#tanifuji

[desultory-novice]

Nintendo Dream May 2023

Return to Dream Land DX Interview w/ the Staff

[Note: This was 8 pages long. I bought it the moment I could and wrote down/quickly summarized everything I could find that was of interest while reading through it. I didn’t even edit it or spellcheck it ^^ It’s not a full translation, there could be some bits I misinterpreted, and there’s some technical stuff about the development and staff that I left untouched, but this should be all the good stuff!]

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They spent a long time debating whether the game (in Japanese) should still be called "Kirby Wii" but decided that since it WAS "Kirby Wii" it should keep the name.

They originally thought of giving RtDL a title like the novel version had.

Giving the characters the outlines took a hefty amount of processing power.

Even among the staff, RtDL is considered the origin point of modern Kirby.

Kumazaki's keyword to the staff was "nostalgia filter" - to not just remake the game as is, but to add enough features that it was even better than how people remembered the original.

They didn't force themselves to release all three games (Forgotten Land, Dream Buffet, DX) for the 30th anniversary, but they considered being able to do so ideal. As such, they began working on it while FL was still in development.

As to the borders, they knew it was difficult to introduce a new visual element to a series midway through, but they regretted how easy it was to loose sight of the characters in Star Allies, which is why they added them in. That and the fact that it make the characters look more like they were artwork, as well as fitting in with RtDL's naturally more fantastic and cartoony look, which also helped visually distinguish it from SA that used a lot of similar looking locales to RtDL

As for Dedede's redesign, they mention that he's partly redesigned to best represent what he's used for in each game. In TDX, he was an enemy and an ally, so he was meant to look cool. In Star Allies, he was friendly and a bit goofy. In FL, he was designed to fit with the look of the Beast Pack. DX's Dedede is meant to kind of mix FL and Star Allies, partly because FL Dedede became so popular and had such recognition. (They also note that, regrettably, RtDL's original Dedede had to have his body made smaller because of bounding box issues.) They weren't able to make him the "large and in charge" powerful type they wanted before now.

All the voices were rerecorded for this game, including the masks.

In regards to the opening animation, they talk about how there was no specific situation in mind, but note that Waddle Dee looks like he was sent flying. The reason is because Waddle Dees were still considered generic enemies at that point, and so it made sense that something had sent this random Waddle Dee flying off, which is why it happened. (They also note that because of the timing, it looks like Meta Knight was the one responsible, but it's just a random enemy thing.)

"Helper Magolor" started out from the idea that Watanabe and Tanifuji both had young kids and they wanted a game that their children could play, without sacrificing the depth that veteran gamers enjoy. Kirby is made as an entry game for gamers of all levels, and they feel they opened it up to even more players with this. Really young kids, and people who aren't good at action games but want to enjoy the story. (They were a little surprised at how much the little kids struggled with FL's 3D action elements. While it's natural for us to use inhale and then swallow for a copy ability, little kids and gaming newcomers would forget about that, thus, the auto-copy feature.)

It made sense to make Magolor the helper because he was the key character in the story, and that it would seem he was giving you assistance for you helping him fix his ship.

They debated between some 60 different ideas for new copy abilities before settling on the two that they did. The deciding factor was abilities that seemed like they would belong in Kirby but also be fresh and new.

"Festival" is back not just because it's an anniversary game, but because it fit the feeling of a 4-player adventure. (And also, with Helper Magolor on, it gives a way to increase Magolor's presence in the game.)

They mention that Kumazaki rewrote all the ability descriptions and added all the pause screen lore. That they did like the figure-based methods of lore in FL but wanted to stick with the classic style for RtDL DX. (Also, Watanabe mentions that Kumazaki is a very fast writer. What Watanabe would've taken a day, Kumazaki finished in only an hour. Maybe even faster than than that, Watanabe adds!)

Originally, they only planned for about 40 dress-up masks. Then Kumazaki decided to ask for 86, mostly to please the fans. They choose things that would be easiest, such as characters who already had a 3D model, characters that would make fans the happiest to see, or characters who were simple to make. They chose masks instead of just making them playable because they didn't want to disrupt the setting of RtDL. (And also, because souvenirs like that are a staple of theme parks.)

One question is "Why did Magolor build Magoland in Dream Land?" (For those wondering if it was really in Dream Land or not. Kumazaki answers that you  have to understand Magolor's character. He's someone that loves making things and also loves surprising people. When the idea of turning the sub-games to attractions came up, and which Kirby universe character would be responsible, it just had to be Magolor who made them. Magolor has become a character that's really easy to involve in the series. "If something is making something particularly entertaining in the Kirby series, it's Magolor's turn," says Kumazaki. "Magolor has both magic and technological abilities, which he uses to make things with."

As for the "when" and "where" of Magoland, Kumazaki notes you can kind of get the real picture if you play the game till the very end, but if you're not too concerned with the details, it's okay to just think "So, he made an amusement park at some point!" That said, he implies it supposed to be a bit of a mystery/a bit up in the air. Did he want to make something Kirby and the others would enjoy after all his experiences with them? It's up to the player's interpretation.

The possibility of putting Magolor on the original box art existed, but since he was "just a one game character in a series of games" they left him off to focus on the four person appeal of the original game. But Magolor appeared in more and more things and became popular enough that he finally earned his place on the box art.

Kumazaki mentions that every character starts out as an unknown. Even mega popular characters like Meta Knight were once just a lone boss in a "new" game. His becoming a major player thanks to "Revenge of Meta Knight" and being a character who fulfills an important role helped him to become more recognizable. Magolor has stopped being one of these "newcomer" characters and evolved into his own fully-fledged character with this game.

Kumazaki confirms that in general there's not a straight, forward-flowing timeline in Kirby as much as there is a series of loose connections. And that in-between events, the characters are generally imagined to be living peaceful, ordinary lives - just like in the opening movie. "There, Kirby has a cake and is being chased by Dedede. There were all sorts of fights before then. And maybe King Dedede was causing trouble again and Kirby had to stop him and that led to them running off with the cake...The details are left up to the imagination."

The interviewer mentions that competing over cake makes it seem like it's continuing off of Squeak Squad. Kumazaki notes that though Kirby and Dedede fight with each other, generally speaking, they get along well. As far as the relationships with the characters and how they interact, Kumazaki says, "there are times where, if the Halberd becomes necessary for a game, it's more natural to just make it the Halberd than to have a brand new unknown battleship appear out of nowhere."

"We don't have a story/timeline" he quotes himself, while noting that the truths that have spread among the players as well as the relationships between the characters and their quirks have to be preserved to a certain degree or it's like you're meeting a new cast each time. So they DO keep certain truths and relationships in mind as they make the series. Sometimes this means putting the role of the "bad guy" on King Dedede, but that doesn't change the fact that he and Kirby are "rivals." (But that he will occasionally be unfair too...) That's a fairly recent, "unchanging fact" of the Kirby world. They mention that even Bandanna Waddle Dee goes from being Dedede's vassal to a friend of the group. though recently he's been recognized more and more as "one of the group."

Meta Knight is the same as Dedede. He's someone who will fight Kirby if circumstances call for it. Like how here, in the opening, he's calmly reading a book in between his sword-training, but he pauses to see if Dedede is causing trouble, or if something threatens the peace of Dream Land.

Kumazaki says, noting the inclusion of Magolor's theme park in this game technically makes RtDL DX an alternate universe to the original RtDL. But the information you learn after 100%ing the game challenges the idea of a single flow of time. With the existence of "Another Dimension" that can cross over both space and time, players are free to see that the passage of time does not lead to one single result. That should also help explain why Kirby and the others are able to warp between Magoland, which exists in its own faraway universe, to the main game.

He adds that this is mostly for people who are concerned about the fact that main mode Magolor is depressed about his ship but Magoland Magolor is happily running his theme park.

There's also a note at the end that Landia was named "Landia" instead of something like "Dark Dragon" to make it seem more natural that they could become an ally. They were also designed to look like they could be friendly. (There's also a comment - not from the dev staff - in the "Games Magolor has been in" page that "Magolor uses the same sword as Kirby! Proof that they're friends?!)

Finally....

THE INTERVIEW WILL CONTINUE NEXT MONTH! (Where they'll discuss more about Merry Magoland and the Magolor Epilogue!! Also, Kumazaki will be looking back over the 30 years of Kirby!)

[vedantfoodsolutions]

Buy Tanifuji Sticky Short Grain Sushi Rice Online

If there is one thing that is similar to the lifestyle and tradition between India and Japan, then it has to be rice for sure. That’s because rice is a staple food in both these Asian countries. Both the countries have a rich history of rice cultivation. Considering the high potential of fertile land of Kaithal, Haryana for growing rice, a rice trading company of Japan popular as ASK has launched a ASUKU INDIA as its subsidiary to optimize the environment and production efficiency of Indian farmers with the sole intention of promoting Japanese food culture. As a result, you get Tanifuji sushi rice, which is cultivated with rice seeds imported from Japan and grown in India. Now you can enjoy authentic, hygienic, and traditionally cultivated Japanese sushi rice in India.

Features:

Tanifuji Sticky Short Grain Sushi Rice is specially grown for sushi preparation. It is best to use in traditional sushi rolls, including salads and other Asian dishes.

When cooked, this rice becomes light, fluffy, and sticky to give you the real taste of Japanese sushi rice.

Moreover, Tanifuji rice is healthy besides being tasty.

[sesiondemadrugada]

Stink Bomb (Tensai Okamura, 1995).

[marcjacobs]

Serena Motola wearing RUNWAY SPRING 2019 MARC JACOBS 

Photographed by Omi Saki for Vogue Girl Japan 

Styled by Chikako Tanifuji 

[kirbypost-generator]

LMAO so the “7 generals” thing in the last tweet is. during the interview, yuuta ogasawara (the new composer who joined for star allies) said he had this really meticulous timing sheet for sfx. this worked with previous games like triple deluxe but the generals specifically had so MANY sfx that the programmer in charge of putting all this stuff in had a nightmare that there were now 7 generals and they were gonna have to implement them all

the programmer nicknamed him “death ogasawara”

[artemiszy]

THERE IS NO HAPPINESS | Kokushibo X Wife!Reader

Kokushibo x Wife!Reader | One-shot

"Kokushibo was a man who made a lot of mistakes during his life, but loving his wife certainly wasn't one of them, even if she too made the same mistakes."

WARNING. angst, abandonment, weird relationship(?), swearing, death, light gore(I think), manga spoilers. FEMALE READER

The Toyosaki clan was known and prosperous thanks to its reputation for possessing the most beautiful and sweetest women. Sons were kept in their own clan, while daughters were promised to powerful leaders and strong samurai.

And with (Name) it was no different.

As the third daughter of the current clan head and his wife, (Name) was only ten years old when she was betrothed to the firstborn of another clan. It was to be expected, one of her older sisters was already married and the other was engaged too, (Name) just nodded when she got the news.

At least her future husband would be kind. (Name) shuddered to remember that one of her cousins ​​was unhappily married to a cruel, older man, but he was rich and had a reputation, and that was what mattered anyway...

(Name) was a silent child whose expression was always neutral towards everything around her, but she felt relieved when she was informed about the age of her future husband. A boy who was only two years older than (Name), a future samurai and leader. Until she was very curious to meet him.

It took about three or four months for (Name) to meet him in person, the day the clans got together to do business with each other. (Name) stayed with her eldest sister, the second daughter of Lord Toyosaki, who was fourteen years old, was the closest sister to (Name).

— "Nervous?" — Yuri's low words rang in (Name)'s ear.

(Name)'s face rose from her hands clasped under her folded legs above the mat, and she looked at her older sister. — "No."

Maybe it was a lie, after all, (Name) was in new territory, one that he would now live with more often.

— "I can see your little hands trembling, dear sister." — Yuri laughed as he tucked one of (Name)'s (h/c) behind her ear. — "Don't worry, I felt that way too the day I met Yoshimatsu-kun." — She smiled. — "You'll soon realize that things are going to work out for the best."

(Name) remembers that day, it was a year ago when during spring her sister Yuri went with her father and clan companions to officiate her engagement to Yoshimatsu of the Tanifuji clan. (Name) has yet to meet him as at that time she decided to stay with her mother, who could give birth to her younger brother at any time.

According to Yuri's words, Yoshimatsu was like one of the princes of the novels read by her sister, a kind man and a lover of the arts. (Name) still expected her future husband to be kind.

Now it was spring again.

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Her future husband's name was Michikatsu Tsugikuni. (Name) first saw him while walking through the engawa with her sister and other ladies, she saw him training with a master in the estate's garden. At that moment she didn't know it was him, although her eyes met and they both stared at each other for a few seconds before they were brought back to reality.

(Name) only found out a few moments after she was finally alone and overheard a conversation between handmaidens.

— "I feel bad for the Toyosaki girl." — One of the servants whispered to the other within a region of the residence.

(Name)'s footsteps stopped at these words. Wait, were they talking about her? The girl looked into the room carefully so as not to be seen thanks to the half-open door.

— "So it is." — The other agreed. — "How did Lord Toyosaki allow (Name)-sama to marry second choice?"

Those servants seemed not to want to be heard at all.

Second option?

— "Hey! Watch your words." — The first handmaiden gave a whispery cry.

— "But it's true, the stronger son fled and what was left for the Tsugikuni was to entrust the clan to the weaker son!"

— "But look on the bright side." — The other chuckled mischievously. — "With the arrival of the Toyosaki maybe we can meet some handsome boys from the clan..."

The servants laughed and talked to each other about trivial matters now, outside, (Name) was sitting on the floor leaning against a wall now a little far from the room, thinking about what she heard.

Strongest son? Weakest son?

She remembers only once hearing around that Michikatsu had a twin brother, but she ended up putting that aside as she wasn't interested.

— "What are you doing there?" — A boyish male voice caught the attention of (Name), when she looked at him she realized it was the same boy as before, until he widened his eyes when she looked at him with those big confused and beautiful eyes. — "(Name)-sama?!"

(Name) quickly got up and covered the boy's mouth making "shhh", then looking back to make sure the handmaids didn't hear, and seeing that they didn't, she grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him out of there.

— "What were you talking about there?" — The boy asked with a slight distress and concern in his voice.

— "I overheard a conversation and…" — (Name) looked right at the boy. — ...Hmm? Wait. Michikatsu-sama?"

— "Y-Yes..."

(Name) blinked. — "Oh."

The two were silent.

— "..."

— "..."

— "...So, you are my future wife...?"

— "...I am."

— "Oh."

— "..."

Michikatsu scratched his cheek and looked away with a faint pink blush appearing on his face. — "You... you're beautiful..."

— "..." — (Name) gave a small smile of happiness. — "Thanks."

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It was clear that (Name) wanted a love match, so she was happy when she was able to spend more time with her future husband thanks to certain meetings. Friendship became love in a matter of just a single year.

At sixteen, (Name) married Michikatsu. A year later she had her first child, Tsukihiro.

During this period of time, (Name) watched her husband become a stronger and more skilled man, she admired this, his dedication and talent, although she felt that sometimes something bothered her.

Two more years passed before Michikatsu approached (Name) with news.

— "(Name)..."

— "Hmm?" — (Name) looked at him as her finished feeding little Tsukihiro boiled rice.

There was also a small bulge in (Name)'s belly area below her kimono, indicating that she was expecting a baby in the next few months.

Her husband sighed and sat down on the mat beside her as Tsukihiro's face rejoiced to see his father.

— "My brother is back..." — Michikatsu informed her.

(Name) had a surprised reaction, she had already heard about Yoriichi, her husband's talented twin brother. Michikatsu talked about him in more detail at certain times, such as when Yoriichi had to live in a cubicle room and never said anything to the point where the twins' mother thought her youngest son was deaf.

Or when he ran away just so his brother wouldn't be left out.

— "(Name)..." — He began. — "Have you ever heard of demons?"

Demons. (Name) remembers hearing stories as a child of hungry beasts that fed on humans after sunset. Once, at dawn, Yuri approached (Name) in the dead of night and whispered about having heard around that a beast had torn apart a group of men in the southern mountains, it had been a terrible damage to be the work of animals.

Demons. That was the answer given by people considered crazy.

— "Once... when I was a kid... my father yelled at me and my sister when we mentioned demons." — (Name) whispered, looking down at the small bowl in her hands of nearly finished rice. — "He said we shouldn't talk nonsense."

— "They are real."

— "I know. I believe."

— "I was attacked by one."

(Name)'s eyes widened and she nearly dropped the bowl. Thanks to his samurai duties, Michikatsu often spent days and even weeks away. But (Name) could never have imagined that something related to demons would have happened this last time.

Wait, is that why Yoriichi came back?

— "I lost all my men in a demonic attack, that's when my brother arrived in time and saved me..."

— "What?" — (Name) dropped the bowl on the chabudai table as Tsukihiro was too busy playing with his father's hair to finish eating or even think about listening to the conversation between the adults. — "How did he do it?"

Michikatsu sighed as he felt a slight tug on his ponytail. — "He used a sword with a nichirin blade and... a breath."

— "Breath?"

— "You won't understand if you start to explain... but know that it's something powerful that helps to kill demons." — Michikatsu explained. — "There is a corps of swordsmen who hunt and kill demons, my brother is there and taught the other men derivations of his breath." — He seemed a little hesitant to continue. — "And I decided to join them."

(Name) was speechless, kept her gaze calm. That was dangerous, her husband would be at risk if he went. No…he was strong, one of the strongest she'd ever seen. He could manage, after all, he wouldn't be alone, his brother and companions would be there.

He's going to be fine... or at least that's what (Name) deeply prayed for.

— "I... I..." — (Name) tried to start a sentence.

— "From your reaction I don't think it's something you liked very much." — Michikatsu took a deep breath as he relaxed his body and tilted his head up.

— "I won't deny it, I didn't like that idea very much." — (Name) pulled her adorable restless son close to her so he could finish his meal and then sleep. — "I worry about you..."

Michikatsu tilted his face towards her, gave a small smile and approached her. — "Do not worry, I'll be fine." — He held (Name)'s porcelain face and placed a kiss on her lips, hearing an "eeew" from Tsukihiro. — "Don't you trust me?"

— "I trust, of course I trust!" — (Name) seemed to hesitate a little. — "B-But..." — She felt her baby move in her womb, perhaps because she was a little nervous to imagine her husband in the midst of demons, enemies much more dangerous and powerful than humans.

— "I'll be fine." — Michikatsu leaned his forehead against his wife's while still caressing her face.

— "You'll be back all right, promise?"

— "Promise."

The moment Michikatsu left, (Name) felt a tug on the fabric of the kimono on her shoulder.

— "Okaa-san!" — Tsukihiro exclaimed with a mouth full of rice. — "Where Otou-san is going?"

(Name) laughed and wiped her son's mouth, finding it adorable that he is so playful and already knows how to speak several words, even if he sometimes misses the pronunciation.

— "Work, dear…" — She smiled and hugged her son. — "You're going to miss him, aren't you?"

— "Uhm..." — Tsukihiro grumbled with his face buried in his mother's kimono.

— "Me too..."

Even though she believed in her husband, (Name) didn't feel a good feeling.

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Her husband's presence became less frequent, (Name) received news about Michikatsu's status at the hunters' headquarters and felt relieved that he was well.

However (Name) was furious and devastated when Michikatsu failed to attend the birth of Tsuyami, her newborn daughter.

It didn't take long for her to realize that something was really wrong. Michikatsu's gaze and the way his lips seemed to spit out his twin's name... (Name) recognized that this was not normal, and her suspicions were reinforced when she found her husband in a grueling training session during the night.

— "Michikatsu?" — (Name) strained her eyes to see under the rain her husband soaked by the drops but not letting go of the sword he used to slash the air.

He did not answer.

— "Michikatsu... what are you doing there at this hour?" — (Name) sighed with concern. — "Please... go back inside, I don't want you to get sick."

Again there was no response.

— "Michi--"

— "I have to become stronger..."

— "Hm?"

— "My brother... I have to get over him..." — Michikatsu growled in a mutter.

— "...What?" — (Name) squeezed the handle of the intern. — "...Michikatsu, go back inside." — Her voice was more serious.

Again there was no response, and the samurai continued to slash at the non-existent opponent with his blade.

(Name) dropped her flashlight on the engawa floor and walked quickly across the wet lawn to her husband in the rain, getting wet in the process, but that was not important.

— "Listen me!" — She grabbed Michikatsu's wrist. — "Stop it! You're already crossing the line! I don't want you to harm yourself!" — Her look was incredulous for that situation. — "How long have you been doing this, huh?!"

— "(Name)... go back inside." — He growled.

— "No!" — Her voice was raised as she brushed strands of wet hair from her face thanks to the rain. — "Look at you! Your training is too intense! It's going to end up hurting you!"

— "Fuck!" — Michikatsu turned to face her. — "I need to become stronger than my brother!" — He yelled.

(Name) blinked with a confused face, before her writhed in rage again. — "So that's it?! You'd die if it made you better than your brother by any chance?! What's on your mind?! You're obsessed!"

Michikatsu's jaw clenched.

— "This... this is madness..." — Now (Name)'s voice was one of sadness, melancholy. — "I don't want you to keep hurting yourself..."

He was hurting himself… gnawing and eating away at his blood and sweat and even his last hair to make himself stronger. While his younger brother didn't need any of that.

He was already strong without even training.

That thought was a reminder, and it made Michikatsu furious.

(...)

Days passed, Michikatsu left on a mission and no further news. (Name) feared the worst.

Until when a whole week has graduated, he comes back.

— "Michi?" — (Name) wept with relief to see her husband appear in the doorway.

Tsukihiro rejoices and tries to hug his father's leg, but the grown man walks in a specific direction, ignoring both his children and his wife. The now four year old boy stands static in the same place where his father was before, his face surprised and even in shock at how rough Michikatsu was when he passed by.

— "..." — (Name) looked in the direction Michikatsu had gone. — "Michi! What was that?"

No reply.

— "Otou-san!" — Tsukihiro ran after Michikatsu, disappearing from (Name)'s sight.

(Name) looked down into her arms and saw her daughter fidgeting and whimpering. Before she could get up and go after her son and husband, both of them appear, Tsukihiro trying to call out to Michikatsu and being ignored by him.

— "Michikatsu, why are you ignoring him?" — (Name) asks with concern, feeling the sadness in her son.

He ignores her.

— "Hey!" — (Name) gets up carefully so as not to disturb Tsuyami. — "Why do not you speak?"

— "Otou-san!" — Tsukihiro tries to get his father's attention by pulling on his hakama pants, but the boy just fell back when Michikatsu opened the shoji door without even looking back.

— "Goodbye."

Michikatsu Tsugikuni disappeared after that night.

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Everything was in chaos. Michikatsu's disappearance and his alleged family abandonment had thrown everything into chaos.

Tsukihiro couldn't stop crying and asking where his father was, and his crying resulted in Tsuyami crying. (Name) didn't know what to do, of all there she was certainly the most broken. Her husband left her without a word, left her and her children.

Things got even more tense when Yoriichi showed up at her house to let her know what happened.

Michikatsu abandoned his humanity and was now a demon. (Name) couldn't help but cry, Yoriichi gave her a shoulder for it.

And things got even worse when at the door of her property appeared other slayers demanding that (Name) commit sepukku with Yoriichi thanks to what Michikatsu have done.

(Name) thought about it, but who was she kidding? She wouldn't have the courage.

Two months passed. Two months of pure pain and conflict. During this period of time things became tense internally, Tsukihiro was supposed to become the next head of the clan as Michikatsu had been presumed "dead" and Yoriichi... well, Yoriichi was no longer an option. Tsukihiro was still too young for that, a child barely five years old, so much trouble.

(Name) just couldn't handle the whole situation, the pressure of her "new" clan and the abandonment of her husband, to make matters worse, she still had to live with the comments of people who found her situation funny.

Sometimes (Name) wished these people would die.

Her only hope now was her children, her only joy, though Tsukihiro was still upset and Tsuyami was too young to even understand what was happening. (Name) was doing her best to keep them well.

(...)

Things changed again a few days after the arrival of spring, this time in a much more drastic and intense way.

— "Nice night, don't you think?"

The unfamiliar male voice made (Name)'s eyes widen. The voice had a soft tone but there was still something about it that made its owner scream danger.

(Name) released the flower from the mansion's garden and turned her face towards the subject. He was a man much taller than she was, a handsome man she had never seen before. Curly black hair and eyes the brightest blood red.

How did he get in here?

— "Who are you...?"

The man smiled, a smile that despite looking friendly was still an evil smile. — "I am the one known as the Demon King."

Muzan Kibutsuji.

Silence. Total silence with only the noise of crickets and owls.

A wind hit (Name)'s face before she could say anything. — "...Why are you here?"

— "Your husband misses you." — The man's laugh made her shiver.

(Name) felt her chest tighten at the mention of her husband, but she tried to remain steadfast in the face of the whole situation. She knew how dangerous the Demon King was, Yoriichi had warned her.

— "That... that doesn't answer my question."

Still looking satisfied with the situation, Muzan took a few slow steps forward with the intention of getting a few meters closer to the woman.

— "Why don't you become a demon?"

— "What?"

— "I've been watching you for a while after I got Kokushibo, and I have to admit... you would be a great demon."

It was as if there was venom in his voice, those words were mean and there wasn't an ounce of genuineness in them. He was trying to manipulate her. After what Yoriichi did to Muzan, it was clear that he would need allies.

— "..." — (Name) stared at him without reaction.

— 'Think about it, you will be strong and fear nothing more." — The man's voice was strangely anxious. — "You will never grow old and will remain young for all eternity."

(Name)'s face lowered, her gaze fixed on the lawn as her hand trembled slightly, squeezing the hem of her kimono.

She knew she had no choice, by the time the Demon King appeared before her she was already doomed. Muzan wasn't the type to take a "no" and walk away. No... (Name) was smart enough to understand what would happen. He would kill her and then annihilate everyone on this property.

Including Tsukihiro and Tsuyami.

And it had been almost a month since the last time Yoriichi showed up, he wouldn't be able to help anyone in that situation.

It was the moment (Name) felt Muzan's hand enter her chest and pump his blood that she realized that maybe she wasn't that different from her husband.

She blacked out.

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A again everything has changed.

(Name) did not have the courage to appear to her children after that night, she was afraid that they would fear her or that she would hurt them. So she stood in the shadows watching everything, shedding tears at the loss of the sparkle in Tsukihiro's eyes after losing his mother and father in such a short period of time, before such a joyful and full of life child.

Like Michikatsu, (Name) was also presumed dead. It was at her "funeral" that (Name) saw her sister Yuri for the first time in so long.

She had to walk away after that day.

Meanwhile Michikatsu, no... Kokushibo, now the demon who craved more and more for power to overcome his brother no matter what, his vision was clouded by hatred and rancor that only realized that sixty years had passed when he found his brother again.

A old man, but alive, and even stronger than his brother.

Kokushibo was furious. Why was his brother still alive?! He should have died years ago for the mark!

He got even angrier when even old, his brother managed to hurt him. Nothing changed.

But his mind became even more clouded when the attack that would kill him never came, as Yoriichi had died standing up with his sword still in hand. That's when he realized that not even that man could defeat him, no one could even hurt him.

He made his older brother feel pathetic.

Kokushibo's mind screamed in rage as he cut the other twin's already dead body in two. But his mind was cleared when he saw the flute fall to the ground.

— "I think of that flute you gave me... as if it were you, brother." — A young Yoriichi smiled at the flute in his hands.

— "..."

— "I made a flute for my brother a few years ago, you know?" — A thirteen-year-old Michikatsu smiled at a (Name) of the same age as he practiced with his wooden sword.

— "Serious?" — She smiled. — "How cute! You really love your brother, don't you?"

Yoriichi... (Name)...

— "What did you do?"

That familiar voice... The man felt as if his body had stopped working for a moment.

He looked back over his shoulder and his six eyes widened at the sight of that familiar figure beneath the red moon. There she was, just as he had last seen her. The same simple yet beautiful kimono; the soft skin and delicate face; the same hair (h/c).

She looked at him with an emotionless face but at the same time there seemed to be surprise in those eyes. Those eyes that now distinguished that she was no longer human. The whites of her eyes had been replaced by black and the iris of her eyes were now white instead of (e/c).

Despite everything, she still remained the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

— "...(Name)..."

She did not answer. Instead her eyes were empty but not from sadness or melancholy, it was as if she had forgotten what it felt like to feel something. There was nothing in those eyes.

(Name) just passed by Kokushibo to see Yoriichi's body. — "Bury him, at least give him a decent burial."

Yoriichi was his brother after all.

He could feel it, that woman was a strong demon, something that had killed so many people.

During the short period of time that both of them got together to bury the dead man's body, neither of them said a word, although Kokushibo felt the burning in his chest to confront her, even though at no point did she look at him in the face.

The two buried Yoriichi in the same spot that his now-deceased wife had been buried. Then (Name) disappeared along with a mist that was probably part of her kekkijutsu.

Now husband and wife were two strangers.

(...)

About fifty more years passed. Things change again. Kokushibo, who now held the rank of "upper moon one" received the information that there was a demon rising very fast in the hierarchy, and that he was currently in the rank of "upper four".

Another year later and the demon has risen to "upper three".

Another year and the demon has risen to "upper two".

Afterwards Kokushibo received news that this demon had now become powerful enough to share the rank of "upper one" with him. And that left him seething with hatred.

Who was the bastard who was able to match his strength with his?

His bad thoughts faded and were replaced by surprise when Kokushibo was finally introduced to the demon.

And there she was again. With the same emotionless face and empty eyes.

— "(Name)..."

She didn't answer, but she blinked.

— "When did it get so strong?"

— "Just like you."

The more they feed, the more powerful the demons get. And by how quickly (Name) rose through the ranks it can only mean that she killed a lot of people at once.

You could see in the depths of those soft but opaque eyes, (Name) was a demon that craved power, a blank crockery, there was no emotion on her face other than the desire to have more strength.

And despite being his wife, Kokushibo would not allow (Name) to surpass him as a demon in the same way that Yoriichi surpassed him as a human.

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— "Ara ara~ (Name)-chan is always so serious!" — Douma's irritating voice rang out.

— "Shut up, worm." — Akaza growled.

(Name) just ignored the fight of those two annoying demons in the distance and remained with her eyes closed and an ethereal posture sitting on the mat.

The emergence of Muzan's presence made Akaza and Douma settle down before they lost their heads. (Name) opened her eyes when she felt him close by.

— "Any news on the blue spider lily?"

The demons' negative responses seemed to irritate Muzan. So long and still nothing.

He continued. — "You good-for-nothings are useless." — Muzan growled. — "I should eliminate them once and for all."

The upper moons present at the place felt as if their cells were going to explode, and that hurt a lot, (Name) had to admit, even though she had already gotten used to it thanks to Muzan's temper. When the man seemed to calm down the pain left.

That situation was already common. Muzan would come and ask about such a flower, and when the demons didn't bring answers that pleased him then he would get angry saying things like "I will destroy you all".

Kokushibo looked to the side so that she could see (Name), whose eyes were fixed on the ground. Despite everything, she was still beautiful.

When the noise of the biwa sounded, Kokushibo was now in the middle of a forest in front of an empty rice field. Next to him was (Name) sitting on a large boulder. It was rare for them to be alone together, and for the first time, (Name) didn't leave. She sat there with her eyes closed feeling the cool breeze hit her face.

— "Do you feel it?" — She muttered with her head tilted up.

— "..."

She silenced him by opening her eyes abruptly and leaning her face forward again. — "Shh."

The two were silent, until Kokushibo felt something too.

— "Humans. Nearby." — And then she disappeared again in her mist kekkijutsu.

A few meters away was a group of slayers who seemed to be looking for demons, they didn't look more than twenty years old.

— "Yeah man!" — One of them yelled and scratched his ear. — "I saw a demon pass this way!"

— "Are you sure it wasn't just a boar?" — Another rolled his eyes, tired of the whole situation and wanting to go back to the old village in the interest of seeing some pretty girls.

— "Forget it!" — Another one exclaimed, already irritated. — "Leave the demons alone!" — He snorted. — "Let's go before this mist intensifies!"

— "Wait, mist?"

By the time they finally realized that there was a dark fog surrounding them it was too late. The texture of the mist was similar to clouds, but it seemed to contain twinkling stars, until the mist covered them completely until it looked like the slayers had been transported to a "dimension" of a starry night sky.

— "What the hell is that...?" — One of them looked like he was going to get his pants dirty.

— "A demon!" — He took up his sword. — "Keep alert!"

The darkness mixed with the mist was extremely dense to the point that no human would be able to see anything. The last thing they saw was the flash of a sword's blade cut.

When the mist stopped, the slayers returned to the forest with lifeless bodies.

— "I could have done it without you." — (Name) muttered.

— "Hm."

She just sighed and approached the bodies, there were six in total.

— "Marechi..." — Kokushibo threw one of the bodies in front of (Name). — "You can... you can have this..."

(Name) blinked a little in surprise, as demons didn't usually share their dead prey, let alone marechi. Even if they were the targets of (Name) and Kokushibo he had just meddled.

It was okay, after all… he still had a lot to redeem himself if he wanted her forgiveness. If he ever had.

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Things got weird for the demons when the upper moon six died and shortly thereafter upper five and four as well. For the first time in a hundred years things have changed again, not in a good way for the demons, apparently.

Now only Muzan and his last upper moons remained, Nakime had become the upper four and Kaigaku - a boy who was turned into a demon after his encounter with the upper moon one, felt intimidated and realized he wouldn't have chances to win, knelt in front of Kokushibo accepting his blood while (Name) watched everything from behind. - It had risen in rank and was now in the upper moon six position.

Either way, they've kept to the shadows since discovering a demon that can beat the sun. Who knows what Muzan was planning.

In the sprawling hall full of columns was the spot that (Name) chose to think a little, not long before he came across her ranking companion.

Her husband.

— "Do you feel it?" — He asked in his usual distant voice.

(Name) raised her face and looked at him in silence.

— "It started." — She said.

The slayers were in the infinite fortress. It was only a matter of time before they reached the upper moon one.

Things were changing, now it was fate's turn to decide whether the last upper moons would live or die as their "companions". And if fate were truly merciful, no demons would make it through this night.

Despite keeping in mind that it was one of the strongest demons, still, deep down behind his neutral face, (Name) feared for a moment. Kokushibo sensed this and looked straight at her.

— "(Name)..." — He called out to her, and she looked at him again. — "Before... this all started... I wanted to ask you... why did you become a demon..."

She didn't respond right away, instead looking down at the floor.

— "I... I don't know..." — She replied. — "At first I was scared... I didn't want to accept the change and I even thought that things could be different but... it wasn't worth it. In the end, I just didn't want to die."

Kokushibo listened in silence. — "I see..." — He also averted his eyes to another direction other than the woman beside her. — "I allowed all my hatred for my brother to blind me to the point of leaving for more power…" — Pause. — "My biggest regret... was not coming back for you that night..."

In the end, there was nothing to complain about after all, they weren't that different.

The conversation of the two demons was interrupted as a human presence grew closer and closer.

The moment a young slayer fell from the shattered ceiling and stopped in front of the pair of demons, (Name) felt a strange sensation as her laid eyes on him.

— "You're here... demon slayer..." — Kokushibo started and put his hand on the katana bar, until he finally realized the same thing that (Name) had felt. — "Hm...? For some reason... you look very... familiar..."

(Name) agreed, still in a certain trance thanks to that feeling.

Kokushibo's six eyes narrowed with a calm expression. — "I imagined... now I understand..."

The slayer was silent as if there was a conflict in his mind. The presence of the demons was intimidating, the boy tried to pull his sword but he didn't stop shaking. It was as if there was a dangerous aura in that place.

Very dangerous.

— "What is your name...?

— "...Muichiro Tokito."

— "Right then... the name Tsugikuni must have disappeared then..." — The six-eyed demon looked thoughtful.

For a moment, (Name) felt like her body was going to fall, that feeling...

The female demon stopped her gaze in the direction of the young slayer meters away. That face… it looked like a face she'd long since forgotten about.

No... it can't be...

— "...Tsugikuni? Who was it?" — Muichiro seemed to notice the tension in the demon woman.

— "It's been centuries after all... it was inevitable... my name when I was human was Michikatsu Tsugikuni..."

Michikatsu... it had been ages since (Name) had heard that name out loud...

— "And she remained (Name)..." — The six-eyed demon continued. — "You... are a descendant of a member of the Tsugikuni family that we left behind..."

The Tsukihiro's descendant.

"Okaa-san!"

Muichiro was in shock, trying to process everything he had just heard from the male demon, who remained motionless and unsurprised. The woman on the other hand, despite trying to stand her ground and stoic like the other demon, was clearly just as surprised as the young Hashira, even looking bewildered as if she was going to fall.

As if she was going to cry.

Her mind must have been in a mess. But (Name) tried to put her emotions aside to focus on what was to come.

And the fight began.

The boy's breathing was similar to (Name's) kekkijutsu, so it wasn't that difficult for her to adapt, even if the woman had no intentions of attacking.

At least not yet.

When the mark appeared on Muichiro's face, his attack seemed to get stronger, but it still wasn't enough to defeat the pair of demons. And the moment Kokushibo played his own blade, one of Muichiro's hands flew away.

The next mist was not from Muichiro, but from that woman, who surrounded him preventing him from seeing anything. In the next moment Kokushibo threw him against a pillar keeping the boy there trapped by his own sword.

The mist cleared and (Name) approached the boy standing next to the other demon.

— "Our descendant..." — Kokushibo began. — "Allow me to turn you into a demon... so that you can be of use to that man."

— "It is surprising that you are our descendant…" — (Name) sighed. — "I feel even... happy about it. I'm glad you were born. So there's nothing to fear..."

Kokushibo agreed. — "Let me stop the bleeding... humans are so fragile."

(Name)'s eyes closed a little in anger as she noticed that the hidden slayer really thought she and Kokushibo hadn't noticed him there.

Genya tried to shoot the demons but his arm fell off.

— "GENYAAA!" — Muichiro yelled and tried to break free.

— "Be silent…" — (Name) scolded him. — "Screaming will hurt your vocal cords..."

Despite keeping his eyes fixed on Genya, Muichiro seemed to be listening intently to everything the woman said.

— "You know... you really remind me a lot of someone..." — (Name) sighed, watching Kokushibo practically slash Genya's body. — "Your face is so...familiar to me. It makes me feel strange. Even though I appreciate you being here...it makes me sick to my stomach, makes me feel angry."

The woman's voice was comforting as if she were an angel singing a lullaby. If that situation wasn't catastrophic with Genya's life hanging by a thread, Muichiro could peacefully fall asleep with that voice.

Before Kokushibo rips off Genya's head, the Wind Hashira arrives and saves him at just the right moment.

As Kokushibo was thrown backwards at the moment of impact, (Name) took a deep breath and closed her eyes as her hair and kimono fabric swayed with its dense mist appearing as if it was coming out the back of her body and the ends of her hair.

It's time.

(...)

Despite being stronger than Douma and Akaza, (Name) was still weaker than Kokushibo. After all, she wasn't really a fighting demon.

Her abilities were similar to Nakime's, she was able to create an environment that she was sure humans could not on their own. Her mist had created the same starry night sky, the slayers present there knew that this was bad as the new environment was the work of the female demon, which would clearly favor Kokushibo in the fight.

During the fight, Sanemi seemed to enjoy having an opponent worth killing according to him, even if it was giving him trouble.

Thanks to the mist, neither the female demon nor the other two slayers could be seen. Though Genya seemed to be close and both he and Muichiro could feel the intense battle between Sanemi and the six-eyed demon.

After an attack by Kokushibo, in the midst of the mist pieces of sliced ​​pillars began to fall and Genya's eyes widened in terror as he saw his older brother standing, bleeding.

— "Aniki..." — He gasped.

The wreckage of pillars began to be "absorbed" by the mist. This is bad.

— "Hm... you held on for a long time... but it's over." — Kokushibo observed. — "If you move... your organs... will split..."

The six-eyed man felt his body go weird as he noticed his pulse change. Not only that, the mist seemed to get a little more unstable. Whatever is happening is also affecting (Name) too.

The white haired Hashira started to laugh. — "Rare blood to demons is like catnip." — He took the chance to attack Kokushibo, who staggered backwards. — "Oops man, what's the problem?! You look a little dizzy and this mist looks like it's going to dissolve!" — He laughed. — "The scent of my blood intoxicates the demons! This is the rarest blood among the rare! Feast time!"

(Name) needed to stay focused so that the mist field wouldn't dissolve, so she would take advantage of Kokushibo. She took a deep breath and the mist intensified as she regained her composure after the marechi scent faded, and she felt the demon and the slayer struggle.

Until a new presence appears in the territory and (Name) soon pull him into the mist as well.

— "They keep showing up..." — Kokushibo looked annoyed, despite remaining neutral in that situation.

The Hashira of the stone had joined the fight. Kokushibo was surprised to see a body as perfected as that in three hundred years.

The mist seemed to become a little restless again, but this time not because of (Name) but thanks to Gyomei's fighting moves.

When the chain wrapped itself around Kokushibo's neck - he was able to escape. - he realized that his flesh sword would be destroyed even before he broke Gyomei's weapons.

Despite everything, the mist still favored him making things difficult for Gyomei, who clearly realized the situation.

Meanwhile, Muichiro tried to escape from the wall, with great effort, but managed, falling to the floor panting. And after making the bandages he ran to help Genya, who asked him for the lock of hair ripped from Kokushibo.

— "I want to... fight until the end... I will protect the aniki... I don't want to let him die..." — The boy with the severed body said.

Muichiro nodded. — "Alright, let's fight together until the end. Now... we have to find and kill the demon woman."

"Kill me? How cute..." (Name) mentally chuckled.

Kokushibo and Gyomei clashed and Sanemi did her best to stop the mist from doing anything to itself while he fixed his injuries. Rising with hate in his eyes now with his mark activated.

— "It doesn't matter..." — Kokushibo counterattacked Gyomei. — "Even if we stay here... fighting for hours and hours... you will die anyway. After all... (Name) will absorb all of you through the mist little by little..."

So they had time. Gyomei thought along with Sanemi, who returned to the fight.

— "(Name)?" — Gyomei whispered, it must probably be the other demon he sensed, but he wasn't able to locate it thanks to the mist.

— "It's the wife!" — Muichiro's voice sounded close by. — "She must be killed for the mist to disappear! Genya and I will take care of her!"

Gyomei and Sanemi seemed to agree, even though the woman was nowhere to be seen.

Sanemi smiled and positioned. — "Good thing we did that training, huh Himejima-san?!"

— "Uhm."

"Kokushibo, (Name), how many hashiras have you two defeated? Don't let them get here yet."

Muzan's voice was heard by the demons. And (Name) tried to intensify her mist even more to help Kokushibo finish it soon, which required more concentration.

Whatever they were, it was the first time (Name) had seen such skilled hunters since the sengoku era.

For a moment she felt her pulse tremble, but soon she regained her composure as she felt that the real fight was only beginning after Kokushibo's sword extended absurdly.

Meanwhile, Oyakata-sama's sisters tried to observe the situation, but it was impossible thanks to the mist. But it was still possible to feel the tremor of the intense fight that was taking place.

Muichiro was trying to sense the presence of the other demon, looking for it through the mist behind some trail and even using the mist of his own breath to notice certain differences.

That's when he finally found her standing in the distance. (Name) was motionless and her hair was extremely taut, swaying and floating as if wind was blowing at it. Soon Muichiro noticed that strands of her hair were connected and fused with mist, which seemed to form from the ends.

The young Hashira tried to attack her as quickly as possible, she showed no reaction when Muichiro's blade was almost slicing through the woman's neck. That's when she opened her eyes and the boy felt chills as she stared straight at him.

— "Very slow."

Muichiro's blade slashed through (Name)'s neck as if he had tried to cut through a cloud. Muichiro fell to the ground not far away but tried to reposition himself again.

"I lost an arm and the bleeding is getting worse. I don't have much time." He thought.

Despite this, (Name)'s neck remained intact.

— "Stop looking at me, your face brings back memories, I don't want to remember..." — (Name) sighed, looking away.

Again Muichiro tried to use his breath to try to injure the woman, but to no avail, his blade continued to pierce through her body as if (Name) was made from the mist itself.

— "Your breathing... is quite interesting... matches my kekkijutsu."

Before (Name) could counterattack Muichiro, she felt her body being pierced by something small.

— "Hmm?" — She looked down and saw a small, round-shaped hole in the region of her right forearm.

Soon her body was trapped by roots.

"My body isn't going through this fucking tree..." (Name) mentally growled.

When she looked up she saw in the distance the same severed boy from before, who had consumed some of Kokushibo's hair and sword. The next moment he disappeared from there to help the Stone Hashira and Wind.

That feeling…she didn't like it at all.

Thanks to the conflict with (Name) the mist started to become unstable again, to the point that Muichiro was now able to see the fight involving the other male demon with the other three slayers.

The moment Kokushibo screamed, (Name) could feel that he felt the same way.

The woman glared at Muichiro and tried to make her mist rip him apart once and for all, but the boy managed to counterattack at the last moment with his own mist breath.

— "Your..."

"Okaa-san!"

— "...Huh?"

— "I..." — Muichiro stood up panting after (Name) was able to escape Genya's kekkijutsu. — "I didn't say anything… — He gritted his teeth.

That slayer's face... it was so familiar. It was identical to--

— "Okaa-san!" — The little boy laughed as he hugged his mother from behind.

— "..." — (Name) shivered. — "Stop looking at me..."

Muichiro advanced.

(Name)'s face seemed to fill with hatred and a wave of mist went towards Muichiro. — "I TOLD YOU TO TURN YOUR LOOK, TSUKIHIRO!"

Muichiro was able to dodge the attacks again, but one of them ended up ripping his leg off. But at the last moment his blade managed to reach (Name)'s neck as it turned red.

That face...

It's been over four hundred years... and for the first time, she remembered her son's face.

— "(NAME)!"

Half of Muichiro's body was severed, not by the mist, but by Kokushibo's blade.

The boy's body, still alive, fell to the ground, just as (Name's) head separated from her body to also fall to the ground.

The mist began to disappear definitively along the body of (Name), who was looking at Muichiro with tears in her eyes.

— "Tsuki... hiro..." — She whispered.

Muichiro used the last of his strength to drag himself to the woman's body and placed one of his hands under her back, silently. (Name) accepted this act.

Despite still being under threat from the other three slayers, Kokushibo watched (Name) disappear with silent tears welling up in his six eyes. The woman he loved was dying, and he couldn't change that.

The last thing (Name) saw before her head totally disappeared was Gyomei's destruction ball destroying Kokushibo's head, but instead of disappearing, he turned into a monster.

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(Name)'s eyes opened in a dark place that she knew was not her mist.

She turned her face in all directions in an attempt to find something or someone. Oh wait, that's right... she died. Is this the afterlife?

(Name) felt her arms get heavy and when she looked down, her eyes started to water as she saw what she was holding.

— "Tsuyami..." — The woman smiled in a whisper and hugged the baby.

Tsuyami... Unlike Tsukihiro, (Name) didn't see the baby go past the age of a newborn, which hurt her a lot just thinking about it. She must have aged and become a beautiful woman, (Name) prayed that she had found a good husband with children who loved her.

— "Okaa-san!"

This voice...

The four-year-old boy came running towards (Name) happily, hugging her by the legs.

— "Tsukihiro..." — (Name)'s tears began to stream down her face.

Tsukihiro's merry laughs and Tsuyami's babble filled that dark place.

The boy from before... Muichiro, was a descendant of Tsukihiro. Your lovely son, who must have grown into a gentle boy as he grew older.

— "We missed you!" — Tsukihiro smiled.

(Name) looked at him with sad eyes. — "Me too..."

The woman started to feel her arms become lighter as Tsuyami and Tsukihiro's bodies disappeared into a mist, leaving her there alone again. (Name) knelt down and leaned her face down with her hair falling over her and hugging herself. Now the sound of her tears and wailing was the only thing that could be heard there.

Of course, the woman would go to hell for the things she did. Her children were kind souls who should be kept in heaven.

Then she would be alone, all right… she would accept that.

— "(Name)...?"

Kokushibo's voice made the woman's face rise again.

If he's here... it means he lost too.

Her husband was in front of her, not Kokushibo, but Michikatsu. Now both of them are human again.

— "Michi..." — (Name) cried.

The man was quick to kneel in front of her and pull her into a protective hug. — "I'm sorry…" — He also cried. — "For everything... I'm sorry for everything... please forgive me..."

— "It wasn't your fault... you never forced me to do anything... everything I did for the last four hundred years was because I wanted to do it..." — Her head was against Michikatsu's chest, hugging her husband back.

— "If only I had never done that… if only I had never allowed all that hatred and envy to consume me…" — The man's embrace tightened a little more. — "Maybe you could have watched our children grow up! If only I hadn't made so many mistakes... maybe we both could have been happy..."

— "..." — (Name) held her husband's face and wiped away his tears. — "It's okay…" — She laughed even though her eyes were still sad. — "I think we were both idiots..."

Michikatsu was silent, but then he also gave a melancholy short laugh, and leaned his lips against his wife's forehead, pressing her even more against him in the embrace.

Then everything was covered by flames.

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There wasn't much to do, after all, from the very beginning happiness had already been denied to the two demons who were looking for power.

"CAW CAW! UPPER MOON ONE DEFEATED!"

In the infinito fortress, inside the huge cocoon of flesh, Muzan can't help but close his eyes and give a short laugh.

— "How pathetic."

8574 words

[delfimorbelli]

Delfina Morbelli for Vogue

Photos: Takemi Yabuki at W　

Stylist: Chikako Tanifuji　

Prop Stylist: Takashi Imayoshi　

Hair: JUN GOTO at ota office　

Makeup: Yuka Washizu at beauty direction　

Text: Asa Takeuchi　

Editor: Airi Nakano　

Digital Producer: Terumi Kobayashi

[dr-burgeoningmalice]

Remodeled Profile #2

Participant #2 has been called to the stand.

Full name: Anzu Tanifuji

SHSL Talent: SHSL Archaeologist

Gender: Female

Age: 18

Birthday: 7th of March (03/07)

Height: 5’5” (165 cm.)

Weight: 126 lbs. (57 kg.)

Blood Type: RH Null, “Golden Blood”

Likes: Figs

Dislikes: Herself

Former Affiliation(s): Ivory Sticks Lab. Foundation

Public Information: Anzu is a cowardly and clingy girl, but has a generally cheerful disposition. She’s cheerfully pessimistic. She shows excitement when people are talking to her and speaks in third person, There’s method to her madness, however. When she was a young girl, her adoptive fathers were killed in an accident in which she discovered a whole other catacomb system on their travels to a foreign country. That being said, she is also said to be the unluckiest ultimate without being the ultimate unlucky student herself. With her bad luck, she tends to cling to others so she can drag herself down with the person she’s putting in danger.

[deadscanlations]

Hibi Utsuroi - Tanifuji Mitsuru

Oneshot that was included in Afternoon’s Four Seasons Award anthology (v08)

Download

[kaialone]

Kirby Star Allies Translation: Sound Staff Round-table Discussion

(This contains late-game spoilers for Kirby Star Allies)

On the official website for the Star Allies soundtrack, they recently posted a little "round-table discussion" featuring Shinya Kumazaki (General Director), Hirokazu Ando (Lead Sound), Jun Ishikawa, and Yuuta Ogasawara (both also worked on the sound and music).

It's basically a little "preview" of the sort of discussions from the booklet that is included with the sountrack itself.

If you’re interested in reading my translation, head under the cut.

--

Note that when they mention the titles of some of the tracks, I translated those myself too, because no official English translations exist as far as I am aware?

And I used the localized names of games and characters here, because I feel more people would know them.

Now, onto the translation itself.

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Sound Staff Round-table Discussion

The booklet included with "Kirby Star Allies - The Original Soundtrack" will feature a round-table discussion with the general director and sound staff of the current title.

In commemoration of its release on February 14th of 2019, we are adding a small extra episode to this website, which is not included in the book itself.

Please have a look.

-

An Anthology Title that Welcomes a New Face

Kumazaki:

One of the themes of "Star Allies" was to aim for an "anthology" of the iconic Kirby, to act as a milestone for its 25th anniversary. Mr. Ando, who is part of HAL Laboratory's leading sound staff, and Mr. Ishikawa, who has been working with us from the very beginning, what are your thoughts on the musical composition?

Ando:

This project left an impression that was like "Do you know your roots?", but it did have this strong feeling of creating something fairly straightforward and iconic. Though there was also the intention to make it interesting with things like quirky melodies and sounds, similar to the "Planet Robobot" days.

Ishikawa:

Altough I was somewhat aware of it, as a composer I don't create melodies or chords with the feeling of it being an anthology like that.

Kumazaki:

I see. The main theme of "friends" was not to create that either. In taking advantage of each idea, the decision came naturally. (*This will be featured in the Sountrack Booklet) And the new face, Mr. Ogasawara, who has many struggles and build up his career, now ended up participating in a Kirby sound production for the first time. I would image that there was a lot of pressure, but what did you think?

Ogasawara:

Yes, I did feel a bit more comfortable when I worked on the music for the minigames at first, because those have a different approach, but I really felt the pressure when it came to the main part.

Kumasaki:

You did already have a career prior to this, but integrating took a lot of time at first, right? Mr. Ando, who is also under my supervision, had a somewhat sour reaction for a while, so I thought "Is this gonna work out?" Your seniors were hard on you, weren't they?

Ogasawara:

Yes, that's right.

Kumazaki:

I always felt that it's nice to see teacher-and-pupil relationships like that, though. Like we discussed (*This will be featured in the Sountrack Booklet),"The Wind that Blows on Earthfall", which Mr. Ogasawara was in charge of, eventually reached a degree of perfection that even left his seniors speechless. But, "The Ancient Tower Towara" also ended up becoming a heroic, marvelous song. ...Mr. Ado, Mr. Ishiwaka, do you know this song? Tetteteeen, Terereterereretettetetteen♪ (He hums the melody)

Ando:

That melody is very Ishikawa-like.

Kumazaki:

Yes, correct. I was actually thinking of the flute phrase that flows through Meta Knight's stage in the Popstar level.

Ishikawa:

Oh, I see.

Ogasawara:

For me, it all started with a tower like that, too.

Kumazaki:

Mr. Ishikawa, you were in charge of Meta Knight's stage. That was a first for you too, wasn't it? Now that we're talking about this, while I do supervise everyone, we don't discuss these topics among one another that often.

Ishikawa:

That's right. For the most part, we don't communicate with words, but with sounds and numeric values.

Ogasawara:

Creating these songs was also the busiest time of the production, so there was less time to talk. It felt like we we're creating them telepathically.

Kumazaki:

When you enter the 4th scenario, the Space level, it's the first time that there's 3 composers at once. With a promising new star joining, I thought this new development was beautiful as I directed it, and divided it like that. But, I was pretty busy during the development of the main part. Since before its completion, I thought about incorperating elements of something like an anthology title in the free updates. But, without being limited too much by that, I also thought that we should create songs that aren't for anyone else, by utilizing the sound staff's raw creativity.

Ishikawa:

As part of that, there was a reference to an old song, a short version of "Drawcia Soul" from "Canvas Curse", that made it in. But it's assigned to a "break" situation... Final Boss music as a "break"?

Everyone:

(laughs)

Ishikawa:

It's like "That's the Kumazaki way". Though if you hadn't said "It's an anthology" earlier, I think I would have said "Why are you using that song for a break?".

Kumazaki:

That was... because I didn't want to let people relax. (laughs) There's no time to rest, the battles continue. I wanted them to be immersed in such a trance-like state. It's the most difficult mode, which was added with the free updates, so there was also the intention for some of the series' most punchy songs to be featured. And that song seems to be the one that shows Mr. Ishikawa's secret creativity the most, so I had been looking for an opportunity to use it.

-

Enough Voice Clips for "Seven Generals of Magic"!?

Kumazaki:

Mr. Ogasawara, earlier we talked a bit about how you, the new face, demonstrated skills that even amazed your seniors, and created a lot of Kirby-like sound effects (*This will be featured in the Sountrack Booklet), but you were also present for the voice actors' recordings, and following the sound effects, you were even asked to incorporate voice clips into the game.

Ogasawara:

Right.

Kumazaki:

For the voice clips of the bosses, I remember showing the battle with President Haltmann from "Planet Robobot", and explaining "We made made something like this recently". During that time, for Haltmann's voice, the emotion-filled voice clips from the actor were adjusted for the game by Mr. Ando, and incorporated by me and the programmers. It's not just about being the voice of a character, but also adapting it to the scene, and refining it as a part of the game's soundtrack. My intent was to integrate it with the background music, but it went so far that I wanted to make Haltmann's battle music complete with that voice. So this time around, I listened to that, and thought "I want them to fit the scenes just like this", as the the voices of the Three Generals of Magic were put in.

Ogasawara:

Right. Making voice clips as sound effects in itself was easy by using past works and the like as a reference, but... Since I had never worked with the sounds of so many voices at once before, it was quite difficult to find a balance for their volume and the like, when it came to actually putting them in the game.

Kumazaki:

They play alongside so many different actions, way beyond what I had in mind. It's amazing. I thought that was pretty brave of you, Mr. Ogasawara. (laughs)

Ogasawara:

Personally, I wanted to make good use of them, since the voice actors put so much work in their performances...

Kumazaki:

And you also wrote a list of the sound effects, with instructions for the programmers, along the lines of "please have them play with a timing like this".

Ogasawara:

Yes. In that case, I made several lists for the Three Generals of Magic.

Kumazaki:

Since you were so particular about the specific finer details, Tanifuji, the programmer in charge of Three Generals of Magic, eventually started calling you "Death Ogasawara". (laughs) When they were about half finished with the first one, the blue General, you dropped another huge list for the red General on them. And as they were working on implementing that one, the dread for when it would be the yellow General's turn is what lead to you being called "Death Ogasawara"... (laughs)

Ogasawara:

Well... I did make seperate lists in several steps, because I thought it would be nice to be just slightly ahead. And then the programmer who was implementing them, Mr. Tanifuji, had some nightmares where it was like "There's actually Seven Generals of Magic now...!" (laughs)

Everyone:

(laughs)

Kumazaki:

You just keep putting them in, but the work won't end, and another list will show up.

Ogasawara:

I made so many variants, it really must have felt like it was "The Seven Generals of Magic".

Kumazaki:

But as a result, they don't feel like simple programmed patterns, even if you replay many times. Like the character's personalities were completed through these enhanced battle voice clips... Considering it was your first time, I think you did a good job, Mr. Ogasawara.

-

Surprising Sound Effects with Familiar Objects

Ishikawa:

The sound effects, and not just the voice clips, are completely different depending on wether you're watching a demonstration, or you're actually playing. For example, the Friend Train makes a "chooo choo" sound, but it uses different wave forms when it loudly plays on the "Friend Train" screen and when you press the button to jump. I thought it would be alright to use the same wave form for the sound and only use different values, but that didn't work out. Though, both of them are just me blowing into empty nutrition drink bottles, by myself, in the middle of night. (laughs)

Kumazaki:

Right. A similar sound may be used, but it's actually different sound material each respective time. Could you tell everyone about what some particular differences are?

Ishikawa:

In scenes where letters appear with audible sound effects, a sense of distortion was absolutely necessary. So I'd distort the wave form and put it in, have it play, see that it was not enough distortion and go back, change the distortion, and put it back in. And then it'd be too disorted, so I'd try again... With nothing but that distortion method, it took me about half a day of trial and error. In the end, the distortions and all the familiar sounds that play when you press buttons were made individually. In short, I know I said it before, but the way you hear the sound changes depending on wether you are hearing it while watching, or you're playing yourself. Even with sounds that are similar, there are cases where you need to change the wave form level, rather than just fiddling with the numeric values.

Kumazaki:

I understand. Everyone, please do try to listen for those differences for yourself when you play. Either way, I think it would be fun to play again if you think about how the "choo choo" is actually Mr. Ishikawa blowing into nutrition drink bottles.

Ishikawa:

The curling sound was me beating an empty can with my fist. (laughs)

Kumazaki:

That's Ice's friend ability Ice Curling, right? The "plonk" sound when it hits a wall.

Ishikawa:

I dug up an empty can from the trash. (laughs)

Kumazaki:

There's some things where you can try and try again to adjust them, and some things where it's some well thought-out recordings with nearby staff members or tools. The same is true for voices.

-

The Calories of the Entire Staff Combined?! The Voice of Void Termina

Kumazaki:

It's not just voice actors, some of the voice clips made use the voices of development staff members who understand the game well, too. One of them is the final form of Void Termina, or rather, what appears to be the voice from the 4th form. But, Void Termina was considered a mysterious being that can be anyone. And do you remember how because of that, someone said "let's put in multiple voices", rather than a single one?

Ando:

It was around three people, if I recall correctly...

Kumazaki:

Yes, it was the voices of four people. You, Mr. Ando, being a regular with in-game voice clips, Mr. Ogasawara with his comparatively younger voice, as well as Mrs. Todo, the director of "Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, because we wanted a woman's voice, too. And me. We wanted to try out a cry made by mixing voice lines from the four of us.

Ando:

By the way, what did we say? I can't remember.

Kumazaki:

It was "Irohanihoheto, Kirby".

(Translator's note: "Irohanihoheto" is a quote of the Japanese poem "Iroha". Notably, an edited quote from the poem also exists as an unused audio clip in Kirby 64.)

Ando:

Oh, right.

Kumazaki:

We each uttered those same words, "Irohanihoheto, Kirby...", all recording seperately. When I told you, you said "Oh, we're going with that". (laughs)

Ando:

But during the recording, I wasn't really sure what sort of guy would be saying it. Because I can't draw, you see.

Kumazaki:

That's true.

Ando:

And I don't know about Mr. Ishikawa, but I personally don't know the story completely. Ah, but I did know that it would be something that would show up at the end like that.

Kumazaki:

You say that, but I thought I had explained it properly from the start...

Ando:

Truth to be told, I didn't really understand the explanation, so...

Everyone:

(laughs)

Ando:

So, the recorded voices were to appear in the game afterwards, so they had various mixing and effects applied to them, right?

Kumazaki:

That's right. I wonder if as a result, it did manage to not be anyone's voice, but a mysterious being. With Void Termina's demon form and angel form before that, the workload for the staff members involved piled up, too. My recorded screams for King Dedede's voice didn't need to be altered that much by comparison. But what can I even say about that voice...? This development had one impass after the other, and it's like that voice is filled with all the energy and calories that my whole body had used up by the time it was over...

Everyone:

(laughs)

Kumazaki:

But seriously, during that recording I really did go over my limit so much that even now I think I'm about to collapse. The thought of at least someone out there enjoying it in the end lifted spirits, including those of the sound staff. But, it got to a point where you'd wonder if we had all gone a bit crazy, because this whole development devolved into something like an all-out war of the HAL Laboratory staff.

-

That's the end of that?! Surpassing Limits

Kumazaki:

There were long hardships, but I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to talk so frankly about the mood during the development, thanks to this round-table discussion that Okada, the soundtrack producer, organized.

Ishiwaka:

We normally never talk this much. We should celebrate this.

Kumazaki:

Yes, a celebration for this discussion. Though, I've talked with you many times, Mr. Ishikawa. A lot of times were while supervising, but we also had countless bizarre talks in the cafeteria at night...

Everyone:

(laughs)

Kumazaki:

Mr. Ogasawara, what did you think, looking back like this?

Ogasawara:

So many things were hard at first, like the BGM, the sound effects, the voice clips, and discussing those here. But I also feel sort of relieved.

Kumazaki:

I'm very glad to see a promising young man be so successful in this one. Development was difficult, but you did not let the pressure get to you, and truly worked hard until the end. Now then, what about you, Mr. Ando?

Ando:

This one has a lot of truly grand songs. I've never made final boss class songs with such an amazing, huge orchestra-style before. But, I guess you could say "It's an anthology, so when there's special songs like that, many people will be happy, right?" Putting in more and more will eventually become kinda tough.

Kumazaki:

I was impressed when you said to me "We're doing this much? Isn't it enough already?", in the middle of the work on this. But, even as you said this, you were working incredibly fast, Mr. Ando. There were times where, even if you had been asked for huge songs with difficult themes, you would just show up surprisingly quickly, with your arms wide open, saying "I did it!"

Ando:

Yeah, I did make a lot. And that's the end of that.

Kumazaki:

(laughs) True... I think we probably won't cram so many songs into a Kirby title again. There are many more episodes like this that we can't show here, but are featured in the booklet that's included with the soundtrack. If you happen to be interested, by all means, pick it up. We would appreciate it.

--

And that's it for this translation.

I hope you found this interesting and/or helpful?

I don't have a ton of experience with translating quotes of real people (as opposed to in-story text), so my apologies if it sounds a bit unnatural at times.

Either way, thank you for taking your time to read this!

--

[womenmanagement]

Rina Fukushi for Vogue Japan, March 2017

Photography: Sarai Mari Stylist: Chikako Tanifuji Hair: Go Utsugi Makeup: Ken Nakano Nails: Chisa Hoshii

Follow WOMEN: https://www.instagram.com/womenmanagementny/

[gregor-samsung]

“ Greenpeace e il Nishin Maru si conobbero nel dicembre del 1987, e tra loro non nacque esattamente un idillio. Quell'anno i giapponesi si valsero di curiose «assenze» al momento di votare in una riunione plenaria della Commissione Internazionale per la Caccia alle Balene, e ottennero inaspettatamente un'autorizzazione per uccidere trecento balene nane, «a fini scientifici», in acque antartiche. Di quella specie la legislazione internazionale consente di uccidere solo due balene all'anno, e per provati fini scientifici. Ma dalla moratoria del 1986 nessun consorzio baleniero ha potuto dimostrare l'interesse scientifico della carneficina, n‚ i risultati che se ne dovrebbero trarre. Non appena ebbe ottenuta l'autorizzazione fraudolenta, l'equipaggio del Nishin Maru puntò la prua verso l'Antartico, e tutto sembrava indicare che niente e nessuno sarebbe riuscito a impedire lo sterminio di animali in chiaro pericolo di estinzione. Fortunatamente per tutti noi non era vero, perché appena il capitano Toshiro Tanifuji dette ordine di levare le ancore, le formiche del movimento ecologista cominciarono a mobilitarsi, e così, la mattina del 21 dicembre 1987, la nave officina fu salutata da quattro veloci gommoni, che sventolando la bandiera dell'Arcobaleno bloccarono l'uscita dal molo Mitsubishi, a Yokohama, con una balena gonfiabile di dimensioni reali. Il capitano Tanifuji pensò che gli sarebbe stato facile lanciarsi contro il cetaceo di gomma e continuare per la sua rotta, ma gli Zodiac accerchiarono la nave con i loro rapidi movimenti di vespe acquatiche, impedendole le manovre per disancorare e qualsiasi tentativo di spostamento, a meno che il marinaio nipponico non osasse passare sopra i cadaveri degli equipaggi. Bisognava guadagnare tempo. Mentre a Yokohama i gommoni facevano girare la testa al colosso giapponese, nelle capitali europee gli attivisti di Greenpeace riuscivano a farsi ricevere dai governanti e ottenevano la revisione del permesso. L'azione durò quasi trenta ore. I gommoni si davano il cambio per rifornirsi di combustibile mentre gli equipaggi bevevano grog in fretta e furia. Alle tre di pomeriggio del 22 dicembre la pacifica battaglia era vinta: la Commissione Internazionale per la Caccia alle Balene annullò il permesso e intimò al Giappone di rispettare la moratoria del 1986. Prese parte all'azione anche un mio buon amico neozelandese, Bruce Adams, e mi ha raccontato che subito, con le mani irrigidite dal freddo, infilò il gommone sotto il parapetto di tribordo del Nishin Maru e chiese di parlare con il capitano. Toshiro Tanifuji si affacciò. «Ha perso la battaglia, capitano. Vogliamo dirle che denunceremo qualsiasi suo tentativo di salpare verso l'Antartico come una violazione delle leggi internazionali per la protezione del mare.» Tanifuji rispose megafono alla mano. «Avete commesso un reato. Impedire una manovra navale autorizzata è quasi un atto di pirateria. Avrei potuto passare sopra le vostre scialuppe. Era mio diritto. La bandiera che inalberate non vi protegge. L'Arcobaleno mi piace vederlo in cielo. Vi avverto: la prossima volta non avrò riguardi.» «Speriamo che non ci sia una prossima volta. E se ci fosse, ci troverà di nuovo lì. La caccia alle balene è illegale.» «Potete contarci che ci sarà. Farò tutto quello che è in mio potere per dimostrare che la caccia alle balene è possibile e lecita. Voi e io abbiamo qualcosa in comune: siamo dei sognatori, e il mio sogno è ricominciare la caccia commerciale alle balene su larga scala.» «Abbiamo sogni diversi. Il nostro è: mari aperti dove tutte le specie possano vivere e moltiplicarsi in pace e in armonia con i bisogni umani.» “

Luis Sepúlveda, Il mondo alla fine del mondo, traduzione di Ilde Carmignani, TEA - Tascabili degli Editori Associati n° 1054, 2003; pp. 50-52.

[ Edizione originale: Mundo del fin del mundo, Tusquets Editores, Barcelona, 1994 ]

[technotaku]

Kiss Bee (キスビー), Tanifuji Misaki (谷藤海咲) http://img.technotaku.com/image/45890/idol+kiss+bee++tanifuji+misaki+/?referer_service=ifttt

[evoldir]

Fwd: Graduate position: Durham.Endosymbiosis

Begin forwarded message: > From: evoldir@evol.biology.mcmaster.ca > Subject: Graduate position: Durham.Endosymbiosis > Date: 30 October 2020 at 06:11:03 GMT > To: rdmpage@gmail.com > > > > > PhD Opportunity: > > Summary: Endosymbiosis is recognised as a fundamental evolutionary > innovation that underpins the origins of many unicellular and all > multicellular lifeforms (Chomicki et al., 2019). Understanding the > biology of such phenomena can shed light on key drivers of inter-species > cooperation and provide an important window into early origins of cellular > life on the planet. The PhD student will link to a recently funded > project to deploy new tools: single cell genomics and transcriptomics, > as well as metabolomics; to explore a unique and poorly understood > endosymbiosis involving an emergent disease agent of major economic > importance. Supported by a world class supervisory team (Prof. Mike > Barrett, Dr. Martin Llewellyn, Wellcome Trust Centre for Integrative > Parasitology, Glasgow; Dr. Guillame Chimocki, Life Sciences, Durham) and > a range in international collaborators (Prof. John Archibald, Dalhousie > University, Canada; Dr. Neil Ruane, Marine Institute, Ireland), the > student will have the opportunity to develop skills at the cutting edge > of genomics and molecular biology, undertake training at international > centres of excellence in parasitology and evolutionary biology in the UK > and North America, and engage in marine biological fieldwork on the west > coast of Ireland and Scotland.  Finally, this project has strong links > with aquaculture industry via project partners Scottish Sea Farms (SSF, > Dr. Ralph Bickerdike) and the student will also get valuable experience > working alongside industry. > > Secondary endosymbiosis: The phenomenon in which eukaryotic organisms > engulf other eukaryotes is termed ‘secondary endosymbiosis’. Secondary > endosymbiosis underpins the evolution of many eukaryotic phototrophs > and is thought to have involved the engulfment of an ancestral > eukaryotic rhodophyte (Oborník 2018). The number of times this has > occurred in evolutionary history is a moot point. However, it is > clear that rhodophyte-origin plastids play a key role in their host > cell’s biology. In some cases, the symbiont has lost the ability to > photosynthesize, which leaves them a relic non-photosynthetic plastid in > a secondarily heterotrophic cell. This is the case for the apicomplexans, > which include the causative agents of toxoplasmosis and malaria. The > basis of ongoing metabolic dependency is not always clear, however some > conserved functions across plastids belonging to different apicomplexan > lineages include isoprenoid (IPP and DMAPP), tetrapyrrole, and fatty > acid biosynthesis (Janouškovec et al. 2015). > > The study system: Paramoeba perurans causes amoebic gill disease (AGD) > and is a major pathogen in salmonid aquaculture, causing  £400 million > in losses per annum world-wide. There are currently no drugs available to > treat AGD. P. perurans has a unique cellular biology that can be readily > exploited given the right tools. Enclosed within its cytoplasm is a > bizarre endosymbiont – Perkinsela. Genomic sequence data suggest that > the basic physiology of this endosymbiont has many of the same biochemical > features as found in kinetoplastid pathogens of man and domestic livestock > (e.g. Sleeping sickness, Leishmaniasis and Chagas disease). > > The endosymbiosis between P. perurans and Perkinsela is unique among > eukaryotes because it does not involve an originally photosynthetic > symbiont. Prior investigations have established interdependence between > the kinetoplasitid and amoeba based on predicted gene content and ontogeny > in the related Parameoba pemaquidensis (Tanifuji et al. 2017). > > This studentship has three major aims: > > Aim 1: Understand the molecular basis of the obligate dependence between > P. perurans and Perkinsela. The student will use genome sequencing (long > read technologies jointly with illumina short reads for polishing), > single-cell transcriptomics as well as metabolomics to dissect the > molecular basis of the symbiosis. Specific drug knock outs jointly > with transcriptomic analysis will allow to functionally test metabolic > dependences. > > Aim 2: Undertake rational Amoebic gill disease (AGD) drug discovery. A > detailed understanding of dependences in the between P. perurans and > Perkinsela symbiosis will provide a window to test drugs efficient on > AGD. In collaboration with the Wellcome Trust Centre for Intergrative > Parasitology, the student will test drugs targeting metabolic dependences > of P. perurans. Ultimately trials will be performed in fish farms > with SSF. > > Aim 3: Trace the evolution of this unique endosymbiosis. Using a recent > approach (Kwong et al., 2019), we will reconstruct the phylogenetic > histories of both the host P. perurans and the Perkinsela symbiont clades, > relying on a range of archival environmental samples as well as new marine > collections. Using targeted sequence enrichment, we will sequence the > genomic regions of the host identified as driving the obligate dependence > (Aim 1), and analyses of substitution rates (dn/ds) will inform of their > functionality. When possible, close relatives will be cultured to assay > the presence of the symbiont using microscopy and FISH. This will allow > t evolutionary history of this unique endosymbiosis, specifically testing > (i) the number of origins of this symbiosis across the clade encompassing > P. perurans, (ii) whether the obligate dependence has been lost or is > retained throughout the clade, and (iii) whether all P. perurans strains > evolved the same or distinct dependences on Perkinsela. > > Methodology > Via genome sequencing, standard and single-cell transcriptomics, as well > as metabolomic analyses to validate predicted pathways, the student will > establish the role of Perkinsela in P. perurans biology. At the University > of Glasgow, the student will undergo training in genome sequencing and > annotation (Aim 1 and 2). At Durham University, Biosciences, the student > will receive training in key ecological and evolutionary theory around > symbioses as well as in-depth phylogenetic comparative methods including > phylogenetic inference, ancestral state estimation and gene substitution > rate with the aim of reconstructing the origins of the symbiosis (Aim > 3). At the University of Glasgow, Wellcome Trust Centre for Integrative > Parasitology the student will learn how to exploit plastid-targeted drug > knock-outs and single cell sequencing to unpick the metabolic interactions > between host and symbiont. During a secondment to John Archibald’s > laboratory at Dalhousie University, Canada, the student will receive > further training in amoebozoan genome assembly and annotation with > particular reference to secondary endosymbiosis. > > Project Timeline > Year 1 > Student, assisted by PIs and dedicated post-docs, sequences P. perurans > genome and transcriptome. Visits Canada to undertake training in genome > assembly > > Year 2 > Student assists with targeted drug knock-outs of P. perurans > organelles alongside metabolomics and transcriptomics to unpick > ecological/biochemical basis of symbiosis > > Year 3 > Student will undertake sample collection and sequencing of P. perurans > and symbiont clades to establish the evolution of the symbiosis > > Year 3.5 > Data analysis > > Training & Skills > The student will receive training in genomics, transcriptomics > (inc. single cell), phylogenetic, metabolomics, molecular biology, > microscopy and more. The student will have access to world class > supervision and benefit from links to international research networks > as well as to industry. > > References & further reading > Rodger HD (2013.) Amoebic gill disease (AGD) in farmed salmon (Salmo > salar) in Europe. . Fish Veterinary Journal 16. > > Harmer J, Yurchenko V, Nenarokova A, Lukeš J, and Ginger ML 2018 Farming, > slaving and enslavement: histories of endosymbioses during kinetoplastid > evolution Parasitolgy 145, pp. 1311-1323 > > Creek DJ, Barrett MP (2013) Determination of antiprotozoal drug mechanisms > by metabolomics approaches. Parasitology 141: 83-92. > > Schwabl, P., Imamura, H., Van den Broeck, F. … & Llewellyn, MS Meiotic > sex in Chagas disease parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. Nat Commun 10, 3972 > (2019) > > Räz B, Iten M, Grether-Bühler Y, Kaminsky R, Brun R (1997) The Alamar > Blue® assay to determine drug sensitivity of African trypanosomes > (T.b. rhodesiense and T.b. gambiense) in vitro. Acta Tropica 68: 139-147. > > Chomicki, G., Weber, M., Antonelli, A., Bascompte, J. and Kiers, E.T., > 2019. The impact of mutualisms on species richness. Trends in ecology & > evolution, 34(8), pp.698-711. > > Chomicki, G., Kiers, E.T. and Renner, S.S., 2020. The evolution of > mutualistic dependence. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and > Systematics, 51. (in press) > > Kwong, W.K., Del Campo, J., Mathur, V., Vermeij, M.J. and Keeling, > P.J., 2019. A widespread coral-infecting apicomplexan with chlorophyll > biosynthesis genes. Nature, 568(7750), pp.103-107. > > HOW TO APPLY > > Application procedure: For applications to the University > of Glasgow please use the dedicated application portal: > https://ift.tt/37ZUUi5 (you will still need to submit > your administrative details to the IAPETUS2 website as well > -https://ift.tt/3kJvkRL > > All enquiries please > email martin.llewellyn@glasgow.ac.uk > > Martin Llewellyn > via IFTTT

[snowfreaks]

The Archive 📷 PHOTO OF THE DAY   date : 2014/1/1 skier : Masashi Tanifuji photo : SNOW Freaks     今まで撮影した写真は、北海道雪山情報 SNOW Freaks webページで公開しています📷プロフィールのリンクからどうぞご覧ください⬇️ @snowfreaks.hokkaido   #北海道 #北海道スキー #スキー場 #北海道スキー場 #スキー #パウダースノー #雪 #粉雪 #雪山 #写真 #撮影 #カメラのある生活 #一眼レフ #photo  #photography #sony #pentax #Japow #snowjapan #japansnow #skiing #ski #snow #powdersnow #hokkaido #hokkaidolove (Sapporo) https://www.instagram.com/p/CC7GXUUFHLk/?igshid=1au95kuwrslxx

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Tanifuji 谷藤 Spalding Japanese Straight Razor ~ NOS ~ 1960s Vintage ~ http://ift.tt/2kIN97h

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February 06, 2017 at 06:53AM