revivalproject | [Open] Log

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[Open] Log

WHO: Link and you!
WHERE: The Hangar, the Hotel, and various places across Temba
WHAT: Link searches for scientists, looks at ships, and moves into a new home
WHEN: After Link's arrival & the blizzard event
WARNINGS: None expected

The new ponty-eared arrival in Temba isn't exactly looking like a style icon as he runs around Temba, wearing the slightly oversized sweatshirt and pants that Gladio gave him. In deference to the cold, on top of that he's also tied an old ratty blanket around his neck, as if it were a cloak.

And of course, on top of that, there is the Master Sword, slung on his back.

But Link certainly doesn't let the fact that he arrived wholly unprepared for the winter cold stop him from exploring this new location.

I. Searching for ~~quest-givers~~ scientists
So, Link is here. He knows he's here because the Agrii want heroes to help save them from the storms. He knows, at this point, absolutely nothing about said storms, or how to stop them.

But Gladio mentioned 'smart science types'. People like Purah, or Robbie. People who might have the knowledge and intelligence to figure out what's going on. If Link's going to figure out how he's going to help...they seem like a good place to start.

So he goes looking. Maybe he manages to track someone down by name. Maybe he finds a place that looks suitably...sciency, and just figures that whoever is in there is probably a scientist. Or knows where to find one.

Either way, wherever they are, Link will find them. And then just kind of look at them, with an odd, intense yet strangely blank-faced expression.

"...Hi," he says, still staring.

II. Hangar & the ships
The ships Link found partly while looking for scientists, partly while just exploring.

When he first sees them, he just...stares. He has no frame of reference for what these massive things are. But he can't help but be reminded - at least in some way - of the Divine Beasts. But while the Divine Beasts were similarly colossal in scale, they weren't spread out across Hyrule. Not all clustered together, in one place.

Link definitely wants to see what's inside these.

Though it takes a while, before he can get into one. The first few he tries, for whatever reason, he just...can't get in. But then he comes to the one that looks a bit scrappy - the Bloodsport - and the door just opens at a touch.

He peers in. What will he find in here?

III. The hotel
In the days and weeks after Link moves into one of the Hotel rooms, a few themes will soon emerge to anyone who pays attention.

Firstly, Link clearly pays absolutely no attention to any kind of schedule; he is just as likely to leave or arrive in the middle of the night, as he is any time during the day. Though he doesn't spend all that much time in the room itself, usually spending his time elsewhere.

Secondly, he keeps bringing back things. A armfull of baconrooms. Several bunches of Chicken Daisies. Pieces of wood. Rocks. Assorted debris. Even a few small lizards, one time. Although Link soon learned - to his disappointment - that lizards don't always stay where you put them.

He also has a habit of not always taking the stairs. There's a perfectly good window, after all. Why walk down, when you can climb?

IV. Wildcard
[[OOC: Choose your own adventure! Let me know if you'd like to set up anything not covered by the above]]

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It's unlikely that Link has found Dustin's actual home here - only one other person (that he's aware of) knows where that is, and he trusts that she hasn't given away the location of his secret engineering lair to just anyone that asks. But his schedule, at the moment, is still predictable enough to track. He ends up catching Dustin on his way out of the Diner, slipping through the back door like he normally does to avoid anyone trying to flag him down for unwanted conversation--

--Except then there's Link, just. Waiting. Dustin visibly jumps.

"--F-Fuck!" He takes an impulsive step back, driving a hand into his hair. "What, what?! What do you want?"

You never know, Dustin. Considering Link's tendency to explore - and by explore he means shamelessly search through every nook and cranny he can find - he might find your secret engineering la. Eventually. Just by sheer process of elimination.

But, so far he hasn't. Yet. So patiently waiting outside the diner will have to do for now.

"You're a smart science person," Link says. Something he had not realised when they'd met on the roof.

Dustin glares, quietly fuming. Part of him wants to just storm back into the Diner out of protest for being cornered like this, but the more rational part of his brain recognizes a deeper significance for this meeting that he should pay attention to. Link seems like a very no-nonsense kind of guy - he wouldn't have wasted his time waiting out here, specifically for him, unless it was important. Unless he needed Dustin for something. And, well, Dustin can't deny that he likes having jobs to do.

Not that any of this reasoning tempers his response at all. "Sure," he says with a roll of his eyes and a dismissive wave of his hand. "Whatever. What do you want? Spit it out already."

Dustin might re-evaluate his opinion of Link as a 'no-nonsense guy' if he ever sees some of the stuff Link gets up to. Like shield-surfing. Or riding bears. Or seeing how far high up he can get if he attaches a bunch of octo-balloons to a wooden raft.

"You need help?" Link says, because he's the one looking for jobs to do.

Dustin's mouth opens. Closes again. Has anyone ever asked to help me with anything, unprompted, without knowing what I'm working on? A quick cycle through his memories confirms that as a firm 'no.' He's done that himself on more than one occasion, hoping to pay off debts and such, but it feels undeniably strange to be on the receiving end for once, to the point where he's momentarily at a loss for words.

...Maybe I'm overthinking this, Dustin considers with a quick shake of his head. Link might have heard of a project and is assuming he knows what he's talking about. That makes more sense to him than just, what - genuine altruism? Who does that?

"...With what?" Dustin eventually asks, quirking an eyebrow.

Link shrugs. Because no, he does not have anything in particular in mind. He has zero knowledge of Dustin's projects, other than 'science' and 'maybe figuring out the storms'.

"Whatever you need help with?" Surely Dustin would know what that is more than Link.

Dustin has no shortage of projects, but he's never once considered how to navigate those projects with a second set of hands. Having to think about where to slot Link into his plans is surprisingly difficult. The gears in Dustin's brain churn, then come to a grinding halt as his paranoia interposes itself and clogs them up.

"--Who put you up to this?" he asks, narrowing his eyes in naked suspicion. Still can't believe that Link would be doing this of his own free will, apparently.

Link frowns. "Gladio said you are a scientist?" Although it seems a very different one from the scientists Link was used to. "Someone who can figure out the storms."

Dustin tsks in annoyance and turns away before Link has the opportunity to elaborate. "Of course it was," he mutters irritably. Fucking Gladio. Probably assumed pointing him out would be totally harmless and helpful for everyone involved, the idiot. No point in turning him away now; Link has his number, and he has a goal, and Dustin gets the impression that he's not going to drop it any time soon.

He huffs and turns back with a flat stare. "Sure," Dustin shrugs. "I'm a lot of stuff. Trying to figure out the storms is kind of the fucking goal, so."

He pauses, frowning pensively. Still that question of what to do with him. Mentions of the storm do bring up some options, though.

"...Okay, fine," he eventually decides, folding his arms. "You can lift heavy stuff? Follow basic instructions?"

Dustin's impression was pretty on the money. Link could be stubborn, when he wanted to. And right now, he definitely wanted to.

Fortunately, it looked like Dustin was willing to give Link a few things to do. He nods: yes, he could follow instructions. Yes, he can lift heavy objects.

Although at first glance, Link doesn't really look like the kind of person that you would assume to be pretty strong. Not with his short stature and generally small build. But appearances can be deceiving. And there was that sword - which definitely didn't look light a light, flimsy blade.

"Good," Dustin says with a curt nod. No questions about Link's apparent strength matching his frame - Dustin saw him climb up a whole building with his bare-ass hands, he knows this kid can lift. "I have a construction project. As soon as the snow melts, I'll message you with a set of coordinates in Temba, you will meet me there."

His eyes narrow.

"You will not tell anyone that you're planning to do this, where you are going, or who you are doing it for." Loathe as Dustin is to give away the location of his workshop to yet another Agrii abductee, he recognizes that he'll probably draw even more attention to himself and where he lives if he takes several days to get this particular project done. It was agonizing enough, taking out the wall on his own to get the stadium light motor indoors last autumn. "Do we understand each other?"

Link understood the words. He understood all the instructions. But he did not, however, understand why he was was suddenly being sworn to secrecy.

For a moment, Link just looks at Dustin.

"...Your construction project is a secret?"

Apparently they do not understand each other. Dustin frowns, looking flustered.

"--Sure," he says irritably. "I don't want people to know about it, I don't want people to know where I work, and I sure as hell don't want them to know where I live. More people getting involved means more people getting in my way of getting shit done." Dustin gives a wild shrug and rolls his eyes skyward. Is he still talking to Link, even? "Last thing I need is a fucking audience while I'm trying to focus, or just trying to...fucking...deal with living in this absolute shithole of a city. Alright?"

"Why?" Link asks.

Link wasn't the most social of people. He was quiet, and preferred not to talk much. But he'd never wanted to avoid other people either. Didn't want to hide away where he lived, so that no one could ever visit.

Dustin, though, apparently did want to avoid people. So...why?

"Because people fucking suck!" Dustin snaps, his temper boiling over before he has time to think about what he's saying. "They're stupid, they're selfish, they lie, and they'll stab you in the back if you give them the chance. Relying on anyone but yourself is a useless waste of time, they'll always let you down. That's..."

The steam he's been building up seems to plateau. Dustin's rant trails, his expression locked in a furious scowl falters, at first to mild confusion, then finally settles on downtrodden embarrassment.

"...That's why," he mutters.

For a moment, Link says nothing. Just stands there in stunned silence. He hadn't expected his question to be met with an explosion of anger, but all Link could feel in response was...sad.

What terrible thing had happened to Dustin, to make him so afraid of other people?

"...I won't tell anyone," he says softly.

Dustin's eyes flicker quickly between Link and the ground a few times as he tries to assess that response. That...feels genuine. Link hasn't done anything to suggest that he lies; coming down from his heated ramble, the fog of paranoia lifts enough for Dustin to recognize that Link's far too blunt and earnest for those sorts of games. At the moment, in fact, he sounds downright compassionate, in a way that makes Dustin intensely self-conscious about blowing up at him in the first place.

Addressing any of those emotions would be dreadfully complicated, though.

"...Okay," Dustin concedes with a sniff, quickly wiping a hand across his nose while he struggles to regain his composure. "Good. Then we, uh. We have a deal."

Link politely does not remark upon the sniff, or the lost composure.

And while Link is entirely out of depth with dealing with someone like Dustin - so explosive, and yet so strangely fragile at the same time - at least they're now moving onto familiar ground.

Outbursts may be unfamiliar territory, but tasks are not. Link nods. Then, after a moment's hesitation, he adds: "...What am I doing?"

Because Dustin hasn't actually explained that yet.

That's...fair. They had gotten a little sidetracked, hadn't they?

"Construction," Dustin says through a deep, somewhat shaky exhale, to pick up where he remembers leaving off. "I have a particularly large piece of equipment that needs to be moved out of a building. I had to take out part of the wall to get it inside before winter, and now it's ready to go back out, so, the wall needs to go as well. Then the equipment needs to be hauled across the city and installed."

Construction. Like what Bolson does? Link's helped with that, but never done the actual work before.

A pity he doesn't have the Sheikah Slate, though. Remote bombs and magnesis would probably make this much, much easier.

"When?" Link asks. Does Dustin want Link to help now? Or later?

"Once the snow melts," Dustin explains. He takes a moment to ruffle his coat a bit, drawing it closer; just the mention of the snow makes him more cognizant of how long they've been standing outside, talking, while his shins grow soggy and numb. "I'll contact you first."

"Okay," Link says.

And at this point, Link's achieved what he was after. He's found a scientist, offered them help, and been assigned a task to complete. Even if it was a bit...awkward, in the middle there.

There's nothing else for Link to stay for now.

"Bye," he says, before running off.

Dustin blinks a couple of times at Link's back, but ultimately brushes off the weird exit with a shrug. He's done essentially the same thing plenty of times to other people; at least Link has the sense not to drag this out with needless small-talk or niceties or other dumb shit like that.

He continues on his intended path back to his shop, storing their conversation away.

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