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#Guest post by technology expert

brucesterling · 30 days

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Utopian Realism, a speech by Bruce Sterling

*I never posted any lecture of mine on Tumblr, even though Tumblr would seem to have plenty of elbow-room for hour-long, learned, European public lectures (with many lecture slides).

*Might as well give that a try and see what happens.

From the Technology Biennial in Turin, Italy, April 02024.

Thanks for coming to see me. As Loredana Lipperini just pointed out, I am Bruce Sterling, here to deliver my speech on the theme of “realistic Utopia” — the public Utopia, and the private Utopia.

This first slide would be the hero of my remarks today, because he’s the world’s biggest expert on Utopia. He’s called “Raphael Hythlodaeus.” In the Italian editions of the book “Utopia,” he’s “Raffaello Itlodeo.”

Here’s a picture of Raffaello personally meeting Sir Thomas More, and Sir Thomas More’s friend and host, Peter Gillis, in the year 1515.

The book was published 500 years ago in the Latin language. The author was Sir Thomas More — but Thomas More was a lawyer. He didn’t plan to be a novelist. In the book, he claims that he’s simply writing down the testimony of Raphael Hythlodaeus. The source for the book is allegedly Raphael (according to Thomas).

So, the novel “Utopia” was a kind of a hoax or a joke that Thomas More invented — while he was on vacation.

This book project happened because More had to leave England on official business. He had to leave his private home, and his beloved family, and take part in public life, as a diplomat in the service of the king of England. So, Thomas More had to travel, and go meet some Spanish officials in the city of Bruges on the European continent. So he left England, and he dutifully journeyed to Bruges. But — after some weeks of diplomatic struggle — he realized that the negotiations were going nowhere. His negotiations were a hoax and a joke, because the king of England and the king of Spain were quarreling. They had no intention of ever reaching an agreement.

So Thomas More had to spend six long months of his life in Europe pretending to be a diplomat and a lawyer, to satisfy reasons of state. He could not achieve anything useful or practical on that mission.

So, More was a bit upset by this situation. He left the city of Bruges, where nothing was happening. He went to Antwerp instead, because he had a friend there. His friend was a fellow scholar named Peter Gillis. Peter Gillis was an Antwerp city official. He was in government, and he was quite well-to-do, a very well-connected guy. So, he could play host to Sir Thomas More. Thomas More was welcome to stay in his private house for no money, and to eat the family’s food at no charge, and just relax as an honored house guest, for several months.

So, Thomas More and Peter Gillis are in this private home, avoiding actual work. They enjoy many free-wheeling, private, intellectual discussions, which are all about law, and justice, and business, and economics, and politics, and the general state of the world.

These two intellectuals agree that the state of the world is pretty terrible. Clearly the real world is quite bad, it’s not a Utopia at all. In fact the first part of the book “Utopia” is pretty much all dystopia. It’s about how bad things are in Europe, and it’s rather realistic too — these are grim assessments.

So, Thomas More and Peter Gillis, while discussing the world together, decide to invent this wandering scholar named Raphael Hythlodaeus. The wise and learned Raphael can speak Latin and Greek, just like they do — but Raphael has been to a country where everything works.

Peter Gillis even invents a Utopian alphabet, and he writes some poetry in the language of Utopia — just to demonstrate that he can play this fun Utopian game with his guest Thomas More.

Peter Gillis is willing to cooperate. He even pretends to personally introduce Thomas More to Raphael Hythlodaeus.

In the book, Raphael appears, and he starts talking. He recites the entire story of Utopia. Raphael speaks the book “Utopia,” aloud. It’s 30,000 words of text, so Raphael recites this book in one long afternoon. It’s a three and a half hour lecture, and Thomas More writes it all down.

However, it’s somehow not boring. It’s a brilliant, world-class lecture, because Raphael Hythlodaeus is quite an amazing guy. Raphael doesn’t look rich or famous. Basically, he looks like a sailor. He’s got a long beard, and he’s kind of weatherbeaten. He’s a long-haired wanderer in beat-up old clothes.

He says that he’s from Portugal — he’s a native of Portugal — but somehow he’s been to Persia, and Ceylon, and spent rather a lot of time in Belgium. He’s been to Brazil. He knows England very well. Raphael Hythlodaeus knows the Archbishop of Canterbury personally.

If you read the book carefully, it turns out that Raphael Hythlodaeus left Portugal — he went to Brazil to explore the new world — and he crossed South America, somehow. Then Raphael crossed the Pacific Ocean, discovering several new countries that nobody else ever heard of. Somehow, after visiting Ceylon, he returned back to Portugal.

So Raphael Hythlodaeus has circled the entire world — several years before Ferdinand Magellan and his fleet tried to do the same thing. Raphael is the first guy to ever travel around the world.

Why?

Why did he do it?

Well, basically, it’s because he’s a tourist.

He derives no political or economic benefit from all this wandering. He just wanders — he tours. He says that he had a lot of money once, but he gave all the money away — to members of his family, and to friends. He refuses to ever serve in any government. He understands law. He understands economics. He’s a super knowledgeable guy. But he never takes part in public politics, because he says that it’s slavery. There’s no reason for him to stop travelling and ever do that work.

Raphael Hythlodaeus is basically a dropout hippie backpacker. He’s a refusenik. He despises power. He despises wealth. He’s rigorously anti-materialistic. He’s an intellectual dissident.

He’s not a pilgrim of any religious faction. He doesn’t engage in any trade while he travels. He has no career. He’s not a lawyer. He’s not a banker. He’s not a patriot — he’s never going back to Portugal. He cut his ties with the homeland. He’s cosmopolitan.

Any town in the world is good enough for him. Antwerp is just fine. He’s happy to be in Antwerp, although he has no reason to be there. He’s just in Antwerp while talking to Sir Thomas More. He has no wife. He has no mistress. He has no children, no grandchildren. He has no duties. He never has to change clothes.

Every day — he says — he just does whatever he likes.

He just does whatever he likes!

Raphael Hythlodaeus is the most utopian figure in the book “Utopia.” He’s a one-man Utopia. He’s a personal Utopia — because he makes a utopia all by himself, just for himself.

This struggle between the private, personal Utopia, and the political, public Utopia, is present from the beginning of the book “Utopia.”

In the book, Raphael says that he lived with the Utopians for five years. He knows everything there is to know about them. He studied them very closely. He knows the Utopian language, he knows their alphabet, their history, their military, their judiciary, their economic system, their justice system. He knows how they educate the youth. How they raise crops, what they eat, how they dress, the transportation system. Everything.

He just comprehensively knows everything about that society — every driving force that matters, every aspect that makes a country a country.

So Thomas More and Peter Gillis, they make lunch for him. They just invite this world traveller over to the private house they share. They offer him something to eat.

After they eat together, Raphael is quite happy to tell them everything there is to know about the Utopian system. For no pay — no reward. He doesn’t want any credit in the book, either. He just delivers Utopia to them, in one comprehensive talk.

Then Raphael Hythlodaeus just disappears. He has complete existential freedom. He just drifts around the planet like the wind. He’s a Utopian tourist. He’s a traveling one-man show. He’s like an exile on planet Earth.

He’s a fictional character and the book “Utopia” is a fictional book, but Thomas More was a very real person. More was inventing this Utopia game, and making it up in detail, mostly to amuse his host Peter Gillis, who was feeding him, and sheltering him.

But Thomas More ran out of vacation time. He was on vacation in Antwerp, but he had to go back to England. He had to return to his private house, and to resume his public career as a working lawyer.

He had no more time ever to write any fiction. Thomas More never wrote fiction again. He wrote a lot of government tracts. He wrote sermons and legal opinions. No more fiction, though.

After about a year in England, More bundled up all his Utopia papers. He put the game aside, and he sent all the paperwork to Peter Gillis. He said: you know, Peter, I have no leisure time to mess with this game anymore. Why don’t you see if you can do something with it? You participated, so just do anything you want with this Utopia project. Maybe Erasmus can help you.

That would be Desiderio Erasmus of Rotterdam, the very famous European scholar. Erasmus did help — he helped Peter Gillis, and together they published the world’s first edition of Utopia.

That’s the book. You can see that Erasmus is the editor. Erasmus has added plenty of his own witty epigrams to the text. Erasmus knows this book is innovative and strange, and he’s trying to increase sales by including some Erasmus content.

The book was a private joke for Thomas More — because it was only published in Europe. This is him, by the way.

This is the author of Utopia, when he had achieved high rank in the English government. Thomas More doesn’t care about novelists — there was no such profession, there were no copyrights. He’s an intellectual scholar who became a public politician. He works for the English government — the royal court in London. He’s prosperous. He builds a grand private mansion for himself and his family. This is the house:

His book Utopia is not published in England — not while More was alive. The English knew practically nothing about this novel, written in Latin, in Europe, by their Lord Chancellor, rather discreetly.

Here’s Thomas More in his private life.

This a sketch of a portrait that he’s working on, together with a hired artist. More has a gold chain around his neck because he’s become the Chancellor of England. However, his private family life is of great concern to him. Thomas More is writing many careful hand notes on this sketch, so that the artist can paint it properly.

This is a portrait of Thomas More’s entire household. Not just himself — all his relatives, and also his household retainers, everyone under his roof. They’re all gathered in his house, to be recorded for posterity.

It’s really quite a nice private house. It’s got a very high-tech clock on the wall. If you look at it: flower bouquets, vases, curtains….

All the women in this portrait have books. Because they’re all literate. Thomas More has educated every woman in his house. They understand Latin. They can write Greek. They know astronomy, music, mathematics. They’re some of the most highly educated women in the world. He educated them privately. Inside the house. Women could not go to school, but he pulled in the best scholars and he had them give lessons to his wife and his daughters. And retainers. And anybody who’s listening.

More’s private house is a kind of Utopian University.

This is the eventual painting which was made from the sketch.

The fellow in red, that’s Thomas More’s father.

Dad was also a lawyer, and he was also involved in politics. But, he got involved in a serious controversy. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London.

That was dad’s experience. He had to go inside the Tower of London for a month. A terrible place. A dungeon. Political opponents of the English regime, they’re tortured and sometimes murdered in the Tower of London. A very sinister place.

One month of that Tower of London prison experience was plenty for dad. He retired from public life immediately. He never sought political power again. He just went back to the house with Thomas More and the very educated girls. There was plenty to do in there. It’s a private house, but look at it, it’s nice. There are carpets. Dogs. Nice clothes. They have some messengers, like a scholar in the back, writing some mail. It’s so civilized that it’s like a different world.

Things go well for a while — but then the author of “Utopia” himself gets into some very serious and realistic political trouble. Because the king of England is divorcing his wife, who is a Spanish princess. He’s removing the Kingdom on England from the Catholic church. It’s basically a Brexit situation.

He’s seceding from Christendom, and declaring himself the spiritual head of the Church of England.

Thomas More does not approve of this. He’s very pro-European, he’s a diplomat. He knows the idea is terrible. There will be nothing but trouble from it.

He tries to be diplomatic with the King. He gets into all kinds of legal arguments. This is no use. King Henry the Eighth, he’s determined to marry six different women. It’s realpolitik. It’s a political crisis. The king will not back down. More leaves power, he tries to escape the dismal mess and go on vacation. He just goes back to his private house. Like his dad.

I’m not in the government, he declares. I want nothing to do with government. I don’t seek power. I don’t want wealth.

But his private life cannot protect him. The regime insists that he has to sign a public declaration that the King has moral authority over the Pope. He’s just required to sign this — to collaborate. He refuses. It’s a very long, painful controversy. He doesn’t want to sign. He’s fighting on ethical principle. I’m a private citizen. I’m in my own house. I want nothing to do with politics. You can’t make me sign public documents against my will.

That struggle doesn’t end well. Here is a painting of the author of Utopia getting arrested for treason against the state.

In the foreground of the painting, his daughter is clinging to him. Don’t take Dad from our house! Then in the background of the painting, Thomas More is getting publicly executed. His head is chopped off with an axe on a block.

The details here are interesting. The realism of what really happened to this utopian author. They cut his head off his body in public.

Then, one of the daughters managed to collect his body. She didn’t get the head. The head was boiled in a pot, in order to preserve it. Then it was painted with tar. His head was painted with pitch as a kind of preservative.

Then the head of the author of “Utopia” got stuck on a long spike on the London Bridge.

This was customary justice in England at the time. This definitely happened to Thomas More. In historical fact, his head was placed on one of those spikes on the top of the arched bridge, in much the same way that you can see here in this everyday London woodcut.

After a month of public exposure, of the author’s head on a spike, the legend says that one of his other daughters somehow managed to collect his head. Somehow, she retrieved the head off the spike, even though the boiled, tarred head was supposed to be thrown into the river Thames. That was the custom with the heads of traitors.

She had no house, because her father was a traitor and the house had been confiscated. So she’s homeless, but she’s clever and well educated. She speaks Greek, speaks Latin, she understands astronomy, music, mathematics. She’s a cosmopolitan woman from a private house, and somehow she manages to persuade the “Keeper of the Heads” to convey her father’s severed head.

She carries it away from the public shame of the London Bridge. It’s not clear what happened to the head. There are a number of various stories about what she did with it afterwards.

To my mind, this is the ultimate “realist utopian” image. If somebody says the word “Utopia” to you, you should think of an adult woman smuggling the severed head of her father away from an execution.

That’s what it’s like. You write “Utopia” and your grieving daughter somehow steals your chopped-off head, and smuggles your head away in a bag.

Now we forget about Thomas More for the rest of the presentation — because he’s dead. Meanwhile, there’s Italy. Yes, Italy!

In Italy, nobody much cares about More’s head being cut off, but they are reading his book “Utopia.” Because Italians — it turns out they love Utopia. The book’s editor, Erasmus, is very popular in Italy — the University of Torino gives Erasmus a degree in theology. So Italians eagerly read Thomas More’s book in Latin, and they understand that this is speculative political fiction. It’s quite an interesting thing to do.

There’s even a kind of fantascienza genre of utopian writing — not in England, but in Italy.

There’s a whole set of utopias written by various authors.

Most of those authors aren’t English — English people know your head comes off, you don’t want to mess with it — but there are all these other guys writing Utopias.

There’s Tommaso Campanella — his book is still in print. You could go buy it today. It’s kind of interesting.

There’s Ludovivo Agostini. He still has some interest to scholars. The Imaginary Republic.

What a good idea.

This is Anton Francesco Doni.

He’s probably the weirdest author of historic Utopias.

He wrote one that’s rather like science fiction, a weird book meant to be funny and entertaining. Doni’s quite an odd character.

Here’s an Italian political anthology where many Italian political writers are describing the real politics of real places. In the end, they just throw in Thomas More’s Utopia. Why not? Does it even matter if it’s an ‘imaginary country’? It’s about the principles of understanding countries. How do you describe them? How do you explain how they work?

That’s what matters about utopias. That’s the realistic reason to do it.

Now we come to a realist political writer who understands Thomas More. He likes to quote Thomas More. He’s Catholic like Thomas More. He’s a Latin scholar — although he writes in Italian.

Unlike Thomas More, he’s extremely realistic. This is Giovanni Botero.

Or, rather, a well-deserved statue of him. Botero wrote a book which was a utopian manifesto, but for the city of Torino.

Yes, Torino was a planned project with a political theory. Here’s his street here in town — it’s over in the Quadrilatero — the oldest part of the city. The “Via Giovanni Botero.”

Here’s his book, which is all about politics, and it has an afterword. It’s a political book about government, including a work of analysis about cities.

How do you build a grand and magnificent city?

There are a lot of cities all around the world — how do you make one grand and magnificent? What if Torino was magnificent and grand?

How would you make a small town in Piedmont magnificent and grand? What policy would you pursue? How could rulers take policy steps to achieve “grand magnificence”?

Clearly this seems like a utopian idea. Why would Torino ever be grand? This is what Torino looked like when Botero was writing about it.

He is urging the Dukes of Savoy to make this little village magnificent and grand, but it’s not grand, it’s not magnificent. It’s just a small, typical Piedmontese town with a huge fort in the upper left-hand corner.

As Botero points out in his manifesto, no city in Piedmont has ever been grand. Torino is a modest city, like Asti, like Bra, like Cherasco. Botero himself is from Piedmont. He knows the history of the region. He is frank and honest about it, he’s a realist. There’s just never been a big city in Piedmont. No grand city like Genoa, Venice, Rome… This region of Italy had never had any grand magnificent town.

Why not? Well, Giovanni Botero is very keen on studying history, and geography, and law, and economics, and demographics, industrial policy and geopolitics, and other disciplines that did not have names in his own time. However, he somehow absorbed the political lesson of Utopia about how to imagine the town as a whole, functional place. How to get it to exist, how to get it to work.

Botero has learned to think in a utopian way that is realistic. He tells his readers that determined people can really do it. He doesn’t merely preach that Torino will somehow be grand. Instead, he says: what are the general principles of cities becoming grand?

This realistic map is Torino as a kind of Cherasco. It’s charming, in Cherasco. I’ve been to the historic town of Cherasco here in Piedmont, and it’s very nice, actually. I always enjoy it there in Cherasco.

Cherasco is the “world capital of snails.” If you’ve ever been to Cherasco, you would know the “Festa della Lumaca.” The Lumache… they’re great. They’re Slow Food, those snails. If you like “slow food” those snails are really, really slow.

It’s fabulous, I love them, and that is Torino without Giovanni Botero. Without the grand plans of Giovanno Botero, Torino is basically Cherasco.

Unfortunately I don’t have time here to discuss Botero’s ideas in detail, but I promise you, if you read his book, you will understand Torino much, much better.

He makes a very practical case for grandeur and magnificence. You don’t do it on a whim. There are political reasons to do it.

Botero says, to maintain a living city, you need three things. First, you need cheap bread. Not just bread, but enough that it’s cheap economically. Plenty to eat, always there.

Second, you need peace, because if the city is under siege all the time, and people are getting killed, and it’s some mere struggle for survival, that won’t allow the town to function. It just won’t be able to work.

Third, you need justice — so that the population doesn’t cut each other’s throats. There’s no civil war in the streets. People can get on with their productive business.

So, Botero says that peace, bread and justice are the basic necessities. But — they’re very difficult to maintain. Often, they will fail. Then the city will suffer a setback.

But — if the city is grand and magnificent — people will return. You will attract people with a spirited imagination who can appreciate the grandeur and the magnificence. That is the quality of urban people that you actually want. That’s why you do it.

So that was Botero’s realistic utopian plan. Unlike Thomas More, Botero did not get killed. He could have been killed, because life in the Ducal Court of Savoy was very dangerous, but he was allowed to retire with dignity here in Torino. When he died in Torino, he had the pleasure of seeing that indeed the town was becoming quite grand rather quickly.

So, that’s what a realistic Utopia can look like as a political success on an urban scale. The public utopia — but what about the private Utopia?

Botero shows us how to do it as a politician — and kind of get away with your grand plans — but what about our friend Raphael Hythlodaeus?

Raphael doesn’t want to do any public politics. He just wants to do as he himself pleases, every day. Does he also have a possible victory condition?

I actually think he does — the homemade private Utopia. Just one fellow. Like him. One wandering sailor with no great wealth and rather modest resources.

If he has determination, he can lead a surprisingly different life on private principles. Even in the 20th century.

So, this is the American artist Alexander Calder. A very inventive fellow. He spent a lot of time in Europe. Alexander Calder was a sailor for quite a while, much like Raphael Hythlodaeus. Kind of dressed in rags, not much money, a wandering dropout guy with one pair of shoes. A Paris bohemian artist who spent some time in Montparnasse.

In this picture, Alexander Calder decides to build his private Dream Home.

Out of this wreckage here. A big dead building.

Luckily he has Mrs Calder to help him, so he’s not completely alone. Mrs. Calder here — “Louisa James Calder” — she happens to be a cultured Boston aristocrat who speaks excellent French and has a lot of elite social contacts.

Her family said that she was “looking for a different way of life,” and when she married him, boy did she ever get one.

So here she is, making some French bread while Calder’s reading some art book. If you’re a design critic you would notice this is a very peculiar kitchen. Very peculiar indeed.

Here’s a photograph of his other house in France.

Calder probably made at least half the furniture in this room. His wife made the rugs. She was helping out, she liked to make carpets.

This is his studio. People said it looked like an airplane had crashed into the building. Calder had some unique personal filing system. He did not regard this as as a disturbed environment. This was his idea of efficiency. He was a very efficient and effective artist. He made 20,000 artworks in these studios over a 50-year career.

There are eyewitness accounts of him, grabbing his tools, grabbing pieces of stuff, and never misplacing anything. Nothing ever got lost in there. It’s otherworldly, very private, very weird and very personal.

This is a Calder handmade bread toaster. Why? Why would you need to make a personal toaster? You could just buy a toaster — and this one’s obviously dangerous. It’s not even made of industrial components — it’s made from scrap of no commercial value, made of bits of wood, leftover pieces of stone, and wire.

I’ve looked at it a lot. I’ve tried to figure out why Calder would do it. He built at least five of these. Five completely different self-invented unique toasters.

Why?

Why not just go buy the toaster at a store? Well — he very much wants to hand-make a toaster. He wants his toaster as a radically different toaster, the one that belongs to him. This is a “utopian device” in the sense of something that seems visionary, farfetched and silly.

It’s just not practical, not realistic — but it’s practical and realistic for him. Calder tended to make art out of objects that the world had abandoned. Like the Turinese “Arte Povera” method — find junk, and dress it up, and re-format it.

He had a different value system. To him this is is not junk. To him, this is a struggle for understanding.

Here he’s making forks. Why?

Why would anyone go to the trouble to make forks? Especially out of cheap wire, because these are wire forks that he hammered flat. So that wire would behave more like forks.

I think what happened here — Calder liked hand tools. People called him a machine artist, because he made sculptures that moved, and sometimes had motors. But he only had two machines in his studio — a drill and a grinder.

He had no other machines. He preferred making personal things with his hands. Expressive tools — in his own hands.

So he’s sitting and he’s eating with a fork — and he realizes this is a tool in my hand. This fork is a tool in my hand. Why isn’t it my personal fork? Why doesn’t this fork have more of my own values?

Right? It’s a Utopian Fork! It’s my personal very different Fork. I don’t care how long it takes me to make it. I want it to express! I want to hold it in my hand and eat with it.

It’s not for sale. These are not commodities. They are what they are — artifacts from a very different value system.

He was a successful artist — at the end of his life, very successful. Calder was quite a wealthy man, and after he died, then his heirs were very wealthy indeed — by artistic standards.

His home in France is an art center now. You can go there and make art in his studio.

These may not quite look like utopian objects, because they’re so personal. But it’s probably what a handmade personal Utopia actually has to look like. You have to dig down to the original basic principles.

It has the freedom of Raphael Hythlodaeus. It’s intelligent. It’s erudite. It’s well traveled, cosmopolitan. But the rules of the world do not apply to it. They just don’t. It’s “Utopia fai-da-te.” It’s a house as Utopia, it’s private, it’s homemade.

You could you do this yourself, personally, after you left the hall of the speech here. Great — I go back to the house, I make my own Fork. Right? You could, it’s not impossible. You could do it. He did it. He’s proving to himself that he can do it. It’s just — that it’s very rare.

Why? Why do you need a personal Utopia? Why does that matter to you? Where is the benefit? Why not just buy the same toaster that the guy has next door?

Raphael Hythlodaeus could go back to Portugal. He could get a job. He could get married. He could work for the Duke. The private Utopia — it’s like one man trying to to do everything that the world can do for him.

Also, Calder’s alone in the countryside. He’s not in the city. He doesn’t have any critics watching him, as he makes unrealistic forks.

What about the city, the public utopia, the City full of other people? What about — for instance — the Utopian city of Torino? The grand, magnificent Turinese realistic utopia?

What can be said about it, here and now?

Well, I have some passing ideas on that subject — mostly because I have read Giovanni Botero.

Botero wants to use grand magnificence to attract people into the town. His strategy is about a town that can survive. Not because it’s a town that is really good at snails, but because it is a grand city with glamour and charisma. That’s why why you want to do it.

Also, it’s pretty clear that to me that this — realistically — is what Torino has been doing for much of my lifetime. Torino was a city that suffered economic setbacks in the 1970s, and was having some basic Botero-style trouble with the food and the justice system and so forth.

But — when the heavy manufacturing failed — it has been slowly trending toward art, design and especially tourism. Heritage tourism. The Baroque architecture in Turin has not been this sexy in 300 years. Botero’s grandeur is an international tourist draw. It’s becoming like a Turinese Florence.

You might have to visit it over a long period to see this urban transformation, but it’s realistically happening. It doesn’t look or feel like a utopian project — because it’s basically about attracting tourists.

However, tourists have utopian aspects. Mostly because they’re struggling to escape from their real lives. They’re dying from too much realism — the harsh reality of their crushing lives. They want to experience something that feels different and refreshing, if only for two weeks.

A basic Turinese problem here is that Torino is progressive, but a heritage tourist industry, which is very attractive to tourists, has no avant-garde. Their stifling interest in your past holds you back. You can’t do “futuristic heritage industry.” Why? Because you can’t move forward into the past.

Supposedly.

Supposedly, you can’t show anybody any “new past.” You can only show them old, decayed remnants from the past that have always been here, and have somehow survived to the present day. You can’t show them an exciting, innovative past that no one has ever seen before.

However — if you wanted to be realistic and utopian — you might actually do this.

While Giovanni Botero was alive and writing about how to build Torino, this was Torino’s most grand and magnificent building.

Everybody in Torino knew this building. It was the Mole Antonelliana of medieval Turin. This is the “Tower of St Gregory,” the tallest tower in Turin.

Giovanni Botero saw this Tower every day. Everybody in Torino saw this Tower every day. If he was alive, among us in this room, he’d be horrified to realize it was gone. It would be a tragic loss. A Torino with no “Civic Tower”? A dystopian disaster! Scarcely a real Torino at all.

If the Civic Tower was still actually here, it would attract endless tourists. It happened to be demolished in the year 1801, because Napoleon knocked it down. There were efforts to rebuild it, but these efforts failed due to lack of economic realism.

However, if you did restore the Tower of Saint Gregory from utopian impulse, you could offer it to tourists as an exciting new heritage building. You could do that, because the city of Torino has excellent archives, and there are all kinds of records about exactly what this Tower looked like during the 500 years that it towered over Torino.

The Turinese are very skilled at restoring partially damaged buildings. They do that all the time. So why not just restore the entire building? Why not be bold and inventive, and utopian and realistic, and make a completely vanished building come back to life?

This grand and magnificent Tower has been gone since 1801, but now it’s back again. It was history, but now it exists again. It’s not illegal to restore vanished buildings. Physically, it wouldn’t even be that expensive to do it — certainly not by the standards of many other ambitious Turinese urban projects.

It’s mere custom, and the habit of mind, that makes you think that old buildings can’t suddenly spring back to life out of the records. Of course they can.

When I started this speech, I said that Raphael Hythlodaeus was a tourist. He went to see Utopia. He took a lot of notes. He never settled in Utopia. He never married a Utopian woman. He never emigrated to Utopia. He didn’t ask for Utopian citizenship.

He just witnessed Utopia and then he lectured about it.

But there is no “Utopia for tourists.”

If you’ve ever been a tourist, you know it’s actually a rather dystopian user experience. The experience is more or less horrible.

Maybe you want to go to another country — because you’re a tourist. You want to experience a different way of life. You want refreshment, you want escape from your reality.

Well, first you go to the airport — where you’re treated as a terrorist. They literally go through your luggage, your shoes.

Then you reach the border and there you’re treated as a clandestino, or maybe a smuggler. They’re extremely suspicious and hostile. Those are not even realistic efforts. They don’t really serve the cause of law enforcement or of civil order. They’re actually systems which are built for intimidation. They’re there to make you feel worse and to be sorry that you ever decided to travel. They’re in place to hurt your feelings and discourage you.

Then, as a tourist — when you’re a tourist in a foreign city — everyone hates you. Attempts are made to tell you to enjoy yourself, to eat the expensive food and spend your money on nice clothes, but there’s very little there that’s for your actual benefit.

That’s all just basically advertisements. That’s the business model. The local people want nothing you might offer as a human being, they simply want your cash. They don’t want you around. And for good reasons. When masses of tourists arrive in your city — when you’re a really successful tourist city — it’s like the city dies wherever they step.

There doesn’t seem to be any civilized way to deal with them. Even if you’re a tourist, you hate the other tourists.

These people — tourists — are the people within your city who realistically need a Utopia. You don’t need a Utopia. They need the Utopia.

If you’re a native of the city, you’re used to the city. You cherish the city. You’re a patriot. You want to live in the city with your memories, your urban experiences, that make it your place, your city.

You don’t want your City to be a Utopia — not even your own backyard! Here in Turin, if someone said, “Make the San Donato district a Utopia” — Everyone in San Donato would immediately say: “Make Campidoglio do it!”

“Make Cit Turin do it! Not us!” Then they would force San Salvario to become the Utopia, because San Salvario is full of foreigners and they never know what to say.

So if you want to build a utopia -- realistically -- you should build one for tourists.

I’m not sure what that would look like. I could speculate about it a little. I think it would be mostly psychological.

It would be like a a wellness retreat. Some kind of spa. I’m thinking some large Turinese building like a derelict factory. Empty — like the Cavallerizza. Or the former “OGR,” the dead train repair yard. Some derelict space turned into a big utopian box.

It should be soundproofed. It should be airtight — like a gambling casino, where no clocks are visible. There are no windows. The air should be filtered because the air in Torino is terrible. There are hundreds of tourists inside this utopian box. Maybe thousands of tourists in there.

It costs nothing to get into the box. It’s a free public amenity in Turin — built just for them, entirely for them.

But to get into this Utopia they have to remove their phones. They have to remove their clothing. They have no wallets, no purses, no purchasing power.

No money. No identity. No passports. They have to remove themselves, that’s the key to it. They’re free — free not to be who they are.

What’s in there? Nothing. There’s nothing to buy. There are no thrill rides, no multilingual experiences.

I think the tourists themselves should probably disappear. They should be wearing special effect suits, like this.

Special tourist holiday suits that cause people to vanish. They blend into whatever is projected on the walls. I think that projection is probably Torino — dream-like utopian images of Torino.

Not the realistic Torino, with Turinese people in it, but a tourist utopian Torino, grand, magnificent, unearthly — and there’s no plot. Nothing happens there. Nothing bothers you. Everything is under gentle surveillance. You’re a utopian tourist. You’re just peacefully drifting around through this foreign space, and you’re also foreign. You could sleep in there if you want.

Most tourists, they don’t really want thrills or excitement. They are tourists to escape the everyday trauma of their miserable lives. They’re not moving toward the attractions. They’re running away from their dystopian suffering. So they should be in a utopia, and they should vanish. Nobody has to look at them. They’re engrossed in Utopia. Eventually they come out then maybe they spend some money before they go back to their private lives elsewhere.

Okay, now I’ll close with a few personal words. I’ve spent a lot of time in Torino myself — sometimes on a tourist visa. But I have never once been “on vacation” in Torino.

Never. I never had a job here. I don’t labor here. I’m not a voter. I don’t participate politically. I don’t stare at the tourist attractions. I don’t even eat the tourist food.

For my wife and myself, Torino is our city of romance. We had known about one other for rather a long time, but Torino is where we first met.

It seemed utopian to think that we might ever be together. Because there were all kinds of good, sensible reasons why people from Texas and Serbia should never get married. For the two of us to be a husband and wife, it seemed farfetched and absurd, and yet, there was something realistic about it. Because it was Torino. We were really together there. It was true, it was real life.

A romance is a remote possibility — like mere wishful thinking, an empty dream — that can suddenly spring into real life. You can never plan for that to happen. But when it does happen, you become very aware of it.

It’s not that I went to Torino, or that she went to Torino — rather that we went to Torino. We do participate in the life of the city, but we’re just not Turinese. I can’t claim that we have any conventional purpose here at all. Nothing political, nothing economic, nothing diplomatic. Nothing that fits into a business plan or a government form.

Mostly we’re in Torino because in Torino we are us. In Torino we became us. A rather mysterious and utopian quality for a city to have. So Torino is not Utopia, but we do appreciate your kindness and your hospitality. So, thank you for that, and that concludes my speech.

Thank you for your attention.

#bruce sterling #italy #Turin #utopia

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rinbowaman · 10 months

Text

Robin Hood - One Shot

One shot i started while i was on the family trip. Kind of thought of it during breakfast and liked the idea, so I drafted it and finally got around to finishing it. ;)

Warnings: MDNI 18+ Smut...lots of descriptive smut. Hostage intake, thief/robberies, held at knife point, cursing's, philandering, maltreatment, hints of domestic abuse.....i think that's it.

Smirking as he processes the article, Heeseung tosses the newspaper aside and sets his sights on the magazine that he picked up earlier. Eyes gliding over the cover, the working of his mind maps out the details and operation of his next target.

“Forbes 2023 Most Successful Business of the year, NIA Hotel”

…………………….

Dawning his attire, he laces his black combat boots and manages the fit of his all-black ensemble. Glancing off to the side, the handsome young man places on his black cap, the ‘tip of the spear’ that finishes his look, along with a black mask that covered his nose and mouth, leaving on his eyes to remain partially exposed. Time to go to work.

NIA hotel had the largest revenue in the world, and how convenient that the main hotel building in this city, would contain high valued items on the top floor. It was the largest hotel building in the world with over fifty stories of rooms that carried only the prestigious guests or people with serious money. The owner of the hotel personally had lived in the fiftieth level, along with valuable assets hidden in a safe.

For weeks, Heeseung had calculated his moment to strike as he had spent his months portraying as a staff member of the hotel, sneaking in and stealing their attire and badges, gaining access to the very top floor as he scouted the details of his plan. Getting passed the guards was easy, finding the hidden safe was even easier.

Exiting his rather lavish suite, being the world’s top thief had it’s perks. Even when he disbursed his little ‘gifts’ to the desolate communities, the valued amount of his steal was more than enough for him to retire at such a young age, yet he found life to be more interesting while living in sin.

Living on the top floor himself, Heeseung couldn’t possibly blow his cover by taking the main entrance and exiting through the heavily guarded lobby. So, he opts to exit out of the window, all the way down from twenty stories up. With zip lining wire, wheeled in a small spindle-gun, he takes aim and shoots out at a street light. Once the puncturing arrow had pierced the post, releasing the quick dry cement foam that set the tip in place, he hooked a shoulder strap to the cable, securing his swift travel down and across from his penthouse. Reaching the post, he propels a soft stop by swinging his feet up just before meeting with the post. With the sharp and jagged cleats on the bottom of his footwear, and the handheld spikes at the hilt of his belt, he climbs down the post until he meets the ground safely, and just in time as Jake pulls up in a black van, carrying the additional passengers that all took part of tonights event.

“Pick up service!” Sunghoon chuckles out as he opens the door. Smirking, as evident by his slightly squinted eyes, Heeseung walks up and enters the van, with his deep chuckle heard faintly behind his mask, he takes Sunghoon's hand as the latter pulls Heeseung up and inside the vehicle before sliding the door shut.

“Hey bro, looking good.” Jay remarks as he types away on his laptop. All seven crew members had their part in ensuring that each night, one such as this, went smoothly as they reduced the chances of capture. Through the process of elimination, the group became operationally steady as each member took on their respective roles, making each gig, a success.

Jay was the expert subject matter on computer technology and came from a family of money, so naturally he was able to equip himself with the highest technology products in the industry that included 3D printing, code crypting, hacking, and information intelligence. Sunoo was in charge of the costumes and outfits, creating and organizing the lavish attire for each time they scouted their targets. Jungwon was their communications guru, able to manipulate, splice, and alter wires within any radio system. Niki covered everything in regards to security, and spent the weeks leading to tonight portraying as a member of the hotel’s security staff, gaining access to all the hot spots of the multiple camera angles and motion of direction. Along with Heeseung, he would be the only other member to remain inside the building as he staged himself inside the security post, manipulating the camera systems and quietly detaining the staff members to avoid interruptions.

Jake spent his earlier days racing cars as a hobby, knowing how to move a car effortlessly and memorizing the most discreet pathways of the city, he mapped out their routes and plotted the additional rendezvous points. Sunghoon was the only one among the group that had military experience, having served three years right after high school. The man was notorious in taking apart every piece of equipment and device used in military weaponry and combat stealth, leading him to borrow the ideas from the strategic design and replicating them with the aid of his fellow military connections. Heeseung was the one who would bring home the goods. Being nearly as tall and flexible as Niki, but having the stealth and charm to play his way through contacts, not to mention being gifted with the rare ability of determining pitch of sound, Heeseung could decode any safe just merely by the sound of their clicks. Together, all seven men had spent years effortlessly gaining millions in net worth, all in a single night.

As Jake steered the van through his mapped route, Jay instructs Heeseung as he issues him the pin code to the safe.

“I hacked into the manufactures system, the owner of the hotel uses a company called iSafe.”

Heeseung smirks as he configures his watch. “iSafe? Is that some sort of ripoff from the apple product?”

“Not a rip off, it IS Apple. Its not widely promoted by the company since they are exclusive and remain affordable through word of mouth only. The techs that run the Apple products designed the key pad. I hacked into their systems and found his code, it’s the numbers of his girlfriend’s initials.”

“Girlfriend huh? Wonder if the wife knows about that.”

“Worse, the wife not only knows about it, she has to accept it since there’s no prenup and her family is against divorce. If she decides to leave him, she’ll get nothing. Plus it doesn’t help that it was an arranged marriage set up by her own father.”

“Ouch.” Heeseung remarks. Merely issuing as he clicks in the coordinates on his watch while Niki texts it by phone.

“Yeah, I dipped into this dude’s background. He’s honestly a scumbag, it looks like their whole marriage has been a complete shit show. Man also has a type and it’s definitely..….well….here.”

Displaying a stilled image, Jay reflects the face of an attractive yet heavily altered woman. It was clearly evident that she had plastic surgery, yet that didn’t necessarily turn Heeseung off….not until....

“I’d still tap it.” Heeseung chuckles out.

“Well watch this video first....then tell me how you really feel.” Hitting play, Jay plays out a recording of the pair during their sexual encounter, the woman’s face was filled with so much botox, she displayed absolutely no inflection in her expression, yet her mouth, remained just barely parted, admitted the most pitiful sounding moans the entire crew has ever heard. Laughing at her expense, each member issued a look of confusion as they all compared the sound to farm animals.

“What the fuck? Is that a cow?” Sunghoon inquires as he listens in on the video.

Smirking, Heeseung asks Jay how in the world he acquired the recording.

“He saves all the footage from his hidden cameras in his laptop, I saw that shit and had to see it myself.” Jay laughs out.

Getting a good laugh at the woman’s pathetic expression…or lack thereof, Jake chimes in as he issues out the estimated time of arrival.

“Heeseung, you got 10 minutes.”

Clicking in the last of the coordinates, Heeseung nodded as he shifts his gaze up, and gets into position near the door. Sunghoon grabs onto the handle as he pats on Heeseungs back.

“Be safe. You know where the alternative meet up point is should anything goes wrong?”

Nodding, Heeseung reassures the information as Sunghoon confirms.

“2 minutes.” Jake issues.

Counting down, Heeseung crouches as he braces for impact. With Sunghoon staging by the door, Jake counts off the remaining five seconds as he glides and maneuvers the vehicle towards the curbed edge of the unidentifiable spot.

“5…..4…..3…..2….1! Now!” Jake states as the wheels begin to slightly screech and he purposely planes the vehicle to its side in a rotated motion. Sunghoon pulls the door wide as Heeseung leaps out and softly lands on solid ground as the van never stops moving. Continuously making its way out of the scene and heading to the vantage point, the crew quickly drives away, leaving to swap out the vehicle and stage it nearby the hotel, within communication range.

Leaving no sound to trace or alert anyone of his landing, Heeseung swiftly rolled into the shadows and remained hidden as he maneuvered his way towards the back of the building. Narrowed in an alleyway, Heeseung used the first set of coordinates and located the massive HVAC unit by finding the large vent on the side of the building. Using one of the many toys Sunghoon had given him, he used a multi-tool to unscrew the vent, while Niki controlled the angle of the security camera by gliding the rollover mouse and deterring its line of sight away from Heeseung.

“Okay you’re out of sight. Do your thing Heeseung.” Niki calmly sounds off with a deep voice, all the while the real security staff remained knocked out from the chloroform gas bomb he set off just moments before entering in with a gas mask. Some more goodies that Sunghoon had acquired through his military connections.

Nodding to himself upon hearing Niki’s voice through the bud earpiece, Heeseung finishes up with detaching the vent. Gliding into the duct. It was large enough for him to crawl and move around as he made his way inside the HVAC room, located in the basement.

“I’m in.” Heeseung communicates as he detaches the second vent and enters the room.

Locating the main vent that led to the main air duct, providing majority of the building's airflow, Heeseung detached it from the wall as he did with the other two, and began crawling through the aluminum crevice as he reads the second set of coordinates. Gliding through, he reaches his second destination as he kicks out the vent from the inside.

“Niki am I good?” Heeseung radio’s in.

Locking the elevators internally by setting the magnetic locking feature, Niki leaves all but one elevator stagnant. Looking into the cameras, he ensures the elevator was not in use. Once confirmed, Niki clears Heeseung, to which the latter listens in as he waits for his que.

“Coming up in 3…..2……1…” Niki calmly counts down as Heeseung hears in for the rising of the elevator, which Niki controlled as he operated the feature from the security room. Heeseung waits for the perfect timing as the elevator box rises up. Taking out a small handle, staging it near the roof of the aluminum duct, he presses the button and the handle extends into a pull up bar, securing itself between the two walls with its suction tipped ends. Sliding underneath the bar, feet first, he hangs himself out from the opening as he grips firmly on the extended piece. Looking down, he waits until the roof of the elevator was within his sight, nearly ten feet away before he releases his grip and softly lands on top, riding the box all the up to the top floor.

Looking at the numbers assigned to each vent, reflecting the floor level, Heeseung iterated the numbers to Niki as he continued to control the elevator through the systems automatic feature.

“Coming up on the fiftieth floor.” Niki remarks. As the elevator box reached the top, Niki pauses the motorized mechanism by halting the elevator through its emergency stop feature, ultimately allowing Heeseung to detach the vent and crawl through the top floor within the main duct line.

“Thanks for the lift.” Heeseung chuckles out through the communication piece, a small speaker pin that he attached to his collar.

Crawling through, going off the third coordinates, Heeseung pauses as he reaches the location of a side vent.

“Just reached third coordinates……am I good?”

Carefully scanning through the hidden cameras of the large presidential suite, the entire fiftieth floor, Niki ensures that all was clear on his end.

“All is clear here. Jay?”

Chiming in, Jay radios in an affirmative as he manipulates a military drone that Sunghoon acquired, having firm access of the hotel owner and his girlfriend enjoying their night out as they grab dinner and prepare to take a flight out, while the wife had remained on vacation.

“You’re good Heeseung.”

Kicking out the vent, Heeseung slides out and scans the immediate area. Inside the dining area, the lights had all remained off as the occupants were out and away.

“Too easy….” Heeseung smirks as he quietly makes his way towards the master bedroom. The entire floor level was larger than most foundational houses, it had a cathedral type ceiling and an expanded open floor plan. Not to mention the furnishings and luxury antique paintings that all hung delicately on the French styled panels that decorated the walls.

“Which painting was it again Niki?” Heeseung radios in.

“It’s going to be the one of Mona Lisa.”

“THE Mona Lisa painting?” Heeseung issues as he was stunned by Niki’s response.

“Not the actual, but it is a genuine replica, and its much larger. It still costed him a pretty penny, I think Jay said he paid over 10 million for it. He hired a bunch of artists to trace and reflect every exact curve and brush stroke as the original.”

“The man has money…..good thing I’m about to take it, his girlfriend could use a break from all those surgeries…any more silicone and she might pop.” Heeseung jokes as he reaches the replica portrait.

“Hey lady, you here alone?” Heeseung quietly speaks as he admires the large portrait.

Tracing the edges of the frame, he feels for the specific feature behind the painting’s main creation. Upon feeling the nub, he presses in and hears in on the clicking sound of the frame detaching from the locking mechanism, gently swinging open as Heeseung reveals the hidden key pad that Jay had fore-mentioned, completely flushed with the wall.

Entering the code, the wall slides open within a framed compartment, revealing the top notch safe that contained an elaborate dial. Just as he was about to get to work, Niki chimes in on the radio.

“Heeseung, get out of sight, someones coming.”

“Shit….” Whispering as he curses himself, Heeseung quickly migrates over into the master closet, which alone, was larger than his own penthouse. Taking refuge within one of the mirrored hanging cabinets, he stands in quietly. Rushing out of the open area, the frame quietly swings open once more as he wasn't able to fully secure it in time.

“Who the fuck came up?” Jay radios in.

“Not sure, it looks like the owner had additional security members a few floor levels down…must be a new security feature because that wasn’t set before. But this guy had to have used the ladder well and gone directly up while I was tracking Heeseung’s movements and operating the stand-alone elevator.” Niki explains, calmly tracking the security guard as he conducts his hourly night rove, as prescribe by the head of security and checks the entire main floor level.

“Heeseung you good?” Jay inquires.

“Yeah I’m good…just hiding out.”

“Stay put, I’ll let you know when it’s clear.” Niki reassures as he uses the security cameras that covered the entire floor level, all but the master suite and bathrooms.

Watching as the security guard did his roves, Niki cursed himself the moment he watches the guard taking notice of the painting swung open.

“He saw the painting. Heeseung stay hidden.” Niki radios in.

“Fuck, we gotta go.” Jay issues. “Heeseung stay put, this place is about to be swarmed with cops, we’ll let you know when all is clear right before they come through. Niki, you need to get out of there man.”

“Already moving. Where are you guys staged?”

“A few blocks away, we’ll swoop by and pick you up at Main street, three buildings down from the hotel. Heeseung where are you right now?”

“I’m inside one of the clothing cabinets inside the main closet.”

Instructing Heeseung, Jay continues to elaborate the alternative plan.

“Alright, stay there. Once we get Niki, you’ll have about 10 minutes before the cops show up and reach the top floor, also the owner has been informed, so we’ll have to swoop by and get you fast before he comes back. Can you get down in five?

“Yeah.”

“Okay, meet us at the same spot. We gonna have to kill all comms in order for the radio waves and frequency to be left untraceable. Don’t discard the pieces, just crush it and bring all the components back with you.”

“Got it.”

Ending the communication, Heeseung takes both, the ear piece and the speaker pin, drops it on the floor and stomps it with his boots, before stuffing the evidence in his cargo pocket. Exiting out of the master closet, ensuring that the security guard that blew their cover had already left, Heeseung began making his way out and back to the vent, where he would start migrating to the ladder well and quickly make his way out before the entire building goes on lock down. With just four minutes left, he rushes out and makes his way through the narrow corridor and takes a sharp turn around the corner, where he bumped into you.

Gasping as you felt the rush of hard muscle bashing into you, all the while a pair of strong hands simultaneously reaches up and pins your arms to your sides, Heeseung was just as shocked as you were the moment he felt himself bumping into your body. With the lights remaining off, he quickly reacts without investigating on who exactly he ran into. Turning you around, he pulls you back into his chest as he raises a sharp blade up to your neck and pulls you away and back into the master suite.

“Not one fucking sound. Nod at me.” With his other hand covering your mouth, his deep tone was fierce and forceful, yet calm…too calm, considering he was trapped on the top floor. But, the man was a professional, so it was only natural for him be composed. Nodding as he bids you to do, he continued to drag you back over toward the master bedroom and locks the door.

Your phone began ringing the moment you both entered the master suite, reflecting your husband’s number, which came in as an unfamiliar contact since you never bothered saving it. Initially, you were fond and very much in love with your husband, finding him to be both handsome and kind. But the moment the ceremony of the wedding had ended, he revealed his act and exposed his displeasing nature as a man with absolutely no value or respect for anyone other than himself. He was narcissistic, materialistic, and a philanderer. You grew to despise everything about him, so much, that you had refused to save any part of him in your life, to include his own cell number.

“Whose that?” Heeseung asks, still unable to see your face as all the lights remained off.

“M…my husband….”

“Husband?”

“Yes…..he’s the owner of this hotel….” You softly spoke out.

“You’re….his wife?.....I thought you were on vacation?”

Somewhat shocked at knowing about your whereabouts, you calmly elaborated as you admitted to secretly arriving back home sooner than expected.

“I…I was…..but I had to come back to….to pick up my divorce papers….” You calmly stated, saddened as the emotions of losing connections with your family was produced from this divorce. It was the only reason why you were hesitant, but you couldn’t take it anymore. As much as you wanted to remain connected with them, you only had one life to live, and you couldn’t possibly see yourself living in a lonely state with a husband that you hated, much less hating you back.

Meanwhile, Heeseung cursed himself as he continued to pin the blade to your skin.

“Answer it. Do anything stupid and I’ll slit your throat, so be a smart girl.” Heeseung instructs. You nod as you answered the call.

“Hello?.....”

“Why did you turn the security members away?”

“I…..just got in....i'm too tired and want to get some sleep……so I told them to come back tomorrow.”

“You dumb bitch, someone just broke in. Are you seriously not going to let the security members investigate the house? just wait till i get there, i'll slap you smart.”

Pausing, you quietly and calmly continued to reassure your husband that all was well…..which turned out favorably for Heeseung.

“There’s….no one here. I already checked and nobody took anything……”

“The team said someone tried to break into the safe.”

“yes but…..they had left before they could open it……i'm going to be here....i'll stay awake for a while and keep an eye on it…….but I’m too tired to deal with your security team……they can come back tomorrow.”

“so you’re sleeping there tonight? That’s a change.”

“Well……I figured since your secretary said you were going to be taking a flight to the Caribbean tonight, the house was going to be empty….for once.”

“Huh..sneaky. Well, since you’re there, I guess I don’t have to head back. We’re turning around and going back to the airport but if you see anyone, call security and text me.”

Gulping out of irritation, you calmly reassured him. “Yeah…..i got it.”

“Good little watch doggie. Be good and watch the house while we’re out oh, and Denise says hi.”

In the background, your husbands girlfriend could be heard as she teases a long “Hiiiiiiiii y/n.” as he places the phone on speaker. Heeseung furrowed his brows in annoyance at the total scummy attitude that the man displayed towards you. Despite whatever problems you both had in the marriage, there wasn’t any real reason he could see that would justify the man’s treatment towards you.

“Please polish all my jewelry while we’re gone, I would appreciate it!” Denise states. Both her and your husband continue to taunt you as it became evident that Denise had been living in your house, with your husband, as you had taken up on living in one of the other rooms in the hotel to create some diversion from the ugly pair. If it wasn’t one of the rooms within the forty-nine remaining floors, it was elsewhere in the city or lodging on whatever part of the world you could get away to. So long as you didn’t have to remain beside them.

“by the way, I heard you picked up divorce papers. You really going through with it?” your husband mocks out curiously.

“Yes…”

“Does daddy disapprove? Did he disown you yet? Does he even know?”

You stayed silent as you tried to alter the conversation to its end.

“Just sign it once you get back and I’ll have my things moved out in the meantime.”

“Good riddance, Denise needs more closet space, she says she’s tired of sharing everything with you. Anyhow, you sure nobody got into my safe?”

“yeah…..”

“Take a photo and send it to me. We’re pulling up at the airport right now, so send it within the next ten minutes before we take off, I don’t intend to keep my phone on while we’re up in the air.”

“Okay…..”

Hanging up and ending the call, your husband seemed to be reassured that all was well at the house, more so now that you were home.

“give me your phone.” Heeseung calmly instructs. Doing so, he takes it and drags you towards the safe. Handing it back to you, he tells you to take the photo and send it immediately. You did as he instructed, before handing it back to him as he extends his hand to look over the text.

“Why the fuck did you marry him? Dude is an asshole.”

“……I didn’t really have a choice…..”

Remaining calm and stoic, reflecting your deepest state of unhappiness, you continued to converse with the young man in the dark, not at all knowing what you both looked like. Suddenly, helicopters from afar could be heard making their way over towards the hotel.

“Shit, come here.” Taking you by the arm, he drags you back into the master bedroom, where all the lights remained off and the curtains closed. Taking you into the corner, he pins you back to his chest with his blade remaining close to your neck, all the while he peaked in through a tiny gap between the curtains and looked over the entire area. Taking your phone, he dials in and contacts Jay.

Answering, Jay figured that it was Heeseung as the number came in unrecognizable, yet he recalled seeing it when he hacked and viewed your, and your husband’s profiles. Piecing everything together, Jay figured Heeseung must have made contact with you upon seeing your number.

“Bro, where are you?”

“I’m still on the top floor…..wife came back early.”

“Yeah I figured…I sort of recognized the number. Are you good?”

“Yeah I am, but cops are everywhere and so are the helo’s….”

“Yeah we see them. You’re going to have to stay put. Did she call security?”

“Nah, and it ooks like they wont be coming up. Husband also is….appeased….knowing that his money is safe.”

“Yeah, I was tracing him through the drone, looks like he ended up going to the airport after all. But you’ll have a solid two hours before you can come out. They’re going to do a thorough rendezvous search around the perimeter of the building, and then slowly expand out throughout the city. We’re heading out but we’ll come back to get you, in the meantime, stay there and don’t come out until we call. You gonna have her phone on you?”

“yeah, I’ll be here.”

“Okay, hang tight, we got some time so chill out for a bit.”

“Yeah sure….” Heeseung mocked out as he slightly rolled his eyes while Jay chuckled.

“You’ll be fine man, trust me. Just don’t leave until I call.”

At that, both ended the phone conversation while Heeseung remained vigilant in scouting the area outside as he held you hostage. With the lights peering into the bedroom windows, he could vaguely make out your hair and the tip of your nose from you side profile as your locks framed your face delicately. He was too focused on what was going on outside, he didn’t take any notice of your dress, which was styled as a wrap, similar to that of a robe with a belted sash that held it in place. It began to come loose and slip off. The tie from the satin material was far too delicate for it to remain in place with how you were being pulled, moved, and pushed around as Heeseung shifted positions, dragging you along as he continued to study the movements and routes of each helicopter, plus the cop cars that all remained staged around the entire hotel.

You wanted to say something but feared of speaking as the grip of his hand tightened over your mouth. Slowly as the seconds went by, and each time Heeseung shifted and moved from one window to another, your dress came undone, slipping off your shoulders and collecting at the bend of your elbows while the sleeves coiled up and the entire body of it draped over your derriere, exposing your body. With only a pair of panties on, you slightly whimpered as you felt yourself become completely exposed.

Hearing your voice, he takes a glance down, initially confused as to why he felt your back shiver, when he noticed your dress removed. With your hands pinned on your sides, he made out the fabric thorough the harsh lighting that peeked in from the windows, and noticed the slinkiness of the material, causing him to piece together on just how you ended up becoming nearly naked in front of him.

With the intent on letting you fix yourself, he was just a split second away from instructing you to dress yourself, when you shifted your head inward, facing in his direction as you felt it hard to breathe since his large hand was not only covering your mouth, but his fingers were blocking the airway of your nostrils as well. Taking in your movement, he caught sight of your face and was essentially stunned….so much that he hadn’t immediately realized that you were barely getting any oxygen, which had caused you to admit another whimper as you furrowed your brows together, squinting your eyes shut and shifting your face upwards, where Heeseung gained a better view of it in the lighting, all the while you lifted a hand and placed it on top of his. Finally realizing that you were struggling for air, his eyes widened as he noted his hand blocked our nostrils and mouth. Quickly removing it, you harshly gasped as you shifted your face back to center and your chest raised up high as you took in a deep breath once you felt air traveling back through to your lungs.

Watching as you regained your breath, Heeseung had quickly wrapped his arm around your waist, supporting your body as you felt lightheaded and went limp from the rush of air hitting you. Slightly bent at the hip, your body shakes as your hair drapes over while your head hangs low, leaving your entire back exposed and your rear pressed up against his groin. You were far too beautiful to be treated in such a manner as he witnessed earlier, how could anyone treat someone like you like trash? You were so lovely in the face, and built with such gorgeous feminine attributes, you were the most breathtaking thing he’s ever seen.

“Why in the fuck is he hitting up that blow up doll when he’s got her….?”

Perplexed at how any man could be married to someone as other worldly as you, and yet choose someone who was highly altered with a synthetic face, Heeseung couldn’t believe how foolish your husband was.

“Is he fucking blind?......Does he not like real women?.....”

Continuing on with his pensive thought, you finally gained composure as you stood upright, brushing your hair back as you steadied yourself.

Grabbing on to you, his black leathered, fingerless gloves was all you could feel against your bare waist, with your hair draped over your shoulder and dangling against your breasts, you remained perfectly still as he held you tightly against his body. Your back felt as if it was melting against his chest, and while his grip was strong, his breathing was calm and soft.

His nose touches your cheek as you felt his lips tap against your helix when he spoke in a low growling tone.

“Look at me…”

Hesitant….you remained still as you felt a wave of fear hit you. But the moment he tugged on your waist harshly, he reiterates his demand. “I said……look at me….”

Doing as he bids, you shut your eyes gently as you slowly turned your face to look over to him. Slowly opening, you make eye contact and for the first time tonight, you saw his face. He had a slightly sharp nose with high cheekbones, along with wide eyes and cupid bowed lips; his facial features were somewhat defined and matured, yet reflected a certain softness and youth to their expression. Gazing into your eyes, he lost himself as he whispered out….

“Fuck……”

Resting his chin on top of your shoulder, his body relaxes and alleviates the pressure of the blade from your neck, allowing you to breathe a little easier. Yet it was too soon for you to take in any comfort from his demeanor since he began to scrape the smooth edge of the blade against your skin, moving it up and down along the center of your throat. Calmly, he speaks as the tip of his nose brushes against your cheek, with his chin remained resting on the nook of your shoulder.

“……look at me some more.”

You shifted your eyes and locked your vision with his black iris, despite being hidden under the bill of his black cap, you could tell that his eyes were so black, that it lacked any natural luster as they were voided of any shine and remained matte in its bold and dark color, resembling coal. Yet you were surprised, he was quite handsome, and his deep voice had paired his features nicely.

Collapsing the pocket-knife and shoving it inside his cargo pocket, he remained staring as he fully embraced you by the waist, and pulled you in.

“you can relax. I’m not going to hurt you….wasn’t ever going to.”

Breathing steadily, you gave a slight nod as you tried to create just a tad bit of distance between your pressed bodies, yet the moment you took a tiny half step forward, you felt his grasp pull you closer than ever. Whimpering out a soft moan, you shuttered as he rubbed his nose and took in a large, inhaled scent of your perfume.

Groaning upon feeling your body pressed up to his groin, even he couldn’t make sense out of his actions, he was just acting out of what felt right………and you felt more than right. You felt perfect.

Whimpering once more, you shifted slightly as you tried to cover your chest once you had felt one of his hands trailing up to your breasts. Turning your face away, he didn’t stop moving even upon seeing you shy away and trying to cover yourself, instead, he merely shushed you by pressing his lips against your ear.

“Shhhh…..its okay baby…….”

Hearing his soft voice melted you, and you felt your body sink into his while your chest heaved deeply as you started to lose control of your breathing.

“…..how long has it been…..since hubs touched you?” he asks, as he cupped your breast and admitted a slight squeeze while his nose dragged upward near the tip of your ear, resting right above the helix. With a small peck, his lips tap against your ear, causing you to become more unsteady as you felt the knot forming in your gut….something you hadn’t felt for far too long.

“I……mm……it was only once…..after our wedding ….” You mumbled out softly, your tone sounded angelic to him. It was similar to that of a wind chime, with gentle tones of high pitch.

Squeezing both of your breasts, his tongue traces the lining of your ear. The sensation was so good, you hadn’t entirely meant to moan and tilt your head off to the side, giving him more access, yet you couldn’t help it. Reaching behind, you planted your palms on his thighs and tried once more to push yourself way to create some distance, yet this time it was just out of teasing spite as you yearned for more of his tenacity. To be craved by a man was something you were missing out on in life….to be craved by Robin Hood himself, was a big bonus.

Sensing your mannerism and the playful vibe you admitted while softly feeling his legs as you pushed, he pulled….slowly….playing right back. “Ooooh…..trying to get away from me?” He smirks against your hair. You slightly shook your head as you arched your back and pressed the back of your head gently against his lips as your derriere dug deeper against his pelvis. That nearly did him in, gripping you harshly by cupping your breasts, he pulled you and smacked your back against his chest as he burrowed his face into your ear. Whispering in a deep and sensual tone, he says to you, “tell me what you want…..tell me and I’ll give it to you….I’ll give you…..e-v-e-r-y-thing…..”

Raising his hand, he sides eye you with desire written all over his face as he sticks out his tongue, and licks the tip of his middle finger. Traveling downward, he slips it into your panties, and uses the same finger to rub the small nub of your clitoris. Gasping for air, with the punch of pleasure banging your gut and chest, you whimpered aloud as you begged him with a whining tone, “ugh!....i….i want. It……..i want it…..”

“say it louder….” Sliding his finger up and down along your slit, he uses the moisture admitted from the crevice of your womanhood and slowly inserts it inside you. “I want it! I want it!.....” you nearly screamed out as you felt him lift your frame by the inserting grasp he had. With his finger inside, and his palm cupping the base of your soft spot, he raised you to your tip toes as he would slowly thrust it in and out. “ugh! P-please……”

“Please what?” he antagonizes out, yearning to hear more of your begging tones, getting more aroused each time you spoke out to him….yearning for him just as much he was yearning for you.

“Come on baby…..tell it to me like you really want it……tell it to me….like how you really want it…..”

Adding more ferocity to his thrust, his finger re-enters inside your hole as the squelching sound of the lubricant becomes louder and screams inside the bedroom. Feeling yourself gushing out, you finally caved in as you nearly collapsed, had it not been your grasp on his fitted cargo pants along with his wrap around your waist. “….p….please…….fuck me…..”

Turning you around so suddenly, he plasters his arms around your frame as he pulls you into an intense and feasting kiss. Never once breaking, you both nearly ran out of breath until he finally admitted a small gasp of air before proceeding. Bending at the knees, his hands reach down and around your back thighs as he swiftly lifts and cradles your legs around his waistline, carrying you over to the king size bed. Laying you down gently, he hovers above our frame as you both scooted towards the center, remaining in contact through the touch of your lips.

Once in position, he props himself on his knees as his military styled clothing continued to show off his lithe frame. Opening your legs wider, he softly rubs his fingertips against your thighs as he hooks them under your panties, and slides them off. Pulling your legs up and together, he slides the fabric off and tosses them to the side while keeping your ankles pinned together, resting atop his shoulder. Caressing and cuffing them together with one hand, he reaches down and unzips his pants slowly while biting down on his bottom lip, staring directly into our eyes. With the lights from the city peering into through the windows and curtains, a dimmed hue of a glow set the atmosphere right as he admired how beautiful you looked under him.

Slowly taking out his shaft, it pokes against the back of your legs as your ankles continued to rest over his shoulder, covering his length from your vision. You could tell that he was long and thick, based off how it felt against your skin as he rubbed it up and down, and tapped it against your thighs. With the bulging tip, he slides it up and down in between the folds of your slit, coating it with that glistening shine that coated his finger. Entering, the tight pressure of your cavity caused his breath to growl as he tilts his head far back, exposing his protruding Adams Apple.

“Fuck you’re tight….”

Whimpering, you shift your face away as you winced in pain. Reaching up, your hands grab hold of his shirt as you dug your fingers into the material and his abdominal muscles. “Ugh!......i…it hurts!”

Remained facing with the ceiling, as he gasped out a breath of his own, he nodded faintly as he spoke “I know…..but I’m going to take care of that for you in a second……I’m going to take care….of you….” slowly bucking his hips in, he inserts, inch by inch until he finally was all inside you.

Enjoying the warmth of softness of your moist tissue, he flickers his cock as it rests inside, tapping against your walls while the pre-cum seeped out and puddled inside you. Looking back down at you, he finally caught his breath after taking a moment to appreciate the feeling of your body. Like the finest silk, you felt far too good for him to not begin thrusting.

With slowly pumps, he started off with a gentle pace as he asked you, “are you ready?”

Nodding, you felt the stinging pain pulsating as he stretched you out, going in and out…in…and out……

Once your response was received, his momentum became unforgiving as he picked up the pace and thrusted deeper, faster, and fiercely. Groaning out deep tones, Heeseung was overwhelmed by the amount of pleasure he felt. It was so good, he had to go harder….he had to make you scream.

Looping his arm around your legs, with your ankles remaining on his shoulder bone, he slightly lifts your derriere off the bed as he continued to thrust and pump his dick into you. Supporting your frame by the lock on your legs, you found yourself lost in the sea of euphoria as you were getting fucked relentlessly by the infamous thief. Not knowing his real identity, you merely moaned out in long exasperating whines and whimpers as you felt more pleasure coming in, and the stinging tinge of pain was disappearing fast. Numbed and yet still able to feel every single inch of his cock thrusting in and out, you gasped out as you whined “p-please….please….ugh…don’t stop…….don’t stop fucking me.”

Turning you over, he places a trail of kisses on the arch of your back as he grabs onto your rear, squeezing your cheeks together as he grabs your waist from behind. Propping yourself on hands and knees, you moaned out upon feeling his wet length trailing patterns on your skin, tapping against your cheeks as he prepares to enter. Steadying your body with a tight grasp, he squeezes your waistline as he re-enters, sliding all the way in. It was becoming easier to enter inside as he was stretching your walls open from thrusting in his large muscle repeatedly.

He never once thought he would ever take a married woman to bed, but for you, he’d do anything. He’d do everything.

Feeling the base of his groin as it presses against your rear cheeks, you gasped out as he starts back up on thrusting, slamming against your rear with sharp and pungent thrusts. The sound of your skin slapping against the skin of his base, along with his trousers as he remained fully dressed, he started off slowly and deep before going in at a rapid rate.

“Ugh! Ugh….my God…I’m……you’re breaking me….”

“Oh fuck yeah I am.”

Finding himself tenacious in ruining you, Heeseung took great delight in toying with your words as he slaps himself against you each time he thrusted in, pulling you by your waist simultaneously as he re-coats his dick with that precious liquid that emerged from you. The consistency started to thicken and turned white from the constant friction and rubbing from the thrusting. Watching it formulate before his very eyes, he watches as a thick, white ring of cream outlines his girth, growing and expanding along the inches the more he kept fucking into you.

“Ugh! ….fuck! I’m going to cum!” you whimpered out. He responded by increasing the pace yet again, spanking his groin against your round bottom as he powers in all the energy and masculinity into your womanhood, claiming you as he tells you to cum.

“Cum baby……cum with me…”

Thrusting in with high tenacity, you both fell into the hands of your release as you reached your orgasms. Nearly screaming, you felt the tears of pleasure stream down your face as you felt his groin gyrate and vibrate against your rear as he filled you up, pulling you in towards him by his grip on your waist. Turning you over, he lays you down and re-inserts his length once more. Leaning in between your legs and plastering his chest against yours, he locks his lips with your own as he begins to thrust once more, initiating round two.

Grabbing onto your neck, he breaks away just slightly as his nose and lips remained touching yours. His thrusts caused your body to shift upwards as he watched you bolt up and down from his impact, loving the way your placid expression from earlier, was broken as he fucked you.

“let me give you a pearl necklace to wear around that beautiful neck or yours baby….”

Bumping up and down as he continued to thrust, you admitted a nod as you furrowed your brows in pain from the overwhelming pleasure hitting you once more. “ugh! D….d…too deep! You’re too deep!”

“Yeah?......lets go deeper baby……”

Gasping for air, he succeeded, though you couldn’t imagine how he accomplished the task as he was already going in all the way in. By lifting one of your legs and leaning it against your chest, he was able to reach depths that you had no idea existed until he pointed it out…literally.

“Oh my God! Ugh!...p…please….”

“I know baby….i fucking know……come on, keep taking it. You’re doing so well……you’re doing soooooooo good……come on baby, keep fucking it……fuck it….fuck it baby.”

“ugh!” you gasped out repeatedly, to which he responded by issuing teasing words as he breathed into your mouth. “Right there baby? Is that the spot?”

“Uuuuuugh!”

“Yeah? Want me to keep hitting it? Just like that?....come on baby, let me beat it up for you.”

Tapping against a spot deep inside your gut, you reached up and gripped his chest as he breathed deeply into your wide-open mouth. He refrained from kissing you, taking the moment to enjoying swallowing in each of your moans as he fucked you harder, faster, and stronger.

“oh fuck baby, come here.”

Feeling himself reaching ecstasy he quickly pulls out just in time as he kneels himself up and reaches for the back of your head. Pulling you in gently, he strokes his throbbing member as he ejaculates along your neckline, coating you with the pearl necklace that he enjoyed seeing you wearing……because it was his.

Growling out the last of his moans, he leaned back in and kissed you repeatedly as he caressed your face. Noting the lack of energy and your eyes fluttering shut, you became weak after succumbing to his performance. With one last kiss on your forehead, he gently pulled the covers over your body and fetches a few of your husband’s belongings from the master closet.

Snagging your phone, he quickly calls in once more.

“Yo.” Jay answers.

“Be around the block in ten, right next to that Lebanese food cart, I’ll meet you there. Don’t worry about the cops, I scouted a loop hole route. Trust me. See you soon.” Hanging up, he left no chance for Jay to respond as he erases the call history, not at all concerned as the number he dialed in was that of a disposable phone. Leaving the crew untraceable.

Placing your phone down at your nightstand, he takes one more glance over and admires your sleeping state before leaving you to rest. Decoding the safe, Heeseung worked quickly as he clears his throat, still catching his breath from the heightened pleasure he felt from fucking your brains out.

Swinging the safe door wide open, there, the entire life’s value of your husband’s assets was free for the taking. Gold bars, velvet bags of diamonds, shareholder certificates, and large stacks of cash, a wide variety of investments that Heeseung stuffed into your husband’s gym bag. Shedding off his combat styled attire, he stuffs it all inside the bag while adorning the gym clothes he snagged from the master closet. With his cap remaining, Heeseung left his face partially hidden as he dressed himself in sneakers, basketball shorts, a fitted tee shirt with a sports jacket. Sliding back inside the vent, realizing that the guard never noticed it being detached from the wall, Heeseung slid and crawled through, configuring his way through while dragging the bag along through the spacious air duct.

Reaching another vent, he kicks it open and emerges out, into an empty guest suite located two floors below the top level. Figuring that the guard had already discovered the detained guards and reset all the controls in the security room, Heeseung peeked out through the small peep hole on the door, and there it was, off to the corner of his vision, he could see the security camera that covered the hall of the forty-eighth level. Containing the view of the door, Heeseung exits the room, casually, portraying himself to be a guest at the hotel as he remained inconspicuous. Tucking his hands inside the jacket pockets, he walks out and heads over to the elevators, walking past a few other guests and even a couple of roaming security guards. Watching as Heeseung stood calmly, waiting for the next elevator, one of the security guards noted Heeseung’s attire and tapped his shoulder.

“Excuse me sir. The hotel’s gym is currently closed for the night.”

“Damn….well that sucks.” Heeseung hisses out.

“I know, we apologize for the inconvenience. However, there is an exclusive gym down the road that is open to all guests of the hotel. Its nearby, just a few buildings down, past Main street. Don’t mind the police, there is an elaborate search of the hotel since there was an intruder alert.”

Feigning a slight gasp with a surprised look, Heeseung calmly converses as he built a false rapport with the guard. “No shit…..huh….is it safe to leave the hotel?”

“Oh yes, nothing to worry about Sir. Everything is under control. We’ll have the man arrested in no time, we had cleared the top three floors and figured he made his way through the ladder well. The police are in a high state of alert, so please don’t be alarmed if they ask to check your bags as you exit the hotel.”

“Of course, man, thanks so much uh…” extending his hand, Heeseung hinted for the man’s name.

“Oh, Robert.” Shaking hands with the guard, Heeseung nods as he continues. “Robert. Nice to meet you man, Ethan.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. Thanks for the tip, I’ll see you around man.” Heeseung enter’s the elevator with two other guests, listening into on the guard, he overhears as Robert radios in and commits to standard protocol.

“Three guests making their way to the first floor, two males and one female. Both cleared.”

As the elevator doors shut and started to move, Heeseung side glances at the couple, taking note of their distracted presence as they both displayed their loving affection towards one another. Pressing on the third floor button, Heeseung remained cool as the elevator reached the level. Walking out, he notes the security camera covering the entire hallway, leaving no door and room out of its line of sight……except for the vent that was on the dead-end wall, underneath the camera, out of the vantage point.

“Too easy.”

Casually walking up, Heeseung takes out a key card, one that he had taken over a week ago when he scouted the entire top floor portraying as one of the lobby staff. Coding it with the hotel’s computer system, he copied the hotel manager’s master copy. Opening the door closest to the opposite corner of the camera, the angle only captured the top corner of the door, gaining enough sight to witness it opening and closing. Entering the master key into the slot, the guards in the security room watched and noted the door opening with Heeseung entering the room. Mistaken as a guest of the third floor, the guards shifted their focus back to one of the middle floor levels once the door to the room had shut.

The moment he entered the room, he swiftly ducked and leaped out, right from under the camera’s lens. With the door only partially covered, there was no sight of what went on underneath the center of the panel, leaving Heeseung free to feign an entry. Taking out the vent, he re-enters inside the duct, and crawls through, recalling the coordinates from earlier and developing his own alternative set, he reached the very start of his journey for the night, and found himself back in the HVAC room at the hotel’s basement. With only minutes, possibly seconds left before someone would notice the vent’s manipulated and displaying evidence of security breach. Heeseung quickly reaches up and undid the vent that led outside, held in place with an instant drywall gum that he applied on the corners of the vent, setting it back in place as a precautionary measure in case the guards conducted their roves along the perimeter of the hotel’s exterior. With no way to screw it back on from the inside, Heeseung got crafty and experimented with multiple home products to develop this concoction.

Pressing it outward, he grips on the grooves of the vent with his fingers so as to not let it fall and hit the ground, causing noise to alert the police stationed out on the front and back, occasionally roaming around. With the helicopters hovering over the neighboring buildings about five miles out, he would have just seven minutes before they would migrate back over the hotel. Quickly exiting out of the duct, he props the vent back over the opening, before climbing in between the neatly trimmed trees that outlined the hotel, providing a luxurious lining of landscaping beauty. Remaining in the shadows close to the trees, he travels on the opposite end of the foliage, making his way the in the direction of Main Street, passing by the back side of the fine establishments that neighbored the hotel. One he reached the fourth building down, he walked through the narrow alley way and emerged from the side, with the sight of police officers and the massive hotel building all at a solid distance. Right on time, a white SUV pulls up.

Rolling down the window, Jake peeks his head out as he looks behind and takes notice of the hotel and the line of police cars that covered the entire entrance.

“Need a lift?” Jake chuckles out.

Smirking, Heeseung walks over to the passenger side and gets in. Driving off, they head out to meet up with the rest of the crew, splitting the earnings as per usual.

Media outlets along with social media platforms blasted the news of the robbery. For days, nothing but talk of the hotel owner’s entire life investments, was all stolen. Desperate to seek information, the police released a massive million-dollar reward for any leads.

………………….

“This is Belift news. It would so appear that there is still no signs of the infamous thief, who is socially identified as Robin Hood. Once again, the thief has emerged victorious in stealing over 400 billion dollars’ worth of assets that included shareholder stock certs to major corporations and companies around the world. What is even more strange, is that Robin Hood, who was always known for his generosity in leaving a fraction of his prize to the most impoverished areas of the city, had skipped out and took everything for himself, as no one has come out with claims of receiving a gift at the doorstep. Of course, it has been three days since the incident, police express that Robin Hood may be more cautious and is remaining under cover and may possibly leave his gift after things calm down.”

Turning the TV off, you sipped on your coffee as you relaxed on the balcony, taking in the beautiful sight of the city in a separate hotel. What with the safe breached and your husband’s life’s savings all taken, you didn’t bother to remain at the NIA hotel any second longer once you notified him. Knowing that he would fly back immediately, you left him with a simple text….

Sending out the half-hearted message, you immediately blocked out his contact, not at all wanting to entertain whatever response he would text back. With the divorce papers unsigned, you didn’t even care as you realized that lacking his signature, would only mean that the divorce is contested on his part, yet you also knew that he wouldn’t show up at court to provide a defense, meaning the judge would automatically rule in your favor, making the divorce as binding and legal. Either way, you won. He lost.

Hearing the bell ringing, you got up and checked the peephole to see the hotel’s concierge staff member on the opposite end with a delivery man next to him. Opening the door, you greeted the two men as the staff member nodded and respectfully spoke.

“Ms. Y/n, there is a delivery for you that requires your signature of acceptance.”

“Oh, a delivery? ….That’s fine, where do I sign?” a bit confused, you signed the electronic pad, reflecting your acceptance as the delivery man handed you a box made of leather. Thanking the two men and gently shutting the door, you walked over to the table where you set the box down. Opening the golden latch at the front, inside was a smaller box made of velvet, with a small envelop wrapped with a red ribbon. The wax melt that sealed the envelope contained the letters “RH”.

“It….it couldn’t be….”

Opening it, you read the small letter that was handwritten with such delicate calligraphy.

“Tis the night where thy heart yearns for thee, I pray thy Maid Marian, remains happily free. Just as the swallows that fly above ye pretty head, I sit and stare, painting the canvas of ye blossoming face from thy bed. For I seek the comfort of her warmth and touch, Come out wearing this above ye bosom, the one whose heart I miss much. Wait for me, as I come to ye, Become thy Maid Marian, forever with me.” Love, Robin Hood

Opening the smaller box, laid delicately in place, was the most beautiful piece you ever did see. A necklace….made entirely out of white pearls.

.....................

"let me give you a pearl necklace to wear around that beautiful neck or yours baby…" - Robin Hood

-Fin

Enjoyed this piece? Show love and treat your girl to a cup of coffee. ♥️

☕ Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/reinbow

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generic-sonic-fan · 3 months

Text

The Sonic Crew, 40 Years Later-

Just one of many possibilities, of course, but I challenged myself to imagine what Sonic's crew and Team Dark might look like when they're older. Long post beneath the cut:

Sonic

The one who changed the least

Still an absolute daredevil with a heart of gold

All that running and frequent injuries did a number on his knees and he started using knee braces and a cane/crutches in his late 20s

(it took him a while to be okay with this, but he's over that now)

(He can still run if needed, but he'll be hurting for a few days after.)

Gets his need for speed by racing cars, motorcycles, the Tornado, and by skydiving

Still LOVES helping people and spends a lot of time volunteering

Yes, he's still signing autographs

He's got a permanent home now, mostly to store the Tornado and his other vehicles. He took over Tails' workshop when the fox left for greener pastures and likes keeping the place fixed up.

He's been reading a lot more. Now that he's got a permanent place, his library collection is massive

He's just taking it one day at a time, man. Always has, always will

Tails

The one who changed the most

He owns a garage in the city now, with a sign on the door that says "Prower's inventions and tinker shop"

He always knew that he wanted to sell the things he made, but he had absolutely zero interest in the business side of things outside of running social media accounts

So he's gone indie! He's almost more of an artist and influencer than a world-class inventor, but don't let that fool you

He's still selling his patents to top companies and making a crapton of money

(he's the second most well-off of the friend group aside from Rouge.)

So how's he changed?

He's lost a lot of his childlike innocence, become increasingly more focused on people's perception of him and making online content

and ultimately, he chose technology over the outdoors

Sonic kinda knew that sort of thing was inevitable, but it still hurt when Tails decided to move to the big city and stop exercising as much

But he's very happy where he is and how he's living, and he and Sonic still catch up with each other frequently

Knuckles

Still guarding the Master Emerald!

But he's really learned how to do more with his life despite staying on one island for most of his time

Tails finally convinced him to install enough technology to keep him connected to the world below

Since then, Knuckles has become the number one expert on Echidna anthropology/archaeology in the world

He's written several books using speech-to-text technology

(it's been difficult work- he's not the best reader or writer, but he put the effort in and now he's a published author!)

When he's not writing or giving talks on Echidna culture over video call, he's still taking care of Angel Island, growing his own food, and making more discoveries about ancient Echidna culture. That much hasn't changed

Ever since the defeat of Eggman, he's more willing to take vacations off of Angel Island, but it's still a rare occurence

He usually notifies the friend group via group chat whenever he plans on coming down for a visit, often resulting in reunions

Amy

Amy absolutely "settled down" and opened the bakery she's always wanted to open

Unlike Tails, she LOVES the business side of things along with the actual baking

Her bakery is one of the most famous in the city she lives in now

She loves the thrill of commanding the kitchen staff and managing all the tasks that go into producing good pastries!

She also developed a love for children, and spoils any child in her vicinity rotten

And she has kids of her own, duh

She helps organize and moderate the group chat for the old friend group

And she loves coordinating visits/reunions

Her house is always open to anybody and everybody. She loves entertaining guests, especially if they're old friends

Her house is SO cute and homey it's almost overbearing

When her kids have kids she is going to be the sweetest grandma ever

Rouge

Already detailed in this post here!

Shadow

He's matured a lot, finally having enough wisdom to act as "the wise immortal"

He's become a nomad, sort of like how Sonic used to be, except he takes things at a much slower pace

(he retired from GUN and absolutely had a midlife crisis. this is the result)

He keeps diligent journals of every place he visits, food he tries, people he meets, and so on

He's picked up on Sonic's hobby of learning languages due to his travels

He's gotten much better at socializing with strangers but still prefers solitude

. . . but he still carries a phone on him and participates (albeit rarely) in the old friend group chat

(Rouge and Omega have him on speed dial, of course. He'll drop everything at their beck and call, even if it's a simple "I miss you")

He's gotten more interested in some more esoteric stuff that would've made his younger self cringe, like poetry and spirituality

The world knows him as a bit of cryptid, lol

Omega

Unlike Shadow, he's not retired!

He left GUN and became a freelance operator. Kind of a mercenary, except he has just a touch more discretion than that

(His version of a midlife crisis happened when he finally killed Eggman circa 30 or so years ago. Those were some messy, messy times, but since then he's made peace with his continued existence)

He is still Angry, of course, but he's a lot more chill than he used to be. Sometimes this throws Shadow for a loop.

His ego, though ever-present, has been tempered by age

Mostly because he kinda thinks his younger self was a bit cringe??

Mention the word "Meatbag" and he'll get stoically embarrassed about it

Anyways, he's also a nomad, traveling the world to do jobs and stopping by Tails' garage for repairs

He stops by Rouge's house often, and meets up with Shadow at least once a month

("YOU ARE THE FOOLISH ORGANICS THAT CONVINCED ME OF THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP. YOU ARE NOT GETTING RID OF ME SO EASILY.")

#sonic the hedgehog #miles tails prower #knuckles the echidna #amy rose #shadow the hedgehog #e-123 omega #weird post! but it wouldn't leave my mind #I've been tinkering with this post since I answered that original ask with Rouge #idk man. as an adult fan it's kind of nice to imagine where they all end up

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guestpostlinks · 9 months

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Best Uganda Guest Posting Sites

In the ever-evolving world of digital marketing, finding innovative ways to enhance your online presence is key to success. One such strategy that's gaining prominence is guest posting. When it comes to targeting the Ugandan market, Uganda Guest Posting Sites can be your secret weapon.

In this blog post, we'll dive into the world of guest posting in Uganda, highlighting its benefits and answering some frequently asked questions. Get ready to unlock the power of this SEO-friendly tactic!

What Are Uganda Guest Posting Sites?

Uganda Guest Posting Sites are online platforms where you can contribute your high-quality content as a guest author. These platforms cater specifically to the Ugandan audience, providing a unique opportunity to engage with the local population on a range of topics, from culture and travel to business and technology.

Top Uganda Guest Posting Sites

campusbee.ug

2. ugtechjaja.com

Benefits of Guest Posting in Uganda

1. Amplify Online Visibility

Guest posting on Ugandan websites can significantly enhance your online visibility within this specific niche. By delivering valuable content, you position yourself as an industry expert, gaining the trust of your target audience.

2. Acquire High-Quality Backlinks

One of the primary goals of guest posting is to obtain quality backlinks to your website. These backlinks from authoritative Ugandan sites can improve your website's domain authority and boost your search engine rankings.

3. Targeted Audience Engagement

Uganda Guest Posting Sites offer a gateway to a highly targeted audience interested in Uganda-related subjects. This specificity ensures that your content reaches the right people, resulting in higher engagement and potentially increased conversions.

4. Networking Opportunities

Collaborating with Ugandan website owners and bloggers can open doors to valuable networking opportunities. You may establish partnerships, gain exposure on other platforms, or receive guest posting invitations from high-authority websites.

5. Content Writing Skills Enhancement

Regularly contributing guest posts to Ugandan sites challenges you to create top-notch content that resonates with your audience. Over time, this practice can sharpen your content writing skills and help you adapt to various writing styles.

How to Get Started

Identify Relevant Websites

Start your journey by researching Uganda Guest Posting Sites in your niche. Look for websites with strong online presence and a history of accepting guest contributions.

Study Submission Guidelines

Before pitching your content, thoroughly review the submission guidelines of your chosen website. Each site may have specific requirements regarding content length, formatting, and topic selection.

Craft Engaging Pitches

Write personalized and persuasive pitches to website owners or editors. Emphasize the value you can provide to their readers and how your content aligns with their site's objectives.

Create Outstanding Content

Once your pitch is accepted, focus on crafting content that is informative, engaging, and relevant to the Ugandan audience. Ensure your content incorporates well-researched keywords to boost its SEO performance.

Maintain Relationships

After your guest post is published, engage with the audience through comments and social media. Building relationships within the community can lead to more opportunities down the road.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1: Are guest posts in Uganda beneficial for international businesses?

Absolutely! Guest posting in Uganda benefits both local and international businesses. It allows them to connect with the local audience, establish trust, and expand their reach in the Ugandan market.

Q2: Is guest posting only about acquiring backlinks?

No, guest posting offers more than just backlinks. While they are valuable for SEO, guest posting also helps you showcase your expertise, build authority, and reach a wider audience within your niche.

Q3: How can I ensure my content is SEO-friendly?

To make your content SEO-friendly, conduct keyword research, incorporate keywords naturally, and optimize meta tags and images. Additionally, focus on creating valuable and engaging content that keeps readers on the page.

Conclusion

Uganda Guest Posting Sites provide a golden opportunity to tap into the Ugandan market and enhance your online presence. By consistently delivering valuable content and nurturing relationships within the community, you can enjoy the benefits of improved SEO, high-quality backlinks, and a loyal readership. So, embark on your journey into Uganda's guest posting landscape today and witness your online influence grow in this vibrant market.

#seo #off page seo #guestposting #digitalmarekting

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techshek · 9 months

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Boost Your Digital Marketing Success: The Ultimate Guide to SEO

Boosting your digital marketing success through SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is crucial in today's online landscape. SEO helps your website rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs), increasing visibility, traffic, and conversions.

In a digital world that never sleeps, you need more than just a website; you need an online strategy that stands out. At techshek, they craft compelling narratives, design captivating visuals, and engineer strategies that drive engagement and conversion. It's time to rise above the digital noise.

Digital marketing is a dynamic and competitive field, and to thrive in it, your digital agency needs to be at the top of its game. The digital marketing landscape is constantly evolving. New technologies, algorithms, and consumer behaviors emerge regularly. To remain competitive, your agency must stay informed about the latest industry trends.

This ultimate guide will walk you through the key aspects of SEO to help you achieve better results.

1. Understanding SEO Basics:

a. Keywords:

Keyword Research: Identify relevant keywords that your target audience uses when searching for products or services.

Long-Tail Keywords: Focus on specific, less competitive keywords that can drive high-quality traffic.

b. On-Page SEO:

Title Tags: Create unique, descriptive titles for each page, including target keywords.

Meta Descriptions: Write compelling meta descriptions with keywords to entice clicks.

Header Tags: Use H1, H2, and H3 tags to structure your content and include keywords.

Keyword Optimization: Incorporate keywords naturally in content, but avoid keyword stuffing.

Image Optimization: Optimize images with descriptive file names and alt text.

c. Content Quality:

High-Quality Content: Create informative, engaging, and valuable content that answers user queries.

Content Length: Aim for comprehensive, in-depth content where appropriate.

Fresh Content: Update and add new content regularly to keep your site relevant.

d. User Experience (UX):

Mobile Optimization: Ensure your website is mobile-friendly and responsive.

Page Load Speed: Optimize loading times for better user experience.

User-Friendly Design: Make navigation easy, and use clear calls to action.

2. Off-Page SEO:

a. Backlinks:

Quality Backlinks: Build high-quality, relevant backlinks from reputable websites.

Guest Blogging: Write guest posts on authoritative sites in your niche.

Social Signals: Engage on social media platforms to boost brand visibility.

b. Local SEO:

Google My Business: Claim and optimize your Google My Business listing for local searches.

Local Citations: Consistency in business name, address, and phone number (NAP) across online directories.

3. Technical SEO:

a. Site Structure:

XML Sitemap: Create and submit an XML sitemap to search engines.

URL Structure: Keep URLs clean, concise, and relevant to the page content.

b. Website Security:

HTTPS: Secure your site with an SSL certificate for data encryption.

Mobile-Friendly: Ensure your site performs well on mobile devices.

c. Indexation and Crawling:

Robots.txt: Use robots.txt to control which parts of your site search engines can crawl.

XML Sitemap: Include important pages in your sitemap for indexing.

4. Monitoring and Analytics:

a. Google Analytics:

Set up Google Analytics to track website traffic, user behavior, and conversions.

b. Google Search Console:

Monitor your website's performance in Google Search and resolve issues.

5. Content Promotion:

a. Social Media:

Share your content on social media platforms to increase visibility and engagement.

b. Email Marketing:

Send newsletters and updates to your email subscribers to promote new content.

6. Regular SEO Audits:

Conduct regular SEO audits to identify and address issues affecting your site's performance.

7. Stay Updated:

SEO is constantly evolving. Keep abreast of industry trends and algorithm updates.

8. Seek Professional Help:

Consider hiring an SEO expert or agency if you lack the time or expertise to manage SEO effectively.

Techshek stands out for its diverse range of services that cover every aspect of establishing and maintaining a strong online presence. From crafting visually appealing websites to implementing data-driven SEO strategies, they offer a comprehensive suite of solutions tailored to your unique needs.

Experience accelerated growth and productivity as they handle your digital endeavors, leaving you free to focus on your core business strategies. They pride themselves on crafting the best-in-class strategies tailored to your business objectives.

#digital marketing #online #marketing #seo #seo services #foryou #explore #article #blog #information

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beardedmrbean · 2 years

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A standoff between Dutch farmers and their government is causing havoc in the Netherlands this summer. Protesters have withheld deliveries from grocery stores, smeared manure outside the home of the agriculture minister, and blocked highways with hay bales and tires. “That’s what you get when you make people so very angry,” Sieta van Keimpema, secretary of the Farmers Defense Force (FDF), said July 27 as the group launched a fresh round of demonstrations.

What’s driving the dispute? Manure. The Netherlands’ intensive livestock farming system produces an unusual excess of animal feces. When mixed with urine, those feces give off ammonia and nitrous oxide. The former is a pollutant that can leak into air and water, harming local wildlife. The latter is a potent greenhouse gas that traps heat in our atmosphere: the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says nitrous oxide accounts for around 6% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

In June, the Netherlands unveiled a world-leading target to halve emissions of the gasses, as well as other nitrogen compounds that come from fertilizers, by 2030, to tackle their environmental and climate impacts. The government said it was leading an “unavoidable transition” for agriculture. Farmers can reduce the release of nitrogen compounds by changing how they manage their cows: feeding them less protein, or using water to dilute manure, for example. But the target is expected to require a 30% reduction in overall livestock numbers, and experts say many farms will have to shut down. Farmers are demanding that the government rethink the plan before it becomes law later this year.

Trienke Elshof, a dairy farmer with 250 cows in the northern province of Friesland, says farmers feel blindsided: for decades, governments have encouraged them to increase yields. Meanwhile, other high-polluting industries, such as aviation, construction, and transport, have yet to face such severe environmental rules. “We know we have to do something about nitrogen, but not in this top-down way, and not at this speed,” she says. “It feels like they want to get rid of all the farmers in the Netherlands.”

The farmers’ plight is stirring a thorny debate on climate action, with implications well beyond the Netherlands. A wave of solidarity protests have taken place in recent weeks, from Germany to Canada. Some have been organized by people who view the measures as an attack on workers’ rights and small businesses. But far-right figures and conspiracy theorists have also gotten involved. Twitter is filled with posts linking the Netherlands’ nitrogen policy to the Great Reset—a theory that claims international elites are trying to use the COVID-19 pandemic to establish an authoritarian global government. On July 7, Fox News’s Tucker Carlson featured a guest wrongly claiming the policy is designed to clear land for use by migrants. And at a July 23 rally former U.S. President Donald Trump praised the farmers for fighting their governments’ “climate tyranny.”

This may be just the beginning of much wider global unrest over agriculture. Scientists say dealing with climate change will require not just gradual reform, but a rapid, wholesale transformation of the global food system. As one of the world’s most densely farmed nations, the Netherlands is one of the first countries to grapple with how that upheaval will impact farmers—and how messy the transition will be. It won’t be the last.

How the Netherlands’ got here

The Netherlands is famous for its highly productive agriculture industry. In the years following the Second World War, during which the country suffered a famine due to Nazi blockades, Dutch farmers led a drive to increase the amount of food that could be grown on their relatively small territory. That meant rolling out greenhouses, vertical farming, and other efficiency-improving technologies, and also cramming in 238 cows per square mile as of 2021, compared to around 100 in the U.K., and 81 in Germany. By value, it’s the world’s fourth largest dairy exporter and second largest overall food exporter, after the U.S. The Dutch earn more from agriculture than Brazil—a country whose territory is 205 times larger.

But all that has come at a cost. Dutch cows produce so much manure that farmers struggle to dispose of it safely. As a result, ammonia pollution is affecting air quality in some areas. And agriculture accounts for 86% of the country’s nitrous oxide emissions, which drive up the country’s contribution to global warming. Meanwhile, intensive fertilizer use has led to toxic algae blooms in the country’s waterways that kill fish and make lakes dangerous to swim in.

In 2018, after a lawsuit brought by an environmental NGO, the European Court of Justice ruled that the Netherlands’ policy to tackle its outsize nitrogen pollution problem was too weak and violated E.U. law. When a new coalition government formed in June this year, they unveiled plans to dramatically accelerate pollution reduction. Nationally, nitrogen pollution must be cut by 50% by 2030, with regions near protected nature reserves expected to cut pollution by 70%.

Farming’s global environment problem

The Netherlands’ pursuit of farming efficiency is an extreme version of agricultural expansion that has taken place across the rest of the world over the last century. The environmental consequences are not limited to nitrogen pollution. Worldwide, the amount of land used for crops and livestock doubled over the course of the 20th century, requiring the clearing of forests that once sheltered biodiversity and helped keep our climate stable by sequestering carbon. An increase in the global population of methane-belching cows, now over a billion-strong, has doubled atmospheric levels of the potent greenhouse gas since 1900. Farming is also responsible for 70% of the fresh water we consume each year.

Environmentalists say we need to reduce the toll farming takes on nature, by eating less meat and growing crops in less harmful ways, while at the same time make our food systems more resilient to the heat, drought, storms, and flooding that will be intensified by climate change.

The Netherlands’ bold agricultural policy, which tackles multiple environmental problems at once and comes with a $25 billion fund to help provinces and farmers transition, is a promising step, according to Natasja Oerlemans, head of the food team at WWF Netherlands. “This is the first time the government has been willing to take ambitious, comprehensive measures,” she says. “And because [of the budget], it can allow farmers to take a new direction.”

What’s making farmers so angry?

But for Dutch farmers, that new direction feels unclear: the government announced the target without specifying how the $25 billion will be distributed, or how provinces will decide who gets to keep their cows, or if there will be involuntary buyouts. The uncertainty has helped fuel anger.

Elshof says she doesn’t know what will happen to her farm if the target becomes law. She might be able to sell off 30 cows, but much more than that would make her business untenable. If other farmers in her region sell their farms, Elsof and her husband, both in their 50s, might be able to keep their cows, she says. Otherwise, they may be forced into early retirement. Their son, currently studying at an agricultural high school, is rethinking his life-long plan to become a farmer.

The government sent a mediator to meet with farmers’ organizations on July 26, in a bid to convince them that the target is workable. But unions said they didn’t consider the mediator—a member of Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s party—independent. They warned they won’t meet with him until the government promises “serious discussions” on the target and its timeline, suggesting the dispute is likely to continue.

The Netherlands’ farmers protests are probably the largest uprising over environmental regulation of agriculture that the world has seen in the climate action era. But similar tensions have been bubbling elsewhere. Farmers in Spain, Ireland, and New Zealand have all staged demonstrations in their capitals to challenge green reforms in the last few years. Populists in the U.S. and Europe, including France’s Marine Le Pen, are seizing on the protests to cast climate action as a conflict between rural heartlands, working people, and urban elites.

Elshof, who marched in a June protest but hasn’t joined the more disruptive efforts, says governments and climate advocates hoping to enact environmental reforms need to communicate better and offer more support if they want farmers to make a rapid change. “The world now wants us to see ourselves as keepers of the environment and nature—and that’s so new,” she says. Overhauling a food system on which we all rely “is the responsibility of the whole community, not just farmers,” she adds. “We cannot do this alone.”

#nunyas news

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dannymartinmd · 1 year

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New to Business? Grow with the Best SEO Company in St Louis

Delivering your business to your target audience can be tough. Especially when you are a start-up. There are some important steps that you should follow to reach them. SEO is one such step, which might increase your audience in no time. With the resources available today, you might know what SEO is, and how important it is.

SEO has a lot of steps to follow. Many agencies will target inorganic traffic, which is easy to acquire by spending a lot of money. But there are only some agencies that value your business more than your money. Digital Radium is one such. That’s why it is one of the best SEO companies in St.Louis.

Our SEO experts follow all these essential steps to achieve organic traffic for your product or service.

Keyword Research: Keyword research is an essential part of SEO. The organic traffic depends on the keywords. Our experts will find the right set of keywords for your product or service so that your product or service gains the maximum organic traffic.

Technical SEO: We use leading-edge technology to examine your entire website. Our expert developers will fix all the issues on your website.

On-page SEO: It is important for your website to have good content about your product or service. After gaining enough knowledge about your it, our experts will make changes to your website to have a better reach.

Competitor Analysis: As you know your product or service, you must know your competitors too. We make in-depth competitor analysis and find your competitors. We try best to make your product or service more unique than that of your competitors.

Off-page SEO: We do all the essential steps to rank your website higher. So we do the off-page SEO approaches like link building, guest posting, etc. We make sure that we do it on legit sites.

Stop Doubting, contact Digital Radium one of the Best SEO Experts in St.Louis today!

#bestseocompanyinstlouis #bestseoagencyinstlouis #seocompanyinstlouis #seoservicesinstlouis #stlseo #seostl #seostlouis #topseocompanyinstlouis #seoexpertsinstlouis

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ankitkrsingh-blog · 9 hours

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Unleash Your Business Potential with Dynode Software Technology: Patna's Premier Digital Marketing and Web Development Solution

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, businesses must stay ahead of the curve to thrive. Dynode Software Technology stands as a beacon of excellence in Patna, offering top-tier digital marketing services and cutting-edge web development solutions. Let’s explore how Dynode Software Technology can transform your business and elevate your online presence.

Why Choose Dynode Software Technology?

Dynode Software Technology has earned its reputation as the leading digital marketing agency in Patna through a blend of innovation, expertise, and customer-centric strategies. Our team of seasoned professionals is dedicated to delivering results that drive growth and enhance brand recognition. Here’s why we are the go-to choice for businesses seeking digital success:

Comprehensive Digital Marketing Services:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Improve your website’s visibility on search engines, attract more organic traffic, and achieve higher rankings.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC): Maximize your ROI with targeted PPC campaigns that bring immediate results.

Social Media Marketing (SMM): Engage with your audience on popular social platforms, build brand loyalty, and drive conversions.

Content Marketing: Create valuable and relevant content that resonates with your target audience and boosts your online presence.

Email Marketing: Develop personalized email campaigns to nurture leads and convert them into loyal customers.

Expert Web Development:

Custom Website Design: Stand out with a website that reflects your brand’s identity and offers an exceptional user experience.

E-commerce Solutions: Launch a robust online store with seamless navigation, secure payment gateways, and a user-friendly interface.

Responsive Design: Ensure your website looks and functions perfectly on all devices, from desktops to smartphones.

Maintenance and Support: Keep your website running smoothly with our reliable maintenance and support services.

How a Website Can Elevate Your Business

A well-crafted website is more than just a digital presence; it’s a powerful tool that can transform your business. Here’s how:

Brand Recognition: Your website is often the first point of contact between your business and potential customers. A professionally designed website can leave a lasting impression, building trust and recognition for your brand.

24/7 Accessibility: Unlike a physical store, your website is open 24/7, allowing customers to learn about your products or services at their convenience.

Enhanced Credibility: A modern, well-designed website conveys professionalism and reliability, making customers more likely to choose your business over competitors.

Marketing and Sales Hub: Your website can serve as a central hub for all your digital marketing efforts, from content marketing to PPC campaigns, driving traffic and increasing sales.

Customer Insights: Utilize web analytics to gain insights into customer behavior, preferences, and trends, helping you make informed business decisions.

Why Dynode Software Technology Stands Out

At Dynode Software Technology, we understand that each business is unique. We tailor our strategies to meet your specific needs, ensuring you achieve your business goals. Our commitment to excellence, combined with our local expertise in Patna, makes us the ideal partner for your digital journey.

Ready to elevate your business? Contact Dynode Software Technology today and discover how our digital marketing and web development services can give your business the recognition it deserves.

Get in Touch:

Website: www.dynodesoft.com

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +91-7979078552

Transform your business with Dynode Software Technology – where innovation meets excellence.

Write a guest posting for digital marketing on Dynode Software Technology Company which is the best digital marketing company in Patna. Today we will know how we can grow our business in digital marketing don't use duplicate content ChatGPT

Harnessing the Power of Digital Marketing with Dynode Software Technology: Patna’s Premier Agency

In today's digitally-driven world, businesses must adapt and innovate to stay competitive. Dynode Software Technology, the leading digital marketing company in Patna, offers comprehensive solutions to help your business thrive online. Let's delve into how digital marketing can transform your business and why Dynode Software Technology is the ideal partner for this journey.

Why Digital Marketing Matters

Digital marketing is more than just a trend; it’s a vital component of modern business strategy. Here are some key reasons why investing in digital marketing is crucial:

Broader Reach: Unlike traditional marketing methods, digital marketing allows you to reach a global audience. Social media platforms, search engines, and email campaigns can connect you with potential customers worldwide.

Cost-Effective: Digital marketing is often more affordable than traditional marketing. With strategies like pay-per-click advertising and social media marketing, you can achieve significant results without breaking the bank.

Measurable Results: One of the biggest advantages of digital marketing is the ability to track and measure results. Tools like Google Analytics provide insights into campaign performance, helping you refine strategies for better outcomes.

Targeted Marketing: Digital marketing enables precise targeting. Whether it's demographic, geographic, or behavioral targeting, you can reach the right audience with tailored messages.

Engagement and Interaction: Platforms like social media and blogs allow direct interaction with customers. Engaging with your audience builds trust and fosters loyalty, driving long-term success.

How Dynode Software Technology Can Propel Your Business

Dynode Software Technology stands out in the crowded digital marketing space of Patna due to its innovative approach and commitment to excellence. Here’s how we can help you grow your business:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Improve your website’s visibility on search engines to attract more organic traffic. Our expert SEO team uses the latest techniques to ensure your site ranks high for relevant keywords.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising: Maximize your advertising budget with targeted PPC campaigns. We design ads that reach your ideal customers, driving traffic and conversions efficiently.

Social Media Marketing: Build a strong social media presence with our tailored strategies. We manage your profiles, create engaging content, and run targeted ads to grow your following and increase engagement.

Content Marketing: Quality content is king in the digital world. Our team creates valuable, relevant, and consistent content that attracts and retains a clearly defined audience, driving profitable customer action.

Email Marketing: Nurture leads and build relationships with personalized email campaigns. From newsletters to promotional emails, we ensure your messages resonate with your audience.

Website Development: Your website is the cornerstone of your digital presence. We design and develop custom websites that are not only visually appealing but also user-friendly and optimized for conversions.

Success Stories: Dynode Software Technology in Action

Our clients' success stories are a testament to our expertise and dedication. One such client, a local retail business, saw a 200% increase in online sales within six months of implementing our comprehensive digital marketing strategy. By leveraging SEO, social media marketing, and targeted email campaigns, we transformed their digital presence and boosted their revenue.

Why Choose Dynode Software Technology?

Choosing the right digital marketing partner is crucial for your business's success. Here’s why Dynode Software Technology is the best choice in Patna:

Expert Team: Our team comprises experienced professionals who are experts in their respective fields, ensuring you get the best service possible.

Customized Solutions: We understand that every business is unique. Our strategies are tailored to meet your specific needs and goals.

Proven Results: Our track record speaks for itself. We have helped numerous businesses achieve their digital marketing goals and grow their online presence.

Client-Centric Approach: We prioritize our clients’ success. Our team is dedicated to providing exceptional service and support, ensuring you achieve your business objectives.

Get Started Today

Ready to take your business to new heights with digital marketing? Contact Dynode Software Technology, Patna’s premier digital marketing agency, and let us help you unlock your business's full potential.

Contact Information:

Website: Dynode Software Technology

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +91-1234567890

Embrace the power of digital marketing with Dynode Software Technology – where your success is our mission.

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sanjayrithik · 3 days

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Bye-Bye Blemishes, Hello Beautiful: Winning the War on Pimples with Karur’s Best Laser Skin Centre

Skin is the most important for everyone, so we need to get the best consultation from the best skin doctor you may search out: Skin Hospital In Karur | Laser Skin Hospital In Karur | Best Laser Skin Centre In Karur | Best Skin and Laser Centre In Karur | Skin Doctor In Karur | Best Skin Doctor In Karur | Cosmetology Specialist In Karur | Best Cosmetology Hospital In Karur.

Pimples. Zits. Acne. No matter what you call them, these uninvited guests can wreak havoc on your confidence and self-esteem. But take heart, you don’t have to wage a lonely battle against stubborn breakouts. Advanced laser treatments available at Sanjay Rithik Hospital, the best laser skin centre in Karur, offer powerful solutions to help you achieve clear, radiant skin.

Understanding the Power of Laser Treatments for Acne:

Traditional acne treatments can be effective, but they often come with drawbacks like dryness, irritation, and slow results. Laser treatments offer a more targeted and efficient approach:

Laser Acne Treatment: This treatment uses specific wavelengths of light to target the sebaceous glands, which produce excess oil, a major contributor to acne breakouts. The light also helps reduce inflammation and kill acne-causing bacteria.

Laser Scar Treatment: For those struggling with acne scars, fractional CO2 lasers can be a game-changer. This technology stimulates collagen production, smoothing out uneven textures and minimizing the appearance of scars.

Why Choose Sanjay Rithik Hospital, the Best Laser Skin Centre in Karur?

We understand the emotional toll acne can take. That’s why we offer a comprehensive approach to acne treatment at our best laser skin centre in Karur:

Expert Consultation: Our qualified dermatologists will conduct a thorough evaluation to understand your unique acne type and recommend the most suitable laser treatment(s) for optimal results.

Customized Treatment Plans: We believe in a one-size-fits-one approach. Your personalized plan will combine laser treatments with other acne-fighting methods, if needed, to achieve maximum effectiveness.

Focus on Long-Term Results: We’re committed to helping you not only achieve clear skin but also prevent future breakouts. Our experts will provide guidance on post-treatment care and lifestyle modifications to maintain a healthy complexion.

Embrace Clear, Confident Skin:

Don’t let pimples dim your shine! Sanjay Rithik Hospital, the best laser skin centre in Karur, is here to help you achieve the clear, radiant skin you deserve. Schedule a consultation with our experts today and embark on a journey towards a newfound confidence in your beautiful skin. Remember, taking charge of your skin health is an investment in yourself, and the results can be truly life-changing.

Finally, our conclusion is we all need the best guidance for baby care and skin care. For that reason, you may search out: best pediatrician in karur | newborn baby specialist in karur | best vaccination centre in karur.

Visit Our Website : https://sanjayrithikhospital.com/

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geniusgroups · 4 days

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Introduction

Purpose of the Blog this blog for your business growth and management Industry Insights We are groups of software engineers. We serve all kinds of services for your business development

Our services Website development website management website modification functionality candidates manage all phases manage domain and hosting website branding Digital marketing App development App management SEO, SEM, SMM Social media manager

Tranding Strategies Fundamental Analysis Technical Analysis Risk Management Business Operations

Setting Up a Trading Business Legal and Regulatory Considerations Business Plans and Strategy Finance and Investment

Raising Capital Financial Planning and Management Investment Opportunities Technology and Tools

Trading Platforms Software and Apps for SMEs Emerging Technologies in Trading Case Studies and Success Stories

Interviews with Successful Traders Business Profiles Lessons Learned from Trading Failures Tips and Best Practices Understand who your readers are. Are they beginners, experienced traders, or SME owners looking to diversify into trading. We are avaliable 24/7 for there support and help

Trading strategies

Market analysis

Trading platforms

Investment opportunities

Risk management

Financial planning

Include long-tail keywords specific to your niche.

Consistent Posting Schedule:

We maintain a regular posting schedule to keep your audience engaged. Aim for at least one post per week. Engaging Content: Use visuals like charts, infographics, and videos to break down complex topics. Encourage reader interaction through comments and social media. Guest Posts and Collaborations: Invite industry experts to contribute to your blog. Collaborate with other bloggers and influencers in the trading and SME sectors. Monitor and Analyze: We use analytics tools to track your blog’s performance. Adjust your content strategy based on reader feedback and engagement metrics. Marketing and Promotion: Promote your blog through social media, email newsletters, and online communities. Use paid advertising if necessary to reach a wider audience.

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dikshu24 · 5 days

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Best Photography Course In Sonipat

https://picklesanimation.in/sonipat/

Sonipat, a growing educational hub in Haryana, offers several high-quality photography courses tailored to meet the needs of aspiring photographers. These courses are designed to provide comprehensive training in various aspects of photography, including technical skills, creative techniques, and post-processing. Here are some of the best institutes in Sonipat offering photography courses:

1. Delhi School of Photography (DSP) - Sonipat Branch

Overview: Delhi School of Photography (DSP) is a well-known institute that offers a range of photography courses. The Sonipat branch provides students with professional training in photography, helping them develop both technical and creative skills.

Key Features:

Experienced Faculty: Instructors with significant industry experience.

Hands-On Training: Emphasis on practical sessions and real-world applications.

Comprehensive Curriculum: Covers various genres of photography, including portrait, landscape, wildlife, and fashion.

Workshops and Seminars: Regular interactive sessions with renowned photographers.

Popular Courses:

Basic Photography Course: Introduction to the fundamentals of photography.

Advanced Photography Course: In-depth training in advanced photography techniques and concepts.

Specialized Workshops: Focus on specific genres like wildlife, portrait, and street photography.

2. National Institute of Photography (NIP) - Sonipat Center

Overview: The National Institute of Photography (NIP) offers a variety of photography courses aimed at developing professional photographers. The Sonipat center provides comprehensive training in both theoretical and practical aspects of photography.

Key Features:

Expert Faculty: Courses taught by experienced and certified photographers.

State-of-the-Art Infrastructure: Equipped with the latest photography equipment and technology.

Practical Training: Emphasis on hands-on projects and fieldwork.

Certification: Industry-recognized certifications upon course completion.

Popular Courses:

Diploma in Photography: Comprehensive course covering all aspects of photography.

Certificate Course in Digital Photography: Focus on digital photography techniques and post-processing.

Specialized Courses: Training in specific areas like wedding, fashion, and travel photography.

3. Frameboxx Animation & Visual Effects - Sonipat

Overview: Frameboxx is a reputed institute known for its animation and multimedia courses, including specialized training in photography. The Sonipat branch offers courses designed to develop both technical skills and artistic vision in photography.

Key Features:

Creative Environment: Encourages innovation and creativity.

Experienced Trainers: Professional photographers with extensive industry experience.

Comprehensive Curriculum: Covers fundamental and advanced photography techniques.

Industry Exposure: Regular guest lectures and workshops by industry professionals.

Popular Courses:

Basic Photography Course: Introduction to essential photography skills.

Advanced Photography Workshop: Detailed training in advanced photography techniques and concepts.

Specialized Photography Programs: Courses focused on genres like fashion, product, and architectural photography.

#Bestphotigraphyinstituteinsonipat

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myeventstore · 10 days

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A Guide to Creating Memorable Corporate Events in Dubai

Dubai, a city synonymous with innovation and luxury, is a magnet for world-class corporate events. From high-powered conferences and product launches to captivating team-building exercises and award ceremonies, Dubai offers a unique backdrop for events that leave a lasting impression. But with fierce competition in the corporate event landscape, how can you ensure your event stands out from the crowd and achieves its goals?

The Power of Memorable Corporate Events:

Enhanced Brand Image: A well-organized and engaging event strengthens your brand image, showcasing your professionalism and commitment to excellence.

Employee Engagement: A memorable event fosters team spirit, motivates employees, and creates a sense of belonging.

Client Acquisition and Retention: An impactful event can impress potential clients and build stronger relationships with existing ones.

Effective Communication: Events provide a platform for impactful communication of company messages, announcements, and product launches.

Crafting an Unforgettable Corporate Event:

Define Your Objectives: Determining your event's goals (brand awareness, employee motivation, etc.) is crucial for tailoring the experience.

Target Your Audience: Understanding your audience's demographics and interests allows you to create an event that resonates with them.

Theme It Up! (Optional): A unique theme can add excitement and create a cohesive atmosphere, fostering engagement and brand recall. (You can link to the previous blog post on Theming here).

Interactive Experiences: Move beyond traditional presentations. Interactive elements like polls, games, and workshops increase engagement and knowledge retention.

Location, Location, Location: Dubai boasts a diverse range of venues, from luxurious hotels to state-of-the-art conference centers and unique outdoor spaces. Choose a location that complements your event's theme and accommodates your guest list.

My Event Store: Your Partner in Creating Corporate Event Magic

My Event Store is your one-stop shop for transforming your corporate event vision into reality. We offer a comprehensive range of high-quality equipment rentals and services to elevate every aspect of your event:

Audio-Visual Equipment: Crystal-clear sound systems, high-resolution projectors, and modular video walls ensure flawless presentations, impactful visuals, and a seamless viewing experience.

Lighting Systems: Mood-setting lighting transforms your venue, creating the perfect atmosphere for networking, presentations, or award ceremonies.

Staging and Furniture Rentals: From sleek stages for presentations to comfortable seating arrangements, we offer a variety of rental options to accommodate your event format.

Special Effects Rentals: Take your event to the next level with fog machines, confetti cannons, and other special effects that create excitement and a sense of occasion.

Event Technology Rentals: Enhance attendee engagement and data collection with interactive touchscreens, voting systems, and social media integration tools.

Beyond Equipment: My Event Store's Additional Services

Expert Consultation: Our experienced event professionals collaborate with you to understand your vision, goals, and budget, providing expert guidance throughout the planning process.

Delivery and Setup: We take care of the logistics, ensuring your equipment arrives on time and is set up professionally and efficiently.

Technical Support: Our dedicated team is on hand throughout your event to provide technical support and ensure your equipment functions flawlessly.

Making Your Vision a Reality: Additional Tips for Success

Plan Early: Due to Dubai's popularity, book your venue and equipment rentals well in advance, especially for peak seasons.

Manage Your Budget: Create a detailed budget and work with My Event Store to find equipment rentals that meet your needs within your budget constraints.

Promote Your Event: Leverage social media platforms and industry publications to create excitement for your event and attract attendees.

Measure Your Success: Develop key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the success of your event and identify areas for improvement for future events.

By partnering with My Event Store and implementing these tips, you can create a corporate event in Dubai that surpasses expectations, achieves your goals, and leaves a lasting impression on your attendees.

Ready to Create a Magical Corporate Event?

Contact My Event Store today! Our team of experts and extensive inventory of equipment rentals will transform your vision into a reality, ensuring your corporate event becomes a milestone achievement.

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