#that (on some levels) i'm so glad it was made before the current tv playing field was established

[lisbonsteresa]

dumb little married idiots

[zachsgamejournal]

PLAYING: Breath of Fire 4

After completing Breath of Fire 3, my son insisted we do Breath of Fire 4. I'm glad we're playing this cause I've forgotten most of it...

Final Fantasy 7 is still my favorite JRPG, but Breath of Fire 3 is very close in terms of nostalgia. I enjoyed the mix of 3D environments with hand drawn elements, the music is great, the characters are good, and for the most part, the story is quite enjoyable. So I was super excited to play Breath of Fire 4 back in the day.

I remember the primary plot of a Dragon God separate into halves, and emerging after different times. And in a sense, each half experiences a different side of humanity, leading them to have opposite perspectives on whether or not humans are worthy of continued existence.

Maybe I'm way off.

Whatever the reason, it just didn't stick in my head as well as BoF3. So I'm happy to re-explore:

First off, as soon as the game starts it just feels better than BoF3. The characters have a little more detail, and a more serious style to their art. It's still cartoony, but it's like Disney's Pocahontas film vs the Aladdin TV show. The colors are also more muted, which gives it a more somber tone than BoF3's brightly colored sprites.

Also, the 3D environments are much improved. You start on a sandflier (which is badass), and it's a well modeled and textured 3D asset for the PS1. Not just a series of blocks like every environment and object in BoF3. So it makes the production value of 4 feel leagues ahead of 3.

It's interesting that you don't start as Ryu. Instead, you mostly control Nina in the beginning. It's currently her quest to save her sister we're following. So it almost feels like she's the main character.

Anyway: PLOT SUMMARY!

Princess Nina and Rei rip-off Cray are traveling through the desert looking for clues to Nina's missing sister, Elina. They're attacked by a sand dragon and crash. Cray offers to stay with the sandflier while Nina goes for parts.

She discovers a crater and a dragon inside. The dragon fades a way and a naked man stands before her: Ryu. Nina takes him along to see if they can find out where he's from, cause as of now, he has no memory.

At the town, no one knows Ryu, but we get information about a man we have to bribe for information. He then tells us about black market. We get the password and get in, only to learn they don't have parts: they repair parts. So now we have to go to the Sandflier Graveyard.

This little town is cute, but crowded. I'm not sure why, but the designers made it like a maze, which makes it challenging to navigate and easy to lose your way. But this game also offers a 360 camera in many parts (unlike BoF3 that was fixed at one angle). Maybe they designed it this way to force the player to use the angle-change, teaching them a valuable skill to succeed in the game.

There's some simple puzzles at the graveyard and then we're introduced to a cute mini-game: using a dog to sniff out treasure (and parts). With the parts claimed we head back to town.

The battle system feels fresher than BoF4. For one, the characters actually make contact with the targets, instead of just swinging their weapons in place like Final Fantasy 1. There's also many more frames of animation. Just all around feels better!

I like that Nina has become the healer. In BoF3, Ryu is the first healer, and then other characters get some crossover healing spells. Given that Ryu also has a strong attack, and a dragon form, it seemed weird that he should be a healer as well. Though, I do miss Nina's powerful spells. Ah well, she's still under level 10...

At some point, we cut to a temple in the forest to see Fou Lu emerge. He used to be an emperor and expects to be greeted by his loyal subjects. Instead, soldiers and their general confront and attack him. Looks like they got used to him not being around. Fou Lu gains strength from water, so is weak to fire. It appears he is defeated on a bridge, but we know better--don't we...

Back in town, Nina and Ryu plan to get their parts fixed (weird phrasing...sorry). Instead, imperial soldiers are bullying the locals. Nina steps in and stands her ground, the war is over: she says. No, the Imperial replies, it's just a cease fire. Now they want to capture her. When things escalate, Ryu breaks the King's Sword against a captain's face. The two flee the city.

On their way back to Cray, they are cutoff by soldiers, but clued into an alternate route as suggested by the man they helped in town. This route takes them to the hexed town of Chamba. When I played this as a kid, I thought it was neat how they treated Hexes, but now i feel this was an exploration of the devastating nuclear attacks the US used on Japan. Very clever.

There's a company of folks trying to clear the Hex, but it'll take years. They refuse to escort Nina and Ryu, but then Ershin shows up. It's a robot that looks like a Trashcan Knight. Anyway, Ershin is a person inside this walking bin, and offers to escort Nina and Ryu.

The three head into town and roam across the rooftops, avoiding the toxic mist. They reflect on how horrible the hexing of cities was during the war, and lament the tragedy.

Strangely, this section of the game really stuck with me from middle school. I think my friend started a new game and played past where I was, reaching this part. Something about it just stuck, and when I think of Breath of Fire 4, I always think of Ershin in Chamba.

Escaping the town, we make it back to Cray. We can't fix the sandflier, and there's no point in staying. For whatever reason, we think heading north will lead us closer to Elina. Ershin seems to be aware of Ryu's importance and says she'll go where he does. He decides to go with Nina.

While camping, they have a shared dream that they're breaking into an imperial facility to find Elina. I know what happens to Elina and I'm not sure my son is prepared for it.

It's only a game...

On our way North, we come to a Dam. My son likes Dams, so he's excited. We learn there's a dragon in the water, scaring folks away. Used to, the dragon avoided the damn, but now it's being a dick. We solve some simple puzzles and get across, but then the dragon sends in a flood and everyone flees. We barely escape.

Later, we come to a cliff overlooking the ocean and a water dragon appears. The group thinks it's the same dragon that flooded the damn, but it doesn't seem to want to attack. An old lady with a twangy instrument tells us that the dragons have a profound effect on the world. It's mysterious and the group leaves. The lady mentions to herself that a dragon walks among the group.

It's Ryu. He's a dragon. Four games in, he's always the dragon.

I don't remember much of the details from this game, so I'm excited to relearn them with my son. I'm letting him play more of the game now. It's better designed (I think), so should be less stressful than BoF3. Still, he's struggling with the awkward controls.

Now that we have 4 party members, we've started using the row-switching. It's neat, the whole team technically enters a battle, but only the three on the front row and commit action. You can pick any three to perform actions that round, and the game sort of figures out who's in battle, and who's in the back row. It's a clever system that removes the annoyance of having to choose what party members to use in a dungeon. Something that Final Fantasy X tried to do as well. I think Dragon Quest 11 also uses this...

We're having fun, and we've not cheated yet! (Except we use Save States, cause duh!)

[a-trainers-tale]

Hello there! I'd like to request a paid pokemon team description if you please! I had previously sent in the ask for the free one but changed my mind and decided to pay for one instead. Hopefully that's alright. Lol. So where to start. I'm a 21 year old female Leo. Personality wise, I would basically boil it down to, I’m an amiable introvert. I’ve always been really shy and quiet around strangers, maybe even a bit cautious of friendships as I’ve had too many experiences in the past of (1/?)

toxic friends. However, once I perceive a person to be real and genuine, I can open up to them easily, becoming who I truly am around them: fun-loving, excitable and talkative. I have MBTI personality type INFP also known as The Mediator, which makes sense as I'm definitely the peacekeeping type. In my small group of friends, I'm basically the one who keeps them from getting into fights with each other or other people. I'm also the one who diffuses situations. I myself dislike conflict and (2/?) will do everything in my power to actively ignore it, which may be one of my downfalls. For more positive traits, I have a high level of patience, meaning that I won’t give up on people easily even if everyone else has. I’m also very nurturing towards the people I love. I love raising people up and giving them all the support and affection I can. I’m definitely a hugger. However, more negative traits include my stubbornness and pride. These two go hand in hand really. I pride myself in my (3/?) ability to lead and keep a cool and level head when stuff hits the fan but sometimes even a situation can be too much for me and I’ll quickly begin to crumble. However, in an effort to still appear as the cool, kind leader everyone looks up to, I’ll straight up lie about how I really feel and oftentimes will refuse help. This isn’t just with feelings either. It’s with anything from homework to projects, etc. It’s probably worth mentioning that I can also be incredibly lazy sometimes. My (4/?) bursts of hardworking spirit can often be met with equally long periods of me just going, “Meh…” My hobbies and interests include my top three: Drawing, writing and playing video games. I draw mostly cartoon looking things with maybe a dash of anime sprinkled in there. There’s definitely a lot of video game fan art in there too. When it comes to my writing, I generally like to write a lot of fanfiction (the non-cringy sort. lol.) about different video games and of course, I write my own (5/?) do, so much so that sometimes the story never even gets written. My favorite kinds of video games range from adorable friendly things to horrifying video games. Things like RPGs, strategy, action, horror, etc. I don’t have any consoles so I mostly play PC and mobile games. My top three favorite franchises are Pokemon, Animal Crossing and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. I also enjoy Minecraft, Destiny 2 and Tomb Raider. I’ve also been playing Pokemon since Generation 2 with my first game (6/?) Pokemon Silver. Other things I love include baking, reading (especially history), movies (love studio ghibli, anime, horror, action, thriller, comedy, etc.), TV shows about true crime, history and the paranormal. Speaking of, I'm a huge fan of the paranormal and come from a family of people spiritually sensitive to those sorts of things. I also love animes like Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Hetalia and My Hero Academia. My favorite music includes hardstyle, edm, pop, 80’s/90’s hits, etc. (7/?) My favorite artists consist of Gorillaz, Melanie Martinez, Fleetwood Mac, Journey, etc. I also love going on hikes, swimming and just getting to experience nature. I will admit, I’m a kid who loves to snooze. Sometimes when there’s nothing else left to do, nothing’s better than curling up in bed with the blinds closed and room freezing cold with a warm blanket. I think the reason why is because I’m a vivid dreamer. Most of my inspiration comes from the things I dream up of and my dreams (8/?) always provide me with what may not be obtainable in real life. I’m currently going to school to become a preschool, elementary school or daycare teacher. I’m glad knowing that someday, I could make a difference in a child’s life with my kindness. I love Pokemon because it's given me a sense of joy all these years later after initially discovering it as a child. It's the one thing that had always stuck. This had been a lot of asks but I hope it's enough. Thank you for your time. (9/9)

Trainer class: Nurse

You have a naturally nurturing and caring heart and mind. You like to be able to help people and take care of people, this comes from both a genuine desire to help and also a likely subconscious desire to hold that kind of power in any relationships you have. You have a lot of patience and are willing to wait for things. Nurses do not initiate battle, they will wait for people to come to them directly, and after the battle will heal their opponent's pokemon. This is similar to how you approach your relationships with people, you wait for them to come to you and then dedicate yourself to listening, helping, and diffusing problems. Some people might not really understand you and think that your way of life seems boring or irritating but the way that you view it, helping others is also helping yourself. By not going out of your way to be a rockstar pokemon trainer, you are able to better focus on what you care about, namely helping those who need help and bonding with your pokemon who are safe in your care. Your determination comes and goes, some days you are content to relax with those closest to your and your pokemon, but other days you are out trying to find new methods of helping trainers and pokemon alike. You are creative in how you help pokemon and you pride yourself on your work when you are feeling passionate

Starter: Chikorita

Your starter pokemon is Chikorita. Like you, Chikorita really loves laid back activities and taking naps. Chikorita is often found sunbathing and relaxing in comfortable spots outdoors. Chikorita spends a lot of time looking for the perfect nap conditions and once it finds them it is hardpressed to leave before having its fill of a wonderful afternoon nap. You and Chikorita spend a lot of time relaxing and napping together, and you bond over enjoying simpler activities. Chikorita's lower energy makes it a good fit for you, and it doesn't often pick fights so it will never be a cause for concern for you. 

Partner: Steelix

Steelix is also a very patient pokemon, living for over 100 years sometimes, these pokemon will slowly become harder than diamonds. Steelix is also a very stubborn and very individualistic pokemon, which makes it somewhat of a challenge for you to get it to work with your other pokemon sometimes. You relate to your Steelix's desire to hole itself up in a cave somewhere and ignore any responsibility it may have, but you also relate to how it very often pulls itself out and helps out the rest of your team with you. Steelix is also fiercely protective, you so never have to worry about your other pokemon getting into trouble with Steelix around.

Team: Meganium (starter), Bastiodon, Darmanitan (zen), Dragonair, Hatterene

Hometown: Icirrus City, Unova

Your hometown is Icirrus City in the Unova region. This town is very humid and covered in wetlands, so most of the buildings are on higher ground and there are a lot of inclines. This town is also nearby Dragonspiral Tower, which is the oldest building in Unova and is said to be the home of legendary pokemon Zekrom and Reshiram. Because of your early life consisting of brave trainers venturing here to seek these legendary pokemon, and people fighting over the right to study and unearth these pokemon, you came to realize that you prefer to stay out of the mess most of the time and sometimes help people stuck within it. Your dedication to yourself and your pokemon is very rooted in your decision when you were younger to live a simpler life than a lot of the people who came through your hometown. You also gained some creativity due to growing up in an area that required creative architecture. Your experiences with rather difficult terrain and an interesting social climate made you the kind of person you are, namely that you keep your head when things get weird and you are willing to wait and be patient when others are more inclined to rush in head first.

Battle style: Slow and steady wins the race

You are a very patient and slow battler. You take your time and are very cautious. You tend to come overprepared, with lots of healing items and stat boosting items. Your pokemon are not necessarily hard hitters, but you prioritize their ability to be reliable and predictable for you to use. You prefer pokemon who will consistently do a set amount of damage, for instance, over a pokemon who might or might not do a ton of damage in one hit. You prefer pokemon that work well in groups, you like a team that can work together and help each other over individualistic and self reliant pokemon. You help your pokemon learn to work together and learn to love being a team instead of competing with one another. You enjoy being able to take your time in battles and observe your own pokemon and your opponents for areas they could be more creative or more consistent. Your pokemon all trust you deeply and know that if they take any damage or have any conflict they can't solve themselves, you will be there to help them out of their bind and comfort them after the fact. 

[illgiveyouahint]

what are some unrated things you wish more people would know about?

Oh man so many. And depends on what level are we talking about. Are we talking about things that people don't talk enough about but there's still some presence here on tumblr like In the Flesh and Our Love Story or are we talking about like Most which is a czech tv show that none of you have ever heard of? :D

Okay I'll tell you a few. And I'm sure you know some of them and I'm sure I'm forgetting some.

 How about Her Story the amazing web series that got me to know Angelica Ross before Pose was a thing, and Saturday Church which made me fall in love with Indya Moore before everyone else has met them on Pose.

another great web series that like 3 people on here know about the dutch Anne +.

want some Czech old movies that are not Cozy Dens? How about Bílá nemoc / Skeleton on Horseback which is so crazily relevant for current times. There are also the three Czech films that won an oscar - Kolya, Obchod na korze / Shop on the Main Street and Ostře sledované vlaky / Closely watched trains. If you want something more artistic and you liked Markéta Lazarová how about giving a try to the director's other works. I mean just czech cinema in general is quite interesting but I also feel like most of it is kinda inaccessible to foreigners because a) the language and the lack of subtitles and b)our humour and the way we approach language tends to be quite particular and I feel like most of it would get over people's heads and they would not find it funny. But if you do want more recommendation of czech cinema all you have to do is ask :)

Lilting is such a great movie that so few people actually talk about. It's one of my favourite movies even though it's sad. It's so precious and I love it so much.

I Dream in Another Language /Sueño en otro idioma is a film I really loved and found the story so unique and interesting.

I'm glad Chloé Zhao is getting recognition for The Rider but have you seen Songs My Brothers Taught Me? 'Cause I really love both of those films and it took me forever to find subtitles for it. 

Me and @amirathaliasgf​ keep talking and talking about Shirkers because seriously that documentary/story is so creative and so unbelievable and so sad and just goddamn I keep thinking about it.

Have you heard about Close Knit /Karera ga honki de amu toki wa? I don't like to recommend films where trans characters are not played by trans actors but I also understand that it's not always possible and I hope this film has helped to pave the way forward so next time we can have a trans person playing a trans person in Japan. And I genuinely like the story of the little girl whose mother is always absent and who finds comfort and love with her father new girlfriend.

Black Girl / La noire de... - okay so this director and this film is quite famous for the people who are interested in African/Senegalese cinema but outside of it you've probably never heard of it. I admit I'm only beginning to step into African cinema and this is sort of a starting point.

The Rocket - I actually did discover this through someone on tumblr and I highly recommend it.

The Second Mother /Que Horas Ela Volta? - aka the other film you might have seen in gifsets with Alfonso's Roma.

Ida - before there was Cold war there was Ida. I remember really liking the cinematography because it was really giving me those 60's cinematography feelings. Something that obviously Pawlikowski perfected in Cold war.

Departures - I mean it won an oscar but has been forgotten.

Omg I almost forgot one of my favourite korean comedies - welcome to dongmakgol /Welkkeom tu Dongmakgol it's so silly but I honestly loved it. Plus music is by Joe Hisaishi of the Ghibli fame.

I tried to pick things that I feel are less known but I also have no idea how deep ones knowledge goes. Should I recommend Persepolis or is that known enough. Good bye Lenin? It's known in my country but how well is it known here? It has Daniel Brühl in it so it should be known. How about Billy wilder's movies that are not Some Like It Hot or Sabrina? I just don't know how deep or how many of them would you like to hear so I'm gonna stop here.

Also I just realised that you didn't specify if you meant movies and I sort of went with movies but I could do other things if you want. Sorry if this is not what you meant.

P.S. a tip if you're American and/or have access to kanopy then I believe many of the films are there.

[jackiegaytona]

I absolutely love your fics! Any advice for someone who wants to start writing a lengthy wwdits fic for archive? I have so many ideas but I'm so nervous about writing and posting this. I haven't written a fic in years now. The most charactet and story writing I've done is for d&d.

Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoy my work! I’m more than happy to share a little of my own current experiences within the fandom. Believe it or not, I only saw the movie around a month ago, and then binged the TV show after. So I’m very much a WWDITS noob. But I am HOOKED.

My recent foray into wwdits fanfiction has been amazing, I’ve been getting so much writing done - more than I have in probably a decade! This fandom is the first I’ve written for in around 15 years, but the reception has been so encouraging. The comments I’ve been receiving have been a shining light in what is obviously a difficult time right now.

So with that said, my advice would be: Just start writing! Pathetic advice, I know, but beginning is the hardest part, and it gets easier after. Here are some pointers I hope will help (feel free to follow or ignore them):

·         Before you begin, change the background of your word processor to a darker colour – I recommend a mid-range grey. If using Word, you can change both the interface colours and the page’s background colour. I write on a dark-ish grey page. So basically, my Word interface is all grey. This helps my eyes, and also doesn’t look nearly as intimidating as a glaring white page!

·         Make a bullet list of your notes and use them as a guide, but don’t get too hung up on the planning stage if that’s not what you like doing. I’m not a plotter. I can’t write unless I give myself free rein. When I start a story, I might have a vague idea of how it ends but I have no idea what will happen until I start writing. A lot of writers say this is bad practice, and yes it sometimes results in your story hitting dead ends. BUT – and I say this for both art and writing – there are no solid rules. Creating is a very individual process, and you need to find what works best for you.

·         Begin somewhere – doesn’t have to be the beginning. Start with a scene that interests you or that you want to get written out. Once you’re over that initial hump of “blank page jitters”, it gets much easier.

·         As for multi-chapter fics, I approach them the same way I approach smaller fics. I don’t give myself a set word-count. I don’t do much planning, just a few dot points of ideas. The beautiful thing about fanfiction is that your reader has background knowledge of the show and characters, so you can literally start anywhere, at any point in time, and although your story should have some kind of resolution at the end, it doesn’t necessarily have to follow the traditional layout of a novel.

 If you’re nervous about writing fanfiction in particular, and the reception/comments you’ll receive (believe me, I was up until I posted my first fic. I’m not a confident writer), keep in mind:

·         Fanfiction is great because some of the work is already done for you! The characters, places and themes already exist and thus give you loads to work from. But you can also add your own little twists in, and that’s where things get really creative. I have read a lot of fics that follow the timeline of WWDITS, for example, and although the events in these fics are very similar (because they happen in the show, or are likely to happen) – the writing styles and outcomes are all so different that it’s like reading a new story each time. Each writer brings their own imagination to the table, yet we all have a shared interest. Which usually involves vampire-familiar sex.

·         Remember, you’re posting your work to a bunch of frenzied fans who want any tiny scrap of content they can get – ME INCLUDED. GIVE US CONTENT. So yeah, people will love your work, regardless of your skill level. Someone will read it and someone will love it (usually multiple people). I haven’t read a fic I haven’t loved.

·         Fanfic writing is very self-indulgent. Eg. we can write our favourite ships, or bend the show/fandom to suit us, which is a very enjoyable experience. Even a little addictive.

·         In terms of WWDITS, the fandom is freaking AWESOME. Everyone is so friendly and it’s so active, there are some incredibly creative people and I’ve made a lot of new friends. So don’t ever be afraid to share your work, or try something new, like a multi-chapter fic. We WILL read it and enjoy it! For what it’s worth, I personally love long fics. The agonising slow-burns are my faves…so frustrating. So delicious.

 I’ll stop there since this is already very long, but I hope that helps! If anyone ever wants me to play editor for their fics or beta read, I’m more than happy to help out as best as I can!

[thathpheadcanongirl]

How Audrey Weasley finds out about “real magic”...

Revealing a Magician's Secrets

There, she saw it, a few yards away. It was a rickety-looking barn house, but it looked homier than any other house she has ever seen. Audrey had been pestering Percy to take her to his childhood home, considering she had begrudgingly taken him to hers many times.

It was embarrassing to reveal her parents' vanity and delusion. Thankfully, her little sister, Jude, had left that house as soon as she turned eighteen. That was two years ago. Since then, she had gotten a good job that didn't require a college degree.

As for Audrey, she had received an Undergraduate degree in Education and was currently working on her Masters in English Literature. With her own drive and Percy's encouragement, Audrey was able to snatch a job in her local school district. She was teaching primary school level, which was better than nothing. It helped find a better flat with Percy, and eventually marry him. And now, with a baby on the way, this was everything she could have wished for.

She couldn't wait to see all of Percy's family again, the last time being at their wedding, which was about a year ago. They got married in the same church her parents were married in. Percy's parents were adorable, although Audrey had a strange feeling that his father had some early stages of dementia. He asked her about how cellphones worked without a cord, or if the "Astronet" was the same as the "Internaut", or how many plugs she could truly plug into one electrical socket. He was strange, but very genuine and kind.

Percy grabbed her hand. "Do you love me?"

"Of course I love you," she replied, squeezing his hand.

"Do you trust me?"

"Perce, I will love your family, no matter what." She could see that that wasn't what he was worried about.

"Before we go over there, Audrey, I need to tell you the truth…"

"What?" She dared to ask.

Percy took a deep breath in, and said, "What I am is more than a magician."

Well, thankfully, it wasn't about him having cold feet about their new family. She smiled, still confused. "You're an illusionist."

"No, I'm… my family… we are wizards."

"Is that what you call yourselves, then? The Weasley Wizards? Oh, sounds quite catchy!"

"No, Audrey, listen to me." He moved in front of her view of the Burrow so that they were face to face. "Magic, it's real. What I do is real. And I just want you to be prepared for what you might see in there. Promise me." He looked slightly frantic.

She caressed his cheek, humoring him, "I promise, but I don't see what this has to do with anything."

"You will see soon enough."

They began to walk toward the amazing house. A little blonde girl was playing with a small boy who had florescent turquoise hair. Audrey found that a little unruly for such a small child. She didn't even approve of her sister's wacky hair colors and Jude was a teenager then.

Percy's mother opened the door and gave them both such amazing hugs.

"I'm so happy you're finally here! And congratulations!" Molly beamed, indicating Audrey's stomach. Audrey was confused; did Percy tell his family before they could announce it together? Molly rushed them in while yelling out behind them, "Teddy! Victoire! Lunch will be ready in ten minutes!"

Audrey glanced over her shoulder, and to her astonishment, the boy's hair was now a bright ginger. She had to take a double-take. Maybe it was just the trick of the lighting before; the whole family was red-headed anyway. It only made sense.

As she walked further into the living room, she was absolutely fascinated by the amount of illusions happening at once. They truly were really into their magical craft. Everything was mismatched, and yet, it suited that house very well. The house was so full of people that Audrey was surprised that such a small-looking house on the outside could hold so many on the inside. She recognized George, his girlfriend, Angelina, Ron, and Arthur sitting around the kitchen table. After greeting these familiar people, Percy introduced her to Bill, and his wife, Fleur, and their youngest daughter, Dominique, his other brother Charlie, his sister Ginny and her fiancé, Harry. Audrey was quite disappointed that Hermione was not there. She had really enjoyed getting to know her over the years. She took a mental note to ask Percy why she was not there.

Lunch was amazing, according to Audrey. She had seen food appear out of what seemed to be thin air before, but this was true perfection. She found it rather fascinating.

"I absolutely love your tricks!" she admired Molly's handiwork. "You must tell me how you created such a realistic set-up."

Everyone looked at each other, then at Percy, who smacked his hand to his forehead in embarrassment.

"Percy Weasley, didn't you tell Audrey-" began his father.

"Of course I did! She still thinks it's what she thinks is magic."

Audrey looked around at knowing smiles. She didn't quite understand. She glanced down the table to where the three children were laughing, oblivious to the conversation at hand. And there, she saw it again! The boy named Teddy changed his hair color right before their eyes, making the two little girls giggle. She jumped and pointed down the table. "How! How did he do that?!"

"He's a Metamorphmagis," replied Harry, looking proudly down at Teddy.

"A morphing-what?"

Percy excused the two of them from the table and into the living room.

"Percy, what is this? Are you taking the piss?"

"No! Addie, I've been trying to tell you. I'm a wizard. My magic is real. My whole family can do magic-"

"So can mine-!"

"No, love, listen to me. Believe me! I would never lie to you."

She looked in his bespectacled blue eyes as he grasped both of her hands in his. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement from the wall. She turned to see all of the pictures were moving, waving and laughing. Were these mini-TVs? Why would they have so many if they were supposed to be poor?

She took one down from the wall. She saw no chord attaching the picture to the wall. No batteries. No on and off switch. "What is this place?" she whispered.

"My life," Percy said quietly. She looked up at his anxious face.

"This is a lot to take in, Perce."

"I know. I'm not expecting you to grasp it right away."

There was a bit of silence. Then, Audrey spoke. "The- the day we first met. When the Ping-Pong balls fell out of my pockets…"

As if on cue, Percy took out a stick from his pocket, gave it a small wave, and, like before, Ping-Pong balls cascaded from beneath her shirt sleeves.

Audrey was terrified. "Oh my God! Make it stop!" With another flick of the stick, the balls disappeared. "What the hell!"

"Addie, I'm sorry-" started Percy, reaching out to touch her, but she jumped out of his reach.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't- our laws didn't allow-"

"Your laws? Like your own principle, or…"

"No, our own Ministry."

Audrey laughed at this. "You have a Ministry?! What's it called? The Ministry of Magic?"

Percy grinned sheepishly. "It sounds too good to be true, I know, but you've got to trust me. Remember what you said before we came here? That you promised you'd trust me? This is why, Audrey. I love you so damn much, and I am over the moon that we're going to have a baby. I didn't want to scare you away."

Instinctively, she put a hand on her stomach. "So you couldn't tell me until I was pregnant?"

"Actually, I broke the rules a little bit," he said, seeing that this was a good time to start walking towards her. "I'm technically not supposed to say anything until the child is born, but I couldn't wait anymore. Hermione and I are trying to get rid of that rule for good. It's old and useless. But that's neither here nor there. The point is," he touched her hand over her stomach. "I love you and I don't want any secrets anymore. You've always wondered why I was so good at magic. Now you know. I am revealing my secret to you."

He chanced a smile, but Audrey was still quite frightened. "I don't know, Percy…"

"Listen, if you want, we can leave," he said. "We don't have to stay."

"Well, your family seems nice," she said slowly. "And they didn't try to kill me or anything."

"They would never kill you, Addie!" Percy took her by the shoulders, looking very serious. "We don't kill. We love. That's all we ever did was love." He had a sparkle in his eye and his ears turned red. "I will tell you anything you want to know about my world because I want you to be a part of it. I love you."

He looked so genuine. Audrey sighed of relief. She knew she could trust him. "I love you, too." After a quick peck, they returned, hand in hand, to the kitchen.

"So, you finally realize we've been scamming you all this time, eh, Addie?" Teased George, causing everyone to laugh except for Percy, who looked as if he were about to punch George in his good ear. No one knew that Percy created a nickname for Audrey, and he tended to want to keep it that way.

Audrey had a great rest of her time with the Weasleys, although she did miss Hermione. It turned out that Hermione was born from non-magic people, and that she knew the best of both worlds. Harry knew about normal people things too, so Audrey chatted with him more so than anyone else there. He informed her about what happened between Ron and Hermione. It was all so tragic. She figured that was why Ron avoided her the whole day. She hoped it would all work out in the end…

She also found out that Arthur did not have dementia after all! He was just an old wizard who was fascinated by regular, every day things. Audrey was glad to explain some things to him. He hugged her and said, "I am so happy you are part of our family."

Audrey's heart warmed up at the sight of the old man's happiness. She looked around at all of the magic that was happening around her. It was like she had woken up from a dream- a really cool dream that no one else would ever believe was real. In all of her years trying to run away from her family's magic act, she never thought that she would feel so at home in a place where real magic existed. She smiled back at her father-in-law. "I'm happy to be here, too."