>>2759089
Awesome! I'm ready for some Pokemon!

>>2759089
Gobble's back! Let's go boys!

Woo!

Don't forget to archive the last thread gobble

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You take Laki and Hana’s hands, but run out before you can touch Keira’s.

“You don’t have to touch anymore.” Keira says. “The ceremony is over.”

“But I want to.” You tell her, smiling at your girls. Laki smiles despite herself. Hana cuddles into your arm so hard and so suddenly that you lose balance and fall onto Laki.

“Watch it.” Laki laughs, tickling you and Hana.

“What did I do?” You laugh uncontrollably. You’re not as used to your senses after such a long out-of-body experience.

Treason! Hana is attacking you now too!

“Get his legs!” Laki directs Keira. Keira looks serious for a moment, but that can never last on her face when fun is in the air. She dives in, tickling your feet now too.

But it doesn’t last too long. The group is exhausted, emotionally. Not in a bad way. Or at least, that’s not the feeling in the air. But everyone gave each other a lot of different things to think about and new ways to view their emotionally charged and embedded thoughts.

You, Laki, Hana, and Keira in behind her lay snuggled up. A few clothes are discarded to keep cool, but there’s really no sexual tension to be found.

“Soft Hands, you really valued your grandpa, huh?” Laki says cuddling in close. Her soft, pillowy chest resting against yours somehow doesn’t manage to distract you from the question, even with how nice she smells. It’s just comforting.

“How come you never talk about him?” Hana asks.


>You don’t know
>You don’t feel you need to, because you’re always cooking and that reminds you of him
>Why do you guys think?
>It hurts
>Something else

>>2759130
>>You don’t feel you need to, because you’re always cooking and that reminds you of him

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>>2759116
[Thanks anon!]

>>2759130
>You don’t feel you need to, because you’re always cooking and that reminds you of him

>>2759130
>No one's asked and you don’t feel you need to, because you’re always cooking and that reminds you of him.

>>2759130
>>You don’t feel you need to, because you’re always cooking and that reminds you of him

>>2759130
>It hurts
"Grandpa was my best friend. I-I don't know how I would... But, he's always with me."
>You don’t feel you need to, because you’re always cooking and that reminds you of him

>>2759130
>You don’t feel you need to, because you’re always cooking and that reminds you of him

>>2759130
I’m late ‘cuz I work late but:

>I wish he could have met you guys. And seen me grow up.

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You think for a moment. “I guess, I never felt like I needed to, because he’s always there with me when I cook.”

Keira raises a finger, but thinks about her response for a moment, finally deciding on a truth she feels confident enough to speak. “I think he is too, but not just when you cook.” She snuggles in closer, squishing Hana. “Oh, sorry.”

“I don’t mind.” Hana whispers in a high pitched, quiet voice. “Herb, tell us more about your grandpa. He was so important to you and I only know a little.” Hana manages to fight off her distraction to ask.

“I wish he could have met you all. And seen me grow up.” You begin, then talk at length about him. About how kind he was, how he knew everything, how fuzzy his beard was, and more. Anything that comes to mind in your stream of consciousness, until you get tired and yawn.

The group lays back, listening to the sounds of the night. Laki reaches up and opens a small bit of the tent window to let in a breeze, giving the tent a nice cool feeling.

“I feel...so much closer to everyone.” Laki says.

“You didn't feel very close to me.” Hana says. “I couldn’t get in like with Keira and Herb.”

That’s right. Laki barely let you in, and only because you were so persistent.

You can’t see it, but you feel Laki’s heart jump a little. “I-...sorry. I was scared.”

Hana doesn’t look like she wants to hurt Laki’s feelings, but she doesn’t seem very satisfied with that answer, either.


>Come to Laki’s defence
>Stay out of it, go to sleep
>Explain to Laki that you think Hana feels burned for having exposed herself but not gotten the same in return
>Where’s Gardevoir and Cubone? You haven’t seen them in awhile
>Something else

>>2759203
>Give Hana a little nudge, she needs to speak up for herself.

>>2759220
>>2759203
I'll support.

>>2759220
This works.

>>2759203
>Come to Laki’s defence
She hardly let us in, either.

>>2759220
>>2759203
this, I guess

>Explain to Laki that you think Hana feels burned for having exposed herself but not gotten the same in return

>>2759220
This

File: sleep hammock.png (1.33 MB, 1200x663)

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You give Hana a little nudge.

She raises an eyebrow in a question.

You try to use your face to communicate. She needs to tell Laki how she feels.

“Herb.” She whispers. “I’d need to stretch first.”

You must have made a different face, because she looks embarrassed.

“Oh!” She whispers. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“I can hear you.” Laki says, loudly. “And see you.”

“Uh, oh jeez.” Hana says, pushing herself up and coughing. “Laki, why didn’t you let me in? That hurts. I thought we were getting closer.”

“We are!” Laki says, a little overly defensive. “I was scared.”

“Well, you let Herb in, I bet.”

“Soft Hands was persistent. And don’t get judgemental. I bet he got a lot more from you than I did.”

It’s Hana’s turn to become defensive now. “Well, okay, yes. But that’s different.”

“How?”

“I...well, the scale.”

Laki rolls her eyes. “We’re not as close as we are with Soft Hands. That’s obvious. And fine. But trust me, you’re closer to me than any other woman on the planet.”

“Do...do you mean that?” Hana asks.

“Yes!” Laki says, a little exasperated. “And I promise I will next time. And tomorrow we can do whatever you want together.” Laki’s face twinges as soon as those words leave her mouth. But she moves on quickly. “I don’t want to cut you out. Promise me you’ll say something if I do it again, alright?”

Hana looks shocked. She swallows back something and sniffs. “Okay!” Hana smiles and tries to swipe her hair out of her face, but it falls back because she’s looking down. You do catch a big smile under there, though.

Wow, that surprisingly well! You wonder if this warm connected feeling is going to last. You hope at least some of it does.

You wake up the next morning covered in sleeping girls and pokemon, feeling the heat of the sun just barely start to invade the tent as it peaks over landscape.

Keira snores loudly. Hana rolls over in a sleeping state and pushes her a little, which stops Keira from snoring, but it causes Hana to snore in this new position.


>Wake Laki for training
>Meditate
>Sleep in, see how things go
>Train pokemon
>Get breakfast going and let’s get back to the temple
>Something else

>>2759313
>Wake Laki for training
Can't miss those gains.

>>2759313
>Wake Laki for training

>>2759313
Also since I'm probably clocking out before the next update, I think Laki's issue with Hana is that she sees her as someone else who is also dating Herb as opposed to someone she is dating WITH Herb.

See ya around Gobble!

>>2759350
I don't think you're wrong
>>2759313
>Wake Laki for training

>>2759313
>pull out pokedex, record snores for future use
>Wake Laki for training

>>2759313
>g a i n s
Squats n Oats

>>2759313
I like this pic a lot, Gobble. Nice find! Sleeping Herb is a cute!

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“Laki.” You whisper.

“Mrphmph.” She cuddles into your chest to cover her face. It’s so cute you want to dii. Instead, you prepare to whisper again. But that’s when she shoots up. “It’s morning.”

“Yeah.” You whisper back, hoping she realizes that the others are still asleep. “Time for training?”

“Time for train-right.” She quickly slides into her tank top. “Wait, does that mean you’re coming?”

“Yeah!”

She grins. “I’m going to ride you ragged.”

Hana rolls over, but doesn’t wake up.

You follow Laki out for training. Lots of running, some chin ups that she eventually ends up helping you with, without judgement, and lots of core exercises. You get the sense she’s still taking it pretty easy on you, but you trust her judgement on what you can do and notice she still does manage to break a decent sweat herself. She does a lot more squats and other leg exercises than you remember from other times.

To your surprise, your pokemon have joined in too. They’re a bit disorganized and a few spend more time playing than training, but they seem pretty inspired by your example.

“So.” Laki gasps. “Soft Hands. I’ve been thinking a lot since last night. Sleeping, but thinking.” She says, probably realizing how silly that sounds. “About how I’m going to spend my 20s, when they come. It’s an important time, you know. Adult, but young.” You nod, encouraging her to continue. She quickly corrects your form before she goes on. “I want to spend it pregnant.”

“Your 20s?”

“Yes. Well, minus recovery time. But as many kids as I can carry. I know you’re probably sick of this topic, but I need to tell you how I feel. I need to be more open and honest.” She says with determination. “So I want to tell you that upfront. It’s not as hard to raise kids here as on the mainland. Our parents help. But having a lot is...looked down on, if you’re not someone special.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, it’d put a lot of pressure on you to either stand out as someone special, or endure a lot of comments behind your back. I think you’re special. Beyond special. But I know you feel a lot of pressure about it. And this is adding a lot more to the fire.”

Oh. Wow. This is a serious conversation.


>That is a lot of pressure...
>You don’t care about being a bit of a pariah. You’ll give her as many kids as she wants when the time comes
>We’ll see how we feel in a few years and figure it out then
>What about going back to the games or other dreams?
>Something else

>>2759427
>You don’t care about being a bit of a pariah. You’ll give her as many kids as she wants when the time comes
You support my dreams and I'll support yours.

>>2759427
>What about going back to the games or other dreams?

>>2759427
>You don’t care about being a bit of a pariah. You’ll give her as many kids as she wants when the time comes

>>2759427
>You don’t care about being a bit of a pariah. You’ll give her as many kids as she wants when the time comes
BUT
>What about going back to the games or other dreams?

Like she could start in her late twenties still have a LOT of kids and accomplish any dream she wants too to. Then she has mom stories for the kids.

>>2759427
>You don’t care about being a bit of a pariah. You’ll give her as many kids as she wants when the time comes
>We’ll see how we feel in a few years and figure it out then
Start off strong and taper down if problems arise.

>>2759350
Her competitiveness played against her desire for more family. Could certainly be confusing to process.

Herb broke something and now laki wants to be octomom look like a quitter

>>2759427
IM late again, but I think it’s important to point out:

My parents are only planning on staying in Loanah for three years. We might not have their help. We might want to wait to your mid-twenties so that we can establish ourselves to support the family.

And of course.

>Eh, people will already talk about me being a foreigner, so some more won’t be a problem.

>>2759427
>You don’t care about being a bit of a pariah. You’ll give her as many kids as she wants when the time comes
besides isn't being one of the best chefs on earth special enough? because that's what Herb is going to be

>>2759471
Forgot the “>” on that first but but you get the picture.

And that’s leaving out that Herb’s family might look down on him having kids too young.

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“I don’t care about being a pariah. I’m a foreigner, anyway, and I know that comes with some people talking about me.” You tell her acknowledging it out loud “I’ll give you as many kids as you want when the time comes.” She restrains herself from jumping, but a cute little squeak comes out. “But what about going back to the games or your other dreams?”

“That’s the other thing.” Laki says. “I’ve decided that I’m going to go back to the games. Won’t have as much time to train, and I don’t even know if I can qualify anymore, and I won’t have much money for it and I can’t go back to the same people that sponsored me last time. But I don’t care. I’ll go, I’ll try my best, and come home with my head held high, setting it right.”

There’s a pregnant silence. You can’t believe how blunt and open and honest she’s being right now. You force yourself to say the words you’re almost too shocked to get out. “I’ll support you, but wouldn’t it be better to spend more time training? You could start in your late 20s and then still have lots of time for kids and tell them about your accomplishments and stories.”

Laki eyes you up and down, confused. “What? Soft Hands, how does that make any sense? What’s a bigger accomplishment than creating and raising a good human being? I can get a career later, but fertility, and the energy and health keep up with kids, those are short windows. A lot of women in their 30s have problems. They think they can wait forever, and they miss out on the most important thing there is to a successful living being because they’re caught up in career success instead. But it’s an illusion. Careers don’t pass down your genes or call you mommy.” She kisses you on the cheek. “If it’s too much, we can talk or slow it down after a few, although I can’t imagine why we would. Just tell me if I’m scaring you off, alright? I really want to try to keep up with this honesty thing.”

You bathe, eat, and get everyone ready. It’s best to do your temple challenge before today’s heat sets in. the temple is well designed to have a cool breeze, but still.

Keira strolls alongside you on the way to the temple.

“I feel conflicted.” She says.

“How come?”

“Abigail. She snuck into the temple under false pretenses. It’s not my business, really, but shouldn’t I have stopped her? Or said something? Why didn’t I?”

You’ve been wondering about Abigail. She snuck into the Fighting temple disguised as a young boy. It was strange, and you still haven’t figured out why she did it.


>Abigail won’t do anything too bad. Trust her
>Well, you still could, if you feel it’s justified
>Maybe she didn’t say anything because she’s still mad at the clergy
>You used to get in lots of trouble for things at the temple. You probably felt sympathetic to harmless hijinks
>Abigail was wrong and disrespectful to you to go and do that.
>Something else

>>2759525
>Well, you still could, if you feel it’s justified
>Maybe she didn’t say anything because she’s still mad at the clergy

>>2759525
>>Well, you still could, if you feel it’s justified
>>Maybe she didn’t say anything because she’s still mad at the clergy

>>2759525
>>Well, you still could, if you feel it’s justified
>Maybe she didn’t say anything because she’s still mad at the clergy

>>2759525
>Well, you still could, if you feel it’s justified
>Maybe she didn’t say anything because she’s still mad at the clergy

>>2759525
>Abigail won’t do anything too bad. Trust her
but if she still wants
>Well, you still could, if you feel it’s justified

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“Maybe you didn’t say anything because you’re still mad at the clergy.”

Keira thinks for a moment. “I hope not. I don’t want my personal feelings to get in the way of how I...wait, no. I do. I do want my personal feelings to be involved. They matter.” She says, with a burst of Laki-like confidence. “I’m not mad at the temple though. Well, maybe that one monk, but he’s just one person and that’s no reason to disrespect the traditions that means so much to the others.”

“So are you going to tell them about Abigail? You still can, if you feel it’s justified.”

“It is justified.” Keira says. “But...I like Abigail. She won’t get in much trouble, I don’t think. I don’t know.” She thinks. “I’ll do what I should have been doing a long time ago, and go with my gut.” She tries her best to extend her belly out, but it’s just too small to project much.

Huh. Keira got that saying right. Good for her!

Gobble and Dice run ahead, full of energy. Dice tackles Gobble from behind and the two play-wrestle in a rolling ball that comes to a stop at the temple entrance.

“Young Herb!” The monk from the other day greats you. “Perfect timing. We’ve got a suitable challenge for you.” He moves back to show a class of young students. Standing out in front are two in particular. Kai, and Abigail. “I don’t know why we didn’t think of it before. The turbaned one said they want to be acknowledged as the superior man by the loser, and Kai here said he’d challenge you to make sure you’re suitable for his sister.”

You freeze up for a second. Abigail’s face is covered in dirt and hard to read, but she looks mischievous. Kai looks serious.

“Since you’re older and stronger, we think it’s fair to take on these smaller students. We sometimes have a more experienced monk take on multiple students. A simple wrestling match is fine, but don’t expect that to mean you won’t get bruises. You can pin or toss your opponents out.”

You said before you think you could win with cooking. Maybe that’d work here. Or maybe Kai is too serious of an opponent. You’re not sure what to think of the determined look in his eyes. You thought you were getting along.

You glance to Laki. She shrugs, but looks intrigued.


>Great. You’ll take them both on
>Ask for different opponents
>Try to talk to Abigail and Kai privately first
>Ask for a different challenge instead. You don’t want to hurt either of them by accident
>Something else

>>2759591
>Great. You’ll take them both on

>>2759591
>Great. You’ll take them both on
Let's channel a little Laki here.

>>2759591
>>Great. You’ll take them both on


>Herb steps into the ring and for a single moment, off in the distance, you can hear a single beat of a frying pan.
>*BONK*

>Great. You’ll take them both on
I imagine Herb could take Kai, but gets rocked by Abigail

>>2759591
>Great. You’ll take them both on

>>2759591
>Great. You’ll take them both on

Is it time for aura vampire? Sap the spy then bounce the munchkin?

Remember the basics of CQC Herb!

>>2759623
CQC? *Looks at his hands*

>>2759624
Close Quarters Cooking, of course.

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“Great, I’ll take them both on.” You say, feeling emboldened by the comment he made about you being stronger. You’d hope you look stronger than a younger boy and a small woman, but it’s still nice to hear. Especially after this morning’s effort.

Gobble does a quick little shadowboxing demonstration. You think he’s trying to give you pointers.

The chef from yesterday leans his back against the wall, ready to watch. He gives you a quick nod, confirming that he’s ready to help teach you if you can prove your mettle.

“Alright. Since we have two mainlanders and a new potential student, I’ll go over the rules.” The monk announces as Kai and Abigail take their positions. You awkwardly make your way to where you assume you should be standing. “If you’re tossed out of the ring, you lose. If you’re pinned to a ten count, you lose. You can surrender at any time, and any attacks after that are illegal.” He tosses a few bamboo sticks onto the large fighting area. “No fishhooking, no blows to the groin, and respect the calls of the referees without fail or hesitation.”

You feel light and playful. You feel frisky and awkward. You feel strong and aggressive. You feel pre-emptively guilty about beating them.

“Herb, if you lose, you must acknowledge this one as the superior man, and Kai here will forever be able to condemn your taking of his sister as a wife, if he chooses. Any questions before we begin?”


>Nope, let’s start
>Tell on Abigail
>Tell Kai and Abigail something the others won’t hear
>Yeah, can you clarify something? (specify)
>Something else

>>2759632
>>Nope, let’s start

>>2759632
Fishhooking? Not saying to ask in character, I genuinely do not know what that means.

>>2759632
>Yeah, can you clarify something? (specify)
Is fish hooking the same thing it is on the mainland? When you pull on someone's mouth with your fingers?

>>2759638
>>2759641
You put fingers in someone's mouth and pull hard in a direction like a fishhook.

>>2759632
>>2759641
this

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You raise your hand. “Fishhooking?”

Abigail smirks. “Don’t know much about fighting dirty, do you, Gold-...friend? This should be fun.”

“It’s where you do this.” One of the monks come behind the one who was announcing, and puts a finger in his mouth. He pulls it like a fish hook, forcing the monk’s face back.

The monk quickly grabs the hand and flips it around, and the two engage an in impressive display of strikes, blocks, and grabs that looks serious for a moment and ends with some laughter as the instructor flicks the other in the head. “Ahem. That.” He still laughs a little. It’s strange to see such a strong, older man act so boyish for a moment. You guess the guys here bond a lot.

“Now, fight!” He throws up his arms and moves quickly out of the ring.

Kai rushes for the sticks in the middle. Abigail hangs back for a moment.


>Tackle him while he picks up a stick
>Grab a stick of your own
>Go around him and after Abigail
>Promise Abigail you’ll feed her whatever she wants for a week if she turns sides
>Something else

>>2759427
>I want to spend it pregnant
>as many kids as I can carry

good fucking lord gobble, late I know, but hot damn

>Tackle him while he picks up a stick

>>2759650
>Promise Abigail you’ll feed her whatever she wants for a week if she turns sides
Mwhahaha, this is an evil laugh.

>>2759651
Something something crushed pelvis.
>>2759650
Grab a stick of your own

I don't think Herb is the type of guy to fight too dirty.

>>2759650
>>Tackle him while he picks up a stick

RULES OF NATURE

>>2759650
>Grab a stick of your own

imagine the end is a pan, Herb, become one with the pan.

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[Need a tiebreaker! Next vote for either open will decide it.]

>>2759670
>>Tackle him while he picks up a stick

>>2759659
>>2759671
I'm changing my vote to this, since we got a tie

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Rolled 32, 88 = 120 (2d100)

[Roll!]

Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>2759675
1d100?

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>2759675
let's see

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>>2759678
[Yup!]

Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>2759675
If you say so.

>>2759678
>>2759682
>>2759684
Oh man, did we just ring out?

Damn some bad rolls.

>>2759687
No? To do that we would have done something like roll 3 nat 1's whilst gobble rolled a 100.

>>2759693
I don't think it's that hard to fall outside of a ring.

>>2759687
we beat kai's roll, then abigail does something

>>2759697
On the very first action, yes it is.

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You hesitate for only half a second as you glance backwards.

Mace looks worried. He wants to get in there with you. Gobble looks excited and is shadowfighting in support. Dice is awkwardly climbing a statue to get a better look. Sorbet is fluffy and wide-eyed in concern, and Belladonna is yelling aggressively.

Laki watches with a mix of worry and exhilaration and pride, for both you and Kai, and you suspect maybe Abigail too, but that might just be you imagining things.

Hana summons some courage and cheers for you.

Keira is watching closely, and urges you to turn around and fight.

Right! No time to waste. You turn and rush towards Kai, who is picking up a stick. He sees you coming and bends reaches quickly.

You give him a hard shove, but he doesn’t fly out of the ring or even far backwards. He gets just enough distance to hit you in the shin with the stick. Ow!

At least it was just some superficial hit and not a big deal. You just need to-

“Got him!” Abigail shouts, somehow having found her way onto your back. She quickly establishes a good grip. Good thing she’s light.

But Kai is emboldened now. He comes at you with the stick. You can't bend down to grab one it time with Abigail on you.


>Dodge!
>Try to dislodge and throw Abigail at him
>Turn around so Abigail is your shield
>Kick a stick at him
>Do the last thing he’d expect, and rush towards him
>Something else

>>2759706
>>2759706
>Do the last thing he’d expect, and rush towards him

>>2759706
>>Do the last thing he’d expect, and rush towards him

>>2759706
Rush forwards and move to tackle him using her to shield us from the stick.

>>2759706
>Do the last thing he’d expect, and rush towards him

>>2759706
>Try to dislodge and throw Abigail at him

>>2759706
>>Do the last thing he’d expect, and rush towards him

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[Roll some more!]

Rolled 6 (1d100)

>>2759720
We got this!

>>2759720

Rolled 99 (1d100)

>>2759720

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Rolled 22, 23 = 45 (2d100)

[Oops. Forgot my rolls]

>>2759723
Anon, try again.

Rolled 82 (1d100)

>>2759721
No thanks to you.
>>2759724
See, now this guy's got his head on straight.

>>2759724
DO YOU SMELL WHAT THE HERB IS COOKING?!

Herb’s signature move is suplexing one opponent onto another opponent, pinning them both. It’s not a hay-maker though.

It’s a harem-maker.

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>>2759728

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You do he last thing he or Abigail expects. You rush forward. Despite the extra weight on you and natural aversion to getting closer to a swinging stick, you quickly move forward and right into Kai’s face. He’s caught completely off guard and stumbles backwards, towards the edge of the ring. He didn’t even get a decent swing at you, and is clearly shaken by your aggressiveness.

“And he’s...still in!” The monk announces, sounding more like a fight announcer.

“Careful, Kai!” Laki shouts. “You too, Soft Hands!”

“Yes! Go Herb!” Hana’s voice echoes loudly and distinctly. You aren’t looking, but you can tell she’s embarrassed by how her voice trails at the end of your name.

“Holy-” Abigail struggles to hold on, losing her leg-grip on your waste and hanging off of you like a cape by her arms on your neck. She’s pulling a bit on it but your neck muscles are flexed hard enough to stop from being choked. She can still change that if she gets her leverage back, though.

Kai reels back, barely catching his balance.

You have a golden opportunity. You could push Kai out, or toss Abigail off of you and possibly out of the ring as well.


>Toss Abigail into Kai (very difficult)
>Show off a little and suplex one of them (difficult)
>Toss Abigail off
>Push Kai out
>Something

>>2759742
>>Push Kai out

Let's not be greedy

>>2759742
>Push Kai out
Better to make sure we aren't putting too much trust in the dice to hold up for us here.

>>2759742
>Push Kai out

>>2759742
>>Toss Abigail off

>>2759742
>Push Kai out
We will never allow anyone to say Laki isn't our woman.

>>2759742
>Push Kai out

>>2759742
Swing ourselves around so Abigail hit's Kai while still on us and knocks him out, and make her feel dizzy too.

>>2759742
>Push Kai out.
Even those odds. Better to play this smart, getting a pin on Abigail should be simple enough.

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Rolled 66, 77 = 143 (2d100)

[Rolly roll roll! It's an easy one!]

Rolled 27 (1d100)

>>2759760

Rolled 74 (1d100)

>>2759760

Rolled 19 (1d100)

>>2759760

Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>2759760

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Deciding to press your advantage and not do anything too flashy, you give Kai a nice, solid shove. He tries to fight you off with the stick, but he’s off balance and easy to push back.

As a last ditch effort, he swings his stick back to stop himself from falling, but he’s in a position he just can’t maintain, and slides down onto his butt. He swears loudly.

“Excuse me?” Laki shouts.

“Uh oh.” Abigail says, throwing herself off of your back and scrambling for a stick. She moved fast enough to avoid giving you an opening while you were dealing with Kai. “Don’t get too cocky. I’ve beat bigger guys than you.” She says. You’re not sure if that’s true or she’s just really getting into her role.

“Pick h...im up and toss him out! Right out of the ring!” Hana shouts, surprisingly aggressively. She’s really hyped about watching this.

That’s not a bad idea, though.
>Try to pick up Abigail
>Grab a stick to defend yourself
>Charge her just like you did Kai
>Offer her whatever she wants to eat for a week if she gives up now
>Something else

>>2759789
>Try to pick up Abigail

>>2759789
>>Grab a stick to defend yourself

Abs should not be underestimated. She's a clever girl

>>2759789
>Charge her just like you did Kai
she won't expect the unexpected twice!

>>2759789
>Try to pick up Abigail
"Why are you doing this?"

>>2759789
>Try to pick up Abigail
Sweep the leg! I mean, sweep her off her feet!

>Try to pick up Abigail

>>2759789
>Grab a stick to defend yourself.
Move to the center and stay there. She'll never dislodge you if you refuse to over commit.

>>2759797
>>2759796
>>2759794
>>2759791
>Being this predictable against Abigail

This could very easily backfire

>>2759803
But Hana said so!

>>2759804
I thought Herb was supposed to be the man in th-

Wait, he cross-dresses, nevermind.

>>2759789
>>Grab a stick to defend yourself

>>2759803
She'll never expect us to do what she expects if we've never done the expected up to this point.

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[Let's see those 100s!]

To note Abi is all about who's the better man.

On the one hand: It would piss these monks off and that's amusing

On the other: would she get upset if herb threw the fight?

Rolled 94 (1d100)

>>2759809
For victory!

Rolled 82 (1d100)

>>2759809

>>2759808
She'd goading Herb. She wants him to charge in. There's more value in changing tempo and wearing her down. With Laki's training and Herb's aura abilities Herb will outlast her. Besides we might be able to get some questions answered if we move to the defensive.

Rolled 24 (1d100)

>>2759809

Rolled 32 (1d100)

>>2759809
Oh dear

>>2759813
>>2759811
Well never mind then. Carry on.

>>2759813
I think it's more valuable to put her on the defensive and she loses the advantage of the stick if we get in close. We made the right move.

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Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>2759811
[Impressive, but watch this!]

>>2759822
Woah, it the answer to life, the universe and everything!

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You catch Dice in the corner of your eye dancing excitedly. He’s overstimulated by seeing you battle and nearly falling off the statue he climbed on top of. A much calmer Cubone joins him up there and is almost tripped over by accident.

“Why are you doing this?” You ask quietly enough that she should be the only one to hear. You hope.

“Beat me and I’ll tell you.” Her smugness radiates like cold off of Sorbet.

Well, she said so. You’re feeling a lot less self-conscious or worried about imposing on others. So what the hey, why not follow Hana’s advice?

You take a step forward, and she swings at you. The stick strikes you on the side, but you decide to let it and trap it with your arm. That lets you pull her in easily, and catch her entirely by surprise. She’s spun around in the confusion. You lift her from behind, needing to put less strength into it than you anticipated.

She’s at your mercy. At least, that’s how it seems. You know how tricky she can be.

Still, you’re killing it here, and your friends and some strangers all look pretty impressed. Even if it’s against smaller people, you’re dominating this two on one.
>Throw her as simply and directly as you can manage
>Suplex her out onto that soft mat
>She’s expecting a toss. Pin her instead
>Take off her turban disguise
>Throw her back to the center of the ring. You’re not done yet
>Something else

>>2759832
>She’s expecting a toss. Pin her instead

>>2759832
>she's expecting a toss. Pin her instead.
The greatest advantage she has over us is her mobility, which we've just taken away. Still, better safe than sorry.

>>2759832
>>Throw her as simply and directly as you can manage

>>2759832
>>She’s expecting a toss. Pin her instead

>>2759832
>She’s expecting a toss. Pin her instead
Keep her from getting leverage, if we can get her butt on the ground and we are still on top of her she'll be pinned without us really needing to do much.

>>2759832
>Walk her over tot eh edge and toss her out.

Wait, just carry her over the edge. If she's in front of us, she'll be out of bounds first.

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Rolled 43 (1d100)

[Let's see how it goes! Roll to win!]

Rolled 15 (1d100)

>>2759845

Rolled 50 (1d100)

>>2759845
For the win!

Herb has an older sibling. He clearly is well versed in wrestling pins, right?

Rolled 56 (1d100)

>>2759845
inb4 1

Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>2759845

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You change it at the last second on her, going from a tossing motion to a pin. As soon as the momentum changes, she jerks wildly. She was anticipated a toss and hoping to squirm out at the last second. But now you pull her down and put her arms and body under yours.

“Frigging crapdamnit!” She says, half frustrated and half laughing. She tries squirming anyway, and even conks you on the head with her forehead. It doesn’t do much except for make a loud noise inside both of your skulls though.

“Ten” The monk begins.

Abigail squirms some more. You have to keep adjusting your weight to keep her down. She’s not strong, but boy is she slippery. It’s only by the initial advantage you got by surprising her that you’ve been able to keep her down so long.

You’ve been feeling different bursts of emotion all morning. Some assertive, some joyful, some introspective. Right now, you’re grasping desperately for the first one. But it’s introspection that’s been waiting around in the background too long and finally becoming dominant.

“Hrnng! Ahhh! You’re hurting me.” Abigail says quietly. But there’s something about the way she says it that seems off. The position didn’t change, your grip is firm but not excessive, and she gritted her teeth after she said it in a slightly exaggerated way.

You wouldn’t have noticed if you were in a different frame of mind. “You’re lying.”

“Seven.” The monk says. You missed a few counts.

Her pained expression drops. “Worth a shot, right?” She bucks her legs to try getting you off.

“Not going to work.” You say, starting to feel a little awkward. She smells pretty nice. And her slightly glistening face from the sweat and struggle looks pretty cute.

Gah! Is this you or Hana thinking this?

It doesn’t matter in the moment. You concentrate of keeping her still. But she pushes back hard, grunting, writhing, and struggling the entire time.

Her face changes from straining, to confused, to shocked, to unbelievably smug. A smugness that could only be pulled off by a handful of actresses out there today under the best lighting and lenses.

“Three.”

She realises she stopped trying to get loose and quickly redoubles her effort. Her bony hips manage to dissuade you a bit and she almost comes loose. Only your decisive re-positioning keeps that from happening.

“One!” The hand slams down on the matt, and the monk stands up. “Winner; Herb!”

You sigh in relief. Abigail looks a little disappointed, but still incredibly, infuriatingly, impossibly pleased with herself.

“Alright, alright. Good match. Now come on up and bow.” The monk orders.

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[That’s it for tonight, everybody! Congrats on the victory!

It’s unclear when the next thread will be. I’m working this weekend, but at weird hours, and nobody can tell me what happens Monday and beyond. I’ll have firm info posted here and on twitter as soon as I know. The bin is in progress and there’s always room to add in stuff if there are any more requests or ideas.]

>>2759879
Thanks for running, Gobble! Also that smug Abi for making Herb pop a boner, Haha.

>>2759879
Thanks for running!

>>2759879
Thanks for running! Wish I could have participated more, but I’m glad to see things went well!

>>2759879
Thanks for running, Gobble. It was nice to hang out in thread, as always.

Even if Herb is the better man it's a recognition she's a man or?

>>2759921
I think maybe since Herb made her insecure by being a cuter girl than her, Abi wanted to get some payback by out-manning him, making him feel insecure.

>>2759974
Silly, Abi. Herb doesn't need anyone's help with that. He's always struggling with his manhood, it's kinda his thing.

>>2759990
>He's always struggling with his manhood
Who wouldn't that thing is MASSIVE.

>>2760142
Struggling to contain it

>>2760142
>>2760422
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP42y28GTqc

>>2759525
Hey, so, about Laki’s reasoning here:

The evidence that women in their thirties have problems having children comes from French (I guess in this case Kalosian) records from 1670-1830.

Modern fertility rates don’t drop off for first-world healthy women until about 40, so Laki really has like 10 more years than she thinks.

And with Pokémon’s advanced technology and use of magic, I can see that being pushed another 5-10 years depending on how much money and magic you put into it. I mean, the sort of science it took to make mewtwo should be the same kind that could make eggs out of stem cells.

Not to mention the actual artificial womb he was grown in.

Hell, babies are basically just a couple people’s clones mashed together.

Anyways, it’s a pervasive myth and she definitely has her thirties to have kids, sans some sort of tragic genetic disease or the sort of disease that we vaccinate against these days.

>>2760731
>Hell, babies are basically just a couple people’s clones mashed together.

No. No they are not, I know you were being hyperbolic but that's not what a clone is at all

>>2760753
I am aware that I was glossing over the intricacies if meiosis but the point was more that gestation should work the same no matter whether the dna is from one person or two.

You know, I wonder if a chimera from multiple mothers would be viable...

>>2760731
My main problem with it is that's what she wants to do but she's not thinking about how it will effect Herb. Even if family will be around to help you can be damn sure Herb will want to always be there for his kids, so he's basically giving up his 20's as well.

>>2760981
I doubt that Herb would think about it as giving up your 20s. Also, Herb wants a family. Also, your 20s aren't really better than your 30s anyways. If anything what I think concern's Herb is he wants to have a home and a stable income to provide for his children. He's not even sure what career he wants to do, so i think that's his current biggest hurdle for starting a family. I honestly believe that Herb doesn't care about how young he is to start a family, but he wants to be able to care for his family without being a burden on his elders.

>>2760731
It's possible with real-world tech to make sperm out of stem cells. So one solution to the "no babies for Hana" issue is if she knocks up Laki.

>>2761094
I’ve got a bit of a disconnect since I personally don’t want a bunch of children, maybe one or two. But no matter how many, I feel like wanting financial stability first makes sense, especially since Herb grew up with some belt-tightening and everyone wants to give their kids a better life than they had.

And, again, Herb’s family is planning on moving and wouldn’t be around to help. They may not be in a position to help too much financially either, though maybe that’s changing at some point.

>>2761111
I come from a big family, something like 6 kids, on both sides. So, I can understand why Laki wants a huge family. Also, single children are weird. Everyone should grow up with a sibling.

>>2761163
oi

>>2761094
That's more what I meant by giving up his 20's, he's giving up the chance to do things his way. He will have to delay any plans he has for this. And yea your 30s aren't super different than your 20s but time only goes faster as you get older. Herb's dad was right when he said they'd kill his passion. It's not malicious but you end up trading more and more for family, especially a large one, until what you're doing isn't something you really wanted to do but it's what you have to do.

>>2761177
>giving up the chance to do things his way
What do you mean by this? Would you care to expand?

>>2761210
I'll try but forgive me of I don't make too much sense, I'm not that great at getting my ideas on paper.

Think about all the stuff that we're thinking Herb could do. Like turning that island into a day care, worry seed coffee, making a battle restaurant, etc. He can't really do any of those as it won't provide for a family right away. So he'll have to try to work on that stuff on the side, which seems doable at first. You don't need a genius to tell you that it's not going to work like that if you're having a new kid, let alone a new one just about every year for a decade. Hell think about all the stuff that's fallen by the wayside just on this journey where we have significantly less responsibility. It might not seem like it but it takes the choice out of Herbs hands since he will have to take options that take care of his family immediately.

>>2761226
I think having a third parent around will really help with that, but I’d still like to hold off to the mid twenties. (I can see them trading off between the roles of breadwinner, home-maker, and career building, for instance.)

We haven’t had this conversation with Hana though, have we? What if she wants to have fewer kids? Or maybe she’s strongly in favor of fostering/adopting? Her needs matter here too.

No I’m imagining momma Hana giving one of her kids “the talk”.

>”When a mommy and another mommy love each other very much, one of the mommies gives a skin sample to some nice scientists who specialize in stem cell technology and-“ etc.

>>2761324
Having a third parent would definitely help, and I agree that mid 20s is a good compromise. We definitely need to bring this up with Hana though as being a parent is going to potentially mess with her plans as well and even if it doesn't this is still a group decision. I get that this is important to Laki but no matter what is said or how smart it is she keeps trying to bulldoze the decision through and that really bothers me.

>>2761419
Still, having a plan and talking about it ahead of time is better than having a plan and not talking about it because that would be scary, or not having an idea about what you want to do with your life at all.

I don’t think she’s unwilling to make compromises. She’s just trying to be clear about what she wants.

>>2761563
That's what irks me though. She doesn't seem willing to compromise and her plan is: Let's have a bunch of kids, don't worry it will be totally fine.

And that's the extent of it. Maybe she has more to explain, and I'm definitely prejudiced against it as I don't want any kids irl, but I don't think it's as clear cut and simple as she thinks it is.

>>2761701
Now, don't go too far. She's presented a plan, yes, but we've already brought up the issue of her participating in the games, and she was clearly willing to think about changing the plan to accommodate that. Saying that she doesn't seem willing to compromise is disingenuous.

>>2761701
Yeah, Laki is totally willing to compromise. She was just being honest about what she wants. She wants kids more than anything, but she understands Herb's got to become a big shot before that can happen. She's just letting us know her dreams. I respect her honesty, I don't understand why it bothers you.

>>2761701
The way I see it, even though Herb said he’d give her as many kids as she wants, she’s still, on her own initiative, saying they can re-assess things later.

It’s hard for her not to come across as deciding the plan when Herb doesn’t have a strong opinion on a specific different plan though.

>>2761702
>>2761704
>>2761707
> She kisses you on the cheek. “If it’s too much, we can talk or slow it down after a few, although I can’t imagine why we would. Just tell me if I’m scaring you off, alright? I really want to try to keep up with this honesty thing.”
Maybe I'm reading this wrong but that doesn't seem like being as open to compromise as it seems to be. To me it reads as "We'll do it my way for awhile and then if you have complaints we'll reassess." That's not compromise, that's doing what she wants and then banking on Herb being in too deep to want to change her plan. Which is still: I'll go back to the games at some point and we'll have a ton of kids, but it'll be super fine I promise.

Sure I get that her explaining her wants comes across as her deciding what to do, but she hasn't asked Herb about what he wanted at all and as far as we know she hasn't mentioned anything to Hana.

I'm not against Laki here, it just seems she hasn't really thought it through as much as she thinks she has. To me, it comes across as not being considerate of Herb and especially Hana's potential plans.

>>2761775
I'm just not getting the same reading. She's super excited to have kids, but she knows that may not be what Hana and Herb might want, so she's opening a dialog in the hope of being put in check if she goes too far.

>>2762091
Alright after reading it a few times I'm definitely overreacting. But this is still a huge decision that all 3 of us need to sit down and discuss.

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[Alrighty. So there's no thread until maybe Monday or Tuesday night. I'm waiting to hear back on what exactly is going on. Today ran very late at work. it was dead until the end of the day where everything went wrong! But that's just how it goes sometimes. I'll update as I know more.]

>>2767476
Thanks, Gobble. Always good to hear from you. Also I meant to ask you last time you popped in, but which pastebin were you currently working on?

>>2767476
Thanks for the update. Got to make those pokebucks.

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>>2768580
>>2768640
[Thanks! We'll have a thread tomorrow, and hopefully the bin progressed a lot more or finished. I'm currently working on a bin with all the girl's perspectives for the aura mixing.]

>>2771675
!!!!!!

>>2771675
YUUUUUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

>>2771675
Oh, I'm so excited! Pokemon! Woo!

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>>2771832
>>2773035
>>2773744
[Thread soon!]

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What It Takes To Be A Man

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Pokemon%20Island%20Adventure%20Quest
https://twitter.com/GobbleQM
Character info pastebin in progress: http://pastebin.com/iB0tb7rz
Dice odds for best of 3: http://pastebin.com/994WTT3g

General rules:

There is a 10 minute voting period after each post. Non-contradictory votes will be combined as best as possible.
Write-ins for all votes are always welcome and encouraged. They may not all make it into the post or be altered to fit in, but I'll do my best to at least try to address the spirit of the write-in.

Very important or contentious votes may be redone in a stricter voting system as circumstances warrant.

Combat mechanics involve three rolls of 1d100, taking the best, and using the base accuracy and crit ranges of the the PTU system, roughly, but the 'turn order' will be more like the anime, where sometimes you can do a few moves in a row or be hit by a combo of moves yourself, all depending on circumstances. Stronger moves tend to take more time and have more cooldown than weaker moves and also may leave you open to an interrupt, so beware of that timing. Speed is more important for closing ground, intercepting, and other things and doesn't necessarily mean going first.

Pokemon and trainers are unique, and may have certain specializations, skills, or other things that the video-game mechanics might not allow. Some examples: That kung fu Bellsprout in the anime, that crystal Onix, or a Roggenrolla that can fly. Herb's perception skills, pokemon knowledge, context clues in general, and other things will hopefully come into play to avoid completely unfair, unforeseeable bullshit, but expect more bullshit from more advanced trainers.

Call me out on a mistake and receive a suggestive picture, mostly likely a butt.

Pokemon:
Gobble (Munchlax)
Mace (Roggenrola)
Belladonna (Roserade)
Dice (Croconaw)
Sorbet (Vulpix)

Location: Akaneki, the Fighting Temple, a sparring ring, atop reverse trap Abigail

Am I the first one here?

>>2773892
Lurkin'

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You lay there on top of Abigail for a moment. The wrestling with her, combined with your well-exercised libido, has made your body react in an embarrassing way.

“Fight’s over, lad.” The monk yells out. “Come up, get up and give a bow.”

Abigail, sweaty, beaten, but unimaginably smug, grins. “You heard him. You’re not going to tell me you’re having trouble, ‘getting up’, are you?” Her voice is low.

“Come on, this is embarrassing.” You plead with her not to kick you while you’re down.

“Not that embarrassing.” She says. “I’m not exactly chopped liver, am I?”

“That’s not what I...” Ah. The expression on her face tells you she’s just trying to tease you.

“Young Herb, did you hear me?” The monk asks, starting to approach. Gobble and some of your other Pokemon are approaching now, too.


>Ask Abigail for help. Please
>Fake a momentary injury so you have to stay hunched over for a minute
>Stand up tall and proud. Own it
>Something else

>>2773922
>Stand up tall and proud. Own it.
Pretty easy way to not be embarrassed by something.

>>2773931
Fuck it, go for it

>>2773922
>tuck it in your waistband, you idiot

>>2773922
>Fake a momentary injury so you have to stay hunched over for a minute
"Probably just a cramp give me a sec"

>>2773922
>pretend to fumble and get caught up on eachother to buy time
>quickly use Abigail's mouth for relief

>>2773999
You okay, anon?

>>2773970
>>2773977
Putting a lot of faith in Abigail not messing with us further.

>>2773922
>Stand up tall and proud. Own it
"...Oh, so you don't get excited when you win?"

>>2774059
Hah

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You take a moment to look around. You see a group of boys, watching. Older monks and clergy, moving about the temple, some watching and some not. The statues in the room are all masculine, strong, and proud. The few wall decorations are paintings or knittings of scenes of exploration, military prowess, or creating buildings or artworks.

Well, you’re a man too, and you won’t be ashamed of it. You stop trying to tuck it in, and you stand up tall. Then you offer Abigail a hand up.

“Uh, wow. Thanks.” Abigail says as you help her up. The last thing she expected was this, apparently. “I was going to let everyone know who I really am, but I’m more interested to see how this goes.” She bows, then moves out of the little ring.

Oh right. You bow too. Then look around at all the noises and talking.

A monk is trying to calm down his class. “Kids, kids, calm down. These things can happen when blood gets flowing and adrenaline pumps into your veins. A man’s body is nothing to be ashamed of.”

Laki looks unimpressed, but she also lets out a snort and stifled laughter by accident. She quickly quells that joy and let’s her scowl focus in on Abigail. You suspect this will be a topic of discussion later.

Keira doesn’t hold back her giggling at all. She stares openly, too.

Hana looks surprised, embarrassed at the scene, but also impressed and clearly with you. Rather than shrink away, she takes a stop forward.

The chef, who was watching, mouths “I’ll be in the kitchen” before vanishing around the corner.

“I’ll have to ask for a rematch when I’m older.” Kai says, coming to bow in front of you. “I didn’t think I’d be the first one out, or so easy.” He sounds disappointed in himself. “And...seriously?” He looks grossed out as he notices your shrinking but still prominent condition. “Mainlanders.”


>Hey, it’s natural! I’m already embarrassed, don’t make me feel worse
>Ask for his blessing for dating his sister
>You look forward to that rematch
>Woah! What’s being a mainlander have to do with anything?
>Shake his hand, like a mainlander
>Something

>>2774126
>Shake his hand, like a mainlander
And bow to him too

>>2774132
This

>>2774126
>Bow back to him
Being a mainlander has nothing to do with it.

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“Being a mainlander has nothing to do with it.” You tell him, bowing.

“I guess.” He says, giving Abigail a slightly lingering look up and down. Her feminine body is a little more obvious from behind. Especially with the way the wrestling activity made her clothes cling tighter in some areas. His gaze is taken away when you shake his hand. He shakes back, and nods.

Gobble comes running up and hugs your leg. Then Belladonna lands in your arms, followed by Dice, knocking you over. Dice flies around behind and helps support you before you fall. Even Sorbet joins in.

“Hope your boner went away.” Laki says, standing over you. There’s not really the venom in her tone you were expecting. “Come on. Get up. Tomorrow, I’m teaching you how to wrestle for real.”

“Did I do that badly?”

She looks at you and her little brother. “Uh, no. You were really good. But it’s easy to win when you’re that much bigger. And I want to show you how good I am.”

Gobble does a few moves, and Laki rolls her eyes but still laughs a little. “I’ll show you too, Gobble.”

Abigail comes in from the side with a big playful grin. “What about-”

Laki’s hand cover’s Abigail’s mouth. “You made a mockery of my island’s temple, you made a mockery of my brother and Soft Hand’s fight, and you tried to create a wedge between us, again. The only reason I’m not tossing you out the first floor window is because I know it would upset everyone and embarrass the temple.” She leans in close to meet her eye to eye. “Do one more thing like this. ONE. MORE. And I’ll get angry enough that I won’t care about the consequences.” The mood has changed. Laki is very serious. She releases Abigail and smiles. “I’m feeling pretty restrained today though. Lucky you.”

Abigail is still silent, and shocked.


>You did sort of violate the trust of the temple, Abigail
>Hey. She really tried to win. She was helping him just fine
>Laki is right, but she shouldn't threaten to get her point across
>Change the subject, find the chef
>Something else

>>2774276
>>Laki is right, but she shouldn't threaten to get her point across

>>2774276
>You did sort of violate the trust of the temple, Abigail
>Hey. She really tried to win. She was helping him just fine
>Laki is right, but she shouldn't threaten to get her point across
>find the chef

>>2774276
>Laki is right, but she shouldn't threaten to get her point across

>>2774276
>You did sort of violate the trust of the temple, Abigail
>Hey. She really tried to win. She was helping him just fine
>Laki is right, but she shouldn't threaten to get her point across

Kinda everything really

>>2774311
What this anon said

It’s tough because Herb doesn’t really have a good grasp of what’s sacrosanct and what isn’t, and therefore where the line lies between playing pranks and being mean, as far as temples and traditions go.

So while I think Herb may believe/understand that Abi doesn’t have that understanding either, I think he’d approve of Laki being direct about her feelings, if perhaps not the wording.

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“Laki’s right.” You say.

“Soft Hands, I know this isn’t the way you like me to do- wait, what?”

“You’re right. Abigail violated the trust of the temple, and was a bit disrespectful to what’s clearly an important tradition.”

“Hey! I was trying to win! I-”

“I agree. You were. That wasn’t that easy.” You say, feeling a little embarrassed that a girl that small gave you any trouble at all. “She fought to win.”

“She’d fight dirty.” Laki mumbles.

“Hey, I was tempted. But I figured, well, that’d go farther than I was comfortable with.”

“So you do have some limits.” Keira sys, trying to be diplomatic, but really just making it worse.

“But Laki, you can’t just threaten her to get your point across.”

Laki’s eyes and nostrils flare for a moment, but she contains herself. “How...do you suggest...I handle it?”

She’s trying. She’s really putting effort into it. You turn to the redhead.“Abigail. You understand why Laki is upset, right? How would you feel if things were reversed. If something that sacred and important to you was treated that way, would you feel like the person doing it is being a good friend?”

She folds her arms. “I’m way older than you, you know. I don't need lectures of basic morality.”

“It looks like you do.” Hana says. She immediately covers her mouth after. She looks more surprised than anyone that she said it.

Abigail considers Hana, then Laki and Keira. There’s something in Keira’s eyes that makes Abigail decide on what she says next. “Okay. I get it. And... I’m sorry.” She says, loosening her turban and moving towards the monk.

“Where are you going?” Hana asks, making Abigail stop.

“To fess up.” Abigail says, before turning around again. “See what sort of penance they want.”


>Wait, Abigail. Don’t expose yourself. Just don’t do it again.
>Let her go. Find the chef
>Hana, where did that come from?
>Chat with Kai
>You’re still pumped, find someone else to spar with and really get some practice and experience
>Something else

>>2774410
>>Hana, where did that come from?
>Wait, Abigail. Don’t expose yourself. Just don’t do it again.

>>2774410
>Well, looks like talking things out went pretty well.

>Go find that chef.

>>2774410
>>Wait, Abigail. Don’t expose yourself. Just don’t do it again.

Or, let Keira and Laki decide, since they're the ones who would know more about just what something like this would warrant.

>>2774410
>Let her go. Give the girls a reward, Laki for not letting her anger get the better of her and explaining herself, Hana for speaking her mind.

Probably due to some left over aura mixing but progress is progress.

>>2774410
>Wait, Abigail. Don’t expose yourself. Just don’t do it again.

>>2774410
>Let her go. Give the girls a reward, Laki for not letting her anger get the better of her and explaining herself, Hana for speaking her mind.

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“Wait, Abigail.” You say, then turn to Keira and Laki. “Is that a good idea?”

“It’d be a fun one.” Laki says. “The fighting temple takes repentance very seriously. To be honest, I suggest we all just forget about it. No need to embarrass the monk and cause hardship.”

“They’ve also been under a lot of scrutiny from the ghost temple.” Keira says. “I...I would say she should be honest. But it could also make some big scandal that they let this happen and give an excuse for the Ghost temple to get involved.” Keira thinks. “I don’t want to be like that, and think about those things, though. I...want to say no, but my principles tell me you should confess.”

“What would it mean for the fight?” Hana asks. “Would Herb and Kai have their honor harmed, or something?”

“It...would complicate things.” Keira says. “But I don’t know. It would be up to their judgement.”

Abigail thinks. “You know what? Goldentop, Laki, I appreciate it, but I’m going to confess. As long as you guys wait up for me if it takes a while to sort out. Because otherwise it’s not worth it.”

“We’ll wait.” Laki says, looking a little proud.

Laki and Abigail look into each other's eyes for a moment. Then Abigail inhales deeply, and goes off to talk to the monk. She takes him somewhere private to talk. You guess she doesn’t want to make a scene.

“Huh. What do you think she’ll have to do for penance?” Hana asks.

“Some super hard arbitrary task.” Laki tells her. “She’ll get halfway through and quit, but it’s a nice gesture anyway.”

“It’s always a physical task.” Kiera says. “Abigail’s too small and weak to handle it.”

“You guys.” Hana says. “She’ll do it. All the way. She’s our friend. What made you both so jaded on people?”

A group of jogging trainees comes running by, cutting the conversation off.

“So, what now?” Laki asks. “Abigail’s going to be here for at least another day.”


>Let’s go to the gym and come back tomorrow
>Find the chef
>Spend the day rewarding Laki and Hana
>Do pokemon training
>Something else

>>2774536
>Find the chef
Let's make some food for everyone! Also learn from that Chef!

>>2774536
>>Find the chef

COOKING TIME

Also
>Laki with a Moltres

Why does that sound so right. I wanna see Chatot chant "BEER MONEY" from on top of its head.

>>2774536
>Find the chef

>>2774536
>>Find the chef
>>2774563
The ice elite 4 from the last quest did have an articuno...

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“I want to visit the chef.” You say, having held that back forever.

Laki pats you on the back. “I was wondering how long it’d take. Go, cook. I’m going to talk to Kai. I think he’s starting to like it here.”

“I’ll go with Laki.” Keira says. “I want to keep an eye on how Abigail does too. And the temple.”

“I’ll come with you.” Hana says, clinging to your arm. That act of affection draws a few eyes, some of them fairly jealous looking. You’ve noticed in general that on this island, travelling with the girls seems to get you a lot of those looks.

“I will go with Laki as well.” Gardevoir says, scaring the bacon out of your bits. She’s been standing behind you the entire time. “There are many feelings to understand.”

You, Hana, and your pokemon walk down the hall as you try to remember where the kitchen was. The hallways are all the same looking, but the artwork is distinct. Eventually, you do find it.

“There is is.” The chef says, spinning a spatula. A few loose drops of oil splatter against the wall when he does, but it still looked cool. It does bother you to see that, though. “So, want to work here for a day?”

“Does that mean you’ll teach Herb a secret recipe?” Hana asks excitedly.

“I never said that. He was supposed to show us how his cooking could change people’s minds. Help defend his realm. I want to see him prove it.”

“But the fight’s already done.” Hana says, again on your behalf.

“Then, how is he supposed to prove it?”

He flips the dish he’s working on. “If I knew how it’s supposed to happen, I wouldn’t be so interested. I won’t teach my secret recipe, but I’ll teach anything else he wants to know if he helps me out today.”


>Cook him a fantastic dish, see if he can resist taking a second bite
>Just work for the day and see what you can learn and what opportunities pop up
>Ask him to teach Gobble
>Laki’s dad hired someone to fight on his behalf. Can’t you do the same by being a skilled enough chef?
>Challenge him to a hot pepper eating contest for his prized recipe
>Something else

>>2774697
>Cook him a fantastic dish, see if he can resist taking a second bite
Best herb

>>2774697
>Cook him a fantastic dish, see if he can resist taking a second bite

Rolled 92 (1d100)

>>2774697
>Cook him a fantastic dish, see if he can resist taking a second bite
Prerolling for skill.

>>2774638
That poor, poor birb, flat out deleted by stealth rock.

>>2774697
>Cook him a fantastic dish, see if he can resist taking a second bite

Nobody can resist Herb’s spices!

>>2774697
>Cook him a fantastic dish, see if he can resist taking a second bite

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“I’ll cook you the best dish that I can.” You say. “And if you can’t resist taking a second bite, you-”

“Have teach Herb your secret recipe!” Hana interjects again. “S-sorry. I don’t know what’s gotten into me today.”

You squeeze her hand. It’s not that big of a deal.

The chef looks a little annoyed, but also equal parts amused. “It’s not usual for a girl to be so...assertive here. You must keep his hands full.”

Hana smiles that special little smile of hers. “I try, but Laki does it more.”

“Uh huh. Anyway, Herb, if your woman speaks for you, then sure. I’ll take your challenge. What do you have in mind?”

You glance around the kitchen. it's well stocked, full of lots of high-protein and hearty foods. There's a lot of very intense spices around too. A decent, but worn, amount of tools and pans and cookware lay around, mostly organized. It's dirtier than you'd like, but not enough to call a health inspector.

Huh, do they have health inspectors in this region?


>Create an all new recipe. Let the unique aura feeling inside of you inspire it.
>Cook with with Gobble’s help, let him take the lead
>Cook something you’ve learned at another temple
>Cook something with Hana. She’s not a skilled cook, but she’s great at following instructions
>Spend the day getting to know his tastes, then work late to cook a customized meal
>Clean the kitchen from top to bottom, first
>Something else

>>2774822
>Clean the kitchen from top to bottom, first
Ask for permission to do this first though, the kitchen in the chef's domain after all. If he's into it then clean it.
>Cook something with Hana. She’s not a skilled cook, but she’s great at following instructions

>>2774822
>>Cook with with Gobble’s help, let him take the lead
>>Cook something you’ve learned at another temple
>>Cook something with Hana. She’s not a skilled cook, but she’s great at following instructions

>>2774822
This works
>>2774861

>>2774822
>Create an all new recipe. Let the unique aura feeling inside of you inspire it.
>Cook with with Gobble’s help
Don't have Gobble take the lead, though. This is Herb's test

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“I think I’ve got just the thing.” You say, picking up a spatula without spinning it. No sense in trying to get showy when there’s real cooking to do. “Hana, will you help me?”

“You want my help?” She asks. “Sure, I can cut some stuff up! Let’s rock it! It’ll be fun!’ She’s so perky and assertive right now.

Gobble pulls on your pant leg.

“Of course I didn’t forget about you.” You tell him. “We’ll be a team on this one, alright?”

He lights up. He adjusts his scarf so it won’t droop down and dip into anything he’ll be cooking. Then he quickly runs around looking for crates or other things to stand on. Mace and Dice help him on that, before Dice gets bored and starts rolling around.

“So it’s a meal and a show, is it?” The chef asks cooly. “Need any more staff?”

You laugh. “I’ve got a good team, I’ll be fine. Now, Hana, I’ll need you to boil some water, then dice those over there. Do one and I’ll tell you if it needs to be cut smaller.”

“Can do!” She salutes. She feels awkward and exposed after committing to it and lowers her hand fast, accidentally slamming the metal on the stainless steel counter, producing a loud bang. “Sorry.”

“Gobble, remember the fire temple?”

He nods, then slobbers a little. “Right, then you know what to do.”

He quickly jumps up to turn on the stove, then rushes to find some oil. But when he does, he points it out to you.

“What’s the matter?” But it already hits you. “Oh, I see, this is a different type of cooking oil.”

As you’re thinking about that, Hana shows you the tomato she cut up. It’s so finely chopped that it’s just paste. “That’s good, but it’s too much, are there any more?”

“Not that variety.” The chef says, amused. “And that’s the only oil we have.”

Cheeseburgers! That will actually make a difference in the flavor and texture in the end, unless you take very specific and deliberate steps to improve. And you’re going to need a lot of concentration to guarantee you do it right.


>Do your best to explain to Hana and Gobble the end goal of their tasks, and trust them to figure it out
>Micromanage them so nothing goes wrong, even if it takes your attention away from your own tasks
>Ask the chef to help as well. You need more hands than you realized
>Modify the recipe to the point where it comes out different. You can improve it
>Something else

>>2774987
>Modify the recipe to the point where it comes out different. You can improve it

>>2774987
>Do your best to explain to Hana and Gobble the end goal of their tasks, and trust them to figure it out

>>2774987
>Do your best to explain to Hana and Gobble the end goal of their tasks, and trust them to figure it out

>>2774987
>Do your best to explain to Hana and Gobble the end goal of their tasks, and trust them to figure it out

>>2774987
>Do your best to explain to Hana and Gobble the end goal of their tasks, and trust them to figure it out

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[Roll roll roll!]

Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>2775033

Rolled 33 (1d100)

>>2775033

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>2775033

Rolled 89 (1d100)

>>2775033

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“Okay, I can work around this.” You keep your cool. You’re going to have to work around a few things and come up with ways to reach the same flavor profile and texture. It’s more complicated than just finding ingredients that are similar. You’ve got to think about how they interact too. Different types of oil or tomatoes might not seem like a big deal, but that means different flavors and different moisture, which affects the optimal cooking time and temperature, and other things as well. It’s a big chain.

“What do I do?” Hana asks. Gobble has the same question written on his face.

You think for just a moment. “Alright. Here’s what I need from you.” You explain what you need and what it should look and taste like.

“I’ll try my best.” Hana says, sounding a little less confident.

Gobble strikes a quick and confident pose, then leaps to work.

You also get to work, quickly running the scenarios in your head about how to best approach this with the ingredients and tools available. It’s difficult, and it stretches your imagination a bit, but you’re not exactly new to this.

You search around for cinnamon. You’ll need the perfect pinch to neutralize some flavor of a substitute ingredient. As you’re trying to do that, you work out the best way to handle the step after in your head. Then the next, and the next. You feel the pressure mount, but you know you can do this if you tough it out. You can do anything if you tough it out.

And before you know it, you, Hana, and Gobble are done your parts. You combine it in the last steps, assure them both that they’re work looks fine.

Finally! “All set.” You say, producing the dish. You quickly adjust it one last time to make it perfect. Then once more. Okay, last poke.

“Are you done?” The chef asks.

“One more.” you adjust it. “Alright. Dig in!”

He assesses it for a second, letting the steam rise off of it and allowing it to breath. That of course, makes you incredibly nervous. He didn’t say much of anything while you worked.

He carefully, gingerly pokes it with a fork. Satisfied, he has a small, carefully portioned bite.

He chews, and thinks, and tastes. “Hey now. Spicy, but not overpowering. Light, but satisfying. This texture too. It’s very nice. I’m impressed. Not many chefs are as delicate or sensitive as you.”

You choose to take that as a compliment.

“So, want another taste to be sure?” Hana awkwardly jokes.

(continued)

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>>2775148
He smiles and adjusts his fork. But when he looks back down to his plate, it goes flying off the table thanks to a water blast. Dice is standing at the source, looking proud of himself.

The dish is scattered on the floor.

You know Dice. He’s flighty. If you don’t immediately give him feedback on something, he doesn’t have it fresh enough in his mind to really understand what you’re talking about. He forgets and gets distracted too easily.

Gobble looks devastated. Then angry.


>Bad Dice! How could you do that after all our hard work?
>Quick, try to save the good parts. There’s some still on bits of plate
>Dice had to have a good reason. Praise him, then figure it out
>Clean it up and apologize to the chef, but don’t say anything to Dice
>Something else

>>2775149
>>Quick, try to save the good parts. There’s some still on bits of plate
>>Dice had to have a good reason. Praise him, then figure it out