Note #1: Some of these screenshots were pulled from old versions of the website on the Wayback Machine
Note #2: Reika has used several aliases and has explored their gender identity over the years.
Note #3: Sorry for the speed at which some screenshots zipped by. I’ll have an image gallery ready shortly of all the stills.
This is a small feature on the drama surrounding a Midgardsormr Free Company “Azure Infinitum” and their leader.
I learned about this after the leader of this FC came over to a friend’s FC and stood around with his 2 buddies for 2 hours demanding to speak to the manager over some drama. Learning more, I discovered that the guy is pretty weird and wanted to document all of the craziness.
The leader, who considers themselves an influencer/public figure, has threatened lawsuits towards younger players who don’t know any better, made ableist comments, and has acted erratically in game and I thought it worth sharing this with the larger community, so as they don’t get bullied or bothered by them. Happy holidays!
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Good evening, I'm Sebastian Lacroix and I was once part of Azure. As well despite Reika would love to say other wise, I was one of the very select few Officers in his community that he'd talk to about the most sensitive of topics. Including actions taken against other Officers in the FC should they 'fall out of line'. I'd like to add onto this.
First about me: I joined in 2019, and after a short break, quickly rose through the ranks of the "FC". There i obtained the highest rank below FC Master and even at one point filled in as the shoes of the FC Master during an unrelated IRL crisis of Reika.
1. Azure is a cult. Full. Stop. Do not let anyone try to sway you otherwise. At every position in the FC, you are there to be a yes man for Reika. He will occasionally entertain the ideas of others on his "Council" if he doesn't already have an answer in his head. However, outside of that he only wants people to reaffirm to him that he is making the right choices.
If you manage to get into "Council" you will face consistent loyalty checks from Reika anytime there is an issue with people he perceives as your friends. I had friendships strained heavily to the point of not talking to some of them for weeks to months after they left because Reika will guilt trip you into thinking that you should be loyal to Azure.
Time wasting activities such as meetings that last for up to 3 hours, documentation that would make an office worker pity you, and sacrificing your IRL to show up to host in game events that absolutely must go on. Even if you're the only person "trained" to run. Reika loves to lead people on the same way a Manager at a fast food place with a sky high turnover rate will lead you on. Comments such as 'We are getting extra help soon', 'You can relax once we pass this milestone ', etc.
2. Reika truly and honestly believes that God one day spoke to him. Telling him that he needed to make a gaming news website to spread God's word "when the time is right"
3. Reika is a manipulative partner and friend that considers even the slightest thing a personal attack. Are you going online and offline on Discord mobile a lot because you're swapping between apps? That's you coordinating an attack against him. Are you able to tell the guy is tired and should take a nap? You're trying to pull the wool over his eyes to attack the FC. If Lovecraft and Reika both tried to enter a bar they'd run away screaming at sight of their own shadow in the doorframe. Reika is paranoid beyond a reasonable doubt and will assume you are a constant threat to keep watch over unless you move mountains to convince him otherwise.
If you're like me and try to leave amicably while not wanting to cause any drama. Reika will try to guilt trip you into staying, then act depressed that you're leaving, only to ghost you like a tinder date using you for a free meal. If you leave on bad terms there is no "mending" that bridge unless you come back to him to apologize. Reika's never is in the wrong, even when he is. Not to mention if you hang out with your friends in FFXIV and you're not using the "official" Azure Discord to communicate then that's a sign that you're not loyal to the FC. Reika believes that if you are online, in-game, and in VC with someone then you should be 'promoting' the server by using the VC channels in the Discord. Even if that would be detrimental to your gameplay experience by having randoms hop in to interrupt you during a raid or talk over everyone about some new fighting game they started playing while failing to read the room.
4. There exists protocols for protocols that must go through such a lengthy approval process it'd make your head spin. Want to introduce an event for people to run together on? In a normal FC you'd pick a time and let everyone know. In Azure you must first submit a request to him, then "group" for the event unofficially for 2-3 weeks, show a consistent level of turn out, and then Reika holds a 'vote' to get it approved. Once it becomes an event it has to go through the grouping protocols.
Grouping protocols? You ask! What the hell? That's right, if an event (say doing synced PVP que or mount farming) you would have a set time. Then you must sit in the yard for 30 minutes to build a group and wait for anyone who was going to trickle in. Even if you had a full group you needed to wait the full 30 minutes to ensure everyone was set. Because if two people walked in at 28 minutes in and wanted to go you had to find a way to fit them in. With very few exceptions.
The time was eventually dropped down to 15 minutes after months of constant pressure against Reika to change it. Even then it came with the clause that you should wait the full 30 if people were still trickling in. When you have more protocols and bureaucracy than the Vogons from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, I truly wonder what makes that person happy.
Not to mention Council itself had its own level of protocols, documentation, and administrative busywork meant to make Reika feel like he was running a full scale business and not a video game social club
5. Reika has a deep passionate hatred for the high end community. In Reika's mind a static is a blood pact of 8 members that give them the ability to sacrifice their IRL lives, holidays, and other related things to prog Savage or Ultimate content. He views The Balance as a massive disrespect to SE & YoshiP by "ruining" the game's authenticity. This is despite the fact that Reika barely knows how use a tank stance, struggles to hold aggro, and constantly dies to the most basic mechanics in the game.
There's a reason a parse below a 0 doesn't register on FFLogs and it's because of Reika. If you're a hardcore player that wants to get involved in the community that's awesome! You just need to give up on prog, statics, and ambitions for high end content because people who are involved in the FC should be available for the FC at any time while online.
If you're in a static that conflicts with an event you're expected to step down to a regular member or step away from the static if they can't change the time for you.
6. Infantilization is rampant within the views of Azure. The FC markets itself as a 'PG-13' guild that is LGBT friendly. However, you can't swear without someone using a bastardized form of 'dirty word' on you. Talking about certain viewpoints of relevant hot button issues or even just trying to find something humorous in a depressing situation is heavily looked down upon. Chat rules are made up and then enforced on the spot by Officers who don't like the topic you're discussing. Discussing any sort of 'political' issue, even in the most minor sense, will have an Officer pulling you aside to talk down to you in /tell. I've seen it happen many times before and trying to make it a fuss about it in the Officer's chat just gets you talked down too for not being 'sensitive' to the overall FC's feelings. This is despite the fact that Officer's have free will to just allow whatever topics you want. Consistency doesn't matter when it comes to enforcing chat rules because Reika is too busy drafting his next mega chapter of the RP storyline of his character to notice until someone makes enough of a fuss.
There is a lot more but I don't want to create a novel
TL;DR: Azure is a cult, Reika is a textbook manipulator and narcissist. If you want to become involved in the FC beyond just being a member, be prepared to take on a second job in FFXIV. Do not believe his lies.
>inb4 some random bozo says 'lul fell for a cult'. I used to think it was impossible for me to fall for some of the most obvious cult like practices because I knew what to look for. The problem is, all it takes is one very charismatic person or someone willing to hone in on your desires to make you slowly toss out any sort of rational thought while ignoring major red flags.
I cannot wait to see Xeno react to this
Yooo!
Hey, Also former member and former Council Member.
I watched this entire fallout in real time and was constantly in text and voice contact with many involved.
It's important to acknowledge that the Azure community as a whole is not bad. It's purely Reika. 99% of the Azure community has no idea what really goes on behind the scenes and has no idea how hard they are being manipulated. Reika views member number's like profit, not like people. I hope that some of these members find their way here and can see what was being hidden from them this entire time and are afforded the opportunity to have an educated understanding of what their leader is really like.
I appreciate the brief TWRP cameo's throughout the video 😉
it never ceases to amaze me what kind of crazy can be hidden behind a dead-eyed catgirl character model
This is so funny! The best christmas gift I could ask for LMAO
You know a drama video will be good when it starts with the Super Mario 2 theme song.
Someone has to link this to Xeems fast
Dude I haven't played FF14 in a while and I haven't been in Azure for over two years and even I am hearing about this. All I will say is I would be more surprised if Major wasn't the one dope still loyal to Reika after all this.
Yo does this mean Reika was lying about liking ranch all along?
Hello, former member and former Council Member of the blue cult.
Joining Azure back in 2019 with a friend that got me to give FF14 a shot.
Hearing all the stupid stories and ranch jokes that they fill your head with initially sounding off and just excusing it as weird internet man says weird things sometimes.
But the higher up you go the more the cracks start to become more evident.
As previously stated majority of the membership has no idea what is even happening behind the scenes of the bad TV drama that is Azure starring Reika.
Knowing some of the people that he has manipulated and abused verbally and emotionally throughout the years just makes it feel even worse.
If you are not a casual player or an individual who slurps up all the golden dick chili that he continuously pours out to manipulate himself and those who mindlessly follow him while looking the other way then you are not wanted.
And god forbid you join a static to attempt to clear savage and/or ultimate content and put that above attending FC events such as maps or something.
Essentially if you are not useful to this man and his god given religious cult or not a mindless yes-man in that community then you are nothing and nobody.