#the parallels between his and edwin's expressed feelings about each other

[homoquartz]

the thing is that although charles doesn't say it and perhaps doesn't even know it, he could not be more obviously in love if he tried. like if they made it any clearer, he'd have cartoon hearts like niko.

[meshugana1]

New suggestion

A hypnotist makes two best friends (of the same age) think they’re mother and daughter. One loses 7 years, and the other gains 14

Can do, will do.

   The first thing Patty and Valerie noticed was the scent of stall popcorn that hung in the air. The brightly colored lights and the shouting of food vendors was a delightfully nostalgic addiction. Patty was the first to recall that the pair met at an event much like this one. It was a small county carnival, barely more than a farmers market with a few rides around. Patty clung to her mother's skirt, confused and intimidated by the smells and sounds of the big crowd until a bubbly girl with cotton candy all over her face ran up and said: “Hi I’m Vally, want some?” They were inseparable after that. Fate even seemed on their side. It turned out they lived on the same street, had the same school and thankfully had many similar interests. There were countless slumber parties and little adventures around the town. They even managed to remain int he same schools all the way into college. But all things, eventually, must come to an end.

   “So,” Patty said, “I hear that the arts program in California is pretty good. I’m sure you’ll do wonderful there.” Valerie nodded, she was excited to be pursuing her dream at long last. Sculpting wasn’t exactly the coolest art form but it brought her a zen-like peace. “Yay, it’s gonna be great. And what about you? I heard that the trade program you’re in is pretty fast-tracked,” Valerie said. “Yeah, they already have us making chesterfields,” Patty said trying to sound enthused for herself. She came from a long line of trade workers and it was only natural that she followed in their footsteps, but a big piece of her wasn’t in it. It was going with her friend to California to be a struggling artist.

   Patty looked at her friend, a long look trying to memorize the best things about her. There were thousands of pictures of the two together but Patty never quite felt that a picture really captured a person. A slight breeze rustled Valerie’s strawberry blond hair. Her skin had a golden tinge to it, she hated being stuck indoors and always spent her free time chipping away at her next masterpiece in the sun. It wasn’t a cool evening so she had worn a plain looking denim skirt that displayed her legs like so many of her sculptures. Her frame was thicker than the average twenty-one-year-olds, due to her constant stonework the past few years. Her arms were laced with definite muscle.

   As was common among great friends their thinking often paralleled the others and Valerie was memorizing the face of her beautiful friend. Patty’s hair was shorter and brown, but that didn’t stop it from having an incredible shine even in a dim room. She wore a much simpler outfit than Valerie, just yoga pants and a boyfriend sweater. Patty never did quite shake that shy modesty she had as a child but over the years her time with Valerie mad things easier. Patty had a much slimmer build than her friend but only where the muscle was concerned. The sweater was long enough to conceal most of the young woman body, but even still the outline of her curves was hard to miss. Her breasts were large but not distractingly so as was the case with many women in her family, but what didn’t make it up top found its way to her bottom with a vengeance. Even the sweater did little to hide the nubile, round butt of the young carpenter. It was not known to anyone, but if ever Valerie sculpted a woman she used Patty as her mental model.

   The two walked down the center of the carnival, neither one saying it but both knowing that this was the last hurrah of their friendship for some time. Valerie first saw the signpost over the tent. “Hey Patty, check that out,” Valerie said, “Edwin the Incredible, master of mesmerization and prestidigitation, sound’s kinda fun. We should check it out. When they entered the tent they were greeted by a very young man, no more than eighteen, in an ill-fitting top hat and cape. “Oh! Uh, welcome to the…uh, the den of mystery! I am the Incredible Edwin! Master of the mystic arts!” It was not a well-delivered introduction, and the girls could've sworn that you could hear a cricket inside the empty tent. The pair glanced at each other, unsure of their next move. Valerie spoke up first, “I thought it was Edwin the Incredible?” The young man’s shoulders visibly slumped, “Sorry about that, I’m not really him I’m just the owner's kid. I guess the old guy had a heart attack and had to go to the hospital so I’m filling in, as best I can,” the young man said, “but I guess you can tell I’m not that good.” The maternal instinct was strong in Valerie and she swooped in to comfort the young man. “Hey, it’s your first day right? Why don’t you show us all your tricks and then we can talk you up to other people? You’ll have a big crowd before you know it.”

   It was the usual bag of tricks. The young man opened with some card tricks, inexperienced though he was. He connected three seemingly solid rings, he sawed a woman in half which is much less impressive when the woman is a dummy, he disappeared and reappeared several times, and with each trick, his confidence seemed to grow. “All right, Ladies. Now, Edwin the Incredible will perform incredible feats of hypnosis!” he said. He drew from his left pocket a long golden chain and dangling from its end was an ornate pocket watch. It was unlike any watch that the girls had seen. It had ornate pattern engraved in silver along its surface and the tick-tock of the arms was loud enough to fill the tent. “Gaze into the face of this pocket watch and come under my power!” he said with more confidence than the two thought was possible.

   A slight motion and the pocket watch began to sway. Both of the girls played along and focused their attention on the prop. Neither of them believed in hypnosis but it was very easy to get lost in the intricate patterns of the watches silver inlays. Even on the clocks white face, they could make out light patterns. It was actually jarring for the two when they heard a deafening snap. “Welcome back ladies, I believe you’ll find that you are now totally within my power. Now, Ms. Patty, why don’t you start hopping up and down like a bunny for us?” he said snapping his fingers. It wasn’t an outrageous request so Patty obliged and began hopping. Her arms were held in front of her with her wrists high and her fingers pointed down. Each bounce sent her chest wild, but it was safely hidden inside her sweater. “And you Ms. Valerie, why don’t you start acting like a chicken?” he said again snapping his fingers. Valerie wanted to giggle at the classic hypnosis move but also didn’t want to embarrass him. She tucked her arms behind her back and bent forward, bobbing her head every which way and clucking periodically as she mimed searching for grain. The young man looked at his helpful audience and sighed relieved, if only these girls could work as plants in the audience then I’d be all set, he thought.

   “Thanks for helping me, this has been huge. But the old guy usually ended on a kind of weird twist, so don’t feel like you have to do it. I’m just gonna practice the delivery. Hm, hm. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I will…um, I’ll bend time itself!” he said throwing his arms out and trying to add gravitas to his voice. “Patty,” he said. This time he held the watch and swung it in front of her, “When I snap my fingers you will have aged into a beautiful, sexy, thirty-five-year-old MILF on the prowl for a new man!” He then turned to Valerie, “And what is a mother without a child? Valerie, when I snap my fingers you will age backward, and become a shy young girl of fourteen.” He took a step back and raised his empty hand to the sky, then with a deft motion snapped his fingers. “And after a bit I’d change you two back, sorry if it was a little risqué but dad says you should always…” he said. He stopped when he looked at the glassy-eyed expression on the young women faces.

   Patty had heard of a person’s life flashing before their eyes but she hadn’t experienced it until now. It was like someone had put her on fast forward. She saw her and Valerie separating, her apprenticeship at her families shop, her meeting her husband, her daughters birth, her divorce, she experienced everything in the blink of an eye. It was the opposite for Valerie. Her entire life seemed to unravel and change in an instant, she lost the last few years of college, her sculpting history, all the boyfriends she had, gone. Then another history altogether took root.

   The two twenty-one-year-olds came out of their trances simultaneously. Patty regained control of herself first. Her body language was totally different, she moved her hips more slowly and she had a more relaxed posture about her. Her eyes set on the young man before her in a predatory gaze. “So,” she said as she rolled her hips toward him, “you said your daddy owns this place huh? That means you probably come from a rich family, right?” She grabbed the young man’s shoulders as a confused blush overtook him. “I really do love a family man,” she said biting her bottom lip as she moved in closer and closer. “Ugh, Mom! Would you please not embarrass me for like, a minute? I’m gonna be a freshman this year, I can’t have my mom hitting on guys my age, it’s gross!” Valerie said. Her mom was so embarrassing, but truth be told she did admire her mom's brazen confidence. “Oh, I see, sweetie. Well don’t worry, I’m sure this young man would be happy to go out with you instead,” Patty said. She knew she could be a little over the top but she did love it when her shy little girl showed an interest in the opposite sex, she had so much she could teach her. “M…Mom!” Valerie said with crimson cheeks, “Jeez, it’s not…I mean I…why are you so embarrassing?!”

   The young man looked back and forth between the young women. They had to just be acting, they couldn’t really have…Then it came to him. The watch. The old guy had taken his watch with him, so he had to get a replacement for the show. He got this one from this weird lady at a hole in the wall shop. She said he needed to be careful with it, and never to look at its face. It was crazy, but what else could explain this. Before he could work out a way to fix these two poor girls, Patty’s big cumbersome bottom worker against her. She turned around to better address her little girl and her bottom pushed the young frazzled man. His foot tripped on a loose bit of paper that had floated into the tent and he went crashing to the ground.

   The only noise he heard was a loud crunch. He felt Patty’s arms around him as she helped him up, apologizing for her clumsy butt. On the ground was the watch, it was crushed and there was glass everywhere. Its hands were bent out of shape. He didn’t know much about watches but it didn’t look fixable. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m just so darn clumsy. Why don’t I give you my number? Then you can call and I can pay you back, somehow.” Patty said. “Mooom? Let’s go, this place is boring,” Valerie said. “Well kids are a-callin', I’ll see you later maybe?” Patty said as she left the tent. The young man followed after the two, unsure of how he could help them. He saw them walking away. Patty had removed her sweater, her bosom on display in a white tank top and Valerie following behind her moaning and asking her new mother not to embarrass her more.

The end. Hope Y’all like it!