revivalproject | Keeping Busy

Entry tags:

Keeping Busy

WHO: Dustin and Whoever
WHERE: Various locations around Temba
WHAT: Monthly Grab-Bag o' Prompts
WHEN: Throughout July, post-Calibrations
WARNINGS: Dustin swearing and sweating up a storm, might be some other unpleasant stuff depending on the conversations, will CW as needed.

1. Returning the Favor | Soon after Calibrations, Library | OTA

Dustin's had one particular project completed for some time now. Good thing, as it turns out - the Calibrations process was one hell of a speedbump, and this one one less thing to panic about because of it.

The real trick, then, is finding Omega to hand off the finished product. Could he message her to coordinate? Yes. Does he want to? No, that feels like an extra step of social interaction that Dustin absolutely does not have the energy for right now. Instead, Dustin is stalking mothkittens. Omega has a veritable army of them, and Dustin has seen (and therefore recognizes on sight) a few that she has interacted with directly, so it's just a matter of finding the highest concentration of them and letting them take him to her.

This is easier said than done - something Dustin realizes about two minutes in, when his cover is immediately blown and the little animals come swarming, bouncing curiously around his feet and chirping at him for food and attention. Dustin doesn't dare guess at what they eat, so he settles for the latter. He plops down in the shade of the Library's roof, strips off his coat for the kittens to play in, and waits.

2. Distraction 1: Skywatching | Nights throughout July, Amphitheater | OTA

Arriving out of the caves means that the weather aboveground has been kind of a rude awakening. It's sweltering, miserable, giving Dustin's pale-ass skin sunburn so fast that he can't even shed all his layers to pretend to stay comfortable in the heat. Too Damn Hot. This is somehow leagues worse than this past winter. Lump on top of that the situation he just came from, wanting nothing to do with his fellow multiverse captives or long periods of sleep, and suddenly Dustin has become a predominantly nocturnal animal.

Thankfully, he's got plenty of activities lined up that can be accomplished at night. The completed telescope in the upper rafters of the Amphitheater is an obvious candidate for further observations and improvements. Dustin's first task, soon after being released, is to check on it and make sure that a month of neglect hasn't resulted in any tampering or wear from the odd storm or two, and consequently fixing any damages he finds; the second is many long, sporadic evenings of skywatching. Dustin brings a couple of blankets and towels to camp out on at dusk, plus one or two smaller inventions to tinker with, does a few rounds of honing the telescope in and spotting for anything interesting, sets a target and lets it output to his tablet while it tracks various objects across the horizon.

3. Distraction 2: Hoverbike | Late July, Southeast Temba | OTA

Some projects simply can't wait until nightfall to test. Partly this is because Dustin is working with the sort of manic energy that only comes from a period of prolonged isolation and intense paranoia, multiplied by the sudden flood of information from the return of his abilities - a high that he's been chasing all month, frankly. Partly it's because this specific project is something Dustin has been excited about since winter. But mostly, he needs to be able to see what he's doing so he can steer.

Dustin is neither stupid nor reckless enough to drive the prototype hoverbike himself (especially knowing what happened to the first attempt at this in Temba, thanks Cayde). Instead, he's hooked the controls up to an app on his communicator, allowing him to pilot the skeleton of a hoverbike like some kind of oversized RC car. He takes it on slow, controlled circuits around the factory areas of southeastern Temba during the cooler hours of dusk and dawn, trotting after the disembodied machine wherever it goes. Dustin himself as an odd look to him: He's eager and excited, like a puppy chasing a stick, but he also hasn't showered in two months, he's got bags under his eyes so dark that they look like bruises, and the heat has finally driven away most of his usual layers of clothes, leaving behind an alarmingly rail-thin teenager in a ragged, unwashed long-sleeved shirt and the rolled-up pants from his Eorzean disguise. The combination is a little unhinged - even more apparent when someone crosses his path and he (and the hoverbike) freezes in place, looking ready to bolt.

4. Special Delivery | Early July, Dustin's Workshop | Closed to Link

This is another one of those projects that really should have been completed last month, but thanks to the Unforeseen Circumstances that both he and Link had been dragged into, implementing the final touches needed to be pushed back. Finishing the shield is one of the first things Dustin does when he staggers back into his workshop, though. Link had been surprisingly kind to him when they were stuck together in Calibrations. The least Dustin could do to repay that kindness was to complete the project he'd already promised him.

It only takes a couple of days of shaping, reinforcing, and testing the major functions of the shield for Dustin to feel like it is ready for a practical demonstration. He'll need Link for that. He could try to ping him on the Network, but that sounds like a lot of effort (and Calibrations has made him especially paranoid about using Agrii-provided technology on top of that), so instead Dustin decides to just park himself somewhere that Link will come to him.

Things Dustin knows Link likes: Food, exploring new places, Being Tall. So Dustin spends the heat of the day bolting together a ladder and, at dusk, parks himself on the roof of his own workshop, the shield on one side of him and a towel cradling a pile of fresh fruit from the Diner on the other. He's brought another project - a small handheld device of some sort with a long antenna - up with him, of course, to fiddle with in case Link doesn't show.

WILDCARD

[Have an idea for something? Ping me on Plurk or Discord and we can talk about it, or just make a starter that sounds fun and I'll roll with it probably!]

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Omega can't help but lean in Dustin's direction for a closer look before she sits back once he does pull out...some sort of device? She looks intrigued, even if she can't determine what it might be for.

A tag press? "Ohh...." she marvels, looking at the case that's brought out, eyes lighting up at the little letters within. They're not Aurebesh, but she'd seen it used in most of the admittedly limited collection of Jon's library and somehow knows how to read them. She reaches over to pick at some of the little letters, looking to the press.

"What's the maximum thickness the metal should be? Can you show me how to load the press?"

Dustin doesn't seem to notice the momentary intrusion into his personal space - either because it's already being infringed upon by the mothcats, or because he's too focused on showing off his invention, or because he's just that comfortable with Omega's presence and general mannerisms not to care. Either way, he's much more interested in watching her look the machine over, eager for her assessment.

"Optimal is one to three millimeters, but I've tested it up to five," Dustin elaborates. "Mileage may vary based on the type of metal you're using, obviously - I was working with a scrap steel alloy. Here, should be able to, uh--"

Now the mothcat in his lap is removed. Dustin unceremoniously picks it up and deposits the bleary-eyed creature on the ground closer to Omega before he stands, trotting away across the street to some of the less well-maintained ruins and their rubble piles. Trapper, draped across the back of his neck, accompanies him.

"Three to five millimeters," Omega murmurs to herself with a nod, making mental note.

She smiles a little and gathers up the poor displaced mothcat, looking after Dustin and his current companion to see what he's doing. Should she go after them? Or perhaps it's better to keep an eye on the press and the little stamps in case the kittens got any ideas.

It takes him a minute or two of rooting around the rubble to find a suitable piece for a demonstration. Dustin saunters back with the scrap of silver metal held under his arm while Trapper curiously glances around, effortlessly balanced on the edge of his shoulder.

"Here--" He rolls back onto the ground by the Library's wall, already drenched in sweat from his brief foray into the afternoon sun, and clamps a corner of the metal into the press. "Aluminum composite, should hold shape reasonably well. You just slot the letters you want into the top--"

Dustin nabs a few stamps, speaking as he goes along.

"--It'll take any kind of mold, actually, if you want to do something custom, as long as it'll fit here, uh--then you you press down on the clamp--" He grabs the lever arm and pushes it firmly down. There's an affirmative chunk and the sound of shearing metal, the scrap shifts away and Dustin lifts the lever, quickly snatching away the tag. It's oval-shaped with a small hole punched into the top (Dustin presses away the errant fleck of metal still plugging it up with a fingernail) and the word he loaded - TEST - stamped clearly in the center. This is offered in an open palm to Omega. "--There. If it doesn't come away cleanly, you might have to re-press to fully sever the edges and sand away any burrs, but I've only seen that happen on thicker pieces."

Omega's already digging around her own bag when Dustin comes back, holding out a water bottle to him. She sits up on her knees now that he's got material to demonstrate with, watching eagerly as he explains while he sets things up.

It's almost like magic to watch what results, even if she understands just how it works. But then maybe it is, for how simple it is comparison to something like a full assembly line. She looks absolutely delighted.

"Oh! That's amazing!" Omega says as she takes the tag to inspect. She carefully runs her finger around the edge, nodding. "Got it. Can I try?"

"Sure," Dustin shrugs, pushing the device towards Omega along with the scrap metal and collection of stamps. He grabs the water bottle in exchange. There's no hesitation in him when he unstoppers it and takes several greedy swigs - a definite improvement, although Dustin isn't thinking about that right now. He does stop himself from just dunking the rest of the water over his head, barely. Don't waste it.

Instead, Dustin quietly observes while he ruffles out his hair, trying to let some of the heat escape now that he's back in the shade. Trapper helps by grooming the side next to him.

Looking absolutely thrilled, Omega sets to work picking out letters from the little box. She pulls the device closer so she can remove the test letters and replace them, and then she's loading the scrap metal into position just as she'd seen Dustin. The girl's a quick learner, that much is evident.

"Watch out, Tumble," she says, shifting just a little to give herself more space to push down the lever to activate the press, and she makes sure it's gone down completely before she lets the lever release again. Carefully she eases out the metal scrap and the newly pressed tag, holding it up for inspection with a bright smile, 'TUMBLE' imprinted neatly on the metal's surface.

Dustin's quiet observation remains impassive, but the small quirk at the corner of his mouth, slowly growing the longer Omega fiddles with the device, betrays how happy he actually is. It's always nice to make something for someone else and to see evidence that it will be used and enjoyed; it's especially nice to see it after being stuck without his abilities for a month, wondering if he'd ever be able to make anything useful ever again or be resigned to the role of Local Mopey Idiot. Never mind that he'd built most of the press pre-Calibrations - there's still joy and satisfaction to be found, here.

He leans over to accept the new tag from Omega, carefully runs his thumb over the edges and imprinted letters, then hands it back with a nod. "Looks good," Dustin acknowledges. "It's yours. Now you can make as many as you need."

The girl claps her hands together excitedly at that. She is going to make so. Many. Tags.

Hopefully Dustin doesn't freak out badly when the next thing she does is throw her arms around him to hug him. He may be slightly smelly but she's lived with four soldiers in their ship and been in their barracks.

"Thank you," she says, at least not hanging on too long. "I'll make good use of it."

Dustin doesn't freak out - he's too familiar with Omega to do something like that - but that doesn't make a spur-of-the-moment hug any less surprising. Instead he locks up like an animal grabbed by the scruff of the neck, arms stuck at his sides, unconsciously holding his breath. Trapper lets out an excited trill and uses Omega's back as a platform to disembark from Dustin's shoulder. When she pulls away, it's hard to tell if his face is red from the heat or from embarrassment.

"G-Good," he manages to stammer. "Happy fifteenth or whatever."

It's probably due to those cues that she releases him quickly, her smile apologetic, but she's still happy. It's not like she's gotten very many things, especially something specifically made for her.

Omega giggles at Trapper, reaching a hand out after the mothcat before she settles back, looking back at Dustin. If you thought she couldn't smile any wider, well, she proves that wrong once he manages his birthday greeting. No, she's not surprised he remembered. He did help her figure it out, after all. But she's still happy to hear it.

"We should go inside or something. It's still hot out. Do you need more water?"

It's difficult to meet Omega's eyes back. On the one hand, Dustin is pleased to have made something that she likes and will definitely use; on the other, her implicit praise makes him feel like he's being scrutinized, almost to the point of mockery given how simple the invention was for him to make. He's only doing what she did for him to begin with - why is that deserving of so much admiration? Is it really that easy?

Thankfully for both of them, Dustin remembers how their conversation near his birthday went, so he can predict how this argument will end if he tries to broach it. He keeps the thought to himself, almost physically swallowing it back with a furrowed, kind of baffled expression stuck on his face, staring at one of the mothcats still hovering at Omega's side.

"Uh--right," Dustin shakes his head to clear it. "I can get more water myself, it--it's no big deal. Um--"

His gaze flicks to the edifice of the Library towering over them. A sense of dread settles in his stomach, accompanied by the paling of his face.

"--M-Maybe not here," Dustin suggests. It's not just that he and Jon are on kind of awkward terms, but also, getting much closer to the Library than they are now induces a consistent, tangible feeling of malaise in him, which he's starting to think is deliberate. "There's a building with working pipes two blocks south. I'll stop there."

It's not simple at all. Omega certainly would have never thought of it. Even as Dustin starts overthinking things, the girl's gone back to looking over the tag press, fingers tracing over each part of the mechanism as she tries to work out how it all operates together.

"Oh," she says as she glances back at him, head tilting. "All right." The look of unease that's touched upon Dustin's face doesn't go unnoticed. She can't help but look concerned, but she doubts Dustin would want to explain. She can kind of guess though. Jon's always been an interesting person to interact with, and things have changed a little in the library, even though the mothcats don't seem to mind.

"Do you want some company?" Omega asks instead. It's not like she needs to go to the library, it had just been a suggestion since it's right there.

Does he want some company? Dustin's initial surprise at this offer comes through in a lift of his eyebrow, but he can't be too shocked, not after getting to know Omega as he has. It's not because she needs something from him, or is trying to get something for herself - she just likes spending time with him for some completely inexplicable reason. Whatever. He'll humor her.

"Sure," Dustin murmurs with a shrug. The remainder of the scrap metal he scavenged goes into his satchel before he stands up, brushes off his legs. "I wouldn't mind it."

It's called friendship, Dustin. But the fact that he doesn't outright shoot down the offer (which to be fair, she'd braced herself for) is definitely progress.

Omega smiles brightly, nodding before she moves to gather up the tag press to try slipping into her own bag along with the little case of letters. Then she gathers up Tumble before getting to her feet. All set and ready for an adventure! Even if it's just a trip to find some water.

Dustin pauses while Omega gets herself situated, shooting one last skeptical frown at the back of her head after she flashes him that smile. Why is she so excited? It's just...walking...well, whatever.

Then they're off. Dustin is very tacit company, but Omega is probably expecting as much; at least he's not complaining about something or actively shooing her away.

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Keeping Busy

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