Are you new here? Is this your first time wandering the streets?

Let me tell you a little something about these streets my friend. Let me tell you that you do have choices even if you were made to feel like you didn't.

Did you jump into the first family to send you an invite? Did they tell you that you had time to look around and check out the sights?

If not I am here to tell you that you do. That you should take your time and research the families that are hovering over you. The ones breathing down your neck. Take your time.

Have you been able to hear any discussions that the leader has taken the chance to speak up in?

If you haven't been able to find anywhere that the leader has spoken, have you spoken to them? How else are you going to know what their priorities are. Is it family? themselves? Sometimes you need to pull your belt around your waist and be bold enough to approach them.

Don't settle for mediocre.

Don't settle for being just a number.

Find where you are best going to fit in. Figure out your goals and find the best path to that.

Research. I cannot express this enough. Do your damn research before joining any crew.

Giovanni was just coming out of the docks after supervising the unloading of a cleverly concealed whiskey shipment when he heard someone pandering outside the passenger dock to new arrivals. Always interested in potential recruits, he stood a little off, but still well within earshot.

He listened to the citizen giving advice to newcomers, but he didn't recognize them. He couldn't tell who this was, or what kind of credibility did they have to be distributing advice like that. He put out his cigarette under his navy wingtips before coming closer.

"I couldn't help but listen to what was being said. While I don't necessarily disagree that one should make informed choices about one's allegiance, I feel like getting to know people happens as an associate of a crew, not in a brief exchange during a possible employer and a possible employee.

I also feel like this argument paints the dynamic exponentially wrong. While the recruitment effort is on the side of the organizations, being recruited is in the best interest of those arriving at these shores. It's hard to get by without work and without a network, especially in these unsafe times."

Giovanni felt his throat getting a little dry. He wasn't the speech type, but he felt that some issues had to be tackled. He took a cigarette and lit it before proceeding. The smoke accompanied his first few words, vanishing into the crisp morning atmosphere.

"Ask not what your crew can do for you. Ask what you can do for your crew. The best way of not being a number is understanding the rules of the society we live in. If you want to stand out, work towards that. Being loud and standing tall are two different things. And while the second might not make you famous, the first will make you infamous most of the times."

Giovanni turned back to his warehouse, not waiting around for an answer. He had spoken too much and wasted far too much of his time. The new cigarette butt was flickered off as he walked inside the warehouse, nodding his head.

Sapphire was new on these streets and didnt want to be the sort that got herself involved in disputes but having been hanging around listening to the discussion started  by Kianda, she happened to overhear what appeared to be the mumbling nonsense of a passerby...

I could be wrong Dominic and I'd love to hear a comment from someone if I am but i'm pretty sure these streets are for all manner of topics including discussions regarding our way of life and NOT purely for this 'RP' thing you've mentioned.

As a friendly Irish lass I'd also love to meet these 'morans' you mention, when you get a chance could you please recommend to them to come find me for a good ol bit o banter!

Getting back to the topic at hand, I actually fully agree with the sentiment here. My ancestors taught me a method of recruitment that is much more informative than you might sometimes see. I've taken this with me into my journey into leadership myself. I will seldom finish a conversation with a potential recruit without requesting that they look around, head to the library to research each family's history and documentation before settling.

While I agree that being an associate within a family is also a good way to learn about them, when I invite someone and they join, I plan on investing in them, just as I hope they will with me. I will support, protect, and teach them if necessary. I would much rather someone pass on me, if they're not sure, than both of us potentially wasting our time finding the right fit.

GiovanniLaurel, I can appreciate what you are saying but I feel it is in the best interest of the new comer to be making informed choices. To at least ask questions and see what kind of people they are looking at working with and for. There is time to do this prior to a death sentence and this time should be allocated. Not simply forcing someone to choose by saying "Join or die" in nicer terms.

Sapphire, you are correct in that the streets are for more than simply telling a story. It is for topics and debates as well. Discussions can and should happen here from time to time.

Transistor, thank you for sharing your recruitment methods that have been passed down. I am glad to see that someone expresses an urge to allow the ability to look around before committing.