The one major thing Jeanette (and you as a writer) must consider about her age appearance is Penny - who people will see between  9 - 11. Given Penny's age, they will look at Jeanette, and given Jeanette's age, first thing they are going to think is, when and why she was so sexually active to be knocked up in her young teens years. They do not want to hear that Penny's adopted, because they are going by what they see - a young mother with an 'older' child.
 
Depending on where they go, they are look at Jeanette with admiration for making it with such a obstacle a child brings or ill-respect in that she was screwing at a young age to gt herself pregnant. It is in this case, older is better for Jeanette, and being as is at 24 can be appropriate for her if she can lie about her age. If she looks young, like at 20 - 22, lying about her age will not work because she will look too young to be the age she states.
 
Besides, these changes are suppose to occur when she settles in Texas, not before, so why is it being bought up al the time? It is a major distraction to the entire RPG every time it comes up.

Note: You stated that such changes would not be done until she gets to Texas. You also stated that such discussions with the spirits about it would also end until she gets to Texas, but you keep bringing it up.
 
All that says to me as a writer is that the spirits are up to something detrimental to the party, and the planet because Jeanette is the key to them succeeding. If you want Fernando to trust these spirits, you need to end that BS because I as a writer and Fernando as a character can see through that BS. All you stating in what you are doing with this is the spirits have something on a fish hook for Jeanette to grab on to, and they are constantly switching the bait to see what she would grab it. This is not about Jeanette's past or about how she was raised up. It is about them trying to get her to do their work for them - one way or another. Jeanette can put up any excuse she wants, nobody's buying it. So end it. Because there is nothing wrong with Jeanette as a character other than being a foolish goth that "nobody understands me." Been there, done that, slam danced with the rest of them.
 
Both Hondo and I threw up some subtle hints you had missed. And as characters, Hondo and Fernando are making plans that Jeanette should be there but her absence on this posts makes it difficult to write. I have been tempted to write her in just to fill in blank spots here and there but side I respect you and your character and do not want you to go off on a tangent of writing her out of character, I had to decide not and wait and see what happens.
 
With that...
 

---

RPG - in collaboration with Hondo:
 
(Hondo’s post will tie in his early morning posts with the late morning / early afternoon posts I am at)
 
Hondo returns with Karl in under a 1/2 hour (about the time the ladies are arriving at their destination). With all the jugs of fuel filled. He steps out of the vehicle with Karl and begin setting down the gas jugs on the ground. Fernando takes one of the 10 gallon jugs and takes it to the girl’s camper where Joanna was with the younger kids. She takes the filled jug and put it into storage. Fernando then takes two of the smaller 5 gallon jugs and puts them into their storage bin inside of the Electric Camper, and then does the same for the Gas Camper. He then stands around looking at the other three 10 gallon jugs, which one is for Karl.
 
“Something wrong, Jefe?” Hondo asks.
 
“Nothing’s wrong. All the vehicles are checked and worked on except for your and Val’s trucks. You camper has enough fuel to last the entire trip to Texas but Val’s truck needs topping off at least that I know off.” Fernando begins, adding, “Karl, take your fuel jug and put it back in your truck. And everybody’s water tanks would need to be topped off. Toilets do not need to be flushed out for at least another week as I figure.”
 
“I can take care of Val’s truck. There’s a water spigot over there we can attach a hose too.” Hondo says.
 
“Alright then let’s get your truck’s water tanks topped off first, then mine. The girls can wait when they return. Let me get Karl’s Trailer out of the way. Karl, move your truck forward a bit.” Fernando tells them as he walks to Karl’s camper trailer. He lifts and pulls on its trailer tongue and hauls it out of the way, parallel parked to Jeanette’s VW Bug.
 
Hondo finds the girls playing around in the Camper of his truck and tell them to stay in place as he will be moving the truck to fill up the water tanks. Once they are settled down and the pathway cleared, Hondo drives the truck to the spigot in the parking lot a short distance away. He attaches his hose to the spot and turns on the spigot. He lets the water pour out for a moment to flush out the pipe before attaching it to his camper’s tanks. As he fills up his tanks, Fernando disconnects his Dub Box Trailer from his electric camper and waits for Hondo to return.
 
It takes a while for Hondo’s tanks to be filled as his reserved were used the most. After a few minutes, he returns and parks his truck where it was before. Once in place, Fernando puts his electric camper in gear and drives over to the spigot, taking Hondo’s hose and attaching it to his water intake pipe. His tanks fill up as Hondo walks over to him. Fernando turns off the spigot with Hondo taking out his hose.
 
“I don’t mind sharing my hose but it’s not going to be left behind.” Hondo says.
 
“I hear ya.” Fernando says as Hondo gets into the passenger side of the camper. In a few seconds, Fernando is putting his camper back in place in its parking spot. He goes into the back and lifts his trailer back onto the trailer hitch and secures it. He then goes to Karl’s trailer and pulls it back into its post before telling Karl to back his SUV pack into place. He quickly lifts it back onto its trailer hitch and secures it in place. Karl looks at Fernando for a moment.
 
“What?” Fernando asks.
 
“I hardly seen a human do what you did. We wessens are bred for strength but never have I seen any human to be equal to a wessen.” Karl says.
 
“Do not let that fool you. Both Hondo and I are more than capable of taking on anyone out there can be a threat to us all. So must you too.” Fernando tells him, “Especially now that you have two ladies to take care off.” He then asks, “How old are they anyways?”
 
“Uhm, who?” Karl asks.
 
“Let’s start with you first. I know that the Slavers do not care about age but I do.” Fernando tells him.
 
“I do not know my true age but I know I am more than 20. My papers says I’m 20.” Karl answers as he searches his pockets.
 
“Right now I do not want to see papers. I’ll take your word on it as an honest person but I will be asking for them because others like the police will be asking for them. Get my drift?” Fernando says and asks.
 
Karl nods.
 
“Now, about the girls. Teri is your cousin, you say. How old is she?” Fernando then asks.
 
“She’s around 18. I know she’s a couple years younger than me. Only her papers will say for sure.” Karl answers.
 
“And Meribelle?” Fernando asks.
 
“19, 20. She’s older than Teri but younger than me, that I know.” Karl answers.
 
“I see.” Fernando says, adding, “Only her papers will say for sure.”
 
“Yeah.” Karl says.
 
“Hondo, any questions?” Fernando asks.
 
“None so far. But Tonya lied about her age, I hope they are not lying about their ages as well.” Hondo points out.
 
“You wanna see my papers?” Karl says as he goes back into his pocket.
 
“That won’t be necessary. But if the police want to see them, that’s your problem. Catch what I’m saying?” Fernando tells them.
 
“Yeah.” Karl says as he nods.
 
“Good.” Fernando tells him.
 
“Anything needs to be done?” Hondo asks.
 
“Let’s get the maps and look them over.” Fernando says before the three split their ways to their vehicles and get their maps.
 
They gather at the table Fernando had set up for the cakes next to Hondo’s truck. Each takes a seat and looks over the paper trails in front of them. The first town is about 75 miles away while the second town is almost 200 miles away and the third town as almost 250 miles.
 
“The third town is almost 8 hours of driving if not more.” Fernando says.
 
“You do not want to go there.” Karl asks.
 
“Why not? Not Mutant or Wessen friendly?” Fernando asks.
 
“That’s place goes by the name of Fight-Town. Humans, Mutants and Wesses go there for betting and or fighting, with Mutants and us Wessens doing most the fighting.” Karl explains.
 
Fernando and Hondo look at each other for a second.
 
“Humans fight here too?” Hondo asks.
 
“What they get if they win?” Fernando asks.
 
“Humans fight too. First prize is a big sack of gold if you can survive the pyramid.” Karl answers.
 
“What is this pyramid?” Hondo asks.
 
“A pyramid is where everyone’s name is on one level and are paired off to fight. Those who win goes to the next level, and so on and so on until there is only one name left.” Karl explains.
 
“A Round Robin.” Both Fernando and Hondo say.
 
“You are not putting me to fight!” Karl says.
 
“Who says anything about you going in to fight?” Fernando tells him.
 
“What are the rules?” Hondo asks.
 
“No weapons but if you have powers, you can use them. And you fight until one of you it not able to fight any more. People sometimes die fighting.” Karl explains.
 
“What about fighting dirty?” Fernando asks.
 
“Fighting dirty?” Karl asks.
 
“You, like kicking you in your privates, scratching your eyes out, pulling hair, biting, stuff like that.” Fernando explains.
 
“Anything goes. Like I said, some people die fighting.” Karl states.
 
“I’m willing to take a chance.” Fernando says.
 
“Do humans fight wessens and mutants?” Hondo asks.
 
“Everybody fights everybody. Does not matter if you’re a man or a boy, a woman or a girl, you get put into the ring, whoever comes out the other end you fight until it is over.” Karl explains.
 
“Hmmm... so you can end up with a little girl who bites like a piranha and she can chew you up.” Fernando comments.
 
“Only if you let her get that close to you.” Hondo replies.
 
“Unless you have telepathic powers and choke someone from a distance like Darth Vader, you have to get close to her.” Fernando says. He then asks Karl, “How many people start out in a pyramid?”
 
“Depends on where you fight and where you go. Small places have 4 to 10 but offer a small bags of gold, while larger places can have 20 or more but if you win you get a very large bag of gold. And only if you win. If you lose, even if you get to the top of the pyramid with one other, you get nothing.” Karl says.
 
“What are you thinking?” Fernando asks Hondo.
 
“Is this the only Fight Town in the area?” Hondo asks Karl.
 
“Every town has a ring, but this and a few other towns have many rings, and Fight-Town has the most rings that I have been to.” Karl says.
 
“No matter how many fights we take on, it is going to take a week’s stay, and even then, we need to win every fight we get into.” Fernando says.
 
“But how much can we win in one night? Or we stay for a couple of nights?” Hondo asks.
 
“That can be a problem.” Fernando says, “If we go, I would like to stay a couple nights fighting, but that would be too much and we would need time to recover and may need to run if things get too chancey there.”
 
“What about this fourth town? It’s about…” Hondo asks and measures with his fingers hopping on the page, “320 miles?”
 
“An all night and day drive, depending on the highway conditions.” Fernando says, “I’m up to it. The Electric camper would need a couple days to recharge though.”
 
“We Don’t Go There!” Karl lets out in fear, which catches their interest.
 
“The convoy goes there.” Fernando says as he looks at the convoy map.
 
“The convoy goes there and they buy out all the food and supplies and tell the convoy to leave town before night fall.” Karl explains with a jitterness in his voice as he tries to hide his fear.
 
“OK, we go there, top off our tanks and we camp outside of town so my camper can charge up.” Fernando explains.
 
“We don’t go there. It’s like this place...” Karl says as he points to the first town that is skipped by the convoy, “People who try to stay there disappear!”
 
“All the more reason I would want to go.” Fernando tells him, “Now tell me, what’s there? I want everything you know.”
 
Karl has a blank awed stare on his face.
 
“Talk.” Hondo says.
 
Karl lets out a sigh before he begins, “It is where they say men who worships spirits and work with them in white rooms wearing white coats and dark glasses. They say we Wessens came from there but I remember Teri and I coming from a place much further away by airship.”
 
“A Lab.” Hondo says.
 
“Out here in the middle of nowhere.” Fernando throws in, “Any military bases in the area?.. During our time?”
 
“There were several military bases in this area during our time. Some of them secret.” Hondo answers.
 
“We are not going there.” Karl says.
 
“That’s for us to decide.” Hondo tells him.
 
“If it were up to you, which one shall it be – Fight Town or the Spirit’s Lab?” Fernando asks him.
 
“Neither. I would go to the second town and rest up before going out after that. The second town is very much like this one but smaller. And there is an Injun Camp nearby it.” Karl says.
 
“I better not find out that there are people being held against their will in either place and forced to do things. Where ever we go, slavery ends.” Fernando tells him.
 
“I would not mind going to Fight Town and make some money there.” Hondo tells them.
 
“I would not mind either. I’m just looking to finding a way to reverse the mutations and make people normal again. Besides, if it is spirits, which spirits, where do they come from? They are either going to cooperate with us or we walk out of there as their city burns.” Fernando points out. He looks at his watch, seeing that it is approaching 1:30PM.
 
“Now you’re talkin’!” Hondo says.
 
“Wait. Cure what?” Karl asks.
 
“You want to be a wessen all your life or you want to be human one day?:” Fernando asks, “If they know how to make people into wessens, then they know how to change them back. That is what I want to know and if I can, undo it.”
 
“That is not possible. Once a wessen, always a wessen!” Karl lets out.
 
“Do not be a simpleton... one who can only see one thing because it is simple and everything complicated being something impossible to do. I thought it would be simple – go back in time, get your human ancestor’s DNA and restore yours with it and remove the animal DNA to make you human again. But to do that to thousands of wessens is not possible, I can only do that for maybe 20 wessens. But finding out how it is done, and how to reverse it, then every wessen out there can be made back into humans.” Fernando tells him.
 
Karl looks down at himself for the moment, wondering how to choose.
 
“Let’s go to Tom’s and pick up a couple more LAWS and Missles for them and a mess load of explosives, and get something to eat while we are at it.” Fernando says as he folds up his maps before he gets up off his seat. Hondo follows suit and both go to their vehicles to put away the paper work. As soon Hondo closes the door, Macy and Zoey come out of the camper and trot over to him.
 
“We going somewhere, daddy?” Zoey says to Hondo.
 
Hondo glances over to Fernando where Macey has went to. They nod at each other before Hondo answers, “Yeah. Let’s go get lunch.”
 
“You’re coming with us.” Fernando tells Karl before getting the barrowed wagon. He turns to Hondo, “I have to return this, but to get what we are getting, we are going to need yours.”
 
“I’ll go git it.” Hondo says, ducking into the camper for a second, and then coming out with it. The five of them go back to town.
 
As they disappear into town, the ladies arrive at camp, and start sorting things out into Karl’s SUV and Camper Trailer. They find the things for Karl, including the blankets, weapons, pillows and clothes. They make quick work of setting up the bed and rolling out the sleeping bags.
 
“This is a bit too small for the three of you.” Ruth says, adding as she looks around, “No bathroom? You going to piss in a bucket?”
 
Val opens the door next to the sink, thinking it is some kind of closet, “Oh, they do have a bathroom with a shower and a toilet in here!”
 
It is not too long before they figure out how to open the bench sofa seats for the storage section underneath (much like the Dub Box’s lift up the cushions and it’s there). They step outside of the camper trailer.
 
“Who’s hungry?” Val asks. Most of the ladies answer that they are, and she offers them scrambled egg salad and ham as a starter.
 
“I’ll get some bread and rolls from my camper and bring the girls and boys over.” Ruth says.
 
“The more the merrier.” Val says.

Note: Before I write my next story post, I need to know something. Does anyone have a suggestion as to how much a bottle of red wine would go for here?
 
Jeanette Isabelle

Quote from Jeanette on Nov 16^th, 2016, 11:03am:

 
As discussed before, due to its rarity/hard to obtain/popular demand by certain groups (churches, synagogues, etc.) Red Wine, though available, will cost high. I'm speculating that it will cost a minimum of 4 or more gold coins. I'm going to say $10 gold coins, making it $40 a bottle. This is better than 4 - $100 gold coins which would make it $400, and not worth getting here. So lets say $40 a bottle...
 
The further south we go, the cheaper it will be. But for here, this is the going price.
 
Now, Mavis or who ever is buying it, has to deal with buying it, which means dealing with people and maybe under the table deals. Who knows, maybe she can get it for a cheaper price if she flashes her breasts for them.... men can be such pervs... Question, how long will one bottle last Mavis if she drinks it alone? If it were Fernando, 1 night - 1/2 of it during the meal and the other 1/2 during the night.
 
 
Quote from Jeanette on Nov 16^th, 2016, 11:23am:

 
Now (!!!) That is the paradox the Texas Spirits have been dealing with it or the lack there of. The Texas Spirits have been too focused with dealing in the rebuilding of Texas, they have not dealt with the rest of the nation and there other spirits have been doing their thing as they please. Depending on the Spirit group, it can be negative or positive as shown on Hondo's firsts posts about 2 towns and 2 Spirit groups fighting.
 
Since this (possible) Spirit group is out there creating hybrids and mutants, the Spirits in Texas have not done nothing all this time, AND they should do nothing. This is a Human struggle and not a Spirit Struggle.
 
The glimmer of hope here is the Indian Group, as they are close to their spirits, and most of them are positive to the Human Recovery. But the Indian Group is nearby the second town. I will hint that this Indian Group had its chief and medicine man at the signing of the treaty and did sign the treaty. This is where it might be possible to get assistance from them to deal with the possible [Evil] Spirits there. The Texas Spirits should interact with them and get intel.
 
But that is the problem, with Jeanette and others in her group sleeping late, they missed on this golden opportunity on getting such intel and need to connect with Hondo, Karl and Fernando and discuss with them what they may be planning, and come up with something as a plan. Second town, Third Town (Fight Town), Fourth Town (Secret Lab)? And what about the first town that no one goes too because people go in but they don't come out?
 
This is about us as a group. Jeanette is the leader but Fernando is making all the plans to get there safely. Thing is, is she will to risk herself or members of the group to do and find things or leave things alone? A town where people are taken too and experimented on - that is worst than slavery itself. Would Fernando be right in doing the right thing and go in to find a possible cure or should things be left alone? When Jeanette gets the details of what the men are planning, that is what she should decide.
 
The Texas Spirits have no say in this because they did not act in the past and therefore can not act in the present. They can help in getting intel and let the people deal with it. And it is better to reclaim the town and the technology inside for the people than it is to destroy it entirely.

Quote from Jeanette on Nov 16^th, 2016, 7:34pm:

 
The smallest bottle of wine is 750ml but you can get a carafe wine which is 375ml. But wines are also sold in large 1liter bottles, 1.5L, 2L, 2.5L and 5L bottles and jugs. Best to keep it simple with the 750ml bottle.
 
But the last glass would be the worst because the bottom of bottle is where the bitter dregs (Grape/Fruit Skin settlement) lie and drinking a glass a day, that last day of wine would be concentrated bitter as compared to the first day. This is because each time the glass is served, the dregs are stirred up. This is fine if you are drinking it with friends in a single night. But as the bottle is stirred each time a glass is served and then let to rest for the next drink on the next day, the bitterness from the dregs begins to come out and concentrate. By the 6th day, that glass will be bitter. But this is something wine drinkers have experienced since the days of Greece and Rome, and it is something they expect and have gotten used too.
 
- - - -
 
You answered your own question with the words "Texas Spirits." We are in South Dakata/Montana(/Idaho?) area east of Yellow Stone by last calculations. In the 40 or so years of the Happening and After Chaos, the Texas Spirits have not gone out of Texas, except to Japan and Israel by your accounts. Everyone else was left for themselves and left to die if rumors have it correctly. But with or without help from other Spirits, Humanity is healing and it is thriving. Thing is, as stated, other spirits are involved and the Texas Spirits have not shown themselves to do anything with or against them. This is not a good thing or a bad thing. This is just something that happened.
 
Because people have gotten burned by Spirits (in general) to them that there is no such thing as a good spirit to many of them. Only Indians know better. This is why they are generally rejected by many but accepted by some. One known group is known for the Wessen problem. The Wessen problem is an interesting problem as it leads to the Slavery problem. Question is, who or what is this group that created Wessens? And what can be done about it? And what is causing people to disappear, or why?
 
Thus, unless the Texas Spirits want to get their hands dirty, this is a Human/(Non-Texas) Spirits issue and perhaps war fought on many fronts and on many battles. The problem is, Mutants and Wessens exists all over the place as one can tell. Are they naturally created or are them artificially created? And if they are artificially created, why?
 
Though Fernando dispelled Slavery in this region of the country, and despite radio and its ability to spread the word quickly, there are some who would not want to see the old ways die. Some think that they are out of reach, other think that the rules will not apply to them. Thus this Slavery issue will come up again and again within the RPG. As the Japanese were quoted about the abuse they gave to POWs (Not just US but many others), in being reminded about the Geneva Convention and of the rules of war and treatment of POWs, they stated, "We were not in the Geneva Convention and did not sign any such agreement..."
 
I misjudged the time you were gone and Arik's post made me think I could post again. This is my fault, I'll state that.
 
Lets see how things happen. Though I'm writing the next post with Hondo's input, he wants to finish his adoption post first. But he has a heavy work schedule and wont post until the weekend. He may be delayed in posting. In the next post Fernando, Hondo and Karl will be returning with weapons and will be needing some high-tech to access the lab, if not, they got Fight Town to deal with. Within the next to posts the decision will be made before they prepare for the long haul during the night.