Although I don’t know you, I am in awe of you ability to post such a personal post to the world, and I am very proud of you!
I am in a LD relationship, my partner and I have been together 7 years, and playing wow together for 5 of those, it kept us together while I was away at uni at the other side of the country, because we could just chill in game and talk and kill stuff together.

Then with him now being in the Royal Navy, he doesn’t play, yet as a gift from him he still pays my subscription so that I can keep myself amused while he is away as we have both been officers and long standing members of our guild for a few years. So wow kept us together, gave me a host of new friends, well, brothers as some of these guys are so close to me, they are the brothers I don’t have irl.

Anyway, best of luck with it all, I’ll now get to reading this blog and seeing more about you!

Thanks for a beautiful post
Pyrrus

I’m so glad Tam posted this link!! I recently went through the same sort of thing, a bit earlier on, however. I luckily dodged the whole marriage aspect, but I suppose, for me, it was no less painful a relationship. I ended up being the Lotion & Box of Tissues for a frat boy at my college. Not a good situation for anyone’s self esteem, especially when said situation lasts for three years of “I’m just not ready for a relationship” only to find they’re dating someone behind your back.

The second summer after the frat boy and I had met, I began playing WoW. My Dad played, as silly as that sounds, and I tried it out, I’ll confess, to prove to him that I’d hate it. I was wrong. SO wrong. I quickly fell into the world of Azaroth to escape Small-college-town, USA. I ended up in a guild led by a 12 year old after 24 levels of solitude. Truth be told, he wouldn’t let me be, so I caved and took the invite. >__< I was still in shell-mode, as you so eloquently phrased it. After a wow-friend took over that guild, built it up, and gave it back to the 12 year old, only to leave and form a new guild, I found myself in said new guild as an officer. He ended up with real life, girlfriend related stuff, and passed lead to me. I ended up returning the title with a taste for something that was my own. I forged Mana Need To PvE with a few of my raiding buddies dissatisfied with their own situations, my own confidence returning. That's where I met him. WoW introduced me to the only man I've ever known to like me without ever having seen me. He GENUINELY liked me for who I was. I didn't know such people still existed. I guess I subconsciously realized I liked him on my way to BlizzCon, when I found myself checking in on the guild. I called him instead of texting him. I don't think I realized it until much later, though I guess he caught on when I called and didn't have anything really to say.

I digress again…this comment has turned into a novel, it seems. I really wanted to say thank you for your post, that I feel the same way about my "wow-friends"…I just think of them as friends. It doesn't matter if you've met in "real-life" or not. Or if you met "the one" in Warcraft.

I'm glad Brade treats you well!! You seem like you deserve it!!! Gratz on finding yourself again and may your journey through Azaroth always find you smiling!! ^______^
Go Beru!! Go Beru!! It's your birthday!! Woot Woot!!

Best Regards,
~Defebwar

I haven’t been through what you’ve just told us, Beru, but I’ve seen a relationship that was born in the game, but it didn’t work out… things weren’t as well after a couple years, in and out of the game, and I saw it crumble in front of my eyes. And I admit – I was in love with the woman who was in that relationship, whom I met in the game… I wish I could have done more for her, even being so far away (her being in the US and me being in Brazil), but I’m only too happy that she found someone else whom she’s in love with (even if she doesn’t openly admit it). Also, even if she now doesn’t play wow anymore, at least our friendship lasts and it does not seem it’ll ever waver.

I only wish more people would realize the power that online games may have on everyone’s lives. It’s a way of meeting and spending time with people who have, at least, some of the same interests as you. I have a LOT of families playing the game on my guild – not only husband and wife, but also their kids and close family. And we’re all one big, happy family. WoW is a great place to learn skills, not the game ones, but personal skills, like talking to people, leading, strategic thinking, cooperation and companionship.

I bow to you, Beru, for your hardships in life, for finally finding yourself again, and for finding not only your place in life, but for finding someone who, from all I read you write about, is as wonderful as Brade is. I’m none too proud to be able to play on the same server as you.

Live long, and prosper! That the good things in life never come short for you, for you deserve all of them and more!

This story about your recovery of yourself through something such as WoW (or even just the recovery of yourself in general) has certainly brought a rather large smile to my face. I honestly cannot thank you enough for that.