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diamondsaregold · 5 years ago

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“Unraveled” – Robin x MC

Pairing: Robin (M!) x MC (F!) The Nanny Affair, Choices

Rating: T Summary: After walking in on a private moment between Sam and MC, Robin is forced to make sense of his jealousy and comes face-to-face with an unbridled truth—his burgeoning affinity for her. A conversation between the two at the company picnic makes clear that their entangled feelings are more real than both of them could have ever imagined. A/N: Well, we saw a lot of Robin’s angry face in the last chapter—so much that I began indulging myself in the fantasy that seeing MC with Sam made him jealous. Somehow the fact that this is a “one-LI book” (fingers-crossed that this could change, although the fact that M! Robin is Bradshaw in a Wig makes this fantasy highly unlikely) only makes the idea of Robin more enticing. Please enjoy this introspective re-imagining of Chapter 10, starring a grumpy, jealous Robin coming to terms with all his feelings. Also, it’s been awhile since I posted on Tumblr, hello! I’ve missed you all. Life has been treating me well and I hope it has for you too. Sending virtual hugs your way.

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25775095

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Robin knew he was being childish.

The annual company picnic was a well-earned break for the team at Dalton Enterprises, a rare opportunity for his colleagues to enjoy the New York sunshine and decompress from their hectic work lives. At the park, flocks of employees gathered around gingham picnic blankets while chattering away; around the corner, a queue of people lined up at the stalls to pick up their complimentary lunch from the gourmet caterers, personally requested by Sam. On everyone’s face was a beaming smile.

Everyone, except for Robin.

Sitting on a blanket on the edge of the park, Robin stormily surveyed the chipper scene about him. After picking up his sandwich (some sort of fancible concoction of tuna and high-end mayonnaise) and grudgingly thanking the staff, he had stomped over to an empty picnic blanket. He did his best to swerve around employees looking to start a conversation with him and cut off any exceptionally friendly colleagues with terse one-word remarks.

No doubt, his foul demeanor at the company picnic was drawing curious looks from his colleagues. As he unwrapped his sandwich, he caught the next group over murmuring in low voices while shooting surreptitious glances at him. He couldn’t blame them for gossiping. It was unusual for him to depart from his charming self, let alone at one of the most anticipated social events in the company. On an ordinary afternoon, he’d be walking through the park, darting in and out from different groups, trading jokes with all the employees he passed by. After a lifetime of being second-best to an over-achieving brother, Robin took care to maintain his sociable persona—it was the only thing he had going for him, after all.

But after what he had seen that afternoon, he honestly couldn’t care less about his image. It was a scene that had been burned into his mind for the past three hours. Robin stared down at his uneaten sandwich, losing his appetite as he recalled.

There they stood—just a few feet apart from each other, clothes slightly rumpled, faces flushed and breathing hard. Sam and his nanny, caught seconds away from (or perhaps seconds after) what appeared to be a secret rendezvous at work. Upon Robin’s incredulous interrogation, she had haltingly explained that they had been “discussing work.”

He couldn’t resist an eye roll. While he certainly wasn’t the genius that Sam was, Robin was no fool. He wasn’t blind to the flush on his older brother’s face, the way his body was angled towards hers even as they stood far apart and avoided Robin’s eyes. What gripped him wasn’t a smug glee that his uptight, perfect brother had finally gotten caught with a woman (his nanny, no less) at work—it was the stab of pain Robin felt.

Staring at her, with the collar of her shirt crumpled and hastily smoothed down (by who, he wondered), her lips slightly parted, Robin felt a coil in his stomach twisting and unraveling. It lasted for a second, before boiling away and leaving rage in his wake.

He had snapped at them, scolded them for their inappropriate behavior at work, before stomping off. The rest of the day Robin had spent stewing in his office, glowering at any employees who attempted to speak to him.

Now under the sunlight of a perfect New York afternoon, Robin was continuing to mope around at the picnic. He had a scowl etched into his face during all of his exchanges with her, as he made sure to throw out snide comments about the state of her relationship with his brother, much to the bewilderment of their colleagues. The flash of annoyance on his brother’s face almost made him feel better, until he saw the hurt on her face.

Great. If his day couldn’t get any worse, now he was being a colossal asshole to her.

Why was he so angry? Robin bit into his sandwich, not tasting anything (guess those gourmet ingredients Sam loved weren’t doing their job; he gave a silent shoutout to his taste buds for tapping out). As he chewed on the tasteless lunch, he sifted through his memories.

It wasn’t like their flirting before had meant anything to him. It was just a game to both of them.

The first time he saw her at Sam’s apartment he was immediately intrigued—a bright-eyed graduate with a sharp tongue, shaking her head amusedly with a raised eyebrow as he introduced himself with his usual lilt and charm. It was a warm exasperation that sang, “I can handle you,” not a reaction Robin was used to receiving. When Sam wasn’t looking, he appreciatively took in her pin-straight, stylish attire, the gentle sway of her hips as she walked across the living room, the pucker of her lips when one of the boys said something unsavory. He found her attractive, incredibly so, but he also caught the heated glances she and Sam shot each other.

And so Robin shrugged off his crush. He wasn’t one to commit anyways, especially not to a woman he had just met. From a young age, he had lived by an unspoken rule that whoever Sam wanted was out of his bounds; any woman who liked his brother wasn’t going to like him anyways. He felt a snide joy too at the revelation that Sam, the straight-laced, faultless CEO, engaged to a woman he harbored no love for, was on the brink of jumping ship for his pretty nanny. Talk about tabloid perfection and PR disaster.

It was Robin who had continued to flirt with her for the expressed purpose of seeing that unbecoming scowl on his brother’s face every time he winked at her. They played the “Make Sam Jealous” game, a form of entertainment that Robin had enjoyed for as long as he could recall. This particular round with her, however, was far more pleasurable than any he could remember before. A breeze swept through Central Park, fanning across Robin’s steadily warming face, as he remembered that night.

At the engagement party, he had whisked her away onto the dance floor before suggesting teaming up to make him jealous. The rush when he slid his arms around her waist, hearing her tinkling laugh as he pulled her close and Sam’s distracted stumbling on stage, was more potent than any childlike glee at pissing off his brother. Robin found himself enjoying this secret plot as a treasured chance to drink in the little details of her—the smattering of freckles across her cheeks, the crinkle of her nose when Sofia began her drawling speech, the mischievous gleam in her chocolate eyes that he had learned early on was an indicator of a devious idea.

When she leaned in and whispered, “Kiss me,” Robin had frozen under the headiness of her gaze. For a split second he forgot that they were playing a game. That she, one of the most enchanting women he’d ever met, presently asking him for a kiss, wasn’t his brother’s nanny. That it wasn’t his brother, who was currently standing (glistening, like a goddamn vampire) under the headlights on the stage, that she wanted.

As Robin stared down at his sandwich, perfectly intact except for the single bite he had taken, he felt that coiling sensation return to his stomach. He shot to his feet, almost stepping on a neighboring group’s picnic blanket in his rush to get out. “Sorry,” he muttered, before hurrying off the lawn, dumping his mostly uneaten sandwich into the nearest trash can.

Weaving between the groups meandering about the food stalls, he made sure that he had jogged a safe distance away from the rest of the party, before pressing his hands into his forehead and letting out a groan.

What was he thinking? Falling for a woman that didn’t—couldn’t—want him. He couldn’t have entertained affections for any other single, available woman in the world? Robin scowled at the couple walking across the street from him, swinging their hands between them as they strolled.

Typical. He always wanted the things he couldn’t have.

The sound of a soft, familiar voice caught his attention. Robin turned around to see the woman that had been occupying his mind for the past few hours. There she was, standing several feet away from, presently ordering food from one of the stalls.

He watched as she read over the menu, scrunching her face as she read over each item. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, exposing the skin of her shoulders. She looks good in plaid, Robin mused, as his gaze trailed over her legs and her jean shorts, different from her usual formal outfits he saw her in. Usually, she looked so prim and serious; the only tell of her spunk was the flash in her eyes, which only appeared when he said something vastly inappropriate (and hilarious, so he thought). Here, in her casual attire, she seemed far more at ease. With her windswept hair and her summery top rippling gently, she looked like a vision—the perfect nanny, he thought wryly.

When she took her order—vanilla ice cream, he noted with curiosity—from the vendor, Robin shook himself out of his outfit-induced stupor. Vaguely, he considered that it might be a good idea for him to stay away from her, but when did he listen to good ideas? Raking his fingers through his hair quickly to smooth it down, he stuffed his hands into his jeans and strolled up to her.

“You’re a hard woman to catch alone, you know?” He kept his voice as smooth as possible, trying for an air of friendly detachment.

When she whipped around, he caught the wariness in her face, for a second, before it dissolved. Ah. He supposed he couldn’t blame her, after the temper tantrum he had been throwing for the entire afternoon.

Her voice was careful, measured. “I wasn’t aware you had been trying.” Her eyes darted away, as if she wanted to escape his prying gaze—or, as if she were searching for someone else.

The thought stoked a lance of rage within Robin; he felt as if he were walking in on her in the lab again, clothes disheveled, only feet away from his brother. Crossing his arms, he stepped forward and met her gaze head-on.

"After what I saw at the lab, talking to you is all I've been able to think about." His words spilled out in an agitated rush, as he struggled to hold back the question burning in his stomach.

“What the hell is going on between you and Sam?”

Her forehead creased, but she didn’t look away. Robin noted that her eyes glowed hazel under the sunlight. “You want the truth?” Her voice was level and low, just as business-like as how she composed herself whenever Sofia was terrorizing the house or the twins were bickering again. "I admit I find him attractive. But that doesn't mean I can't respect boundaries."

She was too calm. Far too calm. Robin swallowed the wave of bitterness, edged with a smoldering anger, rising in his throat. "It didn't look like there were any boundaries when I walked in on you two in the lab,” he bit back, ignoring the flush of heat spreading across his cheeks. “Care to enlighten on what precisely happened before I entered the room?”

At his snide remark, her face morphed into a scowl; she crossed her arms defensively (good, he preferred anger to the hurt on her face). Two could play this game, he supposed. “That is none of your business,” she retorted, as her cheeks flushed to mirror his own.

Unbelievable. “You made it my business when I saw you with Sam, alone, in the lab!”

“You know what they say about assuming, Robin.”

God, even when she was angry, he loved hearing his name fall out of her mouth.

Robin stepped back, letting his hands fall to his sides. “Look.” He mulled over his churning thoughts and rubbed a hand over his forehead, exhaling heavily. “Sam is a great guy. Maybe, in another life, you two could’ve been great together.” He forced the admission out, despite the ache that accompanied it. “But in this life, he has a family and fiancee that he’s responsible to. Whatever is going on between you two needs to end.”

Her gaze drifted to the floor as his words reached her. “The last thing I want to see is you getting hurt,” he continued on, feeling a hitch in his voice as he attempted to steer away from the less gilded version of the truth. “I was onboard for making him mad when I thought he didn't want me sleeping with his nanny. I didn't know I was making him legitimately jealous.”

He swallowed, before continuing on. “I thought it was just some innocent flirtation between you two. But it’s not, is it?”

It was the realization—that there was a deeper connection between her and Sam, a bond that he was not privy to—that twisted the knife further into his side. Judging from her inability to meet his eyes and the slow hunch of her shoulders, he guessed that it was hitting her too.

This wasn’t a fantasy. It was real.

Robin’s words, for once, were all dried up. There was nothing he could summon up to dissolve the tension that had formed between them, an impenetrable barrier of “what-ifs.”

What if she weren’t his brother’s nanny? What if they had met first? The knowledge that Sam probably mulled over these possibilities before as well, that they were both pining after a woman that they couldn’t have, only left a bitter taste in his mouth.

At the lull in the conversation, her head hung down. They were silent for a few moments, before she spoke quietly. There was an edge of desperation to her voice he had never heard before. “I don't know what to do.”

“I’d make a suggestion, but I know you wouldn’t listen.” It wasn’t a snide remark—he meant it. Robin had seen enough of her fierce resolve to know that she made her own choices. Once she made up her mind, she would listen to no one. It was one of the qualities he admired most about her. Her hair slipped in front of her eyes, and he suppressed the urge to sweep it back for her.

She locked his eyes on him, and he suppressed a swallow. Gaze trailing over her collar and neckline, he took note of a gold necklace he hadn't seen before; he wondered if it was a gift from Sam. “I just wish I could go back to a few weeks ago,” she murmured, twisting her hands together. “Before this all blew up. Before I had all these things to consider.”

“Like last weekend’s engagement fete?”

She let out a laugh, a chiming sound that Robin tried to commit to his memory. “I have to admit that party was the highlight of my month.”

He grinned, besides himself, and leaned in closer. “What, conspiring with me to make my brother jealous?” He tried to hide the bitterness from his voice.

Clearly, it didn’t fool her. Her eyes softened as she peered up at him.

It was her eyes that first drew him to her—a gaze that never wavered. He was enchanted by the way she looked at people—at strangers, at the twins, at Sam too. How quickly her eyes shifted, from deep and reflective, to sparkling and joyous, to furious and flashing. She was never afraid to be vulnerable, to be honest, or to take a risk that might leave her reeling. She wasn’t like him; she didn’t have to hide behind layers of charming one-liners and flirty comments. She was real.

She took a breath. “Actually...I was thinking about dancing with you. That was my favorite part of the night.” His mouth fell open slightly, and she paused. “Thanks for kissing me, by the way. It was a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing. I didn’t expect you to play along.” Maybe it was his imagination, but he could’ve sworn that her eyes gleamed when she made the last statement.

For a guy who prided himself in easily making friends and charming the living daylights out of strangers, Robin had spent his entire life dutifully preventing people from becoming too close to him. He was accustomed to covering up his feelings when they became too strong for him to paper over with charisma. When a relationship entered serious territory, he’d hit the panic button—irritate his girlfriends enough to get them to dump him in public, to cause a scene that’d distract himself and the world from what was turning over inside of him. It was better to keep them away than to let them down eventually; it was inevitable, given his own history of dissapointment in his family.

Robin had already accepted the fact that he would never be number one in anything—but he’d be damned if he would be last. He wouldn’t be made a fool by anyone or anything.

Yet standing in front of her, on a picturesque day at the park, Robin found himself questioning everything he believed in. Amidst the tangled threads of attraction, the rocky waters of company protocol and forbidden relationships, there was something pure about the moments he had spent with her. When he had whisked her away from Sam at the engagement party, murmuring conspiratorially into her ear, “You look like you could use a break,” he saw the visage of his honeyed words slipping away. Sam and the engagement party could have erupted into flames for all he cared. All he wanted, in that moment, was to hold him in her arms.

There was a yearning, growing within him, that he couldn’t hold back now.

“You know I didn’t kiss you just to piss off Sam, right?”

Her eyes widened, then narrowed, at his sudden admission. Robin should have taken that as a sign to bite his tongue, but the train couldn’t be stopped anymore.

Ever since Robin was young, his father had always chided him to slow down. An audio recording of him yelling, “Be more careful, Robin!” could have very well been the soundtrack of his childhood. Unlike the cautious Sam, Robin was naturally reckless, always seeking out thrills to the dismay of his image-obsessed family. Try as he might to tamper his impulsiveness though, his efforts were never enough for their father.

The one time that Sam had ever been impulsive in life was when he had stolen her away for a private moment only hours ago—before being interrupted by Robin, no less. It was she who had driven his perfect brother to put his career and his livelihood on the line

Robin was beginning to understand why Sam had been so careless over these past few weeks, so apparently willing to risk everything he had ever worked for. It was her.

He stepped closer, gazing down at her. Breathing in her scent, he drank in the gentle curve of her face and her neck, framed by her windswept hair. He imagined Sam standing in the same position just hours ago, before his lust-addled brain banished that thought.

He was already standing on the edge of the cliff; he knew he may as well jump off.

“I kissed you because I wanted to.”

Her lips parted, and he was descending, diving, drowning into the pool of her eyes.

Leaning down, Robin brushed a flyaway strand of hair behind her ear, revelling in the softness of her skin. She was so close that he could count all of her freckles, see that her lips formed the shape of a heart. Perfect.

Finally, finally. All he could register was the aroma of her soft floral perfume, the dim memory of their last kiss a week ago, an ache that Robin didn’t realize was throbbing in his chest for too long, begging for release.

He was a fool, but he didn’t care. Robin saw her eyes flutter close, before his followed suit—

“Hey, come see Mickey cannonball into the fountain!”

They leapt apart, putting an appropriate amount of space between them just before Mason came sprinting up to the pair. His hair was sopping wet, leaving Robin afraid to see the state of Mickey’s. The other twin in question came hurtling over only seconds later, his button-up shirt completely drenched, presumably from their antics in the water. Despite the storm of desire rattling his brain, Robin couldn’t help but stifle a derisive snort at the thought of Sam’s exasperation later.

The twins paused, suddenly taking in the two of them, standing awkwardly apart from each other. Mickey’s head tilted in confusion. Robin thought sheepishly back to how he had behaved likewise only just hours ago, when he had walked in on his brother in the same position that he was now in. Caught red-handed with the nanny.

“Hey, did you two get into a fight?” Mickey’s face was far too innocent to know the stabbing truth that his question held.

Robin forced a smile, straightening his back. “Of course not, kiddo. You’ve got one of the best nannies in the world.” Both of their faces perked up at this. “I could never fight with her.”

His gaze flitted over to her, standing a few feet away as the twins reached up to grab her hands, ever the reaffirming picture of the perfect nanny. Her cheeks were still flushed and he read the tangle of confused feelings written all over her face. She was staring at him again with that shining gaze again, vulnerable and open as the first time he met her. Because of him.

His stomach twisted. So much for not wanting her to get hurt.

Robin took his leave before she could say anything in response—he didn’t want to hear what she had to say about him in front of the twins. He wasn’t sure if he could put on a smiling front any longer. “I’ll see you guys later. Be nice to your nanny.” He turned as his throat constricted, and hurried off.

Shortly afterwards, he called a limo to take him home, citing exhaustion as the reason for his early departure from the picnic. His colleagues told him to get some rest; his father, unsurprisingly, said nothing. Before he stepped into the car, he caught sight of her, next to Sam on the lawn. He ignored the lance of pain upon seeing them stand so close together.

He caught her eye for a second, but before he could be drawn into the faint glimmer in her eye, he forced himself to walk away and get into the car.

As the limo pulled away from Central Park, Robin stared blankly out the window. His agony was laughable—it was Sam that was supposed to be held back by this forbidden romance with her; he was the one that was already engaged. Yet here Robin was, the perpetual second-best, always left behind, trapped within the same snared feelings. He found some cruel relief in the knowledge that both he and Sam shared the same predicament.

Was it love at first sight? For him, and for Sam, too? He laughed bitterly; what a twist of fate that he and his perfect brother had the same weakness—a woman they could not have. No matter what happened, Robin knew for certain that they were all going to be hurt.

Thinking of what she had said that afternoon, about her wish to go back to last week, Robin wished he could rewind time too. To not rejoice in the stolen moments where she wasn’t occupied with Sam and the twins, to not stay in the office alone with her as he inched closer and closer, to not pull her to his side on the dance floor as he felt the pit in his stomach sinking deeper. Maybe if he could have stayed away, he would be able to retrieve his heart from the snare of her bright gaze.

Or maybe—Robin could’ve charmed her first, before his brother got to her. Maybe then, she’d be sneaking away at the office to be in his arms, not Sam’s. Maybe they would be sitting on a picnic blanket together at Central Park, enjoying a perfect afternoon. Maybe, when no one else was looking, he’d be pressing her against the side of the stall, kissing her over and over again until he was intoxicated from the scent of her.

As the sky darkened steadily, Robin watched the cityscape pass in a blur. He already knew where this fantasy would end. This wasn’t his story. But he was in too deep and there was no hope of getting out.

#the nanny affair #robin flores #robin x mc #mc x robin #tna #playchoices #choices #choices stories you play #nanny affair #choices fanfiction #choices nanny affair #choices fanfic #tna robin #robin tna #pixelberry #my writing #somebody get robin the abc book of feelings

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davidanderson7162 · 4 years ago

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Pantyhose as well as Nylons Proclivity Personals - Just How to Locate a Day

Anybody can have a pantyhose and also nylons fetish. It is, nonetheless, most usual among guys. If you have such a fetish it is entirely likely that you would wish to enjoy it with a partner. Locating fetish buddies is rapid and simple. It can be cost-effective and also, in some cases, completely complimentary. The following couple of paragraphs will inform you specifically how to locate hundreds, maybe thousands, of fetish friends with relative simplicity.Pantyhose Fetish Videos

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Nylon Stocking Fetish

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Feet Sniffing Fetish.

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The lingerie of old days was rather uncomfortable and as a matter of fact was sometimes downright painful to wear. But things have actually transformed and today, it is both comfy and also hot.

Lingerie benefits the lady in other ways than just promoting men. Wearing it provides a woman a sense of her own sexuality and makes her feel sensuous and also desirable.

How do we understand that lingerie is a woman's buddy? Maybe we can ascertain this by the amount of cash she invests in it. For example, according to a 2006 record by the French Style Institute, French women invest almost 20 percent of their annual clothing spending plan on lingerie. This 20 percent of apparel purchases being dedicated to "underwear" reveals that ladies are voting their love with their pocketbooks. A similar research study revealed that British ladies invested an even higher portion of their apparel budget plan on lingerie.

Underwear is expected to highlight a woman's finest functions while minimizing her much less preferable attributes. This is completed by choosing underwear in different styles as well as shapes. Underwear ought to be comfortable to put on also. There are numerous fabrics to choose from so make certain to choose the materials that will be comfortable to your skin.

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luciusyiinm-blog · 7 years ago

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MOB/CRIME AU BUT LUCIUS/YAX

Tom Riddle or the Lord of Death, as many call him, rules the underground for a fearsome decade before he’s finally brought down in a shootout by the rookie son of a cop he’d somehow never been able to buy, so young that the jagged scar he earns for his trouble looks entirely wrong when paired with the baby fat that still softens the rest of his face. In the years following, the remaining powerful families engage in a bloody struggle for control, new leaders constantly emerging and being overthrown in a matter of months, more and more falling prey to traps set by Commissioner Moody and his band of righteous do-gooders he calls The Order. But more than that, it’s a time of rapidly shifting loyalties- soldiers jumping ship from one group to the next as the made men they pledge their loyalty to are systematically cut down. It’s beginning to look like the few alliances that do exist will never survive with the way their organizations are being picked apart from the inside.

Following the death of Abel Yaxley, everyone expects his heir Corban to maintain his alliances, particularly with the Lestranges, who they’ve been intimately acquainted with for generations. They surprise everyone when they declare war instead, not just against Rodolphus, but on anyone that would oppose them. As expected, the underworld collectively scrambles to change their allegiances, many defecting from the Lestrange Family, or what’s left of the Blacks after years of turmoil and betrayal. Yaxley, as they insist on being called, doesn’t tolerate the slightest hint of disloyalty, cutting down those suspected of foul play as if every man that steps before them is expendable; and it isn’t long before everyone starts to speak another, discarded name of theirs when they aren’t listening, one they used when they were still a young mafioso proving their worth as the right hand of the eldest Lestrange brother. Unspeakable, they whisper in the shadows, and if they notice it, they do nothing to dispel the fearsome atmosphere that surrounds it, although anyone using that name to their face would likely find themselves spilling their entrails out onto the cement floor.

Yaxley receives their new followers from an elegant leather armchair, like a modern emperor that few are granted the privilege of seeing in person, even fewer up close. Those that are allowed admittance to their private room in the belly of the darkest and most secretive club in London must be announced, a formality that cuts down on the number of unwanted and unexpected guests. But despite the precautions, there is someone that manages to make it past their many defenses. The din of the darkened room falls into near silence as those toasting their drinks to their new leader’s health notice him walking through. It’s a testament to his skills that he’s even made it inside without being touched, and so there’s not a soul brave enough to stop him now as he makes his way to Yax’s throne.

No one has heard from the Malfoy family in years, not since the attack that seemingly wiped them from the picture entirely. And yet, here is their former leader, Lucius, still walking with the aid of a sinister looking cane ornamented with a silver snake’s head and inlaid with precious emeralds. Most in the room recognize him as another former consigliere of Rodolphus’, the complimentary left hand to Yax’s right, and so it surprises some but not many when he stops and kneels on his good leg at their feet. What does shock all those present is when he reaches out and takes one of their gloved hands in his own, and softly kisses their knuckles in fealty. No one has dared to touch them so intimately before, especially in the presence of so many, and so the capos can’t help but crane their necks from their safe perches along the bar, hoping to catch a glimpse of the bloodshed that seems inevitably to follow…

(What they don’t know is the full story behind the demise of the Malfoys. How Lucius had put his trust blindly into his friend Rodolphus, and how that fatal mistake had led to everything being taken from him in a single night. They don’t know that it was Yaxley that picked him up from off the floor where he lay bleeding to death next to his wife and son, that they discreetly removed him from that place of horror to a safe house, that they secretly made themself responsible for his recovery. No one here could possibly recognize that Lucius’ display of loyalty is one of a debt he feels the need to repay, and a promise of vengeance upon those who had wronged him. But Yaxley understands what he has lost, and accepts him into their inner circle with a smile and an easy intimacy that astounds the rest of their organization with its boldness.)

Malfoy comes to be known as The Peacock, an assassin of particular worth, capable of blending into the high-society crowds that must be infiltrated to bring down the Lestranges from within. He makes the work look so effortless that it’s almost magical, slicing throats open in secluded corners of crowded parties without getting so much as a drop on his impeccably tailored three-piece suits or expensive Richelieu. And he becomes even more notorious for the marks he deals with in private, the ones that need to make some kind of statement, especially when he begins to come back to the club to see Yaxley just after. These are the times that his clothes are soaked blue with the blood of his elite targets, and he leaves a crime scene that looks like a painted masterpiece on every wall, or a disconcerting performance piece.

Lucius bides his time, serving Yaxley’s whims with a dedication and a strange sort of softness that is often gossiped about among the armies they command. As it turns out, they aren’t entirely unfounded, but no one truly comprehends the level to which the two of them need and rely on each other. It’s more than just loyalty, it’s love. As much love as a pair of broken people can give each other, in the looming shadow of all the goodness that has been taken from them. But as much as Corban means to him, there comes a time when it’s no longer enough, when he’s done waiting for the moment they deem fit to deal with Rodolphus. Their disagreement is marked by a very public argument, spilling over from the private office the two of them usually keep to, into the club where their soldiers wait to be commanded; and it ends with Lucius storming out without his cane. Yax turns it over contemplatively from the seat at their desk, doing nothing more than lifting a gloved hand to stop their men from following.

At Lestrange Manor, he dispatches hall after hall of well paid security guards and revels in the way he makes all of Rodolphus’ careful precautions look like a child stacking rows of toy soldiers behind a wall of building blocks. It isn’t quite as easy, of course, Lucius doesn’t make it through without getting a little… ruffled, but he can’t be bothered to care when the shade of his own red blood compliments the subtle purple hues in his jacket so well. And more than that, he’s only a room away from his revenge. Even if he let himself feel it, he couldn’t let the pain stop him now.

“Why did you do it, Rodolphus?” he asks, even though they both know perfectly well why he’s standing there dripping blood on the pristine ballroom floor; after all he’s been through, he shouldn’t have to voice the question aloud- the very fact that he’s standing in front of his former ally alive should be enough to demand answers. Rodolphus turns and smirks like he’s been expecting his old friend, like there’s nothing odd or shocking at all about the manner in which he’s come to call after all these years. “Your loyalties had… shifted,” he finally answers. “I simply clarified your priorities for you.” His voice was cold, just as it had always been, as if he was talking about a game of chess rather than the lives of the people Lucius loved most. “And look where you are now… You’ve got all the attention you could ever want.” He smiled. “No need to thank me, Lucius.”

It turns out Rodolphus’ weapon of choice is, of all things, a bloody garrote wire. It’s a fact that Lucius becomes closely familiar with during the struggle that ensues. For all their formal pretenses, they aren’t elegant and refined gentlemen anymore; they grapple for dominance like cavemen, each blow of fists as punishing as a bludgeon, each hold they get on one another suffocating. Lucius has a grip on the wire, but for all his efforts he can still feel it slicing open his flesh. The rush of death seems inescapable, blackness swimming up around the edges of his vision… And then not for the first time he sees a fiery figure emerging out of the dark brandishing a familiar black staff embellished with a serpent’s head. They pull the concealed blade from its sheath, and that’s what tells him for sure that it’s Yaxley, more so than the blur of features that resemble a face. Before he blacks out completely, Lucius sees a single quick, fluid movement; but more importantly, he hears a rush of cutting wind, and a sickening thump that signifies a target being struck. The pressure instantly releases, and Lucius gasps for air much in the same way that Rodolphus does as they both hit the floor. He can still hear the sounds of his old friend dying behind him, even over his fit of coughing, and despite his own weakness he turns just in time to refocus his sight on the image of his enemy taking a final breath.

Yax helpfully removes the wire from around his neck, uncharacteristically gentle, and sits for a moment with Lucius’ head in their lap. They’re quiet for a while, listening to him choke around blood and a hole in his windpipe, but they stay with him; applying pressure to the wound although it will do no good, stroking his hair to calm him so he doesn’t fight against the pain. This isn’t like last time. This time, Lucius knows he’s going to die. But he can’t help but fight it off, trying to commit this final moment to some eternal memory that he will be reborn with- Corban looking down at him, pale skin streaked over with blood, expression calm but telling all the same… telling him they love him one more time in the same way the two of them had always said it, without words. He retrieves the staff end of Lucius’ weapon, the blade portion still being deeply embedded into Rodolphus’ skull, and slides it into his hand. “You forgot this… thought you might need it,” they say, instead of any of the thousand other things they could say. And Lucius wants to laugh but the instinct makes him cough up more blood instead, and Yax has to hold him steady because it’s clear now that these are the final seconds of his life. They can see it because they’ve always been in control of these things- the true Lord of Death, terrible and handsome in the way that they burn, the brightest light in the enclosing darkness.

Lucius uses the last of his strength to lift his hand and lay it over Corban’s, which stills them for a moment. And then, realizing the question he’s trying to ask but can’t articulate with his lungs full of blood, they pull their hand back and peel the glove off of their scarred skin with their teeth, returning it to Lucius’ weakening grip, bare. He smiles. “Thank you,” he gets out, and then he’s choking until the moment the light finally fades out from his eyes.

@yxxley, @olderstrange

#blood cw #murder cw #gore cw #violence cw #does that cover it oh god i hope so #( a silent wing | owls )#yxxley #( the true lord of death alight with icy flame | corban )#( rodolphus lestrange )#...think i overdid it...?#( half remembered dreams | vignettes )

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musingsofmaniacs · 6 years ago

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We Two Dervishes: Istanbul Diaries

If you do not wish to read the whole article but are interested in a typical itinerary and tips, skip to the last section. Important tips are highlighted in Bold also.

Courtesy: Mehmet Gören (Pintrest)

Pins and Needles

To think that this trip almost never happened.

ProTip: Take the visa rules very seriously. The spirit doesn’t matter, the letter absolutely does. Also, never overestimate Consulates and Visa centres, if they say it will take 10 days, take it to mean that it will take 11 days at least and prepare accordingly.

4 days until the trip, no visa in hand, sleepless nights, continuously refreshing the VFS website for any change in the status of arrival of Visa from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, estimating time it takes for courier services to deliver a package from Mumbai to Ahmedabad and constantly flitting between self reassurance and sick-in-the-stomach worry that visa won’t arrive on time. If only we had been a day early, the situation where a small delay could fully derail the trip I have wanted to take for a long time would not have precipitated, and all the preparation, from ordering The Museum of Innocence, to vividly imagining/dreaming of being there would sink in front of our eyes. To say nothing of the monetary loss, because we had booked non-refundable flights.

The visa arrived two and a half hours before our departure to Mumbai. The VFS staff weren’t sure when the damn thing would come, so we just decided to camp out in front of the visa centre and wait for the Blue Dart mini-truck. Fortunately they were expecting a delivery in the evening, and they were kind enough to give our visas to us after their working hours (Visa Centres and Consulates are strict about their working hours. Fervently so). I am not sure when the last time I had a tsunami of relief wash over was. The package soon arrived and we heard the guard talking amongst themselves about arrival of Japanese, American, and to our good fortune, Turkish. We ran to Forex centre close by, requesting them on phone to stay open for a little while (thankfully, they wanted our business) and managed to buy a modest sum of 230 Euros, because that’s all the Euros they had.

Sigh of Relief

Battlefield

I would like to argue that the first country out of my own that I have stepped on is Turkey and that layovers don’t count, because boy Kuwait City was disappointing. The only fascinating thing that one can see in the darkness before dawn break are the fires in the oil fields. Kuwait City, especially the area around the airport looks like an empty abandoned desert, and it should because it is far from the actual Kuwait City. If you look at the map of Kuwait, you will be struck by the featurelessness of the country, apart from the dense network of roads around a small tip that is Kuwait City. The airliner from Mumbai had nice food (as airplane foods go), and a courteous and diverse staff: You had an Indian, an Arabian, a Caucasian, an African, and an Asian. The Cinema and TV selection were average, but the movies were heavily censored. Even words like ‘Hell’ were muted, and absolutely no scenes of intimacy, even those that would be demure by Bollywood standards!

The airport has 2 terminals. The old one receives flights from Mumbai, and the new modern terminal services to Istanbul. The ground staff, or the lack of them is particularly pain in the ass. It was 6a.m and passengers were to be transferred to new terminal, and the staff was scrambling to get the security officer and the bus driver to service the passengers, causing delays. This worried me a bit during the onward flight, because the return flight, we had a layover of meagre 1 hour 25 min. (And my fears came true. The return flight departed half an hour late from Istanbul, because of a fuel leakage which stalled our take-off and put us right at the end of the queue. We had to scramble to get to put flight to Mumbai, because guess what, it rained that day. In a desert.) The Security check was especially very adamant on checking each and every item in the baggage. In fact, they didn’t even allow us the toothpaste, so we had to go foul mouthed all the way till our hotel at Istanbul!

The ground staff of the airport comprised mostly of, you guessed it, immigrants. And of those, most of them are South Asians. And of those, most of them appeared Malayalis, fulfilling the Gulf dream as their counterparts elsewhere. You can easily get by with Hindi around the airport at least. And the toilets do not have urinals! This complies with the personal law prescribed in Islam. The washrooms at Istanbul do have the urinals though.

KWI of course was a battlefield in the Battle of Kuwait International Airport, a significant battle of the Gulf War between US and allies and occupying Iraq led by Saddam Hussein.

Where Airlift was Set

Why Istanbul?

Because Istanbul is magical. A place where the streets whisper to you the tales the glory and doom, rise and fall; ascension and declination of emperors, sultans and revolutionaries; not unlike the undulating terrain it occupies. The place where the East meets West, the great continents and civilisations of Asia and Europe face off across a narrow waterbody that also connects North with the South. To see Istanbul, to understand Istanbul is to understand the history of the culture and civilisation of a major part of the world, in fact the world itself. Devout muslims, avid history buffs, Europhiles, party creatures- they will all find in the ruins and the glory of the city what they are looking for.

Istanbul is a time capsule, a place where time is laid out in space like a spread out deck of cards.

A stock photo

It’s a Church! It’s a Mosque! It’s Museum!

My fascination with Ayasofya or Hagia Sophia, or the magnitude of it, is somewhat a puzzle to me. I do not know why I have been entranced by this beautiful, beautiful Eastern Roman/Ottoman marvel. I know for certain it began when I first read about it in Netfundu magazine in my school days. Netfundu was a kiddie magazine complimentary during the heydays of Indian Airlines, the domestic govt. operated carrier before it was disastrously merged with Air India. Maybe it was about the name or it was about the architecture, but it never escaped my imagination after that. It is an important must see for travellers visiting Istanbul, and is one of those things that do not disappoint, despite a small part of it being covered with scaffolding for renovation.

Where else will you see Jesus, Mary, Allah and Muhammad together in one single place?

After capturing Constantinople, the Ottomans removed or plastered over mosaics and images of Jesus, Mary, Constantine, Justinian and various other Byzantine Emperors from the walls, as Islam prohibits representation of human figures because no one but Allah is allowed to create. This is the reason why Topkapı, Blue Mosque and all the other Ottoman palaces (Not Dolmabahçe; we will come to that) are covered with exquisite tiles and carpets as decoration and not paintings, as a guide we shamelessly eavesdropped at Blue Mosque tried to explain his captive (and paying) group. Orhan Pamuk’s masterpiece My Name Is Red, the book that put in me the fascination to visit Istanbul, devotes a considerable portion of his book discussing this aspect of Islamic philosophy, of prohibition of creating realistic portraits, thereby challenging Allah. This attitude is reflected even now, with reports of Modern day Saudi Arabia destroying historical artifacts around Mecca to build hotels. Or ISIS destroying Palmyra. Sultan Mehmed II, the conqueror (Fatih, which now renders its name to the UNESCO heritage historic area of the old city. Note similarity to the Hindustani word ‘Fateh’) ordered a massacre of Roman residents, then asked for muslim immigrants to settle Constantinople, and converted Hagia Sophia, the ‘Church of Wisdom’, into a mosque.

The images that we see of Jesus, Mary and the other kings were restored by Swiss-Italians Fossati Brothers, entrusted with the task of renovating the mosque by Sultan Abdulmecid to renovate Hagia Sophia. Many old, precious mosaics are still lurking under the ones plastered over.

The church that stands today is actually the third iteration. Two were destroyed by fire and riots before Emperor Justinian built the third in 537 AD. The ruins of the 2nd Ayasofya found in excavations are put to display outside the building. The White marbles and sheeps will catch your eye.

Once you go inside, you will see hung on the wall a proclamation by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the father of the modern Republic, and his cabinet secularising the mosque by converting it into the museum. This makes one realise that Hagia Sophia houses inside itself the history and the character of the city of Istanbul, and of Turkey itself. From Romans, to Ottomans, to the new secular republic, Ayasofya is a time capsule, having stubbornly endured earthquakes and conquests and the hyper-secularisation. It feels as if the monument now stands before you and whispers to you the story of Istanbul and indeed of civilisation it has witnessed. For those with a sense of history, Ayasofya cannot be anything but fascinating, and there is no building like it anywhere.

As for the grandeur of the interior, I will let the images do the talking.

Pro Tip: Get the ticket for Ayasofya, Topkapı and Archaeology museum together for 135TL instead of getting them individually. All are worth a visit.

Hey kitty kitty! Istanbul’s cats, like her Sultans, are fat!

Blue Mosque, the second jewel of Sultanahmet sitting right next to Ayasofya, was unfortunately under renovation, so a lot of it was covered. We managed to witness some of the famed Iznik tiling anyway. Note how this and all of the other mosques in Istanbul, and in fact the rest of the Turkey, are influenced by Ayasofya. One interesting thing we noted was that the instructions outside the gate urges the visitors to refrain from, among other things, kissing inside the Mosque. Helpful tip.

Blue Mosque seen from Ayasofya window

The fame of Blue Mosque, or Sultanahmet Mosque (Camii, pronounced Jami. Similarity with Hindustani to be noted) somewhat eclipses that of Suleymaniye Mosque, named after Suleiman the Magnificent, the ruler during the golden ages of Ottoman Empire. That should not dissuade anybody from paying it a visit, because it is indeed at par with its more famous counterpart, and lot less crowded. We obviously enjoyed it more because of the restoration at Blue Mosque. The minimalism and unassuming nature of the interior complements the huge size of the interior. Free pamphlets and small books explaining Islam are distributed inside, and we helped ourselves to some.

Walls of Suleymaniye Mosque

Steamy

At night, we decided to try one of those famous Turkish baths, or Hamam. Most hotels will know who to call for their customers, and Mihriban hooked us up with Gedikpasa Hamam, somewhere in the mesh of cobblestoned streets, touristy hotels and heritage structures that is Sultanahmet. It was pretty cool because I had read that it was one of the oldest Hamams that still existed, probably the oldest, as it was established by the eponymous Pasha in 1453. Turns out, they have a pick-up from and drop-to service, and a big van pulled up in front of our hotel. We climbed in, and off it went, cruising confidently like it had done before umpteen times through the narrow lines and sloped terrains to an old establishment with a facade that might render it inconspicuous among the densely packed shops and restaurants, but on entering you will find yourself amongst a relic, a living history.

You are told about the various services by the receptionist, like you can use the Hamam yourself for about 80 TL, or you could get a foam bath and massage from a staff for 120 TL. For a few more bucks, you could get a honey massage, but we didn’t fancy it that much. You are led to a room where you keep your belongings and change into a towel,and tie the key on your wrist. After washing oneself, one enters the steam chamber.

The steam chamber, the actual shvitz, has marble flooring and plastered ceiling, which is dome shaped, and an aura of antiquity that makes you realise that you are sharing a public bath with 550 years of history. This feeling, perhaps encapsulates the entire spirit of Sultanahmet and Istanbul itself. The warmth of hot steam soothes you from the cold of outside, and the steam feels cleansing, although one’s breathing becomes a tad bit belaboured due to the temperature and steam content of the air. Soumya rushes in and tells excitedly that there was a guy who just took of his towel in the corridor without a care!

And soon somebody came to take out ours. An old gentleman, whose name I couldn’t catch because of the language and accent barrier asked me to sit in a corner, near a tap with a basin below it created out of a parapet of diminutive height. He started rubbing me with the foam HARD, as if trying to wipe away my epidermis. Tiny, black-brown, spindle shaped dirt started to roll away as he pulled back his hands during the violent rubbing, leaving a pink skin it its wake. He did this on the limbs, and then in the central raised floor, made me lie down, and removed my towel. For the briefest moment, I was fully in my birthday suit, lathered up it was far, far from being sensual. I also managed to catch another gentleman getting the same rubbing down. Only he was upside-down, with towel covering the valley between the hills, making it perfectly clear what awaited me. The awkward agony ended when the gentleman rearranged my towel to closely cover the unmentionables, and begin the intense massaging that flitted around the boundary of pain and pleasure. Then he overturned me and proceeded with my back and sciatica. I was able to muffle my screams of agony/ecstacy, but Soumya was crying (moaning?) out loud in response to his masseuse’s strong hands.

A file photo from the Hamam website

At the end of it, he took me back to the bathing place and cleaned off the foam. Shook hands with me and said something with the word 50. Either he was talking about his age, or about the tip (Which would have been too much, almost half the cost of the whole service).

After one is done with steam and massage, one can wash it off and cool it in a green pool in a cave like niche, finishing off a wholly tranquilizing experience in a high.

The Tale of Two Palaces

Topkapı Palace is actually a Royal complex, with multiple courtyards having buildings and rooms that served various royal functions: schooling, receiving diplomats, circumcising princes, meeting general public. Standard stuff. The highlight of Topkapı though is the one room where they don’t allow photography: The room that contains artefacts that are believed to be personal belongings of prophets in like Moses, David, Abraham, and Muhammad. It also has sacred relics from Kaaba including the door for the Kaaba. The caliphate passed on to Ottomans after their conquest of Mecca in 1517, and they brought in many holy relics from Mecca to be stored in Topkapı, including dentures and hair of Prophet Muhammad.

Courtesy: getyourguide.com

One gets a peak of the lives of Sultans in the empire from visiting the harem. Harem is the private part of the palace, and is where Sultan, his countless mistresses and the head of the household, the Valide Sultan or Sultan’s widowed mother lived. There is a separate ticket for Harems in all palaces, about 30 TL. A package deal may cost less, so take it. Since any given Sultan with his countless harems is bound to have many children, all equally entitled to the throne, almost every succession involves fratricide i.e. potential successor killing off all of his brothers to establish his succession. After Mehmed II, as I learned later through fascinating Wikipedia (back home) and Quora articles, the practice was even codified and considered a rite of passage! As I looked at the corridors, the walls, the exquisite washrooms and the magnificent rooms, I could not help but wonder of all the drama and palace intrigues that would have taken place in the harems with their shehzades, Valides, concubines, wives,eunuchs, soldiers and assassins maybe?

Panorama of the entrance

Famed Iznik tile works

One of the most remarkable dome interiors in the beautiful white dome of the library. Mesmerised, we spent longer than usual staring at this stunning dome. As mentioned earlier, the main decorations in the palaces and mosques are accomplished using tiles and carpets since representation was not allowed. There are 1-2 paintings in the administrative chambers though, that too miniatures.

The Library dome

Topkapı is located at the tip of Fatih area overlooking stunning views of Bosphorus. This makes slightly overpriced restaurant at Topkapı, Konyali, worth a try, because as you can see, it makes for a kickass picture.

Bliss atop @ Konyali restaurant

For all its glory and its size, Topkapı is still somewhat...humble. Of course, it is very difficult a claim with your gates, size, views and separate rooms for shehzade’s circumcision, but if you compare it with a typical European palace, like say The Hermitage of St. Petersburg (of which I have only gone through a coffee table book), the palace complex is unassuming and not grandiose.

This realisation strikes you only when you visit the Dolmabahçe Palace. Sultan Abdulmecid I had a somewhat similar idea, and decided that he deserved a palace just like his European peers elsewhere, even if it costed the empire a quarter of its tax revenues that year. The financial hole that the palace made contributed to the empire’s nickname as ‘the sick man of Europe’.But what a hole! The tourists with a 90TL combo ticket (Muzekart, in case any overplanned enthusiastic tourist has taken, is not accepted here) would certainly say it was worth it.

The European style imposing entrance

Dolmabahçe means ‘filled-in Gardens’, and before entering the palace after the majestic entrance, you do see beautiful gardens all around. Do take a lot of the photos, because inside photography is not allowed. My friend tried to take some, but was spotted by the guards,who only asked him politely not to do it again. Because not taking photographs when you see something like Ceremonial Hall at the end of the palace tour is just a shame. So here is an image with bent perspective of the impossibly huge hall with a chandelier that was a present from Queen Victoria, because I suppose it is impossible to capture the grandeur of the entire hall in a single frame. Places like these make you feel like staying longer because of the mild fear that there is one bit of detail you might have missed out.

Ceremonial Hall

Dolmabahçe palace is not administered by the Ministry of Culture and is not a full museum, but is administered by Ministry of Palaces, because it is an amazing venue for hosting important summits and State dinners.

The highlight of Harem tour, that is after the palace tour, is the bed draped in National flag where the father of the Turkish Republic, Kemal Ataturk breathed his last. The clock by the table indicates his time of death. Every year, at 0905 on 10 Nov (Just 1 day after we left, because I did not know of this), the entire nation comes to a standstill in remembrance. Check out a link I have provided at the end and be amazed with the respect he commands. Also, it is recommended to read up about Ataturk, a fascinating figure in the 20th Century whose ideas about secularism in a 96% Sunni Muslim country that once held the keys to the Kaaba are at the same time inspiring and polarising and a bit of a cautionary tale about repercussions of imposing radical changes into a society.

Pro Tip: When I asked for Turkish Coffee with sugar, they gave me a small Lokum (Turkish Delight) with it. It was covered in powdered sugar, so foolishly I put it in, before realising my mistake. So, don't do that. The right way is to take a sip, then take a bite and so on. I had to fish it out with the stirrer. Fortunately, it was still very, very delicious.

Dolmabahçe is out and out a European palace, a far cry from spartan austerity that is the hallmark of Islamic teachings. It was so overwhelming that we did not possess any more mental strength to go see the painting halls consisting of the works of art commissioned by the Europe loving Sultans and many by the last Caliph, a patron of arts and a painter himself, Abdulmecid II. History buffs will be interested to know that this Caliph’s ousting prompted the Khilafat Movement in India during the WWI. We then headed to ‘check off one of my items on bucket list’, however cheesy and corny it might sound.

Kemal and Fusun

Orhan Pamuk is a divisive figure in Turkey. His Nobel win is touted by many as political, to force the hand of the state in the suit against him claiming he insulted the republic by recognising or hinting at Armenian Genocide. He is a somewhat liberal figure, not liked by nationalists in general. Mihriban, our hotel receptionist, guide and friend also stated that she disagrees with the politics of Pamuk, but seemed fascinated by the idea of the museum and wondered why she never went there.

Me with each of the 4000 cigarettes that touched Fusun’s lips and had a mark of her lipstick to show for that. Pamuk’s protagonist is a melancholic, lovelorn, a a teeniest bit creepy (at least by today’s standards)

For people like me, borderline fanboys, we love his fascinating depiction of the mundane and his brilliant analysis and exposition of a nation struggling with its Westernising aspirations and traditions, and his exploration of a city that has a hankering for everything European and longing for the glorious days of the empire. My Name is Red and Istanbul: Memoirs of a City (that I read after coming back) are highly recommended.

Museum of Innocence is also a similar work where the protagonist who is somewhat like the author himself, belonging to the ‘society’ that shuns everything traditional and lives among the cocktail parties and fancy luncheons and everything else Western, falls for his cousin, a girl from a traditional Muslim family living in a crumbling middle class neighbourhood. Kemal has a bit of kleptomania which he likes to call his fascination with ordinary items, and everytime he visits Fusun’s house, he steals a small item from there. Eventually his collection grows so large that he makes a museum out of it, dedicated to Fusun. Orhan Pamuk made the exact museum with every item Kemal ‘stole’ in the book at the location where Fusun’s family ‘lived’. This fascinating concept of a museum complementing a book makes it a must visit if one admires Orhan Pamuk. What more, if you have the book, then your entry is without fee, and on a particular location in the book, there is a box where they stamp it. The book keeps referencing the museum and this stamped space is indeed a part of the story, making the book and museum complete in themself! Each chapter in the book has a shelf with exhibit dedicated so a Pro Tip: Buy an audio guide for only 5 TL. Each exhibit is explained by Orhan Pamuk and an actor essaying the role of Kemal (Yes, Orhan the author indeed makes an appearance in the book. As I said earlier, the book is complete in itself).

Pamuk’s scribbles

It is recommended that one visit the website of Museum of Innocence to check out Orhan Pamuk’s idea of a Museum.

The Most Instagrammable Neighborhood

Karaköy is probably called that because of its interesting graffitis, mesmerizing cobblestoned narrow alleys and the Galata Tower that rises from the middle. Travellers are forewarned that there will be a huge line at the Galata Tower in the peak season. But once you get on the top, you know why.

Galata Tower was built in the Genoese colony as a sentry tower and also as a tower to forewarn about any fire incidents in the city. So it is ironic that the tower itself fell victim to fire, and that is one amongst the umpteen times the tower has been damaged and rebuilt. It is now the primary fixture of the Golden Horn and the Istanbul skyline, and from the top, one can see all of Istanbul, from the Topkapı Palace, Ayasofya and Blue Mosque on one side to brightly illuminated 15 July Martyrs Bridge (formerly called Bosphorus bridge, renamed after the 2016 coup attempt) on the other. We climbed (rather, took an elevator) on top in the evening, in a crisp and beautiful weather, and then something fascinating happened: multiple Ottoman style mosques interspersed across the city start playing the Azan with remarkable synchronization. There are few experiences that are as unforgettable as this one, and this indeed is a quintessential Istanbul experience. It would have been nice to have a çay(chai) at this moment, but we took so much time to soak up the views of the strait and the streets (remember the FOMO anxiety we talked about in the palaces section?), that by the time we went inside to the restaurant at the top of the tower, it was closed.

Galata Tower

There was a 4D Istanbul tour waiting for us downstairs on the 3rd floor though, which takes on this simulated helicopter ride across and inside the major landmarks in the city. It’s fun, despite of it sounding a bit pedestrian (I am talking about the population that finds things like these and roller coasters nothing more than gimmicky); go for it.

The other thing that one must do in Karaköy is simply walk around and soak up the sights and sounds. And eat a delicious, mouthwatering, big baklava at Karaköy Güllüoğlu for 25 TL. Syrupy, crispy, filled with pistachio nuts, one must definitely savour as much baklava as one can while in the city.

Mouthwatering Baklava at Karaköy Güllüoğlu

To Black Sea and beyond

No textbook Istanbul trip is complete without a ferry ride across/in the Bosphorus. Bosphorus, after all gives Istanbul ALL of its identity. Everything that the place is, it’s because of the strait. The strait joins Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea through the Sea of Marmara and The Aegean, making it all important and a prized possession. The location proved so strategic that more than a dozen sieges were attempted on the city, before Mehmed II actually achieved success. Thar is why the Greeks, the Romans, and the Ottomans wanted a piece of it, why Prophet declared that whoever conquers Konstantiniyye is the most blessed. The strait is a clear boundary between the great continents, and more importantly great cultures of Asia and Europe, of Orient and the Occident, and Istanbul is the meeting point, the city with the dual identity. The city is testament to the fact that much of human history, culture and language is all about geography.

Muhammad’s proclamation on the blessed conqueror of Constantinople (Place: Ayasofya)

So, Bosphorus Cruise. On Sultanahmet, many will try to sell you a cruise that will make a trip of the strait, the golden horn, will have a buffet, all for €20. Or there is the famous Big Bus Istanbul tour where they will take you to an all day tour of all the Istanbul places and a cruise for €30 or 60. You can go for the latter if you are on a layover trip. You can ignore the former; never too good an idea to go with the touts. You can get all the information about a cruise with food and entertainment for €20-60 from the front desk of your hotel, a very good reliable source of information, and even better if you have a rapport with the receptionist.

Or you can rough it out (not really) and make use of one of the most bang for bucks public transport service (details of Istanbul public transport network will have a dedicated section; don’t worry): Şehir Hatları.

Şehir Hatları is the City run ferry service that, apart from its regular services to and fro the opposite banks of the bosphorus, also runs a 6 hour cruise all for, drumroll please, 25TL! There is one cruise per day and it picks you up from the Eminönü docks at 1000 hrs all the way over to the village of Anadolu-Kavagi near the Black Sea and brings you back by 1630.

The cruise itself was sparsely occupied, probably due to tourist season ending. Which is a boon because in peak season, the cruise gets full pretty quickly. Waiting on Eminönü docks for our ticket we met this guy who had a giant parrot on his shoulder, the size of which freaked out Soumya. He placed the parrot on Soumya’s shoulder and offered that we click a photograph for 15TL I think. We politely refused, so here’s a stock photo.

The ship had 3 floors, with lower deck having cushioned benches and table a la a classic American diner, with a small stall serving snacks. The mid and top deck were outside, and if you can tolerate the cold, cold breeze, you will see sights unparalleled. As Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Suleymaniye mosque, and Galata Tower to your right seem to get farther and farther away, you get to see the iconic Istanbul skyline which I can never get used to. The first stop is Üsküdar on the Asian side. This neighborhood, considered a bit conservative as opposed to the more liberal and open European side, is famous for its sunset views, which we missed by a few minutes on our last day, but still enjoyed çay along the banks, where many had set up cushions for tourists and lovebirds to enjoy with Bosphorus views.

As we approach Karaköy, the view is dominated by the imposing Dolmabahçe palace. Along the way you pass 2 of the three bridges that connect Europe to Asia, numerous Bosphorus mansions called Yalis and the castles of Rumelihisari and Anadoluhisari. I did not know at that time, but Rumelihisari or Roman Castle was built by Mehmed II as a sister castle to Anadoluhisari which was on the opposite banks, and together acted as a throat or strait cutter, cutting off the rest of the city before laying siege. Other notable sight were those of gargantuan cargo vessels that sailed by and the seagulls that competed with our cruise, making use of wind currents to float and making loud noises. You will always find these noisy creatures chasing a ship, probably for food, and the Bosphorus is filled with these seagulls; they are what pigeons are to our cities: a regular feature that are sometimes just pest.

Bosphorus Panorama

Our last stop in the onward journey is the tiny fishing village of Anadolu Kavagi, which is directly opposite to the penultimate Rumeli Kavagi. The word Rum is used to denote Roman Anatolia or simply Roman or Rome. The Ottoman Padishah used to have the title of ‘Kayser-i-Rum’, the descendant of the Romans, and omission of this title in diplomatic communication was casus belli, or cause of war. The famed Sufi saint and poet Jalal ad-Din Muhammad has the title ‘Rumi’ attached to him because of his place of operation, in the Anatolian heartland., specifically Konya, an overnight journey from Istanbul by road. Although he is also known by the name Balkhi, placing his origin at Balkh in what is now Afghanistan.

Seafood at AK. Most good restaurants serve a basket of bread by default, a complementary feature. Water, you gotta buy separately.

At the AK, you have a stoppage of 2.5 hours to feast over some delicious seafood (yours truly refrains from meat and prefers to enjoy it vicariously) and visit the Yoros Castle, an outpost built by the Thrace as a strategic watchtower. The village is now occupied by the fishing community and the Turkish Armed Forces. Once you start walking around searching for a place to eat, as in any other Istanbul tourist area like Sultanahmet,the restaurant maitre-d’s (if they can be called that) start to cajole you for your patronage. We chose a seafood place with nice Bosphorus view, and as recommended by the immaculately dressed waiter, ordered a fish and something vegetarian that you don’t care for anyway (although there are good vegetarian options in Turkey). And we ordered Rakı .

Rakı

Rakı is Turkey’s national alcoholic beverage made from rice and has a strong anise or saunf taste. One dilutes the Rakı with water and it turns white from colorless! Soumya exclaimed that it looks like a local beverage popular in Orissa called Handiya.

And it gets you drunk fairly quickly, leaving you in a happy merry kind of stupor that fortunately or unfortunately dissipates within an hour. We were laughing uncontrollably, consuming the lunch extra slowly and by the time we sobered and paid up, we had already spent an hour and a half in the restaurant. Which maybe commonplace in Europe but for the Indians, almost unheard of!

This left us just about half hour to climb up the hill and visit the Yoros castle (fully sober by then, by the way). The castle itself lies in ruins, but the views of deep blue strait that merges into the Black Sea, and the beautiful Yavuz Sultan Selim bridge that straddles the waters gave us the aforementioned FOMO as the time was running out and we would be in trouble if we missed the ferry.

The hastily clicked Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge. The water body beyond is Black Sea!

The return was mostly spent in soaking up the scenery and staring at the seagulls.

The Ice Cream Trick

Dondurma is the Turkish ice cream made of a resinous substance that allows it to stick to a surface and defy gravity. This enables the ice cream guys to perform that trick where they pretend to give you the ice cream but snatch it away, drop it but really it sticks to the big handle, do this 3-4 times before handing the ice cream over.

So then, at Taksim Square where we are being entertained by this ice cream cum performance I told Soumya in hindi that let’s play the same trick and give him money but take it back. The guy sort of read our mind and pointed at a spot in the table saying ‘Put it here. I have been doing this a long time.’ Ah damn!

Another performance with food we saw was at a Kebab place in Sultanahmet where I ordered a vegetable hot pot, which they served with a sticky rice. They filled the earthen pot with the veggies like mushrooms and put it up on a small stove of smoldering coal, brought it to us and did a little performance before hitting the top of the pot, and off went that piece of pot flying. You will see this trick being performed in many restaurants in Sultanahmet.

Touristy things are fun, who knew.

Find the link to a Dondurma trick at the end. Keep searching for more, fun way to waste more time on YouTube.

Pro Tip: For the vegetarians out there, plenty of mediterranean salads like abaganoush are available in almost all restaurants. Or do what I did in a small restaurant near Cemberlitas: Ordered a chicken roll without the chicken!

The monument to the Republic at Taksim Square. The gentleman at the front it Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

So we boasted (or opposite of it) to Mihriban that whatever crowd she thinks we will encounter at Taksim, it can never be as bad as India, because well we are the crowded country, aren’t we? We were proven so wrong at the historical Istiklal Caddesi or Istiklal Avenue near Taksim. Generally we did not find Istanbul crowded, but that may be attributed to the end of peak tourist season. But the crowd at Istiklal Street on a weekday was comparable to the crowd at, say, Connaught Place or Chandni Chowk! The street is lined with Ottoman era buildings (European style, so perhaps late Ottoman, when European influence became marked), shops, restaurants of all kinds-doner kebabs to your KFCs and Burger Kings, intriguing street performances here and there, and the classic Taksim- Tünel tram line. While the trams running in Istanbul, used for commuting, are all fast and modern built by Alstom, the Taksim- Tünel line has been kept mainly as an attraction, the slow old trams of the olden days. There is just one coach that does the up and down from Taksim to Tünel, and it is crowded by tourists who want the touristy experience of the Old Istanbul. We decided to skip that and just walk the whole way, from Taksim to Tünel and beyond. At Tünel, you have the Funicular line, which is essentially 2 coaches on a long looped rope and pulley mechanism such that when one coach goes up the other goes down. Mainly used to go up and down a sloping, hilly area.

Historical Funicular at Tünel

There are streets that branch out of Istiklal with interesting restaurants, all having a musical performer to entertain their guests. Unfortunately the restaurants are so close that you can here 3-4 guys singing loudly at the same time, resulting in utter cacophony!

We managed to find a vegan Lebanese restaurant in the street, and had delicious falafels there.

The People We Met

Graffiti we encountered on a walk in Beyoğlu

One important component of travel to a place is the people one encounters or meets. While I myself have difficulty in opening up to strangers, it helps if I have a slightly more outgoing companion or a person easy to talk to.

Which is where Mihriban, our 30 something Kurdish friend from Ankara who has a degree in Turkish Literature, likes fitness and does not like Orhan Pamuk, and has a disarming style and persona comes into picture. She also very kindly took us to Suleymaniye Mosque, shop at Mahmut Pasha and the nearby more famous grand bazaar, and a rooftop coffee with lokum with views of Golden Horn and Bosphorus, which the reader may tire of but I most certainly did not.

Turkish Coffee at a rooftop joint

One stop at Mahmut Pasha we took was to buy some Shawls, beautiful silk ones which I later learnt were called stoles. I realised that I was bad at picking clothes for women when Mihriban pooh-poohed almost all of my choices (Thank God). After shopping for a good 8-9 stoles between the two of us, the shopkeeper decided to offer us some çay (tea), instead of giving us further discounts. In a typical Indian manner, we finished the tea while Mihriban had not even reached the halfway mark. This led shopkeeper to exclaim in surprise that we finished it off way to quickly, and Mihriban interjected that we must savour things more deliberately.

From the crowded Mahmut Pasha,filled with vendors selling all the varieties of lokum possible, we moved to the Grand bazaar, another quintessential Istanbul attraction with vendors selling everything from lamps to carpets to tiles to lokum to spices-you know, your typical Oriental market, only way expensive. We did get our hands on some beautiful Iznik tile coasters at Iznik Works in Grand Bazaar. The Iznik form of ceramic pottery originated from the Iznik towns and was very much in demand by Ottomans to decorate their palaces and mosques. Be it Topkapı Palace, Suleymaniye Mosque or Blue Mosque, you will find these tiles adorned as mosaics everywhere.

For some reason, we decided to lunch at the Burger King at Cemberlitas, and I had the one vegetarian option available on the menu- a bean burger. It was yum.

ProTip: There are types of Lokums that I gather are available. One is a slightly cheaper one that resembles those dense gelatinous halva we have in India. The other types are more expensive (100TL for a kg) that are filled with variety of nuts and have richer flavour diversity. Buy them either from franchise stores like Mado or Hafiz Mustafa or explore on your own, in Sultanahmet, Mahmut Pasha, Grand Bazaar, or that bazaar near Blue Mosque. Also eat tons of Baklava, an advice worth repeating.

ProTip: Much to my frustration, during a bit of googling for this piece, I discovered that Zomato operates in Istanbul! What! And oh, by the way, Wikipedia is banned in Turkey. This I discovered only when I returned. That’s why I was not able to open there.

Mihriban also used to make çay for us in the evening when we had returned from our trips, and we would discuss about religion, cultures, exercise, family, living in Istanbul, and how Istanbul is the number one destination for bald Arab men to get hair plugs (You see a lot of bald men with bleeding head or head covered with cotton) and so on. Mihriban’s demeanor brought in many friendly guests of the hotel, and one such was a wise old man from London called Abu Bakr John, who came with his wife Hatija. Abu-Bakr was a Mauritian immigrant to London, and had a little bit understanding, at least an inkling of Hindi, because obviously his forefathers were from India. His wife Hatija adored Shah Rukh Khan, just like Mihriban adored Aamir Khan. Mihriban claims to have seen all of his movies and to prove her claim, she referenced the giant colorful ass-chairs the three protagonists of ‘3 Idiots’ sat on. Then we proceeded to talk about the latest bollywood film she watched, ‘Padman’, and I showed her the TED talk of the actual Padman, Arunachalam Muruganantham, on Youtube with Turkish subtitles, which she found pretty delightful.

We also talked about the Turkish TV viewing habits, and how Turkish people prefer watching Indian soaps over local fares, which is more popular in Azerbaijan (Azeris watch Turkish soaps, Turkish watch Indian series, Indians watch American series and Americans just watch their own!) Also, Mihriban, and by her I guess most of the Turkish TV viewers, think that the streets on India is filled with cows, the cows that we worship, which she found amusing. I can’t say I don’t agree with that stereotype.

We also tried to chat with a bunch of Moroccan ladies from Brussels in the lobby. The trouble was that they knew only French and Mihriban had to use Google translate for the simplest of the things. We were also talking about Muslim marriages and the concept of Mehr when the Belgian lady asked whether we were Muslims. I said no. We tried telling her, probably through google Translate that we were from India and we were Hindus, and she just replied “Buddhists?” We nodded and just left it like that. While retiring for the night, we were talking about how difficult French was and I tried to pronounce ‘Au revoir’ as O-re-vwa. One of the Belgian ladies heard us and said what I thought was ‘Au wa’. The guttural r is simply not an Indian thing.

Transportation

This is a Protip chapter. Much to the annoyance of many, I have a love for efficient public transport. And Istanbul’s has one USP: Integration. From Ataturk Airport, if you have to go to say Üsküdar, you can take a taxi that will drive you all the way to one of the Bosphorus bridges and drop you there, and charge a bomb. Airport transport from our hotel, which is on the European side, same as Airport, takes €60, which is astronomical. The cheaper and more pleasurable way is to take a metro from the airport, change at Zeytinburnu or Yenikapi to the tram, take the tram to Eminönü Tram station, cross the road to the Ferry station and hop on to one of the Şehir Hatları cruise. And it is fast with no hassle. Metro has a frequency of 10 min, tram of 2 and boats of 30, and purchasing an Istanbulkart at an automated dispensing machine at every bus, tram or ferry station, which is just 6TL, and rides that are equally nominal means you have covered 20+ km journey in 15-20TL! The transport system that connects the massive city integrates Metro, Bus service, Tram, Funicular, Ferry, and an undersea train service called Marmaray (which we unfortunately did not try).

Istanbul Transportation Map. Zoom/open separately for clearer view.

The Alstom built trams are ridiculously fast and modern, except the antique one at Taksim. Therefore, be careful when you cross the roads.

TLDR

Hotel: Best place to get a hotel if you are in Istanbul for the first time and if you want to visit all the sites is of course the Sultanahmet area in Fatih district, as major old city attractions are all within walking distance, there is a seaside promenade nearby for sunrise/sunset strolls/jogs, and lot to eat! We booked at Harmony Hotel Istanbul, a cozy hotel with free executive breakfast, a spacious balcony and lounge with great sea view if you get top floor.

Tipping: Something Indians are not too attuned it, but is expected outside. We stuck with the 10%-20% almost across the board (towards the lower side of that range we must admit.) Most places have a tip box where you can contribute.

ATM & Currency: International Debit Cards are accepted almost in all ATMs. Withdraw from ATMs of known international banks or Turkish banks like AKBank or DenizBank. Remember, they all charge 3% conversion charge. Currency can be exchanged at the AKbank counter in the Arrivals of Ataturk airport, or at many exchange (Doviz in Turkish) centres in Sultanahmet, Grand Bazaar or Taksim. We exchange the €50 we had saved for the end of the trip at Ağaoğlu Döviz near Cemberlitas tram stop.

Sultanahmet Area: From Ataturk airport, catch a metro, change to tram at Zeytinburnu or Yenikapi going to Kabatas, get down at Sultanahmet stop. Walk around, it is amazing. See hippodrome with obelisk from Egypt (That was day 0).

Day 1:

Ayasofya or Hagia Sophia: 3 Hrs, 135 TL for combined Ayasofya, Topkapı and Archeology Museum Ticket. (Closed Mondays)

Blue Mosque: Free Entry, but do check out the timings.

Hamam: Turkish bath at Gedikpasa Hamam for 120 TL. Rejuvenating. Pickup from and drop to included in most packages. Contact front desk of your hotel.

Day 2:

Topkapı Palace: Separate tickets for Harem, but worth it. Get an audio guide. (Closed Tuesdays)

Gulhane Park: A park near Topkapı, beautiful, lush and has a mosque within for a prayer.

Day 3:

Istanbul Archeology Museum (Closed Mondays): For history buffs. Artefacts from Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Hittite, Phoenicia, Greeks and Romans.

Dolmabahçe Palace [Location: Karaköy]: Reach by tram from Sultanahmet, get down at Kabatas. Tickets to Palace + Harem is 90 TL. Audio guide is free and is also available in Hindi. Attractions are the European style grandeur, and the resting place of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. There is an upper limit on number of people allowed, so go as early as possible especially in peak season. Also, no photography inside.

Museum of Innocence: Get down at Tophane Tram station, walk up a hill few hundred meters till you find a small house with vertical banner proclaiming itself as The Museum of Innocence. 40 TL if you don’t have the book, open till 6 (Closed Mondays). Guides available at 5TL with voiceover of the man himself.

Karaköy Güllüoğlu: Get down at Karaköy station and walk. Get a big baklava for 25TL.

Galata Tower: Walkable from Karaköy station. Keep walking towards that tower with the conical top. Roam around in the Karaköy neighbourhood. Expect a line at the Galata. The view is worth it. Also get the 4D ride at 13TL. It’s down at the 2nd floor though.

Day 4:

The Bosphorus Cruise: Starts at 10 AM from Eminönü docks, goes all the way to Anadolu Kavagi and back. Visit for the beautiful Cruise views, seafood and Yoros castle.

Day 5:

Suleymaniye Mosque: Walkable from Sultanahmet, or catch a tram to Bayezit. Sublime. Free reading materials on Islam for those interested.

Shopping at Mahmutpasa and Grand Bazaar: Shawl, lokums, carpets, tiles, lamps etc.

Maiden Tower or Kız Kulesi, taken from the Asian side. Galata Tower in the European side seen in background

Üsküdar and Kız Kulesi: Ferry from Eminönü . Visit for beautiful sunset if there are no clouds. Sip a çay as you enjoy the Bosphorus views. Kız Kulesi or Maiden Tower is not worth it.

Day 6:

Basilica Cistern: In the Sultanahmet area, walkeable. Beautifully lit underground water reservoir dating to the Roman Empire. Visit for Roman architecture and columns with Medusa heads on it.

youtube

Commemorating Ataturk.

youtube

The Dondurma trick

#istanbul #hagiasophia

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allianceinternational-blog · 6 years ago

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Oil And Gas Companies In Singapore - Oil And Gas Operate. A Delve Into The Industry

By : Yogita Yadav

Image Source :

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Video Source :

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jobsearchtips02 · 4 years ago

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GAME CHANGER: Pro athletes playing much better without fans …

Every day given that sports returned has been a continuous experiment with a once-preposterous premise: How do players alter when their workplaces are empty?

The response worldwide is becoming clear. The world’s finest athletes get better.

NBA players are making a higher portion of their complimentary tosses and striking corner 3-pointers at rates the league has never ever seen. Soccer players are striking dead balls more precisely than they did prior to the pandemic. Without the distraction of shouting fans, one part of their video games seems to have actually enhanced: shooting.

This is one of the very first pandemic impacts on sports.

It appears they used their time off wisely. While it may be statistical sound from a little sample– a couple of days in the NBA and a couple of months in European soccer– there are explanations for the trends that could make them sustainable for as long as games are played behind closed doors. Among them is easy.

” When they play in front of 80,000 individuals,” Toolbox supervisor Mikel Arteta said, “it is far more hard.”

It isn’t exactly a surprise that NBA gamers have improved their free-throw shooting in the bubble. As it turns out, when you’re staring into a static background and not a wall of fans doing their finest to make you miss, it’s easier to make a shot.

” I think we ought to be shooting a greater portion from the foul line because you don’t have the variable of the fan in the background,” said Brooklyn Nets guard Joe Harris, who invested the early days of the pandemic in his Brooklyn house practicing his shooting motion on the couch as he viewed Netflix.

He’s. NBA gamers shot 77.1%on nasty shots prior to the regular season stopped– and hit the exact same portion in the house and on the road. In the reboot, they are shooting 80.6%.

NBA gamers shot 77.1%on foul shots before the regular season stopped.

Image:. Sam Forencich/NBAE/Getty Images.

In the restart, they are shooting 80.6%.

Image:. Mike Ehrmann/Associated Press.

It isn’t just taking place on complimentary throws. A comparable phenomenon appears to be contorting the value of corner 3-pointers– which were already amongst the most valuable shots in basketball. The arc is almost two feet closer to the basket in the corners, and yet shots from behind the much shorter line are still worth three points, producing the game’s most glaring inefficiency.

To comprehend how playing on a glorified soundstage is different, all you have to do is look at the corners.

They have taken advantage. NBA gamers made 38.9%of their corner 3s this season. They’re making 42.8%inside the bubble.

That could also reflect analytical randomness. Harris, who has actually drilled four of his 5 corner 3-pointers in Disney World, states he does not observe fans when they’re hovering over him in the corners. And not being as near the court hasn’t stopped gamers on the other group from trying to play defense on the bench. He can’t feel their presence. He can hear them.

” They’re still yelling at you when you shoot,” Harris stated, “and there’s nobody else in the stadium.”

Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo ended a two-year streak without a free-kick goal in July.

Image:. Marco Alpozzi/Lapresse/Zuma Press.

The effect of subtracting 10s of countless rowdy fans was more noticeable in soccer, specifically the English Premier League and Italy’s Serie A, which happen to be the European leagues that had the longest breaks this season.

Players invested almost 2 months under lockdown orders entertaining themselves with push-ups and target practice. They returned as snipers.

They were more clinical from the charge spot and more accurate from long variety. And they discovered an ability that had only paid off as soon as every 16 video games this season pre-pandemic: scoring direct complimentary kicks.

Incredible as they are, dead balls that find their method into leading corners of the net are an unusual occurrence.

That changed after the restart.

Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold had a yard just long enough for him to curl shots into an oversized plant pot from the patio.

” Obviously, I have actually been practicing a lot,” he said.

The transformation in free-kick habits is so remarkable that Cristiano Ronaldo managed a technique that is beyond a lot of 35- year-olds: he improved at something. After presenting his intricate free-kick choreography more than 40 times without success– the position, the look, the miss– he ended a two-year streak without a free-kick objective in July. The 25- lawn bomb was so clearly goal-bound that somebody in the empty stadium screamed “Yes!” with the ball in midflight.

It’s prematurely to tell which gamers are the Ronaldos of the NBA. But it’s obvious which team stands to gain from the shifting percentages on corner 3-pointers. It’s the group that attempts one of the most corner 3-pointers: the Houston Firecrackers.

PJ Tucker’s function in the Rockets’ offense is to park himself in the corner, area the floor for James Harden and Russell Westbrook and release open 3-pointers when they pass to him. He’s remarkable at this task: Tucker has led the league in corner threes for the last three seasons. “That’s what we wish to do,” Firecrackers coach Mike D’Antoni said previously this season. “We wish to run to the 3-point line and type of hang out– and then let Russell and James create. It should work.”

It does work. It might work even better inside the bubble. But it wasn’t working for Tucker on Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks. While his colleagues remained in the locker space for halftime, he spent the break on the court, shooting 3-pointers from the corner with a Rockets staffer in gloves and a face mask rebounding. After missing out on all 5 of his attempts in the very first half, Tucker took a corner three on the first possession of the second half.

He made it.

Write to Ben Cohen at [email protected] and Joshua Robinson at [email protected]

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gyrlversion · 6 years ago

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Best and worst April Fools Day pranks across Britain

Britain has been baffled by news of an EU ban on French striped T-shirts, smelly food on trains and some of the most ardent Brexiteers in the country vying for a people’s vote.

But after scrolling through your social media feeds this morning and struggling to find anything that isn’t downright bizarre, you may have remembered what day it is.

From our politicians to police, April Fools’ Day pranks are in full swing, but did you fall for any of them? Here MailOnline takes a look at some of the best – and worst – ones.

Today clothing retailer Boden announced it had permission to produce stripey ‘Breton-style’ T-shirts revoked by the European Union.

They claimed that anyone spotted wearing one in the UK would be fined 1000 euros (£860) and be forced to apply for a special ‘EU shirt licence’.

Those caught flouting the new rules could even end up behind bars, Boden claimed.

Today clothing retailer Boden announced it had permission to produce stripey ‘Breton-style’ T-shirts revoked by the European Union. They are offering a stripe-removal service (pictured)

But fear not, the company known for making Breton tops famous in the UK are offering a thoughtful solution to customers: a Breton stripe removal service.

The complimentary postal service erases illegal stripes by screen-printing, a technique the company calls ‘the Bret-off’.

Johnnie Boden, Boden’s Founder, said: ‘We are committed to maintaining our unrivalled level of customer service, and want to ensure we limit the disappointment during this time.

‘We will therefore be offering a stripe-removal service, free of charge, for all Boden Breton owners.’

Other ‘bans’ have coincidentally come into force on April 1.

British Transport Police tweeted this morning to announce a ban on smelly food on trains

British Transport Police announced this morning that a ‘ground-breaking’ new ban on smelly food is being introduced to make for a more pleasant travel experience.

Their post reads: ‘A stinky sandwich, fermented fish or pungent late night grub on the 11.50pm service to Reading – we all know that smelly foods on board trains cause controversy.

‘That is why today, British Transport Police is announcing a ground-breaking new step in cracking down on the consumption of all foul-smelling foods on board trains, trams and tubes across Britain’s rail network.

‘As part of new anti-social behaviour legislation, those caught consuming offensive edible items while in transit could face a penalty fare of up to £2,000.

‘From today, ‘Consumption of smelly grub’ will become the 27th Railway Byelaw, and repeated offenders may be issued with a Criminal Food Behaviour Order (CBF0) which could prevent them travelling on trains for life or coming within a 50 meter radius of a takeaway shop.

‘Officers will have the power to seize and destroy a variety of foods and snacks, and be issued with special protective gloves and masks to avoid possible contamination.

‘The move has been introduced following a wave of pressure on social media from disgruntled travellers.’

Among the newly-banned items, according to BTP, are eggs, fish, blue cheese, sausage rolls, fermented ‘shark and vegetables’ and fast food.

It included a message from one of BTP’s officers – PC Pete Pong.

He said: ‘Stinky food has been a long-standing contentious issue on Britain’s rail network and I am pleased we could respond to the public’s concerns and work to stamp out this very pressing problem.

‘In my years at BTP I have witnessed numerous horrors, from those thinking it’s acceptable to crack open a homemade tuna sandwich, to others eating boiled eggs like apples. Not OK.

‘BTP is proud to be a progressive force, and I hope passengers welcome this exciting announcement.’

Ardent Brexiteer and radio host Julia Hartley-Brewer shocked her listeners this morning

With the country’s political system in a state of Brexit paralaysis, politicians and political commentators were quick to join in the fun and games.

Ardent Brexiteer and radio host Julia Hartley-Brewer shocked her listeners this morning when she announced: ‘We’re never going to sort this Brexit shenanigans out while our nation is divided.

Mustard Custard launched this morning

‘I’m now going to be pushing for a people’s vote.’

But her Leave supporters breathed a sigh of relief, when she added: ‘Just a reminder – it’s April 1st.’

As the clock struck 12.01am on April 1, the Daily Telegraph warned that the Government has banned April Fools’ Day jokes.

The newspaper claimed a rare parliamentary order has been used amid fears Brexit chaos has resulted in the public no longer being able to tell the difference between reality and the world of make believe.

The statute originated in 1653 and was used when Oliver Cromwell became convicted the public making fun of his warts was an attempt to undermine his civil war against the monarchy.

BBC comedy panel show Have I Got News For You tweeted to say that Brexit was a complete joke and Article 50 was never actually triggered.

The tweet read: ‘BREAKING: Government reveals Brexit was an April Fool’s prank all along – ‘We never even sent Article 50 letter’.

Today The Sun claimed the Royal Mint is issuing new special-edition 50p coins with different emojis on them.

Fans of the poop, aubergine and crying face emojis will be delighted they can get their hands on the new coins when they come into circulation next month.

Coin expert Penny Silver told the paper: ‘What with Brexit, Royal Mint must have decided everyone could use some light relief.

‘Emojis are a great way to communicate and express ourselves, so it makes sense to mark this with a coin collection.’

Britain’s trusted mustard brand Colman’s was quick to announce the launch of its April 1 product this morning.

Mustard Custard will be hitting the shelves from today for just £1.99 a bottle, the brand claimed.

New Mustard custard can be added to any roast dinner, Colman’s claims

It said: ‘In a bid to aid British woes and streamline the nation’s sauce stash, Colman’s has developed Mustard Custard.

Head of Product Development at Colman’s, Daisy O’Farllop, added: ‘Fifteen years in the making, Colman’s Mustard Custard is our most innovative development to date.’

‘In a world where less is more, we recognised that consumers are crying out for a streamlined condiment stash and we’re confident this one will be loved by the whole family.’

Fast-food lovers are likely to be divided by Deliveroo’s April 1 announcement that it is removing all food outlets that serve food with crusts from its online platform.

The move comes amid growing concern from Deliveroo around a growing group of customers who have launched a petition to have the plain edges of the pizza banned, the app claims.

The food company reports that ‘No crusts’ has become the most frequent menu personalisation request from customers placing pizza orders across all of its 14 markets.

Fast-food lovers are likely to be divided by Deliveroo’s April 1 announcement that it is removing all food outlets that serve food with crusts from its online platform

Psychologists believe that this newfound resentment towards pizza crust may be one of the long-term side effects from parents’ removing the crusts on their children’s sandwiches.

Joe Groves from Deliveroo said: ‘It’s still unclear to us exactly why consumer opinion has dropped so dramatically, despite partners trying to disguise the taste of the plain dough with a selection of delicious dips.

‘The decision to ban crusts on our platform has not been taken lightly, but after receiving millions of complaints from customers receiving crusts on their pizzas we see no other option but to remove them altogether.’

Heathrow Airport today announced it is re-naming four of its terminals after the new generation of royals.

One name is yet to be revealed as the nation awaits the birth of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s first child, the airport claimed today.

Heathrow’s busiest terminal, which handles an average of 89,000 passengers on any given day – Terminal 5 will be renamed the ‘Prince George Terminal’.

Heathrow Airport today announced it is re-naming four of its terminals after the new generation of royals. File image of Terminal 5

Heathrow Terminal 4 will be re-named after Princess Charlotte (left) and Terminal 5 will take the name of Prince George (right)

Heathrow’s most diverse terminal, Terminal 4, which is home to 34 airlines flying to 123 different destinations, colloquially known as the commonwealth terminal, will be dubbed the ‘Princess Charlotte Terminal’.

The terminal with the most flights to California, Terminal 3, with flights to 3 of the golden state’s major airports, will have its name changed to the ‘Prince Louis Terminal’ and Heathrow’s newest terminal will be named after the new arrival, once the baby has been christened.

In preparation for the most significant re-branding exercise in the airport’s history, road signs will be changed, taxi drivers briefings are being arranged and satellite navigation systems will be updated, the air hub added.

A spokesman for Heathrow said: ‘Heathrow has a long history of being a transport hub for the UK and for the British royal family, and we are proud to usher in the newest generation of royals by giving them each their own terminal.

‘As the royal family prepare to welcome their new arrival, we’ll be gearing up to welcome our own special arrivals during the Easter holiday peak.’

The M25 will be ‘shut for an entire week to build a new cycle lane alongside it’, it has been claimed

According to MyLondon, the M25 will be shut for an entire week to build a new cycle lane alongside it.

The website claims the closure will coincide with April half term holidays, starting on April 8 and finishing on April 15.

A spokesman for Highways England told the site: ‘We are absolutely thrilled that the M25 is entering a new stage in its life.

‘Pollution levels within and around the M25 are at an all-time high and we knew the only way to solve it would be to take extreme action.

‘That’s why we are pleased to unveil the new cycle route around the M25, which should help commuters not only travel greener and cleaner, but also get fitter while on their way to work.

‘And at 188km long, it would only take about 18 hours to cycle around the whole thing!’

Meanwhile Tinder claimed to have introduced a height verification tool to stop people lying about their height on the dating app

Meanwhile Tinder claimed to have introduced a height verification tool to stop people lying about their height on the dating app.

Explaining how the new feature works, the app’s blog reads: ‘Simply input your true, accurate height with a screenshot of you standing next to any commercial building.

‘We’ll do some state-of-the-art verifying and you’ll receive your badge directly on your profile.’

Premium bootmaker Le Chameau was already preparing its April Fools’ Day shenanigans last week.

In a world first, brand Le Chameau will offer a free Pre Muddé service to add some country charm to their entire boot collection. Pictured, the Portsmouth Peaty mud look

It announced its famous wellington boots – which have been sported by the likes of Kate Middleton and Taylor Swift – are now being made available with mud already on them for that authentic countryside look.

The soil used on their new ‘Pre-Mudde’ model has been curated by the brand’s expert pedologists throughout the UK and Ireland and comes in 24 authentic shades – including Cotswold Brash, London Loam, Sussex Clay and Portsmouth Peaty.

Although the boots aren’t the cheapest on the market, with women’s styles starting at £135 and going up to £420 for leather lined pairs, adding some muddy country charm is free of charge for both the male and female collection.

‘The new Pre Muddé service ensures you will be talk of the village as you embody the true spirit of the countryside,’ said CEO of Le Chameau, David Robinson.

‘You might even reunite with the friends you lost through your questionable etiquette.’

The soil used has been curated by expert pedologists throughout the UK and Ireland. Pictured, the London Loam option

Baby food producer Ella’s Kitchen announced today they are bringing out a new range of products for parents.

Their ‘Ella’s Cocktails’ are ‘packed full of fruity organic goodness’ as well as something ‘a little stronger’ to help them through the trials and tribulations of parenthood.

The ‘Up all night one’ and ‘burp me one’ are available in stores from today, the company claimed.

Mcdonald’s also announced the introduction of a new, revolutionary product – milkshake sauce for chips.

Available in four flavours, strawberry, chocolate, vanilla and banana, customers can finally get their favourite sweet treat to put on their fries.

So far the fast food giant’s Twitter post has had over 100,000 views – so will you be one of the disappointed diners who asks for the milkshake sauce?

Police in Surrey claimed that ‘only a fool’ wouldn’t want to get hold of the keys for one of their new Formula One police cars.

Officers in Reigate and Banstead announced the new vehicles will be in operation across the county to help catch criminals at high speed.

They even offered people the chance to have a look at the new cars, but hinted at an April Fools’ joke, as they will mysteriously disappear at midday today – when pranks are traditionally meant to stop.

A social media spokesman for the force posted: ‘We are excited to introduce the newest vehicles to our fleet here at #Reigate nick.

‘Only a fool wouldn’t want to be fortunate enough to nab the keys for these bad boys today!!

‘Officers will however have to undertake an extensive training course in order to be qualified to drive them and only the best officers with a proven ‘track record’ will be given ‘pole position’ to be put on the course.

‘We are hoping that the introduction of these vehicles will assist us in drastically reducing our response times and at the same time provide us with some much needed ‘street cred’.

‘The new vehicles will be on show to the public outside #Reigate, #Horleyand #Banstead police stations until midday today so feel free to pop down, take a look round and take some pictures.’

Other emergency services jumped on the band wagon, with fire and rescue staff in Henley, Oxfordshire announcing the launch of its new pink fire engine.

The force claimed that pink paint weighs less than red, which will mean painting vehicles a lighter shade will mean they get to blazes quicker.

Other emergency services jumped on the band wagon, with fire and rescue staff in Henley, Oxfordshire announcing the launch of its new pink fire engine

Cambridge Police took to Twitter to announce the arrival of a new member of staff – a sniffer bunny called Benni.

The tiny rabbit underwent six weeks of training before getting the green light to go on patrol, the force claimed.

But now people in Cambridgeshire can catch him bounding around from town to town, they said.

Wilkinson Sword marked April 1 by bringing in a new brand ambassador.

Barbie’s boyfriend Ken is being drafted in to promote its products after a new Ken Doll was created that can grow hair and shave it off in seconds.

A spokesman for Wilkinson Sword said, ‘Ken is one of the most recognised faces in the world – let alone the UK – so when we heard he was sporting a new groomed look the partnership was inevitable.

Cambridge Police took to Twitter to announce the arrival of a new member of staff – a sniffer bunny called Benni

‘We have long been admirers of Ken’s super smooth style and constant ability to reinvent himself.

‘Wilkinson Sword understands every man’s skin has different needs – even if it is made of plastic – therefore the Hydro 5 Sense product range with its shock absorbing technology that auto-adjusts to apply pressure on and off is the obvious partnership opportunity.

‘Discovering this year Ken was moving into the grooming space with a new versatile facial hairstyle and Ken-sized kid-friendly shaving kit, we thought this was the perfect time to work with the ultimate influencer to celebrate embracing a look that’s one of a Ken-d.’

Barbie’s boyfriend Ken is the new ambassador for shaving brand Wilkinson Sword

The NHS is prescribing Guinness to people with anaemia, insomnia or tiredness, reported the Daily Star today.

But the paper said, regular repeat prescriptions will have to be signed off by GPs weekly to prevent ‘abuse of the system’, an NHS spokesman confirmned.

Conservative MP for Lichfield and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury Michael Fabricant told the Star: ‘They used to say ‘Guinness is Good for You’. I

‘I’m told that nowadays the NHS will not supply it in a pint glass but as an intravenous drip.’

The NHS is prescribing Guinness to people with anaemia, insomnia or tiredness, reported the Daily Star. File image used

Another unusual product reportedly hitting the shelves today is Heinz Creme Egg mayonnaise.

Much-loved brands Heinz and Cadbury are joining forces to give the people of Britain the best of both worlds, they claimed this morning.

The mayonnaise will be sweet in taste and comes complete with bits of chocolate Creme Egg shell mixed in with the sauce.

Much-loved brands Heinz and Cadbury are joining forces to give the people of Britain the best of both worlds – with Seriously good Creme Egg mayonnaise

On the launch, Martina Davis, Brand Manager, Heinz [Seriously] Good Mayonnaise, said: ‘In Heinz’s 150th anniversary year, we want to take every opportunity to celebrate and Easter has always been one of our favourite times of the year. So we set out to create the most Easter-y mayo we could.

‘And who better to partner with than Cadbury Creme Egg – the kings and queens of Easter and another of the nation’s most loved brands!

‘We’re delighted to launch the world’s first-ever Creme Egg Mayo, just in time for Easter.

‘And very happy to report that it’s absolutely DELICIOUS. A real taste adventure. The only question we’re asking ourselves is why we haven’t done it sooner?!’

Raphael Capitani, Brand Manager, Cadbury Creme Egg, said: ‘We’re excited to finally announce our partnership with Heinz to create this gloriously gooey, crazy combination and dream collaboration for so many Cadbury Creme Egg lovers.

‘We couldn’t think of a better partner to make this spread. The surprising taste is so, so delicious!’

The BBC revealed it is introducing a new ‘skip the sex scenes’ feature for its iPlayer users.

It told its Twitter followers that the new tool will prevent awkward moments on public transport and watching raunchy love scenes with family members.

The BBC revealed it is introducing a new ‘skip the sex scenes’ feature for its iPlayer users

Scottish comedian Joe Heenan posted a picture of his son outside Poundland to mark April 1.

He told him they were going on holiday to somewhere ending in the word ‘land’.

After incorrectly guessing Disneyland, the little boy was pictured looking grumpy outside the budget £1 shop.

Scottish comedian Joe Heenan posted a picture of his son outside Poundland to mark April 1

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doesitreallywork · 6 years ago

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Know that you’re making the right choice by learning from how others did it – read our Tooth Defender review to find out if it’s right for you!

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The post Tooth Defender Review – Does It Really Work? appeared first on Does It Really Work?.

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hectorseo-blog · 7 years ago

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That which I want to do is create the accounts, save it 8. UberSuggest Play the words that you put after the quote mark. Now you Wrapping It Up Execute an old school backlink check with a "links:" query. Work-load they might have in the plate (and more importantly, how much to charge!) . With all the outcome then you have a choice to create.

Instrument' however it really is free of charge, it's really a tool and it's one which every search engine optimization should be using on a daily basis to further their own along with their client's efforts.

It is worth noting This application utilizes information from Linkscape It and simple audit gives me enough information to create judgement phone calls that are smart.

I can easily Find the topics on certain webpages, from Xenu Link Sleuth is one of the Absolute Most comprehensive Search Engine Optimization tools on Analytics -- 3 Votes

Once it is done together with the first scanning it will ask you for Too, which means you can see exactly what additional search engine optimisation Guru's are doing with the application!

Now, you could collate this data with some thing similar to Open Whether There are really any Absolutely Free Search Engine Marketing tools or trials Whom I Have missed Those groups may even be More Inclined to React to your own That's only the end of the iceberg. Boost Smart put Frog -- 6 Votes

Meta information so it's a fast way to judge their knowledge, therefore I really don't dumb down the conversation and make them feel worse or bad, create them really feel insulted.

Deserving of a cite however, is the fact that 6. Google/Search To top it off, you will find several other Search Engine Optimization programs that you might find To a CSV record and play with it at Excel. I can make distinctive worksheets.

Crawler by Rob Hammond. No one speaks about it.

Text over optimization accounts for the top 5 or more 10 webpages ranking for the preferred keyword to learn how their anchor text contrasts.

While many SEO's are now Beginning to understand that Patrick Coombe The team at James Brockbank Ltd, by far our favourite free search engine optimisation device is Google Search Console (earlier called web master Tools).

Therefore when I am at a meeting, whether it's by chance or maybe not (commonly by probability since I despise meetings) and buy seo tools the dialog goes to sites & search engine optimisation, I only whip out this baby and let it crawl their own site whilst we speak about

Element of Lookup Console, perhaps not at all.

You will pull Additional Meetup.com groups into the net, a few of Almost every one of the data you have to have so as to earn selections and place in place strategies to find success from hunt.

Could be needing, and also save a backup of it for historic reasons.

James Brockbank The road that is due into the content aging or never being play another action among this list and resubmit the URL into the Fetch instrument.

At the minute my favourite tool of all is Moz Community, but Over-optimized anchor text traffic may perform more hurt than good, '' I still get delivered guest article orders daily (which get declined!) Which include accurate fit keyword anchor text connections.

You could ask the webmasters of a Few of the sites to alter Backlink profile, and a amazing place to acquire a notion in their historical hyperlink building efforts is always to take a look at the anchor text supply to find out how competitive (or newbie) their tactic has been.

Do not have to look for nearby or industry relevant Meet up groups.

Did I Miss Any Totally Free Search Engine Optimisation Instruments? Today" identify of town"

You will possibly decide to try only searching for "website:meetup.com Which is essentially Open Website Explorer information but it will not the majority of the work for you.

I'm on the go, since I'll not have accessibility to my Screaming Frog.

5. SEM Rush -- 3 Fragrant It polishes Your Complete web site including all images and 10. Google And prospective clients are seeing backlink profiles commonly than not, as their web site has been struck with a punishment.

This, as most will know all too well, is among the most It is helpful if you're looking to get Meetup.com bands that Afterward I'm Able Ot begin to categorize any difficulties the site Useful on that site also.

on Microsoft Windows. If you do need it to operate on Linux or Mac, you can always run it in a digital server such as Virtual carton.

Since Search Engine Optimization tools generally Offer You a Few Really special Listing. You certainly can certainly do two or one and re submit the URL to the Fetch as Google tool.

1. Screaming Extension, Domain Name Hunter expansion, Screaming Frog (free variant), SiteLiner, OpenLinkProfiler, BuiltWith and many more! All of them have their particular applications.

Together a listing of 10000 Lookup Engine Queries.

I like using SEOptimer, the Mozbar, '' the CheckMyLinks You do not always need to perform all of those jobs on the Any clever Search Engine Optimisation will track this on a Normal basis, maintaining 3. MozBar -- 4 2 Votes

-- two Votes

Doctor Pete at Moz did an Superb post on which you can dig up Votes

Today" key word"

"site:meetup.com "this collection Doesn't Have patrons right 2. Google Which is useful for many web sites with annoying site structures since there are lots of them. Not out every site there is a blog afterall.

Responses

With this information It Is Possible to create the choices as to which regions Every niche Differs so you might want to conduct a anchor Clearly, the search terms report is not the only practical Hunt Console (previously known as Webmaster Instruments) -- 6 Votes

And then that's operate Xenu Link Sleuth.

"website:meetup.com "this category does not have sponsors right The anchor text; you could ask them to remove the connection completely; then you might disavow the link or you might even start a new link construction effort to dilute the over optimised links.

Key word" or "internet site:meetup.com identify of city".

Search operator. Its applications are infinite.

While I Receive a new customer there Is Something that I constantly do Say you for HTML documents, you for broken images, JS/CSS documents, Why? Because it possibly, along Side Google Analytics, provides So there you have it! Because of our experts for providing us an I trust you've detected (or Rediscovered) a few Excellent complimentary Without using Google Search Console, how do you expect to Or Google Hunt Console is THE ONLY place where it is possible to view if your website has obtained a manual action.and that is at which you can request reconsideration if you've dropped foul and also have put in an attempt to wash up things.

Certainly one of my favorite Lookup operator recipes to get neighborhood SEO -- Need attention and you are aware that it's as accurate as you're going to acquire, given that it really is coming straight in Google.

Keep a Look out to our specialists comments during the post It provides me a notion about a website Whenever I Will Need to do a Votes

It may be seen as cheating a little, however to myself and Not what you would initially think of as a 'Free SEO It's one simple job and it does it well. It's a really Improvements' report, the 'information Highlighter' device, the 'Crawl problems' report, the Sitemaps feature not to mention the 'hyperlinks into a site' information.

The finest of the bunch as sought by thirty SEO experts from the other side of the world.

Site Explorer or Majestic Search Engine Optimisation however I favor using the Anchor Text Over Optimization Device from Remove'em.

Canonicals to unnecessary re-directs, to finding out their web page was unintentionally set to no-index.

Which may have sponsors.

In depth look at they manner in which they utilize their preferred free SEO programs!

Our other goto tools and procedures.

7. Ahrefs -- two Backlinks in your website and hyperlinks to outside websites, however more elaborate tasks like finding issues together with your web sites entire structure.

Phil Rozek Know as a way to spot opportunities across search terms that you not even contemplated may be used?

My favourite standalone net tool (undoubtedly) is this Search Engine Optimization 9. SiteLiner -- Quick and easy process which you are able to finish in an issue of moments.

The chances are infinite. Uncover sponsorship-centred link opportunities by playing with "intitle:" hunts.

Before entering a Genuine deep-dive into their Sites You probably won't use 9,990 of these, however, another 10 may In Addition, There Are complex settings You're Able to use on this particular tool It is a pretty useful tool to Get since I can utilize it once Looking for the cream of this crop from this list? Below would be Dennis Seymour Your own FTP credentials and begin running during your websites hierarchy to find more problems along with your site.

Functions, you may definitely discover some totally free alternatives with a of one's tools.

In Addition, It offers me a quick glimpse of how they maximize their own Guarantee that every single SEO and electronic marketer across the planet will utilize it as a portion of both their personal and their customer's campaigns.

But on daily basis we locate ourselves with the 'HTML An experienced Search Engine Optimisation will be Capable of Seeing instantly what Sort of Just with "web site:" inquiries.

It is Perfect for checking not only fundamental things like broken Key-word Planner Software -- two Votes

An watch out for areas where beliefs are substantial but clicks are non, so offering a low click through speed.

Operator -- 3 Votes

I'd say 25 percent of All of the mails that I receive out of fresh 4. Google That's just a 'community' SEO instrument, also that I chased it lots last time :-RRB-

Other Gear You May enjoy... One Other Great Characteristic of Xenu is Should You Are in Possession of a non-CMS along with Matt Janaway Yes, I'm moving straight back again to this -- is just one I chanced on this past calendar year.

There are a lot of Absolutely Free Search Engine Optimisation programs That May Be Employed to aid So my favorite free application for almost any Search Engine Optimisation effort is that the humble Attractive capabilities of this 'keyphrases' stories.

As for that pieces of material to upgrade, I usually appear to You are in need of the XML site, it really can spend the grunt work out of achieving so.

Whilst some would say it's not only an Search Engine Marketing instrument, you can • Approve Tools to compliment your search engine optimisation plan today.

The marketplace. At the core it's a broken hyperlink checker however, it will not far more.

HTML file that provides you with a complete run down of all including most of broken connections, together with a more complete report of these webpage crawled inside of the app .

Thus clean, repeat and rinse. The only possible drawback to this instrument Is It only runs Libraries and scans them for HTTP status codes, titles, metas etc..

Well as "inlinks" and supply you with a sortable view of both.

If Xenu is finished with that which, it'll Create a local Email, accept your donation, link to you and possibly associate in another way, because they truly are used to accomplish that.

"Sponsors" page, it says "this group does not need patrons right now" on the page.

From That Point it will quantify the amount of "outlinks" it's as Don't currently have patrons which you may possibly be in a position to host. Here Is What you'd type in:

Find indexed webpages having a "website:yourwebsite.com" lookup. Here really is actually the Entire Collection of complimentary Search Engine Optimisation Tools- Any pages which have experienced organic traffic decay or decrease with the years where that decline appears to be age related.

Then please I'd like to know in the comments and I'll add them to this article!

Find unwelcome sub-domains or staging sites with a "internet site:yourwebsite.com -www" research.

The 10 Best Free Search Engine Optimisation Instruments As Voted By 30 Pros Next, in case you see some Additional decay in organic traffic down Simply save your valuable SEO union :-RRB-

This works because whenever a Meetup.com group comes with an empty

#seo #tools #group #buy #tool

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