_{(Come on now, you know the drill. You need to click on this to find out what happens haha! I promise to try to make it worth your while)}

As many of you know, a month ago, I became engaged to my girlfriend of four years. Yes, do throw your hands in the air in celebration, pump your fists and rejoice. It's a joyous occasion after all! To those of you who don't know, you can read about the announcement here. Go on, catch up on everything. We'll wait up for you.

---

Disclaimer: My internet is projected to be out for a week because of a broken cable, which is such a weird coincidence, right when I said I was going to take a short break. I apologize for the delay in comments and replies, I'll try to catch up with everything when my internet is restored.

---

Done? Awesome! If you finished the announcement post and came back, then you're a Grade A individual who I fully wish to succeed on this platform. Reading through and commenting on this post assures you a 100% vote and a thoughtful comment from me. Yes, you have that in writing, so it's completely binding.

Now, in honor of the proposal's one month celebration, let's not waste this splendid campfire, and pick up where we last left off.

---

Fresh from the bliss of the proposal...

The newly-engaged couple was on a high, of which they thought they could never come down from. They sat on a nearby dusty cushion, and recounted the events that led them to where they were. After all, the man had bested fate, and that was a feat one couldn't easily scoff at. But, the man knew not to test its patience, so it gave the omniscient force its due. It seemed that the stars had aligned in their favor, and the man knew that his influence had its limits. Aligning stars wasn't part of his repertoire, no matter how hard he tried to believe it was.

The woman rested her head on the man's outstreched arms, still a bit breathless about the whole ordeal. She had no idea her day would turn out the way it did, and she couldn't help but feel relieved. Of the million possible scenarios that she didn't account for, she was glad that this was the one that played out. She went on and on about having no idea that it would transpire, and that she was completely shocked about everything. The woman always had a knack for spoiling surprises, so catching her off-guard was a feat all to itself. Now, she had a ring on her finger, which forever signified the man's victory over her incessant spoilerness.

It was nighttime now, and the crowd outside had dissipated. The man regaled the woman with tales of how everything went about. For all he knows, she could've easily been taking notes so that she wouldn't fall for the same trap again. However, the man cared very little about it. He was known for planning ten steps ahead, but at that moment, his future was a blank slate. There were no surprises in store, no other contingencies to contingencies. For the first time in years, the man was living in the moment.

After all the tales were told, the woman took out a small tablet and conjured a spell to communicate with people living far away. She broke the news of her engagement, and told the others to take her listing off the market. Her name had always been scratched off the list ever since they got together, of course, but now their names would definitely be expunged from it. All the people they called shouted and bursted in tears. The couple weren't sure if the gestures were celebratory, but they recognized some semblance of congratulations amid all the ludicrous sobbing.

The pair looked into each other's eyes, and, without words, decided on a date when they would wed. Their journey together had come full circle, and both of them knew the exact day when they would decide to tie the knot. A circle, after all, has no loose ends. Fate overheard their decision, and nodded in agreement.

The man gathered his things, and bid the woman good night. He mounted his steed and journeyed home, amidst the rainfall that he helped summon. The man didn't want to separate from his betrothed, but it had to be done.

As soon as he arrived home, he announced his victory on the Book of Faces, to which it was greeted with universal approval. The couple felt happy about the reception, but they knew that it didn't help at all with their journey moving forward. However, they didn't want to be bogged down by trivial thoughts such as that. They were on a high, one which they thought would carry them to the cosmos.

At the back of their minds, they knew that gravity would pull them back down to reality. But, that was something that was left for tomorrow. They were living in the moment, and that night was something that nothing could take away from them.

Tomorrow came, and so did the pull of gravity...

Using the momentum they had built up the night before, the couple hit the ground running. They felt recharged, as if they had a new lease on life. The man had conquered fate, but they knew reality was a far greater adversary, one which an individual couldn't face alone. So, they interlocked their fingers and decided to defeat reality together.

"Ready?" the man asked excitedly.

"Five minutes," the woman replied with authority.

The man paced around while waiting for the woman to give the go signal. In his mind, he charted a path so that they could efficiently cover as much ground as they can. They were going to war, so they needed to stock up on armnaments and prepare for whatever would come their way.

"Okay," the woman interrupted. She tapped the man's shoulder, and derailed his train of thought. "I'm ready."

They boarded his steed, and made their way to the far away land of Cheers Father. Their first objective was to enlist a venue where they could hold their ceremonial nuptial, so the woman mapped out a path for them. One by one, they inquired about the availability, taking careful note of the characteristics of every location. They took note of things like vantage points and distance into consideration, as they didn't want to be breached during the time when they would be most vulnerable.

Anticipating victory, they also scouted for venues where they could hold their celebratory feast for after they conquer reality. Unlike the ceremonial venues, the rental of these locations had a steeper price. They combined their coffers, so that neither of them would run on empty. But, even with their merged wealth, the fee sought to drain their resources. To remedy the impending drainage, they decided to sell their talents for monetary compensation.

The woman had always been great with numbers, and she had been amassing her wealth by helping large organizations plan how they allocate their resources. After all, she had been trained in esteemed institutes, so her skill had been honed to its fullest potential.

However, the man wasn't as fortunate, and didn't have a steady source of income. He had stocked his coffers by being a sellsword, but now he feared that he was outdated. Even though he plied his trade to different factions, none were impressed enough to offer him a steady position. It had been many moons since he received any compensation, and he knew that his vault would be hemmorhaging during their journey. He didn't want to put all of the burden on the woman, but she cared not about the sorry state of his financial status. She wanted to be with him, and not with his money, but he didn't feel comfortable not being able to provide her with the luxury she deserved.

There was a shadow that loomed over the man, taking hold of his heart whenever he was defenseless. It was an agent of reality, and it seemed like the opponent, that they once thought was unassuming, had already been quietly making its move. The woman casted spells to vanquish the foul creature, but she could only do so much. They were in it together, so the woman constantly reassured the man that he wasn't alone in his journey anymore.

After a few days, they secured the two venues...

But, they knew that it was only the first step. The couple discovered that they needed to organize an army to support their cause. Not only were they selling their services, but they, too, needed to acquire the services of others to help with their quest. To that effect, they journeyed to fairs at Booking to enlist the others who would aid them in the upcoming battle.

They discovered that they weren't the only pair who were fighting reality, but as much as they want to join forces with the others, all they could do was to help out with filtering the best services available. Even though all of the couples felt like they collaborated, in truth, they all fought separately.

Offers flew in left and right, each more expensive than the others. The woman felt rattled, but she knew that she had to put on a strong facade so that the man wouldn't be overtaken by the relentless shade. Doubt fed it, and it used the man's fear as a fuel. The man knew that his resources would soon be drained, and that he would need to rely on the woman to fund their venture. Every thought only served to benefit reality's malicious agent.

In the meantime, the man had been devoting his time to a place that traded a precious commodity they called STEEM. While the man didn't make much there, he held on to hope of the commodity's potential. He made allies there which he hoped to be able to invite to their nuptials, but the cost of adding even more people to their army wasn't something their budget allowed. The man often became lost in thought, dreaming of how STEEM would fund their wedding, but with the rate he was going, the amount he was making didn't even allow him to buy even the most trivial of trinkets. He sulked at the realization, further strengthening the shade.

"Hey," the woman said. "Look at me."

The man was hesitant, but obliged. Her face brought him a sense of security and a feeling that everything was going to turn out alright. He fought to keep the shade at bay, but there were times when he couldn't help but be overpowered by it.

"Everything is going to work itself out," she reassured, to which he agreed begrudgingly. She wasn't convinced, but she knew that she wasn't supposed to force the issue.

Reality launched its offensive, and it didn't want to suffer the same fate as, well, hmm ... fate, so it refused to let the couple regroup. It jacked up the price of the market, so all of the other couples scrambled to avail of the different services quickly. Dates were being blocked off, so the couple knew that they had to act quickly. The man unsheathed his sword and proceeded to plow through their rivals. While the others were being driven away, the woman snuck in to talk with the different sellswords.

For the first time in a long while, the man felt useful, and it served to keep the shade at bay. During the melee, the woman acquired the services of people knowledgeable in applying war paint and arranging headdresses. They also acquired magicians who specializes in casting spells that bent light.

Seeing that the couple was making steady progress, reality bogged the woman down with tasks, by forcing the organization she worked for to keep her busy. To bolster its efforts, the malevolent force enlisted the help of its sibling — time. It knew that the woman was also in the process of mastering her craft, so it scheduled all of her trials at the same time as well. The woman fought back, but couldn't help but be overwhelmed by everything thrown her way.

They prayed to fate to help them, but their former adversary refused to intervene. It had already allowed their paths to converge, and it felt like it already did its part. There was only so much an omniscient force could do.

It was a trying time, but the bond the couple had forged was stronger than reality, and time, could break. They were a long way from the completion of their journey, and even though the battle closed in quickly, they prepared for it the best way they knew how — together.

---

Okay, okay ... You got me. I snuck in STEEM there just to bait some readers, but the rest is true. Wouldn't be nice to be able to fund your own wedding, birthday, trip, or whatever solely by posting? That would be the dream, wouldn't it? I know some of the whales already do, and that's great for them. But, what if everyone here could do it, right? Wouldn't that be awesome. Since HF19 made the voting power linear, what if the effort you give is directly proportional to the compensation you receive, huh? That would be so awesome! The potential that Steemit provides is almost unparalleled today. It's the closest thing we have to Universal Basic Income, and I have high hopes that it would catch on to others. Now I know that I won't ever fulfill that STEEM-powered dream (after all, I did win @lepton's Worst Steemit Contest haha!), and I'm not asking for any handouts (not that anyone is going to give me one), I'm just thinking out loud, I guess.

Since I'm done with my good deed for the year (giving 6 months worth of time and earnings to @zeppelin), I'm going to be a bit more selfish and allocate all of the earnings I will receive in the coming months towards my wedding. Like the man in the story, I, too, am having trouble with my finances, and since I won't ever receive any barn raising effort or whatever, I'm going to do it the old-fashioned way and write my ass off. I'm ramping up my efforts to secure a full-time employment so I would be tapering the time I spend here. So, we'll see what the future holds. Exciting (and scary times) indeed! :D

---

Speaking of employment and financial freedom, have you voted on witnesses yet? If you still have slots in store, please consider voting for my former employer @lukestokes' witness lukestokes.mhth. He started a series called Understanding Blockchain Freedom, as sort of an explainer to the concepts we take for granted here, so please do carve some time from your busy schedule to check it out :D