Love online: How I met my boyfriend
Through an mmo?!
My boyfriend is the biggest love of my life (along with my pet), but if you told me I would’ve met my partner in my favourite MMO, I would’ve scoffed.
“I don’t understand how anyone can love someone they’ve never met.”
A completely understandable opinion, but misplaced. Humans can form attachments without meeting or even seeing the face of the one they love. [1][2] It’s one of those things where people think oh, I believe I would never therefore others must. Like me when I thought everyone had synesthesia because I experienced it and it was my normal.
I’ve been playing FFXIV for a long time – since around 2015, I believe? I am well-versed in the game and certainly proud of my performance. Aside from being highly competitive, I also love to help people. So, in my last FC when I saw a post needing a melee to help newbies start the savage tier, I offered my aid as a helper if no actual new person wanted to join (didn’t want to intrude!). My (now) boyfriend was one of the healers (astrologian) whilst I played samurai. I recall taking a backseat to see how the newbies reacted to raiding, but I could already tell he was a lot better naturally than most the group. In fact, even at that stage he was very good. As a group, there were about half that talked consistently throughout and even after raiding. They included me and him, though at the time, I was better friends with the raid leader in the group. Over time, it became mostly me and two others (including my boyfriend) that talked a lot in VC. We sporadically talked outside of it too in DMs, but the most of it was over voice.
My character in FFXIV. I do gposing (screenshots & editing) a lot.
Fast forward to today, and he is my love and best friend. Looking forward to many more years together!
[1] Bowly & Ainsworth's attachment theory
[2] Attachment to Peers and Perception of Attachment to Parents in Adults