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Organised by
RogerDodger
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400–750
Trixie Fools Penn and Teller
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen," Jonathan began. "And welcome to Fool Us. Tonight our guest pefomwes will try to bamboozle the most magnificent of stage magicians: Penn and Tellwa!
The camera panned to show the entrance of the titular stars: The loud and commanding Penn Jillette, who had managed to lose a significant amount of weight recently, and the ironically named Teller, who never said a thing.
The crowd applauded.
"Oh, you think you'wa excited now," Jonathan said. "But wait untiw you see our fuwst pefoma!"
A hush came over the audience.
"Pwease welcome, The Gweat and Powaful, Twixie!"
Her act began immediately, leaving the viewers no time to process the idea that she was, in fact, a very small horse, wearing a pointy hat and bedazzled cape.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie will require a volunteer!"
Several hands went up in the audience. Trixie pointed a hoof, and a young man quickly joined her on stage. Trixie skipped the pleasantries, like asking for a name.
"Are you familiar with these cards?" Trixie asked, fanning them out face up on the table between herself and the man to show a full deck.
"I think so," the man said.
"Good." Trixie shuffled the cards. "Then choose!" she ordered, and turned her vision away.
The man took a card. "Do I look?"
"Yes, and remember! For I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, shall retrieve it again, despite impossible odds!"
The card was shown to the camera: queen of hearts.
"Return it!" Trixie commanded.
The man placed it back into the array of cards.
Trixie turned back to the table, observing the cards before collapsing the fan back into a stacked deck.
"Trixie will now shuffle!"
Hooves flying fast, she remixed the deck. It was a thorough shuffle, and the camera cut twice to Teller, who was making quick, shifty-eyed looks at his partner, urging him to look for the sleight of hand (or hoof) in the fast movement.
Shuffle finished, Trixie split the deck in two, and placed a forehoof firmly on each.
"Choose!" she commanded. "Left, or right?"
"Ummm," the man said. "Left!"
Trixie tossed the pile under her left hoof over her shoulder, then split the remaining pile in two.
"Again!"
"I guess..." the man mumbled.
"Trixie does not have time for you to 'guess'! Choose!"
The man on stage gave a grimace. "Okay, right!"
The right was tossed, the remainder split again.
"Choose!"
"Left."
"Choose!"
"Left."
Now there were only two cards left, one under each hoof.
"Left!" the man eagerly shouted.
"Trixie does not think that is a wise choice. Do you want to choose the right?"
Being a classic misdirect, the man denied. "No. Left!"
"Very well."
Trixie tossed the card, and then, slowly, revealed the remaining card under her right hoof.
The shocked look on the man's face, and the wild cheers of the audience let everyone know it was the correct card, even before the camera could confirm it.
"Wondaful, simpwy wondaful!" Jonathan declared as he quickly joined Trixie at center stage. "I am cuwious, what made you select this particular illusion?"
"Well," Trixie said. "Trixie knows many tricks, but this was the first one she learned, so it has always been Trixie's illusion of choice!"
"Wewl," Jonathan said. "It certainly is mine now. But let's see what ouw expewets have to say!"
"Okay," Penn began. "This is card magic expertly done. Though we have seen several tricks like this before."
Trixie nodded.
"It's funny too that you say "illusion of choice" because your entire trick is about the volunteer choosing. But we think that choice is what's illusionary here.
Trixie looked nervous, but shrugged.
"So, if we were to do this trick, we might... Well, we might stack the deck a bit. A Xanatos deck if you will." Johnathan gave his usual "WTF?" shrug as Penn continued. "Perhaps... what's the word here, for a horse?" Teller whispered something. "Right, we might 'frog' the card during the splits. Maybe even take that queen-of-hearts monarchy and make it... make it a diarchy."
Jonathan looked at Trixie. "Do you think they know how you did it?"
"Yes," she said, dejected. "Trixie believes they—"
"I'm not finished." Penn said, cutting her off. "Yes, we know how you forced the card, but..." there was a dramatic pause as both Penn and Teller jogged to the stage, and stared closely at Trixie. "We have absolutely no idea how you managed to shuffle with hooves!"
The camera panned to show the entrance of the titular stars: The loud and commanding Penn Jillette, who had managed to lose a significant amount of weight recently, and the ironically named Teller, who never said a thing.
The crowd applauded.
"Oh, you think you'wa excited now," Jonathan said. "But wait untiw you see our fuwst pefoma!"
A hush came over the audience.
"Pwease welcome, The Gweat and Powaful, Twixie!"
Her act began immediately, leaving the viewers no time to process the idea that she was, in fact, a very small horse, wearing a pointy hat and bedazzled cape.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie will require a volunteer!"
Several hands went up in the audience. Trixie pointed a hoof, and a young man quickly joined her on stage. Trixie skipped the pleasantries, like asking for a name.
"Are you familiar with these cards?" Trixie asked, fanning them out face up on the table between herself and the man to show a full deck.
"I think so," the man said.
"Good." Trixie shuffled the cards. "Then choose!" she ordered, and turned her vision away.
The man took a card. "Do I look?"
"Yes, and remember! For I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, shall retrieve it again, despite impossible odds!"
The card was shown to the camera: queen of hearts.
"Return it!" Trixie commanded.
The man placed it back into the array of cards.
Trixie turned back to the table, observing the cards before collapsing the fan back into a stacked deck.
"Trixie will now shuffle!"
Hooves flying fast, she remixed the deck. It was a thorough shuffle, and the camera cut twice to Teller, who was making quick, shifty-eyed looks at his partner, urging him to look for the sleight of hand (or hoof) in the fast movement.
Shuffle finished, Trixie split the deck in two, and placed a forehoof firmly on each.
"Choose!" she commanded. "Left, or right?"
"Ummm," the man said. "Left!"
Trixie tossed the pile under her left hoof over her shoulder, then split the remaining pile in two.
"Again!"
"I guess..." the man mumbled.
"Trixie does not have time for you to 'guess'! Choose!"
The man on stage gave a grimace. "Okay, right!"
The right was tossed, the remainder split again.
"Choose!"
"Left."
"Choose!"
"Left."
Now there were only two cards left, one under each hoof.
"Left!" the man eagerly shouted.
"Trixie does not think that is a wise choice. Do you want to choose the right?"
Being a classic misdirect, the man denied. "No. Left!"
"Very well."
Trixie tossed the card, and then, slowly, revealed the remaining card under her right hoof.
The shocked look on the man's face, and the wild cheers of the audience let everyone know it was the correct card, even before the camera could confirm it.
"Wondaful, simpwy wondaful!" Jonathan declared as he quickly joined Trixie at center stage. "I am cuwious, what made you select this particular illusion?"
"Well," Trixie said. "Trixie knows many tricks, but this was the first one she learned, so it has always been Trixie's illusion of choice!"
"Wewl," Jonathan said. "It certainly is mine now. But let's see what ouw expewets have to say!"
"Okay," Penn began. "This is card magic expertly done. Though we have seen several tricks like this before."
Trixie nodded.
"It's funny too that you say "illusion of choice" because your entire trick is about the volunteer choosing. But we think that choice is what's illusionary here.
Trixie looked nervous, but shrugged.
"So, if we were to do this trick, we might... Well, we might stack the deck a bit. A Xanatos deck if you will." Johnathan gave his usual "WTF?" shrug as Penn continued. "Perhaps... what's the word here, for a horse?" Teller whispered something. "Right, we might 'frog' the card during the splits. Maybe even take that queen-of-hearts monarchy and make it... make it a diarchy."
Jonathan looked at Trixie. "Do you think they know how you did it?"
"Yes," she said, dejected. "Trixie believes they—"
"I'm not finished." Penn said, cutting her off. "Yes, we know how you forced the card, but..." there was a dramatic pause as both Penn and Teller jogged to the stage, and stared closely at Trixie. "We have absolutely no idea how you managed to shuffle with hooves!"