I lost my mom about a year ago.
Being the eldest, culturally I tried rounding up the rest of the family, checking on everyone every now and then. My Dad (60M) was distant for a couple of months, which I thought of his way of taking it slow and processing his grief.. until I found out that he got himself a girlfriend (28F) barely 3 months after my mom's passing. Now I've learned about this without his knowing. I waited patiently for him to open this up to us, his children, but apparently he has no plans of doing so. So I confronted him, and it was not pretty.
I was enraged with his measures of trying to fix himself by deciding to remarry, with a woman he barely knows, who is younger than my younger brother. And turns out, as she claims, she was pregnant, and he's been sending her money since then. At that time my Dad took a long vacation with me, which is for another post.
I went with my gut and hired an investigator to check this woman out, and turns out she's not pregnant. To my shock and annoyance, I started asking more questions, until they started arguing as to why my dad's adult children are meddling with their relationship. We asked for checkup schedules, doctor's names, anything to prove of her claim. She didn't show us any, said that we don't have the right to see it. And not long after, she said that she miscarried. Our investigator pointed out that this was a convenient way for her to escape our inquiries, guilt trip my dad and to seek empathy.
Now my dad got messed up hearing the news, but I just wanted to know which hospital she was brought (she claims she was home and was brought in through ER). I called up my friend nurses in the area and weirdly enough she can't be found anywhere. What's worse, he made up his mind that it's our fault as to why the miscarriage happened (even if the pregnancy was not proven to begin with).
Through all this mess, I started to grow cold towards my father. I understand that grief makes you disoriented, unable to come up with good decisions, but adding this shady relationship in the picture really did it. I ended up not giving him a proper send off after his visit.
He also kept seeing her and he asked us to just 'forgive and forget' during the Christmas/New Year's season. Not only did he kept seeing her, he believed her story/claim more than us and the investigation. I guess that was my last straw.
I was mentally and emotionally exhausted from the back and forth of him convincing us to let go of our 'doubts' and to just let him be. It was making me sick to my stomach especially with the thought of him not even waiting an honest year for my mother's sake, before making his way to another woman. I was portrayed as a disrespectful daughter, but I'd rather be truthful and honest about my feelings. Plus, culturally, you were not supposed to answer back to your parent because, well, they are the parent. But I've lived in the U.S. long enough to know that this situation doesn't count.
For the mean time he said he's not gonna remarry, but with him not being honest since this started, it's hard to believe what he says anymore.
It's very sad because I know he's not a bad person, but I'm really getting tired of this while I'm trying to grieve and raise my own family as well.
Currently VLC but not sure how to go from here. Thoughts?

If you have received wrong items from Myntra and they are not accepting returns, you can file a complaint against them to seek resolution. Here's what you can do:

1. Contact Myntra Customer Support: Begin by reaching out to Myntra's customer support. Look for their contact information on the Myntra website or app. Typically, you can find a "Contact Us" or "Customer Support" section. Explain the situation and provide them with details about the wrong items you received and the fact that they are not accepting returns.
   
2. Document Evidence: Take clear photos or videos of the wrong items you received as evidence. Make sure the images clearly show the incorrect items and any discrepancies between what you ordered and what was delivered. This evidence will support your complaint and strengthen your case.
   
3. Keep Records: Maintain a record of all communication with Myntra, including dates, times, and the names or IDs of the customer support representatives you interact with. This documentation will be useful if you need to escalate your complaint or provide evidence later.
   
4. Review Myntra's Return Policy: Familiarize yourself with Myntra's return policy to ensure you understand their guidelines and procedures. Note any clauses or conditions that might be relevant to your situation. This information will help you assert your rights and communicate effectively with Myntra's customer support.
   
5. Escalate the Complaint: If you're not getting a satisfactory response from Myntra's customer support, you can escalate your complaint. Look for higher-level contacts within the company, such as a supervisor or manager, and request to speak with them. Explain your issue and provide all the necessary details and evidence.
   
6. Use Social Media: If you're not getting a resolution through traditional customer support channels, consider posting about your experience on Myntra's social media channels. Companies often monitor their social media presence and respond to complaints publicly to maintain their reputation. Be polite and factual in your posts, and include any relevant evidence.
   
7. Consumer Protection Authorities: If all attempts to resolve the issue directly with Myntra fail, you can consider filing a complaint with consumer protection authorities or agencies in your country. These organizations can provide guidance on the steps to take and may intervene on your behalf to resolve the dispute.
   

Remember to remain calm and persistent throughout the process. Clearly communicate the issue, provide evidence, and assert your rights as a consumer.

Race Information

• Name: Eugene Marathon
• Date: April 28, 2024
• Distance: 26.2 miles
• Location: Eugene, OR
• Website: https://www.eugenemarathon.com
• Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/11285376078
• Time: 2:46:46

Goals

Goal	Description	Completed?
A	2:41-2:44	No
B	PR	Yes

Splits

Mile	Splits
1	6:08
2	6:23
3	6:24
4	6:15
5	6:15
6	5:55
7	6:19
8	6:04
9	6:23
10	6:39
11	6:23
12	6:13
13	6:12
14	6:12
15	6:14
16	6:19
17	6:19
18	6:04
19	6:37
20	6:44
21	6:10
22	6:31
23	6:40
24	6:34
25	6:45
26	6:34
0.2	1:27

Training

After racing the Tokyo Marathon in early March, I had 8 weeks before racing Eugene Marathon, which was my second spring marathon. During those 8 weeks, I ran the NYC Half, the Cherry Blossom 5K and Cherry Blossom 10 Miler, and was either recovering from those races or doing my usual runs and workouts to keep my fitness sharp. The workouts and my race results during this time (finished in 1:19 high at the NYC Half on tired legs two weeks after Tokyo, and finished the Cherry Blossom 5K in mid-17s plus turned it around in less than 24 hours after to finish in the low 59 minutes range at the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run) suggested that I was in shape to go for a sub-2:45 marathon.
Ultimately, I settled on aiming to finish Eugene somewhere between 2:41 and 2:44. Because this was my final marathon of the spring training cycle, this was my last opportunity to run a fast marathon. Based on my recent race results plus observations from my coach, I was in PR shape; Eugene has ideal weather, and the course was ideal to make such an attempt. Or so I hoped.

Pre-race

I flew over to Portland on Thursday night and spent a couple of nights at my friends’ place and got to hang out with them, plus walk around Portland and check out the sights with them as well. On Saturday, my friends and I drove over to Eugene and we went straight to packet pickup at a hotel around downtown Eugene. The packet pickup was quite smooth, and I was able to pick up my packet and spent some time browsing the vendors at the expo afterwards. The rest of the day was chill; my friends and I did a bit of exploring around downtown Eugene, and we had dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory that evening. Before heading to bed that night, I laid out my race kit and prepped my gear bag so that I could get dressed and head out to the shuttle pickup area as soon as I woke up that morning.
I woke up on 5 AM on race day, had a quick breakfast, got dressed and headed out of my hotel towards the designated shuttle pick up point. Got on the shuttle bus and we arrived at Hayward Field around 6:20 AM. I quickly took care of business in the bathroom, then went over and dropped my gear bag at the bag check area. I ran into a friend at the gear check area and we went inside Hayward Field so that we could take a look at the famous venue. We then made our way to the start area, and we did a quick warm up jog nearby before entering the start corrals themselves and lining up close to the start area. I took half of a Maurten 160 gel before starting, and I had plans to consume the remainder after the first six miles.
After the usual pre-race remarks and the singing of the National Anthem, the race started at 7 AM and we were on our way!

Race

Start to 5 miles

The course was a bit crowded at the beginning, primarily because the marathoners and half marathoners started at the same time. There was quite a bit of rolling hills during the first 5 miles and so I focused on getting into a groove and going by effort and doing what I could to try to not go out too fast. My bladder was feeling a bit full at the start and I ended up taking a quick pee break after mile 2 and lost 20 seconds in the process.
Otherwise, this stretch was uneventful. We went through some really nice neighborhoods within Eugene during the first two miles, and saw some scenic stretches along the way while heading south towards the first turnaround point. I crossed the 5 mile mark in 31:17

5 miles to 10 miles

As we headed back north towards the center of Eugene, we overlapped a bit with the marathoners and half marathoners coming through in the opposite towards the mile 3 marker. I held my efforts relatively steady on this stretch, and I still felt quite good so far. I took my first gel sometime mile 7, and I was fueling every 30-40 minutes or so throughout the race. After going through the mile 9 marker and running past Hayward Field and the start area (which had been taken down at this point), my stomach started to feel a bit weird and I realized I need to find a porta potty at the next aid station to take care of this, and soon. Fortunately, I did not have to wait too long; there was a porta potty half a mile ahead, and I went straight to it and took care of business there, losing about 20 seconds in the process.
Besides the untimely bathroom stop around mile 9.5, nothing else happened to me on this stretch. I went through the mile 10 checkpoint in 31:23 (1:02:40 elapsed)

10 miles to 15 miles

After passing the mile 10 marker, we went onto the bike path along the Willamette River, before easing back onto Franklin Boulevard. I saw signs telling half marathoners and marathoners that the half/full marathon split at mile 10.75 was coming up; seeing that, I mentally prepared myself to run a good portion of the races with not many runners around me. At mile 10.75, the half and full marathoners split off, and I headed east, crossing the river into Springfield and looped through there for a mile before heading west to continue the rest of my race. Most of this stretch was quite flat, and I got comfortable easing into my goal pace and ticked off the miles. I took another gel sometime after mile 12 and was hitting up almost every water stop along this stretch. After mile 14, we went onto the wooded bike paths, where we would spend most of the second half. The crowd support started to diminish, and this was going to set the tone for the rest of the race.
I went through the 15 mile checkpoint in 31:16 (1:33:56). The organizers did not set up an official halfway checkpoint but based on watch data and the paces from the 5 mile splits, it was likely that I came through the halfway point a few seconds under 1:22.

15 miles to 20 miles

Besides briefly crossing paths with the half marathoners after the mile 15 mark, things started to gradually get tough for me. I was mostly running by myself on the wooden bike paths, with few runners ahead of me or behind me. And the crowd support was sparse too, which did not help; I only saw small crowds every few miles or so. Pace wise, I was holding on, but I was starting to increasingly feel the fatigue and I began to negotiate with myself. Which isn’t what I needed at this point. I wasn’t feeling too great somewhere between the mile 19 and mile 20 markers, and I ended up taking a quick 10-15 second breather at the aid station to catch my breath, take a caffeinated gel and grab some hydration, and put myself back together before continuing.
I went through the mile 20 split with a 32:05 split (2:06:01 elapsed). With a 10K to go, it was going to get harder for me the rest of the way.

20 miles to Finish

What I do remember about the last 6.2 miles, unfortunately, was how hard this was for me. Admittedly, this felt much harder than the last 6.2 miles at the Tokyo Marathon. It was giving me a lot of deja vu, which was not what I needed. My legs felt very heavy and there were times where it felt like I had leg weights tethered to my legs. My legs did not have any life left in them either. I wasn’t feeling too great either, even after taking a quick stop a moment ago. Realizing my predicament, I decided to break the remaining distance up and focused on getting to the next mile marker(s) as a way to keep me motivated the rest of the way. One mile at a time. Then two miles at a time. As I was gradually fading the rest of the way, I remember at least 8-10 runners passing by me during this stretch and clearly they were having a better day than I was having. It didn’t feel great seeing that happen to me but there was nothing I could do about it. Crowd support continued to be sparse up until less than a mile out from the finish at Hayward Field. I took my final gel around mile 23 so that I had enough left in the tank to take me the rest of the way.
It felt like forever, but I finally got to the mile 25 marker, and I remember telling myself “only 1.2 miles left to go”. Soon after I crossed the mile 25 marker, the marathon course merged with the half marathon course and half marathoners were running on the left hand side of the road making their way to the finish, while marathoners were running on the right hand side of the road. I navigated through an underpass, and after coming out of the underpass I saw solid crowd support for the first time since the first half of the race. Lots of spectators were lined up along the road leading to Hayward Field. Completely exhausted at this point and my legs feeling like lead at this point, I interacted with the crowds as best as I could while holding onto the pace the best that I could.
I crossed the mile 26 mark and saw Hayward Field in the distance. I made a right hand turn to enter the track at Hayward Field and took it all in: I am running on Hayward Field itself. What an incredible feeling to experience. With 150 meters to go on the Hayward Field Track, and with the finish line now visible, I picked up the pace and waved to the crowds at the stands as I covered the last 100 meters to the finish.
I crossed the finish line in 2:46:46, finishing 7 seconds faster than the time I ran at Tokyo two months prior. I knew it was going to be close, but talk about cutting it quite close! The 7 second marathon PR that I set at Eugene is now my smallest marathon PR, beating the 9 second marathon PR that I set at the 2021 Chicago Marathon. My result was good enough to place within the top 100 overall, which is quite nice I must say!

Post-race

After crossing the finish, I took a moment to catch my breath, and then took in the moment. I was standing in Hayward Field, where numerous high profile track meets were hosted. And I got to run on the small part of the track on my way to the finish. How cool is that?!
Walking through the chute, I collected my finishers medal and ran into running friends who were either spectating in the standards or crossed the finish line behind me and had quick chats with them. While getting post-race pictures at Hayward Field, I noticed a stain on my singlet and I realized that I experienced significant nipple chafing to the point that my nipple bled. So much for having nice finishing line and post-race photos! And it was the first time that it happened to me. I picked up my post-race food in the Hayward Field stadium tunnel, and gradually made my way out of the stadium towards the gear check area; I eventually reunited with my friends who came with me to Eugene to support me there. Eventually we ran into some of the same running friends at the gear check area and we sat around chatting about how our races went.
My friends and I drove back to Portland later that afternoon, and after I got myself cleaned up, we went over to a nearby bar to celebrate.

Final Thoughts and Updated Marathon Progress

While it was a bit disappointing that I faltered down the stretch and did not hit my goals, I am glad that I held on and squeeze out a small PR of 7 seconds at Eugene; it could have gone a whole lot worse. Hindsight is 20/20 of course, but when I was comparing my pace data and elevation data, it appears I went a big aggressive with the paces and took a bit of a risk there. Much of the rolling hills were in the first 5 miles of the race, and chances are I might have overcooked myself on that stretch; if I had done this differently, I would have told myself to relax on the paces on the rolling hills and not overcook myself in the process.
Above all, I am very grateful to make it through this long (and sometimes weird!) training cycle mostly intact, did not experience significant injuries along the way (!), did not burn out along the way (very important!), and picked up numerous PRs along the way: 10K (en route, twice!), 10 mile, half marathon, and full marathon (twice!). And I think it is fair to say that many people would kill for the kind of success that I’ve had during this training cycle.
That said, I learned a few important lessons throughout this training cycle. First, it appears I got into peak shape during the training block leading up to the Tokyo Marathon, and I did not make any subsequent fitness gains afterwards. It probably did not help that I was recovering from Tokyo or recovering from the shorter distance races that I raced during that 8 week period between Tokyo and Eugene. I’m not getting any younger with every passing year, and I probably need to be more diligent with recovery from races moving forward. That said, I have no regrets about doing those races because I still got solid results out of them. And finally, I realized that I prefer shorter training cycles – specifically ones that are between 12 and 16 weeks in duration – and I peak out at anywhere between 10 and 13 weeks into a training cycle, and I’d like to take advantage of my peak fitness soon after and not any longer beyond that. I’m grateful that I was able to handle a 20-week training cycle so that I could stay in shape for both Tokyo and Eugene, but admittedly this was a bit too long for my tastes. Lessons from this longer-than-usual training cycle will have a significant impact how I plan out my training cycles and races moving forward.
The road ahead for me will only get harder, and I vowed at the beginning of the training cycle to trust the process and not let sub-par workouts or sub-par race results drag me down and cause me to lose sight of the bigger picture. And I am still committed to doing that for myself.
For now though, I’m taking some time off training, running for fun, and looking forward to having a social life and enjoying life in general for a bit before transitioning over to summer outdoor track season. And I look forward to what is next for me!
With that said, here’s the updated version of my marathon PR progress within the past few years.

• 2017 - 5:07:32 (Marine Corps; debut)
• 2018 - 4:03:43 (Chicago)
• 2019 - 3:53:20 (Los Angeles) / 3:31:00 (Berlin)
• 2020 - 3:09:54 (Rhode Island)
• 2021 - 3:09:45 (Chicago)
• 2022 - 3:03:20 (Hartford)
• 2023 - 2:58:06 (London) / 2:50:28 (Berlin) / 2:49:16 (Chicago)
• 2024 - 2:46:53 (Tokyo) / 2:46:46 (Eugene)

So I remember I recently read about how in UAE now if an Emirati woman decides to marry an expat, their children can finally have all the same benefits, scholarships and citizenship, if they want.
I know the UAE government is strict with preserving Emirati culture and identity. That’s why expats, for example, can’t get a citizenship.
So the question is, will their kids have a surname based on the origin of the expat dad??? Or will they have arab-like surname at all? Like idk for example he is American and his surname is Jordan, will his kids have Jordan as a surname or something like al-Amriki? Will Dad have to change his name, or is it just kids? If you are staying as Jordan can you make your kids al-Amriki?
One of the reasons I ask these questions is because I hear stories from my Emirati friends about how their aunt, for example, married a German revert, and I also have a friend who is ethnically Somalian but is Saudi national because his ancestors moved to Saudi 100 years ago, and he has al-Somali as his surname.

question
So... On Saturday, I went to a Bday party and there was this one guy who was also friends with my friends. We talked a bit, he was extremely funny and entertaining and I caught him starring several times. However, this morning I saw that he has sent me an Instagram request. He doesn't follow a lot of people tho (like 220) and Im not even sure how he found out my Username (Neither did I give it to him nor did I ever really told him my name- he must have overheard it in conversations with my friends). He also now liked some stories in my highlights... Should I text him or do u think he might be interested- Im not sure if im just overinterpretating...

⚠️ WARNING: Maasverse Spoilers—Proceed with Caution ⚠️

-----------------
Part 1: Characters and Courts - YOU ARE HERE
Part 2: World Map, Items, Terms & Other
-----------------

Well, here we go. A master list of all things ACOTAR + the "real" world.

Now, do I believe every single name and location on this list was chosen by SJM with a specific real-world allusion in mind? Of course not. But when you look at the similarities, you'd be hard pressed to deny some of their very probable relations.
As far as this list goes, I've provided what was within my ability to find—coupling each with that which made the most sense relationally—though several definitions would appear to have zero connection to the story at large.
I can't promise perfection. Heck, I can't even promise 100% accuracy (though I did cross-reference the more obscure sources). And I will gladly welcome any missing pieces and/or additional insight you may have.
\Note: If a character or place/item is minor enough, I've included a reminder of their book roles.*

So come on, friends. Let's dive on in.

​
https://preview.redd.it/6wts6t7iwd0d1.png?width=832&format=png&auto=webp&s=9f0abc281511431ad28cd76819c77b1907b49432

UK + IRELAND

PRYTHIAN

A combination of Prydain, the old Welsh name for Britain, and Brython, which translates to “Ancient Britons” from Welsh.

HYBERN

A riff of Hibernia, the Classical Latin name for Ireland.

​
Artist of Prythian map: P-dulcis on redbubble

*A continuing list of world map related locations is provided in Part 2 of this post (see link above)

​
https://preview.redd.it/0r8gk0ptwd0d1.png?width=840&format=png&auto=webp&s=f82b8e420140957e0aa7c13ee334d4f9b8cdd032

MAIN CHARACTERS

RHYSAND

Rhys (also Rhŷs) is Welsh in origin and means "ardent, enthusiasm." It has deep roots in Welsh culture and is the name of several famous Welsh kings and noblemen, including Rhys ap Thomas, a solider who rose to prominence during the Wars of the Roses.

FEYRE ARCHERON

Feyre is a variant of Feyre and is Old English in origin. It means "fair, beautiful." A similar name in Old Norse is Freyja (also spelled Freya), meaning "Lady," denotes a woman of nobility. In Norse mythology, Freyja is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, and war.
In Greek mythology, the Archeron is one of the five rivers of the Underworld and is often the principal river through which the ferryman Charon transports the dead. It said to be the River of Woe or the River of Misery.

CASSIAN

Cassian is Latin in origin, means "son of Cassius," and denotes one of the oldest families in Rome. Arguably the most well known Cassius was one of the leading instigators of Julius Caesar's assassination plot.

AZRIEL

Azriel is Hebrew in origin meaning "God is my help." In some religions, Azrael is the benevolent angel of death who carries souls of the deceased to the afterlife.

MORRIGAN

The Morrígan is a Celtic goddess associated with war and fate and is seen as a guardian of the earth and its people. Her name means "great queen" or "phantom queen."

AMREN

Amram is of Hebrew origin and means "exalted people." It is the Biblical name of Moses' father.
Note: This tracks with Amren being able to interpret The Book of Breathings which is a play on the very real The Books of Breathing, a collection of ancient Egyptian funerary texts.

NESTA

Nesta is the Welsh version of Agnes meaning "pure, holy." May also have potential connections to Nestor, a legendary Greek king who was known as a great warrior and for the sage advice he offered younger soldiers.

ELAIN

Elain is Welsh in origin and means "fawn." Elaine is associated with the Greek name Helen meaning "light, bright one."
Fun fact: Elain is an anagram of Aelin.

NYX

Nyx is the Greek mythological goddess and personification of the Night. She is the mother of Day (Hemera) and Darkness (Erebus). She often appears alongside other celestial deities such as Selene, Helios, and Eos.

ILLYRIANS

EMERIE

Emerie has Old German origins and means "home strength, brave, powerful."

ENALIUS

In Greek mythology Enyalius is a son of Ares but is also a byname for the god of war. He is often seen as the god of soldiers and warriors from the Ares cult.

DEVLON

Devlon is Gaelic in origin and related to the name Devlin meaning "fierce courage."

BALTHAZAR

Balthazar is Akkadian in origin meaning "God protects the King." It is a name commonly attributed to the wise man who gifted myrrh to the Christ child (the myrrh symbolizing the future death of a king). It is an alternate form of King Belshazzar who played a pivotal role in a coup d'état that overthrew a Neo-Babylonian king.
ACOTAR role: Balthazar helped Nesta during the Blood Rite.

PROTEUS

Proteus is a prophetic sea god in Greek mythology and means "versatile, mutable, capable of assuming many forms."
ACOTAR role: Proteus is Emerie's father and was killed in the war with Hybern.

BELLIUS

May refer to Belus, the Babylonian god of war.
ACOTAR role: Bellius is Emerie's cousin and was slain by Cassian during the Blood Rite.

KALLON

No clear references found, but kalon in Ancient Greek translates to "ideal perfect beauty."
ACOTAR role: Kallon incited the Illyrians against the Night Court leaders and was ultimately slain during the Blood Rite.

HEWN CITY

KEIR

Keir is Gaelic, meaning "dark," and is related to the Irish name Ciarán. In Greek mythology, the Keres (singular being Ker) were female death spirits who personified violent death. There is a suggested connection between the Keres and the Valkyries of Norse mythology, each representing opposite ideals; the Valkyries being benevolent deities in death, versus the Keres representing feasting destruction.

THANATOS

In Greek mythology, Thanatos is the personification of death. He is a minor figure, often referred to but rarely appearing in person (I see what you did there, SJM).
ACOTAR role: Thanatos is mentioned briefly by Keir during the alliance meeting with Eris.

THE LIBRARY

CLOTHO

In ancient Greek mythology, Clotho is the youngest goddess of the Three Fates and spins the thread of human life. Her name means "spinner."

MERRILL

Merrill is of British origin meaning "sparkling sea, sea-bright."

GWYNETH BERDARA

Gwyneth is Welsh in origin and means "blessed, happiness." In Irish mythology, the Lady Gwyn is a headless woman (cough, Catrin, cough) who chases wanderers at night. In Arthurian mythology, Guinevere has an evil half-sister—"False" Guinevere—who bewitches Arthur.

ANANKE

Ananke means "necessity, fate personified." In Greek mythology she is one of the primordial deities and is the personification of necessity and inevitability.
ACOTAR role: A Priestess who joins in the training to become a Valkyrie.

DEIRDRE

Deirdre is Gaelic in origin and means "broken-hearted, wanderer." The name is associated with a tragic heroine in Irish mythology.
ACOTAR role: A Priestess who joins in the training to become a Valkyrie.

ILANA

Illana is Hebrew in origin nd means "tree, bright light." It stems from the name Elena and is potentially related to the name Ileana, a beautiful young female fairy in various myths.
ACOTAR role: A Priestess who joins in the training to become a Valkyrie.

LORELEI

Lorelei in German in origin and means "alluring, temptress." In German folklore, she is a siren-like seductress.
ACOTAR role: A Priestess who joins in the training to become a Valkyrie.

ROSLIN

Roslin is Scottish in origin and means "rose, red-haired."
ACOTAR role: A Priestess who joins in the training to become a Valkyrie.

RIVEN

Riven derives from Old Norse meaning "to split, tear asunder."
ACOTAR role: A Priestess who avoids contact with strangers and whose background is unknown.

SIDE CHARACTERS

MADJA

Madja is Slavic in origin and may mean "splendid, noble one." In Arabic it means "the women with glory." It is related to the name Madeleine meaning "from Magdala."

NUALA

Nuala is Irish in origin and means "fair shouldered one." In modern Irish storytelling it means "born of the sea." It is considered a diminutive form of the name Fionnuala, a mythological figure who was the daughter of a sea god.

CERRIDWEN

Cerridwen is an enchantress in Welsh mythology. She is said to possess the cauldron of poetic inspiration and is regarded by many as the Celtic goddess of rebirth, transformation, and inspiration.

RITA

Rita stems from the name Margarita and comes from the Greek word meaning "pearl." The Greeks promoted pearls as a symbol of honesty and integrity.
ACOTAR role: Rita owns the "how does the IC not know the clientele is gay" bar.

SEVENDA

No clear connection found, though venda in Latin means "sell" while sev means "strew, spread" and enda means "end." Could also potentially be related to the number seven.
ACOTAR role: Owns a restaurant the IC frequents.

NEVE

Neve is of Latin origin and means "snow."
ACOTAR role: The jeweler from whom Rhys buys jewelry for Amren in ACOFAS.

POLINA

Polina has Latin origins and derives from Apollo, though it could also be seen as a variant of Paulina/Paul meaning "little, the younger."
ACOTAR role: The faerie who owned Feyre's art studio before her untimely death.

RESSINA

Resina means "resin of the pine." Plants secret resin as a protective response, guarding them from insects and pathogens.
ACOTAR role: Ressina opens the art studio with Feyre. She has green skin and stood outside her shop in response to Hybern's attack on Velaris, protecting the terrified faeries inside.

ARANEA

Aranea is Greek in origin and denotes a genus of orb-weaving spiders.
ACOTAR role: Aranea is the weaver who created the Void cloth.

​
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MAIN CHARACTERS

TAMLIN

From the "Ballad of Tam Lin," a legendary ballad from the borderlands of Scotland. Reminiscent of the fairytale Beauty & the Beast where a mortal woman plucks a rose and encounters a man in the forest, later learning he is captive to faeries. She must hold onto him as he is transformed into various beasts and upon his rescue, the faerie Queen muses that she should have taken out his eyes (Lucien, anyone?) or capture his heart (Tamlin's stone heart) to prevent his escape.

LUCIEN

Lucien is French in origin and means "light." Lucian was also the name of a Hellenized Syrian satirist who was known for his tongue-in-cheek style is said to be the inventor of comic dialogue.

ALIS

Alis is a variant of Alice and translates to "noble, exalted."

SIDE CHARACTERS

IANTHE

Ianthe is Greek in origin and means "she who delights." In Greek mythology she is a water-nymph daughter of Oceanus and a companion to Persephone when she was abducted by Hades.

ANDRAS

Andras has Welsh origins and means "manly, brave."

BRON

Bron is Old English and means "brown."

HART

Hart has Irish origins and means "hero, brave, firm." A hart is also the term for a male deer and in Celtic mythology, the white hart is said to appear when one is transgressing a taboo (Tamlin's whipping of his other sentry comes to mind).

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MAIN CHARACTERS

BERON VANSERRA

Beron is French in origin and is a pet form of the name Bero meaning "bear."
Vanserra is a combination of the prefix van meaning "from, of" and serra meaning "saw, view from a high place" or "mountain range." Vanserra can be said to mean "of the mountains."

ERIS

In ancient Greek mythology, Eris is the Greek goddess of strife and discord. Her Roman equivalent, Discord, is the goddess of chaos. She is associated with the war goddess Enyo who is frequently associated with the war god Ares.

SIDE CHARACTERS

JESMINDA

Jesminder is Indian in origin meaning "flower queen."

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MAIN CHARACTERS

TARQUIN

Tarquin is of Latin origin and means "ruler, strong soldier." Two of the seven kings of Rome bore the name.

VARIAN

Varian is of Latin origin and means "variable."

CRESSEIDA

Cressida derives from Chryseis and means "golden." She is a character associated with the Trojan War and is the archetype of a faithless lover.

SIDE CHARACTERS

NOSTRUS

Nostrum comes from the Latin noster meaning "our, ours." Nostos is an Ancient Greek literary theme concerning an epic hero returning home, often by sea. It is deemed a high level of heroism or greatness and focuses on the hero retaining or elevating their identity while often resisting temptation.
ACOTAR role: The High Lord prior to Tarquin who was slain by Amarantha after participating in a rebellion Under the Mountain.

BRUTIUS

May refer to the Latin name Brutus meaning "heavy, dull."
ACOTAR role: Mercifully slain by Rhys Under the Mountain after his attempted escape.

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MAIN CHARACTERS

HELION

Helios is the Ancient Greek god personifying the sun. He is often depicted with a solar crown and drives a horse-drawn chariot through the sky. He played a significant role in ancient magic and spells and is the son of the Titan Theia and brother to Selene.

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MAIN CHARACTERS

KALLIAS

Callias is Greek in origin and means "beauty, beautiful voice." He is a diplomatic and wealthy figure in Ancient Greece.

VIVIANNE

From the Latin word vivianus meaning "alive." Commonly associated with the Irish name Bébinn meaning "beautiful, fair one" and is the name of an underworld goddess in both Irish and Welsh mythology.

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THESAN

Thesan is the Etruscan goddess of the dawn. Greeks identified her with Eos, the goddess and personification of the dawn. She is sometimes depicted with wings.

NUAN

Nuan is Mandarin and means "warm, genial."

THE PEREGRYN

The peregrine is a falcon renowned for its speed.
Fun fact: The peregrine is the fastest member of the animal kingdom and can reach speeds of over 200mph.

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AMARANTHA

Amaranths is Greek in origin and means "unfading." The amaranthus flower, often deep red in color, is said to symbolize immortality as it blooms for so long.

BRANNAGH

Brannagh is of Irish origin and denotes a "beautiful female with hair dark as a raven."

DAGDAN

In Irish mythology, the Dagda is considered the chief god of the Tuatha Dé Danaan. His name means "the good god, the great god."

CLYTHIA

In Greek mythology, Clytia is a water nymph who loved the sun god Helios. Helios left her for another woman after coming under the influence of Aphrodite. Clytia exposed the affair to the other woman's father, but eventually lost herself in mourning for Helios's love. Her name means "glorious, renowned."
ACOTAR role: Amarantha's sister.

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HISTORICAL FIGURES

THEIA

Theia is a Titan and is the Ancient Greek goddess of sight and vision. She is the parent of Helios, Selene, and Eos. She is most known not for her own role, but for that of her childrens'. Her name means "goddess, godly."

SILENE

Selene is the Ancient Greek goddess and personification of the moon. She is the daughter of Hyperion and Theia and sister to Helios and Eos.

HELENA

Comes from the Green name Helen meaning "shining light." There are various Helens in Greek mythology: Helen of Troy, Helen a friend to Aphrodite, and Helene the Amazonian who fought Achilles.

FIONN

Fionn is of Irish origin and means "fair-haired." In Irish folklore, Fionn Mac Cumhaill was a leader of a band of young hunter-warriors.

PELIAS

Pelias is Greek in origin and means "rock pigeon." Pelias was the king of Ioclus while Peleus was the king of Phthia. Peleus was husband to Thetis, father to Achilles, and left several (men and women) dead in his wake, both through means of accident and betrayal, fleeing more than once to escape punishment.

OLEANNA

Oleanna derives from the Greek name Helene meaning "sun ray, shining light."
ACOTAR role: The High Priestess who dipped Gwydion in the Cauldron.

REPORTED DECEASED

CATRIN BERDARA

Catrin is Greek in origin and means "clear, pure." It's commonly used in Wales and is connected with the ancient goddess Hecate, who is the goddess of witchcraft, sorcery, and necromancy.

MINOR CHARACTERS

TANWYN

Tanwan is of Welsh origin and means "white fire."
ACOTAR role: Tanwyn was a Valkyrie and Cassian's former lover.

OSIAN

Osian is Welsh meaning "young deer" and derives from the Irish legendary poet and warrior Oisín, who was regarded as the greatest poet of Ireland and a warrior of the Fianna (small warrior-hunter bands). He was a demigod son of Fionn Mac Cumhaill and Sadhbh.
ACOTAR role: The author of A Brief History of the Great Sieges

RABATH

Rabath is an anagram of Bharat, one of the names of India. Derived from the Sanskrit word bharata, meaning "to bear, be maintained" it can also mean "one who is engaged in search of knowledge."
ACOTAR role: Lord of the Western Wind and ancestor to Merrill.

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JURIAN

Jurian is Greek in origin and means "farmer, earthworker."

GRAYSEN

Graysen is of English origin and translates to "son of the steward/gray-haired man."

NOLAN

Nolan is Irish in origin and denotes a "child of nobility, champion."
ACOTAR role: Nolan is Graysen's father.

ISAAC HALE

Isaac is Hebrew in origin and means "one who laughs or rejoices." Hale is Old English in origin and means "nook, recess" and denoted someone who lived in a nook or hollow.

TOMAS MANDRAY

Thomas is Hebrew in origin and means "twin." No clear reference to Mandray, though Mandrew is Greek and means "man, warrior."
ACOTAR role: Tomas was Nesta's former betrothed.

CLARE BEDDOR

Clare is French in origin and means "bright, clear." No reference found for Beddor.

AUNT RIPLEIGH

Ripleigh is Old English and means "shouting man's meadow." It is connected to the name Ripley meaning "strip of clearing in the woods."
ACOTAR role: Aunt Ripleigh is the feigned aunt Feyre takes care of.

Ms. Laurent

Laurent is French in origin and means "from Laurentum" and "bay laurel."
ACOTAR role: Ms. Laurent is the mortal caretaker of the Archeron estate.

BRIAR

Briar is of British origin and means "thorny bush of wild roses, brambles."
ACOTAR role: Briar is the mortal woman rescued by Feyre and Azriel.

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HUMAN QUEENS

VASSA

Vasilissa is Greek in origin and means "queen, empress." It is also the name of a Christian child martyr who was left unharmed during her capture, but after her release was slain in a field as she prayed.

BRIALLYN

Briallen is a Welsh name meaning "primrose." Primrose comes from the Latin word meaning "first" and the primrose flower often represents youth and renewal (SJM, you dog—this may be my favorite tongue-in-cheek naming thing you did).
ACOTAR role: Briallyn is the first queen who enters the Cauldron and is rewarded with immortality as a withered old hag.

DEMETRA

Demeter was the mother of Persephone, an Ancient Greek goddess of the harvest and an emblem of growth.
ACOTAR role: Demetra was the golden queen who provided the mortal half of The Book of Breathings to the Night Court and was subsequently slain by the Attor.

ANDROMACHE

Andromache means "fighter of men." In Greek mythology, she was representative of the suffering of Trojan women during the war and was famous for her virtue and fidelity. Andromache was also the name of a famous Greek Amazonian who fell at Troy.
ACOTAR role: Andromache was the former mortal lover of Mor.

FAE CHARACTERS

DRAKON

Drakon is of Greek origin and means "dragon."

NEPHELLE

In Greek mythology Nephele, meaning "cloud," is a cloud nymph who is considered the goddess of loyalty, generosity, peace, and shyness.

THE SERAPHIM

A seraph is a celestial being regarded as belonging to the highest order of angels in Christian angelology.

HUMAN CHARACTERS

MIRYAM

Miriam of of Hebrew origin and means "sea of sorrow." She is the Biblical daughter of Amram and Jochebed and sister to Aaron and Moses.

URSTIN

No plausible connections found. Potentially an anagram for Rustin, an English name meaning "Rust's estate" or Surtin, a Middle English name meaning "reliable, trustworthy."
ACOTAR role: Urstin is a cousin of the Archerons via their mother.

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MAIN CHARACTERS

THE SURIEL

Suriel is a Hebrew name meaning "God's prince, divine authority." May also reference Sariel, an angel from Judais tradition, one of the seven holy angels. He is considered to be a primordial power invoked for his protective powers.

ATTOR

Possibly an altered form of the German tatter meaning "goblin, puppet." Likely inspired by the Ahool, a bat or primate-like winged cryptid said to live in the jungles of Indonesia.

DEATH GODS

THE BONE CARVER

Self-explanatory.

STRYGA AKA THE WEAVER

Stryzga is a female demon in Slavic mythology similar to a vampire. Stryzga stems from the mythological Strix of Ancient Greece, referring to birds of ill omen (and also witches) who fed on human flesh and blood.

KOSCHEI

Koschei is a common villain in East Slavic tales. He is often given the epithet of "the Immortal, the Deathless" and is said to hide his death inside nested objects for protection. He often takes the role of a malevolent rival figure who competes or entraps a male hero's love interest.
Fun note: The love interest trapping tidbit has interesting connotations for both Lucien (regarding Vassa) and Azriel (regarding Eris). For a breakdown of the Azriel x Koschei scene in ACOSF, see HERE.

PRISON INMATES

BRYAXIS

Bryaxis was a famous Ancient Greek sculptor. His name may mean "delight, lust."

LANTHYS

No information or connections found (and it is KILLING me).

LUBIA

In Albanian mythology, the lubia is a multi-headed, serpentine-like, female watestorm demon-dragon. Her irresistible taste of flesh leans toward that of young girls.
ACOTAR role: Also called Seven-Headed Lubia, imprisoned for preying on girls on the western coast of Prythian.

ANNIS

The Black Annis is a bogeyman in English folklore, depicted as a blue-faced witch with iron claws who has a taste for human flesh, especially that of children.
ACOTAR role: Also called Blue Annis, imprisoned for her craving of female flesh.

VESPERUS

In Greek mythology, Hesperus is the Evening Star. Her Roman equivalent is named Vesper.
ACOTAR role: Vesperus is the Asteri found beneath the Prison.

MINOR CHARACTERS

MIDDENGARD WYRM

Midgard is the realm of human beings in Norse mythology, ie Earth. Wrym is an Old Norse word and refers to a wingless and limbless dragon.

THE BOGGE

Bogge is a Middle English word meaning "frightening specter" from which the term bogeyman originated. Bogeyman have no specific appearance and conceptions vary drastically by culture.
Fun fact: A boggart is a supernatural being from English folklore and also derives from the term bogge (Harry Potter facts, yo).

NAGA

Throughout various Asian religious traditions, Angus are a divine or semi-divine race of half-human, half-serpent beings residing in the netherworld.
Fun fact: A female naga is called a Nagi or a Nagini (more HP facts, yo).

MARTAX

A manticore is a Persian mythological creature similar to the Egyptian sphinx. The martax describe in ACOTAR has a head like a lion's and three rows of teeth. A manticore has the body of a lion and eats its victims whole with its three rows of teeth. The term manticore stems from Latin and Ancient Greek.

PUCA

Púca is Irish for "spirit, ghost" while puca is Old English for "goblin." They were said to be shape-changers.

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MEALLAN

Meallán is Irish in origin meaning "small pleasant one."
ACOTAR role: Helion's pegasus.

ELLIA

Ellia is of various origins and can translate to "beautiful fairy maiden" with hints to the "Otherworld."
ACOTAR role: Mor's horse.

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For Part 2: World Map, Items, Terms & Other, click HERE

Introduction

ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, Zepp Tokyo for \"Quarter-Century Tour\"

^(\This article is an updated version of my "Sound Like" article from 2021. I have reposted this article due to difficulties editing the original version*, and have included additional information and recommendations based on the increased popularity of amp simulator pedals*)*

Hello fellow musicians and Ajikan fans!
I have been a fan of ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION for roughly 16 years and as a guitarist was greatly inspired by the band's alt rock sound.
After a few years of research I have written a series of "sound like" articles for ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION. The purpose of these articles is to provide context on how the band create their signature sound, and to support beginning musicians or tribute acts who may wish to replicate it.
At the end of each article I have drafted a Budget Rig, which you could use for both at home and in a live environment. I have also provided some general amp settings to tweak and try, which are based on the band's live sound and be can used to help replicate their tones.
This is a 3-part series and if you enjoy this article I would recommend checking out the other articles:
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION Sound Like Part 2: Kita : AsianKungFuGeneration (reddit.com)
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION Sound Like Part 3: Yamada : AsianKungFuGeneration (reddit.com)

^{Please note that the article focuses on the band's live sound, which will be different to the albums and can vary depending on the venue. Also (and is a cliché} every musician and instrument will vary slightly due to small differences in play style and build, so also be mindful of that.)

To help you recognise the individual guitar tones, Gotch's guitar parts are normally panned to the left earphone and Kita's are panned to the right earphone on the band's albums. (On 2016's Sol-Fa, Hometown and some of the Planet Folks singles the panning was swapped, with Gotch instead in the right ear and Kita on the left)

Masafumi Gotoh

Gotch live at the 02 Islington, London, 2013
Let's start off with lead singer and rhythm guitarist Masafumi Gotoh, or "Gotch" for short. Gotch's was massively influenced by the 90's alternative rock, Power Pop and the Britpop scene, and has previously highlighted Oasis, Weezer and Number Girl as key inspirations.
As Ajikan's main songwriter, Gotch follows the principle of "less is more" - keeping the arrangements simple for listeners, but combining pop hooks & traditional Asian melodies with the band's punk rock and indie influences.
Gotch's playing style follows this principle, as he primarily uses chord shapes, bar chords or repeated phrases to anchor the band. (The simple approach also makes it easier for Gotch to sing while performing)
Occasionally, Gotch will use "octave chords" (more on octave chords below) or play riffs with open strings notes, to add further depth. A good example of this is the opening riffs to Easter, where he plays an open D string while also playing the 3rd and 5th fret of the A string.

^{Octave Chords: Octave chords is famously used in punk rock and alt rock riffs, and is when you play the same note in two different octaves. Try play a bar chord on the 4th fret of the A string, and lifting your ring finger off the D string. You should get a "C# octave chord" and will recognise it from the intro of Haruka Kanata. Octave chords are used in many Ajikan songs and by many bands, so they are good to practice!}

In more recent albums, Gotch has also experimented with moving chord shapes across the fretboard. For good examples, check out the opening of Caterpillar or the bridge section of Kouya Wo Aruke.
Gotch's guitar tends to be lower in the overall mix, with Kita acting as the band's lead guitarist and Gotch as the anchor for each song. However, Gotch tends to improvise with ambient sounds during live performances and occasionally will take on the lead role in songs like Hold Me Tight.

GUITARS:

When it comes to guitars Gotch almost exclusively plays Gibson Les Paul Jr's with P-90 pickups, and has been his preferred guitar since 2004. The P-90 pickups have a bright midrange sound in comparison to the muddier humbucker sound, which makes them better suited for Gotch's focus on chords.
Gotch main guitar is the 1959 Gibson Les Paul Special
The Les Paul Jr is also lighter and have less sustain and power compared to a normal Les Paul, which leaves space for the other instruments to stand out in the mix.
Gotch's main guitar is a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Special, which he plays in E Standard tuning and uses for both recording and live performances. Gotch also uses a 1961 Gibson Les Paul Jr (with the pickguard missing) or a 2000 Gibson Les Paul DC (with a gloss yellow finish) for songs in Eb/D# tuning, such as After Dark or Soredewa, Mata Ashita.
Gotch's is also famous for using a 1975 Gibson Marauder during the band's early years. Gotch has mostly retired the guitar (due to the "lack of volume" for larger venues), but it regularly appears in MV's, band merchandise and occasionally during special events, such as the 10th anniversary shows in Yokohama.
Gotch's Gibson Marauder
Gotch occasionally uses a few rarer guitars live, such as the Gibson Custom Les Paul Junior John Lennon model (Gotch has number 54 of 300 such guitars made), and is normally played with a capo for songs such as Maigo Inu To Ame No Beat.
Gotch has also used a Gibson Hummingbird for acoustic numbers, and can be seen used in Eizo Sakushin Shu Vol.6 for the band's performance of Kaigan Doori. Gotch likes to use Tortex Flex .88mm & Tortex Flex Triangle .88mm guitar picks, which he swaps between depending on the song.
If you are looking to sound like Gotch, the best place to start would be a Les Paul Jr guitar with P-90 pickups.

AMPLIFIERS:

After originally touring with a Roland JC-22, Gotch has almost exclusively played Fender amplifiers since 2004. Gotch uses two amps when playing live, one for his "clean" sound and the other for his "heavy" sound.
The band's often implement a "quiet/loud" dynamic into their song writing, so Gotch will often switch between his amps during live performances, using a custom made footswitch on his pedalboard. (A good example of this is Mustang or Solanin)
For his clean tone, Gotch uses a Fender 65' Twin Custom Twin 15. It can be heard on Korogaru Iwa, Kimi ni Asa Ga Furu, Solanin and Wonder Future. Occasionally, Gotch will combine the Twin Reverb with a boost pedal or overdrive pedal for more clarity, with Wonder Future a good examples of this.
(1) Fender '65 Twin Custom 15 (clean tone), (2) Fender Vibro-King Custom, (3) Fender Super-Sonic 60 Head (which uses the Vibro-King as a speaker), (4) Fender '63 Spring Reverb (which runs in between the pedal board and the Super-Sonic 60, and is toggled on or off by a switch)
For his heavier tone, Gotch primarily uses a Fender Vibro-King Custom for recording and appears in most of the band's MV's. The Vibro-King/Twin Reverb was Gotch's main setup during the 2000's and can be seen together on Eizo Sakushin Shu Vol. 6.
In 2009 Gotch started to use a Fender Super-Sonic 60 Amp Head and still uses it now. Until 2022, Gotch would use Vibro-King as a "cabinet", acting as the speaker unit for the Super-Sonic. Gotch now uses a Shinos & L Rocket Head for live shows, but has kept the Vibro-king for recording sessions and MVs.
Since 2022 Gotch has used Shinos & L Rocket amp & cabinet instead of the Fender Vibro-King
Gotch "heavy" amps for songs such as Re:Re:, Haruka Kanata and Rewrite. It is important to note that Gotch prefers to use his amps to create his distorted tone, but will occasionally add an overdrive pedal for heavier tracks such as Blood Circulator & Easter.
Alongside the Twin Reverb and Super-Sonic, Gotch is known to use a Fender 63' Spring Reverb Unit. This unit only runs into the Super-Sonic and is used for additional reverb to "thicken the sound". Gotch can control the 63' Reverb with a on/off switch on his pedal board.
Other notable amps that Gotch has used are the Matchless C30 & Bad Cat 30R Head. Both have been used exclusively for recording, most notably on Wonder Future. Gotch is also known to use VOX AC15 amps for recording.
Gotch's '63 Spring Reverb Unit, along with a selection of Vortex Flex .88m picks

In terms of mics, Gotch seems to use a Shure SM57 for his Fender Twin Reverb and a Shure SM58 on his Vibro-King or Shinos Rocket. When you are trying to emulate his sound with modelling or profiling amps, it is worth experimenting with mic positioning and different mics.

If you want to replicate Gotch's amp sound then you should look to replicate his Fender amps. However the Vibro-King is a key component and are unfortunately rare, notoriously loud and expensive. For that reason, I have put together some alternatives that should get you close.

PEDALS & EFFECTS:

During Ajikan's early years, Gotch combined a Roland JC-22 with a ProCo RAT to create the "quiet/loud" dynamic of the band's early records. After buying the Fender Vibro-King in 2004, Gotch no longer required the RAT, but kept a simplified pedalboard to achieve certain tones for live performances.
Gotch's 2004 pedalboard, which includes the ProCo RAT and Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
We will cover two different pedalboards that Gotch has used during the band's career. Regardless of which pedal board you look at, Gotch's has always included an overdrive or boost pedal, a phase pedal and a delay pedal.
The boost/overdrive is used to "lift" his clean sound during ballads (Solanin, Wonder Future) or to thicken his sound for heavier tracks. (Senseless, Dororo) Gotch will normally set the drive or gain low and the volume high.
The phaser is a more sparingly used pedal to add texture and colour, but can be heard on Shinkokyū, Blue Train and Rewrite. I will include more detail on Gotch's use of delay in the sections below.
Gotch's "Classic" Pedalboard
Gotch \"classic\" pedalboard, used between 2006-2013, with Gotch's custom made footswitch on the bottom left to control the amps
Gotch started to use this "classic" board during the Fanclub tour and continued to do so until the 10th Anniversary shows in 2013. This would be the easier and more affordable board to replicate for newcomers.
Gotch's setup started with a BOSS TU-3 tuner, which he also used as a "mute" pedal in between songs. From there, his chain would run into the Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer, the BOSS PH-2 Super Phaser and the BOSS DD-20 Giga Delay. During the Magic Disk tour, Gotch also added a Custom Audio Tremolo.

^{The BOSS DD-20 has been Gotch's main delay pedal for twenty years and is set to "warp". On the warp setting, Gotch can keep his foot on the pedal to create swells of delays. Gotch's standard setting is 173-179bpm (beats per minute} on 1/4 (quarter) notes and then he has four presets. These are 137bpm on 1/4 (for the intro of Blackout), 154bpm on 1/4 (for Kakato de Ai o Uchinarase), 177bpm on 1/2 (for Solanin and the intro of Siren) and finally 177 on 1/4. (For the second half of Siren))

Gotch also included two footswitches for his board; The first one was a handmade footswitch, which he used to swap between the Twin Reverb and the Vibro-King/Super-Sonic. The other footswitch was a BOSS FS-5L, which he used to control the '63 Spring Reverb Unit.
Gotch's "Modern" Pedalboard
Gotch's \"modern\" pedal board.【Pedal List】(1) api/TranZformer GT (compressoequalizer) (2) BOSS/TU-3 (tuner) (3) Spaceman Effects/Atlas III (preamp) (4) BOSS/DD-6 (delay) (5) Spaceman Effects/Voyager I (tremolo) (6) EarthQuaker Devices/Avalanche Run (delay/reverb) (7) Mu-Tron/Mu-FX Phasor 2X (phaser) (8) Caroline Guitar Company/KILOBYTE (9) BOSS/DD-20 (delay) (10) Handmade/Line Selector (11) FAT/514.D (booster)(12) strymon/Zuma R300 (power supply) (13)BOSS/EV-30 (Expression Pedal) (14) BOSS/FS-5L (foot switch)
During the recording of Wonder Future and his first solo album (Can't Be Forever Young), Gotch began to experiment more with boutique pedals, and has resulted in a more complex board since 2014, allowing more ambient experiments on the band's records and during live performances.
Gotch has added a API Tranzformer GT to the start of his chain, only using the E.Q. section and tweaking the settings for each venue.
Gotch's "Modern" board now includes a variety of delay and reverb pedals, such as the Earthquaker Device Avalanche Run and the Caroline Kilobyte Lo-Fi Delay. These are combined with his DD-20 to create the ambient sounds heard on Empathy & the outro of Demachiyanagi Parallel Universe.
The BOSS DD-6 Digital Delay is set to the "reverse" mode and is used during the intro of Re:Re: and the bridge of Rewrite. Gotch has removed the Tube-Screamer from his board and has experimented with multiple alternative pedals, which includes the Xotic Effects AC Plus and JHS Superbolt.
He currently uses the Atlas III Preamp Booster and the FAT 514.D for his overdrive sounds. The 514.D only runs to the Super-Sonic to help "thicken" the distorted tone of the Super-Sonic.
Gotch has also replaced the Super Phaser with the MU-FX Phasor 2x and is using a Voyager I Spaceman for his tremolo. (UCLA & No Name are good references for the tremolo) Finally, Gotch has added an BOSS EV-30 expression pedal, which he uses to control the delay of the Avalanche Run.
If you are looking to replicate Gotch's pedalboard, the best place to start would be a phaser, delay and a boost/overdrive pedal, which would cover most of Ajikan's Discography.

Sound Like Gotch...On a Budget

Now that you are up to speed on what Gotch uses for his guitar rig, we can start to look at replicating his sound. The idea of this section is to offer affordable suggestions to replicate Gotch's tone that can be used for home use and for small live venues.
I would like to highlight that I am just writing as a fan and the equipment I recommend are purely my own recommendations. I do not have any sponsors (I wish I did sometimes) and if you find alternatives that work for you, go for it!
Gotch performing in 2022, during the Quarter Century shows in Yokohama
To buy Gotch's current pedal board alone would cost roughly £2,500 and would be unrealistic for most readers to purchase, however there are options that can get us close to Gotch's tone without breaking the bank.
The key elements to this rig are:

• A Gibson style guitar with P-90 pickups
• A Fender amp with decent distortion
• A Tube-Screamer style overdrive
• A flexible Delay pedal

Let's start with the guitar, which is both important for the P-90 tone. You should always feel comfortable when playing the guitar you pick, so I recommend trying out the guitar when possible before buying.
GUITARS
As an affordable guitar, I would suggest looking at the Epiphone Les Paul Jr. It is the entry level price for Gibson guitars (Epiphone would be the equivalent to "Squier" for Fender) and includes P-90 pickups as the standard setup. You can buy one for around £380 and should also be fairly easy to modify & similar to Gotch's sound.
Epiphone Les Paul Junior
If you do have a higher budget to work with, I would recommend the Gibson Les Paul Special Tribute DC. These were released in 2019 and you can normally find a 2nd hand version for roughly £650 - £800. (It is also the guitar I currently use!) Failing that, you can also look at the Gibson Les Paul Special for around £800.
Gibson Les Paul Special Tribute DC
AMPLIFIERS
We are looking to replicate Gotch's Fender amps, so the affordable option to start with would be the Fender Mustang GTX. The newer Mustang amps are an improvement on the original and have simulations of the Twin Reverb, the Vibro-King and the Super-Sonic.
The GTX 50 (which has a smaller speaker) is roughly £390 and the GTX 100 (which includes a footswitch) is about £510, but you should be able to find both versions for a reduced cost second hand.
Fender Mustang GTX 100
If you do have a higher budget or prefer to use a tube amp, I would recommend going for the Fender Super-Sonic Combo or the Fender Hot Rod Deluxe for a solid distorted Fender tone.
Alternatively, you could consider the Fender Blues Junior, Fender Tone Master Twin-Reverb or Roland JC, and combine them with a ProCo RAT to replicate the tones from Houkai Amplifier and Kimi Tsunagi Five M.
PEDALS
To keep the list of suggestions short and simple, we will use Gotch's "classic" board as a reference and will cover most of the band's discography.
For a budget rig, I would recommend the Ibanez Tube-Screamer Mini, which is a miniature version of the standard Ibanez Tube-Screamer and sound great for the price. You could pair this up with a Boss Phase Shifter and a BOSS DD-6 Delay for around £309 brand new to get a very similar Gotch board. (You could buy them for as low as £110 combined on the 2nd hand market)
The Tube Screamer Mini is a cheap, effective overdrive pedal based on the classic TS808
For a more expensive pedalboard, the JHS Superbolt V2 was used by Gotch extensively between 2015-2019 and was once described by Gotch as "the Ajikan sound" on his blog. You could also buy the TS808 Tube Screamer that Gotch actually used for many years or the JHS Bonsai 9 which emulates multiple tube screamers.
For modulation sounds (phase, tremolo) the AmpliTube X-Vibe is one of many great multi-effect pedal on the market. If you have the money for it, you could buy a BOSS DD-20 second hand or the BOSS DD-200 to emulate Gotch's delay sound.
If you decided to go with the Mustang GTX, you would also have a selection of effects built into the amp.
THE TONE MASTER PRO? (and amp simulators)
As a final recommendation, Fender have recently released the Tone Master Pro (TMP), which is a multi effects and amp simulator.
It can be used as a device for home recording, but also as multi effects pedal in front of a standard amp or as your main amplifier when played through a IR cabinet. (I'll go into more detail in a bit!) The TMP are not cheap at £1400, so I would only advise buying one if you plan to use it as your main amp and effects board.
If you have the budget and was starting your rig from scratch I would consider checking it out, as it includes great simulations of the Twin Reverb and Vibro-King. They are also easy to transport & the Fender IR cabinets only weigh 12.5kg. (For comparison, my VOX AC15 weighs 30kg and is a nightmare to transport for shows)
The TMP is Fender's first amp simulator pedal and from what I understand the Quad Cortex DSP, the Line 6 Helix series and the Headrush Pedalboard are more popular choices. However, for the purpose of "sounding like Gotch", I would start with the TMP for its Fender selection and simplicity
The Fender Tone Master Pro can be used to simulate multiple amps & as a pedalboard for live performances

^{If you decide to buy a Amp Simulator Pedal, there are 3 common ways to use it for band practices & live settings. (Outside of just using headphones or running straight to front of house at a venue})
^{Option 1: Only use the effects on the Amp Simulator and run it into a standard amp. (Make sure to not use the cabinets settings within the pedal when doing this} You could still use the amps, however it will not always sound great with a normal amp)
^{Option 2: Use the Amp Simulator as your main amp and combining with a standard guitar cabinet. In order to do this, you will need to buy a separate power amp pedal to run in between the amp simulator and the guitar cabinet. (Otherwise you will not have any volume or oomph when you play through the cabinet})
^{Option 3: Buy a IR Cabinet. The difference between this and Option 2 is that you would not need to buy a separate power amp pedal to run into the speaker. The Fender FR-10/12 & Line 6 Powercab are good examples.}

Recommended Amp Settings

The following amp settings are based on photos gathered from live performances or from photos of Gotch's social media. Every amp will slightly differ based on your guitar or playing style, so you may need to tweak with your settings to find the right blend.
My personal advice is to not put the gain too high and to start with getting the treble and bass settings where you feel comfortable, before tweaking the mids. The P-90s have a strong midrange attack, so bear that in mind as well.
Gotch's Vibro-King and Super-Sonic
Fender '65 Twin Custom 15:
(Plugged into Vibrato 1) Vol: 3, Treble: 3.5-4, Mid: 6.5, Bass: 3.5
Fender Super-Sonic 60 Head:
Channel 1: Vol: 3.5, Treble: 4-4.5, Bass: 5
Channel 2: Vintage setting ON, Gain 1: 4, Gain 2: 0, Treble: 5-5.5, Bass: 4.5-5, Mid: 5.5, Vol: 5.5-6
Fender Vibro-King Custom (as cabinet):
Plug into the speaker input at the back of the amp, with FAT switch on.
Fender Vibro-King Custom (as amplifier):
(FAT ON) Vol: 3, Treble: 4.5, Bass: 4, Mid: 5.5 (Based on Eizo Sakushin Shu Vol.6 settings)
OR
(FAT ON) Vol: 4.5 Treble: 4 Bass: 5 Mid: 4.5
Shinos & L Rocket Head:
Gain: 7, Treble: 8, Bass: 3, Reverb: 0, Master: 7

Conclusion

I hope this has been helpful for you guys, as it has been on my bucket list for some time! Please provide some feedback as it is always appreciated and if you would like more details about the effect settings let me know.
[Update] I have now written a post on Kita's rig and Yamada's rig, which you can read below:
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION Sound Like Part 2: Kita : AsianKungFuGeneration (reddit.com)
ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION Sound Like Part 3: Yamada : AsianKungFuGeneration (reddit.com)

Little about us, we were HS sweethearts that got pregnant while still in school. Yes life changed and I as an 18yo with a kid did not have much time to hang with my old friends. Went to college and got a job and days turned into years. Now almost 30 years later she has noted I need more friends in my life. I also bounced schools a lot, 16 schools in 12 years, including 2 years at the HS we both shared so I never really formed many clsoe friendships to begin with.
I did not keep contact with my HS group of friends, pretty much dropped out and started working once she became pregnant. After I graduated HS and went to college I did not have time for college social, I mostly went to class, to work, then home. I couldn't even name a single person I went to college with not. Never really made any lasting friendships at all.
Fast forward to now and my wife has started saying I need a social circle. I am beyond confused as to why. I am fine doing things alone that she does not enjoy doing, I have my own hobbies and interests. She has a large group of friends she does things with. I guess I am just confused as to why she is pushing me to make friendships when I have been fine all these years doing things with the kids or by myself if she is not interested in what we are doing. Why is it important to have a circle of friends?
tl:dr Wife has started pushing me to make friends, but I don't really understand why.

Hello, it's the guy who made a post about curbside changes back again with how that's worked out for me in practice over the course of several months. I've worked as a shopper for years so I find this predicament absurd.
Now I'm going to preface that I believe this is a misunderstanding and a lack of communication.
It used to be that I'd scan my surroundings for a patrolling lead or specialist to return back on task, but more often than not I just see a CFT member looking at me.
This wasn't always the case though, but I'll provide a predisposition as to how that may have occurred while keeping them anonymous by alphabetically naming some of them. ( I'm also not actually familiar with the names of people A-C.)
Coworkers A, B, C, D, E.
A - I used to be fond of A's company since they reminded me of a friend I knew. Me and A would exchange a bunch of different faces, though most of them were happy in passing. I felt A had a unique way of copying me. We would also talk on occasion and I even told them once that "It was always good to see them." And I think they liked that remark. But maybe this was all for the sake of friendliness.
When they really began to enforce the "No-talking" policy I was given scowls by management for even smiling at someone so I decided to keep my gaze brief to save both our skins. After all, I have to focus on the job. I couldn't see her anymore if this affected my performance.
Though I feel this impacted her negatively. So much so that I think she spoke with Coworker C over something. Coworker A would kind of hide away from me going forward, I wasn't sure if I caused her distress or if she was just shy. I wouldn't pursue her from that point onward.
One day me and A were working within proximity of each other and she came down the aisle to meet my eyes. I was tired but also under the previous assumption. I gave her a blank look because I wasn't sure how to address her, I didn't even say hello because I was worried about how she would take it. Needless to say, at the end of that day she gave one back to me.
B - Coworker B I know very little about besides the fact they seem to be in good standing with coworker A. A used to walk around with various other members of CFT but lately I see them walk more with B.
To be honest I think it's within good reason that A be walking alongside someone because we've had a few stalker incidents in our store
Though ever since Coworker A talked with Coworker C, she's also talked with B. B has had his sights on me for a while now though I'm not really sure why.
C - Coworker C is also someone I know very little about but they seem to be very timid. I didn't really get acquainted with them until after A and C talked.
One day I figured since they were in the back with the stockers I'd ask them where I could get some assistance from someone in grocery. Their eyes averted mine nervously a bit and they redirected me to someone. I wondered if it was over something coworker A said.
I kind of spooked them the next day by helping them move a cart because it was an automatic response of mine to help. Then upon asking them were Drugstore might be they kept answering "No" and clammed up a bit, which kind of freaked me out. This also affirmed that maybe I did cause coworker A some distress.
Coworker C has started monitoring me as well.
So I believed following this event that when coworker A was around, maybe I wouldn't look at them at all to save us all the distress of meeting each other's eyes. Just to let myself be looked at because I know after years of doing this, when people are watching me.
D, E - Coworkers D and E used to be apart of my department so I can talk to them about problems they were once familiar with. Sometimes the rest of the CFT cast will overhear too.
Coworker A used to be happy whenever she knew I was in a talkative mood. But due to the complexities of timing and my job I've over-thought the ability to communicate with them much anymore.
Coworker D is a nice guy who mostly keeps to himself but will say hello to me on occasion.
Coworker E is an interesting fella and is always willing to talk and clown around a bit.
I've considered playing telephone with them to understand how the rest of CFT is doing without speaking to them on the floor. But maybe it's in vain.
There was an instance way before all this started that I was able to speak to coworker A openly in the breakroom, but I've since not been able to see them there. At least, not since last Sunday.
I'd like to be able to apologize to coworker A though maybe also disregard some of the policies just once for a window of conversation to open. I already disregard the talking policy sometimes just because this job makes me feel pretty damn robotic at times.

Link for all the chapters available here: Engines of Arachnea on Royal Road
He was back at Smiley’s taproom with a petite brunette dangling from his arm, the young signal operator whose acquaintance he’d made while assigned as a liaison officer with the Exploratory Corps. There he was, all big and stiff in his brand-new dress uniform, trying desperately to impress someone who was astronomically more attractive than him and making a priceless ass of himself.
“So,” she purred, eyeing him over the rim of her glass, “Tell me again about the surface. What’s it like wandering up there above all us wee mortals?”
“Erm,” Rene cleared his throat, feeling a hot flush creeping up his reddening neck, “It’s, uh, quite remarkable really. Simply fantastic.”
Having run out of things to say, Rene took a snootful of his drink in an attempt to sharpen his wits. It was so hard to focus with her hanging onto his every word like this.
“Ooh, you make it sound so exciting,” Deborah had tittered. Or was it Devorah? Her name had gotten lost in the fumes of fermented honeydew clouding up his brain. Perhaps another sip would jog his memory. Rene downed the horrid swill and coughed as it burned its way down his throat and up his nostrils.
“Would you look at the state of him!” someone guffawed, slapping Rene on the back, “Cool as cucumbers under fire when there’s a hundred dirty Amits breathing down our necks, but prop him up next to a lass and he goes completely to pieces.”
“Ah, piss off,” Rene said fondly. He turned to see Lethway sitting next to him flanked by two buxom blondes, an Amit axe buried deep in his neck.
“I’m only saying. You’ve got to keep your head on your shoulders, man,” Lethway said, as his own tumbled off sideways and hung on by a flap of gristle, “We’ve got a long night ahead of us with our fine lady friends here. It wouldn’t do for you to be sleeping on the job.’
“Why, Lethie my dearest. I’m sure Mr. Louvoture has the…stamina…to keep up,” the brunette said demurely, batting her eyelids at Rene, “Go on. You were telling me about how amazing it is up there.”
“Yes,” Rene puffed out his cheeks and marshalled his scattered thoughts, “It’s like this, see…how can I put it? Words can hardy do it justice.”
“Try me,” Deborah/Devorah said, tugging at his arm with her warm hands. The girl was practically throwing herself at him no matter how badly he was fumbling the ball. Rene my lad, if you don’t make it tonight you’re going to regret it for the rest of your life, Rene thought to himself.
“Alrighty then,” Rene said, deciding to risk everything by gaze deep into her eyes, which if the romance novels were to be believed, were windows into a woman’s soul. She had very pretty irises, all velvety and shining with something bordering on hero-worship.
“When you’re topside and the suns go down beyond the hills, and the clouds weep tears of crimson as the sky rolls over into a bowl of stars holding all the universe above you, it feels like…like…” Rene trailed off.
“What?” she whispered into the hush that had settled over the bar.
“Well, it feels a little like this,” Rene said softly, leaning in for a kiss. Her lips tasted his, the tip of her tongue quivering with longing. She drew him into her embrace, gripping him around the waist and pressing into him.
Awfully forward, these girls from Mound Sierra, Rene thought with some alarm. Not that he was complaining. They spent an eternity entwined like this, the whole taproom cheering and egging them on.
“Woof!” Rene broke away to catch his breath, “Is it me, or is it getting hard to breathe in here?”
“Shut up and kiss me again,” Devorah/Deborah said impatiently, wrapping a leg around his and holding him tight. Rene put a hand on her thigh and found that she was surprisingly hairy for a girl. Feeling a little repulsed at this he tried to peel himself away, but found that he couldn’t move any of his limbs.
“Mmph. Hmmgh!” he mumbled, his voice muffled by her insistent mouth. He cocked an eyebrow over her shoulder at Lethway, who’d just propped his head back up onto its stump.
“Cheers, big fellow!” Lethway tipped a glass in his direction and downed his glass in one gulp, the drink trickling out of him through a large bullet hole in his chest.
“I hate it when that happens,” Lethway said, staring sadly at it. He looked back up at Rene and said: “Oy! What did I tell you about falling asleep on the job. Isn’t it about time you got moving, trooper?”
“Not yet,” Devorah/Deborah sighed, kissing his neck, “First he has to tell me how much he likes my eyes. You do like my eyes, don’t you?”
“Why, of course darling—” Rene began. But then she pulled back to look him in face, and the words curdled and died on his lips.
Gone was the petite brunette in her oh-so-short skirt, replaced by a furry, many-eyed freak with quivering mouthparts. In an instant Smiley’s taproom was torn away to reveal the awful truth of his current circumstances: he was hanging upside down from a tree and caught in monster’s deadly embrace. He was trussed up by his legs which had gone completely numb, and his wrists were bound together by loops of silk that felt as strong as steel chains. Yelling incoherently, Rene started wriggling like a worm on a hook. The creature tightened its hold and pressed its fangs against his throat, delicately avoiding piercing the skin while looking at him through its row of eyes.
It was a warning. Rene wisely heeded it and stopped struggling. After a long moment the monster let him go, although they both continued to dangle upside down. Rene stared at its face in horrid fascination. He saw now that it had four eyes on its flat, squarish face, the centermost pair dwarfing the two ancillary ones on either side of them. In the place of a lower jaw it had four vertical mouthparts, the shorter ones in the middle tipped with curved fangs while the rest functioned like antennae, moving constantly with little taps and clicks, its grotesque head nodding along with them.
Rene thought the motion was reminiscent of a person’s lips as they mumbled, and he had a disturbing suspicion that the monster was trying to talk to him. The fact that he was still alive also lent credence to this theory. After all, if Amits were intelligent lifeforms, why couldn’t this one be as well? Hoping against hope, he stammered out:
“I—I don’t understand. I’m afraid I can’t speak your language. Haven’t got the equipment for it. See?”
Rene bared his teeth at it in a forced smile, tying show it what he meant. But the monster recoiled from him, pushing off the trunk behind him and leaping back some twenty meters away from him. It alighted on a tangle of creeper vines and hung there in all its awful majesty, eyeing Rene through its four unblinking orbs. It had ten appendages including its stubby antennae, each of them ending in a three-clawed hand. Its shoulder and thigh muscles were enormous, though its potbellied torso was as round as a wagon wheel, sporting a disgusting hump of flesh on its back. No doubt it contained even more musculature to support its powerful limbs, which at the moment were bunched up and ready to spring.
He had startled it, Rene realized. His own mouth was probably just as alien and repulsive to its sensibilities as its physiology was to him. Before he could derive some small satisfaction from that, more of the monsters emerged to join the first, darting out of the shadows with an unnatural, jittery motion. They moved in stops and starts, periods of immobility interrupted by burst of blinding speed, here one moment and gone the next.
“It shpeaksh…” Rene heard someone say in a voice somewhere between a dry croak and the gurgling of a water pipe. Rene looked around for the source of the voice and was shocked to find that it was issuing from the largest monster, the one reclining on the vines like some misshapen ape. He couldn’t believe his own ears. It was speaking Fleet cantish, mangling its way through the words somehow despite the total absence of a jawbone.
“Gallivant?” another queried with clearer pronunciation.
“No blade-wing, thish,” the leader clicked its palps thoughtfully, “Too shoft. Too schtupid. Came from the fire giant. Dropped a sheed pod, it did, like a tree in the wind. The sheed shpun a web and floated. Down, down, down.”
“Shoft like a grub,” agreed the smallest monster somewhat belatedly. A frothy substance with the consistency of saliva dripped from its fangs. It took a step towards Rene, stiffening all over. Before he could even blink it had launched itself through the air directly at him. In the same instant the leader also leapt, slamming bodily into its subordinate and throwing it to the ground.
“No,” the leader rasped, letting the other monster limp away having been suitably chastised, “Questions firshht. The fire giant. Are you itsh hatchling?”
It was staring at Rene when it said this. Rene thought quickly. It was a binary question and he felt that his life hung in the balance, the odds being even either way. Heads or tails? From what he’d heard it was clear that the only thing keeping him from lining the stomachs of these monsters was their abiding curiosity. They had witnessed the Divine Engine and his impromptu ejection from it, and they were under the impression that it had been a living thing and that he was its offspring. It followed that the best thing to do was to maintain their interest in him for as long as possible while he thought of an escape plan. Heads it was, then. Rene said:
“Yes. Yes, I am its ‘hatchling’.”
He glanced around until he found his sword where he had left it leaning against the buttress root, still in its sheathe next to the survival kit. If he could just reach down and grasp it in his hands…
“Good,” said the abomination, “And know you the secret of itsh power?”
“Of course,” Rene said, slowly and surreptitiously stretching out his arms, reaching for the sword hilt with all his might.
“Good, good,” the abomination crooned. There was a blur of motion and the leader materialized in front of him, their faces inches apart. It seized him by the hairs and yanked him close.
“Then I, too, will know its inner workingshh. Once I open your head and drink deep from your mind.”
Should have gone with tails, Rene thought as it lunged for him.
Link for all the chapters available here: Engines of Arachnea on Royal Road

i was 15 back then in 2021 and i met this guy in my new class. i kinda knew about him alr through my ex boyfriend. so over time, me and him started talking bc we sat quite near each other in class. he would introduce me to the video games he play and we would call each other from time to time to like play games together. and i thought that was what mutual friends would do. but ha ha no to him it wasnt. and we started getting closer and when my friend found out, she told me that he was a pervert / creep and watches p0rn and masturbates...
at the end of 2021 which was during the december holidays, he suddenly confessed to me through text. he said that my presence made him feel very happy LOL? HAHAH i actually found that quite funny idk why. and obviously i rejected him because i wanted to focus on my studies and because i alr liked someone else (and still do).
and since then, things started becoming a little weird... on valentines day and 520 he would wish me with a red heart. and on my birthday he gave me a huge bag of all of my favourite things (um this is ok? i guess LOL) and there was once he asked me if i wanted to put matching profile pictures with him EW and obviously i said no too. there was also a period of time that he would cook me food every single week 😭 and send me cringy ass texts. and since he sits diagonally behind me, whenever i look around the classroom, from the corner of my eye i could see him staring at me. BRO like what the hell
so i started feeling very very uncomfortable and stopped talking to him as much. and he got his WHOLE FRIEND GRP to DM me to ask why i stopped talking to him 😭 omg i wanted to cry. and they kept pestering me non stop. and i talked to my ex boyfriend about it (because we were still like friends, idk if thats a red flag...) and because we both hate him. LOL
and it got so bad to the point that i had to block him on every single social media platform. and L O L, he made an account in a girl's name with 0 followers, 0 following to stalk me... and i knew about it through my ex. and he used that acc to dm me and asked if we could be friends again. like bro who the hell would want to continue becoming friends with you. and this isnt even the worst part yet.
a few months later, i found out from a friend that he likes girls only because their b00bs were big. right now im so glad i cut him out of my life

CANCER ZODIAC TAROT READING - UNEXPECTED INCOME MAY 2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ5mIkLhCyY
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Hey all! Long time no see! I quit Reddit for a bit for my mental health, but I'm back to get some advice!
I went through a flood that destroyed my life last year, made a fundraiser, and after buying my absolute basic needs (a new bed, some clothes, etc.) I had $3K leftover.
I want to put this money away and just live really frugally, since I don't have a penny to my name outside of it. I'd rather live with absolute basic necessities than waste this money since it's more than I've ever seen at once in a really long time.
I put it in a tax-free savings account with my bank back in December, and since then the interest has only gotten me $38. Which feels kind of abysmal. I'm a student right now, and I have a roof over my head while I try to find a job, so there's some stability there. Since some friends thankfully are letting me stay with them to get back on my feet, I don't need to worry exceptionally hard about rent, food, etc. I've also already set aside and budgeted how much I need in a month for my own bills, toiletries, and whatnot. So I'm okay there!
I have excellent credit, and I have no debt. I've been really good about that thankfully since I was a teen. I'm 30 now, and single if that helps, so it's just me. I'm not sure what to do with this money, and I don't want to squander or make a bad decision that future me will regret (or thank me for) so I wanted to ask now!
I appreciate it so much, thanks all!

Yellow y’all, I am a Junior in High School currently in a program my public school has where they send us to another school to take a class. I am taking the Veterinary Science Class and we have been working on a project for a bit now. It is a career project were we research a career we are interested in. There are 2 parts to the project. The first part is the research portion. We research what education we need and were we can go to get it to reach our career goal as well as information about the career relating to what it requires, does it involve travel, how laborious is it, what is needed for it, what are the patient relationships like, what is the social aspect like, the requirements for the career, etc. This is the easier portion for me, but the harder portion I have found is the second part. For the second portion is a grade by itself and contributes to the first parts grade. (Both summative grades) What is required for this second portion is we must find someone who works in the field and contact them about interviewing them on their experiences in the field. (What it has been like for them, what I should know about it, and any tips, tricks, or forewarnings I should know) I had ended up finding a farrier in the area that seemed nice and who is exspeinced and licensed. I had emailed them emailed them explaining who I am, the project I was doing this for, and where I go to school with the class the project was for. I covered everything my teacher had told everyone in the class to do. She had given us a template to use and base our emails off of and I did while changing it up a little bit to be friendly, but keeping the main necessary content in it. I singed off at the bottom of the email with my name again, my email that was used to send this email, and my phone number if she would prefer to use that instead. After about 2 - 3 weeks with no response I sent a follow up email that my teacher also gave us a template for. The email templates we had were made in class as a class. It was part of the creative/business aspect in the project. After about 10 days with no response I was ready to tell my teacher about the situation and ask what to do when I finally got my first and, spoiler alert, only response. She explained that she was traveling and didn’t check her email in that amount of time. She said that she was now trying to ketchup on her email now. In her email to me she said and I quote “Are you interested in learning about traditional horse shoeing? I am a natural hoofcare provider with my focus being barefoot trims. I only have a handful of horses in composite type shoes that I strictly glue on. I do not use nails or work with metal shoes so I am not sure I’d be the best fit if you are planning to attend a horseshoeing school. I can recommend other traditional farriers locally to shadow if that is the direction you may want to pursue. However, if you are interested in a natural barefoot approach then I am happy to chat with you and have you join for shadowing.” End quote. I showed my teacher the email the next day looking for advice as to how I should respond. My teacher said to continue to try and make plans for an interview and potential job shadow that she seemed interested in taking on. My teacher also told me to try and get the other recommendations as well. I then replied to her email saying how I would be happy to learn from her and job shadow with her or at the very least do an interview with her. I also then said how my teacher suggested I ask if I could have the other farrier recommendations. After that I mentioned again how much it would mean to me if she gave me the chance and for her to have a wonderful night. That’s was sent march 17th. Still no reply. After a bit of waiting for a response I tried calling her because in her email she left her number. It went to voicemail so I left a voicemail message saying who I am, my number, project information from my first email, and that I am still interested in the interview and at least a job shadow. I haven’t received a return call or any missed calls. In her voicemail she said if she isn’t able to get back to you within a few days to message her through text, so I did. I was then left on read for about a week until I asked my teacher what to do. She suggested I ask if I can at least interview her over the phone or have her just send me a message of answer to my questions. So that is what I asked her sending the same message through both text and email. I also provided her with example questions that I would be asking in the message. I have been since left on read with no reply. I am now turning to searching for someone new on here to help me. I just need someone to answer a few questions on their experience being a farrier. It would mean so much to me if someone could help me here. I understand everyone here has their own lives and must be busy with such, but this assignment is due may 22nd and today is may 14. I only have 8 days left for this second portion and I hope y’all understand. Sorry this came out to be so long. Please, have a wonderful rest of your day and my email is katelynnzannoni99@gmail.com if anyone can help. Thank you.

hello guys just wanted to vent here.
i started selling contents about last 2 months. starting was really difficult. no customer difficult or difficult to talk to cause of time differences. My main customer are usually from abroad and I'm here in Philippines. I would like to be a for hire girl but I'm afraid of getting infection or disease thru sex.
During those weeks i encounter a lot of guys just scamming me. It goes like this, they ask for verification through many ways like videocall, paper with my name or their name on it, doing pose like right arm up, or finger on my nose, etc. Little did i know I'm either doing their kinks or fetish or just giving them free video calls. Because after doing my verification they aren't avaiiling my contents or service but rather harass me by sending unsolicited dick pics, masturbation of them saying my name, saving my photo on another phone and sending me video of them cumming to my photo, and slut shaming me
I'm doing this for personal reasons and not just because i want money
if i got money in the first place then i would not be doing this kind of thing
the worst part is
last month i lost my phone which has my PayPal account.
Until now i still get harassed and still receive those kinds of things
its really frustrating and I'm really sad about whats happening to me

Every year when I see the Westminster Dog Show is happening I think about the time I went and checked it out and had a pretty amusing experience.
Before that day the closest I had ever been to a dog show was the 4H barn at my county fair, but by the time I left several hours later I had been entrusted with the supervision of a giant Leonberger, who I casually passed off as my own to the unwitting public.
About 12 years ago I was living in NYC, in Hell's Kitchen, and one morning went for a run that took me down along the Hudson River where I happened to see some signage announcing that the Westminster KC Dog Show was taking place on one of the piers there a few blocks from my apartment. I thought that sounded like an interesting thing to check out, being a dog lover who had never been to a dog show, and not having anything else on the agenda that day. So after my run I checked out the particulars online, failed to round up anyone who wanted to join me, and headed back down to the venue to check it out.
I walked in with no particular expectations. I had caught a few snippets of the best in show rounds over the years, but the only moment I can think of that ever really stuck with me was year Josh the Newfoundland won, and thinking he was the the best dog I'd ever seen. I had, however, seen the documentary 'Best in Show' so I had a pretty good handle on what dog show people were like.
This many years later I can't tell you everything I saw that day. I know I was amazed at the Dobermans, and hugely let down by the Golden Retrievers. My childhood had been greatly informed by two wonderful Goldens who were big, shaggy, had a gregariousness somewhere between a local politician and a door-to-door salesman, and a perpetual residual aroma of low tide. Show Goldens it turns out are way, way, way too pretty.
What I was most surprised by was the fact that, in addition to the formal showing and judging and all, you could also see all the off-duty dogs up close in another area. A 'benched' show I believe they called it. They basically had a warehouse of amazing dogs you could peruse, mostly at arm's length, at your leisure. Certainly lots of dogs were sleeping in crates, with owners engrossed in their books with obvious 'don't pester me' vibes, but lots of people were very willing to chat about dogs who were reassuringly eager to have their ears scratched by total strangers.
I'm pretty sure I gave every dog there at least a cursory once-over, but I just kept coming back to this one Leonberger, whose name, sadly, I do not recall. I had never heard of a Leonberger before that day, and if you haven't either you should google it. He, despite having been eliminated earlier in the breed stage, was an incredibly handsome, friendly, curious, patient, charming animal. His owner was a woman, maybe 60 years old, possibly from upstate NY, and she was equally tolerant of me asking her dozens of questions I know she had answered hundreds of times before.
I probably spent a good 20 minutes with her and that dog. I asked all the obvious stuff about him, and Leonbergers, and then about dog shows, and Westminster, etc, etc. I ended up sitting on the floor with 150+ lbs of shaggy dog parked in my lap while we chatted. Eventually she asked me if I was going to be there for a while longer, I pointed out that at that point it wasn't really up to me but I had nowhere I needed to be, so she asked if I would mind watching her dog while she made the rounds to visit some friends for a bit. Of course I did what anyone would do when asked by a complete stranger if you will look after their prized show dog, and said sure.
So there I was for probably the next half hour, sitting with this amazing dog I had only just met while scores of people wandered up and asked me all the same sorts of questions I had just been asking her. At least a good 90% of them left none the wiser that I had no connection to this dog, and literally everything I knew about him, the breed, the show, and indeed this whole slightly strange world I had learned since lunch that day. The other 10% left probably pretty confused when I answered their simple question with the admission that I had no idea because this wasn't actually my dog and I didn't in fact even know the owner. It was honestly kind of a surreal experience.
Anyway, before long she came back, said she was ready to pack it in for the day, and asked if I'd help her get all her stuff to her car. So I found a cart, loaded it with her folding table, camp chair, giant kennel, bed, food, toys, etc and got it all into her minivan, said goodbye to the epic fuzzball, and she asked if I was going to the finals at Madison Square Garden the next day. I told her I hadn't planned on it, and she asked if I'd like her owner's tickets, since she was going home and wasn't going to use them. I of course said yes, so I got to go to that for free the next day. After that show I happened to stumble into what would become my go-to dive bar, but that's another (several) story(s)...
It's a funny world sometimes.

Apollon Nutrition, renowned for its potent and highly concentrated pre-workouts, is expanding its range with the introduction of a new, more affordable pre-workout supplement named "Desperado." This product aims to cater to those seeking a daily pre-workout solution that doesn't compromise on quality or effectiveness.
The supplement industry has been leaning towards formulas packed with numerous ingredients and elevated stimulant levels. However, not everyone requires such intensive support on a regular basis. Many reserve these powerful supplements for exceptionally challenging workouts. Recognizing this, several brands are now offering more economical alternatives, similar to Rule1’s Roar Preworkout and CBUM’s Essential Pre.
Desperado promises to be a wallet-friendly option that still delivers a premium experience. While specific details about the formula and available flavors remain under wraps, Apollon hints at a unique twist in the upcoming launch. Keep an eye out for more updates as we continue to explore what makes Apollon Nutrition's Desperado stand out in the crowded pre-workout market.
https://www.bestpricenutrition.com/collections/apollon-nutrition

Hi! I've been on an odyssey of metal discovery for the last few months. I'm not new to all metal, I got into nu-metal as a teen (showing my age here) and I found a few bands that I fell in love with along the way (Tool, Rammstein, and Volbeat for example) but I never listened to anything older, and I found that I just didn't enjoy the sound of more modern metal bands, so I just assumed I wasn't really a metalhead.
Weirdly, what got me exploring more metal was a random YouTube recommended video by Bradley Hall, where he does what 60 famous bands sound like to those who don't like them (recommended video btw, his impressions of Pink Floyd, the Beatles, and Blink 182 had me in stitches).
But I thought, I only know a handful of these bands, and the ones I was familiar with (like Metallica) I'd never actually listened to. So I set about listening to a lot of the bands he featured in the video, and went from there, learning all about metal subgenres, waves of metal and pioneering bands, and I feel like I discovered this whole new world that was under my nose this whole time.
My favourite subgenres (and bands) so far are heavy metal (Judas Priest - how have I never listened to Judas Priest?! Absolute favourite so far) and thrash, specifically 80s thrash (Slayer are my favourite, but found some amazing Megadeth and Metallica tracks).
My best friend is into black metal, and as soon as she knew I was looking into metal she spammed me with black metal recommendations. I wouldn't say that I'm nuts about black metal but I've learned to appreciate it on a certain level. Mostly, the history and subculture of black metal are what I find fascinating, and I've watched a few documentaries (about THAT band). Then I learned about first wave black metal, and I found I prefer that. (Early) Bathory are amazing, I listened to three albums straight by them the other night. For the later stuff, I found symphonic black metal (Dimmu Borgir) and folk black metal (Moonsorrow) pretty good.
Then, I discovered doom metal, which was pretty good but then I found epic doom metal like Crypt Sermon, which is really amazing stuff. I think I've played Key of Solomon by Crypt Sermon about 30 times in the last month.
So, finding all of this amazing music, both old and modern, made me think about the mainstream metal that I always hear about and tried to get into through the 2000s and 2010s but just couldn't get on with. Bands like Killswitch Engage, Trivium, Avenged Sevenfold, Lamb of God, all these kinds of bands, they tend to employ certain techniques, vocal styles, riff patterns etc that don't do much for me and I'm trying to figure out if there's a commonality, like are they the same genre? Or related genres? I keep hearing the terms "metalcore" and "new wave of American heavy metal" but I don't know if either of those apply to the specific trend of sound that puts me off. At first I just thought maybe I'm an old fart that only likes old music, but a lot of the stuff I've got into like Crypt Sermon, Phantom, Traveler, Hellripper, Mastodon (and even Ghost, but let's not open the Ghost can of worms lol) are modern bands. I'm not a fan of death metal style vocals, but I've learned to like the scratchier shrieking vocals of black metal (though some are a bit too high pitched and make me think of Gollum).
Anyway, just thought I'd share my thoughts, and if any recommendations come to mind, feel free to comment them!
My four best discoveries so far? Judas Priest, Slayer, Crypt Sermon, and Bathory.

This happened a week ago? I think. This is about my online friend (M) We are friends. Platonic friends. We have VC too.
So We texted the other day, and he told me, his friend (F), who he has known for a while, stopped talking to him and unfollowed him because she got mad at him for something stupid (his words). I don't know what he did or said. He then said he doesn't really care cuz she was being annoying. I kind of comforted him and said it's okay you can find new people, to which he said "i have you still" after that he also said "you're not allowed to leave". I said I won't. I then replied to his other message and sent him some reels. He didn't reply to me at all. Like no response, even though he was online on IG..
I was kind of hurt, I don't mind being left on read but not opening my messages while being online Is just 💔. He then didn't text me the whole day and the next day too. I thought maybe he ghosted me or something. Later at night, he sent me a sn*p and some reels but me being petty didn't open it(I saw them after a day or two tho).
I didn't text him that day.as I noticed I was the one mostly initiating the convo. So I just texted my other friends and studied for my exams. I was online on disc*rd mostly as all my friends are there, And he messaged me. First he said my name....then when I replied he asked how I am and all that. Then he said "who's got you on here" so I was like some people and why would I tell you. I was not being rude or anything yk just playing.... He said "I thought I was your fav" I asked him, so I can't talk to other ppl? And he said "ofc you can, silly" I told him he was being weird. And he said that's the whole point...
And now lately he's been replying to my messages very quickly. Before he would take at least 2 hrs or so. Now he'll just reply in 1 min or 10 mins. Just today I sent a sn*p of my hair with my face blurred and he complimented my hair and asked why my hair is blurred. I was like, do you wanna see my face or something he said yes and when I asked why he said "because i just do" Also we made plans that when I get free from my finals, we'll watch something together and game. And lately whenever we talk, he reminds me about our this plan.
He does talk to other girls I think so. But the problem is..... Does he like me or something? I'm confused cuz like what he if says all this to his other friends too...