Our dearly departed Grin-02 has made it clear that this world needs a strong hand to guide it. To show you all the ropes on how to survive the impending purges. Well, here's some things you should know about this world before you get started. To be honest, it all comes down to understanding the following sentence:

This world is in two parts; one matters, the other does not.

That's right. Behind the curtain of Our Thing sits something hideous. Something disfigured and grotesque. And like the Wizard of Oz himself, it's pretty disappointing when you actually get to see how it all really works. In our day-to-day lives, we do things that have virtually no consequence. We show up in the Streets, we crime, we deal drugs- these are functionally irrelevant. Even the drama of pickpocketing and mugging has no bearing on how this world will actually ebb and flow- which begs the question why did we give such a shit about it in the first place?

The important things are connections and info. If you intend to take part in this side- by training a gun, buying bodyguards, and/or running a crew- you'll need a connection to vouch for you. Someone who is a part of the current ruling class who can stake a claim on your life. If you are not in the ruling class (if you were, you would be reading this guide for a very different reason) and do not have that person, you are in danger of being purged. In fact, if you are training a gun and do not have that person, you should be preparing to strike against the ruling class. Because they are preparing to strike against you. And, even as we learned with the late Kate-Macer's crew- even if you think someone's vouching for you, they may not be.

Crewleaders are not exempt from this. In fact, they are most in danger of this reality. Just because you have a crew does not mean you are part of the ruling class. Here are a few tips to tell if you are in danger of being purged. Keep in mind- this is only for individuals who are making a go of it. If you aren't training a gun, buying BGs, or running a crew, you are not in danger of being purged. You'll just die when someone around you does. But if you are, keep an eye out for the following.

1. You have reported a strong gun and your crewleader does not invest any money in your BGs. Why waste the money?
2. Auths and takedowns that include your crewleader, district, or city happen without notifying you. You are the last to know because they don't trust you with information. Or worse, they're worried you'll give your opinion on the matter.
3. You do not belong to any coffeeshops featuring other members of the ruling class. It means conversations are happening that don't include you because they don't have to.
4. You are not considered for meaningful positions like auth or RHM.
5. You are not told the status of anyone else's gun or bodyguard training.

Generally speaking, information is your best indicator. If you are working your ass off for your boss and are still kept in the dark, they have not staked a claim on your life. You are expendable. You will not be a priority for proers when you need them. You will not be protected from purges. You are probably assumed to be a rogue and will be treated as such. After all, why would you be working so hard for a boss who doesn't care? Clearly, you are a rogue. You roguey bastard.

Keep in mind, there's loads of information out there. Gun training, BG training, learning ancestries, and who their old and current friends are. Suspicions. Accusations. Auth timelines and hand selections. City assignments. Takedown timelines and targets. This is information flowing through the ruling class as we speak. Are you in the loop?

Addendum: You are not in the loop.

Damn. So you're not in the loop. Well, you still have a few options. One is to stop working so damn hard. After all, why bother? Why spend so much time and/or money on something that even your own crewleader doesn't see value in? Just chill out. Maybe they'll let you in if you withhold the dice donation gravy train or cancel the beast mode gun training.

Another option is to stop giving them information. If they're keeping you in the dark, keep them in the dark. Report bad BG and gun numbers. It's dangerous because this makes you look extra roguey, but how will they know the difference?

The last option, which is quite dangerous if done poorly, is to get information on your own. Connect with other individuals outside of your crew or city who may be willing to stake a claim on your life. I've found this to be an incredibly potent way of getting into the ruling class, especially if there's no cross-over between your new friend's and your crewleader's social circles. Think of it like hedging your bet.

Important note to reiterate: If you are not training a gun, buying BGs, and/or part of a crew upper structure, nothing in this guide applies to you.

Good luck!

Oh, that must have been what happened to my late uncle.

They claim he was lying on his shot report. That beeing 50 days old and only having 300 reported kills is ridiculous.

He was just shot in his sleep. No word from the big boys at all, noone cared about a guy who tried to work hard for his family and tried to build trust with the upper structure.

Not much he could do when all the conversations had a dead end on the bosses part.

Let us all show Grin-03 and Grin-02 (Rest well) much appreciation for the efforts they have taken to assist the general public with surviving a purge.
I think it is evident that the lineage does not make the man, and I for one am very glad and happy to see the kin not follow in the steps of their predecessors. 

Grin-03, can you maybe help us understand the foul actions of some of of your former relatives, most specifically, those who operated closely with Disorder at those times. It is clear he was much involved in the purges and has a lot of information as to how they work.

I think to best prepare for a purge, we must understand the mind of those who operated with those guidelines you had mentioned during other conversations. 

I think we are all also curious as to how and why you were able to break away from the historical mannerisms of your family line to become the outstanding, anti-purge activist that you are today? 

Maybe this might help others also break away from their familial history and tendencies and become their own honest and productive man, much like you have done. 

walking along the streets Mack hears someone that sounds like a hawker.  Thinking it nice to have money from the church in his pocket,  MacklePenny heads toward the man speaking. On approach the man looked like your usual wise guy. A bead of sweat trailing down his forehead from the gathering crowd.  Mack pulls out his sniffer and a palm sized canister.  He takes a big sniff and puts it away. Throughout the pitch the Father drinks from a 40 oz glass of beer he had in a leather bag.  Nodding his head in agreement to what the wise guy was saying.  

At the conclusion of Jester's speech, Mack bumps the shoulder of the guy next to him and slur's some words.  

"You know,  I have a fair amount of ancestors that have dropped out.  I think it was through drunken boredom after hearing all the God-awful confessions on the daily.  Sounds more like death by cop."

Penny gives a chuckle to the now disturbed random gentleman.  Mack laughs smashing his glass against a wall as he stumbles down the street towards his Church. 

Thank you, Grooglez. I am trying hard to be a productive member of our society and I am glad you have noticed this.

Please let me know what I can shed light on about purging during the Disorder regime and I will hopefully have some interesting insights for you. I've lost track of the amount of Sunday dinners at old Great Uncle Lucius' house descended into detailed record sharing. I sometimes feel like I was there myself, I know so much about it.

I should point out before we proceed that I am not an "anti-purge activist", I am just not a "purge denier". I don't actually have any issue with leaders shooting people who've had a reasonable amount of time to prove themselves and haven't done so. What I do have an issue with is people not having the guts to admit that is what they are doing though. I find it cowardly.  

Grooglez, are we going to have this chat about purging? I'm eagerly awaiting your questions. I have some of my own which I am eager to hear your responses to as well. Lets crack on, please. 

Thrawn made his way to the streets upon hearing word of an ongoing 'purge' and the manner in which one could survive it. Considering his people had been the victim of this in the past, it interested him deeply. He listened to the speaker with great attention, analyzing every word, clasping his hands behind his back and taking mental notes, so as to best prepare himself. However, upon analysis, he realized the fallacy  of this discussion, and decided to speak his mind instead. Remaining cold, calm, and collected, he began to speak.

First things first, I would like to thank you. Any time someone comes to these streets with something insightful, and well thought out, it is a great thing, and something that can bring discussion is always welcome.

That being said, I disagree with some of what has been said.

Thrawn takes a deep breath before continuing.

You have reported a strong gun and your crew leader does not invest any money in your BGs. Why waste the money?

There are other ways around this. Perhaps the crew leader doesn't implicitly send millions your way, but is more lenient in other ways. Myself, I've often told members that are reporting a strong gun to focus their funds there and on bodyguard protection, rather than sending money to myself. Does this not constitute an investment in your mind? If not, then that's quite narrow minded my friend.

Auths and take downs that include your crew leader, district, or city happen without notifying you. You are the last to know because they don't trust you with information. Or worse, they're worried you'll give your opinion on the matter.

Once again, not all situations are the same. The more people 'in the know' the more a chance someone that shouldn't be discovers something. I believe this concept is referred to by the humans as 'omerta,' you heard of it? Some people don't want to know everything, and are fine with being the last to know, or knowing last minute. This in no way means you're dying of a purge.

You do not belong to any coffee shops featuring other members of the ruling class. It means conversations are happening that don't include you because they don't have to.

Does it? I believe this is referred to by the humans as 'paranoia.' My people, we refer to this as 'chi'nuais' the closest comparison to this in your language is 'anxious thoughts.' The whole 'people are talking behind my back I know it' feeling is really something you should get checked out. Who honestly wants to be in every coffee shop? How much coffee could you possibly drink?

You are not considered for meaningful positions like auth or RHM.

This is a tricky one. Historically speaking, these positions should be hard to come by. Your insinuation that not being considered for one of these positions means that you're headed for a purge is shortsighted. Sometimes there's just no room for a new leader to come up, and the position of Right Hand Man should be one that is for life. In an ideal scenario, you're putting someone there that you trust as an extension of yourself, and that person will remain there until their death. So not being considered for this role in my opinion isn't a bad thing. There are a multitude of other positions, and not all of them come with a change in appearance on the streets. As a matter of fact, some of my most trusted advisors have never held a RHM position, or a LHM position, or been considered for auth. They didn't want it, or want to be considered, they were happy just to be a personal advisor.

You are not told the status of anyone else's gun or bodyguard training.

Again, 'omerta.' The more people that are privy to this information, the worse it is. Once again, historically speaking, when people I have known have been in charge of this information, it has been held tightly to the chest. If more than two or three additional people had access, he felt like a failure. This is people's very private personal information you're dealing with, it should be treated as such. Though I suppose in your mind it should be broadcast loud and proud for everyone to see. So, what's your gun and bodyguards looking like? Care to be the pioneer for this information age?

Thrawn took a short break to straighten his uniform, and adjust his gloves, running one across his face to ensure he wasn't sweating, then continued.

Generally speaking, information is your best indicator. If you are working your ass off for your boss and are still kept in the dark, they have not staked a claim on your life. You are expendable. You will not be a priority for proers when you need them. You will not be protected from purges. You are probably assumed to be a rogue and will be treated as such. After all, why would you be working so hard for a boss who doesn't care? Clearly, you are a rogue. You roguey bastard.

Once again, not always. I like to keep everyone in my crew in the loop as much as possible, for any information I deem pertinent. However, I also hold the values of 'omerta' quite highly, and it is my decision what I deem important. That's to say, just because I don't tell them what's up next, that doesn't mean I'm purging them either. They just don't need to know at this time. Proers are hard to come by at times, but if you've proven your worth you'll get one. I protect every member of my family with my life, I'm sure it's the same for every other leader out there. This is my 'ship'  I go down with it. Are you a roguey bastard?

Another option is to stop giving them information. If they're keeping you in the dark, keep them in the dark. Report bad BG and gun numbers. It's dangerous because this makes you look extra roguey, but how will they know the difference?

Yeah, because that's totally going to keep you safe. Lie to the person who holds your life in their hands. Lie to the person that took an investment and personal stake in you, the second they let you into their family. Honestly. It'll keep you alive!

Thrawn let out a small laugh, it wasn't like him to unleash sarcasm. With this, he turned and made his way back to a corner, with his hands clasped behind his back, to analyze the rest of the conversation as it unfolded.

Thrawn, the advice I'm giving here is exactly that- advice. It isn't a formulaic conclusion of the ways of the world, it's just things to look out for if one is willing to invest hundreds of hours into these shores. Points of interest that people may not know to look for. Many of your responses to these points are "not always"- as if those who purge did so in exactly the same fashion to every victim since the dawn of time. My advice does not need to be crucially accurate in every detail for it to be useful.

Of course there will be circumstances where a crewleader can't afford to BG up all their hitters (though this is less accurate when you know how many credits some of today's crewleaders have stockpiled). You introduce your rebuttal by calling my guide a "fallacy," when your only argument against it seems to be is "well it doesn't happen that way ALL the time..." It's not a very compelling rebuttal, nor does it support the notion that my advice is rooted in fallacy.

Another concern I have is your continual evocation of "Omerta," as if that's "the ruling class's right not to tell you things." That's not what Omerta is or means, and your insinuation of that reveals quite a lot. Omerta is keeping information in your family, which should include your Made Men and above- and especially those who are donating in excess and grinding out hundreds of kills for you. To think that "Omerta" justifies withholding information from the bedrock members of your crew is inane. Perhaps for many crewleaders, their clique is more their "family" than their actual family- so withholding information from them seems appropriate.

As someone who has seen ancestors purge and fall to purges alike, the guide I have composed is the most intuitive way that someone who has not experienced it can understand what they are facing. The intention behind my speech is to better prepare those who want to know how things work but have no mentor to help them. If they trust their crewleaders (as I'm sure each and every one of your seven members do, Thrawn), then this guide should be irrelevant. If no one is purged, I'll happily see this guide fade into irrelevance.

But I sense that the intention of your rebuttal- and perhaps any rebuttal to my advice- is to keep more people in the dark. After all, you said it best:

The more people that are privy to this information, the worse it is.

If anyone was looking for the perspective that leads to this mentality, Thrawn has displayed it in great form. If you know what's going on, it's bad.

Yeah, because that's totally going to keep you safe. Lie to the person who holds your life in their hands. Lie to the person that took an investment and personal stake in you, the second they let you into their family. Honestly. It'll keep you alive!

I appreciate hearing this after the argument you've given. What investment and personal stake have you taken? They're sending YOU money. They're building a gun for YOU. They could have chosen to work anywhere else and been treated largely the same way. What about sending an invite to someone incurs such a debt to their crewleader that could not have been done by literally any other crewleader instead? Especially when you just rattled off reason after reason why they aren't to be trusted with information.

You see, if your crewleader has no intention of purging you, that means you and your crewleader are most likely going to die or rule together (because you'll either die in their crew or get a crew of your own). So, what's the danger here? What's the "personal stake" that's so great that every member owes their crewleader absolute information but is owed nothing in return? Surely, either the crewleader's interests diverge from "dying and ruling together" or the member's do. When it's the member, it's a rogue. When it's the crewleader, it's a purge.

One of these- rogues- is viewed as heresy. The other, like a natural phenomenon. Wonder why that is?

If you aren't training a gun, buying BGs, or running a crew, you are not in danger of being purged.

I wish this was true.  

Something tells me that this won't be able to save me.

Sad crow noises

I think for now I am doing pretty well in the solo field of this crime world.
At least now I know all the tips and tricks!

This deserves a little more viewing, I wholeheartedly agree with everything contained within.