Celebrated from October 31st to November 1st, Samhain heralds the end of the harvest season and the onset of winter, or what the Celts considered the “darker half” of the year. As one of the major Celtic fire festivals, Samhain holds a place of significant importance, marking a period when the veil between worlds is thin and spirits are more likely to make an appearance.
Patchouli: Grounding, protection, and spiritual growth.
What does your OC use to anchor themselves emotionally during times of stress, or when they are feeling afraid? Do they think of a specific person? Focus upon their religious faith? Reflect upon a firmly held belief? Or something else?
Does your OC have any particular rituals or actions they perform for good luck, perhaps before embarking upon a risky venture or new activity?
How in touch is your OC with the spiritual beliefs and traditions of their culture of origin? Have they ever moved away from these? Perhaps only to return to them later?
How protective is your OC of those about whom they care? Does this ever come across as controlling or stifling? Or do they provide a quietly reassuring presence?
Are there specific times or places where your OC feels particular in touch with things beyond the everyday - whether the divine, the occult or the world of the dead.
Cinnamon: Warmth, prosperity, and vitality.
Does your OC enjoy feeling cosy? Perhaps being snuggled in blankets or wrapped in furs? If so, then is this something that they get to enjoy very often? And is it something about which they are quite private?
Is your OC someone who tends to store resources to get through the winter (or times of hardship in general)? Or are they more inclined to assume that things will work themselves out somehow - or even rely upon the generosity of others?
Does your OC feel more energetic or motivated during warmer seasons or when in hotter climates? Conversely, do they feel inclined to "hibernate" during colder weather?
Is your OC someone who enjoys feasting and carousing? If so then are they likely to be hosting such an event? Or more likely to be attending as a guest? If they don't enjoy such things, then what is the reason for their aversion?
Is your OC generally quite healthy? Or do they often come down with colds and minor ailments? Are they perhaps even a bit of a hypochondriac?
Nutmeg: Clarity, spiritual fortitude, and insight.
Would those who know your OC describe them as being rational and clear-thinking? Or are their thoughts often muddied by conflicting emotions? Or are they easily distracted by irrelevant details?
Does your OC find it easy to explain their views and opinions? Or do they find themselves grasping for the right words? Or perhaps stumbling over how to phrase something?
Is your OC easily able to empathise with others? Can they put themselves in someone else's shoes? Or are the motives and actions of others frequently a mystery to them?
Does your OC have the courage of their convictions? Or are they often beset by self-doubt or paralysed by indecision?
Was there a specific event or conversation which opened your OC's eyes to a particular reality? Do they ever regret learning the truth and feel nostalgic for their former innocence?
Clove: Safety, cleansing, and amiability.
Is your OC someone who makes those around them feel safe? Or is there something about them which others can find rather unsettling? If so, then is this the case constantly, or only in certain circumstances?
Is your OC generally easy-going? Or are they sometimes fussy, irritable or curmudgeonly? What tends to put them into a bad mood? Are they good at concealing the fact? Do they even try?
How important is cleanliness to your OC? Are they keen to wash and bathe as often as possible? Or can they go for extended periods without being troubled by any social expectations around personal hygiene?
When away from the comfort and convenience of amenities such as baths and showers, how does your OC keep themselves clean and fresh? If they do at all?
What does safety mean to your OC? Is it emotional or financial security? Or protection from physical harm? Is safety something for which they aim - either for themselves or others?
Frankincense: Connection, introspection, and purification.
Is your OC prone to introspection? Or do they not often look within themselves? If so then is this purely by inclination, or do they fear what they might discover?
What makes your OC feel an instant sense of connection to another person? A shared sense of humour? A common cultural heritage? Enjoyment of the same activities?
Is your OC a model of purity and innocence? Or are they prone to bawdy humour, sexual innuendos and cynical retorts? Perhaps they give the appearance of purity, but underneath things are a great deal murkier?
Does your OC ever do things and then afterwards find it hard to explain why they acted the way that they did? Or are they always clear on why they spoke or behaved in a certain way, even if they choose not to admit it to others?
Is your OC someone who other people consider easy to get to know? Are they, in fact, quite wrong about this?
Myrrh: Meditation, spiritual awareness, and grief.
Does your OC believe that their ancestors or dead relatives watch over them? Does this bring them comfort? Or would they actually rather they didn't?
Is your OC able to sit in silence with their own thoughts? Are they able to clear their mind and meditate? Or would they quickly become fidgety or bored?
Is there a particular date or season when your OC is more likely to reflect upon grief and loss? If they are grieving for a specific person then do they find times such as anniversaries or namedays particularly difficult?
To what degree is your OC mindful of the religious and spiritual beliefs of others? Even if they do not share them?
Is your OC sensitive to locations where great loss or suffering took place? Do they believe they can sense the echoes of past events? Or are they oblivious? How do they respond emotionally to being in such places?
This has been on my mind for long but I’m gonna do this - please reblog this if you’re comfortable with pre-establishing relationships. I do not mean “met at the grocery store two weeks ago” or “have a common friend”, but rather stuff like “have been best friends since kindergrden”, “go for a beer every friday”, “friends with benefits”, “dated in highschool”, “hate each other’s guts because -insert reason-” etc. Something meaningful (but not necessarily shippy) and I mean with muns/characters you have not interacted with, because I cannot believe I am the only one who prefers jumping right into the heart of the human interaction.
Characters that get aggressive and snappy when sick or injured. No fevered pleas or soft spoken confessions - just misplaced frustration and cruel comments born out of pain and confusion.
““You’re not a monster,” I said. But I lied. What I really wanted to say was that a monster is not such a terrible thing to be. From the Latin root monstrum, a divine messenger of catastrophe, then adapted by the Old French to mean an animal of myriad origins: centaur, griffin, satyr. To be a monster is to be a hybrid signal, a lighthouse: both shelter and warning at once.”
— Ocean Vuong, from On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous.
Hey, hey! Friendly reminder to make sure your supposedly “fearless” character gets their darkest fear revealed in the worst way possible so they break down into a vulnerable shaking mess in front of all the people they care about
↳ In the eastern reaches of the Aldenard landmass, home to vast, dense woodlands and coursing rivers, lies the forest nation of Gridania. The cityscape is a mosaic of labyrinthine waterways and great wooden structures, so gracefully constructed they seem a part of the surrounding environment.
The Gridanian emphasis on natural harmony has led to its preeminence among Eorzea’s city-states in trades such as forestry, agriculture, carpentry, and leatherworking. Gridania is also home to the Wood Wailers, a militant band of polearm-wielding sentries charged with the protection of their homeland.
The favored goddess of the citizenry is Nophica, the Matron, but great faith is also placed in the wisdom of the Seedseers—young oracles who guide the nation based on the will of the forest’s elementals.
If courage isn’t the absence of fear but doing the right thing regardless of it, maybe confidence isn’t the absence of insecurity but knowing you have real worth despite it
By this same token, maybe goodness isn’t the absence of bad thoughts or impulses, but the conscious choice to behave according to your moral ideals in spite of them.
i do love a good bit of haunting the narrative as horror but i also love it when the haunting is a source of comfort, a way of keeping your memories of the dead alive. animals or plants that call to mind someone you lost, articles of clothing or accessories that belonged to the deceased being worn by their loved ones (and subtle hints at the context of their relationship - a ring on a chain for lovers parted, a necklace or handmade bracelet for friends, a distinctive blade or engraved armor plating for brothers in arms, etc.), a treasured keepsake or beloved pet passed down for safekeeping, children who remind you so much of their parents. i am not immune to grief expressed through tokens of remembrance and love.
obsessed with the concept of ghosts not as that which was once alive but is now dead yet lingers, but as that which the loss of haunts us regardless of literal death. ghost ships and buildings long lost to time and tragedy, existing now only in memory. the clothes someone wore. the way they laughed. the past self and the mistakes that you can't move on from. all of these are ghosts too.
Ever since I first heard the word grotto I knew it was a valuable word. When I first heard the word grotto I knew it could be used for great things. The word grotto refers to a cavity in the earth. The word grotto means a small hole or cavern in rock or other substrate like ice, especially when used as shelter. The word grotto is related to crypt, and it is related to grotesque. Grottoes can also be built. Artificial grottoes are sometimes built in gardens. Sometimes people live in grottoes. There have been people that go into grottoes and live in them. There have been people that lived in a grotto for a long time. Sometimes people store food and other supplies in grottoes. Sometimes there are religious things in grottoes. People like to put items in grottos for safekeeping, because grottoes are useful for shelter. When I first saw the word grotto I knew it had a lot of meaning and meant something special. When I think of grottoes I think they are unique.
In my last essay I discussed the meaning and use of grotto. I concluded grotto was a unique and special word with value. In this essay I will talk about grottoes and water. Grottoes sometimes have water in or around them. Grottoes are often near water or filled with water. It is important to say that grottoes are often made by water. Grottoes can be carved out through water eating away limestone. Features in limestone carved out by water are called karst features. Karst features are often found where limestone and water meet. Sometimes the water is there in the grotto when it floods and leaves the grotto when it doesn't flood. Sometimes floods happen daily and sometimes seasonally. Grottoes can be flooded often. There is a special grotto called the underwater grotto. The underwater grotto is found completely submerged in a body of water. The underwater grotto is completely flooded. These grottoes often have interesting things in them like ancient animals. Underwater grottoes can preserve old things. The underwater grotto is important in understanding how water and grottoes interact. One day I hope we can find all the underwater grottoes.
Svan'a Malu @xiv-necromancer - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
