105 » to sunswept poolside riches

[ironwind]

[The apartment has felt strangely empty since Lumine left it. At first, Aether hadn't tried to change much of anything — had just gone on taking classes and playing video games as usual — but his solitary pile of dishes had felt too lonely to get to at the end of every day, and the room where Lumine's things used to be was just laying dormant, unused.

Some creativity came into play when he was trying to figure out what to do with it.

He didn't do anything to it that would be difficult to undo later — she's coming back, after all, in a few years if not a few months — but he turned his sister's room into a recording studio of sorts: hung up some fairy lights, set up several types of microphones, fixed a ring light behind the main camera, invested in a green screen for the occasional more elaborate production...

...And, okay, maybe his little hobby has gone a bit further than just something to pass the time with. Aether's ASMR channel is fairly successful, though, especially because of his soft, breathy voice and androgynous good looks. (Sure, good looks and good content aren't correlated, but they get people to click his thumbnails, and isn't that half the battle?) He didn't really intend to monetize the channel at first, beyond the usual very minimal advertisements, but "Can I donate to the channel?" became a common enough request that he opened up a tip jar... and then the tip jar only led to more problems for him, because those who donated would usually ask, "When are you going to do a live stream?"

Truthfully, Aether doesn't quite like the idea of being so available to his fans, but who is he to turn away the needs of an adoring public? And so, for the first time, he sits down to do his first livestream with an open chat function. Clad in a simple dark sweater that makes him look just slightly smaller than he is, cast against Lumine's periwinkle blue walls and the fairy lights he draped along the back wall, Aether makes a welcome sight for viewers seeing some relaxation in the early evening. (An appropriate time for a livestream might have been late at night around 24:00 in the morning, but Aether hadn't liked the idea of staying up all night; it's only 20:00 now.) He leans close toward one microphone, smiling as he lowers his voice to a whisper.]

Good evening...

[The uniquely breathy rasp of his voice tickles in a welcome way. He moves to the other microphone, whispering into the "right ear" of his audience.]

Is the sound working okay?

Comments

[500mora]

[ It's become a ritual, by now.

Every evening, Dainsleif pours himself a glass of wine, the evening's first. He takes a seat at his desk, feet flat on the floor, hands aligned, curled closed near the desk's edge. At five to eight, he stirs, letting the opened browser window fill his laptop's screen with a click of the mouse. At eight o'clock, another click starts another video uploaded to the channel that caught his eye — and ears — when all of this began.

He hasn't subscribed, only contributing to the channel's donations, in part to help rid it of even the few advertisements detracting from the content.

He has kept this up, night after night, for just over a month, working his way through older videos — new ones come along once a week. Soon, he'll reach the very last one, the very first upload.

It has become a ritual, but tonight strays from the same routine somewhat.

The filled glass in its corner of the desk is still untouched. At five to eight, the livestream displays nothing but a message for the waiting viewers, the rapidly-scrolling chat window beside it. In his chair, Dainsleif sits motionless, so still that he barely blinks.

And then, at eight o'clock, that already-familiar face appears onscreen. The voice greeting its audience is no less familiar, after a month, and the whispered words trickle down the length of Dainsleif's spine. The sensation caresses his scalp, the back of his neck, leaving his nerves tingling, anticipating more. Very slightly, the tips of his fingers twitch against the desk's surface.

In quick succession, the many fans watching fire off their comments, eager to engage with their favorite content creator in real time, encouraging him to keep going, full of compliments for him, from his voice to his looks. Some go so far as to send him declarations of love. An announcement pops up, and another — donations. ]

[ironwind]

[Aether's no celebrity, nothing even close to that, but his fans greet him like he is one, and it'd be a lie to say that he doesn't feel a little rush of pleasure to see it. He can't help but laugh (quietly, of course) when he sees the flood of comments and donations come in for absolutely no reason at all. What has he done to amass such a dedicated fanbase? He's only just started the stream!]

carmendei: aether i love youuuu
ShineTrue: The sound seems fine.
pop☆star: let the show begin!!!
xq109: How fare you, my liege?
frostblade: you're cute as ever. the sweater is a good look on you, aether.
Outrider!: I'm sooo sleepy, but I can't sleep... zZzzzZ. help me, aetherASMR~
► Morax has donated 500 Mora.
ttglia: wtf!! I wanted the first superchat
► ttglia has donated 1000 Mora.
ShineTrue: Oh, is this what we're doing tonight?
► ShineTrue has donated —

[The man being showered with money in question can't read any longer. He covers his face with his hands, chortling silently as he shakes his head.]

What are you all throwing money at me for? [Aether laughs again, but the sound is addictively pleasant, gorgeously resonant yet laced with breathy affection.] I haven't even started doing any triggers yet!

[Well, his whisper alone prompts pleasant tingles from much of his userbase, and he's well aware of that, but still, he doesn't need to be given money just for existing. Shaking his head, Aether taps on one of his microphones as he watches the viewer count jump.]

I'll just start with personalized greetings for all of my patrons...

[Half-breathed, and unintentionally seductive. He switches over to his second mic for a "left ear" whisper.]

Not that I don't also love the rest of you. But if I had to read everybody's name, I'd be here for quite a while, and I have some other treats in store. So, let's see...

I'm so glad you could join me for this impromptu livestream... That's for Morax, Tartaglia, Shine True, Frostblade, and...

[One of his patrons is online in the audience but hasn't said anything yet. Hm. How strange.]

Dainsleif. I think that's everyone.

[500mora]

[ The chat quickly grows irritating, distracting like the buzzing of persistent background noise, despite the fact that Aether's voice is the only sound to be heard. Whoever the other viewers are, regular patrons or newcomers, their presence is nothing but a predictable disruption. Dainsleif's hand moves, closing around the mouse for an instant, claw-like, and the chat's clutter ceases to exist, the pane hidden from view. Only Aether's figure remains on the screen. The peace of his soothing whisper is restored.

Dainsleif must strike him as odd somehow, among a list of online handles such as Frostblade and Shine True, if the way he pauses before he utters the name is any indication.

It doesn't matter. No, none of the names murmured count as triggers, but even so, as Aether addresses his patrons, finishing with Dainsleif, each syllable seems breathed into his ears, as if the speaker were in the room with him, leaning close, his lips near brushing against the shell of one ear, then the other, in place of the headphones cradling them in sound. It's a first taste of more to come. It's enough to spark a fresh shiver, sending it sliding downward from the crown of Dainsleif's head, between his shoulder blades.

His eyes rest on Aether's features, still tracing the similarities he has noted in every video. Of course, for all that they resemble each other, Aether's mannerisms distinguish him from his sister.

Could she be watching?

The minutes pass — without a doubt, everyone is awaiting the treats in store.

Dainsleif stirs again, now to donate 500 Mora of his own. ]

[ironwind]

► ShineTrue has donated 1500 Mora.
pop☆star: keep it going, keep it going~
✿Chivalry: But he said to stop...
ttglia: so we should continue!
frostblade: now, now. aether's not a big fan of dubcon... he told me so himself.
ShineTrue: Stop.
carmendei: omg~~ there are children in this chat~~
► Dainsleif has donated 500 Mora.
ttglia: aw, combo breaker
Outrider!: all of you are wayyy too hyped for an ASMR stream lol
carmendei: the chaos is what makes it fun!

[Dainsleif may not be watching the chat box, but it goes on in its babbling, bubbly way regardless. (He's in good company; Morax hasn't said anything either, which suggests he's also more focused on Aether's voice and face than the others on the stream.) Aether laughs again in response to something someone's said — he's actually not as off-put by sexual remarks as some of his fans think, though he tries not to encourage or acknowledge them — but the sound is soothing, deliciously so. Aether's giggle itself might be a trigger for some of his fans, really.]

You're all too kind. But like I've said a thousand times before, I'm not doing this for money.

[If he keeps responding to the chat, they'll never get into the treats he's planned, so Aether moves swiftly onward, his long lashes fanning out against his cheeks as he rummages through his desk. They're not identical by any means, obviously, but he does look a fair bit like Lumine at certain angles, especially now, when the catlike angles of his eyes are obscured by his lashes.]

I like helping you all relax, and... I found something that seemed fun for tonight...

[What he finally pulls out is a small tub of Slime Concentrate — inexpensive, multipurpose, and not too difficult to find at any grocery store. The raw stuff isn't safe to touch, but in a purified, processed form, it can be used for anything from lip gloss to hand lotion. Aether carefully unscrews the lid — though that in itself makes a satisfying scraping sound, so he pauses and repeats the motion a few times. Screw, unscrew. Loosen, tighten.]

Slime Concentrate.

[He sets the lid aside, then carefully plunges his fingers into the gelatinous mess; it squelches with a satisfying wet pop.]

Do you guys like slime noises? [He squeezes, squishes, presses, teases —] I know some people like it more foamy, but I like this... wet consistency...

[500mora]

[ If Aether's sister is watching — if she will make an appearance at all, speaking up — keeping the chat window hidden is not conducive to confirming her presence among the channel's viewers. Dainsleif knows this; a part of him is snagged on the thought, but news of her is no longer his only reason for browsing her brother's channel, taking in every minute of every video. He resolves to endure the chatter soon enough. For now, however, certain that he hasn't missed anything important thus far, he focuses on the stream itself, allowing the sounds to draw him in deeper and deeper.

His gaze tracks Aether's hands. Slime noises, he discovers, are indeed not unpleasant. Not when the soft squelching of the slime concentrate makes for an oddly appealing accompaniment to Aether's remarks.

(The sight of Aether's glossy fingers has probably invited another round of suggestive comments, on the heels of the opening he leaves.)

Dainsleif blinks once, slowly, catlike. In lieu of typing out an answer to join any others offered in response to Aether's question, he makes a second donation, despite Aether's efforts to rein in his viewers' apparent readiness to heap money upon him: another 500 Mora. ]

[ironwind]

[What are his fans in the chatbox saying now? Dainsleif won't know, so long as the window is minimized, but they must have said something funny, given that Aether laughs again, and shakes his head with bashful chagrin. He flutters his wet fingers in front of the camera, for the sound of skin on skin, then returns to his meticulous squishing of the slime in the jar, producing pleasant wet popping and squelching sounds.]

I'm actually really fond of massage videos with oil sounds like these... although I wouldn't use slime to give someone a massage. I don't get massages all that often, either...

[His expression takes on a slightly dreamy air as he pops the viscous slime out of its container, squishing and stretching and reshaping it for the camera to focus on. Though some of his viewers might complain — it takes his pretty face out of focus, after all.]

My sister used to give me scalp massages if I'd had a really long day. But it's been a while since she moved out.

[500mora]

[ The movement of Aether's fingers is mesmerizing as they mold the slime between them, and it undoubtedly invites his audience to picture the massages that he describes like a series of confessions. They are pretty fingers, too — yes, many of his many fans must imagine themselves on the receiving end, seated before Aether for those pretty fingers to rub slow circles across their scalp and shoulders. Some might have volunteered to take over in his sister's stead, genuinely hopeful.

By the sound of his reminiscing, she isn't keeping him company from afar tonight.

Still, mere mention of her pulls Dainsleif out of relaxation, and he sits up straight, alert, like surfacing from the waters of a tranquil lake now disturbed. He breathes (another disruption, grating to his own ears). He gazes, unblinking, at Aether's fingers.

The images form in his mind: Lumine's hands stroking her brother's hair. Aether returning the favor.

Finally, giving in, Dainsleif turns to the chat window — sure enough, several viewers have left their comments on the topic at hand, ranging from flirting to sympathy. Some must have taken the personal tangent for a moment of vulnerability, an admission of loneliness.

Dainsleif's fingers dart across the keyboard at last, typing out his message to add in hopes of coaxing more from Aether: ]

How long have the two of you been apart?

[ How long is a while? ]

[ironwind]

[Aether has some other comments to get to before he addresses Dainsleif's. He laughs at a few, shakes his head ruefully; he whispers something enticing, then gently chides his other fans for being thirsty, all to maintain the illusion of being virginal yet open to advance. It's a delicate dance between those who are here for flirtatious content and those who aren't, but Aether knows by now how to play the game by both ends, and he does it with masterful aplomb.

Dainsleif's question gives him pause. He raises one brow, just barely; he pauses for a long moment while his fingers scoop and scrape at the squelchy bit of slime in the jar, trying to guess at what this person might be interested in hearing. It's hard to say. Dainsleif is a longtime subscriber, but — he realizes suddenly — he knows almost nothing about the man, unlike with Zhongli and Diluc and Childe and Kaeya, all of whom he knows beyond their screennames. How odd... but it's easy enough to take the question at face value and plow forward.]

How long? Mmm... It hasn't been too long, but it's been long enough...

[Long enough for him to start doing this, at least. Long enough for him to take over her room because he figured she wouldn't be back to use it for a while.]

A little less than a year, I think? Nine months, I'd say. It's felt so much longer, though.

[He changes his tack, suddenly curious; he'll take on a new line of inquiry. It shouldn't be too offensive for Aether to give certain fans particular attention, especially since it's one of his channel policies that he may interact with paid subscribers more often than regular viewers. How fortunate, then, that Dainsleif's given him quite a bit of money over the last few months.]

Dainsleif, you're such an odd subscriber... [Dipping down so that he's whispering into the right mic, and therefore Dainsleif's left "ear," he continues:] You always send money and ask me questions, but you never ask for anything in particular.

[His golden eyes flick upward, sure to make contact with the lens of his camera, pupils constricted from the harsh ring light, such that he looks like a cat that's suddenly spotted prey.]

You know I take requests, right?

[500mora]

[ A little less than a year will soon turn into a year. Nine months of separation are a long time, and Aether says as much himself. He seems unwilling to speak of it at length — he must feel his sister's absence keenly, surrounded by everything to remind him that they won't see each other in person for a while. It's too much to share more than a glimpse with his viewers, Dainsleif surmises.

In any case, the siblings surely stay in touch. The wonders of technology make that easy, as long as neither party is avoiding the other.

Lumine is well. (A safe assumption — Aether wouldn't be here otherwise.)

And Dainsleif can content himself with that, for the time being, and his senses are transfixed by Aether's invitation — or is it a challenge? — and he meets Aether's intent gaze on the screen, though faceless himself, an invisible stranger beyond each 500 Mora donation, beyond the odd questions. Aether's whispering echoes pleasurably in his ears. ]

Each of my questions is a request.

[ Tell me about yourself. Tell me about Lumine. ]

But if you agree to more, I'd like to hear a story.

[ Aether's audience evidently finds the unfolding exchange unusual, amusing. Some chime in to ask for a bedtime story themselves — and for Aether to stop by and tuck them in after that. ]

[ironwind]

[The question makes Aether laugh good-naturedly as his eyes flick between his comment box to his camera. The strangely rueful smile he directs into the lens would surely make anybody with even the slightest bit of interest in him melt, but it isn't actually the content creator's intention to seduce his audience right now — he's only laughing because of how silly unexpected this request is, especially coming from Dainsleif, who despite being more or less anonymous has always seemed like someone of a serious bent. The overly stoic type, perhaps.]

A story? I don't know if I know any good stories right now...

[Nevertheless, Aether puts the slime back in its jar, taking his time to screw the lid closed in a way that produces a pleasant scraping sound. Once the jar is put away, Aether reaches for something off-screen, and — just as unexpectedly — comes up with a stuffed animal that looks like a cross between a plush rabbit and a fox.

...Something Lumine owned, perhaps? Or...]

Well, I can improvise. Once upon a time, little Dodoco went on a journey to find the Dodo-King...



[All good things must come to their ends, so the stream ends soon enough. Aether waves goodbye, his golden eyes bright in the ring lights. He leaves with an affectionately whispered reminder for everyone to go to bed and a promise to stream again sometime soon.

What a funny thing it is, then, that the next time Dainsleif sees him isn't online but in the perfectly ordinary environs of the local grocery store.

Well, it makes sense, doesn't it? Of course they live in the same city, and all, given that Dainsleif surely used to meet with Lumine — but it's an almost surreal experience to see Aether in the flesh, running the perfectly ordinary activities of a perfectly ordinary college student. He has his hair in a ponytail instead of his pristine braid, and a plain T-shirt where he normally wears soft sweaters and slouchy hoodies.

By the look of him, his next video or stream might involve a hair-cutting roleplay — a topic that is always a massively popular theme for ASMR videos. His grocery basket doesn't contain groceries, but instead a box that proclaims to contain a pair of hair-cutting shears and proper scissors to match, a misting bottle, several small jars of hair product... And yet, despite this, he stopped to buy himself a drink. That's not too unusual in itself, of course. He's probably just thirsty.

Perhaps Dain was only reaching for a can of coffee or something else more suited to his temperament, but his fingers brush Aether's as the boy reaches for the last can of Coral Sparkling Tea in the convenience store's fridge, and then Aether looks at him without recognition in his eyes, and chuckles.]

Oops. Sorry, handsome.

[Not above using his charm to get out of potential conflicts, Aether flashes a sunny smile — one that is unexpectedly, dazzlingly confident compared to the soft and shy smiles he puts on for his streams.]

Just wanted to check out with this. You don't mind, do you?