bakerstreet | Braid your hair

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Braid your hair

The Personal Hygiene Shipping Meme

Personal hygiene is just that - personal. By the time we've come to a point in our lives where we notice that the concept exists and we should be prudent about it, we can take care of ourselves. There are also many practical reasons why we don't involve other people in this process. We're not too keen on showing off parts to be cleaned that are private in most contexts, and there's definitely an ingrained aversion to showing so much soft, fleshy skin. Hot water or a sharp razor could spell dangerous with a capital D should they come into the hands of someone with a vendetta against you. No need to be extra vulnerable.

So, if you're involving another person in your cleansing routines, it must be someone you trust. Not only that, but it's most likely someone you're comfortable with and likely at least somewhat open to being intimate with. You may not be dropping all your clothing in front of them, but it's still you opening yourself up to touching and closeness unparalleled in more "usual" moments.

Established and burgeoning couples (or not-so-couples) can bond through this showing of care and good faith. Will you like being pampered and find the attention endearing? Or will things go terribly, terribly wrong?

...you never should have let them near that shaving cream.

Comment with your character and preferences.
Smut is not required. Mention if you want/don't want it.
Reply to others and use the RNG.

Comfort: You've decided to pitch in a helping hand to get your partner to unwind, and warm water or suds may do the trick.
Romantic: The sole purpose of this endeavor is to set a lovey-dovey mood. No shame here!
It Started Out Platonic...: What a good pal you are, volunteering to give your friend a good scrub. Of course, you didn't count on the cute way she squirms as you scrub her back or how he blushes when you shampoo his scalp.
No Choice: Currently, you're unable to clean yourself up. That means that you need assistance, and it might as well be the person you lov- tolerate the most.
Open: You have trust issues. Actually, you have backlogs of trust issues. Still, you want to show the person you love that you're willing and trying to change for them, and what better way than letting down your walls and having the assist in your grooming?
Shave: Whether it's your face, your legs, or...your other places you've decided to shave, there's a certain intimacy involved in letting your lover do it for you. Let's hope they won't leave you looking like you got into a battle with a book with the paper cuts to prove it.
Reluctant: They want to get you clean. You don't want to show off your body at all. It's injured, it looks weird, what if they don't like it...
Forced: You love them, you really do, but you won't kiss them if they continue to look like an unwashed hobo clown. You have to draw the line somewhere, and if they won't take action, you will.
Beat Up: You've been trampled in a fight. Your partner isn't about to let you wallow around in your own mud and blood.
Hair: Some find that there's nothing quite as soothing as getting their hair washed or brushed. Of course, those with more luxurious locks may find any hair care a burden, so the assistance is appreciated.
Make Up: They think you're beautiful already. See how they'll paint you up when they get the chance.
Unique: If you're not human, you probably have your own proceeders you have to do to keep all spiffied up. There are wings with stray feathers to pluck, horns on heads to polish, scales to shave down, all sorts of tasks! Introduce your ignorant (and most likely human) boyfriend or girlfriend to your world...and your pain.
Accommodations: Those with disabilities or prosthetics may also have their own routines, and anyone who wants to be with them should learn how to pitch in.
Sponge Bath: You don't have enough water to do this right or you just want to give them a nice rub and scrub with a gentle sponge or wash cloth.
Wound Care: In order for wounds to heal, proper care must be taken. Bandages have to be changed and cuts cleaned out. It's certainly easier when you don't have to do it all by yourself.
Together: You're both cleaning up, taking a bath, splish splash, in the same tub because there's no where else to go. This is the most likely smut option, even if, again, it starts off "platonic."
Clothing: Don't forget that clean clothes are an important part of personal hygiene. Always make sure your partner has a nice, fresh outfit, even if it's to your taste and not theirs.
I've Made a Terrible Mistake: Somehow, everything's now shit. This little experiment went haywire and you may be sporting anything from the worst hairdo of your life to a Columbian necktie.
FREE SPACE

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[OTA for gen and 17+ for anything shippy / smutty. Open to AUs, canon and cross canon.]

[OTA for gen, F/M for anything shippy / smutty. Open to AUs, canon and cross canon.]

[Early game Milla is perfect for this, as she's used to The Four doing all of her personal hygiene for her, so without them, she has no idea what to do. But any other time period is good, too!]

Edited 2021-06-24 19:41 (UTC)

[ No smut, similarly-aged characters for shipping. ]

[canonmates, please!]

( ask first for anything smutty! otherwise, ota for both castmates and cross-canon. )

[[ open to all prompts, but 13 will be spoilery if nehan is the one with disabilities (newly-released canon). crosscanon and canonmates welcome, 18+ m/m pref for ships/smut. ]]

( voice-testing! jyuka is a healer and more likely to be the one helping someone get cleaned up or taken care of in the relevant prompts, and he’s also pretty proactive and would gladly dote on someone or dress them up in those prompts as well. but i am truly open to all, so feel free to hit me with whatever! )

It is rare when it is just us.

[ Ranmaru finally speaks; his head tips back to look up at the night sky that is someone obscured by the rising steam from the warm waters that the two of them are in. ]

But that means that they are getting closer to one another and their own duties. [ He speaks with more confidence than he probably should given that he has no idea why it is that they have abandoned the two of them. ]

Jyuka... can I ask you something?

[ it’s true that uruu and homura have been spending more time alone with each other, and takara has always kept them at arms’ length whenever he could help it. this time, that particular combination of factors leaves ranmaru and jyuka alone in the bath.

jyuka would have been content with just that, not pursuing it further, but ranmaru gives him something he can’t just ignore. ]

You know you can ask me anything, anytime.

[ jyuka pulls his knees up to his chest, leaning forward over them in a casual slouch as he looks at ranmaru—the biggest mystery of them all, but someone jyuka admires just the same. ]

What’s up?

Can I wash your back?

[ he lifts his hand up out of the water to lightly tap jyuka's naked shoulder. tap, tap. it leaves a few water droplets on the skin and just seeing them makes him laugh a little, because it reminds him of morning dew. ]

Though, you've already had to do so in order to begin soaking, but would it be all right if I did it, again?

[ ranmaru thinks that it is a shame that the other fairies don't offer to help with the bathing of their fellow. he thinks that it would help to bring them all even closer together. could it be that he might have done that with someone else? maybe? he can't quite remember if he did, or if it is something that he wished to do. either way, he has the means to ask those that are precious to him, so -- why not? ]

Squee!

[ jyuka is utterly caught off guard by ranmaru’s request, and he goes rigid with the surprise of such a bold, sexy offer.

well, not exactly sexy. there’s just something about ranmaru’s purity that makes everything he does seem so focused and certain, and the confidence—not a lack of self-awareness, no way—makes him cool. jyuka’s heart pounds. ]

I— I mean, yeah… of course! I can’t always reach it, so it’d be a big help.

[ that is a lie. jyuka is blatantly flexible enough to wash his own back, and he is the least in need of assistance. but how can he say no to ranmaru? ]

Thank you!

[ rather than responding to how jyuka freezes, he smiles widely at the fact that he will be allowed to wash his back at all. ]

Well, then, I'll get the wash cloth! [ with a great amount of excitement, he rises out of the water to go and get that aforementioned cloth. ] I've heard that rubbing one's back with a cloth is good for blood circulation, too.

[ does he mind that he's given a full-frontal view to jyuka as he explains what he's learned about back-washing? no. besides, they've all stood naked before one another -- a lot of the time, they suddenly jump up because a human is in danger. so, this is fine. ]

Ack, Ranmaru!

[ jyuka does not worry about seeing ranmaru’s package, but he does hold his arms up to protect himself from the splash. ]

Why were you looking this up?!

[ even as jyuka gripes about it, however, he gently moves himself over to the edge of the bath. he doesn’t want to get out until he has to, since the water is so nice and warm, but he’s playing along with ranmaru’s whims because he cares. ]

Because --

[ It seems almost like he is going to end it at just "because." ]

-- we should not ever turn away someone who needs help. It is best to know all the ways that we can help someone, right?

[ And he sounds both extremely reasonable and as empty-headed as always. The duality of one fairy. ]

[ ranmaru. ]

You know, I don’t think that we’re going to get any attachment from washing someone’s back!

[ despite his necessary protest as, he would argue, the most reasonable person on the team, he sighs and gives in before it can become a debate. hauling himself all the way out of the water, jyuka goes to sit on the small seats for people—okay, just the fairies really—to wash their bodies for the bath itself.

it’s not like he doesn’t want ranmaru to wash his back… he just thinks ranmaru’s enthusiasm for the strangest things are worthy of investigation. ]

You’re a weird one, Ranmaru… but I guess you’re the best of all of us.