#trainer kirin

[askiceboundlopunny]

"You are right that having the chance to study two pokemon at once is a rare opportunity. But what had me upset is that surprises like these can be incredibly dangerous. Maybe even lead to someone getting killed. Especially with that surprise being a dragonborn mienshao." The sound of the crunching snow under the three's feet was the only thing heard for a moment as Clementine now looked ahead.

"See, part of what I do requires me to build trust and form a bond with the mon I'm supposed to be studying. Plenty of preparations and precautions are taken before I even leave* home. And I choose my team members specially for what is reported that I'll be dealing with." She continued.

Clementine passes a glance to the the anonymous individual with a relaxed smile. "And yes, I admit, those megastones of hers are a bit concerning. But thankfully our first encounter went well, so I'm hoping I can make a good impression on her and continue my duties without a hitch."

-Seems there is some history with these dragonborn mienshao. Perhaps Linda or Clementine could tell you more.-

[ @askremiandenvy ]

[ategods]

hello friends :-) below the cut are the summaries of the verses for my original characters as well as some info on them. it doesn't include all of them and i'll be working on a follow up with the rest! it also does not go SUPER into details about backgrounds or personality, because i personally find that those things are more fun to introduce during threads. if its not enough however and u still feel a little lost when / if i send u an ask meme / ask for a starter, pls feel free to send me a dm!

kirin keyes. 30. she / they pronouns. keke palmer fc.

main verse: ex (?) - scam artist lawyer working out of miami, shamelessly inspired by the one and only saul goodman. good person deep, deep, deep down but undeniably materialistic and desperate for success. superficially charismatic, tends to become a stuttering mess when there's real feelings on the line. alt. verse includes them working in (insert town name where your muse can be found) after their involvement with a miami crime org. went sideways and put them on the run. the boys: works as either a reporter for vought news international or as an in company attorney. they're either unpowered or has the ability to manipulate time, working similarly to curtis’ powers in the show misfits e.g. their power only triggers when a strong feeling of regret occurs. bridgerton: probably working as barrister to one or several of the families within the ton, trying to sell themselves into other families. might also be trying to scam them out of their money, who knows! cyberpunk: this verse is seriously underdeveloped but i think it could be fun to write them as being a fixer, idk! baldurs gate: hailing from waterdeep, they were ( prior to being kidnapped by the netherbrain ) an eloquence bard involved with a legal organization known as the lawyers. i imagine them as a companion rather than tav in this verse, and their approval goes up when the pc: avoids combat through charisma based checks, tricks an npc into giving them something, is nice to the elderly and to children. while in the party they can be overheard getting along well with most of the other party members, exceptions possibly being lae’zel, shadowheart and minthara. lots of stupid banter hehe

rune floyd. 30. they / them pronouns. katy o’brian fc.

main verse: left their suburban hometown with their adoptive father after the traumatic death of their mother. they end up owning and living at a farm, isolating themselves from the rest of the world and only interacting with other people through trading various goods. they're quiet, hard-working and have a good head on their shoulders - also a little bit of a saviors complex. the kind of person that would stop to help a stranger stranded on the side of the road. the boys verse: either works as security personnel / a personal trainer at vought or could still be a farmer the same as their main verse, interacting with a character through said being on the run and stumbling across their farm, etc. their powers include superhuman strength and invulnerability, think luke cage. various apocalyptic verses: even in their main verse, rune and their father are preppers. the same stands for these kind of verses. maybe your muse could end up stuck w them by stumbling into one of the traps set out around their farm? maybe they get trapped together during a storm? etcetc (-: ( if u cant tell i love forced proximity plots ) baldurs gate: nothing super established here, besides them being a barbarian class & a tiefling who can be found in the emerald grove & traded with. maybe they offer to join tav after the goblin camp is dealt with??? maybe theyre simply a reoccuring traveler who the party runs into throughout the various acts

ophelia han. 23. she / her pronouns. song yuqi.

main verse / the boys: the youngest and newest addition to the seven. grew up in a christian household, put in the limelight early through various pageants and such. was in a car accident involving her older brother as a teen, in which she was the only survivor. this, combined with her childhood — and her neurodivergency makes ophelia come across as cold, robotic; fitting to her powers which are essentially that most of her body ( beneath her skin ) is mechanical, though simultaneously alive. she regenerates at almost any injury and can shape her limbs into various weaponry. she does what vought tells her to do, because it's what she's used to, but her loyalties are fragile. gen v: the ice princess of godolkin. would be at the top of the rankings if they were solely based off skill and studies, but she lacks in charisma and popularity with the other students. would most likely side with cate and sam at the end of season 2.

[darkx-the-dragon-kn1ght]

Chapter 37- Part 16

…You know what!? Sure! I'm not turning down a reward from winning that jumpscare battle! And moreover, we've gotta make sure this Misdreavus can't pull another stunt like that on another unsuspecting explorer! Yeah, Xera's catching this out of spite, and I think she deserves it!

And I think I know the perfect name for it…

Rue- which means to regret something that was (or wasn't) done. And since Xera was forced to experience a ghostly, physical, and vocal reminder of a time when she failed (again) to prevent someone's death- that someone being particularly important to one of her rivals/friends…I think it's very appropriate.

And even the name on the gravestone was a ghostly illusion- hmph.

You know...after everything that's happened since Pyrous Mountain, including Heather's condition and Anna's sickness, and since I'm not sure how much sleep Xera's gotten throughout any of that- I think seeing what she initially believed was Kiki's actual, embittered ghost would really get to her. Just adding another brick to the stress layer. Again, not good for the mental health, like…at all.

But also, look at this PokéDex entry:

Now I've…I've had enough of exploration for one session. Let's just…get back to the city…

Oh hey, this guy's still here, does he say anything new now that it's not raining-

Oh hey, that's one of the starters, that's pretty cool I guess, aha-

Yeah, sure, that'll be something for a future encounter thing, sounds cool, yeah-

I…I think this is a good place to stop. Enough excitement, more than enough excitement to end off on, I need a flippin’ break after that side boss, I just…need to chill. Especially since next chapter is probably gonna be just as stressful, what with challenging a new Gym with a complex new Field…man, things are not gonna get better, but at least Xera (probably) won't be literally haunted again.

So uh…yeah, next time, we'll take care of encounters, get our team set up, and try and challenge Serra. Who knows how it'll go, I'm spooked by the prospect of Mirror Arena, but if there are Gym Trainers, hopefully they’ll help me get more used to battling on it. Until next time! Here's hoping I've recovered from the psychic damage by then!

CURRENT TEAM:

Riptide

Species: Feraligatr

Gender: Male

Level: 49

Ability: Sheer Force*

Item: Protective Pads

Brave nature; Alert to sounds.

Glare

Species: Arbok

Gender: Female

Level: 48

Ability: Intimidate

Item: Black Sludge

Naughty nature; Highly curious.

Bloom

Species: Roserade

Gender: Male

Level: 49

Ability: Technician*

Item: Big Root 

Docile nature; Alert to sounds.

Prong

Species: Vikavolt

Gender: Female

Level: 48

Ability: Levitate

Item: Zoom Lens

Rash nature; Loves to eat.

Crater

Species: Camerupt

Gender: Female

Level: 48

Ability: Magma Armor

Item: Quick Claw

Hardy nature; Often scatters things.

Kirin

Species: Girafarig

Gender: Female

Level: 48

Ability: Sap Sipper*

Item: Odd Incense

Quirky nature; Thoroughly cunning.

CURRENT BOXES:

NUMBER OF RELOADS: 28

Previous

Next

Back to index

[tricos-here]

AHEM. taps the mic. valentine, reyhan and one of your choice that u don't get to talk abt often 😼

picking Vayle for the third because he's the new guy and he can get some spotlight as as treat 😼

1. Does your character canonically have specific mounts?

Valentine semi recently (like canonically, during EoD) got a Kirin (jackal technically) for both himself and Yweyn, he named his Dara

Reyhan also has a jackal technically, which is one of her fernhounds that were Mordremed during HoT 🫢 her name is Marja

Vayle has a jackal which was a gift from Michelle (aka his sister) and was infused with mesmer magic  

2. Do you have any canon mount skins / coloration for them?

Valentine’s mount is, you guessed it, the Kirin skin, in blue and white 

Reyhan’s mount is the Mordrem Alpha skin, but in a more of a green/yellow hue 

Vayle’s jackal is the Darkmist Moorhound with some browns and pink to point to ye olde mesmer magic, thought truthfully he may or may not had been using the Mirror Masked skin instead, if I had it - but he is a necromancer so darkmist might just be a better fit, we'll just say a mix of the two

3. How likely are they to rent one versus own one?

Valentine is more likely to own one and he really wanted an actual Sand Jackal during his time in PoF but he’s a boyfailure and didn’t succeed in taming/bonding with one so up until he purchased the Kirin he’s just been renting whenever needed (got that noble money babeeyy)

Reyhan being a ranger and all, is certainly more likely to own one than rent

Vayle is more likely to rent one, he's actually part of a raiding party so he moves around a lot and it's simply more efficient to rent if needed than having a whole animal to take care of, he's only really keeping the jackal because it was a gift

4. Are there any mounts they prefer using (or others they can't stand)?

Valentine honestly is such an adrenaline junkie that he’ll ride anything (not a word.) no problem, including the flying mounts and the roller beetle etc. but if he were to choose he would prefer land mounts like raptors and jackals 

Reyhan playing the ranger card again likewise has no issue with any of them, but generally prefers (her) jackals, if only because of the bond she was with them, and because she was a fernhound trainer and caretaker so, they’re more in line with what she’s already familiar with 

Vayle doesn't have any real preference honestly, whatever gets the job done at the moment

5. Do they keep their mounts stabled, take them with them, or some secret 3rd thing?

Valentine keeps his kirin stabled for the most part, it's not really, a house animal and he honestly does not have that much use of it, in the sense that he'll go out for a contract or two and then live off that money for the next while - but he does take it out for exercise, let it never be said he doesn't take care of his pets

Reyhan and her jackal are like this 🤞 it goes where she goes

Vayle depends, generally will keep it with him, but if they're like resting between raids/excursions/whatever will stable it

[sinnohborn-trainer-evan]

Section 2

Evan cosplayed as Nathan Graves with Virtue the Victini (Pokémon X Castlevania: Circle of the Moon)

Evan the Warrior with his spirited companion Mesprit (Pokémon X Final Fantasy)

Ready for Anything! Pokémon GO outfit pose

Evan as Link and Glory the Shaymin in Sky Forme (Pokémon X Zelda)

Evan as Erdrick and Glory the Shaymin in Sky Forme (Pokémon X Dragon Quest III)

Evan as Tidus and Nami the Vaporeon

(Pokémon X Final Fantasy X)

Evan and Starla, Pokémon Let's Go Eevee partner

Evan holding his lil Shaymin Glory like a plushie during naptime

Evan and Kirin Suicune gaze upon the northern lights of the Alabaster Icelands

Evan lovingly tends to an injury on Keldeo's hoof

[askremiandenvy]

(( For munday, have this really dumb little doodle I did of the trainers on my twitter... The way people text tells a lot about them, you know. ))

[spookierdeer]

here’s the mane 6 all together. i went through a couple edits of them until i was happy with them and i think i’m finally set on them now!

fun facts below the cut

when they move in together, fluttershy stocks up on lint rollers. not for fur or dust that you’d expect to see due to her veterinary practice, but because pinkie tends to leave a trail of glitter and confetti. this is especially noticable when she’s bouncing around.

pinkie is an earth pony born with latent chaos magic. this is really rare and exhibited itself in strange ways when she was a foal. as a grown mare, she can control it better, even if it still catches people off guard on occasion.

fluttershy is a flutter pony purely because i heard jenny nicholson talk about it once and i got it stuck in my head. she��s very tall however, super willowy compared to earth ponies (as are most flutter ponies).

fluttershy is taller than both rarity and starlight glimmer, but it’s hard to tell as she keeps her head down and this makes her appear slightly smaller.

fluttershy runs the ponyville vet clinic and is an animal whisperer. she also patches up her more rambunctious friends from time to time.

fluttershy is the begrudging midwife to her friends because some of them are ridiculous and don’t go to the doctor when they should. she is very tired and deserves every cup of coffee she makes them buy her after the fact.

the flutter pony gene is more dominant than most other species genes, so if any non flutter pony and a flutter pony have a foal, it usually ends up being a flutter pony. the only exception are kirin.

rainbow dash is a trans mare

rainbow is the second shortest of the mane 6, barely taller than pinkie. don’t mention it or she’ll destroy your knee caps.

rainbow can also pack away calories like nopony else. do not challenge her to an eating contest or you’ll end up sick and regretting it.

apple jack is average earth pony height which means she’s dwarfed by her flutter and unicorn friends. twilight is on the smaller side of unicorns (as sunset shimmer).

aj is a disaster lesbian. she’s tripped into mud quite a few times around pretty mares. no, she does not want to talk about it.

aj is also well known in ponyville and beyond for being one of the best no holds barred wrestlers around. before she became a mom, she also did some mud wrestling. once she had her foals, she put that behind her if only because it took time away from farm work she didn’t have; she’s still jacked, however.

twilight sparkle is a hornless unicorn, a very rare birth defect. she had to deal with a lot of bullying growing up because of how mules and donkies tend to be the butt of the joke to the average pony. she also had to deal with her tail being stepped on a lot, so as an adult she keeps it tucked to her side.

despite her lack of horn, twilight still has magic abilities. they can be very wild and hard to control due to not having a horn conduit. she spends most of her young life learning how to handle this and becomes one of the most learned unicorns of her time.

twilight is asexual/demiromantic.

rarity is 1/4th mule and gets her long ears from her dad’s side of the family. this has been a topic of rumor amongst the other fashion moguls and like of manehatten. some have even gone so far as to say her horn is fake and other ridiculous claims. rarity would originally just scoff and act as if she couldn’t possibly be related to a mule, but eventually learns her lesson friendship story style after hearing similar rumors about twilight.

the two go on to help stop uhh fuckin discrimination against mules and donkies i guess?? holy shit i didn’t mean to make it a racial allegory but here i am fuck dude, anyway

on a different note, twilight is in a polyam relationship with rainbow dash and tempest shadow. she loves both her girls very much.

rarity is a disaster bi, but in a different way than apple jack. rarity is accidentally an embarrassing asshole to cute ponies and this is what lead to a lot of fights between rarity and other members of the mane 6. the only one who almost never took it to heart was pinkie because she could tell just how embarrassed rarity felt and that she wasn’t doing rude things intentionally. pinkie and eventually fluttershy help rarity stop being such a dunce around cute ponies.

rarity eventually stops dying her grey hair away. she does it out of anxiety, but eventually aj and her friends help her relax a little and understand that going grey isn’t going to mean she isn’t beautiful.

bonus fun facts about other characters i’ve drawn, but haven’t listed here:

tempest shadow is blind in one eye.

lyra and bonbon are happily married.

angel has a love/hate relationship with pinkie. she’s so nice and knows how to brush angel just right, but the mare is taking cuddle time with fluttershy away >:(

starlight glimmer is the only voice i have a headcanon for and it’s heather mcnamara from the off broadway production of heathers. (example)

sunset shimmer is the shortest unicorn i’ve designed so far. she’s shorter than pinkie pie and is an absolute bitch. (i love her.) she is also married to starlight glimmer; they are the bitchy moms at PTA meetings who will destroy you <3

derpy hooves is named ditzy doo in my au. she’s a postpony and scrunchie collector.

dr hooves is named tick turner and he makes and repairs watches and clocks.

bulk biceps is a personal trainer. he breaks his coffee mugs a lot.

ditzy, tick, and bulk biceps are all dating each other in a polyam relationship. for their anniversary, ditzy and tick bought bulk some super nice metal cast mugs; bulk ended up crying a little because he’s a big emotional baby. they love him.

if uve read it this far thank u for listening 2 me. plz talk to me about my ponies i love them <3

[cosmicblooded]

gib ◓

Send ◓ for my muse to give yours a Pokemon: Accepting

There’s a moment of pause as Kirin handles a pokeball. Green with red dots on its front with a single yellow dot in the middle of them.

“This particular pokemon has been in our care for some time now. It’s a little moody since it had lost its partner in a deep frost incident, but it may be ready to start moving forward with a strong trainer with a lot of patience.”

They smile before tossing the ball and releasing a small Riolu. It looks to Kirin in a bit of hesitation before receiving a nod and slowly approaches Ingo. It takes only a moment for it access Ingo’s aura before visibly relaxing.

“They seem skittish now, but they will warm up in no time.”

[askiceboundlopunny]

“Interesting is a given with the mons I study. Because all of them are mythical or supernatural creatures, along with a few exceptions of course.”

“However I am allowed to give short summaries if I’m asked. And I’ve had plenty of cases in my time let me tell you. One of which happened to be in this region.”

“She was a werewolf, and she was one of my more ‘recent’ cases. A bit territorial, but never looked to cause trouble. There was also a whole legend about her in the neighboring towns. They called her ‘The beast of Eterna Forest.’ You’ve probably heard of it if you’ve been to either Eterna City or Floraroma.”

[ @askremiandenvy ]

[unscheduledstop]

verse: multi station terminal / sovereign. 

a verse based around and plotted with @cosmicblooded.

pulled from hisui after the events of legends: arceus, ingo is dumped into the snowy peaks of the crown tundra and found by the leader of a research facility deep in the mountains: someone by the name of kirin, hunting for the secrets of the legendary pokemon and bridging the gap between people and pokemon.

freshly returned home, still partially amnesiac, ingo agreed to help kirin in return for safety and help eventually returning home. it is during this time that his skill as a trainer and his naivety about the situation at hand causes him to rise the ranks of the trainers of kirin’s team sovereign, eventually gaining the title of admin.

he is fiercely loyal to kirin, believing they have his best interests in mind and heart at all times, even if this is because of some very deep set emotional manipulation and isolation on the part of kirin. without bearing witness to the more upsetting parts of kirin’s research, ingo is ignorant to the true harm and danger that kirin is putting people in.

his team is as follows, all granted to him after some time in the crown tundra. eventually, this team will be joined by a juvenile hisuian sneasel, reborn from fur caught on ingo’s coat.

   vikavolt

   toxapex

   aurorus

   weavile

   armaldo

   reuniclus

his main job for kirin is the return of escaped individuals (explained that they must be found for their own safety) and as a trainer who goes out to explore the strange rifts that keep opening over the crown tundra. as someone experienced in managing extremely high level pokemon and with exploring and maintaining a mountainous landscape from the highlands, he’s the perfect person for the job.

[grifftrolls]

Very quick muse list, because I suck at updating my bio blog :,D

Pokemon:

Canon muses:

Piers

Marnie

Klara

Chairman Rose

Malva

Sidney

Gordie

Hop

Ghetsis

Ocs:

Pokemon:

Talon - ex team plasma grunt oc

Carmilla - Team flare grunt oc

Ingrid - Ex Spikemuth gym leader, grandmother to Piers and Marnie

Daimon - Steel type gym trainer (or leader)

Reves Cosmos - Pokemon proffesor of the Oscaria region

Stinger - Oscarian poison type gym leader

Mavis - Ex johto champion (Gold stand in)

Kirin - Ex Hoenn Champion (Brandon stand in)

Grace - current/ex Sinnoh champion (Dawn stand in)

Hresvelgr - ???

Frigg - ???

(Their deal will be explained in my main verse post )

Resident evil village: (primairly featured on @pentablight )

Alcina Dimitrescu - Village lord

Karl Heisenberg - Village lord

Ocs:

Brent Wickers - Miranda’s/lord servant

Marlon Delude - Villager

Flight Rising:

Demonia - Clan Matriarch

Whirlwind - Gusting Goblin

More tba

[darkx-the-dragon-kn1ght]

Chapter 29- Part 15

Yeah, I noticed with the Field Notes and Victoria's Mienfoo, I'm well aware of the power of Meditate on an ashy beach-

Not to mention a lot of Fighting-types can learn Rock-type moves to also deal with Flying-types. So, moral of the story: don't bother bringing Flying-types! Got it!

I was considering that, using Psychic-types and the boosts from Ashen Beach against her. I doubt it'll work for her whole team, she's bound to have stuff to deal with Psychic-types, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Well, this…isn't quite how I thought this chapter would go. At the very least, I would've liked to start preparations for battling Kiki, then finish up everything in the next chapter and go from there. If nothing else, I wanted to do more than just fight a small handful of Trainers, including one (1) entire rival battle.

But there's nothing to be done about it now, I guess. In a way, I guess this works out better- now I can fully focus on preparations and the Kiki battle proper for next time, and that's nice and organized! So, that's what we'll do next time, and hopefully I won't have as much trouble on Kiki's fight compared to Victoria’s. I'll get my gamer license back for sure, just you wait!

CURRENT TEAM:

Riptide

Species: Feraligatr

Gender: Male

Level: 42

Ability: Sheer Force*

Item: Quick Claw

Brave nature; Alert to sounds.

Glare

Species: Arbok

Gender: Female

Level: 42

Ability: Intimidate

Item: Protective Pads

Naughty nature; Highly curious.

Bloom

Species: Roserade

Gender: Male

Level: 42

Ability: Technician*

Item: Big Root 

Docile nature; Alert to sounds.

Prong

Species: Vikavolt

Gender: Female

Level: 42

Ability: Levitate

Item: Zoom Lens

Rash nature; Loves to eat.

Crater

Species: Camerupt

Gender: Female

Level: 42

Ability: Magma Armor

Item: Quick Claw

Hardy nature; Often scatters things.

Kirin

Species: Girafarig

Gender: Female

Level: 42

Ability: Sap Sipper*

Item: Odd Incense

Quirky nature; Thoroughly cunning.

CURRENT BOXES:

NUMBER OF RELOADS: 22

Previous

Next

Back to index

[talesfromlordaeron]

Bai’s Apprentice Part 5: The Search

Bai tried to ignore the feeling of panic as she spurred her hawkstrider into a fast sprint, looking for some sign of her missing apprentice. How Zully had managed to disappear so fast was beyond her -- heck, even she didn’t know how to turn invisible yet, surely he couldn’t have done that (right?) -- but she had to catch up with him quickly, wherever he went. Preferably before either of them got into trouble.

She circled the area around the bank and auction house a few times before coming to the conclusion that he wasn’t in the Valley of Strength anymore. “Alright, Bai -- focus,” she whispered to herself. Just before Zully disappeared, she had told him that the mining trainer was in the Valley of Honor. So maybe he had gone in that direction.

It was as good a lead as any. Bai spun hawkstrider around and headed toward the Drag...

As she rode her hawkstrider through the Drag and into the Valley of Honor, Bai continued looking around to see if she could manage to spot Zully. Trolls were notorious for their hunched-over posture, which made them notably hard to spot in a crowd, but she hoped that the less-crowded districts would make it easier for her to spot him and his deep blue mohawk. No such luck, at least on the roads.

The Valley of Honor was, as was normal for late evening, fairly empty. Bai rode up to the Red Canyon Mining, where the trainers were inside chatting with a client. Bai glanced at the adventurer -- a warrior, by the looks of his armor. Another or; definitely not Zully.

“Lok’tar,” the trainer greeted. “Looking to learn some mining?”

The warrior laughed. “Nah, not this mage,” he taunted. “She’s too pretty to pick up a real tool and get herself dirty. Probably doesn’t even know how to swing a real sword.”

Bai glowered at him, but didn’t dignify the insult with a response. “I’m looking for someone,” she told the trainer. “Did you see another mage come in here recently? A troll? Probably would have been looking for your services.”

The warrior let out another guffaw. “Don’t tell me you’re friends with him!”

Bai turned toward him with a raised eyebrow. “He was here?”

“Zully, right? Came in looking for training,” the trainer confirmed. “He left just a few minutes before you arrived.”

“And very nearly dropped his pickaxe on his toe on the way out,” the warrior added. “If he’s a friend of yours, you better go find him before he gouges an eye out!”

“He’s not going to do that!” the trainer snapped back. “You think I’d let that kid out of here if he didn’t know one end of his pickaxe from another?! You insult my teaching!” The two began arguing, completely forgetting about Bai as she slipped out of the shop.

Well, Bai considered, it was at least a start. She may have missed him, but she was on the right track. She mounted her hawkstrider again, trying to figure out where to look next. Leatherworkers, maybe? He’d been interested in skinning...

Bai rode up the Drag, squinting in the shadows as she looked for the leatherworking shop. She found it nearly empty, only the trainers inside. They looked up at her with considerable interest as she entered.

“Another mage, huh? Twice in one day, that’s rare.”

“That’s promising,” Bai said. “I’m looking for one who was coming this way. Young troll, blue skin and blue mohawk hair?”

“Yeah, that’s the one. Clumsy as all fuck, dropped his skinning knife twice but at least he didn’t cut himself. Left about five minutes ago.”

Bai slowly blinked. That was twice that she’d missed him. Also twice that someone mentioned him being clumsy -- no wonder he didn’t feel confident in learning a crafting profession. Bai wondered what training him in magic would be like; was that a reason none of the other mages had wanted to train him? “Thank you,” she said, offering a polite bow as she left the shop.

Now what? Bai got back on her hawkstrider, considering her options. Surely he hadn’t gotten eager enough to start gathering his materials to sell that he’d leave the city without her, especially if he’d been wanting her to take him to Dalaran. Unless he’d gotten impatient with her or thought she’d left him, and went in search of a mage to make a portal himself? Surely not -- how would he even pay a mage’s portal fees in the first place yet?

Maybe he went looking for the mage trainers. That was always the first place Bai went when she came into one of the capitals. Zully wouldn’t need their services yet, but perhaps he wanted to find them anyway. Maybe he figured that’s where mages were just supposed to go.

Bai retrieved her map, frowning as she studied the twisting roads. Getting to the Valley of Spirits was always such a pain from here; her own capital of Silvermoon may have been the largest of the Horde’s capitals and a pain to navigate in its own right, but at least the layout of the roads made actual sense. If she remembered correctly, there was a shortcut through the Cleft of Shadows...

She urged her hawkstrider down the narrow passage into the Cleft. If she didn’t catch up to Zully in the Valley of Spirits, then she wasn’t entirely sure where to go from there. Maybe he’d go back to where they last saw each other. Or maybe he’d be wandering around, looking for her?

As descended into the Cleft, she noticed the hunched-over silhouette of a troll emerging from one of the shops. She gave the figure a quick glance, but didn’t register any recognition. Then as she came closer, the troll lifted an arm and waved enthusiastically. “Bai! There you be!”

Bai brought her hawkstrider to an abrupt stop, staring in disbelief. Surely she hadn’t just randomly run into him down here of all places... and it was no wonder she didn’t recognize him at first...

“Where’s your hair?” she blurted out, briefly forgetting herself.

“Zully be needing a haircut before meeting Rhonin.” He ran a hand across his freshly-shaved scalp. “Zully be bald now.”

“O-oh....” Bai wasn’t sure quite what to say. “That was quite a haircut. Was that, uhh... was that intentional? Did they mean to cut it that... off?”

“What you mean?”

Bai buried her face in her hands, completely at a loss for what to even say. Here she’d been frantically searching all over Orgrimmar in a panic, afraid that she’d lost her apprentice before even getting started, and he was completely oblivious to all of that. When had he even gotten shaved? Had she run past him without even realizing it?

She felt her throat tighten and before she could stop herself, a nervous bout of laughter came bubbling up out of her chest.

“Hey, why you be laughing at poor Zully? You no like his new haircut?”

“Oh -- no, no, I’m not laughing at you -- I’m sorry!” Bai struggled to get herself under control, wiping away a few stray tears. “Nervous laughter, I guess. I just... I thought I’d lost you and I’d been looking everywhere for you, and now here you are just...” She sighed, managing a sheepish smile. “You scared me. Please don’t run off like that in a city this big, okay?”

“Oh. Zully be sorry.” He tilted his head to one side and added, “but Zully be okay, see? He like his new haircut. Even though he be bald now.”

Bai grinned and chuckled softly. “For what it’s worth, you do look nice as a bald troll. I’m sorry. You just look very different and it took me by surprise.”

“It be fine, mon.”

“Are you ready to start your training yet?”

Zully shook his head. “Nope. Zully gotta go to da big magic city first and thank Rhonin. Den Zully gotta start his business. Den Zully can start learning magic.”

“Right, that.” Well, there was no avoiding it now. “Listen, Zully, about that...”

“Ya mon?”

Bai sighed, shifting her gaze away. “Zully, I can’t take you to Dalaran. I’m not experienced enough to learn that portal spell. I can’t even survive in Northrend yet.”

“Oh.”

“I’m sorry, I know you wanted to meet Rhonin...”

“Maybe you be asking one of your mage friends to help?”

“I...” Bai paused, considering. There were Kirin Tor mages all over Azeroth, and it wouldn’t be unlikely for a few adventuring mages to find their way to Orgrimmar. But would any of them be willing to help. “I supposed I could try,” she said. “But... just... don’t get your hopes up, alright? I’m not sure if I’ll find anyone willing to portal us.”

Zully nodded solemnly. “It be okay. Zully believe in you.”

Bai blushed, turning away. I’m supposed to be the one encouraging him, not the other way around. “Thanks,” she said. Under her breath, she added, “I’m glad one of us does.”

“What you say?”

“Nothing important.” Bai got off her hawkstrider so she could walk alongside Zully -- and hopefully not lose him again this time. “Let’s head back to the Valley of Strength. More people tend to hang out there, so perhaps we’ll get luckier.”

“Okay, mon. Zully stay right beside you so he doesn’t get lost again.”

“Great.” Taking a deep breath, Bai headed toward the main gates. She could only hope when she got there, that she would find someone willing to lend a hand...

[alteredphoenix]

A Rant on Elves and Magic Addiction

So advancements in medical science is set at the same pace on Azeroth as it is on Earth or the collective population of its magical communities either forgot or still doesn’t know how to treat magic addiction because the Legion Tailoring questline (at least up until you have to go to Suramar, that’s where I stopped for the night) shouldn’t have ended the way it did.

Like, I’m doing this on a warlock alt who happens to be a blood elf. I RP him as a guy who turns to practicing destructive magic to fight against demons and was there - front and center - when the Black Temple was raided, and then at the Sunwell Plateau proper in TBC. You bet he saw friends and families and strangers turn to Withered during his time at Falthrien Academy. He doesn’t tap into the Sunwell anymore, not since it was cleansed (and Light and Fel don’t jive well together, the headaches are a bitch and a half, meaning in the time between TBC and Legion and up to Shadowlands he’s found other recourses of magic to slake his innate thirst because (a) demons aren’t going to stop being a nuisance the moment Argus the Unmaker bites the dust, (b) sin’dorei society has been moving toward a marriage of Light and Arcane from the Sunwell plus the amicable relations with the shal’dorei, and (c) said transition has most likely outlawed practicing demonology, necromancy, and Shadow magic the sin’dorei used to dabble in at least since post-TBC. So my lock knows what withdrawal is like.

Every blood elf - and high elf - should know what it’s like.

Maybe this is my fault for having the benefit of future events, since the Legion Tailoring questline takes place prior to the Suramar Insurrection Arc and Nighthold raid (so that means no arcan’dor to cure the nightborne of their affliction and no Liadrin and Rommath hitting it off with Thalyssra by the time you enter the zone proper), but I just couldn’t help but think how baffling the scenario played out. Like, the tailoring shop is right next door to the first aid station. Why did no one think to send Lyndras there and administer some sort of medicine to offset the hunger pangs until Shal’Aran was established at the earliest and arcwine could be smuggled in?

I’m not going to mention the PC, because you’re the narrative vehicle in an MMO and, not to discount one’s RP - by game lore you’re either part of a special strike corp - if you go by Tides of War - or a hired mercenary that just happens to be getting paid by Alliance or Horde. But you’re in a magic city, and a good chunk of that city consists of elves that have gone through withdrawal after the Sunwell’s implosion. I get resources and people are stretched thin and being funneled toward the war effort but WHY was this poor guy just left UNATTENDED after the second time he runs off for a fix? Instead of throwing him into the Violet Hold where he clearly withers and you have to put him down.

However, given all of the above, Lyndras probably wouldn’t have fared much better than Runas. With some help the former would’ve been given more time to live, depending on how long the timeframe between Shal’Aran’s expansion and the start of the arcwine smuggling operations is, whereas the latter withers despite draining what little mana there is to be had from blue dragon whelplings and grinding mana crystals sticking out of Zarkhenar. Pre-arcan’dor nightborne require the sustenance of the Nightwell, being from arcane energy or arcwine, to offset withering, and while we don’t know how long Lyndras and Runas were away from Suramar City their chances of survival were low when we’re first introduced to them.

This questline is probably a case of Blizzard not looking too deeply into the story and writing it “as-is”, since, again, this is set pre-Suramar and, in all fairness, you don’t quite know why these withered, ill-looking elves are turning into mindless shamblers. One should not be blamed for thinking ‘they’re regressing the same way the blood elves were’, because until the Suramar Insurrection Arc you aren’t made aware of the fact that withering is a result of the lack of Nightwell tapping and the Wretched state of blood elves a result of abusing magic (scarcity versus overabundance). Still, you’d think blood elves, like my warlock, would take note of Lyndras’s condition and bring it up to the Kirin Tor. Maybe, oh I don’t know, keep an eye on the guy and not lock him inside a prison where the rest of the otherworldly monsters and dangerous criminals are at!

(This got way too long for a rant, but I was gutted by the foresight of Lyndras’s obvious outcome and had the bitter taste of it in my mouth. Only one tailoring trainer is upset by this, but I’ll give Blizzard the benefit of the doubt because she’s the one you interact with the most as you’re learning patterns.

There’s also the matter of bringing up magic addiction and how that still hasn’t been cured regardless of the possibility, one that’s mentioned in the blood elf intro in Cataclysm, the cleansed Sunwell might free them of their dependency. But that isn’t about that here, and I’m saving it for another post, anyway, because BOY do I go hard on that one.)

I’m just going to make the ‘medical science moves at the same rate as advancements as Earth’s’ my own personal headcanon. It’ll help me sleep and think a little better and a lot less infuriatingly on the brain.)

[gregnas-the-grouch]

Kirin @ Baozhai: "I know there had always been myths of humans reincarnated as ghost pokemon, but I never knew whether or not I believed them." Her expression is carefully guarded, but her tone is polite. Curious even. "What type of relationship did your people have with pokemon? I'm curious as to how it would feel, becoming one yourself. Or what would cause someone to... Come back, as it were."

“Surprising what every day brings, does it not?” Baozhai stated in a slightly mischievous tone. Her sharp amber eyes drifting ever so slowly towards Kirin. Eyeing the human from head to toe, the Cofagrigus surmised this woman was a trainer of sorts from the pokeballs dangling from her hips. Silently thankful that at least this human wasn’t keen on capturing her, Baozhai’s gaze briefly turned towards her followers, Yemir and Annabelle in the distance. The five had been conversing, over what, the Cofagrigus had no clue, nor did she particularly care at the moment. Just thankful they weren’t sticking their noses into her business.

“That is hard to answer. Pokemon, just as any natural born Sand Reaver or non-citizen, had a multifaceted role in my kingdom. A majority served as beasts of labor or slaves. Some earned a right to become official citizens. And a small handful of them were as renowned for their strength as they were reviled by their infamy. It tends to be beneficial to have such monsters on your side in a land known for its conflict and bloodshed.” Baozhai stated plainly, her eyes went blank for a moment, before she shook herself out of it.

Baozhai pondered on Kirin’s last question, one she didn’t normally receive. After a few moments, the tall empress turned her full attention upon the human. “There are two types of deaths in this world. Intentional and unintentional. Given that I died only seven years into my rule. One would imagine I was none too pleased with my untimely demise. To be robbed of life and returned as a literal shadow of one’s self. To find my kingdom in tatters, my people slaughtered and the whole region running red with carnage. Undead or not, it tends to leave an impact on one’s memories.” Baozhai paused, despite her calm demeanor, one could see a kernel of bitterness in her smile, slight as it may be.

“This world is full of regrets, enough to cause some to cheat death. Human. Pokemon. It makes no difference what I am. For I will forever be Baozhai. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

[askremiandenvy]

A slow start to another lovely summer morning in White Forest. A day of rest and recuperation, and then the team would resume their training regime. Time moves forwards, uncompromisingly, as it always does.