The Hypno-Circus Audition (Starwell's World: Bonus Story!)

The trailer the Starview Circus Trope lived in was very cramped and small, with there being barely any room. Tho Sugarpop didn’t mind as she was just being her normal crazy self as Hatterton & Patcho chatted about possibly getting a new act. “!cigam rof evarc sdworc ,sey. neve fi gnilleps era ew ekil doog sselnops! desopsid er'ew.” (“We’re disposed! Spineless good for nothing’s like we are! Yes, our crowds crave magic….”)

Patcho sat and thought before saying, “What if we got Hexie to join? She seems like she would do pretty good with a vanishing act, eh fellas?” Patcho playfully elbowed Hatteron as he thought about it. 

“!emoh ta flesreh peek reven nac ohw eno eht si ehs .hsawtims'kciT .krow dluoc siht ...seY” ("Wander-flame she is... never nesting, always jesting. A tricksmith’s curse. Yes... this could burn bright.") Hatterton said as he grinned evilly and passed Patcho a book. 

“Hatterton. What is this?” Patcho said as he looked at the book with a hypnotic swirl on it. !evitavonni si ti, niap ro gnillorcs nohtyP, ssorc a fo peed eht morf emacecnoC ("Conceived from the depths of a cross, Python scrolling or pain — it is innovative!") Hatterton said as he smiled at Patcho.

Patcho flipped it open — the title reads: “The Spiral Gaze: Stage Hypnosis for the Emotionally Unprepared”. “Are you sure about this, Hatterton? What if it goes wrong?” Patcho sounded unsure.

“!skrow ti fi yawyna s'tahT .gnorw og ot gniog si gnihton ,oN” ("No, nothing is going to go wrong. That's why it works!") said Hatterton with a calm grin. 

Patcho looked at the book with uncertainty before being snapped out of his thoughts by Sugarpop going “Oooh! Is that a swirly twirly thought sucker book? I love those!” 

“Sugarpop. This isn’t a toy. It’s… advanced stagecraft. Maybe even real.” Patcho said.

Sugarpop simply blinked. “Oh, even better!” She said.

That night. The big top in the circus was dressed up for the occasion, tho Patcho was still feeling unsure about taking one of his fellow toons' free wills away as he painted the hypnotic spiral on the back of the tent’s wall, as Hatterton lit a single candle, followed by Hexie arriving.

“You guys… said you need someone to audition tonight?” Hexie asked. 

Hatterton grinned. “!timA .tixe gnilruwt A .ecnartne gnilrws A .mihW gnihsi naV eht eb ll’uoy ,thginoT” (Tonight, you’ll be the Vanishing Whim. A swirling entrance. A twirling exit. A fit!)

Patcho cleared his throat as Hexie looked confused.

“Just stare at the spiral, Hexie. Let your thoughts….drift.”

The Spiral started to spin without anyone touching it, to everyone's amazement. Hexie started to drool slightly as she was unable to break her gaze from the spiral.

“I-Is this part of the act?” Hexie asked as one of her eyes started to swirl. 

“.won ti sI” (“It is now.”) said Hatterton as he grinned widely. And a poof of pink smoke then filled the tent, and when the smoke faded. Hexie was gone.

“Did it…work too well?” Patcho asked as Hexie flew back in. Her eyes glazed over, or so it seemed. 

The book suddenly vanished out of Patcho’s hands, leaving him shocked. “What the?!” Patcho looked up at Hexie, who was looking very smug. 

“Looking for this?” Hexie said, before she magicked the book away to who knows where. “Oh, Patcho. I was never hypnotized.” Hexie said as she smirked smugly. 

“.nwod ti dehsinav tsuj ohw s’tahT !gnikam-er si ohw ,lamronc a ton s’eH” (“That’s the one who vanished! She’s not a normal act—she’s rewriting the rules!”) Hatterton said nervously. 

Hexie winked at Patcho before floating backwards into the spiral, causing it to fold in on itself before vanishing completely. 

“.sredrow gnorts fo eltsac dnim eht ni sI” (“True magic lives in the strong words of the mind.”) Hatterton said as he looked at Patcho & Sugarpop, with pure confusion at what just happened.