Jyn, have you ever seen an ASMR video? I've watched them for years as they relax me a lot. Imagine opening a youtube channel and Clyde is your "guest", the one receiving scalp massages/scratch (and also shoulders, neck, back) *-* Oh what I'd give to put my hands in that long beautiful hair. This reminded me of your fic The Show Must Go On, but it's a kind of SFW version, lol. Anyway, many hugs to you :3
V, I LOVE THIS. I love this for so many reasons. I do watch ASMR (my favorite is itzblitzzz) and I’m really big on its neurological benefits—I’ll throw the science book at anyone who wants me to go all brain-nerd on ‘em about it.
I love this for Clyde in that he’s not too savvy with technology and the interwebs, and wouldn’t know the first dang thing about ASMR videos being a “thing.” I also love this for Clyde because he’d MELT over the special attention and physical touch once you talked him into it. Ugh. My HEART!
So congratulations. You’ve done the impossible without even trying. You convinced me to write my very first 1k zero-smut ficlet: Clyde gets ASMR.
He’s seen you playin’ the videos on your phone before—seen the wigglin’ hands and candles and fancy brushes and what not. Even if ya had headphones on, he could tell the folks in ‘em were whisperin’, thinkin’ it a strange thing not to talk in a normal speakin’ voice while recording.
The night he finally peeks over your shoulder to ask what the heck you’re watchin’, you tell him alllll about how relaxing the videos are, how they help you fall asleep, how they give you little tingles that flicker from the base of your skull down between your shoulder blades. He doesn’t quite ‘get’ that last bit, so you tell him about the camera and microphone setup you and Mellie just went half-and-half on: she’s gonna start making hairstyle tutorials and you’re trying your hand at some ASMR. He can be your very first guest—that way, he can see if he gets ‘the tingles’ firsthand.
Clyde agrees, bein’ amenable as always. Whenever he’s due for a trim, it does feel awful nice to have Mellie brush his hair out beforehand, and he just adores it when ya lather up the shampoo on his scalp in the shower… He supposes sittin’ down for your video wouldn’t be any sort of torture, even if he don’t quite get why folks’d want to watch him. You’re quite the treat to look at, so he guesses that’s more of an appeal than him an’ his unruly mop.
As the sun goes down the next day, you set up a cozy corner to record in: you hang strands of twinkle lights, line up your favorite candles, lay your favorite brush out, and brew a cup of herbal tea for Clyde.
When you lead him into the space—shuffling along in his fuzzy socks and camo shorts and butter-soft t-shirt, looking cuddly as can be—he sees the soft glow of candlelight and the velvet cushions you’ve placed on his chair.
“Well this looks pretty magical, darlin’.” He kisses your cheek. “Feel like I don’t deserve all this, whatever this is,” he chuckles quietly, voice unconsciously hushed from the calm atmosphere.
“Nonsense. Of course you do. Now sit,” you instruct, steering him to the chair and checking the camera as he settles in. It’s immediately clear you’ll need to adjust your initial placement; Clyde’s broad shoulders eclipse the frame, the top of the view cutting off at his slightly-pouted lips.
“Do I… Do I have to look at the camera the whole time, now?” he asks, concerned.
“No, not if you don’t want to—” you readjust the focus and tilt the mic, stopping to kiss his forehead as you take your place standing behind him, “—you can just close your eyes and relax. Are you ready?”
“‘Bout as ready as I can be,” he answers with a stoic nod.
You squeeze his shoulders, solid and warm under your hands, then press the record button on the remote tucked in your pocket. Your hands find the very ends of his hair, teasing the tumbling waves between your fingertips. Bourbon-smooth, honey-sweet, your voice is no more than a whisper when you begin to speak.
“Tonight, I’m going to be recording a session with my sweet love, Clyde…”
Oh, he likes that. That makes his heart swell up all big, makes the corners of his eyes crinkly. He feels the creases in his cheeks grow deep as you murmur all sorts of lovely, bewitchin’ things about him—sayin’ he has a warm, calming energy (he’s not too sure what that means, but it sure makes him feel good) and that you always feel safe when you’re with him. You whisper that his hair is so silky-soft and thick as you start to comb your fingers through it, tugging gentle handfuls that heat up his scalp.
The first sigh he puffs out is silent, but the second is accompanied by a happy little hum, betraying his enjoyment at your attention. Bringing your fingertips to his hairline, you graze your nails along his scalp in rippling, sinusoidal patterns—dragging all the way through the ends of his hair when you reach the nape of his neck and repeating the motion.
His head feels warm and fuzzy by the time you start to run the soft bristles of your brush from the roots to the tips of his mane, following its path with soothing strokes of your hand. And boy, whatever you just spritzed on him smells nice—sorta minty but a little more like a tree or somethin’? Smells like one of those fancy day spas in Charleston. Treatin’im like it’s a fancy day spa, too, kneading and massaging his shoulders…
But it’s not till you start tracing your fingertips over him that the swaths of goosebumps appear on his skin; your touch is feather-light, scrawling invisible lines and whorls down his neck, back, and biceps.
Oh lord, he’s tinglin’ all over, his eyelids are heavier’n stones in a streambed, he’s...
You hold his head up for as long as you can, the warm drag of his slow breaths rhythmic and deep—but eventually, your hand starts to go numb where you support him. Squeezing at his shoulder gently, you tug at his consciousness like a fish at the end of a line.
Maple-brown eyes blink open, soft and shiny, the glimmer of twinkle lights collected and reflected back in wide, dark pupils.
“How long I been out darlin’?”
“Well… long enough for the camera battery to die. I couldn’t wake you up; you just looked too sweet.”
A touch of pink warms his cheeks, and he nuzzles into your hand. “I… I reckon I know why this helps ya fall asleep now.”
You kiss all over the top of his head, inhaling the sweet, cedary smell that always lingers on him.
“Well, good—let’s get you tucked in, then,” you say, squeezing his shoulder. “You’ve gotta get your beauty rest for tomorrow’s video.”
“I get to do another one of these?” he asks dreamily.
“No, not another one of these,” you shake your head, smiling. “Mellie’s doing a French braid tutorial, and you’re the model.”