>>28454186
>[ ] Not another step until you explain something. (What?)
Whats gonna happen to the catgirl

>>28454279
You square your shoulders and stare at her, refusing to budge. "I've played along far enough. I want to know what's going to happen to Abby."

Novena rolls her eyes. "Now you need to know? Look I already told you. The lawyers are going to make sure it goes in the books as self defense. Your little kitten will walk, it'll just take some time for the wheels to turn. Have a bit of faith. Now would you come on?"

>[ ] Fine.
>[ ] I'm done here.

>>28454186
>[X] Not another step until you explain something. (What?)

What the hell is going on? Where are we?

>[ ] Fine.

>>28454396
>[ ] Fine.

I can't remember why we're here

>>28454527
She basically dragged us with her at the end of the last thread.

>>28454598
Oh, right, then let's ask >>28454427

File: 1385239120442.jpg-(198 KB, 1200x699, Office.jpg)

198 KB JPG

>>28454396
>>28454648

"No. I want some answers first. Just because you helped me find Abby, you think I'm just going to follow you into some random building, at night, alone? Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"I think you're a pain in my a-"

"That will be all Novena, thank you." The new voice is coming from a tall, thin man standing in the doorway. No, not a man. THE man. The one from last night that was watching you during the fight. He turns to you and smiles. "I assure you there's nothing sinister going on here. If you'll follow me inside I'll be happy to answer your questions."

You linger a bit longer, not sure whether to trust him.

"You did just come here from the police office didn't you? They saw you with Novena here, so it's not as if we'd try anything untoward." He smiles again and gestures inside.

You've come this far, may as well find out what you've gotten yourself into. You walk into the dingy street level office with Novena trailing behind sullenly. The "office" is really nothing but a street level building with a few tables and chairs moved in haphazardly to form a working area. Papers and materials are strewn haphazardly about the desks next to some old computers and a single printer. The man settles into a reclining chair and steeples his fingers.

"First of all I want to thank you for your assistance with the Abigail Summers incident. Your assistance was invaluable and I assure you our people are going to make things right. Seeing as you have questions, why don't you set the agenda. What would you like to talk about?"

>[ ]Who are you?
>[ ]What do you want with me?
>[ ]What are you doing for Abby?
>[ ]Other?

>[ ]What are you doing for Abby?
>[ ]Who are you?
>[ ]What do you want with me?
All of them, in this order.

>>28454722
Second.

>>28454722
>>28454771
"How about anything for a start," you say with obvious annoyance. "You've been dragging me around town for the better part of a day and I still don't know anything. Who are you, and why were you following me?"

"A regrettable first impression. The situation was getting a bit out of hand so I stepped in to help Novena find and approach miss Summers. Something I shouldn't have to be doing I might add." He casts a withering glance over to Novena.

"You don't pay me enough for backup," she shrugs.

"At any rate it wasn't my intention to spy on you. We just needed to get the girl in hand. I'm sure you'll agree it all ended well enough. As to who we are, you might say we're a social welfare organization." He casts his hand up to a map in the corner. "The Midwest is a contentious area for Clade rights politics. We're here to help educate the public and make sure things develop well, both locally and on a national level."

>Roll ACUITY 1d100 to make some sense of this gibberish, unless you have some theories.

>>28454722
Sure, why not

Rolled 21

>>28454914
So do these guys help out clades in legal trouble?
Seeing how small the office is, its seems in line with private investigation

Rolled 77

>>28454914
>"This organization have a name?"

Rolled 29

>>28454914

>>28454990
>21, One Degree of Success.
Are they a law firm? Nobody working out of a place like this could afford to take on pro bono work, and the Midwest is much too large an area of operations. Which only leaves....

"You're in politics," you say with some conviction. "Which means you're working for the democrats." Politics isn't your strong suit, but you know the Dems have been agitating for clade rights lately.

"We are, in a manner of speaking, but our organization doesn't affiliate itself with any one party. It would be... complicating.... on a number of levels. We exist solely to advance the issue of equal rights under the law."

"And do "you" have a name?" This whole organization sounds more like a syndicate than a political party.

"Ah, where are my manners. My name is Gibbs, and our little outfit here is called Americans for Equality." He stands up looks right in the eyes. "And we'd like you to join. There's a lot of work to be done, for people like Abby. Particularly in the coming months with things as they are....."

>[ ]I'm in.
>[ ]What would I be doing?
>[ ]Is this on the level?
>[ ]Other

Rolled 45

>[X]What would I be doing?

>>28455284
>What would I be doing?

>>28455284
>>28455344
"And what kind of work would I be doing in this organization of yours."

"God's work," he says with a flourish of his arms. "Helping to bring alternately gened individuals into the light of equality."

"And making sure they remember who got them there?" A voice carries in from the next room. A short male cat clade follows in after it. He has boyish features in the way many of his kind do, with a tangle of black hair and unnaturally golden eyes.

"You wound me Caleb. Miss DeVega, this is Caleb Pierce. He works as our chief political consultant." He gestures over to you. "Perhaps you could explain the situation better."

((Cont.))

>>28455451
He adjusts a pair of thick rimmed spectacles as he turns to you. "Are you familiar with the anti-clade legislation being debated right now?"

"What you mean like prop 21?" You feel a bit out of your depth with all this.

"Prop 21 is a local side show. The real target is the Genetic Safety and Regulation Act. It was passed by the house already and it's been winding it's way through the senate. Bad news. Extends all the unjust regulations applied to mutants to clades. We were supposed to kill it in committee but...."

"But a bunch of limp dick politicians switched sides on us," Novena chimes in.

"Uh.. for lack of a better term yes. On November second there's going to be new elections, and we're going to crush them. The bill will have to be passed before then, meaning they have a little over two months." He narrows his eyes and looks at you. "We need to make sure that doesn't happen. We have 34 senators on our side right now. We need 40 to filibuster. That means somehow we need to get 6 people to flip. I can handle the heavy political lifting, but we need somebody to act as a representative. That's where you come in."

>[ ]Where do we start?
>[ ]I don't do politics.
>[ ]Other

>>28455584
Aren't we some form of bounty hunter? How are we going to be of any use as a representative?

>>28455584
>[x]Other
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck why me? I just help one Clade and now I am in the fucking political race? Come on man you can't be serious!

>>28455714
Wrong quest.

>>28455714
You're confusing this with Bounty Hunter Quest. You are just Felicia DeVega, college student.

>>28455726
Okay then.

Wasn't this a one shot? Did it evolve into a proper quest?

>[ ]I don't do politics.

Uh, solidarity vote.

>>28455584
>>28455834
This isn't fair. You helped one clade, one girl, in the spur of the moment. That doesn't mean you want to get involved in a political movement or save the world.

"I dunno, I mean I'm not really into politics...."

Caleb starts to protest but Gibbs raises his hand for silence. "I can teach anybody to do this job. Politics, it's not that hard once you know the rules. But finding good people,solid people, that's harder. I thought this was something you cared about. That girl, Abby, she's just the tip of the iceberg. There's thousands more out there like her who need our help. If you're not ready for that, well, head on out the door. No hard feelings. But if you want to stay I need to know you're with us."

The three of them stare expectantly at you.

>[ ]Take the job.
>[ ]Bow out.

>>28455910
err, mislinked >>28455584, meant >>28455725.

>>28455910

> take the job

Take the job

>[ ]Take the job.

Alright, alright.

>>28455910
>[X]Take the job.

Uh, sure.

Yay for human rights and politics, I guess? I'm fairly certain this is waaay over our head, but a job offer is a job offer. Best to get in on the ground level.

Bow out, this is out of our league.

>>28455910
>[x]Take the job.
Sure I guess. Means we can leave faster right?

>>28456019

We're a college student, its the perfect time to get involved with causes that leave you in completely over your head.

>>28456144

It really is the perfect time.

>>28456144
This seems like the kind of position that makes us the number one target for a firebomber.

>>28455969
>>28455985
>>28455999
>>28456013
Your mind turns to Abby again, what might have happened to her if you hadn't been there. You've been running away your entire life, but you didn't this time. Whatever trouble it's caused you, that's something to be proud of.

"I'll do it."

You can feel the tension go out of the room. Even Novena seems to be pleased, something you've never seen in your admittedly short time together. It's an odd feeling, sharing this with a group of perfect strangers, but for the first time in a long time you feel good about yourself.

"Excellent," says Gibbs. Caleb will have some potential work ready for you by tommorow, just swing by around ten. Until then, get some sleep. You look like hell kid."

>THE COUNT
>65 Days Until Midterm Elections
>6 Senators Short
>Public Opinion 65% Against

>>28456189
Time for POLITICS QUEST!

Also I see the sneaky moves here sir. Want a catwaifu? Better get ready for smear campaigns and 'she only supports Clades because she fucks them!'

>>28456216

then we get the support of the LGBT community on top of this, that's the young people's vote right there!

>>28456189
Oh boy, looking forward to politicking and sneaking about and dealing with nosy reporters and spies.

I would shit bricks if they hang gays in this world and its just not mentioned because of the mutant issues.

>>28456302
>>28456338
Thats how I would do it if I was op
>Dad, I'm...gay
>Well whatever son, just don't get AIDS
>No dad. I'm...gay for catboys
>YOU GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE YOU SUBHUMAN BASTARD! I RAISED YOU RIGHT! I RAISED YOU RIGHT DAMMIT!

>>28456189
The cab ride home is uneventful, and blessedly quiet. You plod up to your apartment and collapse onto the bed. It takes bare minutes before you begin sinking into a deep sleep. As your mind fades into unconsciousness you find yourself back in the alley again. Abby is there, and the thugs, and you. You watch yourself fighting them off, but can do nothing to alter the scene. It's as if you're watching a play from inside your own body. It was quite a feat really. You never stopped to think how you managed it......

HAHA time for level up. This is kind of retroactive since I didn't have it before.

> [ ]Practice. you spent years on the mats training your body.
>Precision. All the strength in the world wouldn't have done him any good against forty pounds of perfectly swung book bag.
> [ ]They were drunk. People have been picking on you your whole life, you learned how to pick your battles in turn.

>>28456386
> [x]Practice. you spent years on the mats training your body.
Gotta be FIT!

Rolled 48

>Precision. All the strength in the world wouldn't have done him any good against forty pounds of perfectly swung book bag.

>>28456386

> [ ]They were drunk. People have been picking on you your whole life, you learned how to pick your battles in turn.

Makes more sense if you ask me, I don't really want Devega becoming some secret equal rights martial artist.

>>28456386
>Precision. All the strength in the world wouldn't have done him any good against forty pounds of perfectly swung book bag.

It's better to pick your shots carefully than hit as hard.

File: 1385246351036.png-(2.36 MB, 1920x1080, ffxiv_10202013_010332.png)

2.36 MB PNG

>>28456386
> [ ]They were drunk. People have been picking on you your whole life, you learned how to pick your battles in turn.

Also, who else plays a catperson in this mostly awesome game?

>>28456434
On the other hand, Swole Representative would scare off some people pestering us.

Rolled 1

Tie-breakan.
>>28456400
>>28456434
1
>>28456409
>>28456467
2

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>>28456467

Catbros gonna Catbro.

>No fit-girl protag
plebs all of you!

>>28456586
Shit, if I didn't have my attention split, I would hopped on the physical choice with you.

>>28456529
>+1 Force
>+4 Flexibility
>[Precision, Active, 1FP] You can opt to add an additional flexibility dice to any force role before attempting it. This increases the difficulty of the roll by +20.

The hotel, the room, the girl. You can hear her crying behind the door. You're trying to talk her out. She lets you in, despite everything. You've always been a shrinking violet, never really able to convince anybody to do things your way. Why this time?

>[ ]Soft Touch. You could relate to her. She just wanted somebody to listen to her after all.
>[ ]Firm Hand. You had the courage to lay it out for her, plainly and without any ulterior motive.

>>28456586
This just means our catgirl waifu has to be the fit one.

>>28456651
This sounds like a plan.

>>28456645
>[ ]Firm Hand. You had the courage to lay it out for her, plainly and without any ulterior motive.

>>28456645
>[x]Soft Touch. You could relate to her. She just wanted somebody to listen to her after all.
If we'd picked the 'drunk' option I'd totally have voted for 'picking whichever we think works best' but as it is, I'd say empathy seems to be a good bet.

>>28456586
We can still be fit. Less musclegirl, more gymnast. There will still be abs, don't worry.

>>28456645
>>[X]Soft Touch. You could relate to her. She just wanted somebody to listen to her after all.

I really want to say firm hand, but I feel this is more in-character.

>>28456645
[x]Soft Touch. You could relate to her. She just wanted somebody to listen to her after all.

Understanding vs observation, subjective vs objective. Firm might be better for handling politics, but soft would be better for handling clades. Tough choice.

>>28456645
Alright, the way I see her, Soft should help us connect with our peers and the Clade/Mutants in general, which should also help with our genuineness and make us less likely to get attacked for being hypocritical or whatever. Hard should help our general politicking. Not caring about that stuff, I'm favoring Soft.

>>28456645
>>[ ]Soft Touch. You could relate to her. She just wanted somebody to listen to her after all.
>>28456728
We did do both, you know. But yeah, we seem far too relaxed to be the Kamina.

>>28456702
>>28456728
>>28456748
>+3 Presence
>+2 Acuity
>+1 Fate Point, use it carefully.

You wake up, and stretch languidly. Sunlight pours in the windows and birds are singing. You feel good, better than you have in ages really. It's already well into the afternoon by the time you get going. There's some odd jobs and final schoolwork you need to finish up before the summer term ends, but it's nothing too pressing. You could deal with something else if you wanted.

>[ ]Timeskip to Meeting.
>[ ]Something else first?
Short break to eat and write meeting

>>28456844
>[x]Something else first?
Let's not show up clueless - do some more research into the stuff we'll be working on.

>>28456844
>[ ]Timeskip to Meeting.

If someone has something else interesting to do, by all means. Otherwise, lets get this Social Justice on the road.

>>28456844
Research into politics and see which politicians we can turn to us

>>28456897
>>28456940
Give me an acuity roll for research.

Captcha:"IrPure sufferings". I like where this is going.

Rolled 84

>>28456959

Rolled 36

>>28456959
C'moooon!

>>28456980
>84, Fifth Degree Failure
Studying was never your strong suit, you made it into college because you were willing to work harder than anybody else. Surely if you just keep at it you'll find something useful right?

You make an earnest effort to do some research but the entire process is dizzying. Your searches turn up an endless procession of campaign sites, political ads, and conspiracy theories but nothing useful. Before you know it you're twelve links deep into wikipedia reading about crepes.

Pointless.
dinner time. Back soonish.

Rolled 41

>>28457052
We shall become a master crepesman!

Rolling for delicious crepes!

>>28457052

Rolling to be the crepist.

>>28457052
Our crepes will win over several politicians.

>>28457104
After a few hours you give up, utterly defeated by the internet. You spend the rest of the day cleaning, studying, and trying a crepe recipe you found. The batter isn't perfect and you have to substitute yogurt for creme freche, but in the end they turn out decently enough.

Before you know it the day has melted away and it's time for the meeting. Grabbing your things and hurrying out the door you make your way across town and turn up at the office. As you quietly make your way in you see Gibbs and Caleb hunched over a colorful map while Novena sits on a desk nearby, idly batting at a lamp string.

"Hastings?" Gibbs poses in response to some unheard question.

"No good," returns Caleb. "District's gerrymandered to hell. Looks like somebody took a dump on Wisconsin."

"What about Graston. He's played ball with us before."

You close the door conspicuously, rousing the two from their work. "So you said you'd have something for me to do? I uh... looked into things a little but I didn't really come up with anything on my own."

"You want my advice kid?" Novena offers boredly. You're sure you don't but you smile and nod attentively anyhow. "Don't try to keep up with the super nerds over there. Your job's going to be hard enough as it is."

"And... what is my job again?" They never did quite answer that.

"Customer service," Gibbs cuts in. "I don't have time to deal with these people directly and we need somebody who has a certain.... human element. I've been busy enough working on the house members, I haven't come up with anything for the senators. What do you two have?"

"I've got a good lead that a certain senator Dufrense of Chicago has been visiting some... shall we say disreputable establishments. He's a vocal member of the anti-clade movement. If it were to come out that he had been cheating on his wife...." Novena smiles wickedly. "Well I'd just hate to think of what the good, family values voters of Illinois would think."

((Cont..))

>>28457603
"Little dicey," replies Gibbs. "Especially for the kid. But it's a good lead. "What about you Caleb?"

"I've been working on the public opinion angle. If we're going to put pressure on these senators we need popular support first, and that means organization. We're few enough as it is, we're going to need to get the mutants on board with us if we want to push back on this thing." He stops briefly and scratches at his ear a bit. "I think it's time to go pay Cassie a visit."

Novena looks suddenly stricken. "Caleb we don't need her, And we don't have the time to waste anyways. She's never going to agree to help us af-"

"It's water under the bridge." Caleb cuts her off abruptly. "Besides, we need somebody to rally the Aberrants."

"Hunter can do it."

"Unions bought him off ages ago. No credibility."

"Jackson then."

"Married a norm and got out of politics."

"No shit? Good for him. Percy then."

"You want me to go through the list? Percy's too old, Harding's too gay, Levi's too radical. We need somebody who can hack it on a national level, and right now Cassie's our only viable option. I don't like it any more than you do but we have to try."

Novena's eyes dart over to you. "What about the kid?"

"She can come," says Caleb matter-of-factly. "It'd be good to show that we're building a broad coalition."

They all look over to you, clearly fishing for an opinion.

>[ ]Let's look into the Senator.
>[ ]Let's try to organize the mutants.
>[ ]Something Else?

>>28457625
>[ ]Let's try to organize the mutants.

If only because I want to actually see one.

>>28457625
>[x]Let's try to organize the mutants.
Same as above anon, also because I don't think we should suggest things with as little knowledge as we have.

>>28457625
PREPARE THE MUTIE MOVEMENT! WE WILL BECOME TE NEXT MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr.

Rolled 72

>>28457625
>[x]Let's try to organize the mutants
So what do the mutants consist of? Hills Have Eyes or something, er, "nicer"?

>>28457658
>>28457715
>>28457744
"Well, I don't know how I feel about snooping on some Senator, and we're going to need all the help we can get. Why don't we start with the mutants." You turn to Novena. "Who's this Cassie anyways? You didn't sound too thrilled about her."

"Casimira Shadrova, she replies before Caleb can cut her off. "The daughter of some eastern bloc refugees, back when we were taking them from the Soviets. She was a big noise on the labor scene in the 90s. Worked with Caleb here, closely, to fight the Stanger act." She lights up a cigarette as she talks and takes a deep drag on her cigarette and shakes her head before continuing. "But it all went south. People were scared back then. The pressure for regulation got too strong. It was all we could do to split the clades off from the mute's when it came to the most intrusive parts of the law. We had to save the ones we could, you know? Well, Cassie didn't see it that way. She quit after that. Last I heard she was living in some little mining town up north."

"More or less," Caleb replies. "But we need her now. The Stanger act may have pushed all the mutants into colonies, but they still vote. That means there's strongholds in the north to support us, if we can mobilize them."

Gibbs nods his head. "Caleb, Felicia, I want you to head up there and get Cassie on board. I don't care what you have to offer her, you know how to play it Caleb. Novena, you'll stay here with me."

"What? You're just going to leave me behind?" You think you can see the clade woman actually bristle at the suggestion. "Bad enough you're sending anybody up there, but the kid too?"

"As I recall you and her didn't part ways so kindly last time, besides I need you here working on Dufrense."

"But I-"

"End of discussion Novena. You two, get moving. You've got a long drive ahead of you."

>Get ready to go.
>Stick up for Novena.
>Other?

Rolled 71

>>28457625
>[X]Let's try to organize the mutants.
Why do I have a feeling this is going to come back and haunt us....

>>28457755
Split the difference. They're not terribly happy about the deal they got.

>>28457954
Holy proofreading batman

>>28457954
>Stick up for Novena.
She just wants a road-trip!

>>28457954

>Stick up for Novena.

No reason not to get on her good side, at the least.

>>28457954
Oh boy, I guess we're gonna get our soft touch tested immediately to get anywhere on this mission.

Hey that sounds lewd as well.

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>>28457954
I think it'll be wise to leave Novena behind on this one. Though I am scared going in without our spunky clade

>>28458018
>>28458081
You can't say you're particularly fond of Novena, but if you're going to be working with her it couldn't hurt to ingratiate yourself to her a bit. Besides, looking at the sulking dog-clade you can tell this particular slight cut deep. The question is, what angle is Gibbs going to respond to?

>Pretend to be Scared (Roll PRESENCE + FLEXIBILITY)
>Appeal to Reason.(Roll PRESENCE + ACUITY)
>Other?

>>28458138
We'll survive anon. I'll hold your hand through it if you want.

Looking forward to seeing a mutant, not looking forward to the no-doubt intense awkwardness the encounter will bring.

>>28458190
>Appeal to Reason.(Roll PRESENCE + ACUITY)

Gibbs seems a smooth operator, he'll see through anything manipulative.

Rolled 67

>>28458190
>Appeal to Reason.(Roll PRESENCE + ACUITY)
We need to be articulate to succeed at this work anyway, nice practice!

Rolled 48

>>28458190
>reason

>>28458190
Two questions - does each stat mean on d100, so that's 2d100? Also, why are there no modifiers at all?

>>28458248
>>28458269
>67, First Degree Failure
>48, Second Degree Success

"Hey, uh, Gibbs." The words coming out much meeker than you'd hoped, but he still turns to you attentively. "Not that it's any of my business but if we're really trying to mend fences here shouldn't Novena come too? Sounds like Cassie isn't likely to forget about what happened either way, maybe it'd be better if Novena came along and made nice."

Gibbs chews the words over for a long time. "I suppose so, but only on the condition that she behaves herself." He turns to Novena and points a finger square in her face. "No outbursts, no snide comments, and absolutely no fighting. Can you do that?"

"It wasn't my fault in the first place she-"

"Can. You. Do that."

"Yea boss, I can handle it."

"Good." Gibbs' usual placid smile returns as he sits down at his desk. "Now all of you get packing, you've got a long trip ahead of you."

>>28458279
Yes each stat is a separate roll for 2d100. There are modifiers but I have been hiding them. Also worth noting write-ins are always welcome. We can talk about this afterwords if you want.

>>28458445
Yaaaay, road trip!

>>28458445

Oh, write ins, I love those.

>>28458445
Following some instructions left by Caleb you pack an overnight bag and some warmer clothes. Apparently you're going up to the far North, in the iron range. Just as you finish up a car pulls around the street and stops below your window. You make your way down and heft your belongings into the trunk before piling in.

"So how long is this going to take?" You ask.

"Eight hours there, eight back. Hope you brought something to read." Caleb says.

Damnit. Reading in cars has always made you sick. Well, you've got eight hours to kill. What to do?

>Talk about mutants and clades.
>Ask about Caleb.
>Ask about Novena.
>Ask about Cassie.
>Ask about Gibbs.
>Other?
>Sleep (timeskip)

>>28458603
>Talk about mutants and clades.
Backstory!

>>28458603
>Ask about Caleb.
Let's get to know him first, since he's around now. Then Novena/Cassie/general mutie and clade.

>>28458603
>Talk about mutants and clades.
Sounds good to me.

>>28458603
>Ask about Cassie.

Mission pertinent info comes first, natch.

>>28458752
We've got 8 hours though, some more background would help understand where she's coming from a bit better.

>>28458633
>>28458644

"So what's the deal with mutants and clades anyways? Aren't you... I mean really the same?"

"In reality yes. There's no one genetic pattern that makes somebody a "clade" or a "mutant". It's just a distinction that stuck after the media picked up on it. Clades undoubtedly have an easier time of it though. Our mutations tend to reproduce in predictable ways, and aren't particularly debilitating. Mutants, well, it's not always physically impairing, but their mutations almost always keep them from mixing with society at large. That's why they tend to settle into colonies. Well, that and the miscegenation laws."

"And you guys worked with them before?" You can't even remember the last time you saw a live mutant. It's hard to believe there's enough to really make a difference. "I mean, with this Cassie person?"

Caleb takes a bit before responding. "Yea, me and Cassie worked together on the Stanger fight, back when I was in college. She was a real firebrand back then, sweet kid too though. It didn't work out and... well Cassie never took losing too well. She just wasn't able to bear it. After the act passed and the labor riots were repressed she moved up north with a bunch of the others. Honestly I have no idea what she's doing now. We haven't talked much since then."

The atmosphere in the car has gotten incredibly tense. You look over at Novena, who trying to pretend she's asleep, and failing quite badly. You decide to leave well enough alone and switch the topic to lighter fare. After a few hours of talking about the weather and sports, you finally arrive.

>>28458869
Oh boy oh boy

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As you pull in to your destination you survey the city. Rows of drab brick buildings, half of them gutted out and boarded up, line the street. Grass grows through cracked sidewalks, as if they're fighting with each other. You've seen this before in Illinois. A company town. There were lots of them back in the early 20th century when American manufacturing was the pride of the world. But things changed. The cities died, slowly, eating themselves block by block. This one just hasn't finished yet.

"Welcome to Mountain Iron, Minnesota" Novena says. "Home of... well something probably."

"Iron," says Caleb. "They work at the taconite plant, which is where we need to go."

>Explore town.
>Head for the plant.

>>28459045
>Head for the plant.
Let's get introduced first.

>>28459045
>Head for the plant.

>>28459045
You make your way through the streets towards the giant plant on the town's periphery. It seems to loom over everything here, casting a long shadow across the countryside.

As you approach the plant you start to see them. At first one or two, then more. They look like clades for the most part, except... wrong. The lucky ones are merely scarred, with a hair lip here and a cauliflower ear there. Others are more severe. You look at one hulking man whose right arm grows only a few inches out of his body. Another has a band of scar tissues that runs over the entirety of his face, to such a degree that you're amazed he can even see. As you make your way through the growing throngs you can feel their eyes on you. You hurry onwards sticking close to Novena. As you come towards the middle of the work area you see a large group of mutants congregating around some barrels listening to...somebody. You break away from the group for a closer look.

Sitting on one of the barrels is what you hope is a female clade. She stands about six foot two with pale skin, a long mane of off-blonde hair, and mismatched yellow-black eyes. A gnarl of angry scar tissue winds it's way up her body from inside her tank top, cutting across her face and well into her hairline. As soon as you're within distance her eyes lock on you. You suddenly feel very conspicuous standing alone in the crowd of mutants.

"What a pretty little thing we have here. No need to be scared dear, we don't bite." A murmur of laughter rises from the crowd. "What brings you to our humble town?"

>Here to help.
>Just looking around.
>Are you Cassie?

Where are the voters? This is an engaging vote right here people.

>>28459288
>Are you Cassie?

>hear about the adopted catgirl cyoa on /a/ from 1st thread
>fuck around with fools and find it
>almost die from heart attack
>it up and disappears
>tripcode for the runner still used regularly in the LoL general in /vg/
>die of heartbreak

>>28459288
>Are you Cassie?
Let's get to the point eh?

>>28459341
"I'm looking for somebody named Cassie. You wouldn't happen to know her would you?" You can see the mutants muttering amongst themselves.

"I am Casamira Shadrova, Cassie to my friends. Do we know each other?" She gives you an odd look, much like you've seen certain cats gives to mice they play with.

"She's here with me." The voice startles you for a moment, before you realize it's only Caleb. "We need to talk Cassie."

"Do we? It's been so long since we've talked, why the sudden interest Caleb? It couldn't possibly have to do with politics could it?" she eyes Novena before returning her deeply unnerving gaze to you. "And who's this new friend?"

"She's working with us. We're building a new coalition and we need your help. I know you've been following the news, if this passes it's going to be bad for all of us."

"Bad for you, you mean. It's been bad for us Caleb, or had you forgotten how you left us here to rot after the Stanger act?

"We can win this thing Cassie, but we need your help. It'll be different this time."

"We agree on that much at least. Once this law passes everybody will know where they stand. No more muddy waters, no more allies of convenience. We'll all rise or fall together."

"This isn't the way to do it Cassie." He shakes his head emphatically. "We can't change the world by losing votes, you know that."

"You can't change the world at all."

Well this is going well. What to do.
>Let Caleb keep going, this isn't our fight.
>Appeal to her reason.
>Appeal to her fear.
>Appeal to her sense of right.
>Other?

>>28459535
>>Appeal to her sense of right.
The people who will suffer from this aren't the people who fucked her over in politics last time.

>>28459535
"Accelerationism is a bullshit political philosophy designed by and for apathetic chronic masturbators who've given up on fixing anything."

>>28459564
>>28459600
That's PRESENCE + ACUITY by the way 2d100.

>>28459535
>What happened last time was shitty, indeed. But is it really worth it to allow social regression on this whole issue, just to get back at one group, most of whom didn't even have anything to do with what happened back then? Isn't that exactly the kind of bickering that the other side wants?

Rolled 84, 80 = 164

>>28459614
Low low low low low!

Rolled 60, 20 = 80

>>28459535

>>28459656
Jesus fuck.

Is this first or best of 3?
If the latter, another roll would be nice. If the former, we're so fucked.

Rolled 47, 11 = 58

>>28459614

>>28459656
>84 Sixth Degree Failure
>80 Seventh Degree Failure

This is clearly going nowhere. You step up and address the woman. As soon as you're locked in her gaze again though you start to shake.

"You... you can't really believe that will work. I mean if you let the clades lose this you'll all be weaker. You can't let your anger cloud your better judgement. I... I mean I know... how it-"

"What do you know about anything?" She sneers at you. "You're just some pretty face Caleb dredged up to charm idiot voters. Well that won't get you very far here. Caleb, take your pin up girl and get out of my town. You're done here."

"Oh so you're the mayor now?" Novena says acidly. "Well that's certainly a big accomplishment, for a worthless coward who's run from every fight she's ever seen."

Cassie bares a pair of jagged fangs at Novena and rises off her barrel. "You've got a short memory little girl. Maybe I should remind you what happened last time."

Well, that escalated quickly.
>Take Novena and leave, this is getting out of hand.
>Gibbs never said anything about YOU fighting.
>Do nothing.
>Other?

>>28459880
>Take Novena and leave, this is getting out of hand.
Better to regroup and approach again.

Jesus, why did this thread die the past hour?

>>28459921
In the end you practically have to drag Novena, bodily, away from the Cassie. Caleb shoves her into the car and hurriedly puts it into gear. The car is deadly silent as you drive to the next town over where your hotel is booked. Novena is practically shaking with anger and Caleb looks.... well you've never seen like this at any rate.

"It's fine." You say. "We'll come back tomorrow once she's cooled down. It was a lot to take in, I'm sure tommorow she'll feel as bad about it as we do huh?"

Nobody says anything.

>>28460013
A lot of my players are Euro, and yea I think we'll leave off here for today. Next week same time, hopefully participation will pick up. I'll stick around if anybody wants to chat about the quest.

>>28460087
Would the other mission have been easier or harder? We do seem to be more suited for this one, but with these terrible rolls it's hard to say.

>>28460150
Probably easier since its TACTICAL ESPIONAGE ACTION. Frankly the rolls were just a bit stiff this time I'm still feeling out how to deal with that. Cassie was never going to be easy to diplomance but your choices, well reasoned though they were, didn't make it easier.

There's always next time though.

>>28460087
What would happen if we chose to walk away from the politics.

>>28460215
Suffice it to say I wasn't completely prepared to let you do that, but you would have wound up working with some very different people. Or at least stuck between them at any rate.

Also I tried to keep the dialogue down again but, kind of failed frankly. It's an ongoing project. I just feel like there's a lot of setting to convey and not a lot of good ways to get it out there. I'll try to read some other stuff and come up with a better way.

>>28460260
I didn't think it was bad at least. And this definitely sounded like a hard sell, but hey. Does the huge failure of a roll mean we're basically without hope for recruiting her now?

>>28460293
It's not impossible, but I'll leave that for next week.