with the blindfold over jim's face, it was like he really was just a subject. it looked right on him, shark thought. he looked right with his eyes covered, and a hypnotist behind him, speaking softly to him.

really, they felt more like a voyeuristic pervert watching this than they would just watching them have sex. not that this wasn't sexual in its own right - shark knew even the most generic suggestions would turn those two on. it was obvious from the way jim's face would always turn so red, the way his breathing would get so heavy, the way he shuddered. from the way adrianus would always creep closer and closer to him, the way their voice would steadily get more affectionate, the way their hands would start to caress his arms and shoulders or pet his head.

they weren't at that point yet in this session, though. they'd only just started. shark recognized that tension in jim's body, the furrowed eyebrows and stiff shoulders - it was just from the anticipation and excitement. he seemed even more on edge with the blindfold. which was funny, considering he usually ended up closing his eyes, anyway, and sometimes he even started the session that way. it must've just been the idea of it. he was sensitive to that kind of thing. the idea of it alone could make it a completely different experience for him.

adrianus obviously picked up on it. they seemed to be taking things slower, prolonging that tension and anticipation. they weren't speaking in a particularly hypnotic tone just yet.

"how is the blindfold?" they asked. "is it comfortable? is it blocking the light properly? can you see anything through it?"

"i can't see anything," he responded. "and it's... it's not uncomfortable."

"not even a little bit?"

"no."

"then it is comfortable, isn't it?"

"i guess," he said, as if just admitting that was a kind of surrender.

shark always wondered if he did it on purpose. if he refused to admit to the slightest reaction, comfort, or relaxation at first, just because he wanted adrianus to say it for him, or force him to say it. they had a feeling that sometimes it really was a conscious decision on his part, but other times, it was just habit. he was kind of just like that in his daily life and casual interactions, anyway.

"now, i want you to just listen to my voice," adrianus said, still using a relatively clinical tone, "and pay attention to where the sounds around you are coming from. where any touches are coming from. you can do that, can't you? you can focus on that?"

he straightened up. "i can do that," he said quietly. "i'm just... supposed to pay attention to it? do i need to say anything, or are you going to ask me anything, or..."

shark felt themself grinning. there was just something so cute about it. his eagerness to obey was obvious. not just that, but his eagerness to prove that he was obeying.

adrianus paused for just long enough for shark to know that they were thinking about it. they might have just wanted to direct jim's attention, and didn't care about testing him - they already knew he'd listen and follow along anyway. but when he seemed that eager, it was hard to resist.

they were cute in their own way, when they had to take a second to decide what to do like that. their stare and focus, that sense that their prey drive was being activated but they had to stay calm and take it slow... it was almost uncanny, but there was something really charming about it.

"just tell me where i am in relation to you," they said, "and what you think i'm doing, based on the sound, and what you feel."

it was definitely something simple they made up on the spot. there was probably some more hypnotic game they could've come up with, if they thought about it a little more.

not that it really mattered. jim was clearly already looking forward to it. it only needed to be a test that required him to pay attention and listen closely - maybe simpler was better, actually.

they started by putting on a pair of black latex gloves, which had been sitting next to them. they were careful to do it just the right distance from his ear, close enough for the sound to be easy to hear, to maximize the asmr, without accidentally bumping into his head.

it was perfect. jim almost jumped in reaction to it, in instant recognition. the gloves really matched the vibe of the situation, making it feel even more like some kind of experiment - that was probably part of why he reacted so strongly to it.

"what is this sound?" adrianus asked, wiggling their fingers, their voice just a bit lower and softer than before.

"a glove," jim said quickly. "next to my right ear. you put on a glove..."

"very good," they said, the praise clearly sending chills down jim's spine.

his face was already a little pink.

they moved to the other ear, putting on the other glove.

"now you're putting on the other glove, next to my left ear..."

"that's right," they said. "and which hand did i put it on?"

he was quiet for a second, absorbed in thought. "your right hand, probably," he said.

"that's right... very good. you are paying very close attention, aren't you?"

there was never any doubt about that. he was definitely going to pay close attention, whether he was quizzed about it or not. but it must've felt better for him having that proven and acknowledged.

they moved so that one hand was on each side of him, making glove sounds in both of his ears, before bringing their hands down, still moving their fingers.

"your hands are at my sides now... you're just moving your fingers."

"good," they said. they slowed the movements of their fingers, hovering their hands over his arms, steadily traveling down. it was pretty hypnotic to watch, but shark did have to wonder if jim could really even feel it or tell what they were doing.

"do you know what i'm doing now?" they asked gently.

"your hands are still at my sides," he said. "they're moving down... next to my arms..."

"that's right," they said. "i'm just passing them over your arms, just hovering right next to them... do you feel it? let me do it again..."

this time he visibly reacted to it as they moved their hands down, his arms and shoulders almost seeming to sink with them.

"i... i kind of feel it," he said quietly, as if it wasn't already obvious just from looking at him.

"that's good."

they loved seeing that change in awareness. he only reacted because they told him what they were doing. he might have even reacted the same way if they told him, and then didn't actually do it.

the idea was kind of hot.

"i'll just do that one more time..." their hands moved back down, in the same mesmerizing motion. "that's it... let your shoulders relax... does it feel as if it's pulling you down?"

he relaxed a little more. "it kind of does..." his breathing seemed slower and heavier.

"very good." they moved their hands back to the sides of his head, near his ears, moving them just enough for the glove sounds to be audible, slowly and gently. "you felt those movements even when i wasn't touching you. your skin is becoming so sensitive... without your sight, you have to rely on your other senses to know what's happening to you. your hearing... and your sense of touch..."

they didn't touch him at all as they spoke, but their hands did get closer to his ears whenever they mentioned it. every time, he held his breath for a moment in anticipation.

they stopped making the glove sounds, pulling their hands away from his ears. "every sensation is that much more intense... particularly because it's more difficult to tell when it's going to happen. all of those physical feelings you can experience from being touched... you'll feel all of them more strongly... you won't be able to suppress it... to numb it... you're completely vulnerable."

they leaned their head closer to his ear, holding their breath, not making a sound until their mouth was right next to it.

they placed a hand on his shoulder, which already made him jump slightly, before sighing into his ear. he shuddered through the entire breath, and continued to twitch even as they straightened up again, moving away from his ear. their hand was still on his shoulder.

"am i... am i still supposed to say what you're doing...?" jim asked, almost breathlessly.

"i didn't ask you to stop, did i?"

"you- you had your hands next to my ears, moving your fingers, and you breathed into my right ear, and your hand is on my right shoulder..." they started lightly rubbing his shoulder with their thumb. "and now you're... moving your thumb..."

"how does that feel?" they asked softly.

"it feels good," he immediately answered.

at this point, it was a little ridiculous for him to have to keep describing what was happening. they could've easily just dropped it and said he didn't need to do it anymore.

but there was something about it. shark wondered if him having to say it out loud made him feel it more. it was nice to hear his voice change when he was flustered or relaxed, too.

the fact that it was a little stupid was appealing in its own way, too.

adrianus withdrew their hand again. "did you feel how sensitive you are now?"

"i did," he said.

it was notable how direct he was starting to be with his answers.

"very good. now, there are other implications to this sensitivity that you might not be considering... can you imagine what they might be?"

he hesitated. "do you mean... sexual sensitivity?"

they laughed quietly. "no, i expected you to be thinking about that. that's not something we're going to be focusing on today."

shark almost laughed, too, even though that was also the first thing their mind went to.

adrianus' hands creeped over to the sides of jim's abdomen. their fingers curled, one at a time, moving along his sides in almost a scratching motion.

he squirmed a little bit, clearly taken completely off guard.

"do you know what i'm doing now?" they asked.

"you're touching the sides of my stomach... or, just the sides of my body, i guess..."

their fingers moved a bit more quickly, traveling closer to his ribcage.

he twitched a bit more, suppressing a laugh, his face distorted into a conflicted smile.

"i think you could be a bit more specific," they said.

"you're-" his breath was uneven. "you're tickling me."

"and you're so sensitive to it right now, aren't you?"

"i-" he was laughing now, even if it was quiet. "why are you-"

"i'm just demonstrating your sensitivity to different sensations."

they stopped, but left their hands hovering over him.

"well, you've- you've demonstrated that, i guess."

"you didn't like it?"

"i mean, i didn't hate it, i guess, but..."

they moved to the back of his neck, lightly running their fingers against it.

his body jerked, his laughter still mostly being held back and muffled.

"oh? aren't you supposed to say what's happening?"

this time, he didn't give an intelligible answer.

"you can't? you can't say it? does it tickle too much?"

he did manage to get out a "yes," and a "stop," which did prompt adrianus to pull their hands away, allowing him to catch his breath.

"that's really..." he was regaining his composure, at least a little bit. "i don't really like being tickled, but..."

"but?"

he didn't seem ready to complete his own sentence. "i don't know, it's... well, when it's you..."

shark knew they had no right to be grinning as smugly as they were, because they really would've said the same thing. it was a lot cuter with someone like jim, though.

adrianus seemed very pleased with him, too. "maybe we can talk more about that later. let's just continue..." they ran a hand through his hair, softly petting him. "you've been doing very well..."

"you're petting me," he said, still not letting go of his task.

"that's right... very good..." their mouth moved back to one of his ears, murmuring into it. "relax... back into trance for me... deeper than before..."

"you're..." his voice was slower, more dull sounding. "you're talking into my ear..."

"yes... directly into your ear..."

he slumped back a bit, his shoulders sinking again, more dramatically than they did earlier.

they moved the hand that had been petting him to his other ear, gently rubbing it, massaging the earlobe, while their other hand touched his shoulder. instead of twitching or jumping like he had before, he melted into their touch, a sigh escaping his lips.

"you're... you're rubbing my left ear, and my shoulder..."

"that's right... it feels so nice and relaxing, doesn't it? so soothing... so sensitive..."

another sigh. he looked almost completely limp.

they slowly pulled away again, ceasing contact. jim remained still.

they started to step away from him without a sound, looking at shark now, approaching them, to their confusion.

they motioned for shark to come closer. shark did, as silently as possible.

adrianus leaned into shark's ear, whispering so quietly and so closely that it made them shiver. "when i motion to you later," they whispered, "i want you to come over as quietly as you can, and touch jim's arms. do you understand?"

shark nodded. they spent all of that time mentally making fun of jim for falling so quickly and easily, but their head felt a little fuzzy just from the sudden instructions, delivered in the smallest, most delicate whispers they'd ever heard.

"good," they whispered, before carefully moving back to their position behind jim.

they started to massage both of his ears, not giving him any warning. he stirred slightly at first, but quickly sank back down.

"you're massaging my ears..." he said, in a slow, empty voice.

adrianus looked back at shark, motioning with their head, as they ran their hands over jim's ears - shark realized that it was to hide the sound of them approaching.

jim would only expect adrianus' touches. any touch from them would've surprised him. still, they stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what kind of touch would surprise him the most, what part of his arms they should have gone for.

"you don't have to think right now," adrianus said, making direct eye contact with them. "you don't have to think about anything."

they reached forward, sort of mindlessly, lightly touching both of jim's arms.

in his deep trance, he didn't flinch or physically react in any way. "you're... someone's... touching my arms."

"it's alright," adrianus murmured. "it feels nice, doesn't it?"

"it does," he said.

it wasn't much of a response, but they kind of loved it. he accepted it so quickly.

"not knowing where the touches will come from... not knowing when they'll happen... but it doesn't matter, really..." their hands moved back down to his shoulders.

shark wasn't really sure what to do with themself at this point.

"it's such a nice feeling, isn't it, jim?"

"it is..."

"such a nice feeling... you would want others to get to feel this, too, wouldn't you?"

he took a moment to respond, like he had to take time to process what they meant. "i would."

"shark has been watching you... do you think you could use all of the things you felt from this experience to help them, too?"

shark blinked. "wait, hold on," they said, figuring they could finally talk out loud. "this is about me now?"

"don't you think they'd enjoy this?"

"i do," jim answered. his voice sounded a bit more clear - he was preparing to wake himself up.

"and you won't be content to just watch, will you? unlike shark, you would want to participate, wouldn't you?"

"i would."

"come on," shark said. "don't you wanna just stay deep? don't you want to keep being the subject?"

"i think it's your turn," he responded.

"what do you think, shark?" adrianus asked. "how would you like to wear the blindfold for a bit? how would you like both of us to hypnotize you?"

there was a kind of irony they appreciated in it, in the idea of them, the voyeur, having their vision taken away. being subjected to the same stuff they were watching jim get subjected to.

adrianus already knew their answer, even when they didn't say it. they pulled the blindfold off of jim, holding it up to shark.

jim blinked for a minute, rubbing his eyes, adjusting to the light again.

"just a second," he said. "i can put it on them."

"so are you gonna tickle me, too, jim?" shark asked jokingly.

"i'll hold you down while they do it," he answered.

that side of him was cute, too.