This Gomez and Morticia are pledging their troth

Both Ryan and Philippa have been through everything. Bullies, loneliness, isolation, loss, heartbreak, divorce, insecurity, anxiety, and financial hardship, among other burdens. Growing up a few years and several states apart, both held a dream that would nevertheless unite them later in life: That of true love, and mutual passion. When they were young, the shape of that dream for either of them was far sharper and more jagged than they could have known, like wicked teeth (or perhaps fangs). That meant finding romance was... challenging. Philippa loved quickly and fell hard, over and over, heart fracturing more with each crushing breakup. She wanted what many want; marriage and family, and the more she tried to grasp it, the further away the dream seemed to slip. She stopped believing in "perfect" and settled for what she thought was "good enough." Ryan, on the other hand, faced pressures and expectations that chafed his actual wants and needs, suppressed them, and he still tried to be what was expected. Forcing himself into that role could never work, and eventually, it failed. Freedom came, but with a cost. Meeting as friends when both of them were at bad points in their lives, neither expected to find someone who actually matched them. The first sparks came early but remained unvoiced for a long while- until years went by, both went through marriages ending and began to branch out into their lives, and their very separate struggles brought them onto an intersecting path of activism and community. Friendship began to change into something more. Secrets and confessions came, and far more than mutual ground was discovered. Ryan and Philippa shared EVERYTHING- from a love of cooking and foodie culture to the rougher, darker parts of themselves- those jagged teeth of their individual romantic yearnings no longer biting against their lovers, but interconnecting to a united whole. Even their silly senses of humor and nerdy interests, plus a mutual love of heavy metal, bonded them. They say opposites attract, but no. Ryan and Philippa discovered together that having the most crucial parts of themselves (and patterns of expression) in common created the perfect harmony. Aesthetics, philosophies, tastes, politics, humor, causes, and of course, kinks match together for these lovers, and their Gothic senses and sensibilities will see them married on October 31st, 2026, never to be parted. Not even death itself will keep these two separated. Lifetime after lifetime, they have promised to find each other, for eternity above or below ground. Once, both Philippa and Ryan gave up on finding true love, and now, they will no longer live without it. Even in death, we will not part.