The Warrior Of Light From Final Fantasy 14 Is So Funny. Like There's Nothing Inherently Hilarious, It's

Conflux, Pt. 10

“A tavern…on the ship. I’m not sure the ships of Limsa have a dedicated area to drink.  Granted, pirates tend to just drink wherever…”

The Commander chuckled and took a sip of her drink.  “Do you always talk so much when you’re nervous?”

Stormy giggled, while Anafenza just tilted her head.  “I’m…I’m sorry?”

“You’re in an unknown place, drinking after your life was in danger, on the eve of your life either being in more danger or the threat of you being stranded.  It’s ok to be scared.”  She took another drink.  “We are too…”

Ana just shook her head. “I think I’m more just overwhelmed. I’d imagined other worlds, and I’ve heard stories but…this experience?  Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I’d meet other aspects of myself.  Or, rather…” She paused, frowning and looking away. “You’re not me.”

The women looked at each other with concerned expressions.  Stormy finally reached forward, putting a hand softly on Ana’s back. “I…don’t think that’s true.”

“I’m not Jessika. Jessielle.  Whatever her name was, she was the missing aspect of you, not me.” Anafenza shook her head.  “I feel…guilty that I denied you the opportunity to meet her.”

The Commander shook her head.  “That may be…but you’re you.  And you still have that piece of her inside you that connects you to us.  You’re one of us now.”

Stormy smiled and nodded, then wrapped her arms around the smaller auri and hugged her tight.  “And we’re going to miss you a lot.  I wish we could have gotten to know each other better.” She let go of Anafenza with a small giggle.  “Without the threat of looming erasure from existence hanging over our heads.”

Anafenza and the Commander rolled their eyes.  Ana continued.  “I’m serious though…”

“It happened a long time ago,” the Commander countered.  “And you weren’t in control.  It’s sad, and I won’t lie, we both didn’t want to trust you initially.  But, what you did?  The connection you have to us, to your Jessika?  It helped save us.”

Anafenza took a drink. “I wish I knew how to control it all better.”  She shook her head.  “She was a warrior.  She could use these powers.  And then the two of you.”  She nodded to the Commander.  “Captain of a…a ship in space.  A leader, in the middle of a war, protecting your people.  And you,” she put her hands on top of Stormy’s wrapped around her and squeezed.  “You can make it rain wherever you please.  You’re a hero, protecting the innocent.”  She shook her head.  “I bake sweets and cook breakfasts.  The last time I tried to pick up a sword, I no longer felt as if it were an extension of me. I feel off balance…”

“What, that large sword you were holding in the cave?”

Anafenza glanced over her shoulder at the blue woman.  “I beg your pardon?”

“When you allowed more aether to flow out of you,” the Commander continued for Stormy.  “A large sword appeared from nowhere in your hands. We assumed it was part of this aether you store, connected to your Jess.”

Anafenza shook her head. “If I did…I didn’t do it by trying. This is news to me.”

The other two women glanced at each other in some confusion.  Finally, Stormy gave the auri girl another quick squeeze, and Ana felt her plant a kiss on the back of her head.  “Maybe it’s this ‘bloodvine’ power you received?  Maybe that’s why normal weapons don’t feel right anymore; because you have a weapon inside you now instead.”  She let Anafenza go so the woman could sit back up, before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and bringing her into a side embrace.  “I’m sure you could learn to use that to help…”

The Commander nodded. “I didn’t exactly earn my command in a traditional sense; I was selfish, trying to protect another ship that had my friends on it.  The rest of the command crew was dead – they’d been killed by, well…it’s hard to explain what they are.”  She blushed apologetically.  “Unless you can imagine zombie-like creatures that are part man, part machine?”

Ana shook her head.  “Not really…”

“The Borg.  It’s not too important; what matters is that, when another ship was in danger, a ship I knew had my two closest friends on it, I risked my ship and the survivors on board to defend my friends.” She shook her head.  “It was stupid, and it went against all sound judgement…but I was rewarded for rescuing that ship.  And I was given the Rafale.”  She sighed. “Sometimes, when we don’t expect to or maybe for the worst of reasons…we find that we have that strength, that power, inside us.  I’m sure you have the same, Anafenza of the Ejinn.”  She smiled encouragingly, raising her glass.  Stormy did the same, and Ana joined after a moment.  “To your future adventures, Ana.  We know you’ll do amazing things.”

Anafenza smiled, grateful. The women tapped their glasses together and then downed the drinks.  Stormy giggled as she put her glass down, then tugged on Anafenza’s hands.  “Let’s go dance, c’mon!”

The Commander watched as they left the quiet confines of the Captain’s “VIP section” of the ship’s bar, otherwise known as “Hurricane Hal’s”. As the doors opened to let them out, the bass and high notes of the electronic music blared in from the outside bar, and she watched the two women join the small gathering of crew on the floor of the Category 7 club.

Sleep...

I just want to sleep sleep forever.  drift off with the waves as they meet the shore where I lay...lie...gods i hate this language. nothing but words.  words don’t fix people. i know i shouldnt feel this way but i have been so broken down and crumpled up that i dont know how to feel otherwise.  and its all still my fault.  im still the one to blame.  Im still the one too selfish to pay attention to those around me how can I even begin to look at them and see their feelings and hurts when all I can see are mine.  standing out in such sharp relief in front of me, as if the sun was pouring through an open window behind them so that all I could see was their forms.  I can’t feel, I can’t think, I can’t hear anything in this pit.  Im sorry. Im sorry Im not strong enough on my own. i hope Hipper’s solution...

Eee! I'm the River Knight? Yay!

((L’yhta, with the The Priestess, The River Knight, and another adventurer, sneaking through part of a Castrum on a leve. “This really seems like a trap, you know?”))

Dream Journal 3

More flying tonight, but the storm – gods the storm was incredible!  So much rage and anguish carried on the winds, and the rain was biting cold and sharp as needles.  But it didn’t stop me    I just flew faster and faster, through the canyon of steel of glass.  People hurried around beneath me – they all looked like hyur, but the clothing was strange.  Still I just flew and flew, feeling more of the energy as I did before.

I felt overcome with   grief?  Pain?  I realized I was crying but i didn’t know why.  It was a sadness I am not familiar with

and I realized too that I was crying.  I slowed my flying, feeling my face

my hand was blue!  I didn’t know how or why but the skin was blue, and without scales   The surprise stopped my tears and, just like that, the sky cleared.   No biting rain, no strong winds whipping my face, no clouds hiding the late evening sky

My chest burned, and I hiccupped, but this pain in my heart…I do not know why I was so sad that I would make the sky weep with me

This...always this...

Do you ever get that feeling?

I feel like this a lot about my friends.

Conflux, Pt. 8

Anafenza awoke with a start again, her body feeling sore like she’d been swimming for malms upstream. She was lying on a bed, just big enough for her body to fit on top of, her tail uncomfortably folded under her and pushed to one side.  An extra pillow was folded and under her neck, helping to support her head so that all the weight wasn’t on her horns.  She was covered by a scratchy, wool blanket, and she could feel clothes covering her body, only adding to the discomfort.  There were bright lights above her, and she could tell she wasn’t in the disappearing cavern anymore.

Did…did it work?

She shifted, trying to move, and groaned a little as her sore muscles screamed in protest.

The rest of the space was sterile white walls and a plain grey carpet.  More of the beds were lined along the wall next to her bed, and over the head of each one on the wall was a dark glass window.  Most were off, but the one over her bed blinked and flashed with white characters and squares of varying shades of blue.  As she pushed herself up to rest on an elbow, one of the blue boxes flashed and turned red with a triangle symbol inside; she looked at it curiously, before turning to look around more.

There was some shuffling, and then a soft voice called out from around a corner.  “Oh!  You’re awake!”  A petite woman stepped around the corner, wearing an outfit similar to the Commander’s except that it was mostly white.  She had the same badge on her chest as Jessica, too.  Her light brown eyes smiled along with her wide lips.  “How do you feel, Ana?”

Anafenza coughed and shook her head, sitting up all the way.  “I know I’ve felt better.  Where am I? How do you know me?”

She smiled again.  “I’m Doctor Dubois; you’re onboard the Rafale.  You came with Jes- Commander St. Peter.”  Her cheeks went a little pink at her near misspeak, but Ana didn’t try to understand the reason for the embarrassment.  “When you materialized on board you collapsed on the transport pad; we brought you here to the sickbay.  It’s sort of a…hospital.”

Anafenza nodded.  “How long…have I been sleeping?”

“You were out for most of the day,” came a familiar voice, and Ana turned her head to see both Jessicas step through a double door that had separated with a whoosh.  Stormy looked like she was still excited beyond belief to be living in this fantasy.  The Commander moved near Dubois, and the two shared a silent look and a smile.  “Thanks, JD.”

The Doctor nodded and stepped back around the corner, leaving Ana and the Jessicas.  The Commander cleared her throat.  “We’re not sure if it had to do with the ‘aether’ in the cavern, or if it is unique to your race, but the scar grew while we were being rescued.”

Anafenza pulled up her top to check underneath, not minding when the two woman glanced away for a moment as she flashed them.  Sure enough, the snaking, ivy-like mass of scales reached up beyond her collarbone now, just resting at the base of her neck.  It wound down further past her waist; a quick check of her legs rewarded her with more of the scales down nearly to her left knee now.  She sighed and shook her head.  “I do not know; it’s nothing to do with my race, I know that. The curse expanded?”

“I don’t know about curse, but it certainly helped,” Stormy chimed in, hopping over and settling down at the foot of the bed.  She put a comforting hand on Ana’s leg and gave her a small squeeze.  “The Commander’s crew says that their transport system was able to find us easier and rescue us because of the beacon you became.  It was like you said; you guided them to us.”

Anafenza smiled.  “I’m…glad it helped.  I don’t know what happened, but I’m glad it helped?”  The three of them laughed a little.

“Now to get you two home,” the Commander remarked, and the other two nodded.  “We have a theory for how, but we’re still finishing the final simulations.  Until then, you’re guests on the Rafale, and I’d like to show you both around.”

Stormy smiled wide and nodded, before suddenly pausing and shaking her head.  “Wait…when do you wipe our memories?  Don’t you have some kind of ‘temporal prime directive?’”

The Commander shrugged. “We’re willing to make an exception to the policy.  Too much has happened, and if I want to remember it, I’m sure both of you would like to as well.  I don’t want to take that away.”

Anafenza nodded. “That would be nice, yeah.”

D&D Character Types - Anafenza Ejinn

Bold what definitely applies to your muse. Italicize what somewhat applies to your muse.

𝙱𝙰𝚁𝙱𝙰𝚁𝙸𝙰𝙽   »   toothy  grins,  stories  around  the  campfire,  clothes  covered  in  pet  hair, hot  temper,  old  jeans, heartbeat  in  head,  potatoes  and  steak,  beaded  jewelry, bruises  like  galaxies,  mementos, backpack  stuffed  full,  craigslist  furniture, spontaneous  road  trips, air  ripped  from  lungs

𝙱𝙰𝚁𝙳   »   homemade  bread, white  lies, easily  excited,  trying  on  hats,  band  geek, pep  talks,  no impulse  control,  sunsets,  vintage  fashion,  long  showers,  selfies, following  dreams, rosy  cheeks,  song  mash-ups,  pink  lemonade  with  tequila,  loves  easily, animated  storyteller, full  of  comebacks

𝙲𝙻𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙲   »   list  of  wishes,  biting  their  tongue, band-aids  and  neosporin, shoulder  to  cry  on,  morning  sun, necklaces, trial  and  error,  homemade  quilts, formal  clothing,  astrology  fan,  messages  in  bottles,  pleated  braids, speaking  up  for  friends, feathers, motivational  quotes, vivid  dreams

𝙳𝚁𝚄𝙸𝙳   »   bird  watching, shy  kid,  wind  chimes, trying  to  whistle,  summer  camp, apple  orchards, lost  in  their  head,  glow-in-the-dark  stars  on  the  ceiling,  hoodies, thrift  shopping,  saving  worms  off  the  sidewalk, pig  latin, bare  feet, thunderstorms, numb  fingers,  braided  hair, naming  potted  plants

𝙵𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃𝙴𝚁   »   goosebumps, leather  jackets,  adventure,  chewing  nails,  cares  deeply  but  can’t  show  it, bronze  locks, no  sleep, taste  of  iron,  netflix  binges,  never  forgets, combat  boots,  stories behind  scars,  table  for  one,  official  soundtracks,  sore  calves, trusts  themselves  the  most

𝙼𝙾𝙽𝙺   »  always  trying  to  be  better, wanderlust,  meditation,  sweat  pants, old   photographs,  yoga, sleeping  in  hammocks, nostalgia, minimalist  design,  a breath  of  fresh  air, baby  animals,  volunteering, perfectionist, doesn’t  care  about  fashion,  healthy  snacks,  noticing  the  little  things

𝙿𝙰𝙻𝙰𝙳𝙸𝙽   »   school  uniforms, thick  jackets, sleeping  with  the  windows open, logical  advice,  scrapbooking,  compasses, i  fight  for  my  friends,  sculpture  gardens, cold  morning  air,  big  soul, likes  routine, secret  romantic, last  to  get jokes, sunflowers,  practical  presents,  misty  weather

𝚁𝙰𝙽𝙶𝙴𝚁   »   herbal  tea, smell  of  rain,  blinking  away  tears, camping  trips, collecting  bones,  swiss  army  knives,  first  impressions, anxious  thoughts,  bobby  pins,  burnt  marshmallows,  too  competitive,  clothes  lines,  messenger  bags, holding  grudges,  gets  along  better  with  animals  than  people

𝚁𝙾𝙶𝚄𝙴   »   flirtatious  sarcasm,  candid  photos, lost  phone chargers, adrenaline  rush, picking  dirt  out  from  beneath  their  nails,  social chameleon,  clashing  clothes,  self-deprecating  jokes,  claw machines,  sits  in  chairs  wrong, smudged  eyeliner,  has  too  many  sunglasses,  eats  nothing  or  everything

𝚂𝙾𝚁𝙲𝙴𝚁𝙴𝚁   »   infectious  laugh,  family  trees,  shivers  down  their  spine, lipstick  and  roses,  mood  swings,  clumsy, believing  in  destiny,  high  expectations, sleeping  in  darkness,  collection  of  nail  polish, passionate,  good  grades  but  never  studies,  poetry  books,  blowing  kisses,  not  knowing  their  own  strength

𝚆𝙰𝚁𝙻𝙾𝙲𝙺   »   knowing  everyone’s  secrets,  backpack  covered  in  pins, envy,  being  in  walmart  late  at  night,  earl  grey,  selective  memory,  conspiracy  theories  and  cryptids, key smashing, need  to  know  basis,  can’t  cook,  bags  under  eyes,  experimental  art,  flickering  bulbs,  black  clothing  all  year  long

𝚆𝙸𝚉𝙰𝚁𝙳   »   piles  of  textbooks,  cat  in  lap,  keeping  a  diary, indecision, scented  candles, studying  alone  in  a  café, lingering  touches,  museum  dates, unanswered  questions, taking  on  too  much  responsibility, collections , chalk  dust,  comfy  robes,  unnecessary  apologies, coming  home  after  a  long  day

Tagged by: @mercermachines​ (sorta)

Tagging: Anyone else who would like to do it. Just tag me so I can see! <3

Conflux, Pt. 11

The women were gathered in the small room – the “transporter room,” the Commander had called it – and exchange final goodbyes.  All had been a giggling mess of nerves since they woke up that morning, though Stormy seemed a bit worse for wear; claimed she had an “accelerated metabolism” that allowed her to drink copious amounts of a drink they called “tequila,” she had woken with a splitting headache.  A quick visit to the sickbay had helped relieve the pain, and the blue girl had spent a tender moment with Doctor Dubois, sharing stories of a woman who they both knew a version of.  The Commander just watched the exchange silently, but Ana knew the expression was melancholic, as she and her Doctor remembered their fallen lover while talking about Stormy’s alive one.  Stormy and the Doctor parted with a soft kiss, and then the trio had gone on one last tour of the ship before arriving at the transporter room.

Inside, a low din of activity greeted them as many of the Commander’s officers worked to finalize the calculations that would send them home.  “It’s funny,” the Commander remarked, watching them before turning to Anafenza.  “How strange this must seem to you.  All this technology, science, generations ahead of your world.”

Anafenza nodded.  “We have technology – the Garleans make full use of it – but this…is almost…”

“Indistinguishable from magic?” Stormy smirked, winking at the Commander.

Anafenza shrugged and nodded.  “That would…be a good way to describe it, yes.  But I’ve seen magic,” she continued with a wink.  “If you can call down a meteor from the heavens, then I’ll believe it.”

Stormy chuckled, but the Commander winced for a moment, her eyes going distant to some memory she didn’t want to think of.  She shook her head to clear it, before smiling again.

The “Trill” woman, Sano, cleared her throat behind the Commander, and all three turned to look at her. She nodded, almost sadly, clearly not wanting to break up their group.  “Ma’am, it’s time.  If we want a shot at getting them home before the window closes…” She trailed off, leaving the implications hanging in the air.

The three woman took in a deep breath, turning back to one another.  They smiled, before moving in to embrace one another together.

“This was…quite an experience,” the Commander remarked.

“It will certainly be a story to tell,” Anafenza continued on with a small nod.

“No one will believe us,” Stormy countered with a small laugh, and all three laughed together.  They hugged again, Stormy turning her head to plant a kiss on first the Commander’s cheek, then turning to Anafenza to do the same. Then, Stormy and Anafenza stepped up onto the illuminated pad.  Ana gave the blue woman’s hand a quick squeeze, before they parted, standing on opposite sides of the device.

Commander St. Peter smiled at them both.  “Good luck, and whatever gods you believe in protect you.  I am so blessed to know you both.”  She winked at Stormy playfully, but gave Anafenza a genuine smile.  “You’re going to do great things, Anafenza of the Ejinn.”

There was a long pause, as the three just stared at one another for another moment.  Then, the Commander turned her head to her crew.  “Energize!”

The light on the pad began to brighten, and a chiming filled the air as swirling motes of light enveloped the two women.  Anafenza giggled a little, feeling ticklish.

There was an alert on the panel, and Sano began shouting to her team.  “Engage the chronometric navigational sensors!”

“They can’t get a positive lock!  Something is throwing the entire equation out of sorts, and the transport can’t engage.”

“It’s not that ‘aether,’ is it?”

“No, we have a positive fix on that.  But there is a quantum imbalance in her signal and the other St. Peter’s.  The buffer is having a hard time maintaining their patterns, like another variable is missing…”

The lights died down, and the chiming subsided.  Stormy and Ana looked at each other, then at the crew working.

The Commander frowned, shaking her head.  “Something is missing…but the numbers all check?  We have good locks in both time and space?”  Her crew was nodding and agreeing as she rattled off things Anafenza could not comprehend.

Stormy snapped her fingers, looking at Anafenza.  “Something isn’t missing.  Someone is…”

The Commander paused, blinking, then smacked her forehead.  “Of course…the computer can’t make a firm lock on either of you…”

“Unless you can serve as an anchor,” Anafenza finished.  “And a beacon.”

“Just like in the pocket dimension.”

The Commander hopped onto the pad and took the center spot.  “Alright Nizeri, try now.”  She nodded. “Energize!”

Sano turned to the controls as the officer there worked the panel, and the lights and chimes began anew. She smiled, continuing to direct the officers.  “Positive lock engaged, they can make it to the pattern buffer!  Engage the scanners!”

The light overtook Ana’s vision, and the chiming deafened her.

“I’ll always…remember you…both!  May you walk…in the light…of the Crystal!”

Magus Musings - Dreams

It was the cavern again…

Anafenza turned her head left, then right. The same cavern she had been trapped in, years ago, with those reflections of the woman she’d killed. Only this time, she was alone.

She felt herself, before looking down. Nothing. No clothes, no tools. She tilted her head – dark splotches stained her grey skin where she had felt herself. She brought her hands up.

Blood. The scent of it hit her like a sack of popotoes before she even registered it with her eyes. She checked herself again, then gasped.

They were lying there, at her feet again. The duskwight, Jessika (or whatever the hells her name actually was), was on her back, her half-petrified face smashed and obliterated leaving just her mouth recognizable, open in a silenced scream of shock and pain.

The pale auri with the daggers – was it Nai, was that her name? – was bent over a second body, her hands desperately pressed against a third woman’s neck. She was screaming for help.

The third woman…

Anafenza covered her mouth, stopping a sob. Lyta was on her back, eyes wide in horror, struggling to breathe. Her mouth foamed with spit and blood, dripping down and mixing with her tears. She slowly turned her head, her eyes locked with Anafenza’s…

“You killed me.” Her voice was sharp and clear, right next to Anafenza’s horn, and she turned quickly to see Lyta standing next to her, blood trailing down her chest from the wound across her neck. Anafenza took a step back.

“You killed me,” she said again, accusingly.

“No!” Anafenza shook her head. “You didn’t die! They saved you! They stopped me, this curse stopped me! You lived!”

“You killed me,” she said again, then opened her arms wide. “Me and the rest of them. Their blood is on you, Aenc Tyr.”

Anafenza looked around the cavern again and gasped. Bodies littered the floor. Stalagmites and stalactites were bodies, skewered to the ground or hanging from the ceiling. Friends and family. Strangers. All around her.

And she stood in the center of it all, glowing dark and ominous, a vine creeping up her body and wrapping around her, choking the life from her as her branches wilted, leaves fell…

 Anafenza woke up, splashing and sputtering in her tub. Once she had found her breath she began to sob, laying her head on the side of the tub and just cried…

 ((Featuring @little-purple-thundercloud​))