Drew and Emily met in an online community of nerds who play a Star Wars tabletop roleplaying game (think like Dungeons and Dragons with more Lightsabers). A mutual friend had asked them both to help run a sort of large scale community, and through the confluence of hobbyists coming together to build something ambitious and awesome, they both put in a fairly embarrassing number of hours building this community they would come to call home. Emily handled art, aesthetic, and light fluffy games that brought joy to the community, and Drew gave the community what it sorely lacked: a mountain of internal documentation and dramatic and heartfelt, and sometimes even soul-crushing stories to enrich their players. What they learned through creating these games is that they worked well together, helping bring each other’s stories to life.

This community of Star Wars nerds was created in the heights of Covid lockdown, leaving the pair not much else to do but become utterly engrossed in their shared creativity, interests, and fondness for each others’ company. Most days began with the two cloistering in the writers room, sharing meals and stories and laughs, and closing out the night with West Wing. Drew had never seen the show, and Emily found it was her civic duty to culturally enrich him. And so they would binge until one of them fell asleep, and that person was always Drew. This friendship grew for over a year, as they helped each other deal with family drama, evil exes, burnout, self-doubt, and worst of all, writer’s block. But they were just friends, this community was a sacred place, a professional one. And they couldn’t bring their personal feelings in and potentially upset this perfect dynamic, could they?

This question that lingered between them would be left unsaid, left on the back-burner, as more pressing issues entered the fray. Remember that mutual friend, the reason they met and had the opportunity to grow close? Well, he was a compadre, a confidante, and utterly trusted in the way that Drew and Emily trusted each other. To their dismay, it came to light that this person had not only betrayed them and stolen from them, but had done so to their other good friends, and their community. This utterly crushed both of them. They worried that their community would never recover, that their friend group would splinter and fall away, but with a lot of planning, communication, and honestly, love, they kept everyone together (with the invaluable help of their best bud, Wilhelm). Weeks later, it was almost back to normal. And that’s when they realized it - that it was because they were so close, so trusting, so in touch with each other’s struggles, trauma, and needs, that they were able to keep the community they loved so much afloat. And with the calm that followed that storm, the question bubbled up to the surface: Was this only friendship, or was this partnership?

Drew knew how he felt for a long time, but was so very worried about ruining Emily’s safe space in gaming, this place she called home, with an unrequited romance. Emily, for her part, was just chicken. She almost professed her feelings a number of times, but could never quite bring herself to do it. Drew happened to lean a bit too hard into one of his craft cocktails one night, and found himself without reasons to stop himself from shooting his shot. Emily, of course, fell asleep immediately upon reading and forgot to say yes, leading Drew to have the least restful sleep of his adult life. She will never live that down. When she finally got around to it, she said yes, and then they were off to the races. It always struck them as funny that it felt like they had been “together” for months, but just now had finally realized it. All of their friends were unsurprised by the development, some of them had even assumed they had always been together. Apparently, what they lacked in subtlety, they made up in utter cluelessness.

They did in fact, move fast. They wasted no time skipping straight to the “I love yous,” and quickly moved to planning their life together. Within a month, they were making cohabitation plans, before they had even met in person. Drew took a train from sleepy Virginia to the Big Apple, and promptly busted his leg on Emily’s walkup. Don’t worry, she took care of him and fed him great New York food for his troubles. She met his family in Virginia the next month, and by four months in, his bags were practically packed to move to New York. And since then, there have been green lights and clear skies for these two. Drew and Em scored an excellent apartment in a good neighborhood, they both have great jobs that allows them to do what they love. Drew adopted Em’s guinea pigs, Karabou and Reese’s Puffs, and Lucci has selected Emily as world’s best Cat Mom. Drew met Em’s parents and won their approval with a solid cocktail and the dopey, lovestruck looks he makes at their Daughter. A charmed life, truly.

Drew had known from the first day that he was going to marry Emily. He had told her this himself many times, and her response was always “you better.” Well, the stars aligned once his mom came up to visit. On her last day of the visit, his mom handed him her engagement ring, and told him to hurry up and marry that girl. As it turned out, Drew and his mom think alike, as earlier that year he had gotten the ring box that his Dad used to propose to his mother, just in case he needed it. Now, all he needed was to find a backdrop and the right words. Emily had really only one stipulation: please propose out of the house. Drew and Emily are a pair of homebodies at this point, so Drew tries his luck regardless. Cuddled up with the love of his life, he asks her, non-serious, as he has dozens of times. What Emily doesn’t realize is that this time, Drew has the ring box in his pocket, and all she needs to do is say the magic word. Well, she said some words all right, not all of them safe for television, but still she didn’t realize this proposal was a real one. Drew was hurt, of course, but didn’t let this break his resolve. He had gotten a mulligan, and he would use it. Emily and Drew are both fans of card games, and went to a game shop in Brooklyn in late August. After a nice night, they walked to the train station, which had a quaint park nestled up beside it. Drew’s plan was coalescing. A fortnight later, Drew had planned a fun night of bar hopping, card-playing, and midnight strolling. To conclude the night, Drew walked Emily into that park, and made the wise decision of plopping down on the park bench with her, fearing she would tackle him to the ground. As it turns out, those fears were warranted, because the moment she saw his mother’s ring glint in the dim light, she tackled him like he owed her money. Safe to say, on September 9th, 2022, she said yes. His girlfriend had become his Fiance, and they both could not be happier. She still triumphantly declares “Fiance Mode Activate!” when she puts it on in the morning. Drew hasn’t stopped finding it utterly adorable.

Come to the Wedding, and find out. Duh.