Character

Before The Storm 2

There Is No Path






“There is something I want to talk to you.” I got a /tell one day.

“Our WAR will not be able to raid with us in Stormblood, so that spot is open. Do you interested in joining us?” The raid leader asked me.

It was a strange conversation.






About a week after I was kicked from my last static and left Nomad, I resumed my usual activities. Namely, subbing for static and hanging out on PF. I ran into an A12s kill group who was looking for a physical range DPS. I joined as a MCH. I immediately recognized the people there. The DRG and the SCH was in the kill group formed by Spiswel the week before. I still remembered I joined as a DRK and wiped with them for hours. I also remembered the news of those harassments and FC drama was broken to me half way during that raid.

The people in this group were very nice and very solid. We had a few fails here and there, but we killed the boss in a few pulls with four people in the team had bonus. It was a good day for me. It reminded me what I was trying to achieve when I decided to raid in multiple jobs.

I subbed for them as MCH the week after when they were farming. Then, they mentioned to me that their WAR can’t make it to the next raid day. I told them that I have gone into A12s as WAR couple times and have seen up to the second void of repentance. And so we talked about me subbing for them the week after.

It was where the raid lead asked me that question.

“Do you interested in joining us?” She asked me.

“But wait, do you want to see me playing WAR at least once and see if I am able to cope first?” I replied.

“You will be fine.” She told me.

I hardly played WAR in neither ARR nor HW. Not in raid, nor in dungeon. Back when the Improvisers were on break during Christmas, I played WAR in A9s/A10s once because we needed an OT. A9s was mainly about moving generator and holding Full Metal Faust in place. A10S was about tank swap. I didn’t even know what is my rotation back then. I just spam Storm Eye and hope for the best. Then I started watching guide when I was in Kyoka’s static. But then I was there for like only two weeks. Then, it was that week in Nomad.

Of course, if I take the offer, I have plenty of time to learn. We were at least two months away from Stormblood.





Reika once told me that she wanted to raid with me in the next expansion. So in theory, I should be looking for a static with her than taking any offer on my own.

Back then when I asked her to transfer to Cerberus and join Nomad, I really thought it was the best FC to be in. Looking back, I was so clueless. With the fall out in the FC static, I was very doubtful about this FC or static business in general. After all, we are more or less all strangers. How can I sure that those people who look nice on the surface may not have some hidden aggression that are waiting to explode? I am not convinced the next FC will necessarily be better than the last one. I don't buy into wishful thinking, so unless people can show concret evidence that they are sane, I probably should assume they are not.

On a personal level, I am really not that picky and I have no problem with mingling with weirdos. If shits really hit the fans, I am just going to laugh at it and then write about it on Lodestone. No big deal. Of course I would prefer meeting mentally balanced people. However, if they are not, it is not the end of the world.

Then, it was not clear to me in what extend did Reika want to raid. When she first came to Cerberus, she told me that she wanted to clear A12s. So we were joining some A12s training on pf as healers together. Couple weeks later, she seemed to lose interest. I am not sure she was serious about clearing A12s. Long time ago when I was in Shiva, I wanted to raid with her, and I was training with random PUG on pf. Getting kicked and harassed was nothing new for me. I will never be a good player no matter how I try. However, somehow I just wipe enough to get something cleared at the end. No one prepared a team there and wait for me to join. No one around to say nice thing to me. Now the table had turned. I managed to progress faster than her in this raid tier. Would she be willing to go through the same hardship to catch up with me?

I think, there is a price to pay if she wants to raid with me. The price is not going to be small.

Maybe, it is the best if she just follows someone else who is less good at uncovering insanity of some people and who can run a raid group where people can clear stuff with little effort. I don't think she is safe to be around me.

There was, no path where both of us can coexist.





Couple days after Reika settled into an FC and a static, I went back to PF for A12s killed group. After couple days of wiping, I cleared A12s as a SCH. Originally we meant to complete it together, but it was me the less skilled who ended up walking pass the finishing line, alone.

That week, I joined a new FC.