April catch-all

[newmemorywhodis]

WHO: Link and Dustin, Tommmy, Radley, and you!
WHERE: Various places in and around Temba and Sh'ka
WHAT: Link goes hunting, bothers Dustin, makes some dubious drinks and attempts to contact the Funfronds
WHEN: In the weeks after the Ah! Real Monsters! Event
WARNINGS: animal murder


i. Senseless animal murder aka Hunting [open]

Link's hunting more frequently these days. Mainly because he learned, much to his dismay, that without his korok-enchanted pack he doesn't have a good way to keep meat long-term. So rather than doing a lot of hunting at once, he needs to head out regularly for smaller kills that he can cook that day.

So he can frequently be found in the forests outside Temba - or Sh'ka, if he happens to be there instead - moving swiftly and silently, his compound bow at the ready.

Between the trees, he spots one of the small, dinosaur-like Gallies. Crouches down, and inches further. Before drawing his bow, aiming right for the creatures head, and letting the arrow go.


ii. You can never have too many shields [closed to Dustin]

Dustin had made Link promise not to tell anyone about the Workshop, or where it was. A promise he had absolutely taken seriously, and had kept.

What Dustin had not done, however, was make Link promise not to show up there whenever he felt like it.

The challenge, however, was getting in to the workshop. Dustin had evidently left a puzzle for Link, because he soon found that the door was locked and the windows boarded up. But there was this little square flap at the bottom of the back door. If Link takes of his Sword and bow and makeshift shield - and carefully lays them next to the flap - he might be able to squeeze through.

Which he, of course, immediately proceeds to attempt to do.


iii. Making The Frog Drink [closed to Tommy and Radley]

This wasn't Link's first time cooking at the diner. He'd become a bit of a regular, actually - though he was always happy to cook for everyone else around too, when he was there. Sometimes making unusually elaborate dishes using whatever new and interesting ingredients he'd managed to find.

Today, however, it was a bit different. Today, Link was experimenting.

Thanks to the Agriculture datapoint, he knew how to make something close to the elixirs he made back in Hyrule with local plants. But the datapoint didn't tell him anything about using animals, or insects. Which meant Link had to figure out what he could make by pure trial and error.

The end result of this was Link cooking up an increasingly odd series of concoctions, using things like butterflies, beetles, lizards, crabs, grasshoppers. And, of course, frogs.

Link had a good feeling about the frog. This one, he was sure, was going to do something.


iv. Are these the new Koroks? [closed to Funfronds]

Link had heard about the Funfronds from Dustin. Knew at least a little of what they were, from the Dictionary. But hearing about them was one thing - Link wanted to see them for himself.

And he was so very, very curious.

So, he's staked out the ruins near the greenhouse, late one evening. Thought a little about how he might indicate he was friendly to them. He ended up combing through the ruins, and leaving an apple or other piece of small fruit whenever he found a little nook or cranny. He didn't know if the Funfronds were anything like Koroks, but if they were - well, maybe they'd appreciate the gifts too? Course, Koroks also liked thinks like Link picking up rocks, and shooting balloons, and jumping into circles of lilies in the water...

...Maybe he'd try those later. If the apples didn't work. For now, though, he just sits in one corner in the ruins. And waits.



V. Wildcard!

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

Comments

III

[doubled_speed]

There was a distinct odor when Tommy came in with a crate of fresh harvested food from the greenhouse. It was not one that he was really big on at the moment either. With his nose crinkled he moved through the kitchen and set down his crate, trying to get an eyeful of what was going on.

He had to bite his lip to keep from frowning.

"Dude, what are you doing? Not going to judge you, but French cuisine might not fly here."

[newmemorywhodis]

Link looks up, pausing with one hand literally holding a dead frog over a boiling pot.

"Making elixirs," he says. "What's French cuisine?"

[doubled_speed]

Dude, there is a dead frog in his kitchen and you're asking what french cuisine is?

"Cooked frog legs."

[newmemorywhodis]

Of course he is. He doesn't even know what 'French' is.

But Link hums a soft, considering acknowledgement. He's not thought to cook frog legs before...

"Do you have a recipe?" Maybe Link can try it sometime? When he's not trying to make frog elixirs, of course.

[doubled_speed]

"Hell no," Tommy said immediately. Because the fuck man, why would he want those?

"Seriously, though, what the hell do you mean when you say elixir?"

[trpmods]

Good thing he gets lucky with the pieces of fruit being left around, because chances were that shooting balloons wasn't going to impress the Funfronds. It takes some time before one arrives, a very spindly little creature that moves cautiously, its red cap glowing faintly in the evening light.

Finding the discarded food it gave a little tremble and shuffle of feet before settling to stand amid the fruit. What better way to get a bite after all?

[newmemorywhodis]

Oh good, the balloons would have been really tricky to wrangle.

Link stays still, when the little funfrond appears, watching with fascination. It's a little mushroom, that moves!

Then, slowly - carefully - he takes out another apple. Sets it down on the ground in front of him. It's close, but still has a little distance from Link. Maybe the funfront will be okay coming closer?

[trpmods]

The Funfrond notices him at the point the new apple is set down. It watches the apple, and Link for a moment. Then it starts to dance. It's a question, but given Link can't understand it, it will likely be waiting for a response for a while.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link's eyes widen. It's dancing! Like Hetsu, but without the maracas.

He absolutely does not understand the question. But the movement looks fun, so he mimics it. Probably in a way that, to the little creature, is a bit like the equivalent of someone imitating the Swedish Chef.

[trpmods]

Well that wasn't the right thing at all. The creature was clearly put off by the motion. It stepped backward, away from the strange animal that is dancing at it.

i. Gotta save the animals.

[ashwantstobattle]

Ash and Pikachu are just out exploring as they usually are about this time of day. They're just running through the forest taking in the sights. Pikachu is running along side him and stops very suddenly in front, causing Ash to nearly trip over.

"Pi?" Pikachu's ears go straight up and he glances around.

"What's up, Pikachu?" Ash asks his little friend.

"Pika!" He points over in the direction of the Gallies and then starts to head over to them, Ash right behind. "Pika?" Pikachu lets out an alarmed noise and glances round, able to just make out the danger. "Pikapi!"

"Huh?" Ash glances up and looks to see what's upset Pikachu so much. "Oh no!" Before he even has time to think about what he's doing he's moving, trying to tackle the Gallie out of the way of danger. Pikachu, meanwhile, uses his Quick Attack to tackle Link to try and get the Arrow to widely miss the target and hopefully not hit Ash in the meantime.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link's eyes go wide, as suddenly Ash appears - and apparently he has a death wish, since he just leaped in front of Link's arrow.

Since Link does not want to shoot Ash, he's already turning his bow wide - but then Pikachu crashes into him, and the bow goes even further to the side as Link and Pikachu tumble. The arrow shoots, but strikes harmlessly meters away from the two.

Heart pounding with a rush of adrenaline Link was not expecting, Link gets up and moves over to Ash.

"Don't do that," he says.

[ashwantstobattle]

Pikachu lets out a sigh of relief when no one is hit by the stray arrow and dashes back over to Ash, who now back on his feet and has hold of the Gallie. It's kicking up a fuss and seems confused as to what just happened. "It's okay, you're safe now." He says to it in a soothing voice.

"You don't do that!" Ash's tone turns angry as he looks back up at Link, still holding the Gallie protectively in his arms. "It wasn't doing anything! You have no right!"

"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu cries with the same anger as he stays protectively between Ash and Link.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link just looks at Ash. Wonders, not for the first time, what kind of strange world Ash comes from. Where these 'pokemon' regularly engage in mock violence for fun, and yet the basic realities of survival are considered wrong and upsetting. Or is it just that Ash is still a child? Shielded, perhaps, from certain realities of life?

"Don't do that," he says again, softly. "I could have hit you."

[ashwantstobattle]

"So what? I'm not just gonna sit here and let you hurt a living creature like that!" Ash says heatedly. The Gallie seems to somehow understand that Ash is protecting it because it's stopped squirming and seems to be looking up at him.

"It has just as much right to be alive as we do!" Ash says firmly, Pikachu agreeing along with him. Although, Pikachu is miffed at how close Ash came to throwing himself in danger yet again.

III

[crystalmaster]

Radley has no idea what Link's been doing other than making normal foods. He had been hesitant to let Link do anything at the diner at first, but when he had shown he could make yummy things, Radley had been accepting. When he comes in today, however, he is rather horrified by the state of the kitchen.

"... What's going on in here?!"

[newmemorywhodis]

What? Link's kept all of the dead bugs, frogs, and other assorted small critters in separate containers. It's neat! Not horrifying at all.

"Figuring out elixirs," Link says, as he drops an entire frog into a boiling concoction.

[crystalmaster]

Radley normally is a calm person. It takes a lot to fully push him to snap, even when he is pretty angry inside. But this ... yeah, this is pushing him dangerously close to it. Just how much will he have to scrub all these containers to get them clean for food again? Not to mention how completely unappetizing this is.

"... Did Tommy tell you you could do this here?" Somehow he doubts it.

[newmemorywhodis]

It doesn't occur to Link that Radley would think he'd need to clean all of this up. After all, Link usually cleans up after himself. He does know that keeping things clean is important.

He, does, however, give Radley a blank look. Because it also hadn't occurred to Link to think that he'd need permission to cook here. He never had before.

"...No?"

[crystalmaster]

Making this stuff is a lot different than making regular foods, and Radley doubts Tommy will like this any better than he does.

"What are these elixirs for, anyway?"

ii

[quark_assassin]

Dustin's superhuman intellect gives him the ability to anticipate many different outcomes to a possible problem. And yet, Link consistently manages to catch him by surprise.

He's in the middle of a nap when Link decides to pay him a visit, but Dustin is a pretty light sleeper, so the sound of a Hylian teenager trying to shove his whole body through a cat flap in the next room over is easily enough to snap him awake. Dustin lurches for the crossbow next to his pile of blankets and stumbles towards the door to the breakroom-turned-bedroom, cracking it open just enough so he can aim the sights towards the workshop's outside-facing back entry.

Thankfully, it only takes half a second of inspection for him to realize what's going on - in the literal sense, anyway. 'What's going on' is that Link is head-and-one-shoulder through the cat flap to his home. Why this is happening is a whole other mystery.

"...What the fuck," Dustin sighs - less of a question and more of an admission that this is his day now, apparently - before he lowers the crossbow and shoulders his way through the door, still bleary-eyed from sleep. "Why? What is this accomplishing for you?"

Re: ii

[newmemorywhodis]

Link pauses in his wriggling, and looks up at Dustin.

"Your door was locked." And obviously, Link had to get in somehow. Thus, the cat flap.

Link thought it was a reasonable solution to the puzzle, anyway.

[quark_assassin]

Dustin stares at Link for a moment, like he's waiting for him to elaborate. Of course he doesn't. Why would he expect him to do something like that? Dustin's face goes into his free hand, kneading at the crooked bridge of his nose, before he glances sharply upward again with a flat glare.

"Knock," he drones. The irony of the fact that Dustin did not follow his own advice when he first got here, skulking about and letting himself into other people's houses, does not escape him - it's actually part of the reason he's so exasperated now. To his credit, he hadn't assumed at the time that anyone considered these dumpy ruins their 'home,' but Link knows Dustin works here. What's his excuse?

Whatever - he doesn't really care about the reason, as long as Link doesn't do it again. Dustin continues to give him more options. "Or fucking--leave me a message before you get here. That's better, actually. Anything but..."

He trails off, eyes narrowing.

"...Are you stuck?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Huh. Knock? Link supposes he could do that. Even if he's never bothered before.

Link absolutely lets himself into other people's houses, even when he knows that they do indeed belong to other people.

As it turns out, Link is not stuck - as after considering for a moment, he wriggles his way back out of the catflap. Perhaps if he'd kept going further, he would have gotten stuck. But he didn't, so it's all okay, really.

A moment later, there's a knock on the door.

[quark_assassin]

Well, at least he doesn't have to try and take apart the door to get Link out of it. Dustin waits just out of reach as his unexpected visitor vanishes from view. Continues waiting. Any second now...

...And there's the knock. Dustin nods to himself with a sigh, somewhere between exasperation and wry amusement, then strides to the back door and unlatches the multitude of locks keeping it closed before swinging it inwards. His expression is deadpan.

"Better," he mutters. "Now. What do you want?"