FFXIV Nico 19
©2015 Craig Ashby
Screen Capture

FFXIV Nico 19 is my first portrait of another player in this series. I think it was his helmet and red burgundy leather breastplate that drew me in. It’s a good look for what looks to be a black mage.

During this past week of vacation I accidentally clicked on the Reddit forum button in Safari’s toolbar. Oddly the game was offering four free days. Synchronicity?

So I logged in for the first time since September. For the most part it was good to be back. I ran all the new dungeons and finished the new portion of the main story quest.

It wasn’t until I zoned into Idyllshire that I felt the dread. The chat was just so bad. Vulgarity with nothing to say. Anti Muslim ranting. Misogyny. Homophobia. It was all there.

I instantly logged out. I checked back in the next day to see the roulettes. Silence pervaded most of the runs. Nothing. Barely a hello.

I didn’t log back in. I won’t be logging back in. Goodbye Nicolas.