Gimme ⛓️ and 🏹 bow with Marvin (you can choose if he's giving or receiving 👀👀)
“And for my next trick-” the magician hollers, twirling on his heel in the spotlight, his long coat flailing behind him like a cape. With steady steps, he approaches a trapdoor in the stage as an object rises from it. The spotlights change to the object with a clang, and Marvin’s gloved hands grab the sheet that covers it, holding it for a moment, revelling in the anticipation that rises from the crowd.
He janks it away, revealing a young blindfolded woman, tied up to a board, red and white target painted on and around her. The skin below her eyes is red from her constant crying, and the shackles around her wrists and ankles have painted her skin in pretty shades of blue and purple. Not his fault, he has to admit. He warned her not to struggle, that the restraints would be tight and that she might hurt herself, but she refused to listen. Oh well.
The crowd bursts out in their ooh’s and aah’s, as they always do. They don’t see how the woman shivers in fear, how her trembling lips whisper pleas and promises. They see a show, entertainment, they paid to have fun and fun they will have.
The woman recoils as Marvin’s gloved hand touches down on her cheek, wiping away a tear. He leans in, unable to suppress a smile as her breath staggers. “Do try to smile, darling,” he whispers, before using his fingers to force the corners of her mouth up. He tilts his head to look at her, mulling over whether to remove her blindfold or not. Already imagining that delightful look of fear in her eyes, he tilts her head forward to untie the blindfold, tossing it into the crowd with flair.
He twists around again, counting seven steps as he produces three throwing knives from his sleeves, and juggling them around for a bit, the rowdy crowd cheering him on. They’re oblivious to the fearful state of his target practice. Where he sees a crying and shaking woman, body tense with the fear of death, they see a beautiful woman, smiling encouragingly, eyes bright and clear and confident, trusting the magician with her life, literally.
It’s one of his favourite feelings, he ponders, having someone else’s life in your hands. Such power, such control. He could end her life right here, right now, if he wanted to. She knows that too. That’s probably why she struggles so much against him. She’s still afraid, worrying too much, she doesn’t trust him. He could easily change that, if he wanted to - hypnosis is an awfully handy little tool. But he doesn’t want to. The fear, the worry, the cowering, that’s the best part.
He steadies his grip on the knives in his hands, and in one fluid movement, he turns and throws all three. He keeps his pose, hands outstretched towards his target, front knee bent in a right angle, back leg perfectly stretched, and watches as the knives fly at their targets. Two thuds, one squelch - the second knife has buried itself in her thigh, but her scream of agony is drowned out by the cheering of the crowd.
Two more knives find their way into Marvin’s hands. His eyes find their targets. It’s tougher to aim true, now that’s she’s shuddering so much, as if it’s the first time she’s ever had a knife lodged into her leg. He wonders when she’ll finally get used to it, if ever. He’d hate to have to find a replacement for her.
Two more knives are thrown, digging themselves into the wood right beside her ear, and the muscle of her left arm.
He raises a hand, and with a click of his fingers, the spotlights shrouding both of them in blinding light shuts off. The crowd gives a small gasp, and he can hear their breath stagger as they hear the thud thud thud of knives being thrown onto the board.
When the lights switch back on, the woman is hanging limply in her restraints, blood slowly trickling from her arms and legs. She’s not dead, he knows that. Probably passed out from fear or something. Coward.
But his illusion holds up, and the crowd sees his faithful assistant, smiling brighter than the sun, completely unscathed, a perfect circle of knives around her.
He spreads his arms wide, receiving the applause and praise from the crowd, while the woman is slowly lowered through the trap door. Out of mind, out of sight, that’s how these shows work, the crowd has already forgotten all about her when the trap door closes, anticipating what his next trick will be.
