

"Dad, mom, go to sleep, it's best for you."

"Yes ... but Fio, be careful." Said Cagney.

"Don't worry, if in an hour he did not answer, I'll go to bed."

"All right, let's sleep now."

"His judgment will be tomorrow night, we'll see."

At this point, Oswald thinks what the devil told him. "Tomorrow night at midnight on the royal square" These words resonate in his head, he immediately thinks he might try to convince Hilda and Linda to follow him to this place during the judgment. It hurt a lot inside him, but he has no choice.

To be continued

[skunts-own-truth]

Oh no, I sleepily felt compelled to write a short story

No planning or editing went into this. Just laid down for bed and started typing. If it’s trash it’s trash, but hey, told myself I’d start posting my writing somewhere! Here you go, friends, if you want to read this sleepy-time tale of gods and curses, you’ll find it right here: 

The firepits had not worked, Grenel realized as he saw his grandmother roaming the fields behind his large mudbrick dwelling. It was raining, and the rice fields were drowning in dark water and muck that came up to his grandmother's knees. She sloshed through it, lifting powerful dead legs and slamming them down back into the mud. Having not yet noticed her grandson, she would wander aimlessly. He would have to put her back down.

With that in mind, the huntsman Grenel went about preparing himself for the slaying. It had been found that dismemberment severed the body parts of the dead from the spell that raised them. Stabbing weapons, like a spear, were useless in this curse. The warriors of his tribe learned that early on, and that lesson was a costly one. The warrior cast of the united clans was but a memory now, leaving only the hunters, woodcutters, farmers, and beastmen to apply their respective trades on the freshly dead.

Wearing thick mammoth hide no cursling could chew through, Grenel moved silently around the flooded fields of rice. His grandmother was still plodding along, making a clear trail of slosh and upturned muck and vegetation behind her. It saddened the already emotionally tried huntsman to see his grandmother, a proud leader of the tribe's warrior cast, taken by this devil's curse. She deserved better than this humiliating march through the mud and deserved far better than meeting her end by the swing of a blunt axe. Still, it had to be done. So many brave men and women had died when the curslings first began to rise. The warriors had not been the only ones to perish in that tide of undeath; now only a handful of his people remained.

The rain fell hard and thunder boomed signaling a battle between gods and monsters. They wared so much in these hot months, and as a child, the hunter's warrior grandmother would tell him tales of when the gods did their fighting there in their homelands. A sight he had hoped they would see again, with her by his side of course. That could not happen now. The rage was building under his calm hunter's stance. He could hold it in, but not forever. She would eventually spot him as he prowled around the fields. That much was fine, he would need her to see him at some point.

Grenel laid simple traps as he stalked his cursling elder. They were strong things, faster than an angry cat and stronger than the beastmen's aurochs on a charge, but with the rain coming down this hard he knew he could make use of hidden ropes and simple blades in the mud. They weren't expert works of the hunter's art, but fine enough to trip and bleed the thing that had been his grandmother. That was fine enough. He closed his eyes, begged the storm to see the gods cut down in their battle so far away, and let out a soft, comforting tune. It was a song Grenel's grandmother, Varan, had taught him when he was a boy.

The tune did exactly what he had planned for it to do. The cursling's head snapped towards the sound, its body twisting under the broken neck to face the singing hunter. For good measure, he began to swing his sling around building deadly momentum. Sometimes these cursed dead only needed light damage to see them lay back to rest. As the warstone flung from his sling and cracked open her head, spilling out the rotten brains and a single eye, he knew this would not be as easy as that. She charged without any other sound than her cracking bones. Somehow, he felt he could hear that over the thunder's roar.

Grenel stood his ground, axe in hand as she ran at him like man become beast, tearing through the ground on all fours to get at him. His tears fell freely then, as her arms and legs found the ropes. They caught her, despite her strength she was sent flipping into the mud, and right onto the blunt blades in the muck. Black blood flowed out, darkening the slick brown of the earth. Still, she made no sound. Even in those last moments as his axe came down and freed her body from the curse.

He fell to his knees when it was over, shaken to the core by the grotesque experience. His grandmother's spirit could rest, but he knew his own would not. This was a cursed land. Abandoned by gods, left to rot at the mercy of evil forest things that toy with the lives of men. He was alone or felt as much. His own clan was dead, burnt to a crisp in a firepit, missing, or dismembered and sinking down into thick chunky earth. Those of the tribe that were left had little to do with Grenel besides relying on his sling to bring in fresh game. It was more than too much for the hunter, and a part of him considered walking into the fire he would soon build for the corpse.

Two days go by without another cursling to kill. The gods won their battle, the sky became clear once again. The rain allowed so much of the farmer's food to sprout in a rapid, near miracle speed that an elder actually thanked the gods out loud. Grenel could have ripped the old man's head off for that affront to all who had died in these terrible months.

The gods, he had spat at the old man, sending his sons into a rage. Grenel offered no apology, simply accepting the beating that came soon after. He had blackened both of the young fools' eyes, broken one's nose, and bit a chunk out of another... but he regretted that. The huntsman knew he should not have antagonized the old man, he was only dreaming of days long past, when the gods looked over the tribes of their land. He had no right to shout at the old man, nor to spit on him in curse. He held no grudge, though he knew that was not a mutual sentiment.

Grenel would leave only a few days later. Axe in hand, mammoth hide on, and a sack of rabbit meat salted and ready for a long journey out of his homeland. He was not a cruel man, so he left his tribe pounds of bore and deer flesh, salted and dried for ease of storage. Some had begged him not to go, while others wished he found his death in the haunted forests around their home, and he shared in their wishings. "I will not return," he told them all, "cursed in death or alive and hungry. I have no place here, nor do I feel a need to fight any more dead for land already forsaken."

There were fourteen of them in total. The strong ones, but not the strongest. The smart ones, but not those smart enough to have left long before this. Strangers bound by land, a tribe of barely over a dozen. At the rate they had dwindled already, he knew they would not last the cold months when they marched down from the Northern mounts to wage war on life. The frost always won, but if they could store enough food... perhaps they could survive to see the time of rebirth when the cold grew bored of its victory.

"Wait," said a woman in the group that had gathered to see Grenel off. He did not know her name but knew she had been born into a family of beastmen and married into a clan of warriors. She still carried a copper sword that was even blunter than his own woodcutter's axe he had borrowed from his own late wife. She towered over the hunter but did not look down on him with any sort of disdain, and for that, he stopped to listen to her words. "We have all wondered where you could possibly go when you leave here; the elders believe you go off simply to find peace in death. Our generation claim you know of a hidden tribe that you found in your travels, that you plan to abandon us to our fate as you grow fat on fine auroch raised in peaceful lands... but, none of this is true."

Her expression was serious, more so than Grenel's own. He found himself almost intimidated by her, and perhaps would have been if he had not cut down his own family's rotten corpse so recently. He stood his ground as she approached. "You are going to find the land of the gods, aren't you?"

Grenel could not bare her fierce glare, so he looked away, back towards their fellow tribesmen. His defiance was directed at them, not at her. "Yes." He said without any hesitation, "I go to see what was so important that they abandon us, their people. I go to see the monsters they face, and the great halls where they drink..." The huntsman spat, "and I will find my death in their lands, perhaps at their own mighty hands, but as I am cut down they will hear the names of my clan and they too will taste the bite of a cursling dead as it taints their precious home."

The hunter thought he would never get a chance after an outburst like that. However, no fist was swung, no rock slung, nor did he find a speartip jutting from his chest. Instead, the last warrior in the village held her blade out in front of her and pledged her sword to this death. "Then I will go with you, Grenel Godcryer, and find my death by your side... I would yell my defiance with you, and curse those loathsome beings for leaving us to our fate."

The tribe had nothing kind to say about the two departing Godseekers, so they planned to leave as soon as the hunter's new warrior companion gathered her belongings. They snuck a few extra hunks of meat from the supply Grenel had left for the tribe, and when they were sure they would not starve together in those haunted woods the pair left their old homes behind.

Grenel leaned the woman's name was Yvettle. A descendant of a prophetess of the same name, her clan had gone from nobles to farmers after the gods made priest-kings and future-seers a thing of the past by taking their godly magic away from the land. She was a soft-spoken killer he found, and thanked his luck for it. They did not talk often but enjoyed the quiet conversations when the trails got too hard to walk and camp needed to be set. She had lost as much as him; a wife, an adopted son, and a husband. Yvettle could no longer bear to stay in the cemetery their home had become and needed any excuse she could to escape that gloomy place. She had found that in him, and he did not resent her for it.

Theirs was a tired friendship, built on loss and death. As days turned to weeks, they had learned to work together well. Grenel found it a shame their tribe had set tasks for clans, as this woman could have done everyone's job alone. She was as talented a hunter as she was a herder, and her skill with a sword was as deadly as his aim with a sling. There was no doubt in his mind she could have contended for chief if life had stayed normal for their clans, and that was a shame.

As months came and gone, Grenel and Yvettle found their bond made for an effective killing unit. Like gods of war, they came together to end the lives of those unnatural things that stalked the forests and kept the tribesmen bundled behind walls and safe in their huts. Long things, boney and covered in loose skin crawled from the trees on hands of ice. Wolves that burned like the sun circled Grenel's freshly killed deer. Once, a woman in a river nearly beckoned Yvettle to save her, only to reveal herself a hungry eel below. Each time they acted without fear, and each time they pulled each other out of the clutches of death. The infernal beasts eventually left them alone, and not long after that, the pair found the first marker that proved the land of the gods was not so far away.

A sword as tall as the tallest tree, made from the shining god-metal, jutted from the broken skull of a monster that surely had to be the size of a mountain in life. They did not speak as they came out of the forest to find this great blade, instead, they were possessed by a second wind. The gods were close, and neither would rest until those immortal beings felt Grenel the hunter and Yvettle the warrior's shared rage. Together, they marched into the lands of mythology to face a death they craved more than life. Side by side, they would challenge the gods and seek to defile their holy lands with their tainted corpses, and only then would the bonded pair find their peace.

[cristinablackthornkingson]

Shadowhunters Short Story #19.

Anna leans back against the wall outside the Hall Of Accords, enjoying the feel of the other girl’s lips against hers. She knew it was a risk kissing her girlfriend in public, but it was a risk she was willing to take, she was so happy with Margret, she was sick and tired of having to hide who she was, just because some people didn’t agree with it. She had only told a few people about liking girls and not boys, one of them being her little brother Christopher, who accepted it and was very supportive of her but also wanted to do experiments on her to see if he could find out why she liked girls instead of boys, she loved her little brother but sometimes she could cheerfully kill him. She had also told her friend Matthew Fairchild, who thought it was amazing that Anna liked girls and insisted she give him all her advice on getting a girlfriend, and insisted on talking about girls they like every time he saw her, Anna acted like this annoyed her and that Matthew was a pain, but really she was just so glad he had accepted her and agreed to keep it a secret, Matthew was a sweetheart (unlike his older brother Charles) and Anna felt a fierce need to protect him, along with her cousins Jamie and Thomas and her brother Chris. 

As Anna winds her arms around Margret's neck and deepens the kiss, she becomes aware of the sound of footsteps, and before she can pull away from Margret, a booming voice breaks the silence of the night.

“What is going on here?!” When Anna opens her eyes, she sees The Inquisitor Victor Whitelaw, standing behind Margret, staring at them in disgust. 

“I was kissing my girlfriend, until you rudely interrupted us, did you want something?” Anna asks in a calm tone, leaning back against the wall. She was not afraid on The Inquisitor, she was not afraid of anybody, she was not going to hide who she was anymore. 

“So you admit you were committing a crime?” The Inquisitor asks, sounding as if he just won a major victory.  Anna often forgot that people like her were deemed criminals, what she had just done was technically a crime, but she refused to admit it.

“No, I admitted to kissing my girlfriend, I did not realize that was illegal, my friend Matthew Fairchild is never harassed like this for kissing a woman.” Anna says, anger seeping into her tone.

“That is because it is natural for a man to desire a woman, but for a woman to desire another woman is disgusting and sinful, I would take you to The Silent Brothers myself if I could, but that decision is not up to me but the Consul, however I am sure she will agree with me that your like should not be free to walk the streets and disgrace the angel’s name.” The inquisitor says, his face becoming red with anger. Anna did not care if he put her up before The Consul, she grew up around Charlotte Fairchild, she knew she was a kind, caring woman who would never judge somebody for who they love, she would never put Anna in prison, she was like a mother to Uncle Will, she would not hurt his family like that.

*Half an hour later* “Inquisitor Whitelaw, what is going on?” Charlotte asks, as Victor Whitelaw strides into her office in The Hall Of Accords with Anna and Margret on either side of him. 

“I found these two kissing, Consul Fairchild, each other, they have committed a disgusting crime and it is my duty to take them to you for order of punishment!” Victor says. Anna rolls her eyes, knowing that he was going to be disappointed and very annoyed when neither girl received any type of punishment.

“I see, I should like to speak to Miss Lightwood first, alone please Victor.” Charlotte says. 

Once he and Margret leave, Charlotte invites Anna to sit by the fire in the office, and sits across from her, calmly as ever. 

“Why don’t you explain what happened tonight, Anna? In your own terms.” Charlotte softly says. 

“I was at the Christmas Ball here in the Hall Of Accords with my girlfriend Margret Ravenscarr, at first we behaved as though we were just friends, it is not uncommon for two women to attend a dance as friends, but as the night went on I just became sick of having to hide how much I enjoy being with her, so when we went outside, I kissed her, and she kissed me back and I did not care if anybody saw us, I am tired of hiding who I am.” Anna says, her voice full of anger and frustration. 

“I see, so you’re not interested in boys then?” Charlotte asks. Anna shakes her head and says 

“No, I never have been, I have always been attracted to girls, that is who I am and I cannot change it, even if I could, I would not.” 

“Do your parents know?” Charlotte asks. 

“No, only Chris and Matt know but I swore them to secrecy, so please do not punish Matthew for lying to you, he was just being a good friend.” Anna says. 

“I have no intentions of even asking Matthew about this, he did the right thing, it was not his place to tell me, only yours, and I am glad you felt comfortable enough to tell me, although you didn’t have much choice.” Charlotte gently says. 

“He wants to put me in prison.” Anna quietly says. She knew The Silent Brothers were likely to think of her the same way Victor does, except for Brother Zachariah of course, Anna had told him that she liked girls, when he was treating her for a infected wound, a year ago. She felt so safe with Brother Zachariah she just came out with it, and he assured her that it was okay, her feelings were valid and everyone would still love her.

“That will not happen, Anna, neither you nor Margret will be punished in anyway for what you did. To tell you the truth Anna, homosexuality is not even officially illegal among Shadowhunters, that is a mundane law that we seem to have adopted, but it is not an official law, there is nothing he could persecute you for if he tried.” Charlotte says. 

“It’s an idiotic law.” Anna quietly says, tears of anger burning in her eyes. 

“I agree, Anna, everyone should be free to love whoever they love, as long as everyone involved in a relationship is a consenting adult, it is no one’s business but their own.” Charlotte calmly says. Seeing the anger and frustration in the young girls face, Charlotte then softly says “I think you should go home, Anna, and get some rest.” 

Anna nods and wipes at her tears, before wordlessly getting up and leaving the office. 

It is late by the time Anna gets home, usually everyone is in bed by this time, especially her mother, who is 7 months pregnant, she is always tired now, Anna missed training with her her mother, but could not wait to meet her new little brother, she loved children and had always wanted to be a mother herself, but she had given up on that dream when she realized she wasn’t interested in men. 

When Anna walks into the living room, she is shocked to see her mother and father waiting for her, both of them looking more furious than Anna has ever seen them before.

“What are you doing up?” Anna asks, looking from her mother to her father. 

“We were about to go to bed, when we got a visit from The Inquisitor.” Gabriel calmly says.

“Oh? What for?” Anna nervously asks, knowing full well what The Inquisitor paid her parents a visit for. 

“To tell us he caught you committing a crime and that you were up before The Consul to receive punishment, what did you do Anna?” Cecily asks, her voice a mixture of anger and worry. Anger wells up inside Anna again, and she does not think before she starts to speak. 

“I did not commit a crime! I kissed a girl and that is it! All I did was kiss a girl and he wanted to imprison me!” Anna says. 

“Kissed a girl?” Gabriel asks in a confused tone of voice. 

“Yes, father! I kissed a girl, I like girls, not boys!” Anna says. 

Everyone is quiet for what feels like hours, and tears begin to well in Anna’s eyes, fear of her parents hatred for her, consuming her mind. 

“Oh Anna, baby girl, why didn’t you tell us?” Cecily softly asks, heaving herself from her chair, and pulling her daughter close to her, softly running her hand over her hair like she use to, when she was little. 

“I was terrified you would think I am disgusting and sinful, I was scared you would not love me anymore.” Anna says in a tight tone of voice. 

“Oh Anna, we could never hate you, you are our daughter, we will always love you, no matter what. Liking girls is a part of who you are, we would not change any part of you Anna, and we do not hate any part of you.” Gabriel gently says, brushing her hair back and gently squeezing her hand, willing back his own tears, furious with himself for not realizing Anna was different sooner, for not telling her she could tell him anything, that he would never stop loving her. 

“Now that I have told you, I want to tell Uncle Will and Aunt Tessa, and Uncle Gideon and Aunt Sophie, do you think they will understand, accept me?” Anna asks in a fearful tone. 

“If they do not then they are fools who do not deserve you in their lives.” Cecily gently says. 

The next day, they visit Gideon and Sophie who live not far from them, in Idris. Cecily and Gabriel took Thomas, Eugenia and Barbara outside for a training session so Anna could talk to her aunt and uncle in private. 

Anna had told them she had something to tell them, and from there they let her talk, never once interrupting her. She simply told them that she liked girls and not boys, that is how she has always been and how will always be, and she hoped she had their love and support. Once she finished talking, Sophie was the first to speak, pulling her into a tight hug and telling her that she absolutely had their support and love, for ever and always. Gideon joined them a minute later, assuring his niece that he would always love her no matter what and this did not make an ounce of difference to him. 

When they went to visit Uncle Will and Aunt Tessa, in London, a few weeks later, Anna told them her secret, in much the same way she told Sophie and Gideon and her parents, and they reacted in much the same way, assuring her that they would always love her and support her. Uncle Will had jokingly asked her to help poor shy Jamie find a girlfriend. Anna was so relieved to have the love and support of her family. 

2 months later, her mother went into labor early one morning, 2 weeks before she was due. Aunt Sophie and Charlotte were there to support her mother while she was in labor (Aunt Tessa did not like coming to Idris as people here were so cruel to her and Jamie and Lucie, because of their demon blood, Anna hated the people who judged her wonderful aunt and cousins, for something they could not help.) while father, Uncle Gideon, Chris and Anna waited downstairs. Anna hadn’t realized how long it took for a baby to be born, her mother had been in labor for close to 12 hours, before Aunt Sophie came down to tell them the good news, that mother had given birth to a healthy baby boy. 

As Anna gazed at her baby brother sleeping in her arms, she felt the longing to hold her own baby in her arms, well up in her chest, and she could not push it down, causing tears to well up in her eyes. 

“Anna, what’s wrong, cariad?” Cecily softly asks, seeing tears begin to fall down her eldest daughter’s face. When Chris was born when Anna was 3 she cried from jealously, but surely she was not jealous now at 16 of little Alexander. 

“Nothing.” Anna says, wiping at her tears. 

“Anna, people do not cry for no reason, I’m your mother I know when something is wrong, tell me.” Cecily gently says. 

“It’s silly.” Anna quietly says. 

“Doesn’t matter, if it upsets you this much it cannot be as silly as you say.” Cecily says. 

“I just... I always wanted to be a mother, but when I figured out I like girls, I gave up on that idea, but now Alexander is here, it made me remember how much I want to be a mother and it hurts so much that I never will be a mother.” Anna says. 

“Chris, take your brother for a minute.” Gabriel quietly says, knowing that Anna needs her parents right now. 

Anna carefully passes the baby to Chris, before quietly saying 

“It was a stupid dream, anyway.” 

“Oh my love, no it is not.” Cecily softly says, pulling her daughter down to embrace her.  

Gabriel sits beside his wife and puts his arms around her and Anna, wishing he could take his daughter’s pain.

Chris carefully places baby Alexander in his crib beside the bed, before joining his parents and sister and embracing Anna, pouring all his love into the hug. He hated seeing her so upset, his brilliant, wonderful big sister, he hated every single person who made her feel terrible about herself because she liked girls, they did not know his Anna, they did not know how wonderful and brilliant and amazing she was, they should be so lucky.  

As she clung tightly to her parents and brother, Anna knew that though she would never have the child she longed for, she would be okay and more than happy with just her family and their love and support. 

[cryptoquicknews-blog]

New Post has been published here https://is.gd/3KiZaX

RIP ICOs: 2019 Will Be the Year of Enterprise Blockchain Tokens

This post was originally published here

Ajit Tripathi is a partner at ConsenSys, where he specializes in global financial services business development and corporate venture strategy.

The following is an exclusive contribution to CoinDesk’s 2018 Year in Review. 

One year ago, I wrote an article for CoinDesk in which I humbly argued that the price of ether didn’t matter and what everyone in the blockchain community should focus on is building useful applications instead.

Hate to say I told you so, but… I did.

A few short months later, CryptoKitties were chased away by the bears, the initial coin offering (ICO) boom was gone, and the euphoria of $1,000 ether and $20,000 bitcoin had been replaced by the dire prognostications that crypto was “ded.”

Below I review what I regard as the major developments of 2018, and what lies ahead in 2019. And at the risk of being accused of double-spending, I’m going to quote freely from my earlier article, since many of the points I made have been vindicated or bear repeating.

When you’re #ODL and you know it…

Until June 2018, enticing crypto engineers to work on any enterprise product was hard, very hard. The lure of tokens ran rampant.

Most people in my dot-com generation learned the hard way that showing up at 8 a.m. and burning brain fuel until 10 p.m. is kinda the only way. But what 24-year-old who can write a grammatically correct sentence with “token” and “moon” in the same breath wants to do that?

When the dot-com microcaps were booming, I didn’t either. What exactly are these cash flows… duh! But, as I wrote a year ago:

“One day everyone in crypto will have to generate fiat revenues and profits in some form.”

When most of the tokens later crashed spectacularly, moon and lambo swiftly retreated from the social discourse and boring middle class concepts like enterprise technology, real human users and a fiat salary re-entered human conversation.

Deja vu, deja vu…

The year of regulation

I quote myself, yet again: “Dealing with other people’s money is always going to be regulated”.

In 2018, when folks in crypto weren’t talking about the tanking prices, we were talking about regulation or hoping it’d go away. Well, it didn’t.

In February, Chairman Christopher Giancarlo of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission advocated a “do no harm” approach to crypto regulation, referring to the erstwhile U.S. approach to the internet.

The clearest and most concise guidance from a regulator came in February from the Swiss, who, to their credit, have been forward-looking in their acknowledgment of the potential of blockchain technology so far. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or FINMA, clearly laid out the various types of tokens and what makes a token a payment token or a utility token or a security.

Both sides of the securities law debate were woken up by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) director of corporate finance, William Hinman, when he stated in June that to his understanding, “the ethereum network and its decentralized structure, current offers and sales of ether are not securities transactions.”

We the British, maintained our classical studious approach, studying and further studying the space and to our credit, doing no damage, either in support or opposition of the crypto space while calling for good behavior and manners… yes, manners all this time.

On the policy front, the European Commission led the way with a systematic approach to engaging with the blockchain community through the EU Blockchain Observatory.

The year of ‘ded’ ICOs

That said, the news flow in 2018 was dominated not by hardworking engineers building great technology but by traders and bankers mooning and REKTing things, as they do best.

Against the flow, as ICOs boomed I mused…

“I suspect that each year, half of the ICO-funded startups from the previous year will die – if they even make it that long.”

Well, they didn’t.

As EY reported:

“86% are now below their listing price; 30% have lost substantially all value. An investor purchasing a portfolio of The Class of 2017 ICOs on 1 January 2018 would most likely have lost 66% of their investment. Of the ICO start-ups we looked at from The Class of 2017, only 29% (25) have working products or prototypes, up by just 13% from the end of last year.”

Forgive them for they know not of which they speak

So many many folks mused that since ICOs were doing so badly and since most ICOs were launched on ethereum, ethereum must also be “ded.” Well, the price chasers were wrong then and they are wrong now.

As I said to CoinDesk editor in chief Pete Rizzo in a video interview at Consensus 2018, “cryptocurrencies are online community assets.”

Any token that has survived at least one boom or bust and has a thriving community (of people, not trolls and trading bots) has the potential to be used by many many more people over the next two decades as this technology matures and as these platforms scale.

We haven’t even scratched the tip of the iceberg with our ice skates yet. Further, ethereum is the leading platform today because of its ecosystem, which only seems to grow and accelerate…

The year of the ecosystem

Turns out, the price of ether is the least interesting feature of ethereum. I said back then…

“Ethereum has momentum, developer adoption, and a team that is willing to address the technical limitations even at risk to the price of ether. This is why I am making a big bet of time on ethereum rather than a bet of money in crypto. It has people who are serious about the Web 3.0 vision and solving real consumer and business problems.”

At DevCon4, Joseph Lubin, the illustrious co-founder of ethereum, made his famous “killer ecosystem” speech. The way I understood it was that we’re so early in this technology that it’s the quality and depth of the ecosystem surrounding a blockchain platform that’d define its long-term success or failure.

Waiting for a killer app is a fool’s errand because killer apps don’t quite tell you in advance that they are killer apps. The way to get to a whole range of killer apps is to unleash the creative power of developers, enterprises, investors and other agents of society.

That to date has been ethereum’s singular achievement.

The week before, Joe received a memorable reception at Sibos, the biggest conference in banking. Sibos featured enterprise platforms like komgo, Adhara and Trustology in addition to solutions from DAH, Hyperledger, Corda and Ripple and ran talks to packed business audiences.

At the end of Sibos, the most common refrain from the attendees was… “blockchain is here to stay”.

Indeed, the crypto ecosystem of hoodies had just started to merge with the enterprise ecosystem of suits

The year of #buidl

I am insufferable… I quote myself again:

“The question is what did we solve, enhance, or deliver that will make individuals, companies or governments produce more, be more efficient, or enjoy their lives and relationships more?”

In my book, the crowning glory of the year for the entire enterprise blockchain community, and not just the ethereum community, was the production release of VAKT, a platform for trading of physical commodities and komgo, a trade finance platform for commodities that interoperates seamlessly with VAKT. These two platforms were built from start to finish within 2018 on ethereum and marked the arrival of enterprise ethereum in real production use.

The coolest piece of kit produced by enterprise blockchain in 2019 was Kaleido. Built by ex-IBM engineers at ConsenSys, Kaleido enabled one-click industrial-grade deployment and support of enterprise ethereum-based applications. This is a much bigger deal than it sounds.

Development is arguably less than 20 percent of the effort over the lifetime of any enterprise application. Deployment and support are the other 80 percent. Kaleido took 80 percent of the effort out of that 80%.

The most valuable piece of engineering in blockchain was Open Law which enabled the creation of smart contracts whose execution corresponds demonstrably with the underlying legal contracts. In essence, Open Law put the “contract back in smart contracts” and opened up a vast range of real-world applications in financial and non-financial asset markets.

The most readable news in blockchain was Evan Van Ness’ “This Week in Ethereum,” a relentlessly BUIDL focussed newsletter that was a source of perspective through the amusing hysteria and paranoia of the #crypto investor community.

The year tokens came to enterprise

While no one was watching, tokens came to enterprise financial services as Euronext and other ecosystem partners went to pilot at Liquidshare, a consortium re-engineering the interaction between post-trade parties by leveraging blockchain technology and developing a new infrastructure for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in Europe.

In June, the South African Central Bank. working on Project Khokha, proved that a new wholesale payment system built on ethereum can process a day’s worth of interbank payments in less than two hours, that too with full confidentiality and finality.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore and SGX, the city-state’s stock exchange, announced in September that they have successfully developed delivery versus payment (DvP) capabilities for the settlement of tokenized assets across different blockchain platforms.

The public blockchain space started to create enterprise-friendly (and -unfriendly) fiat tokens at pace. As CoinInsider reported, 45 stablecoin projects had raised $350 million in funding by November.

The jokes about a stablecoin going to the moon suddenly didn’t sound like jokes anymore.

2019… The year of enterprise tokens

When you follow the market news too closely, it’s difficult to not be blinded by the obvious. So what’s really going on?

It turns out that the first killer app of the internet was not email. It was the ridiculously simple web page. The first killer app of blockchain is the ridiculously simple token.

A token is a mere smart contract that encapsulates the rules governing the exchange of an asset. Once this contract can be generated from an underlying legal contract and shown to execute in line with the legal contract, regulated, legally sound applications of blockchain become possible. This is a big deal.

It turns out, all economic activity, micro or macro is built on top of legal contracts. Unfortunately, because of information asymmetries, cost of enforcement, the risk of disputes and uncertainty in legal systems, the cost of contracting in too many transactions can exceed the benefit of the transaction.

Smart contracts that execute in line with legal contracts provide evidence of state on-chain and ship with dispute resolution systems can dramatically reduce the costs of contracting and the cost of enforcement, unlocking economic activity across industries and economies.

All that in a little token…

Ok, so should I buy? SODL? HODL?

I quote myself again

“Does that mean you should buy ether today? I can’t and don’t offer investment advice.”

In 2019, tokens will invade the enterprise in full force. The de-siloing of systems that began with multiple energy and bank companies creating VAKT and komgo will accelerate exponentially across applications such as gaming, securities markets, trade finance, intellectual property, digital collectibles, patents and licenses, real estate and many many more, and by 2020, start to show what all the fuss around blockchain was really all about.

Even more importantly, the boundary between public and private networks will start to disappear as assets on one network need to be exchanged with assets on another. Ethereum is uniquely position to grow from this phenomenon.

To conclude, indulge me as I quote myself one last time:

“When we are dead, it’s not what we HODL or SODL that matters. It’s what we BUIDL.”

Rebirth image via Shutterstock.

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

New Post has been published here https://is.gd/3KiZaX

[linabrigette]

RIP ICOs: 2019 Will Be the Year of Enterprise Blockchain Tokens

Ajit Tripathi is a partner at ConsenSys, where he specializes in global financial services business development and corporate venture strategy.

The following is an exclusive contribution to BTC News Today’s 2018 Year in Review. 

One year ago, I wrote an article for BTC News Today in which I humbly argued that the price of ether didn’t matter and what everyone in the blockchain community should focus on is building useful applications instead.

Hate to say I told you so, but… I did.

A few short months later, CryptoKitties were chased away by the bears, the initial coin offering (ICO) boom was gone, and the euphoria of $1,000 ether and $20,000 bitcoin had been replaced by the dire prognostications that crypto was “ded.”

Below I review what I regard as the major developments of 2018, and what lies ahead in 2019. And at the risk of being accused of double-spending, I’m going to quote freely from my earlier article, since many of the points I made have been vindicated or bear repeating.

When you’re #ODL and you know it…

Until June 2018, enticing crypto engineers to work on any enterprise product was hard, very hard. The lure of tokens ran rampant.

Most people in my dot-com generation learned the hard way that showing up at 8 a.m. and burning brain fuel until 10 p.m. is kinda the only way. But what 24-year-old who can write a grammatically correct sentence with “token” and “moon” in the same breath wants to do that?

When the dot-com microcaps were booming, I didn’t either. What exactly are these cash flows… duh! But, as I wrote a year ago:

“One day everyone in crypto will have to generate fiat revenues and profits in some form.”

When most of the tokens later crashed spectacularly, moon and lambo swiftly retreated from the social discourse and boring middle class concepts like enterprise technology, real human users and a fiat salary re-entered human conversation.

Deja vu, deja vu…

The year of regulation

I quote myself, yet again: “Dealing with other people’s money is always going to be regulated”.

In 2018, when folks in crypto weren’t talking about the tanking prices, we were talking about regulation or hoping it’d go away. Well, it didn’t.

In February, Chairman Christopher Giancarlo of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission advocated a “do no harm” approach to crypto regulation, referring to the erstwhile U.S. approach to the internet.

The clearest and most concise guidance from a regulator came in February from the Swiss, who, to their credit, have been forward-looking in their acknowledgment of the potential of blockchain technology so far. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or FINMA, clearly laid out the various types of tokens and what makes a token a payment token or a utility token or a security.

Both sides of the securities law debate were woken up by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) director of corporate finance, William Hinman, when he stated in June that to his understanding, “the ethereum network and its decentralized structure, current offers and sales of ether are not securities transactions.”

We the British, maintained our classical studious approach, studying and further studying the space and to our credit, doing no damage, either in support or opposition of the crypto space while calling for good behavior and manners… yes, manners all this time.

On the policy front, the European Commission led the way with a systematic approach to engaging with the blockchain community through the EU Blockchain Observatory.

The year of ‘ded’ ICOs

That said, the news flow in 2018 was dominated not by hardworking engineers building great technology but by traders and bankers mooning and REKTing things, as they do best.

Against the flow, as ICOs boomed I mused…

“I suspect that each year, half of the ICO-funded startups from the previous year will die – if they even make it that long.”

Well, they didn’t.

As EY reported:

“86% are now below their listing price; 30% have lost substantially all value. An investor purchasing a portfolio of The Class of 2017 ICOs on 1 January 2018 would most likely have lost 66% of their investment. Of the ICO start-ups we looked at from The Class of 2017, only 29% (25) have working products or prototypes, up by just 13% from the end of last year.”

Forgive them for they know not of which they speak

So many many folks mused that since ICOs were doing so badly and since most ICOs were launched on ethereum, ethereum must also be “ded.” Well, the price chasers were wrong then and they are wrong now.

As I said to BTC News Today editor in chief Pete Rizzo in a video interview at Consensus 2018, “cryptocurrencies are online community assets.”

Any token that has survived at least one boom or bust and has a thriving community (of people, not trolls and trading bots) has the potential to be used by many many more people over the next two decades as this technology matures and as these platforms scale.

We haven’t even scratched the tip of the iceberg with our ice skates yet. Further, ethereum is the leading platform today because of its ecosystem, which only seems to grow and accelerate…

The year of the ecosystem

Turns out, the price of ether is the least interesting feature of ethereum. I said back then…

“Ethereum has momentum, developer adoption, and a team that is willing to address the technical limitations even at risk to the price of ether. This is why I am making a big bet of time on ethereum rather than a bet of money in crypto. It has people who are serious about the Web 3.0 vision and solving real consumer and business problems.”

At DevCon4, Joseph Lubin, the illustrious co-founder of ethereum, made his famous “killer ecosystem” speech. The way I understood it was that we’re so early in this technology that it’s the quality and depth of the ecosystem surrounding a blockchain platform that’d define its long-term success or failure.

Waiting for a killer app is a fool’s errand because killer apps don’t quite tell you in advance that they are killer apps. The way to get to a whole range of killer apps is to unleash the creative power of developers, enterprises, investors and other agents of society.

That to date has been ethereum’s singular achievement.

The week before, Joe received a memorable reception at Sibos, the biggest conference in banking. Sibos featured enterprise platforms like komgo, Adhara and Trustology in addition to solutions from DAH, Hyperledger, Corda and Ripple and ran talks to packed business audiences.

At the end of Sibos, the most common refrain from the attendees was… “blockchain is here to stay”.

Indeed, the crypto ecosystem of hoodies had just started to merge with the enterprise ecosystem of suits

The year of #buidl

I am insufferable… I quote myself again:

“The question is what did we solve, enhance, or deliver that will make individuals, companies or governments produce more, be more efficient, or enjoy their lives and relationships more?”

In my book, the crowning glory of the year for the entire enterprise blockchain community, and not just the ethereum community, was the production release of VAKT, a platform for trading of physical commodities and komgo, a trade finance platform for commodities that interoperates seamlessly with VAKT. These two platforms were built from start to finish within 2018 on ethereum and marked the arrival of enterprise ethereum in real production use.

The coolest piece of kit produced by enterprise blockchain in 2019 was Kaleido. Built by ex-IBM engineers at ConsenSys, Kaleido enabled one-click industrial-grade deployment and support of enterprise ethereum-based applications. This is a much bigger deal than it sounds.

Development is arguably less than 20 percent of the effort over the lifetime of any enterprise application. Deployment and support are the other 80 percent. Kaleido took 80 percent of the effort out of that 80%.

The most valuable piece of engineering in blockchain was Open Law which enabled the creation of smart contracts whose execution corresponds demonstrably with the underlying legal contracts. In essence, Open Law put the “contract back in smart contracts” and opened up a vast range of real-world applications in financial and non-financial asset markets.

The most readable news in blockchain was Evan Van Ness’ “This Week in Ethereum,” a relentlessly BUIDL focussed newsletter that was a source of perspective through the amusing hysteria and paranoia of the #crypto investor community.

The year tokens came to enterprise

While no one was watching, tokens came to enterprise financial services as Euronext and other ecosystem partners went to pilot at Liquidshare, a consortium re-engineering the interaction between post-trade parties by leveraging blockchain technology and developing a new infrastructure for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in Europe.

In June, the South African Central Bank. working on Project Khokha, proved that a new wholesale payment system built on ethereum can process a day’s worth of interbank payments in less than two hours, that too with full confidentiality and finality.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore and SGX, the city-state’s stock exchange, announced in September that they have successfully developed delivery versus payment (DvP) capabilities for the settlement of tokenized assets across different blockchain platforms.

The public blockchain space started to create enterprise-friendly (and -unfriendly) fiat tokens at pace. As CoinInsider reported, 45 stablecoin projects had raised $350 million in funding by November.

The jokes about a stablecoin going to the moon suddenly didn’t sound like jokes anymore.

2019… The year of enterprise tokens

When you follow the market news too closely, it’s difficult to not be blinded by the obvious. So what’s really going on?

It turns out that the first killer app of the internet was not email. It was the ridiculously simple web page. The first killer app of blockchain is the ridiculously simple token.

A token is a mere smart contract that encapsulates the rules governing the exchange of an asset. Once this contract can be generated from an underlying legal contract and shown to execute in line with the legal contract, regulated, legally sound applications of blockchain become possible. This is a big deal.

It turns out, all economic activity, micro or macro is built on top of legal contracts. Unfortunately, because of information asymmetries, cost of enforcement, the risk of disputes and uncertainty in legal systems, the cost of contracting in too many transactions can exceed the benefit of the transaction.

Smart contracts that execute in line with legal contracts provide evidence of state on-chain and ship with dispute resolution systems can dramatically reduce the costs of contracting and the cost of enforcement, unlocking economic activity across industries and economies.

All that in a little token…

Ok, so should I buy? SODL? HODL?

I quote myself again

“Does that mean you should buy ether today? I can’t and don’t offer investment advice.”

In 2019, tokens will invade the enterprise in full force. The de-siloing of systems that began with multiple energy and bank companies creating VAKT and komgo will accelerate exponentially across applications such as gaming, securities markets, trade finance, intellectual property, digital collectibles, patents and licenses, real estate and many many more, and by 2020, start to show what all the fuss around blockchain was really all about.

Even more importantly, the boundary between public and private networks will start to disappear as assets on one network need to be exchanged with assets on another. Ethereum is uniquely position to grow from this phenomenon.

To conclude, indulge me as I quote myself one last time:

“When we are dead, it’s not what we HODL or SODL that matters. It’s what we BUIDL.”

Rebirth image via Shutterstock.

source: http://bit.ly/2RcFZK7

The post RIP ICOs: 2019 Will Be the Year of Enterprise Blockchain Tokens appeared first on BTC News Today.

from WordPress http://bit.ly/2VzUaHu via IFTTT

[click2watch]

RIP ICOs: 2019 Will Be the Year of Enterprise Blockchain Tokens

Ajit Tripathi is a partner at ConsenSys, where he specializes in global financial services business development and corporate venture strategy.

The following is an exclusive contribution to CoinDesk’s 2018 Year in Review. 

One year ago, I wrote an article for CoinDesk in which I humbly argued that the price of ether didn’t matter and what everyone in the blockchain community should focus on is building useful applications instead.

Hate to say I told you so, but… I did.

A few short months later, CryptoKitties were chased away by the bears, the initial coin offering (ICO) boom was gone, and the euphoria of $1,000 ether and $20,000 bitcoin had been replaced by the dire prognostications that crypto was “ded.”

Below I review what I regard as the major developments of 2018, and what lies ahead in 2019. And at the risk of being accused of double-spending, I’m going to quote freely from my earlier article, since many of the points I made have been vindicated or bear repeating.

When you’re #ODL and you know it…

Until June 2018, enticing crypto engineers to work on any enterprise product was hard, very hard. The lure of tokens ran rampant.

Most people in my dot-com generation learned the hard way that showing up at 8 a.m. and burning brain fuel until 10 p.m. is kinda the only way. But what 24-year-old who can write a grammatically correct sentence with “token” and “moon” in the same breath wants to do that?

When the dot-com microcaps were booming, I didn’t either. What exactly are these cash flows… duh! But, as I wrote a year ago:

“One day everyone in crypto will have to generate fiat revenues and profits in some form.”

When most of the tokens later crashed spectacularly, moon and lambo swiftly retreated from the social discourse and boring middle class concepts like enterprise technology, real human users and a fiat salary re-entered human conversation.

Deja vu, deja vu…

The year of regulation

I quote myself, yet again: “Dealing with other people’s money is always going to be regulated”.

In 2018, when folks in crypto weren’t talking about the tanking prices, we were talking about regulation or hoping it’d go away. Well, it didn’t.

In February, Chairman Christopher Giancarlo of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission advocated a “do no harm” approach to crypto regulation, referring to the erstwhile U.S. approach to the internet.

The clearest and most concise guidance from a regulator came in February from the Swiss, who, to their credit, have been forward-looking in their acknowledgment of the potential of blockchain technology so far. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or FINMA, clearly laid out the various types of tokens and what makes a token a payment token or a utility token or a security.

Both sides of the securities law debate were woken up by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) director of corporate finance, William Hinman, when he stated in June that to his understanding, “the ethereum network and its decentralized structure, current offers and sales of ether are not securities transactions.”

We the British, maintained our classical studious approach, studying and further studying the space and to our credit, doing no damage, either in support or opposition of the crypto space while calling for good behavior and manners… yes, manners all this time.

On the policy front, the European Commission led the way with a systematic approach to engaging with the blockchain community through the EU Blockchain Observatory.

The year of ‘ded’ ICOs

That said, the news flow in 2018 was dominated not by hardworking engineers building great technology but by traders and bankers mooning and REKTing things, as they do best.

Against the flow, as ICOs boomed I mused…

“I suspect that each year, half of the ICO-funded startups from the previous year will die – if they even make it that long.”

Well, they didn’t.

As EY reported:

“86% are now below their listing price; 30% have lost substantially all value. An investor purchasing a portfolio of The Class of 2017 ICOs on 1 January 2018 would most likely have lost 66% of their investment. Of the ICO start-ups we looked at from The Class of 2017, only 29% (25) have working products or prototypes, up by just 13% from the end of last year.”

Forgive them for they know not of which they speak

So many many folks mused that since ICOs were doing so badly and since most ICOs were launched on ethereum, ethereum must also be “ded.” Well, the price chasers were wrong then and they are wrong now.

As I said to CoinDesk editor in chief Pete Rizzo in a video interview at Consensus 2018, “cryptocurrencies are online community assets.”

Any token that has survived at least one boom or bust and has a thriving community (of people, not trolls and trading bots) has the potential to be used by many many more people over the next two decades as this technology matures and as these platforms scale.

We haven’t even scratched the tip of the iceberg with our ice skates yet. Further, ethereum is the leading platform today because of its ecosystem, which only seems to grow and accelerate…

The year of the ecosystem

Turns out, the price of ether is the least interesting feature of ethereum. I said back then…

“Ethereum has momentum, developer adoption, and a team that is willing to address the technical limitations even at risk to the price of ether. This is why I am making a big bet of time on ethereum rather than a bet of money in crypto. It has people who are serious about the Web 3.0 vision and solving real consumer and business problems.”

At DevCon4, Joseph Lubin, the illustrious co-founder of ethereum, made his famous “killer ecosystem” speech. The way I understood it was that we’re so early in this technology that it’s the quality and depth of the ecosystem surrounding a blockchain platform that’d define its long-term success or failure.

Waiting for a killer app is a fool’s errand because killer apps don’t quite tell you in advance that they are killer apps. The way to get to a whole range of killer apps is to unleash the creative power of developers, enterprises, investors and other agents of society.

That to date has been ethereum’s singular achievement.

The week before, Joe received a memorable reception at Sibos, the biggest conference in banking. Sibos featured enterprise platforms like komgo, Adhara and Trustology in addition to solutions from DAH, Hyperledger, Corda and Ripple and ran talks to packed business audiences.

At the end of Sibos, the most common refrain from the attendees was… “blockchain is here to stay”.

Indeed, the crypto ecosystem of hoodies had just started to merge with the enterprise ecosystem of suits

The year of #buidl

I am insufferable… I quote myself again:

“The question is what did we solve, enhance, or deliver that will make individuals, companies or governments produce more, be more efficient, or enjoy their lives and relationships more?”

In my book, the crowning glory of the year for the entire enterprise blockchain community, and not just the ethereum community, was the production release of VAKT, a platform for trading of physical commodities and komgo, a trade finance platform for commodities that interoperates seamlessly with VAKT. These two platforms were built from start to finish within 2018 on ethereum and marked the arrival of enterprise ethereum in real production use.

The coolest piece of kit produced by enterprise blockchain in 2019 was Kaleido. Built by ex-IBM engineers at ConsenSys, Kaleido enabled one-click industrial-grade deployment and support of enterprise ethereum-based applications. This is a much bigger deal than it sounds.

Development is arguably less than 20 percent of the effort over the lifetime of any enterprise application. Deployment and support are the other 80 percent. Kaleido took 80 percent of the effort out of that 80%.

The most valuable piece of engineering in blockchain was Open Law which enabled the creation of smart contracts whose execution corresponds demonstrably with the underlying legal contracts. In essence, Open Law put the “contract back in smart contracts” and opened up a vast range of real-world applications in financial and non-financial asset markets.

The most readable news in blockchain was Evan Van Ness’ “This Week in Ethereum,” a relentlessly BUIDL focussed newsletter that was a source of perspective through the amusing hysteria and paranoia of the #crypto investor community.

The year tokens came to enterprise

While no one was watching, tokens came to enterprise financial services as Euronext and other ecosystem partners went to pilot at Liquidshare, a consortium re-engineering the interaction between post-trade parties by leveraging blockchain technology and developing a new infrastructure for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in Europe.

In June, the South African Central Bank. working on Project Khokha, proved that a new wholesale payment system built on ethereum can process a day’s worth of interbank payments in less than two hours, that too with full confidentiality and finality.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore and SGX, the city-state’s stock exchange, announced in September that they have successfully developed delivery versus payment (DvP) capabilities for the settlement of tokenized assets across different blockchain platforms.

The public blockchain space started to create enterprise-friendly (and -unfriendly) fiat tokens at pace. As CoinInsider reported, 45 stablecoin projects had raised $350 million in funding by November.

The jokes about a stablecoin going to the moon suddenly didn’t sound like jokes anymore.

2019… The year of enterprise tokens

When you follow the market news too closely, it’s difficult to not be blinded by the obvious. So what’s really going on?

It turns out that the first killer app of the internet was not email. It was the ridiculously simple web page. The first killer app of blockchain is the ridiculously simple token.

A token is a mere smart contract that encapsulates the rules governing the exchange of an asset. Once this contract can be generated from an underlying legal contract and shown to execute in line with the legal contract, regulated, legally sound applications of blockchain become possible. This is a big deal.

It turns out, all economic activity, micro or macro is built on top of legal contracts. Unfortunately, because of information asymmetries, cost of enforcement, the risk of disputes and uncertainty in legal systems, the cost of contracting in too many transactions can exceed the benefit of the transaction.

Smart contracts that execute in line with legal contracts provide evidence of state on-chain and ship with dispute resolution systems can dramatically reduce the costs of contracting and the cost of enforcement, unlocking economic activity across industries and economies.

All that in a little token…

Ok, so should I buy? SODL? HODL?

I quote myself again

“Does that mean you should buy ether today? I can’t and don’t offer investment advice.”

In 2019, tokens will invade the enterprise in full force. The de-siloing of systems that began with multiple energy and bank companies creating VAKT and komgo will accelerate exponentially across applications such as gaming, securities markets, trade finance, intellectual property, digital collectibles, patents and licenses, real estate and many many more, and by 2020, start to show what all the fuss around blockchain was really all about.

Even more importantly, the boundary between public and private networks will start to disappear as assets on one network need to be exchanged with assets on another. Ethereum is uniquely position to grow from this phenomenon.

To conclude, indulge me as I quote myself one last time:

“When we are dead, it’s not what we HODL or SODL that matters. It’s what we BUIDL.”

Rebirth image via Shutterstock.

!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n; n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script','//connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '239547076708948'); fbq('track', "PageView"); This news post is collected from CoinDesk

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[phatjosh180]

California Knows How To Party ...

This past week I spent time down in Southern California with my family. I road tripped down with my sister and her family to visit my brother and sister-in-law, spend time on the beach, celebrate Independence Day and even spend a day at the San Diego Zoo.

It was a much needed break.

Much, much needed.

I pretty much Instagrammed the whole vacation and I thought I’d share the experience in a short little post with some of my favorite highlights. And, of course, I was able to find a race while I was down there — so it’s completely relevant to the blog.

Then again — this is my blog and I’d share this post with you whether or not I ran while on vacation. Anyways, enjoy the pictures. I’m grateful for the break, but I’m ready to get back to work. I’ve got some goals and directions I’ll share later this week.

I’m not that good at packing. Do you think I have enough shirts?

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jun 29, 2018 at 10:59pm PDT

Tradition. Because eating McDonald’s in a train is infinitely cooler than the drive-thru.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jun 30, 2018 at 2:46pm PDT

I’m barely in California and I’m about to lose it all in Barstow.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jun 30, 2018 at 2:55pm PDT

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jun 30, 2018 at 7:52pm PDT

Me and 10 of my favorite peeps.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jun 30, 2018 at 8:47pm PDT

When you’re in Lake Arrowhead you’ve got to hydrate appropriately. I’m pretty sure Smart Water is outlawed here.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 1, 2018 at 3:39pm PDT

Every kid who’s been mothered can relate to this situation.

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jul 1, 2018 at 8:57pm PDT

When you’re being held hostage by a toddler during a family picture.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 1, 2018 at 1:49pm PDT

If you can’t vacation in Greece, you can at least find a little bit of Greece while on vacation. OPA! 🇬🇷💙

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 1, 2018 at 6:36pm PDT

OPA! Making a little Saganaki! 🔥🧀

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 1, 2018 at 8:19pm PDT

A Taste of Greece in Irvine — what a great end to the weekend here in California! 💙🇬🇷💙🇬🇷💙

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jul 1, 2018 at 9:05pm PDT

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 1, 2018 at 8:33pm PDT

Pancakes are living in the year 3018 …

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 2, 2018 at 9:31am PDT

A trip to Huntington Beach isn’t complete without a stop to TK Burger. ♥🍔

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 2, 2018 at 3:10pm PDT

I always have impeccable timing with food pictures.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 2, 2018 at 3:29pm PDT

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 2, 2018 at 10:13pm PDT

When you stand wading your feet in the surf just remember this — everything that lives in the ocean, poops in the ocean.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 2, 2018 at 10:22pm PDT

It’s not a trip to HB without at least a walk to the end of the pier.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 2, 2018 at 10:16pm PDT

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 3, 2018 at 11:20am PDT

Not patriotic enough …

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 3, 2018 at 11:28am PDT

Cue Randy Newman. 🕶☀

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 3, 2018 at 3:40pm PDT

HIAAAAR BEAUTY … a pirate’s favorite beauty salon.

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jul 3, 2018 at 4:03pm PDT

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 3, 2018 at 3:43pm PDT

These gun laws in California are ridiculous …

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 3, 2018 at 4:50pm PDT

Street tacos. 🌮🌮🌮

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 3, 2018 at 4:58pm PDT

Callie got introduced to her first inner-city elevator ride.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 3, 2018 at 5:04pm PDT

🍪🍨♥

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 3, 2018 at 6:59pm PDT

I love to see the temple, I stood outside it today — and took this picture.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 3, 2018 at 7:40pm PDT

♥️

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jul 3, 2018 at 7:51pm PDT

Trying to induce labor for Kelli, so she joined us for the 5K. I told her if she gave birth today she was obligated to name her son George Samuel Jefferson MDCCLXXVI. Luckily for all of us — she’s still with child. 🇺🇸 #surfcityrun #5K @joshruns180

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 4, 2018 at 11:52am PDT

♥🇺🇸 #surfcityrun #5k 🇺🇸💙

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 4, 2018 at 1:17pm PDT

37:30 minute 5K — it felt great running at sea level. It’d be fun to train for a sea level half marathon and see what I can do. But, what a fun way to kickoff the 4th! 🇺🇸 #surfcityrun #5k #running @joshruns180

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jul 4, 2018 at 1:23pm PDT

‘MURICA!

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 4, 2018 at 1:25pm PDT

My happy place. Just don’t ask me to actually go into the water. 🐠💩🦈💩🐋💩🐡💩🦀💩🦑💩🦐💩

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jul 4, 2018 at 6:11pm PDT

🤙🏼

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 4, 2018 at 3:36pm PDT

That moment when some random kid comes up, grabs your hand and pretty much adopts your family at the beach. Funny thing is — this happens to Josh quite a bit.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 4, 2018 at 6:29pm PDT

♥️

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 4, 2018 at 4:19pm PDT

🔥🍔🔥🍔🔥

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 4, 2018 at 10:19pm PDT

Heaven — with lots and lots of sand.

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jul 4, 2018 at 10:22pm PDT

Fireworks off of the Huntington Beach Pier! Happy Fourth! ♥🇺🇸💙🇺🇸♥

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 4, 2018 at 10:40pm PDT

Boom, boom, pow! Fireworks from the HB Pier! God bless America! 🇺🇸

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 4, 2018 at 10:42pm PDT

Soft kitty, warm kitty. Little ball of hate. Mean kitty, sleepy kitty. Hiss, hiss, hiss!

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 5, 2018 at 12:23am PDT

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jul 5, 2018 at 7:02pm PDT

IT’S THE ZOO!!! We’re off to go see some dinosaurs!!

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 5, 2018 at 12:48pm PDT

So many animals, so much fun! #sandiegozoo

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jul 5, 2018 at 8:58pm PDT

The kid found an excavator at the zoo and couldn’t have cared less if he saw any more animals. This kid is destined to wear an orange vest.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 5, 2018 at 6:27pm PDT

FUN FACT: Koalas are kinda boring to look at.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 5, 2018 at 6:23pm PDT

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 5, 2018 at 6:34pm PDT

Thought I stumbled upon a Harambe memorial …

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 5, 2018 at 7:16pm PDT

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 5, 2018 at 9:25pm PDT

You can put a burrito in a to-go box to take home, but you can’t take these guys with you?! Psst …

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 5, 2018 at 9:24pm PDT

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jul 5, 2018 at 9:03pm PDT

Um …

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 5, 2018 at 9:31pm PDT

Aiming to strike it rich …

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jul 5, 2018 at 9:04pm PDT

I’m basically retired now.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 5, 2018 at 9:36pm PDT

Dressed for a good time 🤙🏼🍌

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jul 6, 2018 at 6:36pm PDT

🎶 Row, row, row your kayak gently along the harbor — forget your sunscreen and get so burnt, because I am such a fool … 🎶

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 6, 2018 at 6:29pm PDT

Dat belly.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 6, 2018 at 7:34pm PDT

Teach them young to avoid human interaction during dinner, so they can fit into society much easier.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 6, 2018 at 7:37pm PDT

Strangely enough — this is the first time I’ve had Pho. ♥️

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 6, 2018 at 7:52pm PDT

Maybe it’s because I’ve been hypnotized too many times. But, I completely zonked out in the middle of an hour long full body massage — LIKE COMPLETELY — and my little Thai lady couldn’t wake me, so she had a coworker help wake me. And, if that wasn’t awkward I caught myself snoring in sheer relaxation. 🤦🏻‍♂️ Still, if I lived here I’d be doing this every week! Even if the little Thai ladies literally walk all over you. ♥

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 6, 2018 at 10:00pm PDT

You’d think squishing the innards out like a piñata would kill a cockroach. Wrong. They’re basically like little spawns of Satan that are nearly impossible to defeat!

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 7, 2018 at 12:28am PDT

He doesn’t quite yet get the concept of gum.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 7, 2018 at 9:50am PDT

It’s too early to use hands …

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 7, 2018 at 9:38am PDT

We “killed” this thing yesterday — and I think it’s getting better?! 😳

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 7, 2018 at 11:08am PDT

This kid’s ready to head home …

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jul 7, 2018 at 4:24pm PDT

A road trip isn’t a road trip without taking Jimmy Chunga along with you.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 7, 2018 at 1:29pm PDT

mmmmmm … keto me some deliciousness.

A post shared by ＪｏｓｈｅｒDoes Keto (@ketowalla) on Jul 7, 2018 at 2:44pm PDT

At least it’s not all over his shirt — yet.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 7, 2018 at 4:21pm PDT

I love this place. I wish this wasn’t just a pit stop on our way home.

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 7, 2018 at 5:00pm PDT

Close to home 🌈🏠

A post shared by I’m Josher … (@josherwalla) on Jul 7, 2018 at 6:57pm PDT

And, welp, there you. There are my vacation pictures. You can catch all of them on Instagram at either @josherwalla or @ketowalla. I also have a bunch more on my Facebook account — if that so tickles your fancy.

Anyways — no more vacation until November/December — which might be another California trip for a little Disneyland Christmas magic. Stay tuned.

California Knows How To Party … was originally published on PhatJosh | My Life Running.