Maria had been a little out of the loop of the world. Other concerns had grown pressing and had to take up her attention of late. But now, she was back. Back, it seemed, just in time to catch the tail end of a storm regarding issues around bloodlines. 

Bloodlines, bloodlining, it was a debate never far from the surface of the world, and it seemed as though recent events had brought it bubbling over the surface. She didn't wish to rehash it, but she did wonder wish to question the current mood of the world. So, pulling on a thick coat with a fur lined hood, which she pulled up over her face, and her thick snow boots, she made her way out onto the streets, which glowed with a warm Christmas cheer. 

Stopping by a street vendor, she paid $1 for a cup of hot mulled wine. Holding it tightly, hoping to transfer some of the heat from it to her hands, she found a busy corner and began to speak, knowing she would attract the attention of those passing.

"So, I'm sure that the, for lack of a better word, shit storm that has erupted following the auth of Cristiano_Ronaldo hasn't exactly passed many in our world by. I mean -- I'm assuming that we haven't yet gotten to a point where people don't even bother looking over the auth announcements as they get made, right?

So yeah. Because Cristiano_Ronaldo's late father was responsible - in what the explanation given to the world has considered to be a traWgic accident - for the death of Godmother Draven, his authing has been met with some level of controversy.

But, see... in some ways, the reason why that is confuses me. 

As a society, one thing that remains consistent is that people regularly get themselves bent out of shape over the idea of persons being bloodlined. 

Now, on the one hand, I can understand that. It does feel wrong to judge people consistently on their past actions. As a society the idea of giving people chances does seem fair, does seem reasonable. 

On the other hand, some people take those chances to be, again, for lack of a better word, complete twats over and over. Considering the prevalence of coffee shops in our world, for better or worse, it's more likely that people will just know the bloodline name of a person, and when that bloodline name keeps running into trouble over and over, it really doesn't seem so bad that they end up being judged on that basis. Like, how many chances do some people need? 

Now, I'm not saying that in the current situation, that this is strictly applicable, because this situation isn't quite as straightforward as a bloodline being hunted down and shut out of our world. But the reason that I have taken this back to it's roots, back to the purest form of bloodlining, is because, if as a society we abhor that idea, why the hell are we finding it okay for people now to be judged on that basis?

Why are people finding it acceptable to complain rudely and publicly about the authing of Crirstiano on the basis of his fathers last actions in this world, when they wouldn't advocate bloodlining him "properly" over this?

I guess what I'm trying to say, is that there are genuinely some bloodlines in this world that are out and out pieces of shit. They breed only contemptible morons. I'm not going to name names, but there are some people who bring only headaches and negativity time and time again. But I'm sure that were they to be bloodlined, publicly and actively, there would pretty much be uproar about it. But when somebody is attacked because of their ancestors actions, so many people seem to find this justifiable. It seems like somewhat of a double standard within our world.

So, I'd be interested to know.

What's your stance on the matter? Why? How do you think we should deal with matters such as this? 

I'd like this to not turn into a huge, personal screaming match, but I would be interested to know what people think."

TinyTina was eager to hear that Maria was back on the streets and shouting at the people with words. At the end of the lovely speech Tina needed one question answered before she could give a proper reply.

Don Maria, what is your definition of bloodlining?

An interesting topic to bring up Don Maria, though I fear it's crossing lines into multiple different debates rather than a single self contained one.

Should bloodlines receive special treatment for acts of those long since departed?

Whether they should or not, they do. It's a fact of life, of human nature and of this thing of ours. Since its inception at the very heart of its tenants cosa nostra has considered family lineage important, as it will continue to going forward. Is it right? Is it the best way to do things? Probably not, you could make a case for it either way. Is it going to change any time soon? That one on the other hand gets a very firm, hell no.

The reality is that the bonds that form between bloodlines form for a reason and that reason is often just as relevant with each generation that passes. If I connect with a person due to interests we share, pass times we find enjoyable or a quirky sense of humour we both share, there's a better than average chance that those same qualities may still be present in future generations.  The exact same can be said for qualities such as intelligence, organisation, work ethic and diplomacy. So while we can talk about how unfair it is to judge someone on the acts or deeds of their forefathers, the reality is that many of the same qualities, faults and tendencies will continue down through the bloodline.

Your speech seems to suggest that all of the anger directed at the recent authorisation was due to actions of his father or his bloodline? From what I witnessed and overheard, which is all I have to go on really given that I'm not familiar with the good sir, I'm not sure if that's the case. I have vague memories of those acts being mentioned, but that just one point of contention among many that were raised. Some were vicious personal attacks, some were bloodline attacks, some were conspiracy theories, some were questioning the honesty and veracity of statements made as fact and some were questioning the origins of the speech to begin with. While it was a tension filled discussion where bloodline references were thrown around, I would query if this was even a factor in much of the other heated discussion there.  

Having said all this, I do have a personal pet peeve with claims of bloodlining. In well more than 99% of the claims my own bloodline has witnessed over years, it's complete and utter bullshit. Correlation is not causation. In the vast, and I do mean vast, majority of cases it's simply that a bloodline repeats the same mistakes, does the same things, acts in the same way and brings trouble on themselves. Yes, the acts of the forefathers are blamed, but the acts of the person have echoed the same path to a tee. The same punishment would have been handed down if they were a new arrival to the shores or a member of an entirely different bloodline. There are some exceptions to this of course, but the exceptions really are an exception to the rule.

What is done is done, can you voice your feeleings upon this, in this world you can pour your heart and soul into your life and goals, will you get to your goals possibly, depends on who you know, not what you know, such is life, all things can come to change, will debates resolve anything?, they wont just words to express your feelings on this topic.

which can be taken in anyway, at the end of the day what one city does is there concern as it only reflects on them, if were not part of LA does it concern us no

with all that has been said over bloodlining all we can do is.....

watch this space

Curtis listens with interest to maria's speech and became curious about the question.

"Maria thank you for your speech. The topic is a good one and worthy of discussion but the question about Ronaldo and bloodlining seems somewhat confused.

No one was calling for his death. There were plenty of people that had issues with him being given auth after the actions of his father. But that is not bloodlining. They just opposed the idea of him being immediately authed so soon after his old man's rather high impact actions. Now, you could call that bloodline profiling, or just wanting to wait and be cautious before giving him such a powerful position, but it certainly isn't bloodlining.

Bloodlining, by definition, is murdering one bloodline time and time again for its actions in the past. Not giving that line a chance at a new beginning or the opportunity to demonstrate a change in their ways. Just relentlessly killing them without mercy every time they appear."

Why are people finding it acceptable to complain rudely and publicly about the authing of Crirstiano on the basis of his fathers last actions in this world, when they wouldn't advocate bloodlining him "properly" over this?

 Granted I have a lot to learn in this world, but having watched the events of people shouting at this man, I figured the reason was obvious. He has been given a position of leadership solely based on his fathers actions, so people feel the need to still then hold the bad actions of his father against him?

I don't know if this is right, but that's my observation of the situation.

Granted I have a lot to learn in this world, but having watched the events of people shouting at this man, I figured the reason was obvious. He has been given a position of leadership solely based on his fathers actions, so people feel the need to still then hold the bad actions of his father against him?

I don't know if this is right, but that's my observation of the situation.

How do you know that it's based purely on his father actions Ben? Let's look at what we do know when assessing whether he was a good choice to receive his own crew. Usually there are a number of factors that I'd imagine go into choosing such a person for the job, granted all cities are different.

1. Activity - Extremely High. Check
2. Loyalty - Was Dark_King's RHM prior to getting his own family. Check
3. Protection - Insanely Well Protected. Check
4. Gun - Has been known to build pretty decent guns in short periods. Check
5. Experience - His bloodline has experience running a family before and has been Godfather. Check

Seems like a pretty decent choice to me considering the small talent pool that Los Angeles currently offers, there are definitely more incompetent crew leaders and hands currently doing the rounds. Perhaps you can try a little harder yourself over the coming months Ben and you might appear a little more attractive as an option too, but that's just my observation of the situation. 

As for getting off topic to the one currently being discussed. Bloodlining never happens, people say they do and they will but most don't have the balls to carry it through - much like war. As for nepotism, that's inevitable, but I never understand how the same shit bloodlines keep becoming crew leader? Perhaps that's a question for another day.   

Eyes.. Just a thought, but since Ben is in Dark Kings family, I think he'd be better placed to understand what "actions" for the family CR has displayed.. No?

CR was a very recent promotion to Right Hand also, so I really don't feel that him standing there briefly is something to gloat about. Nor is the fact he is IWP anything to gloat about, given his association with the group 303 it is understandable to assume he has/had access to large sums of money, especially since his father would have had the same cash flow and was able to arrange his own death, meaning he would have provided handsomely for his kids.

Experience? Oh, like that one time he was a leader and shot another leader "by accident".. Yeah.. I can't think of anything staggering he did before that really. Perhaps this kin will do more and surprise me, I doubt it though.

As to your last point, I think thats a little demeaning to LA to assume that none of the other inhabitants are worthy of the spot, especially since CR didnt even auth in his own district, which brings me back to the Loyalty point you used.. erm, different district entirely so not sure why his Loyalty to Dark King is really entering into the discussion? I'm sure LA are going to be working as "one" family and this covers that aspect, but still leaves me feeling like the Loyalty card wasn't needed here.

So that leaves me with just one little thing you mentioned that goes into the choice of a leader - Gun. I have no idea what his gun is like, but I know his dad built a good one, so perhaps he too is on the road to building a good one. Is that enough to earn the most coveted prize in this thing of ours? I guess to some it may be. Personally, I like a little more than that but each to their own. I don't live in LA, so it doesn't really concern me.

And to anyone that thinks my responses are because I dislike CR, they aren't. I just saw little Ben there make this first appearence in these streets and get pushed back down because of his opinion, so I thought I'd assist it defending the little fella.

Eyes..how do you know what LA has to offer?

Tina had fallen asleep while waiting to hear back from Don Maria, but had woken up with still no reply. She shrugged her shoulders and caught up with what others have said. She noticed some of her favorites had spoken. Satanta and Curtis and Curtis had even given the proper definition of bloodlining, at least the same definition she had grown up believing. It was the holiday season and some things were a lie, LIKE RUDOLPH and other things….so Don Maria’s definition, if it ever came, could be the true prince. 

After Tina got over that thought, she watched as eyes moved through the crowd to speak his opinion on the topic(s) Maria had spreeched about after the new kid Ben had spoken. As soon as eyes opened his eyes….mouth Tina hmphed air out of her nose. Of course, he wasn’t here to actually talk about the initial speech but defend his besty CR. This was curious to Tina as eyes hailed from the land of not where CR lived. Maybe they were star crossed lovers. Lovers in the niiiiiiiiiight. Tina swayed in the crowd as her inner monologue sang to her. 

She went back to talking to herself. Anyway, anyway, yes, this eyes guy was always going leaps and bounds out of his way to stand up for CR like that Ronaldo Robot couldn’t do it himself. ROBOTS CAN DO ANYTHING. If eyes wasn’t careful his little earner self would get smashed by a robot boot. Tina had comments, but that smexy AlabamaWorley had basically been a psychic hottie and taken the words right from her fire soaked throat and flaming lips.

This Stax guy did ask a good question though, how did eyes know all these things and the reply eyes gave him/her was, well, laughable. Tina assumed that eyes was a newer generation of bloodlines. eyes was not willing to admit this like Ben had, but instead walked around like he knew what he was talking about. First in the event of CR celebrating his new bold suit in the streets the other day, eyes talked as if there were no powers ever in the history of their world but only 303. It was easy for Tina to come to the conclusion that all eyes knew was the 303 reign and nothing else. He didn’t even know that true bloodlining, not whatever Don Maria was talking about, actually happened. 

Oh look, that eyes guy did comment on the original spreech. Tina pondered on this. The last reign of power she remembered hearing about that did execute bloodlining was Roman and his friend Premeir days. What did that mean for all the reigns of power after them. Was it true with what eyes said, were they all ball less? He was complaining just the other day that people were being disrespectful to the 303 reign so publicly in the streets, but now he was calling them ball less. Tina didn’t want to be around when that caught up with him….

Before jumping into the actual topic at hand, Tina wanted to wrap up her inner thoughts in a nice little check list of sorts. 1. Don Maria had not answered her question. 2. Satanta and Curtis said wise words. 3. Rudolph may or may not have/does/still exists. 4. eyes had eyes for CR. Valentines day was right around the corner…ooooh lalalalalala. 5. Tina’s lips were chapped. Tina put on her bestest smile and stepped from the crowd. She started with the questions first. She loved starting there. 

Alright alright my party people up in dis street! All I want to get issss a little bit closerrrrrr.

Tina sang to the audience. 

Seriously, friends it’s cold out here. 

She waited for a split second to see if anyone got a little bit closer. No dice.

Okay, bloodlining. I’ve never personally had a problem with this word or this act, then again, I’ve never had it happen to me. But I feel like if it did, it’d be AWESOME. All publicity is good publicity right? Right??? Plus, if my grandmother did something so terrible the powers of reigning terror decided that her next of kin deserved to still suffer, going on what seems to be your definition of bloodlining here Maria, her choices well, so be it. This is how the world turns. Sure, sure, something about science but you all get my point. If the next in line of kin didn’t want to put up with that shiz they always have the choice not to say who they are. We are criminals, we aren’t honest and we have no problem deceiving. Committing to not your identity can take some work, but the best decisions usually do. 

So, if my greatgrandmama was a cock twit and my grandmama was a cock twit and my mama was a cocktwit, I can’t be too surprised if people perceived me as a cock twit. Maybe I am! I don’t really know what a cock twit is, so maybe I’m not. If seven generations of men in a family were shoe makers, it’ll probably be more shocking if the 8th and newest gen didn’t want to be a shoe maker than if he got in line with the rest of them and made shoes. 

It’s natural to judge and easy to judge from outside the glass house. This is how we form opinions. Our world is coming into a new light and more and more opinions are being brought to the streets and voiced. No spreech in the streets, hey don’t you give me that funny look, that’s how I say that word OKAY. No spreech in the street is safe from an opinion, not even a bold suit celebration. What do the people want? Do they want more voices in the streets or do they not? Personally, I like hearing all the opinions. I like that people like Ben, new to the world have come out and given their opinion. I like that the streets are living again.

Okay, I’m off subject…maybe. I’m doing that thing that Satanta warned about. Speaking of such a fine ass gentleman, he covered the bloodlines receiving special treatment pretty well. So I’m going to wrap this up and find someone to go get closer with. 

Tina’s eyes first find Batiatus and she feels vomit rising in her throat at just the thought of getting warm with him. YUCK. 

In this day and age, "bloodlines" (and I'm lumping IRC counterparts in with that term too) seem to be as important as they have ever been and reference to them happens on an almost daily basis. I've lost track of the number of conversations which eventually boil down to little more than petty snipes about the terrible/embarrassing things dead people did, in a bygone era, for reasons that nobody else alive even cares about. Whilst I personally believe we would be infinitely better off if everyone stopped giving lineages such importance and actually abandoned all reference to what came before; I've reconciled myself to the fact this will never happen.

Given this ancestral importance then, it should be of absolutely no surprise to anyone to see Cristiano_Ronaldo, sporting identical looks to his eponymous father, resurrecting the same family name, with the same referenced ties as his predecessors, being given the opportunity to expand into Savannah. My own interpretation of events is that this is not so much a new auth, but rather an extension of the former in a new body.

So aside from my preceding feelings on the prevalence bloodlines in general, I don't really have an issue with Cristiano_Ronaldo being given the nod; provided we are not expected to believe this is for reasons other than his lineage and their connections as it is evidently not. If it is because his father was important, with the support of the ruling clique, then his subsequent rise to prominence makes sense. I don't agree with it, but it would suitably explain why someone with 20 days service under their belt, the majority of which have been spent on the hitlist under threat of death, is deemed the best man for the job far more than any other reasons have.

eyes eyes drooped as he drifted in and out concentration at the verbal diarrhoea TinyTina had just treated him (and others too). Something akin to a shit sandwich, without the filling, so just shit. He figured this is what the kids did nowadays..think out loud or don't or something. Something wrong with your Ed? He'd take a leaf out of TinyTina's book, mask a nothing argument with words and thoughts and shit. Shit shit shit. Blase. Amptheamines. Random thoughts. Time to sleep. She was talking shit, like SpikeS. TinyTina, TT... SS. Was she the next level, next letter in the alphabet? SS...TT...UU...Gravity? Interesting. Connections? Probably not. But he was just thinking all this so it doesn't matter really, nobody hears the conversations in his head. Or was he thinking out loud..again? 

Probably not, yet he waited..slept. Was she talking yet or just looking at him expecting him to be a physic too? But fuck he must have been a psychic to realise that she thought Alabama was a physic, or was he not supposed to know that she thought Alabama was a physic. Mind fuck. Too many drugs, too little sleep. But he could sleep to Tina's words... if she ever actually spoke. Was she going too? He waited and looked at her, clearly she was slightly disabled and not just the dwarfism. Imagine how much smaller she'd be if they chopped her mouth out, half the size but twice as relevant.. I'll let you work that one out. Fuck is she going to speak or what? Or are we just speaking via mental waves and he fucked twitches.. can she hear me right now. You'd imagine she must be good at something considering she was a LHM.. she did have a big mouth. Probably that. Finally she spoke. 

So she's a cock twit, that doesn't surprise me. Did I really have to wait all that time for her to say that? She likes hearing opinions, well that's nice to hear. Glasshouses, interesting concept. I personally don't live in a green house but perhaps TinyTina does? Clearly didn't get enough sunlight looking at her, I might recommend cleaning the windows to her owner. Might get a better crop next year, normal sized, would that mouth keep growing though? That thing is most definitely not normal. Ah yes, time to respond properly to Alamaba the cross dressing Worely. I nearly lost my train of though, shit bricks on the line c/o of Tina.. definitely not normal. 

"So first you say that since Ben is in Dark_King's family that he might be better placed to understand what CR has or hasn't done for the family but then mention later that you haven't seen CR do anything "staggering" yet you haven't been in his family. So which is it going to be? We can make judgements from outside the family or we can't? I also have a feeling that CR was limited by the impositions that meant he couldn't rise to the position of RHM quicker, could be wrong though (I doubt it). Bodyguards are everything in this world, I think being IWP protected (and assuming) having them trained/training is probably something to gloat about. Wouldn't we all if we could afford it? I also recall hearing on the streets that he was actually killed as a "Rich" man, which would leave me to (assume again) that he probably didn't have time to get his affairs in order - so certainly no nice sum for his next of kin. 

That's why I placed the "gun" aspect low on the list, I don't believe it's the be all and end all. But often there is correlation between competence, activity and gun strength. Wouldn't you agree? And I think I addressed the Ben issue earlier but naturally he's probably so deeply engrossed in Dark_King's family as a 16 day old 15 unit Earner that he doesn't have the time to further expand on his thoughts. Probably."

eyes out. 

Sorry I'm late to the party.  I have strong feelings towards people that are victims of bloodlining.... and that feeling is envy.

If a person is being hunted because of who their mother or father was, it means that they must know who their mother or father is.  I, on the other hand, do not have any of these answers in regards to who my parents were.  You see, I was abandoned as a very young boy, left to fend for myself in this cold, cruel world.  I've been wandering the country in search of answers, but each answer seems to only lead to more questions!  

Destro_Whelan bows his head sadly, looking down at the beautifully handwritten red letter, given to him as a small baby.  
"Be A Good Man" it read.  "I am trying" Destro_Whelan thought to himself.  "But it's hard sometimes..."

The rain begins to fall.  Destro_Whelan reaches his clenched hands to the sky.

"WHY.... WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY" he calls out to the rain as lighting crashes.

DougRoss have some FUCKING respect. 

Why is this even a thing? Seriously who are you responding to? The skeletons of the passed? These men and women who spoke their peace here have been gone for years can you seriously not think of anything better to do with your time around here?

What a joke.

Why is what a thing Evolve?  Why is bloodlining a thing?  Or why is my personal journey for self-knowledge and truth a thing?  Not sure what your purpose was in bothering to speak up on this issue, but it would appear based solely on our respective contributions to the conversation, that it's my time that is being better spent.

Ragnarok, I appreciate your kind words.  I'm simply a man searching for answers.  I mean nobody any harm or offense.

Destro_Whelan nods respectfully and lets the mobsters get back to the topic at hand.