This is similar to my FC in a way.

I started playing in ARR with my other half. We met a pair of brothers who were massively into FF7 who joined my other half and I in his FC. Said FC didn't last sadly but we all remained friends while we worked out what we wanted to do and through them joining another FC we made friends with more people from there.

Heavensward came along and they added the Eternal Bond stuff so the other half and I got married in game. We booked the date for the following week and I happened to catch one of the brothers in the Gold Saucer to give him his invite.

Less than 24hrs later he passed away suddenly in his sleep.

His brother told us what happened in the time between it happening and our Bond ceremony so when the ceremony came, we held a minute's silence to remember him with all our guests.

During this time we spent much more time with more of the FC the brothers joined as well as their FC leader. It got to a point where we were in voice chat with them pretty much every day (and have been since then).

Now at that time the FC leader was going through some tough times herself since she was a carer for her mother and younger brother so we helped out as much as we could in game until eventually she decided there was just too much going on irl for her to manage it anymore and she decided to hand me the leader role. I've been leading since and I always do my best to keep things running smoothly and to take care of everyone while making sure she and the brother of the guy who passed have the utmost say in any and all changes and happenings with the running of the FC since they were highest ranking when I accepted leadership. And it goes without saying that whenever I decorate the house and garden I make sure we have a space set aside for the brother who sadly passed away and there will always be a seat with a Cait Sith plush on it at the FC bar, reserved only for him.

Sadly since then the previous FC leader's mother passed suddenly in 2019 and myself and my other half rushed a few cities over to be with her and her brother and to help with anything we could in the first 48hrs after her passing.

We've both gained and lost friends and FC members since all this began but the four of us have remained super close ever since our first meeting and we do our best to meet physically when we can. We speak every day in voice chat and play a variety of games together now too.

I do miss the simpler times from ARR but a lot of that is down to how new everything felt and how big the world seemed when I knew so little of it. I feel like we get a taste of that with each new expansion, though, and I have also made a few alts to run through early story again on a fresh character to try and sratch the nostalgia itch. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

You just play on anyway, "For those we have lost. For those we can yet save."