Can you share with me how you two met and how it began?
We are both avid gamers and met online playing League of Legends. The game is team based and while playing with our separate friends, we ended up on the same team. There is one position that involves two players to work together, basically supporting each other. We ended up playing together in this position. We like to think of it as the first test of our relationship. From that game onward we continued to play with each other and in the same roles most of the time. We also started to chat outside of the game, and eventually met in person after a few months at a Korean restaurant downtown.
What were the most romantic things he/she did?
Alex: This may or may not be romantic, but it was very special to me. I turned 30 in 2021 and with all the COVID restrictions still in place, I assumed that I wouldn’t be able to celebrate with others. So, I made plans to just play some board games with Nina on the weekend and have a quiet birthday. What ended up happening was while I was sleeping; Nina decorated the house and coordinated with my best friend who drove down from Edmonton to surprise me at the front door in the morning. I got to spend my 30th birthday with two of my favourite people all day, and I just really loved that moment.
Nina: This might sound a little cliché, but there is no “most” romantic thing that Alex does, it is everything he does! Things like remembering stuff I tell him months ago that I, myself, have forgotten, spontaneously going out on dates, warming up my side of the bed in winter right before I go to sleep, doing the chores I dislike the most, or planning out an elaborate proposal. His thoughtfulness is what is romantic to me!
How did he propose?
Alex proposed in July 2020, but it was a plan in the making for 5 months. At that time, we were playing the board game Gloomhaven. In the game, you control a character with cards and work as a team to finish a long story over multiple game sessions. Alex reached out to the original artist and one of the sculptors to make a custom two unit character he designed called “Husband and Wife” based off a photo of us from one of our vacations. He created all the player cards and had his best friend’s dad make a custom wooden box to hold all the game pieces together. On our next game session, Alex snuck in an event card that Nina read before each mission. It read, “A player named Nina An may open box…” with a picture of a ring icon. Alex presented Nina with the box, and as she opened it, he got down on one knee with the actual ring and proposed to her.
