savetheearth | First trick: Video

[ Alexander Mercure is staring at his phone as if it were an unwanted kitten in his living room, coughing up hairballs made of pure gold. ]

Ah… Haha….

[ An instant later, his lips are parted in a dazzling smile, revealing his whitened teeth, which show even brighter against his made-up face. He’s clad in a top hat, white tie and tails, every inch covered in sequins. From the silver dust on his cheekbones to the gold fringe on his sleeves, he glitters. ]

Goodness, what a surpriiiiise! Why, here I’ve been reading about all of you amazing people, only to find myself one of your number. The “numbers club,” how adorable. That means something a little different here in Las Vegas, haha! Anyway, anyway! I suppose I ought to introduce myself. I’m Alexander Mercure. But my friends call me…

[ DRAMATIC PAUSE ]

Alexander… the Great!

[ A beat, wherein he looks very very serious — and then collapses all over in giggles. ]

Ahahhaha, forgive me. That’s the name of my show. It’s at the Flamingo. Nightly at nine and twice on Sundays. I’ve heard that some of you are coming to visit our fair city, so I’d like to extend an invitation to each and every one of you. Be sure to stop backstage afterwards, I’d loooove to meet all of you wonderful heroes!

[ Everything about this screams setup, from the "superpowered" girl in his show (ordinary parlour tricks), to the numbers in his head (third-rate mentalism), to this bizarre network. It's elaborate, but it's obviously just a marketing ploy, if one wants to be generous; or a confidence scheme, if one doesn't.

Well! If anybody thinks they're going to fool Alexander the Great, they've got another thing coming. Already he's turning the tables on these people — whoever they are — and using their fancy network to pimp his show.

He starts to wave goodbye — but hesitates, putting his (sequined) white-gloved fingers to his lips. ]

Aaaaaah, but I’ve noted that some of you are rather young. No kiddies at the evening shows, sorry about that. Twenty-one and older, if you please. [ wink wink ] Little angels can come to the Sunday matinee.

[ Wiggling his sparkling fingers: ]

Bye byeeeeeeeee!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He gazes sidelong at the little LIMELIGHT-STEALING POLE DANCER. ]

That's a bit much, coming from yooooou, don't you think?

[ Her brows furrow in temporary confusion, then smooth out. She puts a hand on her hip. ]

I don't pretend to be a flamboyant ham. [ She places her hand out, palm up and fingers spread. ] What you see is what you get.

Hm, well.

[ He glances at her hand and —

does a double-take, frowns, and reaches for the thin air above her palm. He plucks at something invisible — which transforms (apparently!) into a poker chip, which he holds up between his fingers. It's the simplest sleight-of-hand but it's smoothly done. ]

I don't know about thaaat. Personally, I think you're quite the little performer.

[ Angeline may be a brat, but she's still relatively new to magic tricks, so there's definitely some surprise crossing her face when Alexander plucks the poker chip out of thin air.

Her eyes travel up to his face curiously. ]

Is that a regular magic trick or an actual magic trick you got from an Echo?

Ha! Ha! Ha!

[ He twirls the chip between his fingers and then holds up his hand. It's gone. ]

Real magic, now where's the fun in thaaat? What makes a magic show entertaining is that everybody knows everything is a trick, everybody knows I don't have any supernatural powers — yet they still can't figure out how my illusions are done.

In fact, it's considered very poor form for a magician to suggest that anything he does is actually magical. It's why we call ourselves illusionists, nowadays, to separate ourselves from that sort of charlatan.

[ He'll try to punctuate those last few words with a poke to her forehead. ]

[ Her gaze strays to the chip's disappearing act, but end up on Alexander again. She leans backwards just enough to avoid being poked.

Maintaining that position, she stares at him for another second or two before saying, ] So you're saying you don't want actual magic?

What I'm saying...

[ He draws back from the failed poke, the poker chip once more between his fingers. ]

...is that actual magic doesn't exist.

[ She stares at him.

She straightens out her posture.

She still stares at him. ]

Are you serious?

[ Somehow, it doesn't sound like she's asking about the validity of his statement, but rather the integrity of his claim. ]

Of course I aaaaaaam~!

I mean, if magic were real, it would be terribly irresponsible, don't you think, to use it for the purposes of frivolous entertainment.

[ Placing her hand on the costume rack to maintain her balance (because there is now a costume rack in the scene), Angeline bends down to remove one of her shoes. Then she hooks her thumb on the inside of her glittery thigh-high stockings and shimmies it off her leg, speaking as she works. ]

There's nothing irresponsible about making money. Look. [ The stocking in her hand glows white, and then 'tis no longer a glittery stocking, but a katana that glows with a whitish-blue hue. ]

See? Real magic.

Ha! Ha! Ha!

[ He shakes his head, waving her off. ]

So what? You saw me turn handkerchiefs into doves, just now. That's a good trick, but it's hardly enough to convince me of ~real magic~.

[ Her lips part and her eyes narrow at him in a squinty look so judging it's a wonder he isn't crushed by the weight of it. His doubt is legitimate, especially since he's in the illusionist business, but Angeline is so grounded in her point of view that she can't fathom his.

After a moment, she flicks her wrist. The katana turns back into a glittery stocking. She turns, judgey look fading away as she starts walking out of the area. ]

Well, whatever. You'll see soon enough.

[ All of that judging begs for a response, so he calls after her: ]

....but if you can turn your panties into a machine gun, I'll admit to being impressed.

First trick: Video

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