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 Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2014 6:06 pm
Al dragged his heels to the men's showers. It was apparently time for his scrub down. He hated it, but he also knew it was important if he was ever going to attract the good kind of attention. Lately, it has not been the good kind of attention at all. It still felt like a waste of time. An embarrassing naked around a bunch of strangers waste of time.
This is why he came at odd hours, beach soap and a towel at the ready. This was all he needed to get in and get out as soon as possible.
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 5:45 pm
After months of shared showers, Melvin didn't even react to them anymore. He still hated it. There was a sanctuary and peace of mind he got from showers that was otherwise ruined by men making dropping-the-soap jokes constantly or when he came to a shower that had hair in the drain or empty bottles strewn about.
He found the cleanest shower he could find, set his caddy down, which was full of several specialized bottles, and turned on the hot water and tested it with his hand to see if it was even hot. Just above luke warm - great. He couldn't wait till he was a full hunter and could have his own shower.
Damn Otto and his amazing bathroom.
Glasses off, he stepped under the spout and started getting his fluffy hair wet.
It was unnatural to just stare dead ahead, and when someone stepped by next to him, he noticed that he only had one bar of questionable soap. Soap that Melvin had noticed before. "Surprised you haven't sprouted fins with that stuff." He commented, hoping that it wouldn't be taken as questionable or cause the man to jump to full-blown homophobia panic if some guy talked to him during the showers.
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 6:59 pm
Al was already in under the running water when someone else joined him. He hadn't even noticed them as they turned on the neighboring water and got it just right for their own use. It was when they spoke that he suddenly became very aware he was not as alone as he thought. He hadn't even started sudsing up yet so it would have been painfully obvious if he bailed at this point. He stared at Melvin, well, not at him. Not like that. Just his face, never ever below that, okay.
It took a few moments before what Melvin said seemed to have finally reached the terrified trainee's brain. He gave that same terrified stare to his soap. Blinked. Stared a little longer before finally responding with real words, "It can do that?!"
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Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 11:47 pm
Melvin just stared at Al for a moment and then laughed. It actually hurt his face to even chuckle since he didn't even remember when he last smiled, but he laughed. It did end as quickly as he started, and he shook his head at Al. "No. Not that I know of. I just don't know too many people who rely on just that soap? Don't you have anything else? It's probably not good to rely on the soap of the ocean unless you are stuck with nothing else."
He went to look over the many bottles he owned before biting his lip. One bottle still had some left and he knew he had two more bottles in his room. He took the shampoo/conditioner combo hair cleanser and held it out for Al. "Here."
Sharing bathroom products was something normal guys did, right? Melvin was pretty sure. It seemed perfectly normal to him. He was sure if some guy gave him bath products, he would be thrilled.
That says so much about you.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 4:21 am
Al shook his head at Melvin and couldn't help the feeling of embarrassment as it turned him a dull shade of red. Sadly, that soap was really the only soap he actually had. He held the bar of soap up to his face for closer inspection. It seemed safe enough. His critical stare teetered back to Melvin and his offering. He took the bottle without complaint, "Ta."
He set the bar aside and turned the bottle in his hands to read the label, "this is just for hair, right?" He really was clueless.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 5:53 pm
He had his eyes closed as he started to lather the puff of blonde on his head. "Depends. It's made for your hair. Doesn't mean you can't use it for more. Just though it was better than using beach soap. You should really stock up on essentials when you are on leave."
He rinsed his hair, his hair now slicked down and over his face, showing that he would have had long bangs if it wasn't for how much his hair curled. He took a bottle of anti-dandruff shampoo and started to lather with that. Melvin clearly had a system with his bottles.
"With how much s**t we get covered in, having a good amount of bath stuff is essential." Considering he had been in stomachs, fought s**t monsters, and was drooled on by a polar bear, he knew better not to have a good stock of bathroom items.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 6:32 pm
"Leave would probably be a good idea too," he finally finished reading the bottle and lathered up his own hair with the stuff. "My name's Al by the way." He dunked his head under the stream letting his mess of black hair cover his face and then reeled back with a snort as he somehow managed to get water up his nose already. He cleared it out and then went to 'repeat' the lathering process as the bottle had instructed.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 7:02 pm
It wasn't hard to listen even with all the showers running and other people further off in the showers talking to each other on the benches near the lockers. Even with the running water, the place still echoed, and they were right next to each other.
"Melvin. I'd shake your hand, but..." He smiled as he rinsed further lathered his hair. "You must be new then." He commented.
"You should stock up on all essentials you need in case portals go down because they always do. Bathroom things. Detergent. Any foods you couldn't do without and won't go bad. A lot of us have our own little mountain of junk food in our rooms." Or he assumed so. They had to because living off the vending machines got old fast and the cafeteria food would make you start wondering how long you could survive on just coffee alone.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 7:17 pm
"Yeah, shaking hands does not seem like a good idea right now." He dunked his head under the water again and had better luck this time. He whipped his head back then shook it to toss off the excess water before squinting at the label again. He had to make absolutely sure this stuff was safe on the rest of him... except he didn't show this much scrutiny to the mermaid soap. But then how harmful could a bar of soap really be?... ...then again, how harmful could shampoo really be either? He decided to take Melvin's word for it and lathered up the rest of himself.
"I've been around a bit just... I try not to draw too much attention."
He seemed a bit thoughtful as he worked. What sort of stuff would he really need anyway? He didn't mind the cafeteria food or the vending food either. They all kept him very content and full thus far. "I don't think I have anything I care about enough to stock?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 12:36 pm
"Good thought process to have. Drawing attention. We have a few assholes on the island who sorta thrive on it." He said, though he was being very kind when he meant 'a few.' Twitter was nothing but drawing attention to oneself, and he sometimes had to shake his head at his friend Rep for being a culprit.
"I'd think about any comforts you have and like. Sometimes the island can start sucking the life out of you. The little things like your favorite snack can get you through a long week." He took out another bottle with body wash and started to suds up. A soft aroma of sandalwood and oranges started to rise up with the steam.
"If anything, buy stuff other people want and make a killing when the portals go down. I hear a lot of people do that."
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 1:29 pm
"Last time I drew attention, I got stabbed... I'm no a big fan." He shook his head. He felt he got sufficient coverage and shuffled under the water again. "I guess I could get some monster munch. And some Wispa bars... or Crunchies... or Galaxy bars... Mostly I'd like to keep around perishables but that wont happen." He was feeling rather peckish until whatever the hell that was was being applied to the other dude. He decided not to comment.
"Rep is good at that," he said of the sale of popular merchandise. He was not about to challenge Rep's rule was the Stock-king.
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 2:00 pm
Eyes closed due to the hair in his face and the running water, Melvin could just smile blindly. "Rep is going to need a warehouse if he keeps going at the rate he is going. I guess once the towns are cleared, he'll have it." He imagined Rep being a saleperson and creating a store called some ridiculous name. Somehow, it seemed to work.
"Are you friends with Rep?" He asked, seeing as the man brought him up.
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 2:15 pm
"He's got a bar he's working on, I think warehouse wont be for a while." Al shut his water off then grabbed the bottle Melvin had lent him. He offered it back to the man with a half smile, "he's training me but I like to think he considers me a friend as well."
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 2:36 pm
"Just imagine how much alcohol he is going to start hoarding and an excuse to have a warehouse for it." It would have the best security if Rep was supervising it considering it was Rep's stock. The man already had enough junk that wasn't alcoholic that a bar would double the man's inventory. He had to wonder how Rep was even in debt when he had so much he would sell.
The offered bottle was ignored as Melvin could not see and after washing off, he started to rinse off under the slowly cooling water. He probably had 2 minutes before it started to get cold. He rinsed his hair and went for the last bottle in his regime.
It was as he brushed his hair away from his eyes that he saw the bottle and waved his hand. "Take it for next time. I have another in my room."
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 2:41 pm
"Ta," Al took the bottle with him as he turned to leave the stall. He set it aside to grab a towel. "I wouldn't mind a booze hoard on the island," he spoke with a wry smile as he wrapped the towel around his head and fluffed his mess of hair.
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