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thecassadilla · 3 years

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Change of Pace - Chapter 2

Pairing: Kristanna

Chapter 2 on AO3

Chapter 1

Word Count: 3,332

Summary: With her sister’s blessing, Anna takes a step back from her royal duties and finds herself working for a ski resort nestled in the mountains. A chance encounter with the resort’s maintenance technician leads them down an unexpected path, as they must work together to plan the resort’s annual ball - and maybe fall in love in the process.

Author’s Note: Hi everyone! Sorry to leave you all with a cliffhanger last week! This chapter picks up on the same day but from a different perspective ;). I’m thinking I’m gonna update on Tuesdays every week if that’s cool? Or should I try to update more often? Also, if you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you enjoy the holiday safely! Sorry for all the asterisked words - tumblr likes to censor and remove posts from tags if they have “bad” words in them, but the uncensored version is on AO3. Enjoy!!!

There were very fews words that Kristoff Bjorgman would use to describe his life; miserable, mundane, ordinary. From the minute he woke up in the morning until the minute he went to bed at night, he wished he were someone or somewhere else.

Nobody stayed in Valley of the Living Rock - often shortened to Valley - if they could help it. The main draw to the area was Valley Ski Resort, which was nestled in the mountains. For decades, the town flourished during the winter months, but suffered as warm weather drew near due to the resort’s influence. Most of the people who stayed in town year round lived above their means, as it was difficult to find and keep work when the money practically dried up in the summertime. That all changed when the resort began to expand - adding amenities such as a pool, archery, horseback riding, and a multitude of events that attracted people during the hottest months of the year.

After the resort expanded, the local government decided to put money into the town itself, enticing visitors to venture away from the resort during their visits and see what the town had to offer. Tourists began to appreciate Valley itself as a picturesque, quaint town they could visit during their stay at the resort, and money began to pour into the local economy. Deciding to take full advantage, the decision was made for the main street to be transformed to a “Winter Wonderland,” with the storefronts adorning themselves with string lights, wreaths, and pine garland in the colder months. Business boomed and as the years went on, more and more people came to visit.

For Kristoff, life in Valley was bleak. Abandoned at birth, it was difficult to navigate the foster system as a small, generally “unwanted” child. He was bounced around a lot in his early years before becoming one of the lucky few who managed to find a family willing and able to foster him until adulthood. But people talked, and in small towns like his, that gossip traveled fast. By the time he made it to high school, he had hardly any friends. The only good thing that had ever happened to him - aside from his family - was his ex-girlfriend, Joslyn. She moved to Valley in their senior year of high school, and was as much of an outcast as he was. They became fast friends and eventually started a relationship. She stuck around for a few years and attended the local community college while they dated, but like everyone else who had the opportunity, she eventually moved on. The breakup was amicable and he admittedly missed her from time to time, but also understood that where she was going was bigger and better than what Valley - and he - had to offer.

As a junior in high school, he’d managed to snag a job at Valley Ski Resort as a janitor, and then after he graduated, he took courses in plumbing, electricity, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning in order to be promoted to a maintenance technician. It was a year round job with sh*tty pay, but it put food on the table and he had to take whatever he could get. On the bright side, it was a step up from cleaning bathrooms and mopping floors. There was no escaping Valley, for a person like him.

He didn’t mind the work at all, but there were few words to describe how much he loathed the hotel. The people who visited were willing to spend a fortune on the amenities, but were generally unkempt behind closed doors. He could think of several occasions where he’d nearly slipped on a used c*ndom after being called to a guest room for maintenance, or how frequently the pipes would clog because people were determined to flush non-flushable items.

But still, he went to work everyday, and waited to go home. He did what he had to do and he hated every second of it. The only advantage of working at the resort was the employee ski pass that came along with it. He frequently spent his weekends navigating the slopes and had worked his way up to expert-level. Coasting down the side of a mountain was freeing. For those few hours, he could put aside the monotonous life that he lived and could focus on what was right in front of him.

On this particular day, he had a sinking feeling about heading into work. He just knew that something bad was going to happen - he could feel it in his chest. He debated calling out, but because he couldn’t afford to miss a day without pay, he had to go in, bad feeling or not. The feeling only got worse as he climbed out of his car and stared at the main building in front of him.

The interior of the resort was in desperate need of an upgrade; faded, worn-out gray carpet covered the floors of the lobby area, and old-school style wood paneling laced the walls. The guest rooms in the central building remained the least expensive as a result of this, and as part of the resort’s expansion process, dozens of stand-alone cabins were built on the property. Difficult to maintain, but guests were willing to pour money into spending a week in a luxury cabin with the same amenities as a hotel but with the added benefit of a home-y feel.

He walked in through the employee entrance, which happened to be situated right next to the lobby area but was only accessible from the outside. Down a long stretch of hall and then to the left sat the maintenance office. One of the perks of the job was that he didn’t have to wear coveralls like he did when he was a janitor; just dark-colored jeans, a company-provided shirt with the hotel’s name stitched onto the front, and work boots. He dropped his jacket in his locker, grabbed one of the work cell phones so that the front desk could reach if he was needed for a repair or other issue, and walked into the main office, where his boss, Andrew, was scrolling through his email.

“Hey, man,” he said.

The other man glanced back for a second before returning to his work. “Hey, Kristoff.”

“What’s on the agenda today?”

“Nothing crazy,” Andrew responded. “A couple of rooms complained of low water pressure, so we’ll have to check that out. It’s probably calcium buildup that’s clogging the showerheads, or a clog, or something. But aside from that, it seems like it’s going to be a pretty normal day.”

He heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank god.”

He didn’t mind working with Andrew; he was quiet and kept to himself, which Kristoff appreciated. It was easier to work with someone who didn’t waste half the day with gossip or other nonsense. Having a job was about getting work done, after all.

Andrew had a list of the rooms that had been experiencing the low water pressure from the front desk complaints, so when he finished answering his emails, they set off to figure out what exactly was happening and why it was happening. “I bet another pipe froze again.”

“This hotel is so old, do they even realize that the pipes probably have to be replaced?”

“They know, they just won’t listen,” Andrew said, shaking his head. “This is going to be a losing battle for the rest of eternity.”

Just as they made it to the first floor of guest rooms, a call came over on Andrew’s work phone. They stopped in the middle of the hallway so he could pick it up.

“Hello, this is Andrew from maintenance,” he answered, scrunching his face up in concentration. “They said the water smelled bad? Did they say if it was a weird color or anything?...okay, we’ll look into it. Thanks.”

“Another water complaint?” Kristoff asked, once Andrew had hung up the phone.

“Yeah, something weird is going on today.”

“Probably a frozen pipe, like you said.”

They knocked on the door of the first guest on their list, and a woman answered. “Are you the maintenance guys?”

“We are ma’am. The front desk told us that your water pressure is low, do you mind if we come in and take a look?”

The woman shook her head. “I didn’t say low water pressure. I said no water pressure - as in, there’s no water, at all.”

The two men exchanged a worried glance before Andrew spoke up again. “Do you mind if we have a look?”

The woman didn’t answer, but stepped out of the way so they could walk into the room. They went into the bathroom, and attempted to turn the faucets to no avail.

The woman was standing in the doorway, her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. “Well?”

“We’re trying to figure out what’s going on, ma’am. We’re going to check in with a few more guests and the front desk will get back to you.”

“I’m taking my family skiing, and all I have to say is that the water better be working when I get back or someone will be getting an earful from me. I did not spend all of this money to wind up in a room with no water!”

They nodded in an attempt to placate her and as soon as they made it back into the hallway, she slammed the door in their faces.

“God, I hate this place,” Kristoff muttered.

“I don’t understand how people on vacation can be so f*cking miserable. Management will make sure they get a more expensive room on the house if there’s nothing we can do about it, so I don’t really see the point of throwing a fit.”

“I know. It’s kind of disgusting how entitled some of these people are. I understand the frustration, but don’t yell at the people who are trying to figure out what the problem is.” Kristoff shook his head. “Let’s go to the next one.”

The routine seemed to repeat itself; the rooms were occupied by extremely angry guests who were experiencing a myriad of plumbing issues - either little or no water pressure, foul smelling water, or rust-colored water.

“Something big is going on here. Bigger than just a frozen pipe,” Andrew deduced, after visiting several guests’ rooms and being called a few more times by the front desk. “I can’t figure out what it is though.”

“Do you think a pipe burst somewhere?” he suggested.

Andrew shrugged. “I can’t imagine where. There are guests in basically every area of this hotel and no one has called about a leaking ceiling. Unless it was something in the basement.”

“We should go check.”

The two men scrambled to the basement, but as cold and neglected as it was, there were no signs of water damage anywhere. Just a lot of dust and noise from the systems that were housed down there.

“I’m stumped,” Andrew admitted, throwing his hands in the air.

“It has to be somewhere in the building. None of the other buildings or lodges have complained about issues with their water, right?”

The other man skimmed the list in his hands. “Nope, just this one.”

“Are there any places that guests and employees normally wouldn’t go during the day? The lobby’s fine, the children’s center is fine...wait, what about the ballroom?” Kristoff snapped his fingers.

“Oh sh*t, we should check the ballroom,” Andrew agreed. “No one goes in there unless they’re having some kind of an event.”

“I bet that’s where we’re going to find our problem.”

They raced back up to the first floor and passed the front desk to the corner of the hotel that housed the ballroom. Andrew searched through his massive ring of keys before locating the one that unlocked the doors.

“Holy f*ck,” Kristoff gasped, his eyes widening at the site in front of him.

The entire room was destroyed. The ceilings had caved as a result of the massive amount of water that had pooled from the burst pipe. Nearly everything in the room had been destroyed from either the water damage or from the impact of the broken pieces of ceiling landing on it. The walls were moist, and there was a considerable amount of water remaining on the floor.

“How the hell did no one hear this?!” Andrew bellowed.

“This...is bad,” Kristoff said, shaking his head. “This is thousands of dollars worth of damage.”

“I need to get Bonnie on the phone,” Andrew said suddenly, walking away from the scene.

Kristoff continued to stare in the meantime; the room was significantly damaged. First and foremost, the pipes would have to be replaced - immediately. They were already going to be spending a large amount of money for the repairs, and they definitely couldn’t afford to lose the income that guests would bring in by occupying the rooms in that building. They’d have to drain the water that pooled on the floor, rip out the carpet and gut the walls, throw away all of the destroyed tables and chairs.

When Andrew came back a few minutes later, he was not happy. “Bonnie is on her way and she’s having a cow.”

“Can you blame her? This is a nightmare.”

“I need to see if I can get any of the other guys in today. They’re going to be p*ssed.”

“I’m here and I’m p*ssed,” Kristoff scoffed. “I knew I should’ve called out today.”

“Good thing you didn’t because I would’ve had to haul your a*s in anyway.”

“Yeah, right. Zach calls out once a week and no one ever does anything about it. The rest of us are forced to pick up his slack all the time - if I called out once, it wouldn’t hurt anyone.”

“Trust me, Zach isn’t going to be employed here for much longer.”

Bonnie finally arrived a moment later with a panicked look on her face and interrupted their conversation. “What the h*ll happened?”

“See for yourself, boss,” Andrew answered, motioning to the entrance to the ballroom.

Bonnie peered inside before staggering back and raising her hands to her face. “Oh my god.”

“The damage is severe, Bonnie. The repairs are going to be time-consuming, and you’ll have to postpone any events that they were planning on holding here,” Andrew spoke up. “Most importantly, the guests in this building have to be relocated until we can replace the pipes.”

Bonnie nodded, and for the first time that Kristoff had ever observed, she was totally speechless. In all his years of working around her, he’d never seen her so quiet.

“I’m working on getting my other guys in here,” Andrew continued. “This is not going to be an easy fix.”

“Alright,” she said, before pointing at Kristoff. “You go tell the front desk to start working on getting the guests out of this building and then come back here.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

He couldn’t help but roll his eyes once his back was turned; this was not his job. He wasn’t an errand boy. But because he wasn’t trying to lose his job, he begrudgingly followed her instructions. Once he arrived in the lobby, approached the first person he saw at the front desk, a brunette woman with thick black eyeliner who he recognized from high school.

“Hey, you need to -”

She raised a finger, but didn’t look in his direction. “Hold on, I’m helping my guest.”

“This is important.”

“Sir, you should get in line.”

He glanced over at the line - which was long, because it was checkout time, of course - before interrupting again. “I have orders from Bonnie -”

That seemed to catch her attention. “Let me get my manager out here.”

“Thanks.”

A few moments later, the manager appeared from a door behind the front desk. “How can I help you?”

“I work in maintenance,” Kristoff explained. “Bonnie needed me to tell you that guests can’t stay in this building for a couple of days. A pipe burst and there won’t be any water in most, if not all, of the rooms.”

The manager's eyes widened. “O-okay. What about the restrooms on this floor? Or the restaurants and the bakery?”

“We’re not sure what the situation is with those areas of the hotel.”

She nodded. “Okay, well keep me posted. There are a lot of places on this floor that require the use of water.”

“Has anyone called to complain from any of those places?”

“Not yet.”

“Well, we’ll keep our fingers crossed that they’re unaffected, but I’m sure Bonnie will be in touch soon.”

“Thank you.”

He gave her a slight nod before turning around and walking back towards the ballroom; for the first time that day, someone had actually been appreciative and not downright condescending about the situation. He was just glad that she didn’t rip him a new one like all of the guests had earlier.

“Good, you’re back,” Bonnie said once he finally made it back to the ballroom.

“Any updates?”

“I just made contact with the people in the event planning office,” Bonnie explained. “They’re coming down now. I need you to wait out here for them, so you could tell them about the damage. The annual ball is in three months and this was their venue.”

“I should probably start clearing stuff out of there,” he insisted, hoping to remind her that he was not her personal secretary or a professional bearer of bad news. “We can’t start gutting it out until the water is drained and all of the damaged furniture is removed.”

“You need to stay right here,” Bonnie said snidely, placing a hand on his shoulder before walking away.

“Is she serious?” he wondered aloud, his mouth agape. He really was her errand boy, wasn’t he?

“Hey man, Scott and Dan are both on their way in now,” Andrew said, approaching from inside the ballroom. “Liam and Eli are outside doing snow removal. I’m trying to get in touch with a couple of the other guys, but some of them have to be in for the overnight shift. Management has to take pictures of the damage for insurance reasons before we can touch anything, but we should be able to start getting rid of the furniture later today.”

“I have to wait here and break the bad news to the event planners,” he responded bitterly. “Because I’m not the maintenance guy today, I’m her errand boy.”

Andrew shook his head. “She’s really pushing her luck. She should be the one to tell them since we warned her that the pipes would need to be replaced a long time ago and she brushed it off.”

“You know, I had a gut feeling that today would suck. Wish that I could’ve been wrong.”

“Should’ve checked the calendar, man. It’s Friday the thirteenth.”

He scoffed. “I’m not superstitious.”

Andrew shrugged before taking a few steps backwards. “I’m just saying.”

As soon as Andrew’s back was turned, he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. It was quite the coincidence that this had all gone down on a day historically known for the bad luck it brought. He reminded himself that he didn’t believe in that stuff; this was a real life situation that had only happened because of sheer negligence from Bonnie and the other people who ran the hotel. If they had just listened from the start and had replaced the pipes when Andrew recommended they should, they wouldn’t even be in this mess. He didn’t necessarily believe in curses either, but at this point, he was convinced he’d done something wrong in life that warranted this misery.

Until he spotted a gorgeous redhead he didn’t recognize being dragged in his direction by the half-a-head shorter lady he knew from around the hotel, and he was suddenly aware of a new sensation different from the misery and dread he was used to - a hopeful fluttering in the pit of his stomach.

#kristanna #kristanna fanfic #anna #kristoff bjorgman #frozen #frozen fic #my writing

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squishysnake · 7 years

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A Guide to Lynel Slaying

As most of us know, Lynels have carried their “one of the most dangerous Zelda enemies” legacy into a game where everything’s already rife with danger. Staying two steps ahead of everyone here means having the best of all worlds: nasty attack patterns, crazy damage output, and a level of sturdiness that would make cockroaches weep.

But Lynel materials are necessary to upgrade some of the better armor, their weapon drops are among the strongest you’ll ever obtain, and if you train enough to tackle them, Silver Lynels may drop some otherwise-rare materials like Diamonds and Star Fragments. So here are some pointers I can offer to alleviate your gladiatorial labors.

The Beast

First of all, don’t always let their slowly diminishing health bars deceive you into thinking you’re underprepared. Lynels are bosses in all but name, they simply lack the long and receptive bars that the others have. Just because 5 Bomb Arrows in the face barely took off anything, doesn’t mean they’re invulnerable; you’ll just have to work a little harder to earn your spoils.

Their archery skills are unparalleled; when they’re not literally running circles around you, they can launch their shots into the sky and drop arrows on your head with lethal precision. Even on horseback, trying to beat them at an archery duel is a grueling war of attrition. (Your arrows can play an important role, but we’ll cover that in a bit)

Instead, you’ll want to get in close and challenge them to physical combat. Even if a Lynel spots you, it won’t attack immediately if you have your weapons sheathed; it’ll wait patiently for you to approach or draw any of your equipment. It’s advisable to circumvent the archery phase by doing the Cool Thing and more-or-less confidently strutting up to them.

Once you’re in, you’ll realize that Lynels have a cute little quality called “super armor” where most attacks don’t stagger them, leaving them free to trade blows with you. One of the big keys to safely fighting them is learning their attacks and figuring out the timings for both Flurry Rushes and Shield Parries. These guys are the true test of your 1v1 skills.

First, let’s run down the attacks that every Lynel can use, regardless of which weapon type they’re wielding. The most common attack they use is a running swing with their weapon; this will usually be the first thing they do when they start galloping around. If you plan to Perfect Dodge this for a Flurry Rush, take a step to the left to make sure you don’t get trampled, and a well-timed backflip over the swing should trigger it.

Another common attack is to sheathe their weapons, crouch low, and bull-charge straight at you. This one is really exploitable: the Flurry Rush timing is easy to learn, and Shield Parries will stun the Lynels for longer than any of their other attacks (you bash them right in the skull, for goodness’ sake). You even have a third option in just dodging to the side, and then running up to them after they skid to a stop to mount them; we’ll talk about mounting in a little bit.

Occasionally, they’ll stop in place and start charging fire in their mouths before blasting three huge fireballs at you. These fireballs are... really weak, actually. Even a Silver or Gold Lynel’s fireballs may only deal about 3 hearts if you get blasted full-force, which is pitiful compared to the 6 hearts the other Silver/Gold mooks can deal with unarmed attacks. Still, the fireballs do knock you off your feet and rob you of an opening to shoot the Lynel in the face with arrows (again, we’ll discuss this), so make sure you run to the sides and avoid them all.

But the moment you see anything above a White-Maned Lynel do a thunderous roar like this:

That’s your cue to back that ass up, because this isn’t very far behind:

Now let’s cover the attacks that are unique to each weapon class. Sword Lynels favor horizontal swipes. They have a really basic, back-and-forth 3-slash combo; Perfect Dodging the first swing is good enough for a Flurry Rush, but if you mistime it, you’ll either have just enough time to Perfect Dodge the second swing, or get totally blitzed in the face. They also have a cross-slash where they close their sword arm and their bladed-shield arm in on you, kind of like a really enthusiastic and badly-planned hug. Both of these demand backflips for the Perfect Dodge.

Spear Lynels, on the other hand, love jumping into the air and slamming their spear down where you’re standing. There’s no Perfect Dodge for this attack, as far as I can tell. You can still Shield Parry it and stun the Lynels, but they take just as long to unjam their spear from the ground anyway, so you might as well give it a wide berth and eliminate any risk of getting hurt. Either way, they’ll be open for a headshot that’ll put them on their knees (we’re building up to these strats I swear).

Crusher Lynels are the most dangerous of the lot. Their weapons have the highest strength, and they don’t suffer any speed loss from it. These guys heavily favor overhead smashes that create shockwaves on impact with the ground; even if you manage Perfect Dodges on these, it’s possible for the shockwaves to smack you right out of the Flurry Rush, which is incredibly cheap. You’re much better off just Shield Parrying them. You must also take extreme caution if you’re standing right next to these guys while they’re planning their next move; they have a problem with personal space, and instead of politely asking people to back off, they just bust out spin attacks. These are really big and really fast; if you complete a full Flurry Rush with a spear or a two-hander, the endlag is so long that you’ll likely get beefed by a retaliatory spin before you can move away or pull out your shield.

At the end of the day, Silver/Gold Lynels with Savage Crushers are the only enemies that can still one-hit kill you with the full 30 Hearts and an endgame-average 60 defense. But that’s the risk you take when you’re shooting for one of the strongest and sturdiest weapons in the entire game.

The Hero

So we’ve covered the Lynels’ attacks and how to avoid, block, and punish them. Now let’s talk about how you, the Hylian Champion, can take the fight into your own two hands. Let’s get two minor tools out of the way:

Urbosa’s Fury. Obtained by retaking Vah Naboris, this is one of the strongest tools at your disposal, boasting an outrageous AoE, significant power, and the ability to stun anything for several seconds. That includes Lynels; one use of this will deal 500 damage and put them on their knees. This can be a nice crutch while you’re learning to fight them, but it’s a liability in the long run, as you can only use it 3 times before it goes on cooldown for 12 minutes. Good for the occasional spar, less so if you’re jumping from Lynel to Lynel.

Stasis+. Trade in 3 Ancient Cores at the Hateno Ancient Tech Lab for this Rune upgrade. It may be easy to forget that you have it sometimes, but it can stop even the strongest bosses for a couple seconds, while allowing any damage you deal in the meantime to stagger them when they unfreeze. It’s very minor, but at least it’s a nice way to briefly interrupt a Lynel’s assault and give yourself some breathing room.

Now with those out of the way, let’s get to the real meat of Lynel Butchering 101: headshots.

Like most other creatures, Lynels hate getting shot in the face, and will collapse to their knees for several seconds, similarly to getting struck by Urbosa’s Fury. Lynels that are put on their knees are completely defenseless, and this state provides you with ample opportunities to unleash fresh hell on them.

Problem is, Lynels are fast and they love to gallop around a lot, so it’s hard to just nail them in the face willy-nilly. Obviously, the best openings to shoot them are when they’re standing relatively still. Lynels tend to stop for brief periods after using their biggest attacks, e.g. the fire breath, the giant explosion, the Crusher Spin, etc. These are easy points to start with.

However, you can also create your own openings with Shield Parries. While Flurry Rushes are a more immediately-effective counterattack, Shield Parries will stop a Lynel square in front of you for a couple of seconds, giving you enough time to pull out your bow and almost jam the arrowheads down their throats.

Now, once you shoot a Lynel and get them kneeling, this opens up the single most important aspect of fighting an angry giant man lion bull horse beast with which a video game could have ever graced my short life in this dimension:

YEEEEEHAAAAAW RIDE ‘EM COWBOY

Now, there are actually three ways to mount Lynels. The method you’ll likely use the most, as just explained, is by putting them on their knees mid-fight with headshots (or Urbosa’s Fury). The second way is after they do their bull charge; assuming you didn’t do the Flurry Rush and watched them skid on by, you can run right up and mount them if you’re fast enough. The last is to do exactly what you’d do when you’re just trying to catch and break a horse: either sneak up on them (difficult with their stellar senses and 360 patrol; Sheikah outfit is strongly recommended), or paraglide onto them from high ground.

Unfortunately, also much like breaking a horse, your Stamina will drain as they try to buck you off, no matter how you mount them. It’s recommended to have a couple of Stamina upgrades before trying this at home.

Once you’ve hopped onto a Lynel, you can mash the attack button to give him 5 quick jabs in the back with your weapon, before Link automatically jumps off. There are two advantages to attacking this way: the first is that the jabs come out fast regardless of which weapon you have equipped. This means that even if you’re holding a strong and heavy two-hander like, say, a max-damage Royal Guard’s Claymore, you can stab him 5 times for 116 damage each in about two seconds, with no risk to your health.

The second perk is that this does not reduce your weapon’s durability at all. Given that you can easily go through at least two weapons just chewing through a Lynel’s massive health pool otherwise, this is a great boon. It also means that if you have a strong but fragile weapon like, say, a max-damage Royal Guard’s Claymore, you can always save it in reserve especially for these mounted attacks on Lynels and never have any fear of breaking and losing it.

Look my point is just go to Hyrule Castle and find the Moblin holding a Royal Guard’s Claymore, and save and reload until he drops a 116 for you. Having a Level 3 attack buff and pulling this out every time you mount a Lynel is the freest 870 damage you’ll ever deal in this game.

Advanced Arrows

Anyway, pop quiz: remember how I mentioned that Link automatically jumps off of a Lynel’s back after hitting him 5 times? Question: what offensive action can you perform after jumping off of horse-like creatures?

That’s right, you can follow up your mounted assault with some bullet time arrows! It’s actually possible to hit the weak spot of the Lynel’s head from behind near the peak of Link’s jump, and while it won’t re-stun the Lynel, it’ll still deal that extra Critical Hit damage. Since Arrow Time chews through your Stamina, and you’ll have spent nearly a whole bar just staying on the thing’s back, you pretty much need 2 or 3 full bars before attempting this.

Heck, for that matter, you can stop and unleash a couple of point-blank shots before mounting them, while they’re too stunned to do anything about it. Since Savage Lynel Bows deal 32 damage x 3 arrows by default, and 32x5 if you get the best drops, and every Critical Hit deals 3x damage, this means that every time you fire into a Lynel's weak spot with one of his kins’ weapons, you can do a maximum of about, eh... 288 or 480 damage. Per shot.

This may or may not be broken.

Since every Lynel drops a bow, along with anywhere between 10-30 elemental arrows, you’re basically a self-sustaining Lynel-farming machine if you make all of your damage come from mounted strikes and Critical arrows. It takes good Shield Parry timing and a steady hand, but once you get the hang of it, you can fill your inventory with the strongest weapons without sacrificing any in turn.

Ironic, isn’t it? These guys are unbeatable in archery duels, but once they put their bows away and grab their weapons, your arrows can shred them to bits. Don’t forget, kids: never bring a knife to a gun fight.

Conclusion

With enough practice, This Could Be You™! Silver and Gold Lynels may be the single toughest individuals this game can throw at you, but the stuff you can loot from them makes it very well worth it.

Not to mention that Lynel materials will help you upgrade arguably the most useful armor set in the game:

I hope this guide was concise and engaging! Good luck, and happy hunting, heroes!

#shut up darkly #darkly plays botw #legend of zelda #breath of the wild #lynels

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squaredancing-weston · 7 years

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para || Braine: A New Path, 1/04/2017

Tagging: @mr-blainderson and @squaredancing-weston

Time: Wednesday Morning, 4 January 2017

Setting: Boarding Facility (and trails), Harrod, OH

Summary: Brody and Blaine both need to get away from Lima’s crazy, so Brody takes Blaine to learn the basics of horseback riding.

Part 2

"Oh, I'm sure. I mean, he's adorable and tiny, and those type //never// wreak chaos," Brody continued to tease. He was sure that the dog would be fine for a couple hours: probably sleeping on the bed or something, in the lap of luxury that his owner had set up for him. "Well, it sounds like a good size, definitely-- less worries about crushing the poor guy with a wrong step. He certainly looks Blaine-sized anyways. I'm sure the two of you will go out in no time in matching bowties." He chuckled at the idea, then nodded. "Oh, no-- I mean, my family's had a dog. But he was just you know, one of those normal outside mutts that wandered around the ranch and chased cats and stuff. God, Bandit must have died when I was, what? Twelve?" He shook his head and shrugged. "Anyways, we didn't replace him. Four teenagers and half a dozen horses or so, didn't really have time for playing fetch, you know? Same with the cats-- they were all outdoors, and barely had names. Mostly just for pest-control. And I don't think I would've wanted a rodent-- we had enough rats running around the place." He scrunched up his face. Blaine's expression wasn't something Brody was expecting, and he felt suspicious-- did Blaine know? Well, apparently Dani knew something was going on between him and Marley, so he hadn't been as discreet as he thought with her, but they'd just been discussing Bas. He //knew// he hadn't been flaunting any sort of weird thing with him. So why was Blaine looking at him like that? Brody pushed the thought from his mind determinedly-- he did //not// want to think about people knowing his personal business, and he had to be just reading into things because he was upset about the whole situation. It was that easy. Brody scoffed at Blaine's reply, arching an eyebrow at the back of his head, "Somehow I doubt that will be too difficult," he called to the other man. Brody smiled. "Well, next time you should. Or at least send out a text-- it's not like my holiday was that exciting. I would have come out to see. Maybe made a drinking game out of your set if I got bored," he added jokingly. His face fell a little at Blaine's admission: Brody knew about family problems, and his own was a sore spot, so he could definitely sympathize. "Third? Ouch. Okay, you realize that I now have to officially adopt you and take you out for the holidays, because that's a crap draw. Except, you know, the singing bit-- that's okay. Oh! Next year, we'll go caroling," he suggested, although that honestly sounded heinous to him-- not because he hated singing (even though he wasn't especially good), but because Brody despised the cold Ohio weather. But he'd bear it for Blaine-- or at least he would right now when he didn't actually have to do it. "I'm surprised you found someone sober enough to remember the lyrics with you," he remarked with a smirk. Brody didn't really know that song sober, and he had no idea what the crowd would have been like that night. The older man nodded along with Blaine's thoughts: it was really great to hear him sound so passionate about something like that. "Well, I guess it's one of those 'Don't quit your day job, but don't give up' kind of things, right? I mean, there's a lot of opportunities to chase a passion, if you're willing to look." He straightened up in his saddle and threw a smile over at Blaine. "Look, I know I'm not //that// old, but...dancing does have a sort of age cap on it. I know I hit my peak about ten years ago, but at least I still get to mess around now. I don't mind coaching." He shrugged; it hurt, obviously, losing his chance, but he'd had a long time to come to terms with it, and he was generally pretty happy with the way his life had gone, career-wise. He grumbled in faux disappointment, "Fine, fine-- no giant foam finger. Just the big megaphone and banner then."

Brody liked the whole nature aspect of the ride: he imagined that's what drew people to the idea of horses in the first place. It was away from the hustle and bustle and drama of real life, and you got to see things that you normally missed in the suburbs. Like a deer. Blaine's eyes were sweeping the area, possibly trying to search for anything else, and sure enough there was a second half-hidden in the brush. Brody figured that there weren't anymore besides, but hey-- two deer was something. His borrowed horse snorted, apparently bored with the cold and standing around part of the ride, and suddenly the animals sprung into action, bounding off and away from the scary humans staring at them. "And there they go," he commented with a dry laugh, before pushing his heels gently and clicking his tongue to spur the horse onward. "If I could figure out a way to get my kids to pay that kind of attention," he commented, glancing back at Blaine, "I feel like I would have a much higher GPA in my Algebra class, you know?"

"Oh of course not, they're completely perfect angels. Or at least they are in my mind, lest I leave early due to my worry," he replied, smiling. He was starting to get slightly worried, but he shook it off and continued. "For sure, though I have been extra careful with my steps lately, since he's pretty decently small right now. And you're not wrong, I've scouted some dog sized bow ties at Target. I'm beyond excited." He was trying his best to joke about it, but it was honestly an exciting prospect to Blaine to go out to a special occasion, matching bow ties and all. Blaine nodded in understanding. "Gotcha. Bandit, that sounds like a good fit from what I know about your ranch life." Which he would admit, wasn't much, but it was a nice picture; a family ranch with a dog running around. "Well, I'm sad to hear that regardless, Lula might just be the reason I got through some of the things I did, as smoothly as I did." He shrugged and smiled. "But I'm also going to assume that you had enough to keep you busy, I could see where a dog as an actual pet would be hard." He noticed Brody scrunch up his face and internally panicked for a second, but he quickly decided not to dwell on the moment and he moved one. He grinned and shook his head. "Yeah, somehow I have the same feeling." He bowed his head, hiding his blush. "Uh, yeah, I will." His blush quickly subsided as he shot Brody a look and stuck his tongue out at him. "Well, at least you've encouraged me to make sure that my set is so amazing that you can't possibly get bored." He watched Brody ramble, with a small, amused smile on his face. "Well, I don't oppose you adopting me, but I will ask that you don't add caroling for my benefit. To be honest, I hardly like caroling myself." He shivered at the thought. Walking in the cold, having only a few families actually listen and not slam the door upon arrival. Blaine glanced at Brody and grinned. "Yeah, I never said they were sober, but they managed to fight their way through it. It was a good show." He twisted in his saddle to find a position that was even slightly more comfortable than the one he was in, but it was proving a little difficult. "Exactly. I'm not aiming for the 'big shot' by any means, but I'd like to reach a bigger audience if I can. Hell, I may try YouTube or something." He finally settled, realizing that it was a lost cause and defiantly telling himself that it wasn't /that bad/. He smiled back and shrugged.

"If you say so, but I still have faith that you could if you tried. But it's great that you like coaching, at least you're not miserable, regretting your life choices." He noted the shrug, noticing that behind the tough exterior, it may bother him more than he wanted to admit. Blaine rolled his eyes. "If I get the choice, stick with the finger.

Blaine watched the deer leave, smile still in tact as he watched. He was snapped out of his trance by a laugh, and he looked back at Brody. He laughed and shrugged. "People tend to pay attention to what they havent experienced before. These kids have been sitting in these classes ranging anywhere from 9-13 years, they're over it. I, on the other hand, have only seen a deer when it was standing on the side of the road as I pass it in my car. This was new."

"Can't have that," Brody agreed, "so yeah-- definitely an angel. Yeah, but I mean, at least right now your eyes are pretty much on him all the time anyways, right? So it shouldn't be too bad until he's bigger." The older man's eyes widened in surprise. "Seriously? They really have dog bow ties?" He could see that that sounded like something Blaine would actually like, so he wanted to be supportive-- and it didn't sound awful, considering he'd be matching his owner-- but he was still floored that some person had made them in the first place and gotten a large-scale retail to sell them. Brody nodded, "Yeah, he fit in pretty well. He probably liked Jeff best if he was going to like one of us, but that's because Jeffy's butt stayed off the horses," he laughed. "Lula was your family's cocker, right?" he asked with a slight frown in thought. He honestly couldn't imagine Blaine having any problems growing up-- the guy was a human puppy, and who would kick a puppy?-- but between a rough family connection and Brody's recollection of Blaine telling him about transferring to Dalton when he was in high school, apparently it wasn't as easy as he imagined. "It's good that you had her. I guess I just didn't have it that rough growing up," he admitted. "Or if I did, I was too tunnel-visioned to notice. I pretty much had dance running in the background all the time unless I was actually doing it, so I might have missed when something important was happening." Brody had had a great childhood, as far as he remembered: not without some drama, but not like the bullying or overall angst that Spencer and some others had referred to. It was starting to make him wonder how much he was actually paying attention in school. "Yeah, I mean, the horses were pets too, so it wasn't like I didn't have anyone to bond with. Star, Bay, Oprah, Mike, St. Pauli, Max, and Chaz, and those were just the ones in high school." He laughed nostalgically, considering how he and his brothers had taken to naming the horses. He'd never really felt deprived without a dog, to be honest. "Damn straight," he laughed, nodding his head stubbornly. He could be an ass, but he knew he was better than Bas.

Brody bobbed his head in understanding, pressing his lips together. "I mean-- do you want to talk about it?" he asked. Families were tricky, and while Brody himself was never keen on discussing his problems, he could see how someone like Blaine might get something out of venting. If he wanted. Brody flashed him a grin. "Good." He leaned over his horse and pushed lightly at Blaine's shoulder, "You better." Blaine's reaction caused the older man's grin to turn impish, "See? I'm helping already," he teased. "Good-- you'll like having D as a mom. She's overprotective as hell, but she's got a cabinet full of Jack and likes Disney movies. Heck, if you tell her you're into jazz, you'll probably become her favorite kid ever. Oh, thank god," he responded with an exaggerated breath of relief. "I freaking hate the cold honestly. I mean, I can handle being out here like this--" he gestured the early morning around them, "but if I'm going to be outside, I'd rather be constantly on the move, you know? Hey, maybe instead of caroling we'll go Karaoking," he offered. "It's warmer, there's more variety in the music, and there's food." Brody laughed. "Well, that actually makes it sound way better-- I want to see your Duet with a Drunk. You could make that a regular thing and put it on YouTube with your normal sets." He leaned back slightly in his saddle, careful to keep his posture correct, because the last thing you wanted was to get caught in a bad position. "Hey, I'm not doing so bad. I like my kids. And yeah, that would kind of suck." Brody regretted a lot of his choices in his life, but coaching dance was actually not one of them. Brody grinned again at Blaine's response. "Yes! Big Red Finger! We're number 1!" Brody chuckled. "I was actually talking about the deer, but yeah-- you were equally enthralled, so good point. Really? You've never seen a deer just out and about?" He arched an eyebrow curiously-- he'd seen deer everywhere growing up. They were like cats in his mind-- just kept popping up in random fields like they belonged there or something. He assumed everyone had had the same experience. "We'll have to get you out here during spring and fall," he added with a smirk. "Make sure you get a full variety-- turkeys and bunnies and squirrels to go with your deer experience. You'll be a regular cub scout."

Blaine nodded and laughed. "Yeah, this is the first time that I've been away from him. So I guess we'll see. I'm putting my faith in him right now." He was bemused by Brody's surprise and he chuckled. "They do, yeah. Not too many options, but they've given me a starting place at least. It probably wouldn't be a constant thing. I'm not one of those monsters that make their dogs stay in clothing year round. But on little outings or such, it'd be cute." He grinned and laughed with Brody. "So is Jeff your...brother, I assume?" Blaine nodded and smiled at the thought of his old family pet, though sadly at the times he was referring to. He had gone through some pretty rough patches in his life, with the bullying and the constant family coldness. It had caused something of a depression in Blaine's early years, and Lula was the only thing that made him feel better. He offered Brody a weak smile. "That's good though, right? I'm glad you didn't have it rough and that you had dance to get you through things like that." He smiled a little more genuinely with a small shrug. "When I transferred to Dalton and joined the Warblers, it helped quite a bit. So it's not like my life was just all bad. Just...different." Blaine's eyes widened at the names of the horses and he tried to hold back his laughter. "Okay, /who/ came up with those names and what's the story behind them because those are fantastic."

Blaine's smile faltered slightly at the question. He knew that he could trust Brody and confide in him, but it was a lot, and something that even Blaine had been avoiding working through because he thought that he didn't need to. So he just let out a shaky laugh and shook his head, trying to play it off. "I don't want to bore you with that, Brodes. Besides, there's not really too much to tell." At Brody's remarks, Blaine just rolled his eyes with a smile, bringing his hand up to scratch the back of his neck, something that had become a nervous tick for him of sorts. It had been a little over a year since he had heard anyone actually /want/ to hear his music, and he had started getting set in his quiet, hermit ways. So hearing Brody talk like that made him slightly uncomfortable, but in a good way. A way that he could get used to. "Well, it's a good thing that I love Jazz, then. I love being the favorite child." Not that he ever had been, but he liked the prospect. Blaine nodded in understanding. "Yeah, no I completely understand. While I'm not outdoors just all the time, when I am, I'm usually running or being active in some way. I hate just standing out in the cold though. So yes, karaoke sounds like the much better option here." Blaine looked thoughtful for a moment and nodded. "You may be on to something there, my friend. Bring your camera whenever you come to a show; I'm depending on you to catch these moments. So that means no Red Finger." Blaine smiled softly at him and nodded. "I like my kids too, even if I want to stab myself in the eye sometimes. It's good to know that if music doesn't pan out, I'll have them."

Blaine shook his head, shrugging. "It's kind of surprising too, because we lived in a rather large out kind of just on the edge of the woods. Granted, I spent most of my time studying music, watching musicals, writing music, dancing; so I didn't really notice when Bambi showed up in the backyard. Thankfully there were no hunters involved." Blaine shot a pointed look in Brody's direction, but chuckled. "As long as I get one of those cool sashes and your provide me with patches, we can do that."

"Well, better his first time being a couple hours out here then waiting till eight hours of the first day of classes, right?" Brody agreed. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Man, well, I mean, really?” The concept floored him for a second, but when Blaine reminded him about literal dog outfits that he’d seen himself, his mind relented on his skepticism, filling in with his own experiences. “Yeah, I guess I can think of worse things to do with your dog. I once saw a poor German Shepherd in a tutu, so I hardly think a little bowtie every now and again is anything cruel. And if you added a little sweater vest for Christmas, I’m sure no one would blame you,” he added, cocking a half grin. Brody nodded. “Oh, yeah-- younger brother. Kind of a puppy, like you, though he’s about 28 now. I’ve got two older ones too, Mark and Bob. But they’re all back home in Cali, you know? Don’t come out here that often.” Scratch that; his family had never come out to see him, but Brody didn’t want people to notice things like that if he could help it, so he smiled when he talked about his family and played the words easy. His past was too complicated for the water cooler, and he preferred to keep those cards close to the chest. Blaine looked a little sad at reminiscing his old dog, and Brody wondered how rough it must have been to lose her-- Blaine already seemed ridiculously attached to this one. If kid-Blaine was using her as a living diary, so-to-speak, he was probably felt like he’d lost his best friend. “Yeah, I mean, I’m not the guy that goes searching out drama, so I’m glad I missed it. But, you know...” he faltered, feeling guilty that he couldn’t really empathize with his friend and coworker. He wished the guy had just had an easier time and therefore could empathize with him. When Blaine perked up at the mention of Dalton, Brody smiled. “They really were something for you, weren’t they?” he asked, recalling their earlier conversation about Blaine’s desire to teach there. If Brody were guessing, he’d say that place seemed more like home than Blaine’s home had. “I bet they’ll be lucky to have you-- when you get to transfer, I mean,” he added. “Do you still keep in touch with any of those guys?” Brody outright laughed at Blaine’s reaction to his childhood horses. He didn’t blame the guy-- they were arguably pretty amusing names, although they definitely fit. “Oh man, we all did, pretty much. I mean, Oprah was Jeffy’s-- he said it was because she was nice and listened to him, but honestly I think it was because she was black and kind of chubby, but that sounds ridiculously racist and I’d rather you didn’t repeat that. Um, Bay and Star were Mark’s, which are actually pretty stupid names if you know anything about horses. Delilah, for example--” he leaned over and pointed to his mare “--is a bay quarterhorse. Bay just is a shade of brown. And that white stripe on her head? Hers is called an ‘irregular blaze’ technically. A star is what they call it when it’s just kind of a white dot on their forehead. Because Mark’s dull as dishwater,” he laughed. “Uh, Mike and St. Pauli are alcohol brand names, so you can tell where Bob’s mind was at, even in middle school. Max and Chaz are mine-- they just honestly seemed like decent names. Plus when I got mad at them I could call them Maximillian and Charlotte Ann, which somehow sounds more serious? I don’t know,” he shook his head-- Brody wasn’t really that original at naming his own things. His truck was Trixie, for pete’s sake.

Brody understood the value of secrets-- there were a lot of reasons not to talk about things, after all. And while he and Blaine were friends (or at least friendly), Brody certainly wasn’t the guy’s confidant. So how badly the guy was trying to play off his past wasn’t Brody’s business-- he just nodded in understanding, respecting his coworker’s privacy. “Yeah, just, you know, if you want to vent about boring stuff,” he followed up, leaving the door open without forcing Blaine anywhere near it. He hunched a bit in the saddle, rolling his eyes, but Blaine’s smile didn’t look overly uncomfortable about the idea of Brody seeing him perform-- although if the guy forgot to text him, the older man wouldn’t hold it against him. Some hobbies were better kept separated from work. Brody himself laughed, “See? You fit in already. Well, just don’t be too good-- you might end up replacing me as her favorite guy period, and then where would I be? That’s my True Love right there. You just stay the favorite son, and we’ll be good. I’ll teach you to ride a bike and everything. And hey, look! I’m already putting you on your first horse-- I’ve totally got the hang of this.” He laughed and smiled. “Okay, good-- we’re on the same page. We’ll find a winter-themed karaoke night and go there for the holidays.” Brody wrinkled his nose, “What? You’re putting me behind the lens? You know those people can’t talk, Blaine? Ruins the quality. You would silence me just for YouTube hits? Who’s going to make the weird whooping noises for you?” He put on a faux pout, although he would definitely help Blaine if he could. “Hey, though-- I could put you in touch with the AV kid that set up my channel, if you want. I mean, mine is really simple, but the quality’s got a draw.” Brody laughed. “Yeah, they can be a handful, but would you really get so frustrated you’d want to damage your most potent weapons? I think that’s a horrible thing to threaten Blaine,” he teased lightly.

“Well, at least you were doing something constructive,” Brody consoled him. “And anyways-- deer kind of all look the same, so you can just take that image right there--” he gestured to the empty field “-superimpose it in your backyard, and bam-- exact same idea.” He gave a dry laugh, “Yeah, well, you won’t see them on these trails either-- too many people potentially wandering around, plus it would spook the horses. There’s better areas, I’m sure. I mean, I don’t waste my time, since I can barely hit the broad side of a barn with a shot, but I hear the kids talk.” His face broke into a smirk at Blaine’s expression, but he nodded, “Absolutely-- we’ll have a ceremony every time you get a new one. With cookies and punch.”

Blaine looked thoughtful, figuring that Brody had a point. “Yeah, I guess that’s true; this way he can work up to it. Though I feel that would work better if I was actually going to be gone from home the next couple of days as well.” He couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of a German Shepherd in a tutu. But then he thought about how sad the poor thing must have looked and he quieted down. “Yeah, tutus are a bit much. There’s accessorizing and then there’s overkill. A Christmas vest would be cute, I’ll have to keep an eye out for those this year.” Blaine grinned as he heard that Brody had a puppy in the family. “Well, I guess that means that my ‘puppy’ charm won’t work on you, if you’re used to it.” Blaine nodded in understanding, adding a sigh. “I know how that goes. Well, obviously, not to the same extent, they actually live in Ohio, but even then, they don’t visit too often.” He glanced over at Brody, giving him a small smile. “I’m sorry they don’t get to visit much. It must suck to be so far away from them.”

He tried to hide his smile as Brody tried to relate to him. He appreciated the attempt, and he would always be grateful for it. Blaine’s life was far from the worst life to possibly live, but he knew he had struggles that were kind of difficult for people to either relate to or understand, and he never held it against them, the few people that he did open up to. He let his smile shine through though when the other asked about Dalton. “They were my family when I desperately needed one, student and teacher alike. It’s where I was able to actively express myself without having to worry about what was waiting around the corner.” Blaine’s smile faded slightly at Brody’s remarks at transferring. He had really started to love McKinley as well, and the friends he was able to establish there. While Dalton had been his home back then, he was starting to see McKinley as his home now. “If I transfer, anyways. Though I wouldn’t say that. I think I’m a good teacher, but I don’t know if I’d be able to keep up with Dalton’s curriculum,” he said, playing it off as much as he could. “You mean, aside from Bas? Every now and then, yeah. There are a couple who stayed around the area that I need to get in touch with again. It’s been ages.” Blaine watched Brody ramble through the list of names and how they came to be and laughed. “Your family sounds amazing. I also support your names; who doesn’t want to use Maximillian in an angry voice?”

Blaine pulled his lips up into a tight smile, genuine but distant. “Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind.” He had had a sudden urge to talk about everything but he kept it to himself. This day was a day to forget and relax, not pull up all the dark clouds that rested in his memory. He knew he wasn’t opposed to telling Brody and letting him in, but it just wasn’t the time. He snorted, listening as Brody rambled on, taking the true role of his adoptive father. “I solemnly swear not to steal your one true love. I’m okay with staying the favorite son. And yes, you’re the best dad ever. I’ll get you a mug and everything.” Blaine shook his head with a smile. “Deal, Christmas Karaoke it is then.” He shot the older male a strange look. “Hopefully no one, I’m hoping for genuine cheers. And you would have the most important job! Making sure that any great moment is captured for the world to see? Your role is almost more crucial than mine.” Blaine looked at him puzzled for a moment. “You have a channel? What do you use it for?” he asked out of genuine curiosity. He chuckled and shook his head. “No, I guess I wouldn’t.”

Blaine smiled and nodded, looking back out into the field. “Yeah, I guess that’ll have to do. I’m glad I won’t have to really worry about hunters here though. I don’t think my little heart could handle it.” Blaine grinned back, giving a short nod in approval. “Good, I expect the good kind as well. A 25 year old man getting his boy scout badges is a special occasion that deserves to be celebrated.”

Brody shrugged-- consistency would make for better routine, yeah. “I mean, you can keep coming up here, I don’t mind the company. But I think you’ll be sore enough tomorrow, so maybe not,” he offered dubiously-- Blaine didn’t seem to want to be far from Bing regardless, and riding wasn’t something you just started as a daily thing randomly. Blaine’s laugh at the poor dog’s misfortune caused Brody to crack a grin as well, although it really had been an unsettling thing to witness. “Well, it’ll make for a worthwhile Christmas card next year, that’s for sure,” he agreed. The older man bobbed his head, heart hurting as he thought about his baby brother back home. “I hope so-- I mean, it Jeffy called me up and asked for something, I’d still probably come running today, so not sure what that says about my resistance.” Literally-- Brody would jump off a cliff if Jeff would ask for it. But really, if any of his family was desperate enough to talk to him by now (besides his mom), he’d probably do anything. Brody’s brow furrowed unhappily at Blaine’s reveal-- what kind of asshole family lived in the same state and still wouldn’t see their kid? Especially if their kid was Blaine? “Well, I wouldn’t worry about it. Me and Dani make enough trouble over the holidays to set off a National response.” He bit his lip. “Yeah, well, I mean, between kids and jobs, life just happens. And, I mean, my mom calls all the time--” every one or two Fridays at dinner, like clockwork “-- so it’s not that big of a deal.”

Brody smiled at Blaine’s brightening when the subject of his old school came up. “That’s pretty amazing: I mean, not a lot of people have that, you know? Especially not through school.” The older man’s lips twitched a little at the amendment. “If? You don’t think you’ll get in?” Or maybe he’d actually like to stay? Brody knew public school had a lot of pitfalls, and McKinley probably more than most, but he really did like the new teacher, and would be glad to see him stick around for a while. “I mean, you handled it just fine as a student. I doubt you’d be any less capable as a teacher. Probably overqualified, since you know the place so well.” He flashed a grin in encouragement. Brody wished Bas’ name would stop coming up-- it kept bringing him up short, causing a sort of stutter to the conversation, that, while miniscule externally, felt jarring in his head. “Bas? Sebastian went to Dalton?” he echoed. He’d known the guy went to a private school growing up, but considering his law degree was from New York and his family from France, an Ohio-based school seemed a little baffling. Brody let out a chuckle. “Well, we all definitely had our quirks. I feel for our mom, really. Right though? I always liked a good normal name that can be put to good use.”

Blaine’s response felt honest, but also effectively closing the conversation, so Brody respectfully dropped it. Like he’d said-- he just wanted to put it out. Just in case. The older teacher grinned in amusement. “Good to hear-- you know how hard those things are to come by? I mean, favorite sons are a little tricky as well, but True Love-- I mean, that only happens with most protagonists of every tv show. Very rare. Oh goodie! I do love a good mug.” He laughed at the idea of Christmas Karaoke, “It’s a deal. No one? Well that’s just disappointing. I mean genuine cheers come come from anyone, but who will be so supportive that they’ll bring out foam fingers and overly dramatic applause?” he told Blaine, a faux serious expression on his face. “Oh yeah-- TitanicTexting-11? The AV Club set it up for me as my little texting box for my kids who can’t follow the No Phones in Class rule,” Brody revealed with a grin. “We mess around with the audio and do that weird silhouette thing for the faces, and then just mishmash a recording of all the texts I catch them sending that I force them to read in my little Confessional Box in the back of the class. It’s got a pretty decent subscription, just because kids like to laugh at each other.” Brody smirked triumphantly. “Exactly. You’ll just have to find something else to stab in frustration.”

Brody raised an eyebrow,” Because you’d be afraid of getting shot or because you don’t want to think about them getting shot?” he asked. “Seriously; we’re going to have to really expand on what sort of knowledge is expected of you. Like the Drinking Game badge, and the 100 Papers Graded in One Night badge,” he added with a laugh.

Blaine smirked at his friend and nodded a little, the stiffness in his legs already at the forefront of his mind. "Yeah, I think I'd probably refrain from riding again right off the bat. But we could still come give you company. As long as you don't go galloping off into he distance, we could always walk beside you. Or if you needed to work in the barn, I could come hang out, give you someone to talk to lest you become a crazy horse man." His grin didn't falter; he truly wouldn't mind coming and spending time with his friend. Especially when it seemed as though he was pushing the other two away. Blaine nodded, running through possible Christmas card ideas in his head. "You know, I think you're right. I'll send the first draft to you for approval." Blaine glanced over as Brody talked about his brother, sensing that something may be burrowed under the surface, but he refrained from asking further. "Well, it sounds as though he has you wrapped around his finger. He's lucky to have that." Blaine shook his head, a grin toying at his lips. "I can't wait to experience it then." He looked off into the distance as he nodded in understanding, though a tiny bubble of sad jealousy was bubbling within him. Blaine didn't even have he reassurance that it was his family's life that was keeping them from contact from him.

Blaine bobbed his head, still beaming. He knew how fortunate he was to be placed in a private school that not only had a zero-tolerance bullying policy, but was also filling with genuine and loving people that wanted to see him go far. "I'm not much for God, but that school was the closest I've gotten to believing he might actually exist." He knew that might sound strange, and he wasn't meaning to put his previous school on such a pedastal, but he had a lot of gratitude towards it, and he wasn't sure he'd ever be able to show it. Which may be another reason he didn't want to transfer; he didn't want to disappoint the school he came from. He looked at Brody thoughtfully as he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really know," he smiled briefly, "though you may have a point; I think the fact that I went to school there would work in my favor. I just don't know. I graduated 7 years ago, there's no telling how it's evolved since then." Blaine was taken aback when Brody seemed to go into something of a trance. When his friend asked his question, a wave of realization washed over him. He spoke slowly. "He did, yeah. He was actually the first friend I made there, if you can believe that. Turns out he's not as big of a douchebag that he likes to let people believe he is." He observed Brody and continued carefully. "Is...is everything alright between you two?" Behind his perfect poker face, he knew the true answer, but he needed to attempt to get Brody's side of it. Blaine chuckled and shook his head. "Your mother must be one tough lady to deal with four boys with 'quirks'."

Blaine laughed outright. "Believe me, I know exactly how hard they are to get." He had to bite his tongue to refrain from being even more of a downer, to admit that it didn't take but five seconds for his father to choose a favorite son. He once again rolled his eyes, this time with affection at his friend. "I guess when you put it that way. Just start it off a little more subtly." His eyes grew in wonder as Brody explained his channel. He felt confident enough to raise his hands from the reigns and clap slowly before grasping them again. "That is absolutely genius and I'm going to need to watch those as soon as possible. If you take submissions, I'll give you some that my students sent; you can just grab volunteers for those, I guess." He stuck his tongue out at the other in mock defeat. "I can probably think of a few people, if I really set my mind to it." Blaine sighed with a small shrug. "Both I guess. Neither are particularly pleasant thoughts to me." Blaine just looked bemused at Brody. "Tell you what. Send me a list and I'll get started. Though I must tell you that I already have those two done."

#ttl #Blaine Anderson #para #A New Path #p. Blaine #Harrod #Braine

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