Zack made his way onto an empty soapbox on the streets of Chicago. It had been raining for most of the day, so his entourage were in tow with umbrellas, protecting his perfectly groomed hair from the precipitation.

For the past few days, he had witnessed things across the country which would surely pave way for a change on the largest of scales. Crew leaders, Godfathers and entire districts had fallen under various means and methods. It had happened before, sure, but like this?

Whilst studying the carnage, he also noticed other things. Mobsters, trusted Mafioso’s for their district and leaders, changing allegiances across to other districts and in some cases, cities. Again, nothing he hadn't seen before, however it was something he always felt intrigued about amoungst his fellow mobsters.

Ladies and Gentlemen. What we have all been subjected to these past few days have been a shock for us all, of that I have no doubt. However, I notice some of you have changed your stripes. Hey, don’t get me wrong, you’re not the first to do so and certainly won’t be the last. Does that make it right?

If you’re Godfather has fallen during this past week or so, does that make it acceptable to change districts? You may argue that you do not know the remaining leaders in the district well enough to be able to join their family. However, if your Godfather had given them a chance, and trusted them enough to set up and represent his/her vision, should you not give them a chance and carry out the wishes of your ex-boss?

Or are we in a day and age where allegiances are purely formed for opportunity and protection?

Your thoughts and opinions will be gratefully welcomed.

What if all the Crewleaders in that district are dead? Do you have to then join the same City?

I think some people are too hung up on this side of things. You have loyalty first and foremost to your leader. Your leader has loyatly to any Godfather they are under, that obviously means you do too. But that doesn't tie you into being a part of any other leader from that district. They are a colleague, nothing more really. So it all depends on how the district operates in my view.

I find it completely acceptable to join a different district after the demise of your leader. What I don't feel is appropriate is people from your own family joining a leader that killed your former leader. That is just plain wrong in my view. But I guess thats a slightly different angle to the one you were debating.

In the last few days the fake death of my Godmother Haven occured and i moved district after supplying a list of people to be invited to Saint's crew from Havens as i sat unsponsored.  Although various people talked to me, i joined Cristano's crew, as my former leader before haven on the grounds that we had familiarity and i would be taking a hand position in an attempt to save members of the fallen families.

That two fold reason made me move to uproot and move and my only regret is it lost me a dfp

What if all the Crewleaders in that district are dead? Do you have to then join the same City?

Well you're pretty snookered here aren't you. If your district is wiped then you really have no choice to join someone elsewhere to survive. Depends on the ties in the city I suppose, usually I would say no as they are completely different entities these days, unlike days of old.  

Yes other crewleaders are 'colleagues', however it depends on if you feel strongly about the district or not. It intrigues me on the thought of everyone about which is your preference. 

I think a lot of this comes down to how the family is structured. If your family has a Godfather and several captains, then the loss of the head of your crew doesn't change anything; you should move to a different arm of the family. However, if your family is eradicated, you can either seek out their killers and try to exact vengeance or, if that isn't really a viable option, find another family who would benefit from your particular skill set.

I've never understood why people expect loyalty based on geography. Once your family is gone, you're free to move where you please. That's how it is written in the book of Barry, anyway.

seek out their killers and try to exact vengeance

For me, this is the only logical move. Provided you have the ability to actually have some vegeance. There is no point running around taking shots at people knowing you have the aim of a blind man. But if you can do damage to the attacker, you should in my view carry out that attack. Going down with the ship, so to speak.

Not quite the topic of this conversation, but I actually don't think it reasonable to expect people to chase the ship down to the bottom of the ocean if it is already minus a captain and crew. 

*Looking around G takes a seat on the curb side and starts rambling on*

Interesting topic and one that can spark great debate, my stance i feel is rather of a simple one.

If you continue your family name and continue the same value's that your parents once set then you follow your GF and district till your very last breath. To be able to join a new family and start a fresh you must rid yourself of all known ties, no longer pull on old friends or family. Start from the bottom as that is in effect what you now are. A thug, a nothing. Someone to do the shitty jobs nobody wants to do.

*stealing an umbrella he makes his way from the gathering crowd and turns left into the local coffee shop*

That is an interesting stance to take but is only viable for higher levels who can actually stand a chance to take out a crew leader or even a godfather. However if you are are around a made man is it not better that you live on and join another crew? Sort of carry on the legacy of your former crew? At least that's what I think a godfather/mother would want for their crew members.

Criss stood nearby by, making sure that he didn't miss a word that was said. The men and women that had stepped forward to express the way they feel in regards to this topic had done so very well, and not much was said that he didn't at least understand if he did not agree with. When silence befell the group for a moment he jumped at the opportunity to speak his own mind on the topic at hand.

In my opinion, I think that everyone needs to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. I don't think that one's loyalty should belong to said person's Godfather, or their district or city leader. I do not want to get too deep into details, but as a man of honor I was asked to attend a secret meeting. At this meeting, many things were said and done, and one of those things was me swearing an oath as a card burnt in my hand. I swore to always put my family first, even before the lives of my own flesh and blood. I did not swear an oath to a specific person, or a specific city. It is my family that has my loyalty, no matter who is heading it at the time.

Since I became a part of this thing of ours, I have had a few leaders of mine come and go. Godfather AK and Don Chekov, God rest their souls, were both great men whom I loved dearly. After each passed, I made sure to continue to do the best I could for my family, and made sure to step up and put even more effort into everything I did to help get everyone through the hard times.

I guess what I am trying to say is that to me it has always been and always will be family first, no matter who is at the head of the table.

Vincenzo listens to whats being said then decides to step forward and put his own views across, clearing his throat he begins to speak.

Personally i would have to agree with what Alabama said, for me my loyalty first and foremost is to my lovely Godmother and crewleader Amethyst to whom i owe my life because without her protection and guidance i'd probably be just another dead gangster found down some dark alleyway and as such that loyalty extends also to my family and to my district, were i for whatever reason to find myself as the sole survivor of my district i certainly wouldn't be joining whoever was responsible for the downfall of my district, you would generally have two choices in a situation like that one being you would do exactly as Alabama mentioned earlier and try to exact some sort of vengance if you were in any sort of position to do so, failing that i would seek out another crew in MY HOME CITY and keep building until one day i was in a position to honor the loss of my family and friends, but rest assured i am a New Yorker until the day i die so i will always also have a certain amount of loyalty towards New York as a whole. As for jumping ship to another city i'd rather swim with the fishes!

Phedre stands off from the crowd a little bit. She was twirling her red hair as she thought about the conversations that were going on within this speech. Realizing that the attention would be on her as she spoke she tried to get comfortable with the thought. Finding her flask she takes a quick sip of the whiskey and gained her courage.

I am a firm believer that my loyalty lies with my leader alone. It is usually the leader or a sponsor from their family that reaches out first for contact. Sometimes you go to them first. However, there is oftentimes other leaders ignore others of their district until they absolutely have to or vice versa. Does that mean they should get automatic loyalty? I don't think so.

It is strange to say that someone is owed loyalty that you have never spoke to. I personally find it strange to even have loyalty to the Right hand should the leader die. I do acknowledge that this is the person the leader trusted but there is usually a lot of people they trust or we would lack Made Men in this world.

Personally, it comes down to whether or not I feel as a member I could trust the person that is stepping in the place of the leader I chose to work for. If they can't then I do not see the problem with going elsewhere. There is an exception to this, if your leader died in the war on the losing side, you should go down with your leader, not jump over to save your own skin.