*Zeitgeist had the most interesting conversation a few days ago with one of his longtime allies in this world around the different roles we all play in our respective families and indeed the different types of Mafiosi that inhabit our world. It was an extremely interesting conversation and what the most surprising thing for Zeitgeist and his comrade; was just how many different roles there are in our world and how we impact the world and our families in our own unique ways*

What I wanted to present you all with today, is a breakdown of that conversation and an interesting overview of the different roles in our world, and hopefully, you can identify which one, or few; are yours. I will also, based on my ancestral lines experiences try to provide an example of who I felt best personified this role over the course of the history of this thing of ours. So without further adieu, let's get to it.

The Assassin

Our conversation began with the obvious; the ones who usually get all the credit for everything. You don't always know they are around, but every hour or so you could have sworn you saw their face in a reflection of a store window and not long after you saw them a dead body turns up. They are a pivotal piece of any family in this thing of ours and are the ones responsible for turning the tide when things go south; they quite literally shape the landscape of our entire world. Throughout the ages, there have been prolific assassins, their fathers taught their sons and many of these typical assassin lineages are still walking our streets; to this day. I wouldn't dare call attention to any living member of our world but if I were to dig deep into my father's archives to identify a name that personifies this role; cold-blooded, efficient and ruthless no one stands out more than Mikado. In a world where there weren't contracts to be had, in a time before Durden invasions Mikado was the original ruthless assassin, no matter the method, no matter the time he was able to train at an incredible pace and was arguably the most prolific killer of that generation.

The Earner

Just as the assassins of our world are important; they don't actually satisfy the core purpose of what we are here to do, make an offensive amount of money. Money makes our world go round; they keep our leaders safe by bankrolling their bodyguards fee's and salaries; they allow us to keep our families safe by fortifying our offices, they also afford a huge amount of influence. During my lines times on these shores they have seen some truly remarkable things done in the name of money, and often it wasn't even a huge amount of it. As I scroll through my grandfathers notes it even seems to make reference to a family line of "Jeddy" who was able to wield a huge amount of influence with no title, or rank but simply with the power of the dollar bill, it is worth mentioning that Jeddy's line seemed to inherit a lot of his money and doesn't really fall under the category of "The Earner" in my opinion but it's still a testament to the power of money in our world. Looking through my father's notes I was able to identify a significant amount of accomplished Earners throughout the years; some of the names that came up were "Blublank", "BlackWidow" and even a distant relative of "HandsomeRob" made this list. Obviously, this is going to be an extremely subjective list based on my lines history of working as a leader and hand, so take it with a pinch of salt.

The Talent Magnet

This is quite an unusual one, but during the course of our conversation, it occurred to my comrade and me that some people had an exceptional ability to consistently attract the most famous family lines in our world, and even bring people out of retirement and get them back into this thing of ours. This to me is one of the most critical people in any organization, it often ends up that these people end up being leaders by simple virtue that is the best possible platform to attract talent, this, however, isn't always the case. I am sure we can all see how the ability to attract skilled and consistently impressive lineages to work for one organization is an exceptional skill, and for me personally, I believe this is what tips the balance of power in our world more than anything. I scoured through my grandfather's notes and two names kept coming up in this regard; the first was actually the very first leader my lineage ever worked for "Lia Vazzi". I am sure most old lineages will be aware of his reputation and his lineage and he had an exceptional ability to attract the best of the best to work for him; often there was not enough space in the family offices to fit in all the applicants it was really quite something. The second name that comes up is "Toaly", from my grandfathers records it seems that this individual had an exceptional ability to not only attract the best of the best but unite people who couldn't stand in other for a singular purpose. 

The Eyes and Ears

This will likely be a more controversial one and many of us will likely be inclined to label this person as "rat" and that may very well be appropriate, but they have always served a large role in our world and probably still do. These are the people that always have their heads to the ground, and a friendly eye or ear in every office in our world, in every dark alley and coffee shop. They know everyone and everything; they whisper in this ear and start trouble here, or whisper in that ear and cause a war. They are certainly not my favourite people in our world, but they are as much a part of our population as anyone else, and like it or not they are here to stay. I obviously don't want to make reference to anyone who currently living who I see in a role like this, but as I read through my grandfather's notes the name BrianArao seems to appear multiple times in a role like this. The amusing thing as well is that from all of his notes, he seems to have been unanimously loved by the population at the time.

*Zeitgeist is growing visibly tired from all the speaking and reaches down to grab a long sip of water before looking up to address to the crowd again*

Folks I am sorry to disappoint but I have an urgent errand that demands my attention, I will return at another time to complete my story

*Zeitgeist grabs his hat and quickly runs off down the street before disappearing into a side street*

*Zeitgeist made his way back to the streets after what had been a crazy few days, he had fallen behind on a lot of his work in the streets and to make things even worse it appeared he was starting to get sick. He would have to put his runny nose and very iffy stomach on hold for now as he had business to attend to and a speech to finish*

Sorry for the delay ladies and gentleman; things have been happening, that have been largely beyond my control and this has resulted in me being pulled from the streets but I am back with the second and hopefully final instalment in this chapter of "What is your role in this thing of ours". Thus far we have covered;

• The Assassin
• The Earner
• The Talent Magnet 
• The Eyes and Ears

Today I want to jump right in and begin with...

The Wise One

This is another interesting category of Mafioso, how we envisaged this person was someone who didn't necessarily hold any position of power within a family (though they few often did) but they were often called on to explain the intricacies of our world, typically these lineages have walked the streets for generations and generations and were used to being called upon to solve problems; offer advise or simply just to inform. Their family lines had an amazing ability to not only collect information but to pass it on from generation to generation. I spent some time scouring through my grandfather's notes and the name Scipita (Rianne) seemed to be one of the greatest examples of someone filling this role throughout the ages. She was always able to inform, contribute and assist in a multitude of different ways; and she always achieved positions of power without being the best earner, or assassin; but her knowledge and wits carried her through.

The Clown

These people are the ones that make the world interesting, they are seemingly always caught up in something foolish or crazy or causing drama with someone, somewhere. We may not always like them, but they are as much a part of our world as anyone else, and whilst the Clown can and usually does fill another role as well; they are typically a clown first. It also isn't uncommon for some lineages to habitually assume this role but as the line grows and learns in this thing of ours; most lineages grow out of this role. once again reading through my grandfather's notes he seemed to be quite fond of this category of mafioso; he was weary but fond of them. I had to go quite a long way back in his notes but there seemed to be a gentleman (strong word) by the name of Mr-DW from the bowels of history who was the quintessential clown.

The Orator

This is a role that doesn't really require much explanation and one can argue that there are two categories of an orator in our world. There is the traditional orator who can recollect their experiences and beautifully craft and tell their stories to us and these people are wonderful to listen to. We also have the orator who is more political; they address real issues in our streets and world; they educate us on issues and these people have throughout history been at the helm of newspapers that were widely circulated around our streets. If we look at one person from each of these categories throughout history, the ultimate storyteller and wordsmith my grandfather ever met was a gentleman named Keats, a distant relative of GavinAndTaraByrne, he was quite literally mesmerizing to listen to. If we look at the second category of orator there is was absolutely no argument in my grandfather's mind who was the ultimate politician and newspaper editor; Grin. He had an amazing ability to insult people and they would still love him for it, he could bring up challenging issues and be a catalyst for change in our world, he was also able to be serious when he needed to be, and fun when he wanted to be.

*Zeitgeist was growing tired once again, these are a lot more to go through than he realised, he once again returned his notes to his pocket*

I am so sorry folks but once again, I must run off. I shall return for the final chapter of this as soon as possible!

*Zeitgeist grab a tissue from his pocket to blow his nose as he walks off down the street, seemingly making his way to the airport*

HandsomeRob was strolling through the streets trying to catch a beat. His hair was just did at the local barbershop and he was trying to show off his godly handsomeness. He noticed a few of his associates on the local corners holding down their turf. They were busy dicing and trying to take House's money; he had lost an enormous amount over the past few days. He had even noticed a former associate of his, JoeyRyan who was a sponsor now, teaching his own associate JessRyan how to steal old lady's purses. Joey's technique of distracting the older woman with his manly chest hair and a few pelvic thrusts weren't really going to work out for Jess. HandsomeRob didn't think typical older women really swung that way... to each their own.

He listened to his dearest friend Zeitgeist about knowing your role. When he heard his name mentioned, HandsomeRob bowed his head in remembrance of HandsomeRob Senior. He was tragically gunned down years ago... 

"You know I think you're missing a role. Where is the Good Looker? Don't underestimate the title of the role because trust me, a good distraction makes for a great robbery."

HandsomeRob ran his hand through his parted hair and took a second to look over to see how Joey and Jess were doing with their pelvic thrusting lessons. 

"If I had to place myself in a specific role, I don't think I could amigo. Reason being is once your linage has been here for so long, you kind of pick up talents over the years and are able to create your own hybrid of a role. One where you're solid on most aspects you mentioned earlier, but not fantastic at any single thing. A jack of all trades if you will."

After he had mentioned his own thoughts on the subject, an old lady with a Gucci purse caught his eye...

JessRyan watched intently as JoeyRyan showed her once more how he steals old lady’s purse. Pelvic thrusting and his manly chest hair may work for him, but she had no chest hair and is just too awkward with the thrusting. She knew she would have to come up with an alternative distraction to use…maybe her wit and charm?

She stopped thrusting for a moment to listen to Zeitgeist about knowing your role. She was still new here and still trying to find her feet. She looked around the street at everyone and wondered what role she would fall in to.

She glanced over at HandsomeRob who seemed to be in deep thought, she caught his attention right before he was about to walk off. “Your barber missed a piece in the back”.