The Laundry Mingle

[ugh_emotions]

Who: Anyone!
What: LAUNDRY.
When: Anytime after the return from Woodhurst. Can also be forward dated! Basically this can be anytime between the last and next Story
Where: The living facilities, or anywhere else characters might attempt laundry related stuffs
Content warnings: Include as needed in comment headers

At this point, a number of the Library's inhabitants had been here (for a nebulous definition of 'here') for over two months now. Others were newly arriving, still getting their bearings. But the thing was, at this point something was clearly becoming a bit of a problem.

Laundry.

No one had anything other than the clothes they brought on their backs. There was one singular clothes washing machine, and it was, quite frankly, complete shit. It made weird noises. It leaked frequently. It never seemed to actually finish washing the clothes.

So, cleaning clothes was...an issue. But humans - and sentient organic beings, and even - ugh - constructs needed to figure it out, because if they didn't they were all going to be fucking disgusting.

(Well, more disgusting than organic bits usually were, anyway.)


[[ooc: so yeah! How is your character dealing with The Laundry problem? Are they even doing laundry? Are they dressing themselves in bedsheets? Finding other creative ways to get more clothes to wear? Basically, this is just a general catch-all mingle for everyone to detail characters dealing with some basic hygiene.]]

Comments

Murderbot | OTA

[ugh_emotions]

SecUnit had been putting this off for as long as possible.

It could manage that for a while, because thankfully, as a construct, it didn't get disgusting at the same rate humans did. There were a number of gross organic excretions that it just didn't make at all, and the ones it did were at much lower frequencies. But the fact was, it was partially organic. And that meant it clothes did get dirty, eventually. It had to clean them. Wearing them was going to soon become unbearable.

But...it didn't have any other clothes. It would have to be - ugh - naked, while the stupid fucking clothes washing device did its thing.

So, it had grabbed one of the bedding fabrics. Wrapped it completely around itself, so that none of it could be visible. Not its torso, not its arms, not its legs. Certainly not its feet. The only thing visible was its face, although it was very tempted to hide that too, and just become a unidentifiable mass of soft fabric.

And now it sat in front of the stupid useless clothes washing device, glaring at it with its onboard eyes. Three drones were on surveillance duty, positioned in and around the laundry room so that it would warned in advanced of anyone else coming in.

hope this is okay if not lmk!

[not_scrap]

Welcome to paranoia-town, because here's Nyla, unfolding herself from one of the ceiling vents.

AS ONE DOES.

It's laundry time and she's wearing a pillowcase like a minidress (Balenciaga? Eat your fucking heart out this is STYLE) with her coveralls and undies ready to go. Listen, sometimes being tiny has an up side!

"Aw crap." Someone's here. Someone who had been spookily quiet, so quiet she had thought that no one was here (OBviously!).

Or wait. No? Was it a person? Or just a really tall pile of laundry? Huh. She'll circle it from behind, picking up a wire hanger someone had discarded and using it to gently poke the pile of sheets that may or may not be a person.

[defyingreality]

Even though all he had was the one suit, X didn't have as much of a problem as other people. He frequently switched into his Hero persona, which actually acted as a kind of auto-washing trick but even that will hit a snag sooner or later. So X entered the laundry room, sporting a sheet like a toga, his suit neatly folded and stuffed into a bag he snagged from the crafting area.

"Oh, sorry, I'll wait."

Nodding with a smile, X adjusted his glasses before taking out a handcrafted book, the cover a masterpiece of craft markers and glitter. Patting a corner free, he settles down to read. After a moment, he snapped a cushion into existence to pad the corner a tiny bit better.

This does not strictly need a reply LOL

[unsheathedfromreality]

By now, Illarion's picked up on enough of a pattern to know the trellised human dislikes being Perceived.

So when he spots a drone hovering near the laundry room, he looks just a little that way and -- ah. There they are, wrapped up like a Generous Night gift.

Hm. What to do, what to do.

He departs back into the depths of the bunk room, before returning with one of his new-made bedsheet tunics and dropping it by the door.

Then he's gone again.

Re: Murderbot | OTA

[codeswitchcraft]

Hello Rin, Siobhan tells the drones cheerfully over her sendjewel. She spares a glance for lump in the corner, but otherwise her attention focuses back on the drones.

Found any good media lately?

[obeir]

As an android, K doesn't have the same hygiene concerns as most organic beings because so many biological processes simply aren't possible for him, but he has discovered that he likes to feel clean. That includes having clean clothes. He's already figured out the ancient washing machine doesn't function correctly (and judging by the loud sounds coming from it there's already a load of laundry inside), which is why he bypasses it, heading for the sink instead. That's when he notices one of the lurking drones and pauses to offer it a curious wave.

Is it there for surveillance...?

Sanguinius OTA

[angel_of_baal]

WASHING
The machine spirit of the laundry device was very unhappy, and someone really needed to see to it. That someone, alas, was not Sanguinius. Among his many gifts, appliance repair was not on that list.

However, like others, he does need to occasionally wash his bodyglove that he wears under his armor, because cleanliness is good and maybe he will provide a good example for Curze. The People of the Pure Blood on Baal didn't have these machines: they did laundry the old-fashioned way: he found an old laundry washboard, scrubbing the black fabric along it as it's propped in the prep sink.

It's also cathartic!

He's wearing a sheet tied around his waist, but scrubbing is very energetic so there's a decent chance it slips off. Avert your eyes!


DRYING.
The washing was the easy part. The hard part was waiting for it to dry, but he's found the vent the dryer uses, and now he is fully naked, letting the warm detergent-scented air fluff his feathers, and maybe get the last of the glitter (FINALLY) from the downy bits.

Human though he was, he did give a sound like a chirr of pleasure.

ARMOR.
He doesn't neglect his armor, taking some time to murmur the correct litanies as he cleans the seams of his armor, still filthy from the dirt of Signus Prime. Some of the dirt, he knew, was the blood of his Legion, so he treats the procedure with reverence, pausing now and again, murmuring the names of those he knew he lost. "And how many I do not yet recall."

1/2 Drying

[ugh_emotions]

SecUnit needed to use the machine, but it had to make sure no one else was using it first. So it sent ScoutDrone2 to check the laundry first.

This is a move it regrets immediately.

Sanguinius is in there. Sanguinius is fucking naked.

The drone spins around and leaves, at a speed faster than Sanguinius will have yet seen one of the little devices move. And then SecUnit deletes the memory of the terrible, terrible thing it just witnessed.

2/2 Armor

[ugh_emotions]

It is a number of cycles later before SecUnit - or any of its drones - encounters Sanguinius in the laundry again. Mainly because it was not fucking going in there while there was any risk of it encountering the Terrible Thing again.

ScoutDrone2 cautiously creeps into the laundry, and is about to fucking book it when it spots that feathered asshole again...oh, but Sanguinius isn't naked this time. It's safe.

He's talking to his armour, though. Which reminds SecUnit that Curze's armour was actually a bot.

It sends Sanguinius's armour a greeting ping, just in case it is too.

Rakia Amarga | OTA

[flantastic]

This was not an insurmountable task. Rakia simply returned to his Granute form, which did not necessarily need clothes in the way a human might, and tossed the clothing he was wearing in his human form into the washing machine. Simple enough. He'd be buck naked if he transformed into a human again, and so waiting around the machine for his load to finish, as well as waiting for the dryer to finish when the time came, seemed prudent. Sure, there were other nonhumans here, but he was aware that his appearance could be alarming to some...which sucked but whatever, he'd deal with it.

He did not bother throwing his floppy hat into the wash--that could be washed by hand easily enough if needed--and had it covering his face, taking a nap with his back up against the machine as he waited for it to make some horrible screeching noise that would undoubtedly demand a bit of percussive maintenance so that the cycle could continue.

[ugh_emotions]

The drone that enters the laundry is immediately confronted with an SOB SecUnit has never fucking seen before.

No, seriously. Who the fuck is that? It keeps track of everyone here. (And why the hell do they look like that?)

Unless this was one of the new people who'd been showing up? Weird, though, for them to be doing laundry already.

The drone continues to stare.

Re: Rakia Amarga | OTA

[codeswitchcraft]

The next time the machine wakes him with a screeching sound, he'll find an arrow aimed at his face.

"What manner of creature are you?" Siobhan asks with narrowed eyes. "Friend or foe?"

Kaiisteron | OTA

[bashasasdemon]

Kai does not know what a washing machine is. The one in the Library has probably been pointed out to him, but with all its various failings he doesn't see the point of it. He's fine with handwashing. There's just... the whole issue of not having another pair of clothes.

He doesn't consider himself overly modest- his veil is to not freak people out, not for anything else- and though he wasn't born in this body it's still his now. But still, parading around in a public space naked is generally frowned upon in most places. So he's just going to have to make do.

The cleaning of the clothes is simple enough- when he bathes, he just takes his clothes with him and washes them off best he can, wringing them out and putting them aside to dry while he washes himself. (Showers are also new, but it turns out they're great for this- he doesn't have to try and bathe in already dirtied water.) Then he dries himself off, attempts to pat his clothes dry, and just... puts them back on. Look, he's already wet, so them being wet isn't a problem.

He'll just... stay in the kitchen or bathroom area until his clothes stop dripping. It's fine. He's dealt with much worse.

[not_scrap]

Okay, she's lived on a ship long enough to know that mysterious dripping liquids are never good. Coolant, slavering drool, alien ichor...listen, there were dozens of options and all of them sucked.

Which means of course the puddle coming from under the bathroom door? ALARMING, yeah?

*bang bang* "You good in there?" It's not that she has to pee, shut up. It's concern. She'll bang on the door another two or three times. "Don't make me try to kick this door in!" Because the 'try' would probably fail miserably and then she'd look stupid. Let's...not.

Illarion | OTA

[unsheathedfromreality]

One of the few patterns of life that had stuck with Illarion into undeath was caring for himself and his gear. Not staying clean invited rot, and rot would worsen his effectiveness. So he's a regular in the laundry room, albeit often at odd hours.

wash --

Illarion's also in the naked laundry crew, though he's polite enough to pick hours he's not likely to disturb anyone to do his laundry. He'd made a token effort to try the washer and dryer, but -- much like other Editors who were from worlds without those conveniences -- he's back to hand-washing and line-drying his uniform. Whether it's the laundry room sink or the bathrooms, either does for scrubbing out his wash.

While he's picked a time -- hopefully -- without disturbances, he does keep an eye on the door, and should anyone he knows of a ... gentler ... temperament appear about to walk in, he casually wraps a towel around his loins.

Doesn't do anything to hide the very obviously fatal stab wound on his right side, though.

& dry

Laundry dries better outside, and Illarion's still got desiccated instincts to seek wilderness, so he's gotten accustomed to taking his washing to the garden to dry it. He does wear a loin cloth -- and nothing else -- while on that errand, padding barefoot through the Library with his wash over one shoulder and his boots slung around his neck.

It often takes him three or four patient tries to find the right door, but then he can hang his laundry and spend a few hours puttering around the garden while it dries. Check on his plots of fruit bushes. Polish his boots.

Rub salt into his deathwound to keep it dry.

Those kinds of things.

make your own!

All of Illarion's attempts to make himself a veil in the week he'd had before getting pulled into the Story had paid off: He'd found a knack for keeping anything he made from vanishing from the Library, as long as he left just a little bit of it imperfect.

That means he can now supplement his scanty wardrobe -- or anyone else's, should they ask. And he makes himself easy to ask about it, sitting in the laundry room itself with his scissors, thread, and stolen bedsheets to work on his first of what he suspects will be many tunics. Come request something -- it might not be pretty, but it will be a change of clothes.

(He might even offer other Editors some without their asking, if they look sufficiently uncomfortable about the idea of laundering their only outfit. That's why he's posted up in the laundry room.)

Wash

[icanhearscreams]

Jun fortunately does have two outfits with him, both being nearby when he was taken. So he’s in a weird uniform while he heads into the laundry room to wash his pants, shirt, and jacket. He pauses when he sees someone without pants on and just… averts his eyes.

“Ew.” No thank you. Not interested, and probably too old even if he was. Instead Jun makes a beeline for the laundry machine and sets his clothes in to wash with practiced ease. He doesn’t turn around yet, though. “… I can hear you dripping, do you not even know how a dryer works?”

dry

[starandhope]

Mina has a bundle of her own clothes, which she is planning to hang to dry in the garden as well.

And then she stumbles on Illarion. Nearly naked.

"Oh, I beg your pardon!" she says, startled, glancing away and turning her back to him. "I didn't mean to intrude."

She is absolutely not going to look at him in such a state. Why on Earth would she want to?

Nara’a | OTA

[aetherweaver]

He is very unfamiliar with these machines, though he’s heard that there are things called ‘washing machines’ that are used in one of the places he’s come to visit frequently.

Even still, there are two sets of clothes that he needs to wash. Keeping them in the aetheric pocket in the job stones helps… to a degree. Eventually he has to wash them, and the bits of the armors that aren’t leather or some other material that resists washing gets some hand-washing in the sink. Sinks he knows how to deal with - they’re just small fountains in some ways.

Unfortunately while he’s washing those clothes, he’s stuck in his armor, gleaming silver and blue with a sword and shield on his belt and back. He’ll have to wash the armor eventually too, but that can wait. So instead he’s just sitting and waiting in the garden, watching as the sun dries his clothes out. … He’s so tempted to whack the fence with his sword out of frustration, because while he’s reasonably sure the library won’t lose his clothes he’s… also not totally sure.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link had been intending to climb the fence again. But he pauses, when he spots someone else in the garden, clearly trying to dry their freshly cleaned clothes. Looking a little frustrated.

He can sympathise; Link too finds sitting around and waiting for things to dry a little annoying. But maybe he can help.

"...Hi," he says, as he comes up next to Nara'a. Then he reaches into his pack, pulling out a Great Flameblade. It's a large, two-handed sword. It is also, somehow, burning with fire.

Then Link looks between Nara'a, and his wet clothes. "For faster drying?" He says.

Re: Nara’a | OTA

[codeswitchcraft]

"Please tell me you have something else between the armor and your skin," Siobhan comments. "That cannot be comfortable otherwise."

Mina Harker | ota

[starandhope]

Laundry room;

Add Mina to the list of those who don’t know what a washing machine is, or how to operate one. The metal box is passed over by her in favor of hand washing with a washboard and a tub. She’s no servant, but neither is she a pampered lady - she can make do.

The real problem she encounters is preserving her modesty through this process. Her one outfit consists of enough layers that she can at least keep herself covered, but that doesn’t mean it would be proper for a man to see her in her petticoats. So she tries to find a time when the laundry room is otherwise deserted - when most are asleep, for instance.

She’s made herself a makeshift apron with a spare bedsheet - she doesn’t want to ruin her only set of underthings, after all!

The garden;

Drying her things requires the outdoors, of course. She strings up a makeshift clothes line between two fruit trees, hanging her things on it to dry in the sun. Just like a proper housewife (except for the fact that she’s still in her underthings).

She ponders whether she shouldn’t ask Jonathan to keep watch for her, going forward. Perhaps in exchange for washing some of his things for him.

laundry room

[not_scrap]

Nyla's coveralls are back on, toasty dry and warm and seriously, what feels better than fresh clean laundry?

Not much, at least in her world. But the dryer was seriously complaining the whole time. So when Mina comes in, there's a grey lump by the dryer, talking to it. "Yeah, listen, I know. I get you, honey. The disrespect. But I'm here and I know how to clean out a lint trap." And other stuff, but right now that's the task at hand.

Link | OTA

[newmemorywhodis]

There is one new arrival who is having zero laundry problems.

In fact, if someone observes Link over multiple days as he goes about his business - cooking things in the kitchen, poking at random books in the Stacks, seeing how high he can climb the fence - they'll notice that Link, somehow, has multiple different outfits.

Often he's in a blue tunic or deep red armour. But sometimes he's in armour made of warm feathers, or flexible skin-tight fabric. Sometimes he's in a breezy, feminine outfit. He's got one that looks like it's just for climbing (and he often brings this one out when trying to hit a new record at The Fence.)

He's even got an old, well-worn set of clothes, that he puts on to sleep in. In short, if clothes were riches, Link is downright wealthy.

Torioi Mei | OTA

[birdchasingecho]

Mei lucked out, for once in her life.

She had a spare athletic uniform, with spare underthings and a tank top to go with them. As such, it's not any trouble for her to swap to her judo gi and wash, but... Well, it seems like an awful lot of waste for one outfit. And so, she's waiting for someone else, so they can combine their loads.

Cipher Nine | OTA

[stabgremlin]

Exploration.

[So this place was definitely not some hallucination or Force-related fuckery.

Nine still isn't completely sure how to classify it beyond inter-dimensional cock-up cascade but he has at least come to the realization that he's well and truly stuck.

And with being stuck comes the realization that he's here with only his uniform to wear.

And that means getting familiar with where to keep the damn thing clean because if there's something he doesn't like it's filth. He barely tolerates it when he sees it outside. He doesn't tolerate it at all when it's on him.

Thus, as soon as Poptart informs him that there's a place to do laundry, he's there on the double to check it out.] What fucking era is that from, sweet merciless mother of the Emperor, that looks archaic...

[He is not impressed by that washing machine. He's seen better laundry facilities in the sort of hotels that rent their rooms out at 10 credits per night in Hutt space.]

The Laundry Must Still Be Done!

[The washing machine looking like it was invented back when humanity was still banging rocks together to make fire was just something he was going to have to overlook. The uniform must be washed.

So at an hour that seems like it won't see too much traffic, he's there prepping it for decontamination.

Carefully removing the armor set over the shoulders and chest, the bracers, the other small armored bits. Removing all the contents of the pockets and carefully laying them out of the way. The vibroblades. The additional power packs for his rifle. Very carefully removing the six vials of poison he's squirreled away in there. Setting the combat stims aside.

He makes a mental note to find somewhere better to store all of that rather than keeping it on his person at all times.

At least the vials of poison anyway.

Once his uniform is down to only the actual fabric components, it and his underwear get tossed in the washing machine. (Is he going to be angry to find that it doesn't quite complete it's cycle later? Sure. But for now...)

While that runs Nine sits with a sheet wrapped around himself like a dress to cover himself from his chest and down to his knees. He has a wet rag in hand while he waits— wiping down the armor pieces carefully and meticulously, scrubbing a very minimal amount of dirt out from any groove in the metal.

His mouse droid is driving in circles around all the items liberated from the uniform's pockets— if it's doing that to guard Nine's possessions or because it's just bored, it's difficult to tell.

Nine is doing a good job at tuning chirpy beeps out though and only gently taps it with his foot when it diverts from its patrol pattern to indicate that he is still paying some amount of attention to its presence.

Should anyone else come in, Nine's gaze will flick up briefly and he'll give a soft hm that might be a greeting?

But for the most part he seems to be really into polishing the armor pieces laid out in front of him even when they're practically sparkling from cleanliness.]

Drying...

[Had there been cursing at the washing cycle not quite finishing? Yes.

Is the uniform clean enough anyway? Also yes.

Like just about everyone else, Nine has also taken his washed clothing out to air dry in the garden— seemed the safer bet to maintain his uniform in as close to an ideal condition as possible. The armor pieces and all his other belongings sit wrapped up in another pilfered bed sheet.

He's still sitting fairly close by where his uniform and underwear are hung up to dry, but this time he's got his datapad in his lap— a live view from Poptart's camera as it zips around elsewhere in the library up in the corner, but his focus is mostly on the puzzle game he's got up on screen and his red eyes only briefly flick to the camera feed on occasion.

Poptart being confined to the ground really makes Nine (and probably Poptart too) miss Caf. What he wouldn't do for an aerial view of the places Poptart is exploring.]

Siobhan Greenwood | OTA

[codeswitchcraft]

Siobhan is being courted by a wizard. She doesn't need to worry about actually washing her clothing when Hikaru can just spell them clean for her.

That said, she finds the washing machine absolutely fascinating. "It really does do a laundry maid's work all by itself," she says out loud, absolutely delighted. Then, not too much later, "Is the soapy water supposed to come out the door?"

Re: Siobhan Greenwood | OTA

[birdchasingecho]

"Absolutely not," Mei said, immediately lifting the lid to stop the cycle and see the damage, setting aside her hoodie to reveal what might be termed 'some guns', and humming concernedly as she digs her way into the tub. "dj'you add soap? 'cause I added soap..."