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 Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2018 10:11 am
I think a lot of this is just going to be a lot of Verine/ Elmond relationship development.
Posted in order of writing, regardless of actual continuity.
Ghost canon: Technically confirmed/ things that only involve my own characters.
Unconfirmed: Things that would happen in the future or involve characters/ situations not my own.
Just inkfeathers: Just thought experiments.
Thread Contents:
Proposal: The night Elmond proposed (wc 1,075) [Ghost canon] [Backstory]
Relationship Meme: A relationship meme for Verine and her then-fiancée. [meme]
Header code:
[color=indigo/mediumvioletred/thistle][size=18][b]#TITLE[/b]:[/size]
[i]#TL;DR [/i]
[b]WC[/b]: with commas
[b]Written:[/b] ## DAY MONTH YEAR completed
[b]Who[/b]: Non-background included character that doesn't involve the title character.
[b]When[/b]: # approximate age of title character
[b]Tags[/b]: [Ghost canon] [Backstory] [Unconfirmed]
[b]Notes:[/b]: #A/N and notes to self [/color]
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2018 10:17 am
Proposal
The night Elmond proposed.
WC: 1,075
Written: 14 August 2018.
Edited 20 September 2018 to correct potioneer references.
Tags: [Ghost canon] [Backstory]
Verine Winchester took a deep breath as she stepped outside. She reached her hand into her pocket and pulled out the muggle cell phone and smiled at the messages on the screen. She had a date tonight.
"Let me know when you're done. I'll be at the usual park."
"Just finished. Be right there," she replied and headed off towards the park.
"See you soon"
A short walk later, she made her way across the grass in Hyde Park and soon found her boyfriend of almost 3 years. Elmond Li was standing just next to a picnic blanket, calmly watching the Serpentine River in the late evening. He turned around quickly at the sound of her arrival. "Verine! Hello!" He swept her up in a hug and she hummed her contentment when he kissed her nose playfully.
"You don't smell like pork pie," she commented on the slight hint of cologne.
"I had time to shower," he replied with only a little blush. "And make food."
"You're the best," she grinned as they settled on the blanket. The basket was filled with their usual favorites, including a generous serving of pudding.
A pleasant dinner later, they stood over the riverbank together, just murmuring idle thoughts. "Ver?"
"Hm?"
"You ever think about when we met that night back in Taiwan?"
"All the time. I wouldn't have had dinner or a room that night if it weren't for you," she teased, looking up at him. "Why? Feeling nostalgic?"
"Humor me. When I met you I was intrigued, maybe exasperated. You seemed so carefree at the time, so interested in everything, but also impossibly lost and confused by the simplest things. The next morning, you just stood by the counter trying to learn Chinese from my conversations with guests."
"Hey, I didn't know anyone else and you'd demonstrated you were a kind gentleman who could speak English. I figured you were my best chance of a teacher."
"Yes...you stayed for longer than I expected for a traveler."
"I had some incentive."
"And when you did leave, you'd convinced me to come back with you."
"Correction, I convinced your father that Winchester had an excellent business program. And if I recall, you sent out the application with extraordinary apathy."
"I honestly left Taiwan with extraordinary apathy," Elmond remarked. "My father and brother basically made the decision for me. I was amused you'd never ridden an airplane before."
"Yes, yes, remind me again why don't you?" Verine mimicked Elmond's stern and incredulous voice. "'What do you mean you've never flown on a plane before? How did you even get here?' And, as I will always remind you, there are these incredible inventions called trains, and ferries, and for a young lady on her own, I didn't have much in the way of funds."
"You did manage to pay for almost 6 months stay in a foreign hotel."
"I had a discount," Verine shrugged. "In any case, I don't mind recounting the past, but it's going to start pouring soon, so we'd better head to shelter. Your place is closer?"
For a moment panic seemed to flash across Elmond’s features as he looked around. The night sky was dark, but the entire week had been sunny. He'd carefully planned this date and time. Of all things, would it be the fickle weather to mess with him? "Is it?"
"I think so," Verine remarked with her usual certainty. "Just a hunch. I felt a raindrop earlier. Shall we continue this at home?"
"Home--wait." Elmond took a deep breath to steady any remaining nerves. He stood a step back, holding both of her hands as he continued. "After we got to London, I was a wreck. You were the one that brought me out of that. You were always there for me, supporting me, cheering me on. You were my first friend here, my best friend...my girlfriend. You've never doubted me, even though I'm still just a clerk and kitchen boy."
"A hard working clerk and an excellent cook," Verine reframed with a small smile. She cupped his face with a gentle hand. "And you've always been here to inspire me and steer me right."
"I-I'm glad. And I want us to be like this forever. Supporting each other. Inspiring each other." He reached his hand into his pocket as he spoke, then sank to one knee as he offered up a jade band surrounded by a thin weave of white gold. Despite the clear drops of water falling insistently from the sky, Elmond looked up at her with hope, reassurance and love. "Verine, would you marry me?"
She was smiling and crying at the same time. For a moment Elmond thought it was just the rain soaking over them, but then he realized she was sobbing as she knelt down next to him, her hands wrapped around his. "Yes, absolutely yes--but...only if you feel the same way in an hour."
He was on a cloud of happiness, delighted--she'd said yes! But then the following words caught up as she folded the ring back into his palm. "What? Of course--"
"Come on," she said, her tone light but with definite nervousness. She took his hand and dragged him back up where she quickly gathered the soaked blanket into the basket and threw his coat around him in a trembling hurry. He took the coat and basket from her in a daze and she led him back towards her apartment.
"Verine--wait--what do you mean, of course--"
"El...I...I need to tell you something before you ask me that again. I...you just need to know now. I didn't think you'd ask yet--I never foresaw anything so momentous--shows what I know. But you have to know before you decide if you want to be with me for the rest of your life. You--"
She was rambling. Verine was usually so collected, it jarred Elmond a little to see her rambling and blubbering.
"It- It'll be easier to explain at my place... It won't change the way I feel, but...if you change your mind, I won't blame you."
They were outside his apartment building. He held his hands over hers as he reached for his keys. "Listen, Verine. I don't know what you're about to tell me. It sounds serious--"
"It is," she said, guilt lacing through her voice and she bit back a sob. "I'm sorry I--"
He brushed her tears away with gentle fingers, cutting her off in a rare gesture. "But I want you to know that nothing will change the way I feel about you." He forced a smile despite the alarm and confusion beating in his chest. He unlocked the door.
Verine took a deep breath and swallowed. "Right. Keep your coat on," she directed with an uncharacteristic squeak, and followed him up the way up the stairs to his studio apartment on the seventh floor. Once they were inside, she shut the door after them with surprising ferocity, then closed the shutters on the other side of the room before turning back to him. After a pause, Elmond forced himself to relax a little. He set the picnic basket on the countertop and hung the drenched coat on the door hook as he waited for Verine to gather her words. He moved to stand a few steps in front of her patiently.
Slowly, nervously, Verine reached for her inner coat pocket. Then she paused and changed her mind. "El...you know how you always say I have a knack for the weather?"
"You do," he replied immediately, caught a little off guard.
"And you know how I don't seem to ever get sick?"
"I haven't much either actually, since I met you," he realized suddenly.
"Right. I- uh...well, what do you think I do for work?"
"You're a research assistant, working in pharmaceuticals at Compton End," Elmond replied easily, but still confused by the line of questioning.
"Right. Partially. The entire truth is, I only get herbs from Compton End. I'm a potioneer running my own shop and laboratory down the street." Verine said clearly.
"A potioneer? You make and develop...potions?" He cocked his head in confusion. Was this some kind of jargon name for drugs in development? This was news, but nothing that explained the line of questions and the sobbing reaction to his proposal. "You could have told me, I wouldn’t--"
"Potions. Potions, not drugs or treatments," she repeated, "Potions..for magical afflictions."
"...Magical?... What are you saying?"
Verine took a deep breath and reached for her inner coat pocket again. This time, she pulled out a light wooden stick, tapered at one and intricately carved at the other, slightly curved. "What I'm saying, is I'm a witch. I do research...with magic."
He didn't respond immediately, and she continued, speaking clearly and with slowly growing confidence. "I know the weather regularly because I read it in the tea leaves every morning or because the numbers have indicated it. I brew healing potions when I get sick--and I add it to the soup I make you when you seem to be coming down with something. It's magic. This...is my wand, for casting spells. I'm a witch."
"Magic," Elmond repeated.
"It's magic. I'm a witch." She noted the still-damp clothes on their bodies and waved her wand in a circle around them, muttering a word. A warm breeze gusted through the apartment, warming them. A few moments later, their clothes had dried off nicely, and the breeze died away, leaving a toasty warmth in the studio.
"Magic," Elmond repeated. He couldn't completely wrap his head around it all, but he had just seen her dry off all the rain from their clothes in a matter of seconds. And he knew her--Verine might tease sometimes, but this was not her teasing face. He nodded, holding his hands up in acceptance. "Okay."
She hesitated. "O-okay?"
"Okay. If you say you're a real-life witch then I believe you. Even if you tell the weather from tea leaves instead of the nightly news, you're still the love of my life, Ver."
She stepped forward to his open arms, her head in a daze. "You-- you believe me?"
"I'm not sure what all this means still, but if you say you can do magic and magic is real, I'm willing to at least listen. And I'd always accept you."
"You're not scared?"
"Should I be?"
"I-I guess...I suppose I just thought you would just think I was crazy or run away."
"It seems like if I had, you could catch me."
"Yes. I...I guess I'm just stunned." Suddenly all the strength left her body and she was crying again, this time with relief.
"Ver?"
She looked up at him from his embrace, her tears relieved. "Yes."
"It hasn't been an hour yet, but I'm not changing my mind." He smiled and opened his palm, offering her the jade and gold ring again. "I don't mind that you're a witch, that there's magic in the world, and that I might be getting myself into a world I don't know anything about--yet. But that doesn't change the fact that I love you, and I want to be with you for the rest of our lives. Would you--"
"Yes." she said quietly, before he was even able to finish. "Absolutely and completely, yes." Verine put her hand in his, clasping their hands with the ring and wand between their palms. She straightened a little and kissed him, conveying her relief, her gratitude and her happiness in one lingering kiss.
When she pulled away, he slipped the ring over her finger. "Yes," she repeated quietly. "We'll definitely be together, from now until forever."
"Perfect," he leaned his head against hers.
They brought their lips together again in a sweet kiss, the first of many that night.
-------------
The next morning, Verine laid on her side, watching her fiancée sleep and gazing at the jade band adorning her ring finger. It all still seemed like a dream to her. But her wand was laying on the side table next to them, in full view of the Muggle sleeping next to her. He'd said he accepted her. That he was willing to live in a world where magic existed. Where wizards and muggles could live together, and love each other.
"Zao an, my love."
"Good morning," she replied with a kiss.
Elmond sat up slowly, and his gaze caught the wand lying on the side table.
"We...should talk," Verine realized. Despite his declaration the night before, he really didn't know what the magical world would entail. And she owed him that, at least.
"Yes," he admitted. "I don't suppose you can magic up food?"
"Unfortunately," Verine replied. "There are some related spells, but unfortunately I can't make food out of nothing."
"Then let's talk over breakfast," Elmond proposed.
A few minutes later, with a cup of breakfast tea and a bowl of cereal each, they were sitting at the table of the studio. "Where do you want to start?" Verine asked, much more confident than the night before.
"I'm not really sure I know enough to know where to start," he admitted. Then he frowned at her mug. "You said something last night about telling the weather with tea leaves and making healing potions and cast a spell. How else do you do magic?"
"There are a lot of different disciplines of magic," Verine replied. "Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Divination, Herbology, Arithmancy, to name a few."
"Arithmancy?"
"Magic of numbers, used much as a more quantified form of divination."
He asked her about how magic was performed, and asked to see how she cast spells and how she healed at her work, what the wizarding world was like, how they hid amongst non-magical folk. And finally: "Why didn't you tell me this before?"
"There's a Statute of Secrecy," Verine replied. "We're not allowed to reveal ourselves to Muggles or cast flamboyantly in front of them. It limits dress code around muggles. But...it didn't feel right, waiting until we were married to tell you, or waiting until our child showed signs of magic. I...thought you should be allowed to know and make that decision. I'm fairly sure I broke a dozen Secrecy laws last night."
"Will you be okay?" he seemed alarmed suddenly. "Won't the Magical Ministry come to check things out?"
"Probably," Verine admitted. "But I don't think they'll be too upset since we're engaged now."
They exchanged a loving smile. "Last night...you were surprised that I was...okay with all this." She waited and he went on. "But if I had changed my mind--and I'd never, but just if...you'd already broken all the Secrecy rules. What would you have done?"
Verine looked down at her bowl and didn't answer for a long time. Elmond hesitated, wondering if he should just change the subject. But finally she replied. "I was going to confound you," she whispered. "I would have paralyzed you, then made a strong potion of forgetfulness. There are spells too, but I'm better with potions. And I would have erased your memories of myself, at least from the last few months or so. There’s an entire department in the Ministry of Magic that handles wizard relationships with muggles. And then I would have changed things between us. I...hadn't figured out the details. But eventually I would have removed myself from your life. I...I'm sorry."
"I'm glad it didn't come to that," Elmond replied, holding her hand and touching her chin for her to look up at him. "Whatever comes after this, we'll face it together."
Her serious expression melted into a smile.
"Also it would suck getting attacked in my own apartment."
-------------------
He met her parents soon after that. They were surprised, but not unpleasant, and his mother-in-law even recommended a test he could take to legally know about magic. A year later, Elmond Li was certified under the WOMBAT exam, and when their lives had reached a stable period, they were married.
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Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2018 10:22 am
Relationship meme
WC: 934
Written: 27 August 2018
Couple: Verine Winchester x Elmond Li
-what would they do if one was bitten by a zombie?— Verine: “Uh no. You are going into cryo until I figure out a cure.”
Elmond: “I'm just screwed, aren't I?” It would actually be super hard and sad for him: He'd be constantly on the run, trying to keep an eye on “her” but also stay hidden because he doesn't really know any fighting and could never bring himself to raise a weapon against her. It'd either end with a cure that he gets out to her or him just surrendering in tears and shooting himself.
-who initiates hand holding?—they both do.
-what do they dance to in the living room?— ballroom dances and slow waltzes if they're in a romantic mood. Otherwise silly line dancing steps just following and teasing each other “what is that? What are you even doing?” “It's a complicated and ancient dance move with origins in a wise monastery. I still haven't mastered it…” “you're making it up as you go, aren't you?” “How dare you, it's a traditional wizarding/muggle step.”
-how did they act in their first apartment?— they would hang out in each other's apartments before all the time so their habits are nothing new. They do a silly little giggle whenever they realize it's “see you at home” instead of “see you at your/my place”. Elmond is occasionally weirded out by how many more magical things or tools he finds now that Verine isn't hiding her wizarding stuff.
-how would they react to a break in?— Verine searches through to see if anything is missing while Elmond calmly calls the police. If it happened while they were at home, the robber would get a stunning spell to the chest. They'd wake up to tea and a forgetfulness potion, and be fed some story about how the robber was doing a nice thing and fell over and Elmond would send them away with cookies and a “I hope things go well with your family/ friend/ yourself, pls come again and do consider using the doorbell next time you visit.”
-who does the taxes?— Elmond. Verine doesn't have time for petty muggle logistics.
-what do the talk about when laying under stars?—they talk about their days, their friends, what's going on with their families, what's happening in the muggle/ wizarding world, reminisce, joke around. Light stuff and good memories. Debates get saved for the morning.
-what do they watch on tv when they are bored?—They both like watching history channels—Verine laughs at the re-enactments, but she also really likes them: “Bahaha these pictures are so dramatic and silly. Also probably inaccurate.” but also “That one was meh. There weren't any of those fun flashback scenes.” That and fantasy dramas. “The magic in this [show’s] world is horrifying. I wonder if I could make a potion that mimicked the poison? Nah, we don't need magic like that.” Occasionally Elmond will stream an anime his brother recommended.
-who’s in charge of the tv remote—Elmond just because of familiarity with muggle technology.
-what do they do when it is too hot out?— If it's not a work day, they’d probably make up excuses to go to work where the air conditioning/ climate control is better. Or stay home and reorganize the house/ look through old memories and complain together.
-what do they do if the other is sad?— it's almost like a ritual. They hear each other out or wait for the other person to reveal why they're sad: Elmond is particularly patient and will sit there just doing something idle like cleaning or folding clothes while he waits for her to open up. Verine would try to divine what he's going through with tarot cards or tea leaves. And after talking it out, they try to help the other person spin it in a more positive way or find a solution. Verine cracks a bad joke or makes a strange metaphor to make him grin and Elmond reframes the situation “in the grand scheme of things”.
-who falls asleep on the couch—they both do sometimes, though usually together
-who wakes up first— Elmond is more consistently up at 7 every morning. Verine is up whenever she feels like, be that 4 in the morning or 4 in the afternoon, depending on ongoing projects or meetings or office hours.
-who cooks the most—Elmond cooks more simply because of work, but they cook equally at home. Verine loves mixing everything together but one can only take so much of strange fusion soup-stew-salad buns before craving something tried and true.
-who takes the longest getting ready— Verine. Elmond dresses up for work every day and routine has made him efficient. Verine on the other hand, likes dressing up in strange combinations, especially if they're doing something nice.
-who takes up most of the bed—Verine only because Elmond doesn't. Plus she's used to having a giant bed to herself while he's used to a normal-sized cot.
-if/what pets they have—Two birds and a bunch of plants. They got one bird initially when one got into Elmond’s workplace and they actually liked taking care of it. They got another for kicks and a third after the first died. In their early life together though, they just have Verine’s strange plants, which she would talk to all the time. “Are you getting enough sun, baby?” “Me?” “You need to drink more.” “Uhh okay, thanks?” “Oh, you poor thing, your leaves need a trim.” “._.”
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