Day 26: Men's Showers (fourth shift)

[whiteychan.livejournal.com]

The concept of showering with a bunch of children terrified him, but he refused to let it show. He was over 130 years old, and they wanted him to get naked and bathe, surrounded by kids very nearly a tenth his age. It was certainly inappropriate. On the other hand, he had to shower. It was his third day in this asylum, and he had not been given the opportunity for a shower yet. The idea of wiping off the filth of the last two nights seemed ideal.

Thankfully, he seemed to be the first one there. Maybe if he were quick about it, he could shower and leave before too many of the children came in. He got undressed, and stared at the showers for a second. They were significantly different from the ones he was accustomed to, but after a small amount of trial, error, and scalding hot water, he managed to figure out the system.

He'd just need to get through the showers quickly and efficiently, and then get the hell back to the sun room.

Comments

[grosse-sklaven.livejournal.com]

Adelheid normally didn't get to the showers until there was already a large contingent of boys there. It was kind of a shock that he realized he was getting used to showering with others. He, a noble scion of the Bernstein family, was getting used to communal showers. How shocking.

Regardless, he walked over to one of the shower stalls, deciding to pause a moment and be glad that there was really no one around. With a towel cinched around his waist, he was at least half-way modest. He just longed for the days of his private bath...

[burningdigisoul.livejournal.com]

Masaru, for some inexplicable reason, was finding himself in a relatively decent mood. Maybe it had something to do with his stomach being full. And even though he was a little disappointed he hadn't had the chance to talk to certain red-haired friend of his, it had been a long time since he' had the chance to have an actual shower, and he was definitely glad he could get one now.

Unlike Adelheid, he was completely used to communal showers, and just so happened to lack any sort of shame, so he was content to let his towel rest over his shoulders. This was kind nostalgic, really; it reminded him of back in school. the only thing it was missing was stupid, boyish pranks than only a middle-schooler would think do to. Well, he could solve that!

Most people probably would have pulled such a thing on someone they actually knew, but it wasn't as if Masaru was known for having an abundance of common sense. Stealing the towel of the first uncomfortable-looking guy he saw, the boy began to make his way away from the scene of the crime, laughing rather obnoxiously.

[entrust-to-few.livejournal.com]

If there was something Larsa dreaded more so than nightshift itself it was the very thought of communal showers. Again. Though the situation was lifted somewhat by the fact that they were nothing more than children, as his travels with Lady Ashe forced him to bathe alongside Vaan a few times when they were in a hurry, it still left him uncomfortable.

Still, there wasn't much else he could do other than slip into one of the empty stalls and proceed to do this as normally as he was able. From the corner of his eye he managed to catch sight of his roommate, a small smile drawing over his lips in knowing that Adelheid was all right. The child was almost tempted to sneak over, but he knew that they could talk once they were taken back to their rooms.

In the meantime, Larsa sighed heavily and pumped a good amount of shampoo into his hands before lathering up his hair, the blush refusing to leave his face.

[lighthearted]

Sora didn't do so well in the showers, either. It was a lot better than how it had been when all the patients were grouped together, no matter what age or gender, but he still found himself red in the face as he edged his way onto the cold tile and found an empty shower.

As it turned out, that happened to be right next to someone he knew. Well, they had only spoken once, but Sora had enjoyed the conversation quite a bit. He wondered if he should say anything to Larsa - the boy looked pretty embarrassed himself, or that was what Sora could glean from the small glances he sent in the other's direction.

Maybe he would leave it up for Larsa. For now, he was more concerned with soaping himself up. They didn't get to shower all that often, so he made the best of the opportunity, as awkward as it was.

[usoppsenchou.livejournal.com]

[Planning to thread with Luffy, but if your character likes showers, feel free to say hi to Usopp~]

Showers!

Usopp was a big, big fan of public showers. He had no sense of shame; he'd showered with kings and with camels before, not to mention his own crewmates; why feel embarrassed here? Eighteen-under meant that Luffy would be in too, before long... and that was when the real party would start. Water to play in, soap for making skates or lathering up a 'beard' or whatever came to mind, naked hooliganism, great echoing from the tiles in case they got in a mood to try yodeling, what was not to love about a public shower? It wasn't as though anybody here had anything he hadn't seen before, anyhow. The huge bruising leech bites covering his body as exception, of course. Those were badges of honor from battle, anyway! He'd be proud to explain how he'd gotten them in death-defying adventure to anyone who asked. The pain was easing at least, thanks to the medicine. Which was important, because if there were public showers here, he had a serious duty to enjoy himself in them.

Though as he stepped in, even he was sensitive enough to notice that the few others in the bath were pretty shy, keeping their faces averted from each other and their washing quick and to-the-business. Well, that was okay, he wasn't the type of guy to invade someone else's privacy with no good reason. And Luffy wasn't here yet anyway. Whistling cheerfully, he stepped under a tap and prepared to start work on his hair. After Luffy arrived, he doubted he'd get a chance to get this done. Keeping his hair in order was an important task... even if it did seem as though their cleanliness was restored as neatly as the building's structure by morning. After lathering thoroughly and then rinsing, he flung his head back and let his hair fall into place like an ad for shampoo, wet semi-curled strands arcing gracefully for a moment before slapping wetly against his back.

Usopp loved showers.

[rubbermancan.livejournal.com]

Luffy's Cat Lady seemed delighted by his enthusiastic response to taking a shower. Something about good hygiene and how starting good habits early in life would help him later on. Of course, the pirate wasn't really paying attention to any of that. He just liked the excuse to run around in a bunch of water without any clothes on.

Unlike Usopp, Luffy didn't really take notice of the way everyone seemed to shy away from talking to each other in the showers. Even if he had, he wouldn't have really understood it. People were people, whether they were naked or not, right?

His eyes lit up even further once he actually entered the showering area, though. Usopp was in here, too! That was great, especially since he'd been separated from Zoro and Sanji during this shift before. Now he actually had someone to play with.

"Yo, Usopp!" Luffy laughed, suddenly approaching his long-nosed friend. He held himself high, just like he would have even if he was fully clothed. In some ways, Luffy was the walking embodiment of "shameless".

[daddyslilkiller.livejournal.com]

To shower quickly or not to shower quickly, that was a very good question. If he showered quickly, he ran the risk of running into someone he really didn't want to run into. If he showered slowly, he ran the risk of someone noticing his scars. Not that he had too many of them, but he had more than a florist usually aquired. Especially when some of them looked suspiciously like bullet wounds.

Eh, he could always say he'd suffered a horrible pruning accident. It would almost be true, too. Showering slowly it was!

[deathbymidget.livejournal.com]

[Waiting for Kurikara. Naked midget wrestling, yo!]

Hiei's conversation with Sparda had initially done him some good, at least until it became obvious that the demon was suffering from the same disease as Kurama was. While Sparda didn't wish to hide his true nature, he was so concerned about being helpful that by the end of the conversation, Hiei only glared at the man in cold silence.

If that was going to be how things turned out, he shouldn't have helped them close the hole to the demon realm.

The idea of bathing naked with a bunch of other patients didn't bother Hiei--though being lumped with one of the children added a nurse to the demon's hit list--and the demon headed to one of the first showers. While some of the more moronic demons had no inclination towards bathing, Hiei thankfully wasn't one of them. He began scrubbing quickly, harder than he had to, but he had to take out the frustration somehow.

Kurama was being stupid, and Hiei was being stupid by listening to him. Keeping a low profile. Now Hiei understood the real meaning behind that comment, and shot a glare at one of the nurses.

It would make him feel much, much better to go after one of them...

[hotlittledragon.livejournal.com]

Despite getting the chance to punch Tsuzuki in the gut, Kurikara was not overly pleased. He was anxious and restless. He was looking forward to a bath, but the showers would do little to ease his tension, and in fact they were only made worse by a nurse who insisted on leading him into the children's showers.

Kurikara had nothing against children, but he was certainly not one of them. He threw his clothes at her and stormed out into the showers, looking dangerous and moody...

...So of course his mood could only be improved by finding himself next to the little demon from the night before. That was fine. He could use a fight.

"Shut up." He snapped before Hiei so much as looked at him. He turned the water up scalding hot and wished it would soak him to the bone.

[son-ofkrypton.livejournal.com]

Clark was still thinking about Lilith by the time he reached the showers. When the nurse had brought up showers, he'd just somehow assumed they'd be private or at least have partitions (y'know, like a gym). Stepping inside, with a towel that felt a size too small wrapped around his waist, he saw neither partitions nor privacy. There were a few other patients doing their business and while he was tempted to stop and stare, now wasn't the time or place.

Averting his eyes, Clark hurried over to one of the empty showerheads. While he was plenty used to showering in the same room with other boys back at his school, he wasn't really used to it being this open. Keeping his eyes on his own business, Clark ducked his head under the warming water, listening hard.

He might not want to look at the others, but he supposed it couldn't hurt to eavesdrop and see if he could pick up anything useful about this place.

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

Bridget wasn't sure what to make of taking public showers, but he wasn't shy. He didn't like the idea of leaving Roger with the nurse, especally after what he'd heard from the nice AI Hk-47.

Being told that he would get his toy back after his shower didn't put him at ease, and he held the towel modestly over his body, selecting a stall a bit away from other boys.

[roger-hug.livejournal.com]

((Finishing up and heading off to the Game Room (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/178363.html?thread=12226491#t12226491).))

[faithful-frost.livejournal.com]

Haku was greatful for the chance to bathe and strode in without really caring for being modest or worrying about anything.

He had things to do though, and quickly went about his business.

[faithful-frost.livejournal.com]

((Finishing with record speed and heading to the Sun Room (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/178562.html).))

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

Phibrizzo was concerned with his next course of action as the nurse lead him to the showers and explained, quite firmly, that he was expected to keep clean like everyone else. He wasn't too enthusiastic with sharing an enclosed space with several young, naked humans.

Trying to keep his disgust from being too evident, Hellmaster stripped down and took his place under an unoccupied nozzle and did his best to ignore the room around him.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

[Moving here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/179156.html?thread=12234196#t12234196)]

[palerepetition.livejournal.com]

Auel yawned as he was brought to the showers. Today wouldn't be the first time he had showered in front of other people, so what was the big deal? He snickered as he noticed how bashful some of the other boys seemed to be. It wasn't like they didn't have towels to cover up with right away when they were done, even. Jeez, some people.

It took only a moment to mess with the shower he had chosen before he got the water flowing. Getting as big a handful of soap as he could, Auel squished it between his fingers before he began washing up.

[broken-exorcist.livejournal.com]

Allen was relieved when they left the cafeteria. He didn't envy the nurse that would be seeing to Rhode's bathing though. His relief quickly dissipated when he realized this was some kind of public bathing facility.

He dragged his feet, but the nurse pulled him, stumbling along. She pulled gently at his shirt, but his hands remained clamped firmly on the hem, tugging it down. "This is indecent!" Allen exclaimed, trying to hold on to what little modesty he had left. He'd already lost his first kiss (and his second), been demoted to Rhode's babysitter, or, according to her, a mere plaything, and now they wanted him to go clean himself in front of other patients?!

"Come on now Jamie, you don't want your pretty hair to get stained, do you?"

Allen could really care less about it, but he'd never been any good at telling people 'no.' This, however, seemed to be an exception to the rule.

"I-i-i can't!" he tried to squirm away, but with the current state of his ribs, it was rather difficult. He felt like sobbing in the corner, despite what little good it would do him.

It took a while, but the nurse finally coaxed him into the public showers, though he clung tightly to a towel around his waist. His bandages removed for the moment, there was a large purplish discoloration on the side of his chest, where the ribs had broken. It was tender to the touch, but at least, aside from that he felt moderately well. The mark on his hand was beginning to fade and his left arm was even looking better since the rebound his first night.

He was shocked to see Bridget in the showers as well. Wasn't she... but... Allen's face reddened. Men's showers were one thing, but putting a sweet girl like Bridget in with them was another thing entirely! He didn't dare approach her though, she'd probably think he was some... voyeur. He turned on the shower in front of him and reached for the shampoo, trying to keep his eyes rooted to the ground in front of him as his towel got soaking wet.

[hellmunchkin.livejournal.com]

[Jumpin' down from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/179156.html?thread=12215508#t12215508)]

Phibrizzo noticed a familiar form through the figures, water, and steam. Wasn't that the one who had come by when that girl had attacked him? His neck still stung when the hot water hit it and he wasn't too happy about it.

Never mind he had basically ASKED her to do it.

He noticed that while himself and most of the others were naked, this human appeared to be clinging to his towel. Surely he wasn't easily EMBARASSED? A smirk spread across his face, which he quickly replaced with a far more innocent look. Time to make this boy uncomfortable.

"Uhm," he said, approaching Allen. "Excuse me, but are you the kid from earlier?"

[tsunagari.livejournal.com]

Sai found himself a somewhat out of the way location in the showers. It was an unconscious action, really, caused by some small degree of vanity perhaps, or a desire to spare others the sight of his wounds from the leeches. He didn't even realize he was doing it.

Having just received ointment for his arms, it was a bit of a shame that he would now be washing them off. Hopefully it had done some good already. It couldn't be helped. He winced just slightly as he lathered soap on, causing some of them to sting.

[tte-bayo.livejournal.com]

The lunch shift ended the way most normally do, that was to say at exactly the wrong moment. Naruto endured a lecture from his nurse about his temper, although she did imply once or twice that the protectiveness was somewhat endearing, which only made him roll his eyes and consider plugging his ears with his fingers.

But all things considered, he was in a better mood than before. There was some hope for Sasuke's situation and they knew where to meet him tonight. Naruto, not knowing better, expected to see him when he entered the showers, and probably would have suggested continuing testing his eyesight if he had, setting be damned. Not like this was much different from an onsen. The thought that sparring in the showers was inappropriate didn't cross his mind.

After stripping he took a nonchalant glance around, towel still wrapped around his waist, and was forced to conclude that Sasuke wasn't there. Naruto did notice a familiar face, mostly due to actively searching and spotted Sai a little bit out of the way. It was the injuries that drew him closer, one eyebrow raised curiously as he chose a shower-head next to the other shinobi.

He still didn't know very much about the replacement for Team Seven, and now was as good a time as any to find out more. "Hey, how'd you get hurt?"

Naruto himself had some fresh scars from the nightshift, but nothing nearly as fresh as Sai's wounds looked. He didn't wait to see if his intrusion was welcome or not; simply turned the water on and let the towel drop, assuming (without asking) that joining him wasn't out of the question.

[lost-metal.livejournal.com]

Considering all the fighting he'd done, and all the alchemy, Ed was rather glad to finally get a shower. They didn't let them have showers often enough! At least Ed was somewhat used to it, travelling for days at a time on trains and through fields and stuff like that. There weren't always nice clean inns or hotels to stay in when he needed them.

He stipped off casually, unconcerned about sharing showers with so many people, and then wrapped a towel around his arm. Last thing he needed now was for it to rust, even if Winry had made the alloy better. He stepped under the spray, tilting his head back and letting it soak into his hair and across his body. He needed to speak to Adel still, but he just needed a moment to relax, to lose himself after hearing about Fox's sister. Just a couple of moments.

[the-clown-king.livejournal.com]

Tamaki was getting used to showering like this. It was still a bit awkward, but really, it wasn't bad. He pulled his clothes off - wincing some when he saw the healing marks across his stomach. Those were going to scar. He sighed and wrapped a towel around his waist, wishing they offered shower shoes. Didn't the staff realize how utterly unhygienic shower floors were?

He spotted Ed and made his way over, fighting to keep his eyes upwards and a flush from his cheeks. He'd seen Ed naked before, it wasn't that big of a deal. Even if they did kiss and whatnot.

"Ed-kun? Are you alright?" Tamaki cocked his head, wondering if the other boy was just tired or if it was something else.

[foxyroses.livejournal.com]

It was almost refreshing to have a quiet lunch period. With plans already set for the evening, and the only person he cared to speak to pointedly not speaking to him, there wasn't much else he needed to do. Except bide his time for nightfall.

Awkward as it was, Kurama handed over his clothing to an orderly for safe keeping and stepped into the shower. He noted that Hiei was already in the shower by the time he reached the room, but it was still too soon to approach the smaller demon. He knew things wouldn't proceed much farther than they had before lunch... If anything, he would probably need to wait until tomorrow to speak with him.

With a sigh, Kurama chose one of the showers that were a fair distance from Hiei and set to work with the soap and shampoo. He wasn't interested in approaching anyone else, since most found it odd to speak in the shower. However, he wouldn't turn down anyone if they happened to approach him.

[for-marian.livejournal.com]

This was just too much. The ugly, strange uniforms were bad, forcing him into crowded rooms full of strangers was bad, but forcing him into crowded rooms full of naked strangers was entirely ridiculous. "Are you MAD? I'm not going to bathe with all these... these... children!" Leon was not quite willing to strike the nurses herding him into the 'showers', but he was coming very close to that point. This was unacceptable!

Eventually, he was chivvied into the tiled room all unwilling. One of the perpetually cheerful nurses demonstrated the use of the knobs to him then left him under the warm spray of water, hugging himself and glaring around the room warily. Then it occurred to him that he was glaring at naked boys, and he quickly turned his gaze to the wall, blushing scarlet.

[deathneverlies.livejournal.com]

Well, well... Showertime, was it? He gave a little wink to the nurse who escorted him from the cafeteria before ducking out of sight into the bathroom. Unlike some of the patients, Duo had no problem stripping off his clothing. Living on a Sweepers ship didn't exactly mean they could afford decency every hour of every day. And at least they were all boys and about the same age, right? Things could definitely be worse.

As he stepped naked into the showers with only his hair tie left to him, Duo made his way over to one of the shower heads, pausing at the sound of a commotion. The last thing that he thought he'd hear in this place was Heero's voice. But wasn't today just full of surprises? Especially when he turned to see someone who looked very much not like Heero. Still, he was making such a ruckus, and Duo was supposed to be making frinds, right?

Throwing caution to the winds, he sauntered over to the other boy, taking the shower next to him. "Hey," he greeted as he pulled his braid over his shoulder and began loosening the tie. "You look a little flustered, buddy. Something wrong?"

[whiteychan.livejournal.com]

Hitsugaya finished his shower rapidly, and then left as quickly as he could without appearing rushed. It hadn't been a pleasant shower, but at least he was clean now. He dressed expediently and went with the nurse to the sun room.

[uruz-vii.livejournal.com]

Hygiene. A must, especially when in such close quarters with unfamiliar people. Sousuke shuddered to think what kind of diseases these people could be carrying. But he pushed the thought away, taking comfort in the fact that he was up to date with all his standard military-order vaccinations.

"All right, Mr. Inoue," Sousuke's nurse began, expecting a fight. Most patients detested communal bathing, and teenage boys seemed to be even more concerned with their privacy. She held up a towel, "Just undress and you can use this to--"

She stopped dead as Sousuke dropped his pants without a word and pulled off his shirt. Being in the military had desensitized him to privacy, really. He could walk into a room full of changing girls and not be phased in the slightest.

"Thank you," Sousuke said to his open-mouthed nurse as he took his towel. Walking into the shower room, he noticed Kurama sitting by himself. The young man seemed troubled for some reason--perhaps for the same reason most were voicing. It seemed as though many of the boys were complaining about showering amongst their peers. Perhaps they were uncomfortable being so close to one another? Sousuke didn't really understand, but he didn't understand most civilian motives.

He stepped under a shower head and began rinsing down, his towel forgotten on his stool. What did he need that for anyway? The purpose of a towel was to dry off... not to wear it in the shower.

Who takes a bath with their clothes on? Sousuke wondered with a small frown.

[uruz-vii.livejournal.com]

[Finished showering, moved to here! (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/178562.html?view=12506242#t12506242)]

[bored-narrator.livejournal.com]

At first Kyon didn't put up much of a fight when he heard the nurse tell him they were going to be showering this shift. He thought it was a brilliant idea. All the running around the night before probably had him reeking something awful. He walked into the changing area expecting nothing but a relaxing, innocent shower.

As he walked out into the main showers, towel tucked around his waist, he stopped dead in his tracks, mouth hanging open.

What the hell was this!? Communal showers!? Other naked guys!?

No. There was no way Kyon was going to do this. He'd seen all those shows on TV. He knew what people did to you in a place like this when you 'dropped' the soap.

Turning right back around, Kyon tried to make a dash for the exit but the nurse blocked the way. She gave him a very calm look, pointing to the showers. Hey! Don't look so complacent when telling someone to go bathe with a bunch of other people you don't know!!

Still ...fighting the nurses was obviouly a bad idea from what he'd gathered from the other patients. Annoyed he stormed to the end, trying to find a shower head far off from the others as possible.

[bored-narrator.livejournal.com]

[ooc: Waiting for Keigo. :x]

[heraldric.livejournal.com]

Leon had spent several minutes scrubbing himself clean in the showers and generally enjoying himself when he realized there was really somewhere else he should be.

It was bad enough his friends seemed to be splitting off into smaller groups without him. He wanted to be left out of as little as possible. So he'd hardly washed the shampoo from his hair before he was grabbing a towel and rushing back out again, dodging a nurse who seemed intent on helping him where it wasn't needed.

And off to here! (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/178363.html?thread=12259259#t12259259)