Me: *is mostly a bystander to Good Omens cause I enjoy the fanart* - *comes across the swap comic* - I AM 100% INVESTED!!! *Goes to slam money into your ko-fi*
OH MY GOSH YOU ACTUALLY DID, THANK YOU!!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying it! And I think I’ll be more than happy to thank you, as well as my new patron with an extra large update this week! It might take just a little bit longer to come out but I think I can do it before the week ends~ Thank you again so much!!
"Picture Marvin performing a classic: pulling a rabbit out of a hat. He's done it a thousand times, but you've never been in the audience before..." A sweet, fluffy fic staring you and our magic boy!
It’s story time again, dorks! This fic is a birthday gift for @freckled-words! I know she has a soft spot for our magic boy, so I wrote a story based on a prompt I sent to her blog ages ago. I hope you guys enjoy!
Links: AO3
Your hair blew gently around your shoulders as you strolled aimlessly along the gravel pathways, the sun warm on your bare arms. You took a deep breath, smiling contentedly in the fresh air.
It really was the perfect day to be outside.
When you woke up that morning to the gorgeous summer sunshine streaming in through your window, you’d immediately jumped on the chance to take advantage of the weather. Throwing on your favourite blue sundress, you packed a picnic lunch and chose to head to the park a few blocks from your house.
You arrived around midday, and initially, it seemed pretty quiet; some parents were out with their kids by the play equipment, a few elderly couples were sitting by the fountain, and the ice cream vendor had just opened her pop-up stand. On a Saturday like this, you’d expected there to be more people around.
So where was everyone?
You got your answer as the sounds of distant applause and cheering floated up from the nearby grandstand at the bottom of the hill. Intrigued, you decided to put your picnic on hold and take a look.
Reaching the top, you peered down and saw a decent-sized crowd had gathered around a makeshift stage, an accented voice echoing over the mass of spectators.
“-nd that, kids, is why we only let a trained professional light a deck of cards on fire.” Laughter rang out, though you struggled to see from your distant vantage point.
From what you could tell, there was a man on stage. Standing next to a small table and wearing a long black cape, a blue shirt, and dark pants, he interacted animatedly with the audience in front of him. He also had a top hat, and what looked like… a mask?
Your brain worked to connect the dots, and a wide grin spread across your face.
A Magician!
Filled with sudden, childlike excitement, you ran the rest of the way down the hill only to hit the immovable wall of the crowd.
You huffed, cursing your height as your craned your neck to try and see.
“Alrighty, onto my next trick!” Whoops were met as the man addressed the captivated audience, and he motioned to a velvet drawstring bag sitting on the fold-out table.
“I sure hope no here is allergic to feathers,” he called out with a waggle of his eyebrows, and the crowd held its breath in anticipation. He reached his hand down into the bag, bizarrely sinking to his shoulder as he seemed to feel around for something. Then, with a flourish, he yanked his hand back out.
“Ta-da!”
... A beat of silence, then more laughter. Clutched in the Magician’s fist was a large white pillow.
At this, the man blinked before bringing the pillow to eye-level and staring at it perplexedly. “Um… pretty sure this is supposed to be a bird.”
He quickly turned back to the bag and grabbed it with his free hand. “I know I brought them!” he muttered to “himself” as he gave it a furious shake, even going as far as to stick his face into the mouth of the bag while the audience roared with laughter.
With a dumbfounded look, he dropped the bag back on the table.
“Sorry everybody, it looks like I done goofed!”
He shrugged helplessly amid playful shouts of disappointment, and you giggled at the hurt-puppy expression on his partially concealed face.
“Now now, don't worry folks; there’s plenty more magic to be seen!” the showman hurriedly assured his fans. “Let’s just move on, shall we?”
Scattered applause, then he looked dejectedly at the pillow he was still holding.
“Guess I won’t be needing this!” he said dismissively and turned his back on the crowd. Throwing the pillow carelessly over his shoulder, it arced high in the air, and just before it looked like it would fall into the audience, there was a tremendous bang! and a puff of thick smoke.
People screamed in surprise, and you flinched at the sudden loud sound. Then the smoke cleared, and you blinked up at the sky, your eyes growing wide with delight.
An entire flock of white doves swirled overhead, dipping and gliding in the wind. The crowd went wild, people young and old reaching up to try and touch the birds as they flew past and disappeared over the horizon.
The Magician happily bowed to deafening applause, and his show carried on for another 20 minutes, during which he made a selection of colourful scarves tie and untie themselves in a series of complicated looking knots; built a very impressive, multi-tiered house of cards, only to slip and knock the entire structure over amidst laughter; and performed an enthralling show with shadow hand puppets, ranging from your basic cat to an entire moose!
Once he finished putting away the projector and screen used for the shadow puppets, the Magician raised his hands, and silence fell over the crowd.
“Thank you so much, you've been an absolutely fantastic audience! But, I'm afraid all things must come to an end.”
You ‘aww’d’ along with everyone else, and the man held his fist to his mouth dramatically, pretending to hold back a sob.
“No, please, no tears. For this, my final trick, is both a classic and my personal favourite!” He swiped his top hat off his head and threw it towards the card table, where it landed smoothly with the brim facing up.
Your heart leapt at the declaration, but of course, you weren't the only one excited to see what would happen. The entire mob swarmed forward, trying to get even an inch closer to the stage.
That's when you saw it; a narrow space in the throng of people.
You hesitated, biting your lip and weighing your options. It was probably the only opening you were going to get, but there was a real possibility you could get crushed in the impending stampede… Was it worth the risk?
“Now I can't do this trick alone. Allow me to introduce a friend of mine!”
At that, The Magician reached into the folds of his satin cape and from somewhere within its depths produced just about the cutest rabbit you'd ever seen.
“This is Bunny! Say hello, Bunny!” The animal blinked lazily, twitching its soft pink nose while the audience cooed at the small creature.
Well, that was easy.
Steeling your resolve, you clutched your picnic basket to your chest and dove forward.
It was mass hysteria; people everywhere bumping into each other and elbows flying. It was also nearly impossible to see, but luckily you could still hear as the Magician carried on with his act.
“Now watch as I place Bunny inside my trusty hat, hiding her under this handkerchief. And with a wave of my hands…”
You could only assume his next few actions. There was a rustle of fabric and then-
“Behold!!” More applause as the crowd ‘ooh-ed’ and ‘ahh-ed’ in excitement. “Have no fear; bringing her back is a simple task for a skilled Magician! First, I re-cover the hat, like so-”
Worried you were going to miss the end of the performance, you redoubled your efforts to wiggle through. And while it took some maneuvering that would've made a gymnast blush, you managed to squeeze into the heart of the crowd unscathed.
Brushing off your dress, you looked up to a perfect view of the stage and the Magician as he laid a deep purple cloth over his empty top hat.
His mask caught your eye first; definitely catlike, with the four card suit emblems painted on the forehead. Pointy green ears and whiskers completed the look, though the ears weren’t the only green feature. Up close and without his hat, you realized the front of his brown hair was dyed a bright shade of green. Unusual, but you found that it suited him handsomely.
“Is everyone ready?”
You were pulled from your thoughts at his Irish-tinged voice, now louder that you were near the front.
“How about on the count of 3?”
Explosive cheers as he took a step back, bracing himself as he lifted his hands towards his hat. “Ok, here we go!”
“1!”
The audience chimed in with his count, yourself included. The look of giddy joy on the man’s face was infectious, and you couldn’t help but laugh.
“2!!”
The crowd was on the edge of its seat, practically vibrating with energy. You gripped your picnic basket tighter, eagerly awaiting the climax of his trick as your heart drummed in your chest.
“3!!!”
Just as he reached the end of the countdown, the Magician turned his head towards the crowd. His eyes swept over the audience, positively beaming, before coming to rest… on you.
Your breath caught in your throat.
It should’ve been impossible to tell; there were dozens of other people crowded around you, and the mask he wore obscured his face. But for some reason you just knew: he was looking at you.
The realization hit you suddenly, and the effect was immediate: a blush heated your cheeks, an uncontrollable smile stretching across your face as the roar of the crowd faded. You thought you saw his eyes widen behind his mask, and you couldn’t help but wonder what colour they were…
A flash of shimmering green light. A cool, tingling sensation that prickled your skin.
You didn’t even have the chance to be shocked as the weight of your picnic basket and the feeling of the uneven grass beneath your feet suddenly melted away.
Sound filled your ears, growing from a soft hum to a high-pitched whistling. The world became a blur and your eyes were forced shut. Your body lurched, rushing up, forward, somewhere and then-
Your shoes slammed back down to earth on a much more solid surface. You groaned, the air punched from your lungs and head spinning from vertigo. Squinting at the too-bright sunshine, you slowly opened your eyes.
Hundreds of eyes stared back at you; dozens of faces you didn’t recognize shouting and waving in a frenzy.
You froze.
...You were standing on stage.
The same stage you were fairly certain you’d just been watching from a few dozen feet away.
A strange, hysterical urge to laugh rose up in you.
This-this wasn’t happening. It was impossible. How?!
Trying and failing to understand what was going on, you were about two seconds from bolting when something soft fell in front of your face. Startled, you made to brush whatever it was aside and noticed a weight in your arms.
You glanced down.
There was a rabbit cradled soundly against your chest, soaking in the warmth of your body.
A very familiar rabbit.
The Magicians-
Your eyes widened as your thoughts caught up with you. Shaking away whatever was hanging in your eyes, you turned your head.
The man standing across from you was no longer the playful, composed performer you’d been watching mere moments ago. Now he was completely red in the face, flushing from the tips of his ears to the base of his neck. His mouth hung open in embarrassed horror, hands raised in shock.
Now that you were this close to him, you distantly realized his eyes were a breathtaking blue.
“THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!!”
“Is she his assistant or something?”
“Must be, they totally match!!”
“Aww, they’re so cute together!”
“Where did the ears come from, though?”
...Ears?
The snippets of conversation drew your attention away from the shell-shocked man, and your face turned a shade of scarlet that rivaled his own.
You… you had bunny ears on. The new feeling and weight of a headband confirmed it.
What. The. Hell.
As for the two of you matching, well... Your sundress… did compliment the blue of his shirt... But that was just a coincidence!
A small voice in the back of your mind whispered something else entirely.
Fate.
The blood pounded in your ears, a combination of shock and self-consciousness coursing through you. But as you turned to look at the Magician again, his face marred with apologetic humiliation, you felt a twinge of sympathy.
Sure, you had no idea how this happened, but apparently, neither did he. And he certainly looked like he felt sorry - if “sorry” meant about to pass out cold.
You looked back at the screaming audience, took a deep breath, and came to a decision.
Moving to deposit Bunny into the awaiting hat on the card table, you then walked to the edge of the stage, where you started clapping. Smiling as brightly as you could manage, you exclaimed, “Another round of applause, everyone! Wasn’t that incredible?”
You hurried to wave the Magician out of his stupor and to your side. He watched you incredulously, but cautiously took center stage.
The crowd’s cheers grew tenfold, and a hesitant smile tugged at the showman's lips.
He was still a little stunned, so you ever-so-slightly elbowed him in the ribs. He yelped, but after your pointed head jerk towards the audience seemed to take the hint.
Clearing his throat, he called over the crowd in a wavering voice, “T-thank you, you’re too kind…”
He fidgeted with the hem of his cape before adding, “And of course, I couldn’t have done it without the help of my-” he shot you a side glance, “-lovely a-assistant.”
Shyly taking one of your hands in his, he brought it up to his lips and brushed a feather-light kiss over your knuckles.
You had no hope of containing the fresh blush his words and actions caused, so instead, you embraced it, turning back to the audience. “He’s truly amazing, isn’t he? Really, how does he do it?”
Then, as a little payback, you leaned down to eye-level, lowering your voice to a teasing whisper. “I sure wish I knew…”
The Magician gulped, and you smothered a laugh as he released your hand.
You both stood basking in the adoration of the audience when you thought of something.
“Bow.”
“W-what?”
“Go on, take a bow!” You stepped back to give him the floor, no longer needing to fake your smile.
He nodded jerkily, turning to face his adoring fans. With a show of grandeur, he swept his cape back and bowed low to overwhelming applause.
You grinned despite the absurdity of the situation; he made it easy.
“Marvin the Magnificent thanks you one and all! Until next time, folks!”
His encompassing stage presence seemingly back in full swing, he swiftly turned to offer you his arm. You sheepishly accepted and together you headed backstage, waving goodbye to the crowd.
But as soon as you’d gotten behind the curtain and out of sight, the man - Marvin - whirled around, guilt written all over his features.
“Miss, I am so, so, sorry. I-I didn’t mean to - I swear I know that trick like the back of my hand and I’ve done it just fine all the other times!! But then I saw you and I got distracted and I guess I just... ”
He trailed off, looking utterly lost, and while you had to admit it was a little cute, you didn’t like seeing him so upset.
“Marvin- um, is that your real name?” you asked softly, and he nodded. Happy to finally know his name, you continued, “Marvin, it’s alright.”
You dropped your gaze to your sandals, shuffling your feet.
“I’ll be honest, I’m not usually so good in front of crowds, but whatever that was back there…” You looked up, gazing into his ocean-blue eyes, “It was amazing. Or-” you chuckled, tucking a lock of hair behind your ear- “should I say “magnificent?”
Another blush crawled up his face, disappearing behind his mask. He opened his mouth to say something - probably another stuttered apology - when a figure barrelled out of nowhere, tackling Marvin in a fierce hug.
“Bro, that was awesome!!” the stranger cried, enthusiastically noogie-ing Marvin while he spluttered in protest.
“Ch-Chase, dammit, cut it out!”
Marvin quickly twisted himself out of the headlock, blushing even harder than before.
The new man, who was excitedly bouncing on the balls of his feet, bore a striking resemblance to Marvin, green hair and all. “How'd you do it, huh?” he prodded eagerly, “And why didn’t ya tell us you got an assistant?”
“He didn’t. Ol’ Marvin here just can’t seem to keep it in his pants,” a grating, high-pitched voice said in your ear, and you whirled around to see a man resembling the first two with black gauges in his ears.
His smirk was sharp, as were his teeth, and you let out an involuntary shriek at the deep, crude gashes in his neck.
He cackled at the clear horror on your face. “Aw, don’t worry about these, girlie. Not all of Marvin’s tricks can go as well as this one, ya know?”
You paled, and his giggles only grew louder.
Marvin choked, horrified. “He’s just kidding, I swear!!”
The manic grin on the scarred man’s face did little to calm the frantic beating of your heart, but you chose to believe Marvin rather than dwell on the alternatives.
Swallowing, you tentatively asked, “Wh-who are you guys? More performers?”
The three men exchanged bemused looks, and Scars started laughing again.
Marvin hurriedly shushed him. “Not quite,” he explained. “These are my uh… brothers: Chase-“ A quick nod to the man now fiddling with a Nerf gun he’d pulled from the waistband of his jeans. “-and Anti.“ Another sinister smirk from Scars. “They come to watch my shows sometimes, that’s all.”
“And this one was totally rad!” Chase chimed in excitedly, “Way cooler than his usual stuff - especially that last part!”
Anti leered at you, grinning. “Yeah, Marvie sure can pick ‘em.”
Marvin bristled, moving to stand just a little closer to you. You didn’t notice, though, your curiosity piqued.
“Wait, what was ‘cooler’?”
Chase shrugged. “Normally his “big finish” is just making his rabbit disappear and reappear. Totally lame.”
You blinked. “I thought you had, like, an actual assistant waiting in the wings or something.”
Marvin flinched, rubbing the back of his neck. “No… Like I said, it was an accident.“
“Oh, so were these an accident too then?” You reached up to pointedly tug on your newest accessory, rubbing the silky material of one ear between your fingers.
Marvin’s face went crimson once more as he stammered, refusing to meet your gaze.
Anti’s giggles were back, seemingly unfazed by Marvin’s red-faced glare.
“He really likes bunnies.”
The emphasis behind his words didn’t go unnoticed. The silence was suffocating with Marvin looking anywhere but at you and Anti grinning like a cat who found the birdcage open.
Thankfully, Chase spoke up, blissfully unaware of the lingering tension. “So… you aren’t his new assistant?”
You blanked. “I-I don't think so?” you answered, unsure.
Chase cocked his head, crestfallen. “Why not? It looked like you had fun, and you guys were so cool.”
His reasoning was simple, but you realized that Chase was right nonetheless. As crazy as the show had been, the thrill of performing was something you could definitely get used to. Coupled with the chance to work (and maybe even grow closer) with Marvin? It was a no-brainer!
“I mean… I could be convinced to do another show or two.”
Marvin’s face lit up, and he turned to gape at you again. “R-really? You wouldn’t mind?”
“Sure, so long as you don’t mind training me a bit first.”
Marvin beamed. “Of course! I’ll teach you everything I know!”
“That’ll be a quick class,” Anti muttered snidely.
You frowned at the jab and took Marvin by the hand, who was still grinning brilliantly.
“Wanna go chat for a bit?” he asked, and you smiled, nodding.
His dark cape swung in a blur as he suddenly enveloped you in its folds. You heard Chase and Anti shout, then that cool, tingling feeling returned.
“Hold on!” Marvin instructed, and you wrenched your eyes shut as your body melted and shifted once more. It was much less jarring this time, and when you rematerialized again, you found yourself back at the picnic tables on top of the hill.
Marvin straightened his wind-tousled outfit, grinning.
“I will never get used to that,” you laughed breathlessly, finger combing your hair.
He chuckled, and you glanced over at the wooden tables with a sigh. “It’s too bad. The lunch I packed earlier has probably been trampled to pieces by now.”
Marvin grinned slyly. “Oh contrére!”
The Magician brought his palms together in a single, resounding clap, and as he pulled them apart, your picnic basket appeared, undamaged, and fell into his waiting grasp.
Wide-eyed, you gratefully received your basket and smiled. “I’m not even gonna ask how you did that.”
Marvin shrugged. “Yeah, that’s probably for the best.”
“Care to join me?” you offered, holding up the basket and gesturing to one of the tables. “After all, I think you still owe me some answers. Especially if I’m going to stick around and be your assistant.”
The ecstatic grin on Marvin’s face was adorable. “Absolutely! But, uh, do you mind if we make it a meal for three?”
At your puzzled expression, Marvin reached into his cape and once again pulled out Bunny.
“She’s not used to being upstaged; she might be a little grumpy with me.”
You laughed, no longer questioning the man’s strange abilities as you reached to stroke the velvety-soft rabbit behind the ears. “I think we can manage that.”
Another commission for the amazing @freckled-words!
From left to right it’s Bon Bon, Roxie, Blanche, Bonnie
I leaned heavily on a color theme for each of them based on their outfits (green for Bon Bon, a purple red for Roxie, light Yellow for Blanche and light pink for Bonnie!) that went even into the lining, shading, background and highlights!I added a lot of details to individualize them, even with the shine in their eyes! (Bon bon's being a heart, roxies's a sharp quick line, Blache has 3 per eye, and Bonnie has big round ones). Even their hair I made to look individualized, slightly different hues and Bon Bon’s hair is fluffy and fleek, Roxie’s is a bit sharper, Blanche’s is very smooth and Bonnie’s is very poofy.
Also pls ignore that all the arms seem to be different styles, im stil figuring out how i want to draw chibi arms cause it always ends up varying
lemme say: You're writing is endearing. I could tell you were having fun and enjoying the short plot with the story you did with Mare haunting Reader's home. I honestly would love to read more misadventures of Mare throwing tantrums as a haunting entity ~ I'm sorry to hear you're having a rough day. As for a cute ask....NateMare being scolded into helping with chores, and instead of taking out the garbage, he just sets it on fire and dumps it into the trash can outside. Cause petty asshole XD
Ah! Thank you so much! I would actually love to write more about Mare haunting the readers home. I was thinking of maybe doing a part two that's more fun and easy going as stuff settles down after the arrest.
Also I can definitely see Mare doing that with the trash, sometimes I wanna do that cause I'd rather do something else than take out the trash. I cam also see him mumbling to himself about dishes being piled up and being the only one made to actually go clean them.
Also, also I love the stuff you've written! You're incredible 🖤💜
{plz click to enlarge}
this was actually my first commission and I had a lot of fun doing it! thanks again @freckled-words for commissioning me and being such a nice client! :)
