Celebrate with us <3

Once upon a time, Keith was browsing his Explore page on Instagram. At the time, Lili was trying to be some kind of social media influencer. That's why she popped up on the Explore page, and how Keith came across one of her posts. Once he saw a beautiful girl interested in D&D, he fell for her right away. Like a really cool guy, he shared her post to his story and told his followers to follow her. She replied with a very grateful "Thanks for the shoutout!" The end. Or was it?

During their sparse messages back and forth, Keith mentioned that he would be going to Gencon (a gaming convention) that year. Lili had also been considering going but then when Keith said he would be there, she decided to go too. After all, it was an awesome opportunity for networking and growing her brand (plus Keith was kinda cute!) So they planned to play in a D&D game that weekend, along with some friends like Cameron (@thedndcoalition) and Josh (@npcvoices). Josh ran a super fun game on August 3. During that time, Lili was messaging her friend Lucky (@theluckyrogue) about how cute Keith was, and Keith was sneaking peeks at Lili over the table. Neither of them were ready to reveal their true feelings for each other, but their interest was certainly piqued.

A few days after Gencon, Lili decided it was time to just "go for it". She messaged Keith some flirty things and things escalated from there. They spent a month calling, messaging, and flirting back and forth until they finally decided to meet in person again. A plane ticket was booked and a couple weeks later, Lili was visiting him in Virginia. Suffice it to say, things went well. Their love bloomed and they decided it was time to do this thing for real. A couple months later, Lili moved down to Virginia to be with him for the winter.

Lili's tourist visa was running out when she got an opportunity from her friend Jess: come live in Vancouver for a few months then return to Virginia. It seemed like a great idea at the time (plus Jess's house was SICK) so Lili booked the tickets and said a teary farewell to Keith. A few days into her stay at Jess's, COVID lockdowns began. Both Canada and the US were hit hard and the news was forecasting a potential border closure. Lili frantically tried to return to Virginia but was turned away at the border. And so began the 5 months of separation. Despite the distance and hard times, Lili and Keith did their best to stay positive. They Facetimed for almost 10 hours a day, desperate to stay together even though they were apart. Lili attempted another border crossing in Vancouver but was turned away again. Eventually Lili returned to her hometown of Ottawa, hopeful that she would be reunited with Keith soon.

They waited a bit longer but the distance was so hard. That's when Lili heard rumors that Canadians were still able to fly into the US, even though the border was closed. They decided that there wasn't any harm in trying a short trip, so they booked the flight, hoped for the best, and... ... were extremely relieved when Lili was allowed through! She made it to Virginia for a week-long visit. It was a joyous reunion, filled with tears and way-too-big grins.

During her visit, there was a day where they didn't have anything planned. So Keith proposed that he run a one-shot for Lili, just a one-on-one DM and player game. Lili excitedly agreed and they set about planning it. That night, Keith set up a fake Tavern on their living room coffee table while Lili picked out the dice sets she wanted to use. And soon Keith began the game, weaving a tale about an adventurer who had to travel to the next town in order to receive a quest. Lili played the game with her usual quirky, weird style. At one point she even had a unicorn named Swifty (because she had just finished watching She-ra). Despite some troubles on the road, she eventually made it to the town and the tavern where she was supposed to receive the quest. When she went upstairs, a mysterious stranger awaited her. There, he began to describe the quest: to join him on a life-long journey, to be his partner in all things, to take care of him as he would take care of her, and, well, you can probably see where this is going. Keith pulled out the ring box from behind the DM screen and asked Lili to marry him. She said yes, and here we are. (It should be noted that Keith didn't actually have a game planned after this. Lili was highly disappointed, but all things considered, she got over it.)

The months apart were hard on them both and Keith and Lili never wanted to be separated again. Lili came back to Virginia in August 2020 and stayed. In April 2021, Keith and Lili went to the Stafford Courthouse and became husband and wife. Thus ending the tale of how a king met his queen. But it's not over, for now begins the story of their lives together. And we would like to open this first chapter with all our friends and family.