Love – as defined by Google as an intense feeling of deep affection; it could also be a person or thing that one loves or it can also be a feeling of a deep romantic or sexual attachment to (someone). A lot can be said about love. What it is, how it usually starts, how it affects you and the people around you. Hell, others could even fill an entire book and cannot even begin to encompass the word. Love can be found anywhere, at anytime, any place and with anyone.
For me, I found it in game.
May 2016 – The Beginning
It was a memorable month for me since that was the time when I played my first MMORPG – Tom Clancy’s: The Division. I saw it’s play through on YouTube, got curious and temporarily swapped my Witcher3: The Wild Hunt for it with a friend. At first, I didn’t know sh*t about the game. I played alone most of the time and wasn’t really aware of what I getting myself into. Several days passed though I found myself some new friends – guys mostly and then a few ladies followed as well. The game’s pretty complicated if you’re a newbie who doesn’t know a lot and I sometimes detest the PK (player kill) mode of the game which takes place in The Dark Zone. Primarily the reason why I just couldn’t survive long enough to hunt good loot in The Dark Zone is simply because I lack the necessary armor and weapons to survive attacks both from NPC’s and actual players alike.
August 17, 2016 – A Fateful Encounter
A party invite came unto my notifications list from an unknown player – a one DukeRawMit (original PSN name witheld for privacy reasons) . I was currently playing with some friends that time but we were going nowhere in the underbelly of Manhattan. So I accepted his invite to have a change of scene not knowing that by doing so would change the course of everything, We went into The Dark Zone with a friend, it was a great run. Sure I died a few times but who cares? At that point, I made another new friend to play with.
For the entire month, we played together by going on missions and hunts for better gear. He always got my back even though I wasn’t as reliable in covering his. Then as time progressed, he asked for my PSN account so whenever I wasn’t around, he could readily access and tweak my character’s gear with ease.
During the earlier days of our so-called frielationship, I came to know Adam (name changed for obvious reasons) as an understanding, funny and smart guy. He knew what to do and how to do things in-game that I could never have dreamed of doing it myself. He dressed up my characters to have different gear sets to match any need should it arise. He trained me in ranged and close-hand combat by doing one-on-ones and gave me tips on how to aim better.
But our fondness of each other went deeper than just in-game. Whenever we’re not online or if we didn’t feel like it. We’d talk for hours on the phone about anything and everything! He was based in Taiwan when we first met thus sharing the same timezone so it wasn’t that much of a problem as to who should go to sleep first or if we needed to wait out on each other to go online. He raised my interest to no bounds and as what I’ve said, he was a very open guy. It never came to a point that I got a half-assed answer from him, which really made me admire him all the more.
September 2016 – Sudden Changes
We decided to try out a new game which we could still play together. We were contemplating as to whether we’ll go for Skyrim or Destiny. In the end, we decided to go for Destiny since alot of his friends were playing it.
This was an eye opener month for me since I got to know another side of Adam, when we started playing Destiny little did I know that he had this “perfectionist” side of him that I knew nothing about. At some point, it would even spark tension between us that would even lead to unnecessary fights. I won’t deny it, I suck at PvP (player vs player) sessions, and this (for some reason) annoys him considering he already told me what to do and how to do it but still saw zero improvement on how I play. It came to a point in our relationship that we almost broke up because of arguments that were somehow cumbersome for the both of us to handle. Good thing though, we always end up finding common ground and make up. What I appreciate about him is that, eventhough how harsh he may seem when we fight, he always makes it a point to apologize and make things right between us.
November 2016 – The Meet Up
Fast forward to November 24, 2016. This was a memorable day because we decided a few months prior to meet up and see each other. We agreed to meet halfway and settled in staying at his place in Manila since he’s flying over from Taiwan, and me – Cebu. When I arrived at the airport and saw him for the first time (since he came to fetch me). It’s as if all the hurtful times that we encountered melted away to nothing. We spend 9 days together and lived under the same roof. I met his mom and two nieces. And it was all fun and laughter until it was time for us to leave.
December 2016 – Turning Point
We got word that his father has gotten worse. He was suffering from lung cancer and he might go at any time. This was a very trying time for Adam, since apart from this, he also got word that he might be re-assigned to another branch/office and we might not be able to enjoy the luxury of being able to talk or play everyday like we used to. In the end, he decided to resign from his job and go home.
January 2017 – The Plan
January 5, 2017. He lost his dad to cancer. The following days were the kind that you don’t want to go back and reminisce on since it was very sad and depressing. Countless fights and needless arguments ensued which (I can say) shook us to the point where we thought if this was something we wanted to go on with. I saw a different side of Adam that was unappealing. Well, ofcourse everyone has their well-kept bad side and as for me, I got a good taste of it during this time.
After his father’s funeral though, we contemplated on what to do. Whether he would go back to Taiwan and look for another job or stay here in the Philippines to be with me. Ofcourse, I had to decide as well since if we do the latter, I had to let go of everything that I had in Cebu and come live with him in Manila.
To make the long story short, we decided to go for the second option. I talked to my manager and she agreed to help me relocate to Manila in one of out company’s branches located in Makati. He also declined a job offer he received in Taiwan to try out what holds for him here in the Philippines.
It was a big decision for the both of us but we decided to take a leap of faith and work on it from there.
February 2017.
February 7, 2017. He went to Cebu to fetch me and meet my family for the first time. My father had a serious talk with him since it would be a first for me to live away from the family and I have no one to turn to if things would go wrong. We left Cebu last February 9, 2017.
Today.
I am sharing with you our story to prove that you can find love anywhere. May it be in person or not. Ours may not be one of those fairytale stories where you see someone for the first time and fall head over heels for them but what I can say so far is that what we have right here, right now is REAL. It’s the kind of love you’re willing to let anything go for and start anew. Sure, we had our bad times and almost broke up for some lame-ass reason, but here we are. Still fighting the good fight.
So, what is your own love story?