#love how he prefaces this with the band folklore note

[todays-just-a-daydream]

You guys supported Oasis back in ‘94.

Yeah?

There’s a rumor of you almost breaking up the band and spawning the whole ‘Talk Tonight’ song origin story, in which Noel goes off to San Francisco and writes a song about his time with a girl who essentially prevented him from giving up music forever. Is that true?

Well, like all the best stories in the world musicians love to fucking folklore themselves up the wazoo, about the ins and outs and what have you’s of their lives, but oftentimes those tend to be absolute BS and oftentimes they can be somewhere in between.

In between?

The deal with Oasis on that night was we had played with Sonic Boom and Spectrum the night before in Santa Barbara, which is adjacent to Los Angeles California. And we did the gig and drove back to San Francisco, which is a 6-7 hour drive. And we showed up at the club, it was one of our home team clubs called Bottom of the Hill and played for Oasis. And the way that this came to be is that I worked at Reckless Records, even before the Chicago store opened, there was one in San Francisco, and I worked there.

That’s cool considering that the London store is on Berwick Street where they shot the ‘(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?’ cover!

Exactly! And originally, they had a store in San Francisco and that’s where I worked. This is ‘94. This is when all the shit’s coming out, before it was the shit! There was no such term as Britpop at the time. So I see this stack of new releases come down from DudeBro who has to pass down all the new releases, and on top of it is a CD single. And it’s this band Oasis. And y’know, if you look at the single cover of Oasis they don’t look that cool. They’re kinda frumpy.

So what happened that night?

This is going to be a longer interview than you thought man. Cause I love buildups. So I listen to the single ‘Supersonic’, that was the one on the stack, and that one didn’t really do it for me, it wasn’t all vintagey and cool, the amp sounds sounded kind of like a Tom Petty record. That wasn’t it. But the B side was ‘Columbia’.

‘Columbia’ is great. Beast of a song.

Well yes, ‘Columbia’ is where all the cocaine comes from. Hence the title. And I was a huge speed freak in the 90’s because in the 90’s, uppers were serving the same purpose as they were in the 60’s with Andy Warhol, or cocaine was in the flapper period. So I got that. What they were trying to say, I dug that. You with me?

I’m with you.

Do you even care? How many pages do you get for this?

However many pages you want.

Well, I’m probably more interesting than a lot of the jive ass – psych fucking crap that has to get printed these days. I’ve been around a bit. So then the ‘Shakermaker’ single came out a couple of months later. You know, ‘Shakermaker’, “shake along with me”, et cetera et cetera. I currently was shaking along to the Brian Jonestown Massacre on Maracas, and I thought “oh well that’s kind of cool!” and I kind of related to that. Then ‘Live Forever’ came out. I was in, then I loved the band. Then the first album came out and then the advertisement came out that they were playing at our local haunt Bottom of the Hill. So I got our manager to get us a gig there to open for them and we played the gig with Oasis.

Did you know they were going to be big?

Absolutely! Well they already kind of were because ‘Definitely, Maybe’ had come out two weeks before, but they’re playing this theatre which is a 250 person club, when they could be playing to fuckin’ 10,000!

A couple of years later they were at Knebworth, then Glasto, then Wembley. The list goes on. Pretty Meteoric. Anyway, back to your story.

I’m out of my mind on the most righteous methamphetamine that’s ever been bequeathed by the science of man, and we pulled up to the club to do soundcheck. And sure enough, there’s their big ass fuckin bus, we had never been on a big ass fucking bus, we didn’t know what that was about. I’m thinking to myself, “Alright ‘Shakermakers’, let’s hit the road and go to ‘Columbia’” And the first thing I did was go and knock on the door of the bus. Noel Gallagher opens the door. And I say to him, “Hey man, I’ve got the most righteous fucking speed you’re ever going to do in your life”

(Joel in a very poor British accent) “No thanks man we only do coke”

And he shuts the door. And I’m looking at my own reflection like “what!?” Fast forward an hour later, and the girl that I scored speed for ran into Liam coming out of the soundcheck. And she’s like “hey do you wanna do any?” and Liam’s “Mr mad fer it” guy, so he does it, then he gives it to Bonehead, then he gives it to the whole fuckin band and the whole goddamn crew, and they’re playing the gig that night, and all the jaws are just working like old fashioned train crankshafts, and they had never heard nor seen nor felt anything like that, but that is what I was doing every day. It was, as they called it, “Ninja Speed”.

Interview with Joel Gion from The Brian Jonestown Massacre on Oasis at the Whisky 1994

[tinyshe]

Witchcraft 101

by Michelle Arnold  • 7/1/2008 Catholic Answers

What springs to mind when someone mentions “witchcraft“? Three hags sitting about a cauldron chanting “Double, double, toil and trouble”? A pretty housewife turning someone into a toad at the twitch of her nose? Or perhaps you think of Wicca and figure that it is witchcraft hidden beneath a politically correct neologism.

Witchcraft has become a hot topic in recent years. From J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books to self-described witches agitating for political and social parity with mainstream religious traditions, Christians have had to re-examine witchcraft and formulate a modern apologetic approach to it.

In an age of science and skepticism, it may be difficult to understand why intelligent people would be drawn to witchcraft, which encompasses both a methodology of casting spells and invoking spirits and an ideology that encourages finding gods and goddesses both in nature and within the self. In her “conversion story,” self-described Wiccan high priestess Phyllis Curott, an Ivy League-educated lawyer who was raised by agnostics, describes her journey from secular materialism to Wicca as a rejection of the idea that humans are made for mammon alone:

I discovered the answers . . . to questions buried at the center of my soul . . . How are we to find our lost souls? How can we rediscover the sacred from which we have been separated for thousands of years? How can we live free of fear and filled with divine love and compassion? . . . How can we restore and protect this Eden, which is our fragile planet? (Curott, Book of Shadows, xii)

These are indeed important questions that deserve answers, answers that can be found in their fullness in Christ and in his Church. In a homily then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger gave at the Mass just before his election to the papacy, he famously observed:

How many winds of doctrine have we known in recent decades, how many ideological currents, how many ways of thinking. The small boat of the thought of many Christians has often been tossed about by these waves—flung from one extreme to another: from Marxism to liberalism, even to libertinism; from collectivism to radical individualism; from atheism to a vague religious mysticism; from agnosticism to syncretism and so forth.

Witchcraft has been around for centuries, perhaps even millennia, but is emerging once more from the shadows as one answer to skepticism, to materialism, even to self-absorption. It is, so to speak, the wrong answer to the right questions; it is, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “gravely contrary to the virtue of religion” (CCC 2117). Catholics should not discourage these questions but must be prepared to offer the only answer: Christ and his Church.

Witchcraft’s apologists like to claim that they are the misunderstood victims of centuries of religious prejudice. Unfortunately, all too many Christians make such claims credible when they misunderstand witchcraft and craft their rebuttals of it based upon those misconceptions. If someone you know is dabbling in witchcraft, here are five things you should know before starting a conversation with him.

Witches do not believe in Satan.

If there is one belief common to witches everywhere, it is that they do not believe in Satan and that they do not practice Satanism. Witchcraft’s apologists are quick to point this out.

Denise Zimmermann and her co-authors of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft emphasize, “Witches don’t believe in Satan! . . . The all-evil Satan is a Christian concept that plays no part in the Wiccan religion . . . Witches do not believe that negativity or evil is an organized force. . . . Neither do Wiccans believe there is a place (hell) where the damned or the evil languish and suffer” (13).

Christian apologists should acknowledge that witches do not consciously worship Satan and that they do not believe he exists. But this does not mean that Satan needs to be left entirely out of the conversation. A Christian apologist should point out that belief in someone does not determine that person’s actual reality.

One way to demonstrate this is to ask the witch if she believes in the pope. “No,” she’s likely to answer. “The pope is a Christian figure.” True, you concede. But there is a man in Rome who holds the office of the papacy, right? Your belief or disbelief in the papacy does not determine whether or not the papacy exists. Put that way, a person will have to acknowledge that something or someone can exist independently of belief in its reality. That’s when you can make the case that Satan exists and that he does not require belief to determine his reality or his action in someone’s life. In fact, disbelief in him can make it easier for him to accomplish his ends.

In the preface to The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis notes that “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.”

While it is true that witches do not directly worship Satan or practice Satanism, their occult practices, such as divination, and their worship of false gods and of each other and themselves—which they explain as worshipping the “goddess within”—can open them to demonic activity. To make the case though, it is imperative to present it in a manner that won’t be dismissed out of hand.

Witchcraft and Wicca are not synonyms.

Wicca, originally spelled Wica, is the name given to a subset of witchcraft by its founder Gerald Gardner in the 1950s. Although some claim the word Wicca means “wise,” in her book Drawing Down the Moon, Margot Adler states that it “derive[s] from a root wic, or weik, which has to do with religion and magic” (40). Adler also says that the word witch originates with wicce and wicca. Marian Singer explains the difference between Wicca and witchcraft this way: “Witchcraft implies a methodology . . . whereas the word Wiccan refers to a person who has adopted a specific religious philosophy” (The Everything Wicca and Witchcraft Book, 4).

Because witchcraft is often defined as a methodology and Wicca as an ideology, a person who considers himself a witch but not a Wiccan may participate in many of the same practices as a Wiccan, such as casting spells, divining the future, perhaps even banding together with others to form a coven. This can make it easy for an outsider to presume that both the witch and the Wiccan share the same beliefs. But, if someone tells you he is not a Wiccan, it is only courteous to accept that. The Christian case against witchcraft does not depend on a witch identifying himself as a Wiccan. (There are also Wiccans who reject the label “witch,” but this is often a distinction without a difference. Even so, use the preferred term to avoid alienating the person with whom you are speaking.)

Several strands of Wicca attract followings, including: Gardnerian, Alexandrian, and Georgian, which are named for their founders; Seax, which patterns itself on Saxon folklore; Black Forest, which is an eclectic hodgepodge of Wiccan traditions; and the feminist branch known as Dianic Wicca after the Roman goddess Diana. Knowing the distinctions among these traditions may not be important for the Christian apologist, but he should keep in mind that there are distinctions and that he should not make statements that start out with “Wiccans believe . . .” Rather, allow the other person to explain what he believes and then build a Christian apologetic tailored to that person’s needs.

Witches question authority.

When dealing with self-identified witches, remember that no two witches will agree with each other on just about anything. Witches are non-dogmatic to the extreme, with one witch apologist suggesting “[s]ending dogma to the doghouse” and claiming that “[r]eligious dogma and authority relieve a person of the responsibility of deciding on his or her own actions” (Diane Smith, Wicca & Witchcraft for Dummies, 32).

Generally speaking, witches prefer to give authority to their own personal experiences. Phyllis Curott, author of a book titled Witch Crafting, puts it this way: “Witches, whether we are women or men, experience the Goddess within us and in the world all around us. I love what Starhawk [witch and popular speaker and writer] said about this: ‘People often ask me if I believe in the Goddess. I reply, Do you believe in rocks?’” (121, emphasis in original). In other words, witches know “the Goddess” exists because they can experience her by at least one of their five senses. Faith in such a material deity calls to mind the demon Screwtape’s longing for hell’s “perfect work—the Materialist Magician” (Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, 31).

Throwing a bucket of cold water on a witch’s “personal experiences” will not be easy, particularly since one of the frightening.aspects of witchcraft is that some witches do have, and blithely report, extraordinary preternatural experiences. Incidents that could and should scare away many dabblers from playing with forces beyond their control are recounted by witchcraft’s apologists as affirmative of their path. Curott tells of a man who once dreamed of “being prey” of a monstrous creature; ultimately, in the dream, he was captured by the creature. Rather than taking this as a sign he should reconsider the path down which he was heading, he awoke “deeply transformed” by the dream’s ending because he believed “tremendous love” was felt for him by the creature. He eventually became a Wiccan priest (Witch Crafting, 154–155).

How can a Christian argue against a belief like that?

Ultimately, it may be that a Damascus-road moment might be necessary to sway someone that deeply entrenched in traffic with preternatural creatures. To those who are not as enmeshed, a Christian can point out that sometimes apologists for the occult have warned their readers not to be taken in by their experiences with spirits.

In a section of his book titled “Practicing Safe Spirituality,” author Carl McColman gives a checklist of “some common-sense precautions” occultists should be aware of “while meditating, doing ritual, reflecting on your dreams, or doing any other spiritual work that may involve contact with spirits.” The first item on the list is “Don’t automatically believe everything you hear. Just because a spirit says something doesn’t make it so” (The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Paganism, 129).

Witchcraft is an inversion of Catholicism.

Observers of witchcraft have claimed that it is remarkably similar to Catholicism. Catholic journalist and medievalist Sandra Miesel called it “Catholicism without Christ” (“The Witches Next Door,” Crisis, June 2002). Writer and editor Charlotte Allen noted that “Practicing Wicca is a way to have Christianity without, well, the burdens of Christianity” (“The Scholars and the Goddess,” The Atlantic, January 2001).

It’s easy to see why the assertion is made. Allen notes that as witchcraft cycles through its “liturgical year,” many of its adherents honor a goddess who births a god believed to live, die, and rise again. Fraternization with apparently friendly preternatural spirits is encouraged and eagerly sought. The rituals of witchcraft call to mind Catholic liturgies, particularly the libation and blessing ritual alternately known as “Cakes and Wine” and “Cakes and Ale.” Like Catholics collecting rosaries, scapulars, statues, and prayer books, witches have their own “potions, notions, and tools” as Curott calls them —some of which include jewelry, statues and dolls, and spell books and journals.

But to say that witchcraft has uncanny similarities to Catholicism is to understate the matter. Witchcraft is an inversion of Catholicism: Catholicism emptied of Christ and stood on its head. This is most readily seen in witchcraft’s approach to authority.

In his book Rome Sweet Home, Scott Hahn compares authority in the Church to a hierarchical pyramid with the pope at the top, with all of the members, including the pope, reaching upward toward God (46–47). With its antipathy to authority and its reach inward to the self and downward to preternatural spirits, witchcraft could also be illustrated with a triangle—every adherent poised at the top as his own authority and pointed down in the sort of “Lower Command” structure envisioned by Lewis’s Screwtape.

Witchcraft is dangerous.

In my work as an apologist, I have read a number of introductory books to various non-Catholic and non-Christian religions. Never before my investigation into witchcraft had I seen introductory books on a religion that warn you about the dangers involved in practicing it. The dangers that witch apologists warn newcomers about are both corporal and spiritual.

In her book, Diane Smith includes a chapter titled “Ten Warning Signs of a Scam or Inappropriate Behavior” (Wicca & Witchcraft for Dummies, chapter 23). Her top-10 list includes “Inflicting Harm,” “Charging Inappropriate Fees or Demanding Undue Money,” “Engaging in Sexual Manipulation,” “Using Illicit Drugs or Excessive Amounts of Alcohol in Spiritual Practice,” and “Breeding Paranoia.” Smith claims that such a need to be wary is common to religion: “[U]nscrupulous or unstable people sometimes perpetrate scams or other manipulations under the guise of religion, and this situation is as true for Wicca as for other religious groups” (317).

However true it may be that there can be “unscrupulous or unstable people” involved in traditional religions, most practitioners—Christian or otherwise—do not experience problems with these behaviors to such an extent that religious apologists see the need to issue caveats to proselytes. That Smith does so suggests that these problems are far more widespread in witchcraft than in traditional religion.

We noted one paganism apologist who warned his readers to “practice safe spirituality.” McColman goes on to caution that the “advice” of spirits “must be in accordance with your own intuition for it to be truly useful.” He goes on to say, “You remain responsible for your own decisions. Remember that spirit guides make mistakes like everybody else!” (Paganism, 128).

Catholics concerned about loved ones involved with witchcraft may not be attracted to witchcraft themselves, but there is danger for them in pursuing dabblers down the road to the occult in hopes of drawing them back. In preparing themselves to answer the claims of witchcraft, they may feel the need to read books like those mentioned in this article. If they are not fully educated and firm in their own faith, such Catholics may find their own faith under attack. Three suggestions are in order.

Not all are called to be apologists. If you are not intellectually and spiritually prepared to answer the claims of witchcraft, leave such work to others. Search out knowledgeable Catholics with whom your loved one can speak.

Prepare yourself. Common sense indicates that if you are about to rappel down a cliff, you do so with safety ropes firmly attached and in the presence of someone you trust who can help you if you are in danger. Don’t even think of rappelling down a spiritual cliff without seeking to fortify yourself intellectually and spiritually—particularly spiritually. Inform your confessor or spiritual director of your plans to study and answer the claims of witchcraft. Ask trusted Catholic friends to pray for your work. Regularly receive the sacraments of confession and the Eucharist. If you need to stop or take a break from this area of apologetics, by all means do so. And, most importantly:

Pray. Whether or not you are called to personally minister to those involved in witchcraft, the most fundamental thing you can do to help witches and other dabblers in the occult is to pray.

Saints whose intercession you can seek include Bl. Bartholomew Longo, the repentant former satanic priest who returned to the Church and spent the rest of his life promoting the rosary; St. Benedict, who battled pagans and whose medal is often worn in protection against the devil; St. Michael the Archangel (Jude 1:9), invoked especially by the prayer for his intercession commonly attributed to Pope Leo XIII. And, of course, there’s St. Paul, who reminds us: “For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38–39).

SIDEBARS

The Catechism on Witchcraft

There are a great many kinds of sins. Scripture provides several lists of them. The Letter to the Galatians contrasts the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit: “Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.” (CCC 1852)

God can reveal the future to his prophets or to other saints. Still, a sound Christian attitude consists in putting oneself confidently into the hands of Providence for whatever concerns the future, and giving up all unhealthy curiosity about it. Improvidence, however, can constitute a lack of responsibility. (CCC 2115)

All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone. (CCC 2116)

All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others—even if this were for the sake of restoring their health—are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another’s credulity. (CCC 2117)

Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Further Reading

Charlotte Allen, “The Scholars and the Goddess,” The Atlantic, January 2001 (Available online: www.theatlantic.com)

C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (HarperCollins)

Sandra Miesel, “Who Burned the Witches?” Crisis, October 2001 (Available online: www.catholiceducation.org)

Sandra Miesel, “The Witches Next Door,” Crisis, June 2002

Catherine Edwards Sanders, Wicca’s Charm: Understanding the Spiritual Hunger Behind the Rise of Modern Witchcraft and Pagan Spirituality (Shaw Books, 2005)

Donna Steichen, Ungodly Rage: The Hidden Face of Catholic Feminism (Ignatius, 1991)

Alois Wiesinger, O.C.S.O, Occult Phenomena in the Light of Theology (Roman Catholic Books)

[naruto-oc-critiques]

Hello! Could you review my OC please? I’m just in the beginning stage of creating her so I don’t have a lot of background yet orz. (Also, I’m sorry if my english is bad TAT) 

Name: Fujiwara Miyabi Kanji: 藤原 雅 Meaning: Fuji: Wisteria Hara: Field, Miyabi: Elegance Alias/Nicknames: Miya, Miyabi-chan Gender: female Sexual orientation: heterosexual Birthday: 03/15 Age: Part I: 16 Part II: 18 The Last: 20 Zodiac sign: Pisces  

— Clan information — The Fujiwara clan is an old shinobi clan focusing on the use of wagakki (japanese traditional instruments) for genjutsu techniques. The family is also a musical troup that tour the festival every summer. Each member is in charge of an instrument but they all learn different instruments. 

— Characteristics —

Blood type: A Height: Part I: 165cm Part II: 170cm Weight: Part I: 45kg Part II: 50kg Eyes: Brown Hair: Brown, almost black. Long hair with the Hime cut (straight bangs). Skin: Fair Unusual Features: Has a scar in the back of her shoulder

— Ninja information —

Affiliation: Konoha gakure Current rank: Jounin -Genin promotion: 12yo -Chuunin promotion: 15yo -Jounin promotion: 19yo Occupation: She works with her family as a musical troupe. She is in charge of the Taiko. They often participate in festivals in Konoha and other countries. Status: Active Ninja-ID: Team: Asahi Kayo (朝日　加陽), Chiba Ryôsei (千羽　綾西) Sensei: Kanako (夏菜子) Chackra nature: Water, wind Ninjustsu range: Short-mid range Deffensive/Offensive type: More of the offensive type. Dominant hand: Right handed Weapons: Has scrolls with different kind of taiko to perform genjutsu. Uses mainly the Yari spear. Summonings: Name: Shishou Species: Kitsune fox Abilities: Tracking Missions completed: D-rank: 20 C-rank: 11 B-rank: 16 A-rank: 13 S-rank: 2 Total: 52

Abilities: Strength: She is very calm, a very talented taiko drummer. She is also quite a good actress. Weakness: Has a fear of failure. Can be seen as stuck-up and cold-hearted. Taijutsu: Good Ninjutsu: Good Genjutsu: Excellent Fighting style: She usually traps her enemy with genjutsu before closing in and fight with her taijutsu.

Ninja stats: Academy: NIN: 0.5/5 TAI: 1/5 GEN: 1.5/5 KEN(intelligence): 2/5 RIKI(power): 0.5/5 SOKU(speed): 1/5 SEI(chakra): 1.5/5 IN(finger sign): 1/5 Total: 9/40

Genin: NIN: 1.5/5 TAI: 1.5/5 GEN: 2/5 KEN(intelligence): 2.5/5 RIKI(power): 1/5 SOKU(speed): 2/5 SEI(chakra): 2/5 IN(finger sign): 1.5/5 Total: 14/40

Chuunin: NIN: 2/5 TAI: 3.5/5 GEN: 4/5 KEN(intelligence): 3.5/5 RIKI(power): 2.5/5 SOKU(speed): 3.5/5 SEI(chakra): 3/5 IN(finger sign): 3/5 Total: 25/40

Jounin: NIN: 3/5 TAI: 4/5 GEN: 4.5/5 KEN(intelligence): 4/5 RIKI(power): 3.5/5 SOKU(speed): 4.5/5 SEI(chakra): 3.5/5 IN(finger sign): 4/5 Total: 31/40

— Techinques —

Ninjutsu: She is good in Ninjutsu but use it rarely Techniques: Technique 1: Chôchô Musubi (water). Create a lasso of water. Used for capturing and hinder a target.

Taijutsu: She is skilled in taijutsu. With her artistic upbringing people often say that it looks like she is dancing.

Genjutsu: She excells at genjutsu since she is learning it from a young age. Use the taiko for creating illusions.

— Personal traits —

Personality: Good traits: Honorable, Kind, Intelligent, Calm Bad traits: Easily scared (she dislike ghosts stories and things like that), stuck-up, Likes: -foods: Katsudon -colors: Purple -favourite animal: Cat -what she likes to do in her free time: playing the taiko, baking and reading poetry Dislikes: -foods and drinks: Alcohol, fish -colors: Yellow -less favourite animal: Snakes -what she doesn’t likes to do in her free time: Cooking Habbits: Touch her nose when embarassed Hobbies: She is quite a bookworm and collects poetry books. Her favorite book is the Hyakunin Isshu. She alos like playing the Karuta Fears: Fear of failure Ambition: Become recognised as a great genjutsu user and protect her village and the people she love.

— Relationships —

Parents: Father: Hajime (一), Mother: Shiori (栞) Siblings: Misaki (美咲 20 f), Kuon (永遠 14 m), Kotone (��音 f)/Suzune (鈴音 8 f) Relative(s): Uncle: Idzuru (居鶴) Aunt: Migiwa (汀) Cousins: Ageha (紅葉 19 f), Junna (淳和 15 f), Naoya (直也 13 m) Grand father: Haruo (春雄) Grand mother: Wakana (和奏D.) Teammates: Kayo, Ryôsei how they get along? She gets along well with her teammates even though Kayo and Ryôsei tends to fight a bit. She is usually the one to calm them down. Is like the big sister of her team. Friends: Fujita Hikaru (藤田　光): The son of her father’s friend. He acts like a big brother and has a slight crush on Miyabi. He can be quite overprotective but she appreciate him nevertheless. Best friend: Saionji Umeka (西園寺 梅香), she is her best friend since they were born. Umeka isn’t a shinobi but they like to spend time together.

Let me preface this by saying: Your English is wonderful. I like how much thought you put into your characters interests, and I LOVE the fact you included her family a little on her (especially since it wasn’t an overwhelming wall of information about each member.

I will point out that Fujiwara (藤原氏)  means ‘Wisteria Branch’, originating in the 600’s with Nakatomi no Katamari (later Fujiwara by Emperor Tenji). 

I like the concept of music and theater being the main basis of your character. I think there are a lot of possibilities you can explore on this front. 

Wagakki appears to be a band and is not the name of a set of traditional instruments. For further research, I recommend this link right here

You could potentially look into Min yo, thought it seems more like gagaku (orchistral court music) appears to be more of what you’re looking for.

  Unless you oc is extremely strong, a taiko would not be a good idea. I don’t know if you’ve looked into the history of the taiko drum, but they were previously used by blacksmiths as a means of signaling or warning of incoming attacks. Having actively played the taiko drum before, I can verify that it takes a tremendous amount of upper body strength to even get it to make a sound, let alone keep a steady rhythm enough for it to be played for any amount of time. If you have your heart set on having her play the taiko, I strongly recommend making her a strength-based kunoichi, with a body type to match (broad shoulders, muscular, which would also make her a bit heavier and not as agile). 

I really do think using a taiko would be going on the 'offensive’. She could potentially use the vibrations to send some sort of disruptions into the opponent, casting a genjutsu, or even causing minor earthquakes that would disrupt the opponent. 

I would like to see her noted strengths expanded more. What makes her a good actress, if she’s calm or not very emotive? What sort of acting does she do? We know she can’t be Kabuki, so does she do noh or kyogen? Perhaps she acts as musical accompaniment to bunraku? Or is it a more contemporary type of acting? 

Where does her fear of failure come from? Is she a perfectionist, or is she just ambitious and drive, or have something to prove (to herself or to someone else)? In what was is she stuck up and cold hearted? Is she particularly cruel or aloof? Be careful in this that you’re not sounding like Koyuki from Clash In The Land Of Snow. 

I do feel as though 'kind’ and 'stuck up’ are contradictory. Perhaps 'aloof’ would be a better description? Perhaps she takes a while to warm up to people.

How does her water Lasso align with her other skills? How is she good at ninjutsu if she uses it seldom? Does she practice a lot? Could you maybe substitute fans instead of a lasso, so it would fit in later with her taijutsu ability? Is her style  of taijutsu more of a traditional dance, or is it more modernized/western? Who is saying she looks like she’s dancing? If it’s her enemies, then stop right there. If it’s her teachers, is this a critisicm, or a praise? How will her movements benefit her, or are they just pretty? Could this be a point of future character development?

I feel like you’ve picked good ages for promotion, though I might push back the jounin until she’s a bit older (20-22) just to space it out a little bit and make it seem more natural. I imagine it takes a bit longer for a chuunin to become a jounin than it takes for a gennin to become a chuunin. 

As for her summon…hmmm….I would be extremely cautious about summoning a 'kitsune’ due to their status in Japanese folklore. Up until now, I haven’t picked up on anythign that your OC would imply that the kitsune plays any significant role in her life. Kitsune’s are traditionally shapeshifters, and are frequently known for being tricksters as well as untrustworthy and unlucky/evil (particularly during the Edo period, where superstition reigned supreme). I can see how that may play into a genjutsu user, however, how else would the kitsune play into her life? What makes the kitsune choose her, or what makes her choose the kitsune? 

She likes baking, but not cooking (though they’re pretty interrelated, so this is confusing to me).

So she likes playing cards? Or is it specifically kyogi karuta? We know she likes Sengoku-era literature, perhaps have her look into the Chushingura, which is a fairly well-known bunraku play. Since she has a history in theater, this might interest her. She might also like Murasaki Shikibu (who was also a Fujiwara) or Sei Shonagon’s work. 

I’m spotting a theme here, which ties into her calmness. I would like to also see her have a few weakness’ as well, other than her fear of failure. Perhaps she’s calm on the outside but can be extremely irritable or has outbursts where the facade is broken. If she’s calm all the time, it starts be be a bit Sue-ish and can make a character difficult to relate to for a reader. She is human, after all, and every human has their moments of frustration or anger.  Other than that, i think you’ve done a great job of putting together a group of friends and family members for her.

I hope this helps flesh her out a little more! Best of luck in pushing forward with her in the future!

~Murasaki