I’m Anafenza Ejinn, OC Muse.  Hailing From The Azim Steppe In Othard, And Ul’dah!

sorry theres not a single person on this website id pay to follow idc if we’ve been mutuals for six years, if you put up a paywall we’re done

Conflux, Pt. 1

Ana’s eyes were glued shut, her expression pained as she dreamt.

Dreaming, of late, had been a whole new level of fantasy for Anafenza of the Ejinn.  Some nights she was in her own memories, which was nothing out of the ordinary.  Some nights, she was in front of the dark tree and hearing the mournful, enraged notes of the Dragonsong – she’d started having these dreams after she’d killed the elezen Jessika while she was brainwashed (but that is a long story for another day). But now, her dreams began to bleed into the wondrous: she’d dreamt she was flying, calling wind and rain and it obeyed her!  Or that she was commanding a group of people bustling around some sort of control center, the floor shaking beneath them as explosions rocked them and she stared out at an endless sea of night.  She’d even had a few where she and the other two “hers” interacted with one another, before she was jolted awake.

And then the dreams of everlasting light – a field of pink flowers, with child-like giggles floating on the breeze around her.  There was no warmth, no sun in the sky – just light glaring down upon her, and voices.

“Aenc tyr,” they’d say. And another, “Open the gate.”

  But this…this dream was new.  It was a memory, but not her memory.  As Anafenza looked around the small room as she paused her frantic packing, she knew it was not her own.  The simple wood hut; the longbow leaning against the wall by the door; the roiling sky, filled with the great red light of the falling moon...

The falling moon… She quickly went to the window to look up and gasped.  She had seen Dalamud in the sky as it fell years ago when she was still living in Othard, and her people had seen it as an ill omen.

"Quickly, Jessielle, quickly!  Get your bow, come, come!"

Ana turned around, confused, before moving to the satchel of personal effects on the bed, nearly crammed full of trinkets and clothes she was trying to protect.  Her family had finished ensuring the last of the villagers who were seeking shelter were in the catacombs, Anafenza thought, though she wasn’t sure how she knew this.

Once the last few villagers trickled in, the family returned to their own home to prepare.  She assumed it was to gather what they could and hide as well, so she was in her private room, gathering mementos of her life, when her father came barging into her room, shouting her given name.

Anafenza froze, realizing the knowledge she’d just come to know.  Father?  Jessielle? These are Jessika’s memories!  But why…am I in them?

There was a loud crack outside, and Ana and Jessika’s father turned to see, out the window, a plume of fire where a chunk of the moon had fallen.  "Come Jessielle...there is not much time," he said, his crisp and proper Ishgardian words flowing gracefully out, despite the urgency.

"Père, what..."  She heard herself saying, before finally looked at him, noticing the man was clothed in heavy, black leather armor, armored gauntlets with intricate gold and blood-red patterns winding over them.  His legs were clad in armor as well, the same gold and red filigree snaking up the armor like ivy.  "Père, what are you wearing?"

Her father – Jessika’s father – rolled his eyes and, picking up her bow from near the door with one hand, grabbed her arm with the other and pulled her out of the room. "There is no time to explain. Come, come!"

He pulled her through the house and outside, his armored fingers digging deep into Ana’s wrist. She squirmed a little, biting her lip to keep from yelling at him as she stumbled along behind as he guided her to the center of the small village.

"Jacemont, what took you so long?  The time is approaching!"

Jacemont Saphir finally let go of Anafenza’s wrist, approaching the woman waiting for them there. She wore long, flowing robes of dark fabric, completely black except for a blood-red design up the right side.  It wound up from the hem of the robes to the collar - an intricate, winding design like ivy, with leaves and thorns.  She turned her head to look at them, her eyes cold and dark.  "Jessielle, what were you doing?"

Before she knew what she was doing, Anafenza dipped her head in deference. "Mère," she greeted her, realizing this was Jessika’s mother.  "I was gathering my things...why aren't we in the catacombs?  What are you and Père doing out here?"  She motioned to the descending moon, meteorites flying off it and impacting the ground in the distance.  "We need to take shelter!"  Anafenza looked around, realizing she wasn’t in control.  She was watching the memory unfold, taking the role of Jessika in it. Even with the knowledge that she was in a dream, she couldn’t take control and change the course of it.

The mother – Raechelle, Anafenza realized was her name – shook her head ever so slightly and turned back to look at Dalamud.  "We are sheltering.  Jacemont, stand with me.  Jessielle, come here."  She motioned to her left and right sides; Jacemont stood to his wife's left, looking up at the sky.  "Something is happening."

As she said the words, there was a loud crack, and the three of them watched as Dalamud began to fracture. Fire peeked out through the fissures, and enormous wings appeared at the top of the hulk.  The surface of the moon roiled and shook.

"Gods preserve," Jacemont whispered, his eyes wide in horror.

Raechelle reached behind her, her hand grasping at the air behind her head.  She raised her arm, and Anafenza watched in awe as woman lifted a large, black sword with gold-filigree into the air, pulling it out of thin air. Shadows and darkness seemed to pour out of it and fall off it, like fog off of an ice crystal.  She spun the blade down and screamed, thrusting the sword into the ground.

There was deafening boom, and Ana fell backward as the moon was blasted apart, fragments flying into the ground with enough force that it shook all around them.  A few homes were ripped apart as fragments slammed into them, fire and debris exploding into the air.  The ground shook, and Ana fully expected to feel fire consume her.  She was going to die, she knew it...

So when, after a few more moments, she was still alive, Ana opened her eyes, feeling the memory of Jessika’s confusion even though she knew what she was going to see.  She looked around and heard herself gasp.

Raechelle was holding the hilt of the sword still, gritting her teeth.  All around them, extending out several meters, was a swirling cloud of black mist and smoke, shadows flying through the cloud around them with such speed that Anafenza couldn't get clear views of them.  The cloud enclosed them and much of the village like a bubble, the outside just barely visible.

Jacemont cursed loudly. "It's a dragon!"

"It's not a dragon, it's a god," Raechelle corrected, gazing in equal horror as her husband.  Ana clambered to her feet, watching as the beast - which took up much of the sky - began to fly quickly around, flares of fire shooting from its body and striking the ground, causing more earthquakes and explosions.  It soared overhead with a scream, releasing a volley of fire at the village below.  Far in Othard, she remembered seeing the moon drift below the horizon, but this…

This is the Calamity everyone speaks of.  Kami, what hell…

"Jacemont! Now!"  Raechelle screamed.  Anfenza turned in time to see the man reach up and behind him.  He clenched his hand and, in the same way as she had seen the woman, pulled a large sword out of nowhere, thrusting it into the ground as well.  There was a pulse of energy that she felt push through her, and the bubble of shadows grew darker.

The beast's fire slammed into the shield, and Jessika's parents shouted in surprise, both of them faltering slightly, as if a great weight just landed on their shoulders, pushing them downward.  They held onto the hilts of their swords, struggling to straighten back up.

Anafenza looked around, the memory of terror rising in her as Jessika watched.  Another memory crept into her thoughts, an earlier time that she’d seen this happen, but she didn’t focus on it.  Anafenza had seen this cloud of shadows before as well – the day she killed Jessika, it had exploded around her, swirling around and subduing Ana, as the curse fell upon the auri girl.

Raechelle shouted, and Ana looked up to see the dragon approaching again, circling back around for another indiscriminate attack on the land below.  "Jessielle, we need you!"

Anafenza blinked in surprise.  "What?! No!  I...I don't know what's happening!"

Jacemont staggered again, falling to one knee but still holding onto his sword.  "Your bow, child!  Your bow!"

Ana shook her head, staring at the wooden longbow in her hands.  "I don't...know what you want from me," she said, still confused, though the hairs on the back of her neck began to prickle.

"Strike the ground!"  He called again, pulling himself back up to standing.  "Strike the ground and defend your home!  Your friends!  Your family! Defend those you love, protect them from this!"  He looked at her, and she noticed his eyes were pitch black, shadowy energy flaring out of them like two dark fires.  "You know what to do, child!  Now, stand with us!"

Anafenza looked at the two elezen, then back at the bow in her hands.  She looked up, seeing fire rain down again.  Panicking, she did what Jacemont told her, lifting the bow in the air and striking the one end of it to the ground.

Ana felt another pulse of energy radiate out, and the shield grew darker still, swirling faster and further out so that it protected most of the village.  She felt as if her feet were rooted to the ground, and her hands locked in place, wrapped around her bow.  Her vision darkened as she heard the fire slam into the shield, felt the impact of the fireballs on the shield as if a heavy hand were shoving her to the ground.  She fell to one knee, her hands unable to release the bow, gasping for breath.  The familiar sensation of being choked by the darkness came to her, the same choking she’d felt when Jessika had died. Her eyes were playing tricks on her: in one moment, she could see the bow clear as day, but in the next the weapon appeared like a great sword, similar to the ones the elezen were wielding.

Similar to the sword I’ve pulled from my aether, she realized, recognizing the weapon she’d come to know as “Bloodthorn.”

The attack continued for what felt like hours, or maybe it was only a few seconds.  The three of them were screaming in defiance and pain as the ground shook around them.

Then, the world went dark.

This is an amazing and awesome take on this character

Why Lolorito despite being a Ruthless Ammoral Capitalist is actually still a better person than a modern day CEO.

He actually pays those under his employ fairly well from what I can gather considering the kind of loyalty they seem to have for Lolorito. Money is a powerful motivator.

The thing Lolorito cares about above his own wealth, is Ul’dah.

He still has standards as to what he will and will not do for profit.

What does a Modern CEO care about more than profit? Their own Wallet, to the detriment of everyone around them so long as they have fat stacks of cash.

Conflux, Pt. 9

Anafenza was still gawking in awed silence when the three women stepped off the lift and onto the main control room of the ship – the “bridge,” the Commander had called it – as the other officers sat at their positions, preparing the ship’s systems to send them home.

Ana had since changed into a similar jumpsuit as the Commander, though it was completely black with no special color.  She’d tried to ask for pink, but that wasn’t an actual color for a uniform.  Still, she had the top off, the arms tied around her waist, and was sporting a pink “sports bra” the Commander had decided to compromise on and allow her to wear.  The badge with her linkpearl pressed to the center was pinned on one of the sleeves around her waist.

She moved along one side of the bridge, stopping behind a Miqo’te man seated there.  “This is Lt. M’Ral, my operations officer.  He’s tying our chronometric sensors to the transporter in hopes that we can send you to your appropriate time periods using the residual aether…”

“He’s a Miqo’te!” Anafenza exclaimed in surprise, smiling wide.

The three others looked at her in surprise.  M’Ral looked slightly confused, then shook his head.  “Er, no.  I’m a Caitian…I’m not sure what a Miqo’te is…”

Anafenza bit her lip and shook her head.  “Sorry…it’s a race on my world.  You look…very similar…”

The man nodded.  “That is alright; I’m not offended.”  He pointed on the screen.  “Right now, there is a large flow of this ‘aether’ that we are still able to detect.  It is branching from a central location along three distinct paths.  We’re working out how to use those paths to transport you to those physical locations…”

A woman in a blue-shouldered uniform stepped forward.  She had a pattern of spots that went from her temples down her neck.  “And we’re using this ship’s chronometric navigational scanners to help transport you to your proper times.”

The Commander nodded. “Ladies, this is Nizeri Sano, my science officer.  And…yeah, that’s the plan we’re developing.  It’s nothing we’ve ever tried or even considered trying before…”

“And if it fails?” Stormy asked.

Sano shook her head.  “We would maintain our lock and pull you back to Rafale.  You’d be stranded here most likely…”  She tapped the panel on the wall, bringing up a new display for the women to look at. It showed the aether trails, ending at three distinct dots.  “Right now our present location, Earth, and your world are equidistant from one another…both in space and in time.  This is a phenomenon that just…should not be possible.  That all three of you would also be existing and have these connections, and wander to these specific locations at the same time is…a once in a lifetime experience.  But…” She tapped the display, and it began to move, showing a passage of time.  “We are drifting out of this sync phase.  The longer we go without executing this plan, the greater the risk of you not making it home.  If we don’t do this by tomorrow night…”

“Then we’re stranded in your universe,” Stormy finished.  Her face fell, her excitement now crashing with a reality of not getting home. Anafenza felt a similar pain in her chest at the thought of not making it home.

The Commander must have noticed this.  She smiled a little, then patted them both on the back.  “Well, if we only have till tomorrow night, let’s go celebrate.  C’mon; we’ll go to Hurricane Hal’s.”

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...

Magus Musings: Week 4

Welcome to week four of Magus Musings! To get our creative juices flowing (and yours!) we’ve decided to post a weekly FFXIV themed writing prompt. A new prompt will go live each Monday and you will have a week to respond with a drabble, short story, poem, letter, or anything, really. I know we said writing prompt, but if your muse wants a series of screenshots, then, by all means, do that. We want to see everything you come up with and get to know your characters a little better.

This is open to all members of the FFXIV community not just those who are members of Mysterium. So, if a prompt strikes your fancy, get creative! Just don’t forget to use the tag #magusmusings! We want to see (and like and reblog) all of your amazing work!

Happy writing!

The Fiery Moon ( @eightswordsparrow ), the River Knight ( @stormscream ), and a Wizard, looking for some research materials within the Gubal Library.

“It’s weird how there’s such a big section just for romance novels? And. That it’s so close to the historical records?”

Bad Habits!

Bold what bad habits apply to your muse.

Swearing | Fingernail chewing | Slouching | Slurring | Drinking | Smoking | Drugs | Impulse decisions | Obsessive Linkpearl checking | Bad time management | Slang | Poor grammar | Overworking | Slacking off | Over sleeping | Under sleeping | Skin picking | Poor eye contact | Lying | Rambling | Skipping breakfast | Junk food | Self criticism | Procrastinating | Day dreaming | Forgetful | Envious | Jealous | Gossiper | Drama whore | Secret teller | Spitting | Lip licking | Lip chewing | Drinking from the bottle | Yelling | Poor hygiene | Impatient | Hot headed | Biased | Complaining | Scab picking | Cheek biting | Teeth gnashing | Stealing | Scamming | Speeding | Hair pulling | Large ego | Eavesdropping | Exaggerating | Fidgeting | Free loading | Littering | One-Upping | Whining | Borrowing without returning | Unnecessary Aggression | Talking during performances | Plagiarism | Copying | Glaring | Spacing out | Ignoring | Over critical | Messy | Hateful | Overly Prideful |

Thanks for the poke, @little-purple-thundercloud! :)

This looks like fun...ask away all two of you who might actually look at this blog...lol

Elemental questions

Earth:

Leaf: What’s your favourite season?

Tree: What’s the highest up you’ve ever been?

Flower: What’s the prettiest thing you own?

Grass: Do you prefer to be outside or inside?

Soil: Have you ever planted something?

Mountain: What’s the furthest you’ve ever travelled?

Rock: What’s your favourite gemstone?

Vines: What’s your aesthetic?

Plant: What, in your opinion, is your best aspect?

Forest: Where are you most calm?

Mud: Do you like to do hands-on things?

Bug: What’s your most irrational fear?

Cave: Where’s your favourite hiding place?

Garden: Where were you at this time last week?

Spring: What’s your earliest memory?

Water:

Tide: Can you swim/do you like to swim?

Beach: If you could be one place right now, where would you be?

Coral: Do you believe in mermaids?

Seashell: What’s a sound that soothes you?

Seaweed: Favourite sea creature?

Saltwater: Cold showers or hot showers?

Stream: When was the last time you had a bath?

Ocean: Have you ever been sailing?

Hurricane: If you had to save one thing, what would it be?

Rain: What do you do when it rains?

Thunderstorm: Do you like to be outside in the rain?

Dew: What’s your favourite drink?

Bubble: Do you live near the water?

Snow: Does it snow where you live?

Ice: What’s your favourite thing to do in the winter?

Air:

Clouds: When was the last time you were on a plane?

Breeze: What’s your favourite dessert food?

Smoke: Who’s your favourite artist?

Fog: Do you wear glasses?

Wind: What’s your favourite song to dance to?

Mist: Do you like fairytales?

Sky: Do you like to wear dresses?

Stars: What’s one wish you have?

Flight: What are you most excited for right now?

Float: What’s the first thing you think when you wake up?

Breath: What type of music do you listen to?

Bird: If you could fly, where would you fly to?

Feather: How long do you usually sleep for?

Balloon: What’s your favourite carnival ride?

Space: Have you ever seen an eclipse?

Fire:

Bonfire: What’s one thing you lost that you want back?

Warmth: Who is the person nearest to you right now?

Light: What time is it where you are?

Volcano: What are you most afraid of?

Sun: What would the person nearest to you right now say about you?

Lava: Do you like to do reckless things?

Flame: Have you ever burned something?

Soot: Have you ever hurt someone you didn’t mean to?

Coal: Have you ever been hurt by someone?

Ash: Do you have any birthmarks/scars?

Campfire: What’s your favourite childhood memory?

Lightning: Are you afraid of storms?

Energy: Pick one word to describe your life.

Lantern: Are you afraid of the dark?

Summer: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

This could be fun!

Send me a ❣ and I'll gauge my character's attraction to yours at this point in time

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧ | Sexual Attraction ✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧ | Romantic Attraction ✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧ | Crushing ✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧ | Squishing ✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧ | Sensual Attraction ✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧ | Aesthetic Attraction

Low ✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦ High

Hover over the names for explanations.