Welcome back readers!! I'm here with the next story for QLFC as the captain of the Wimbourne Wasps. Its round 3, and its all about nostalgia… 90s nostalgia! We were all given a prompt based on a popular thing in 90s culture, ie toys, movies, etc. Captains were given Pulp Fiction, widely regarded as Quentin Tarantino's magnum opus (I prefer From Dusk Till Dawn even though he was just a writer but that's just me). Lets see what this strange movie from an equally out there director brings to my keyboard!NOTES: On extension. Takes place around 2013. Word Count: 1127
As they drove into the parking lot of the local supermarket, Ginny only thought one thing as she put her pen and notebook of observations away.
"It's ugly." She wrinkled her nose in distaste. The building was obviously not made to be aesthetically pleasing, that was sure and certain. "Why did I agree to come again?"
Harry raised his eyebrows in amusement. "We came for food and for you to learn about Muggle life for that article you were assigned. It's not meant to be pretty, Gin. You shop and leave. Let's get the groceries. It's time for you to get some Muggle education."
A few minutes later, they were deep within the store. Ginny kept asking a hundred questions, particularly interested in some prepackaged hamburgers that looked as if they were well past their sell by date.
"These say they're the best burgers in the world!" Ginny pointed to the words on the package. "I don't believe it."
Harry eyed a few patrons who gave them strange looks. "We're having a picnic and she wants the most amazing hamburgers."
To Ginny, he said, "I don't think anyone would eat those, they're awful. There's a little diner I went to a lot before sixth year that has really good ones. We'll go sometime, okay?"
He looked to her for her response, but she wasn't there. Ginny had already gotten distracted by something else — the five dollar movie bin.
"What are these?" She picked up two movies from within the void of DVD cases. One was some film that probably had a few die-hard fans, and the other an an amazing sci-fi movie.
"The Matrix!" Harry snatched up the second DVD and examined it closely. "Whoa, it's been a long time since I saw this."
Ginny stared in confusion. "What is it? And the rest of these things?"
"First off, keep your voice down. Every Muggle knows about the five dollar movie bins." Harry watched warily as the staring Muggles turned back to their shopping. "Second, they're movies. You put them in a DVD player, and a story unfolds on the screen. Best way to describe it."
Ginny seemed bewildered, which wasn't surprising. Harry hadn't yet inducted her into the world of movies. As with many people, life had gotten in the way. Holding jobs and raising three kids was no easy feat.
"They look cool, lets get a bunch and watch them." Ginny picked a few off the top, adding them to the cart. Digging into the bin, Harry picked several more, throwing them in their cart and examining Ginny's picks.
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? Come on, we can do better than that."
Ginny made another selection, and they went to the register to pay for all they had gotten.
"That will be fifteen pounds," the cashier told them.
"Fifteen what?" Ginny asked.
"Pounds, ma'am," the cashier repeated.
"Money," Harry whispered to her. To the cashier, Harry said, "I'm so sorry, she's slightly hard of hearing."
Ginny glared at this, but said nothing.
An hour later, Harry and Ginny were sitting in front of their borrowed television and DVD player (courtesy of Hermione), trying to decide which movie to watch. It was good luck that Molly was watching the kids, giving them a free day.
"So let's just choose one randomly, and that's what we start with," Harry suggested. Ginny plucked one from the stack of cases, sending the others onto the floor. She held up her choice proudly.
"Pulp Fiction." Harry had seen that movie more than enough times. It had always made him squeamish when he was younger, but as he got older it just became funny. "It'll break your concentration, that's for sure. Let's do it, but there's just one rule: no questions, no talking until the movie ends."
In place of an answer, Ginny put the disc in the DVD player.
As the movies opening credits started, Harry grabbed some popcorn from the bag. Ginny stared intently, waiting to see what happened.
"So how do they make these?" Ginny asked. "It seems like magic, but they're made by Muggles so it can't be magic."
"Actors on a stage are recorded performing all of what's going on," Harry explained. "It's what is called 'movie magic'. Regular people never know how these things get made."
While Jules was giving one of his victims the customary Bible lecture, Ginny spoke.
"Why is he being so philosophical to someone he's about to kill? Seems pretty pointless."
"He's a hitman, but even they have honor," Harry guessed. " Honor among thieves or something?"
"Thieves and killers," Ginny grumbled, turning her attention back to the movie.
Ginny stared in shock at the screen as the credits rolled through.
"WHAT?!" she exclaimed. "It can't end like that! What's in that case? Those people are dead! Muggles are barbaric! How is this considered entertainment for them? Why did we do this Harry?! My life is meaningless!" Her eyes were bulging from so much sheer terror and surprise that it was a wonder she didn't faint or have a heart attack.
Harry could do nothing but laugh hysterically at her reactions. "Those are just actors, nothing in the movie actually happened. None of them are actually dead. No one knows what's in the case, it's just a question we have to live with. Most movies don't have so many people die, that's Tarantino's standard I guess. Movies nowadays are tantamount to magic as it is."
Ginny only blinked at this. "But… we saw… what…?"
Sighing, Harry realized he had more to explain. "It's all special effects. Computers make a lot of what we saw."
"That answer is even scarier than that movie"
Harry grinned with a laugh. "Well, as our friend Jules said, If the answers frighten you, then you should stop asking scary questions."
"Please don't start quoting this movie," Ginny groaned. "I don't want to think about this movie ever again. I'll be having horrible dreams about killer Muggles now, so there's that at least "
"Let's start with another movie," Harry said, picking the next one, snickering as he read the title.
The Lion King.