Is Love In The Virtual Air?

Celebrating The Love Of Good Friends

By: Savanja

Ahh… Love. It’s the emotion that never fails to keep life interesting. It inspires all sorts of madness. One day, you
will feel all giddy and starry eyed, the next you’ll be a raving loon, swearing off men and/or women forever. I have always
been a sucker for that bittersweet roller coaster, and happily so. After all, what good is having a beating heart, if you don’t
allow it to feel what it is meant to feel? Even if it does leave me a sobbing, heartbroken mess after that certain boy told me
that we should “just be friends”. Bastage!

Where’s my boil bunny command?

I took some time to ponder what I was going to do with this topic. Perhaps it’s because this Valentine’s Day I happen to
have a somewhat sour view (Gee, could ya tell?) on the romantic kind of love (meaning, I was going to get drunk and spiel
depressing and angry notations on why “luv sux”, but Radar convinced me to think better of it), that I decided to go with the
best kind of love, the love of good friends and awesome guildmates. This spares anyone who is on the receiving end of my intense
lovin’s the humiliation of hearing “Omg! Why do men SUCK??”

Ahem. Sorry. And now, on with the show.

Anyone that has made their home within a tight kind of guild, or server community, knows that bonds of friendship, and
sometimes those deeper bonds of love, form. It’s inevitable when you spend time with any group of people that alliances, and
rivalries will take hold.
I know so many couples that have met the love of their lives in a MMO. I have seen so many friendships form that vastly outgrow
the barriers of a virtual world. And to me, it seems such a pure way of making those connections, free of the physical worries
of everyday interaction. I can be the geeky gamer girl that I am, and still find caring acceptance within the confines of this
silly little box on my desk, which I lovingly refer to as my “cupholder”.

Not to say that a virtual life should ever replace a real one. I have real life friends and relationships, and I greatly
envy those that have managed to mingle both. I don’t believe that the gal pals that I lunch with occasionally would quite
understand that I need to cut it short because I have to log into EverQuest 2 for a group trek through a dungeon that requires
me to play main tank. In fact, I’m pretty sure my real life best friend would stare at me blankly for a few minutes then go
“huh?”

Couples that play together have always tickled me. We have a few sets in our guild. How nice it must be to have something
like that in common, and to be able to share it with each other. Couples that game together, stay together? Maybe not, but
I’m sure it helps, especially when you tend to be the kind of gamer that enjoys spending a good chunk of your free time in game.
You don’t have to deal with any of that most annoying “Honey! When are you going to get off of there and come to bed??”

“As soon as I finish this raid baby!”

“……”

/sleep_on_sofa

A real life couple formed my guild, Aggro Fish. I’m sure it grew beyond their expectations and ideals, but it grew into
something very good. When you log into our group of people, you get a warm friendly welcome. Everyone is loved there,
regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation. The only thing that matters in AF is that everyone is kind to each other
and is there to have fun. We embrace each other through a common interest and common goals. I find Aggro Fish to be my haven
away from the harshness of real life. It’s like slipping into a hot bath after a long day. Being surrounded by these people
eases away the tension and the pains of a hectic life. And I happen to think we are the best group of people ever, but I could
be biased on that one.

I made my way into Aggro Fish, 9 months ago, after having become frustrated with the rules and regulations of other guilds
that I had interviewed with. I didn’t want to be part of something that was so militant; I wanted to be part of a family. A
couple hawt and sexeh posters on the SOE EQ2 forums (Homeslice, Promises, and Ylisaxa) had a guild on Neriak that seemed to fit the
bill. And so then after many questionable favors and naked pudding wrestling, they kindly allowed me to invade their small
guild, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Since finding my way to the server formally know as Neriak, I’ve made some good friends. Gaming with the same set of people,
day in and day out, it fosters closeness. I have never met these people in real life, and most of them I will never lay eyes
on, yet the hours spent chatting, the long distance phone calls just to yap about nothing and everything. My best friend came
to me by way of this guild. I think myself a lucky, lucky girl to have met the coolest guy ever. He’s been my real life hero,
and has saved my ass both in game, and out. Much love to my boy Brokain.

So while most others will be celebrating the love of a significant other this Valentine’s Day, I plan on celebrating the love
of my dear friends, the ones that live near me, that I see on a regular basis, and the ones that I only see in game. Both are
so very important to me.

Love, hugs, and kisses to Aggro Fish, Kithicor, the NGD, and that one honorary fishie that lives on Butcherblock. Hey baby, let’s /humplikebunnies!

I hope that everyone else also takes a moment to dish out a little bit o’ the good lovins to their guildies, server-mates,
and fellow gamers for making those hours that we all spend hanging out in our virtual worlds together, dang good ones.

Happy Valentine's Day to all!