I take it what you really want to hear is one real success story? I mean the kind that everyone hopes they have when they meet that some one on-line?
Not sure mine is that, but here goes: (btw, grab something to drink and smoke'em if you have'em this is gonna take a while)
My now husband of three years and I didn't meet in LotRO, but we did meet online and in an MMORPG. We actually met in the first MMORGP, named The Realm.
We were both happily married at the time to other people, and became friends, best friends if you will. We could talk to each other about anything. And no, we didn't cyber, nor have we ever just to set the record straight from the beginning. His wife was in the Navy, and was stationed in Iceland, and I was living with my husband and children in the midwest.
(flashback about 12 years ago, I was around 25, and my now husband 26)
Eventually, over the years of playing the same game, we kept kept bumping in to each other, helping each other out with quests and hunting together, but we were never really "together" at all in the game. However over the years of playing, about four or five I would say, both of our marriages started having problems. He and his wife lost a baby, and it really tore their marriage up, and well as for mine? I was 15 when I got preggers with my first, and 16 barely (by two days) when I got married to my first husband. Eventually I grew up, and we (my husband and I) grew apart because I wasn't a little girl he could "control" anymore.
My now husband and I spent a lot of time just talking, listening, and comforting each other through the downfalls of our marriages. Never did it occur to us to start a "romance" we were and are still friends. We spent time together more than before but, that's as far as it went. More time talking, and trying to make sense of things going on in our lives at the time. Our self confidence was low, but we seemed to help each other out in that aspect. Our lives were in shambles, but for a couple hours, we could just be us, no expectaions placed on either of us. He and I went through a string of bad relationships with other people, some of which we met online in the game, others were people we'd met outside of the game. We'd talk, and lean on each other, but only as far as a friendship goes, nothing more. He even introduced me to some one in game, one of his friends, and his friend and I dated, even moved in together for a while. But, it didn't seem to work out for us, he was still hung on his ex, and managed to get me busted for having drugs in my house I didn't know about, which resulted in the loss of my child for a short time. I kicked him to the curb quick. However, he(my now husband) seemed to fall into a steady relationship about this time. And, like any friend of the opposite sex, I backed way off because I didn't want his girlfriend to see me as a threat, which I wasn't.
(flashback about eight/nine years ago)
We both eventually tired of the game were in, we'd both been playing it for some time, and each of us moved on. We kept in touch through IMs and email. Not very often, but occasionally. And, we never really told each other what new game either of us were playing until one day the subject just kind of came up. We'd both moved on to Ultima Online, different shards of course. He played on Oceanic, and I played on the east coast shard, I can't seem to remember the name now. The conversation actually started because I'd just become a GM in the game, which meant I had to choose a server to be GM on because it couldn't be the one I played on. When we realized we were both playing the same game, I decided to be a GM on his shard. This put us back in touch more, and our friendship grew even deeper, but still no "romantic" ties. We had moved to exchanging phone numbers and from time to time would actually call each other. By this time he'd moved back to the states of course. His girlfriend knew we were friends, and that we played together, and she didn't seem to have a problem with us talking. It never went anywhere it shouldn't. So, we just continued to be friends. I on the other hand was still going through a fairly rough time in the relationship department.
(flashback about seven years ago)
I finally met some one, actually fell really hard for the guy, and was building what I thought was a long-term relationship. He was in a long term relationshp, and so we just hung out and talked. Played togehter occassionally, flip-flopped back and forth between The Realm and Ultima Online, we couldn't make up our minds which game we really wanted to play. I was still a GM in UO so I had to work my schedual there on the Oceanic Shard, and I had quite a bit invested timewise on my home shard. But, the game was going through changes and I wasn't sure I liked the way it was going, nor was he. My relationship fell apart, so did his after some time, though he was still living with her. And one day, it just happened. It was like a bolt of lightning hitting us both at the same time. We'd spent all this time with other people, looking for something, looking for a best friend. When the whole time, it was staring us right in the face, some one we could talk to, confide in, have fun with, each other.
(flashback about six years ago)
We seriously started talking to each other about getting together as a couple, being together, and building a life together. But, we were both scared, we'd both been there done that with other people, and we didn't want to lose what we had by taking a chance on the unknown of whether or not it would work out. If it didn't, we would or could both lose our best friend. The one that had been there for us through thick and thin. Sat and cried with us when we hurt, laughed with us when we were happy, and that didn't expect us to say anything when we just didn't want to be alone. We played with the idea for about a year, and then his gf dropped the bomb on him... you know the one he was still living with, she turned up preggers. He was dissapointed, angry, and frustrated at the situation, and he felt like she'd trapped him into staying. I on the other hand pulled a dissapearing act, I was dealing with my own dissapointments and anger and frustration, and felt like I couldn't even talk to the one person that would understand me the best, him. For about the next year, that's how it went, we'd talk for about 2 weeks, then I'd dissapear.... rinse, repeat. I was hurt, lonely, and angry most of that time.
(flashback about five years ago)
Finally one day, I gave in to my better judgement. I'd had a small windfall come my way, and I posed a question to him. This is what I asked: "If I was to show up on your doorstep, what would you do? Would you stay with her, or come home with me?" It took him a long time to answer that question, and by the time he did, the money to make the trip from where I was to where he was living was gone, so we talked about "when we got our taxes" that we would do it. Well, I kinda jumped the gun on him, and fell into some money right before tax time, I'd been in a minor car accident, and had a settlement come through. Mind you I wasn't hurt, but it did some damage to the car, and I lost some time at work so I got a small amout for that. I again posed the question to him, he was quicker, much quicker to answer this time. And in return he asked me this question: "Do you know what it's like to be some place that it just feels like a little peice of you is dying inside everyday?". I could relate to that, my marriage of 10+ years was like that in the end. So, I packed an over-night bag, and my daughter and I went on a road trip, to get my now husband. But, dont' think the story ends here. There are more exciting twists yet to come..... It wasn't quite the happily ever after we'd hoped for.
My mother, my daughter, and I were living with my grandmother, and taking care of her. She'd been sick, and had a stroke, and needed some one to be there most of the time. My mother and I were also both working, to help support the household. When I decided to go get him, I sat down with my grandmother, and talked to her about the situation. I explained how much I truly cared for him, and she had heard me many times in passing talk about him to my mother and daughter, and was at the time thrilled for me and excited that I would finally get to be with him. I had suspected at this time, that my grandmother was in the early stages of dementia, she'd been having more frequent mood swings, and lashing out more at me from time to time. I had no clue how bad she'd actually gotten.
We got home, and we started to settle in, and get used to having each other without a keyboard and monitor, or a phone between us. And of course, you remember I told you we never cybered? Well, of course we went through that exploration stage, no details are going to be shared on that :P. By this time I was playing Ever Quest, so I got him into playing it as well. First thing he did was start looking for a job, keep in mind, he gave up a very good job to come be with me. But, finding work here wasn't easy, it took time, and when he finally did get a job, it didn't pay nearly what he was making out there.
About the time that he got his job, grandma took a turn or the worse. She'd become more spiteful, more angry, and more selfish than before. Just as we were getting ready to find a place, and move out on our own, He and I, and my daughter and mother, grandma threw a ring-tailed hissy. Of course, looking back on it, I'm pretty sure it was just her way of keeping herself out of the nursing home, because she knew if I moved out, that's where she was headed. I was the only one willing to take the time to take care of her at that point. So, she started a fight, accusing him of being lazy, and unmotivated, and that all he wanted to do was sit on the computer while I worked, which wasn't the case, he had a job, and was about to collect his first pay check! But, he didn't have it yet, and we couldn't move out on just my check alone. Grandma laid down an ultimatum, he had to go, or we had to go... not in a week when he'd get paid, but NOW, immediately. If we'd left then, my mother by this time was in the process of applying for her disabily due to severe Rhemetoid Athritis, the only income was mine, and his, to support the 4 of us, and since he wasn't getting his check until the next week... we'd have to go to a shelter, or if he left he'd have to go to one.
Well, this was a hard choice, due to the conditions under which I had gotten my daughter back, and the threats of my grandmother to call her father if I took her out of the home and moved to a shelter for a week with her. I stayed with my grandmother... so that I could keep my daughter from having to go back to an abusive situation. He and I fought, and we both said things we would later come to regret, but the biggest regret I have, is letting him go, making him go. He'd done nothing wrong, there was no reason he should have to leave, other than it was grandma's house, and this is what she dictated, knowing I had no where to go with my daughter.
We parted ways, to cover my own hurt, I told him I didn't love him, and that it wasn't working out. I could come up with a million excuses to lay the blame on the failure of the relationship, and make it my fault, trying to protect my grandmother. I cried, a lot. I missed him like crazy. I thought I would never ever be happy again. Two weeks later, my mother had a heartattack. I needed my best friend. I need him more than ever. Went to find him, I kind of knew where he was, I hadn't lost track of him, yet. I knew where he worked, and I went to see him, told him what was going on, we spent about a week, more or less together, while mom was recovering. He'd come to the hospital, and sit with me, we'd got out and grab a meal togeher, and he'd just hold me, while I cried, I was so scared because of my mom.
Once mom was doing better and got to go home, my chances to see him got less and less, now I was the only one working, mom hadn't gotten her disability yet, and we had only grandma's social security and my income to support the 4 of us in the house. I worked all the time, and my free time was spent taking care of 2 very sick women, and a teenage daughter. It was full of doctors' appointments and therapies and no time for me. He moved out of the shelter, and I lost track of him. I tried to email him, call him, everything I could think of, no response... I know I'd hurt him. I'd drug him all the way here, away from his child, and a good job, just to dump him and throw him in a shelter. My heart was broken, and nothing could fix it. So I worked, and I did what I had to do to take care of things, and I missed him every single day, I just felt empty and guilty.
(flashback roughly four years ago)
My grandmother was getting worse and worse, one night she let out my daughter's cat, out of spite I'm sure she hated the cat, and he got run over. My daughter had this cat from the time it was a baby, and loved it dearly. I had to break my daughter's heart and tell her. Grandma kept getting in my face, and putting herself between my daughter and I when I was trying to explain and comfort her. I lost my temper, my grandmother was in a wheelchair, and I physically moved her and the wheelchair out of the way, and stepped in front of her to get to my daughter and take care of her. Grandma again got in my face, and I bent down and looked her straight in the eye and told her to shut the F* up and to back off this was my child, and she was hurting. Grandma raised a hand like she was going to slap me for cursing .. and I spun her wheelchair out of the way.... got to my daughter. I then called my aunt, and told her to come deal with her mother, because I coudln't anymore, and my mother was in no shape to. Grandma kicked us out, with no where to go, telling my aunt I threatened to hit her, which my aunt knew wasn't true. Luckily, my aunt had a spare bedroom, and let us come stay with her.
Grandma was alone, and now my aunt, and the rest of the family that had always told me they couldn't tell that grandma was as bad as I'd say she was, had to deal more and more with her. She didn't want me around. Then the second stroke hit, this one incapacitated my grandmother, it was only a matter of time. I knew this, but no one else seemed to see it. My aunt offered to sell me her house, and she and my uncle were going to move into grandma's house, which they knew they'd get eventually, because it seems while my grandmother was mentally incompentant, some one took her to the lawyer and convinced her to change her will cutting my mother completely out of it, which we didn't find out until later.. So, my sister and I decided to take the house, and split the cost. Mom had gotten the disability by now, and so with that, and our incomes from working, we could make it. within a month, grandma passed away. My aunt got grandma's house, my mom got the shaft. And I made one last attempt to try to find him.
Success! I found him in a game we sometimes would meet in, and we talked. We decided to meet and spend some time together, to see if the magic was still there. Well, it was, about a month later he moved in, and asked me to marry him, we set a date. In the mean time, I was getting sicker and sicker myself, and went to a doctor, I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, and Osteoathritis in my spine, all of a sudden... our fairytale came crashing to the ground. I was unable to work, to help support us. Then I lost my dad, and I got worse. As our wedding day neared, I kept telling him, this wasn't what he signed on for, and I understood if he wanted out, but he stayed.
We got married in Feburary of 2005, and we've been together and happy ever since.
~~The End~~