Fairhaven Chapter 2 Notes

[robinauts]

 "'Do you want raspberries on your pancakes?'"
Raspberries signify protection and love, and could conceivably be harvested in November, when the story takes place.

"...pouring the residual magic from his dreams into the chunk of amethyst that shined by the window..."
Amethysts in general have a whole good for spiritual meditation thing going for them. They're a very important crystal in modern witchery.

“'Please make sure to take some labradorite with you today.'”
Labradorite is a crystal that heals and protects one's aura.

"...he had been going to visit his plot at the community garden, expecting some tomatoes and sage..."
Sage is used to banish negative spirits and grants protection, wisdom, wishes, immortality, longevity, etc - used a lot in witchcraft. Tomatoes could conceivably be harvested in April.

"A little old woman with bright yellow eyes toddled out."
This isn't anyone specific and it doesn't really matter, but I have obaa-chan from xxxholic in mind for this role.

"'I’ve heard a few people talking about hoop snakes making nests in parks on the forest side, and the calls of a strix at night...'"
Hoop snakes are a mythological creature/cryptid from the US, Canada, and Australia. They're kind of similar to the Greek ouroboros, as it's a snake eating its tail - but a hoop snake takes that to the next level. It rolls really fast at someone and then bites it. A strix is an owl that eats human flesh, from Greek mythology.
 

I would also like to say that my decision to make Fai not cis was based on personal headcanon. There are some unfortunate sections of wicca/paganism that are obsessed with menstruation and moons and whatnot. That is not the case in this fic - being a witch is a gender neutral profession. Later on in the fic, cis male witches will appear. The matter of Fai's gender or body will not be used as a plot point.
You can view him as a trans man or non binary in this fic as you prefer; all I know is that he's not a girl but still enjoys feminine fashion. I view him as having "less of a gender than an aesthetic."