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A Proposal of Marriage

by Kerry Jane

Tonight, when I got home from installing some programs on the computer I built for my mother (you'd think she'd know by now how to stick a CD in a drive and follow the instructions), Hearding said, "Check your guest book. Somebody proposed marriage to you."

A guest book, full yet?

A few days ago, there was a message in the guestbook that said, "Mairi sure is hot. -- A Secret Admirer." I finally made Hearding confess that it was him, and that he did it as a joke... so I figured Hearding had done another 'joke' and proposed.

So I ran Mairi, who was at the tavern in Skara Brae, down to the house, and looked in the guest book (it's filled up to page 38 of 40... 2 more to go and I will have to get a new one!). The first message read:

"Janey, will you marry me?
- A Secret Admirer"

The second message read:

"Take a number buddy!
- A Secret Admirer before that other secret admirer."

My first thought was: "BWAAHAhahaaha!!" My second thought was: "Oh S-word. It's Janey, not Mairi." And my third thought was: "Who wrote that???" Hearding said he wrote the 2nd one... joking, of course. I still have no idea who wrote the first. It wasn't Hearding. It sure as hell wasn't Davian. So I am completely clueless. Anyway, I thought it was kind of cute.

Davian said, "I'm jealous now. :P Maybe I should propose." I said, "Don't bother, cause I'd turn you down, too. :>" Hearding said, "I'm jealous. I wish *I* had secret admirers." I told him: "I'm sure you do, Hearding, but they are *secret* admirers, get it??"

But this got me thinking about the implications of an in-game marriage. Janey was proposed to once before - in Realm, by a guy named Bran. She turned him down. Not because I didn't like him; we were great friends. But, I decided a long time ago (the first week i played Realm, actually) that Janey would never join a guild, and she would never be married.

There are reasons why I don't want to be married in game. I want to spend time with who I want to spend time with when I want to spend time with them. I don't want the 'husband' to be jealous that I spend most of my time with Davian and Hearding - who are both men. They are my partners, and I'm not giving them up. Not for anybody.

There are other, story-related reasons why I wouldn't want to be married. What happens when one of us decides we don't want to be married any more? Janey would never get divorced. What happens when I decide I want to leave UO? Janey would never up and leave a husband.

And then there's the thing... about Separation of Characters... is the guy marrying *me* or Janey? Cause *I* don't want to be married. Well I do, eventually, I suppose... but not now, and certainly not to someone I've never even met before. :> And Janey *is* me. Mostly, anyway.

However... someone besides Janey... I would let them get married. And then, I would be able to kill them off if I didn't want to be married any more... because I wouldn't be so attached to that character. Oh, it would be a grand and dramatic death... and surely the husband would mourn her and seek revenge over her murderer. See... now *that* would be a marriage with purpose.

Kerry Jane tends to like games that have stories, and can currently be found playing Ackadia.